Introduction – What is Gnosis?

By cosmosasmeditation

Introduction – What is Gnosis (`irfan)?

The following work deals exclusively with cosmology and spirituality. In Shi’a Islam, and it’s modern messianic reflection in
the Baha’i Faith, the idea of gnosis or innate direct experiential knowledge of the divine is known as `irfan:

Irfan also spelt eerfan (Arabic/Persian/Urdu: ‫ )عرفان‬literally meansknowing. Sometimes it is

transliterated as Erfan. It is used to refer both toIslamic mysticism as well as the attainment of
direct spiritual knowledge. In the latter sense it is often translated in English as gnosis. Those
with the name are sometimes referred to as having an insight into the unseen.

In Twelver Shi’a Islam, the term refers specifically to the discipline of mystical knowledge within
religious teachings. In this respect Irfanoverlaps considerably with Sufism in both meaning and
content. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irfan)

How the great teachers of `irfan have conveyed their insights into reality has taken root in poetic utterances and philosophical
treatises. These great teachers of `irfan have all traced their lineage through the Prophet Muhammad, through the imams of
the Shi’a, down to the teachings of a former Shi’a Sufi named Baha’ Allah (Glory of God). We shall trace and delineate out
how philosophy along with cosmology has shaped the discourse and explication of the divine worlds in the writings of great
`Irfanic and Sufi teachers. We shall read about the teachings of the Shi’a scholars, Sufi teachers and the divine revelation of
Baha’ Allah and how they relate to philosophical and experiential comceptions of cosmos. We shall encounter the great
teachers like Ibn `Arabi, Mulla Sadra, al-Bab, Baha’ Allah and others.

The first chapter deals with delineating what is meant by symbolic discourse and the topic of cosmos. The second chapter
details the Qur’anic creative vocabulary, how the Qur’an teaches about creation. The third chapter delves into the lasting
effects of Neo-Platonic philosophy on Islamic thinkers. The fourth chapter outlines the Sufi and Baha’i symbolic cosmology,
specifically dealing with the five worlds (`alam) of God: Hahut, Lahut, Jabarut, Malakut and Nasut. The fifth chapter details
the comsology as taught by gnostic Shi’a thinkers, specifically the teachings of Mulla Sadra. The sixth chapter delineates
further the thinking of Mulla Sadra, specifically addressing his teachings on knowledge and existential reality. The seventh
chapter addresses sufi symbols found in the Seven Valleys of Baha’ Allah, delineating the sufi context to the work. The eight
chapter goes into the ideas behind the sufi conception of resurrection (qiyamat). The ninth chapter deals with spiritual
practices in sufism and the Baha’i teachings. The final and tenth chapter shows how Baha’ Allah’s Four Valleys is actually a
work which touches on the Sufi Enneagram, a sufi program that helps the seeker overcome their ego deficiencies and draw
closer to the Ultimate Reality.

Chapter 1 – Baha’i, Sufi and Gnostic Shi’a Spiritual Cosmology

By cosmosasmeditation

Chapter 1 – Baha’i, Sufi and Gnostic Shi’a Spiritual Cosmology

By Michael McCarron

SYMBOLIC COSMOLOGY

Neo-platonic philosophy has had a lasting and deep affect on Islamic thought, philosophy and
mystical traditions. I will be examining the similarities between the philosophy of Plotinus and that
of the Islamic Isma’ili movement, Sadrian, Shaykhi, and Sufi movements, and the teachings of the
19th Century Iranian messianic movement of ‘Ali-Muhammad Shirazi (al-Bab) and Mirza Husayn-
’Ali Nur (Baha’u’llah) (hereafter referred to collectively as the Baha`i movement) in detail. For my
study I shall be looking at Plotinus’ Eannead No. V and comparing it to the Hierocosmos of the
Isma’ili and teachings on the Divine Presence of Iranian thought. Specifically examining the
concepts of the Oneness of Divinity, Cosmogenesis, Symbolic Hierocosmos and the Five Divine
Presences. My initial investigation shall be in regards to the Qur’anic or Orthodox understanding of
Creation in it’s many modes and a philosophical interpretation of this Creation archetype.
Afterwards shall follow a sketch of the philosophy of the Isma’ili and Islamic mystical traditions
including the writings of Husayn-’Ali Nuri and Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad-i Shiraz. I shall be dealing
with their particular understanding of the Islamic creation archetype and how it is applied in their
Cosmology, addressing in particular the role of hierachic symbolic (hierocosmic) cosmologies in
their interpretations.

The Symbolic World (‘Alam al-Mithal) and the Symbolic Language (lughat al-mithal)

Symbolism described and popularized in the west by Jung has for a very long time held captive our
imaginations concerning the unseen and it’s representation in artistic expression–poetry, painting,
architecture, etc. As is the case in most sciences and disciplines in the west the art of symbol,
whether of the great painters of the 19th century or the poets of the Metaphysical Movement, has
it’s origin in the east. So it is in the study of Symbol that one encounters the voice of God in the
immanent and present experiential basis in Sufism. It is interesting that the symbol understood in
context in Iran of Sufi origin can be misunderstood in the west thus, it is important to have an idea
of what the original context of a Sufi symbol carries in the context of the present page of it’s
environment or field of relationships. To quote the work of Lewisohn on this subject:

“(the symbolist) Those who approach Sufi poetry as a statement of archetypal logopoeia,
that is to say, as a communication derived from the imaginal [or symbolic] world (‘alam-i
mithal) or the realm of archetypal meanings (‘alam-i ma’na), understanding it as an
 expression of precise symbolic meanings working systematically at a supraconscious
associative level. Although scholars such as Toshihiko Izutsu, S.H. Nasr, and Henry
Corbin have examined Persian philosophical doctrines from this point of view , no one has
examined Persian metaphysical poetry from this standpoint, even though this is the mode
of classical literary criticism[1]employed by the Sufis themselves. Considering the
importance of symbolic structure and meaning as the main criterion of assessing a poem’s
ultimate meaning among the Sufis, it seems worthwhile to investigate the underlying
philosophical assumptions of this poetic symbolism, the study of which has been neglected
by Iranologists East and West alike.” (Lewisohn, SH, pg. 154)

As the title of this study suggests we are concerned with a symbolic representation of the cosmos
or intellectual world of the Islamic world, specifically, the eastern Islamic world of Iran dominated by
Shi’ism. In this world the symbol becomes a powerful expression to convey information in an
allegorical and metaphorical context. Thus, it is important to be cognizant of the ideas behind
symbolic expression in the cultural context of Iranian mysticism. There are several literary devices
used in Sufism the important element in literary works of Sufism is the concept of allegorical
similitude (mathal). This is initially derived from the writings within the Qur`an where it is recorded
that God disdains not to speak in allegories (Surah al-Baqara). In Sufism, the literary devices are:

1. Ramz– symbol, it is said to be the manifestation of divine secrets at the level of the inner
consciousness. The inward meaning of outward utterance.

2. Ima– an enigmatic utterance w/o explanation, a gesturing of the inner conscious toward the light.

3. Kenaya– metaphor, refers to a name for a thing by a name by which it is not usually known so
that the visionary may perceive it.

4. Ishara– Allusion, defined by Rudbari as “Our knowledge is ‘allusion’, and if it were ever stated
directly, it could not be comprehended”. Allusion is that which can not be expressed directly due to
the subtlety to it’s meaning.” [tr. Nurbakhsh, “Ishara” in Nurbakhsh Lexicon]

For most of the authors examined here the following excerpts from the Sufi tradition holds true on
metaphor (kinaya), allusion (ishara) and symbol (ramz):

Metaphor (kinaya) and allusion (ishara) are similar to one another. Metaphor is clearer
than allusion inasmuch as it brings news of Divinity to the seekers (taliban) of the unseen
(ghaib) through the tongue of expansion. At times, metaphor refers to a name for a thing
(musama) by a name (ism) by which it is not usually known (mu’aruf) so that the visionary
may perceive (shahid), while the one who is absent is none the wiser. The gnostic
 experiences (shahud ‘arif) metaphor through vision at the station (maqam) of mysteries
(asrar) and expansion (anbasit). Metaphor is employed in the Qur=an as in the verse…
(Lahiji [tr. Nurbakhsh, ‘Lexicon’], MA pg. 164 )

Symbol (ramz) is said to be the manifestation (zahara) of divine secrets (asrar ilahi) at the
level (tawr) of the inner consciousness (sirr) through the devotions (`ibadat) of the nafs, as
well as allusion (isharat) of the intellect (`aql). ([tr. Nurbakhsh, ‘Lexicon’], TT, pg. 201)

Symbol (ramz) represents the inward meaning (ma`ni butun) of outward utterance (kalam
zahir) which brings realization (zafar) only to Divinity’s adherents (ahl). The true nature
(haqa`iqat) of symbol (ramz) comprises the truths (haqqa) of the unseen (ghayb) in the
nuances (daqa) of knowledge (`ilm), articulated (talifaz) enigmatically (huruf mu`kusi) by
the tongue (lisan) of the inner consciousness (sirr). (Ruzbehan Baqli [tr. Nurbakhsh,
‘Lexicon’], SS, pg. 561)

Allegory has been a large stumbling block to others outside the Sufi tradition in understanding the
symbolic utterance of the Sufis. Perhaps the most important element of Sufi utterance is that of
Shathit, the ecstatic utterance relating the Sufis perception of reality and identification within the
Sufi as being a part of the object of his experiential contemplation thus unifying object with subject
in an ecstatic moment. This is the basis of the famous utterance by the al-Hallaj: “I am the Truth
(Haqq)”. It has been arguably related that this is not an utterance with a literal truth but is an
utterance full of symbolic meaning relating the Sufis love and intimacy with the object of his
contemplation. It is also seen in Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri’s writing that “I am He and He is I” (Anna
Huwa wa Huwa anna). One of the greatest Sufi and scholars of Islam al-Ghazzali writes of the use
of symbolic metaphor in Sufism as:

“We mean by metaphor or analogue (mathal) to render meaning (ma’na) into the external
form (surah). So if one sees its inner meaning, he finds it true. But if he sees only its
external form, he finds it deceiving…The prophets can talk to the people only by means of
the metaphors (amthal), since it is necessary to talk to the people in accordance with their
intellect. Their intellect is on the sleeper’s level. So it is necessary to make use of
metaphors to explain to the sleeper…their understanding does not go beyond the apparent
meaning, because of their ignorance of the interpretation, called ‘metaphorical
interpretation’ (ta’wil), as the decipherment symbols in dream is called ‘the interpretation of
dream’ (ta’bir)” (GHZ, al-Ghazzali, Ihya, IV, 23-24)

Mystical Discourse through the Symbol:

In Sufism the symbolic is expressed through a varied ways of expression. No longer do we have
the common literal meaning attached to things. No longer is a light merely a collection of photonic
discharges, but is an expression of divine source or enlightenment, a non-physical non-literal
expression attached to a common literal object but having an internal vocabulary known to the
adept which reveals itself in a code which can exalt the adept to a higher plane understanding the
code attached to the literal object which is a symbol of the esoteric. Nicholson writes of the Sufi
symbolic style:

“…the Sufis adopt the symbolic style because there is no other way of interpreting mystical
experience. So little does knowledge of the infinite revealed in ecstatic vision need an
artificial disguise that it cannot be communicated at all except through types and emblems
drawn from the sensible world, which, imperfect as they are, may suggest and shadow
forth a deeper meaning than appears on the surface.” (NCH)

Some common symbols in Sufism according to Dr. Nurbakhsh, leader of the Ni`matu`llahi Tariqat,
are:

1. Kaa’ba: Symbolizes the station of Union according to Iraqi. It is a spiritual place not a
physical place for Rumi and Hafiz. For Bakhrazi “the outer form of the divine focal point of
anything is called the Kaa’ba of that thing, as the earthly Kaa’ba is the house of God.”
There is also the designation of an outer Kaa’ba and an inner Kaa’ba.

2. Qibla: symbolizes the focus of attention of the heart. “As soon as I made your face the
qibla of my regard, I turned your way into another Kaa’ba.”

3. Ma’ad (the Place of Return):According to Tahanawi “In conventional usage, the place of
return is an allusion to the hereafter. In sufi terminology, it is said to represent the universal
names of God, just as, the place of origin (mabda’) represents the universal existential
Names. The wayfarer descends from the universal existential Names, which are his place
of origin, to the universal divine names, which are hsi place of return.”

4. Resurrection (Qiyama): Yevgeny Bertels relates “Resurrection symbolizes the turning of

the wayfarers heart from the forms of illusory multiplicity to visions of the theophanies of
Majesty at the different levels of manifestation of the divine beauty. At each level, of
manifestation which is directed inwards, a resurrection takes place and the phenomenal
realm is constantly full of these resurrections.”

5. Paradise (Jannat): Paradise symbolizes the station of theophanies, whether of effects,

Acts, Attributes or the Essence.
 6. Light (al-Nur): Sufis consider light to be symbolic of existence, while darkness is
considered indicative of non-existence.

7. Glory (Baha’): according to Ruzbihan, “Whenever God wishes to adopt someone as his
loving intimate, He shows that person the glory of His Beauty, so that the person falls in
love with everything beautiful. The Prophet said, ‘The red rose is part of God’s glory.
Whoever wishes to contemplate God’s glory, let him behold the rose.’ The gnostic said:
‘The vision of God’s glory occurs at the site of intimacy and expansion.”

We can see from these excerpts of Sufi symbols that common objects within Islamic vocabulary no
longer have their orthodox outer (zahiri) understanding but take on a inner (batini) mystical
representation as elements of the path. In the Kaa’ba we have the symbolic representation of
intimacy. And in the Qiyama we no longer have a day of judgment, but rather, a level of presence
and experience of spiritual insight. It shall be seen later that some other popular symbols are those
of the Jabarut and the Malakut. Each according a symbolic relevance to it’s realm of meaning.

The symbolic expression of the universe or cosmos in these traditions relates to a special system
of inspiration not based on empirical data. Thus we will find a different way of speaking about the
universe. The question of symbolic expression is taken up in the Qur`an as well. The question of
many verses is whether they are apparent (mubayna) or allegorical (mithali). In many of the
following interpretations the universe is seen in an allegorical light (mathal). It should be kept in
mind while reading these portrayals of cosmic elements that what is intended is a description in
allegorical language of realities experienced in mystical revelation (kashf).

The Cosmological World

The cosmos, an ancient word (kosmos) known in Greece as ‘order‘ for others cosmos has a
mystical dimension and among dimensions it has more than the typically thought of three that we
apparently live in. It is a realm full of more than physical contents but also has spiritual and
angelical and mystical aspects as well. This is the type of cosmos we shall be concerning
ourselves with, the symbolic. Important along with the notion of cosmos is that of cosmogony.

“The word cosmogony is derived from the combination of two Greek terms, kosmos and
genesis. Kosmos refers to the order of the universe and/or the universe as an order.
Genesis means the coming into being or the process or substantial change in the process,
a birth. Cosmogony thus has to do with myths, stories, or theories regarding the birth or
creation of the universe as an order or the description of the original order of the
universe.”(Eliade ed., ER IV, Cosmology)
The myth of the creation of the cosmos is set apart from the empirical collection of data regarding
the primal beginnings of this young universe used by science. It should be remembered that the
genesis of science was in myth also, as philosophy grew out of the mythic stories of the world or
cosmos around us. The symbolic representations of the myth should be remembered to be
symbols of an ancient past recorded in the language of our primordial minds.

“In the cosmogenic myth the symbols give expression to the religious imagination of the
creation of the world. As the prototypical story of founding and creation, the cosmogenic
myth provides a model that is recapitulated in the creation and founding of all other human
modes of existence ( ER IV, “Cosmology”)

Of these mythic representations there are six types: creation from nothing; from chaos; from a
cosmic egg; from world parents; through a process of emergence; and through the agency of an
earth diver. In the following discussion on the role of the Divine Realm we shall be mostly
concerned with the first type; although, interestingly, there are parts of all six mythic types of
cosmogony in the symbolic representation of creation of the Shi’a and in the Baha’i cosmogony
there is a creation from the Word of God, which is a something although entirely different from any
something we can imagine. Which draws us into a necessary discussion of cosmology.

“Cosmology is the term for the study of cosmic views in general and also for the specific
view or collection of images concerning the universe held in a religion or cultural tradition.
The two fold meaning of the term is reminiscent of the double meaning of mythology,
which is at the same time the study of myths and the dominant or representative
assemblage of myths in a given tradition. However, the double usage of the term
cosmology is still wider in one respect: quite explicitly, it relates also to inquiries in the
natural sciences.”(Eliade ed., ER IV, Cosmology)

In one sense the images we have of the universe is our cosmology like signs of an invisible
language they form a sort of formula for the theory we hold of how the universe is and how it came
to be ‘that is that it is,‘ it’s quiddity. This image is a sort of world view or Weltanschauung, as Kant
defined it– an image of the world, it can also be an ideology. So what we are concerned with is an
image, or theory, of the cosmos how it was created and how it exists and how, indeed, it will ever,
philosophically, get back to its origin. For are study we shall be mainly concerned with the type of
cosmology that is usually harbingers by the “Divine Male Fashioner” or Demiurge[2] (in our study it
shall be scene that the fashioner of the world is Third One or the Adamic Logos, in Greek mythos
Zeus).

This typology is common amongst the monotheistic religions, ie. Zoroastrianism, Christianity,
Judaism and Islam, along with the sky as the seat of transcendence. This heavenly transcendence
is set against the fixation of the earth, another didactic relationship is that between good and evil.
In our case the good of heavenly or idealic transcendental state and the evil state of matter in
earthly existence. A common characteristic in the cosmological myths of the differing religious
traditions is that of “the renewal of the world” celebrated in the Solar New Year (Naw Ruz), which
was common in the Mesopotamian Empire. Some common characteristics found by Douglas A.
Knight in his study of the middle east are deserving of attention:

1. “the cosmos is viewed as a closed, three-storied whole, all parts of which are under the
control of divinity, either polytheistically or monotheistically conceived.”

2. “The cosmos and humanity did not come into existence by chance or without intention,
for some creator Divinity is directly responsible for its existence.”

3. “There is virtually no sense of creatio ex nihilo. Something exists prior to the creation
act–whether it be the elements of chaos in Babylon, or the waters of Nun frpm which the
Egyptian creator-Divinity Atum emerged, or ‘the face of tehom’ in Genesis 1, or the dry
land in Genesis 2.”

4. “…the creation act is not limited to bringing the physical world into existence. Rather,
above all it establishes the proper order of things in this world.”

5. ” the underlying theological pattern of the various creation accounts is the sovereignty of
the Gods, and usually also the identification of the creator or ‘high God’ with the one who
ultimately maintains and judges the world.” (Knight, COHT, pg. 138-140)

We may also think of the teachings of concerning many births and rebirths in Hinduism, Jainism,
and Buddhism; they fit in traditions that speak of world cycles (cf. also, Isma’ili, Baha`i, Druze,
‘Irfani etc.), succession of worlds, and multiple worlds. Finally, the intimate relationship of the
macrocosm and the microcosm, which is widely attested, is a striking formal link between various
views of the cosmos.(cf. ER IV, pg. 104, Cosmology)

Another common cosmological view is that in the field of cosmic law. “The term cosmic law designates the
principle or set of principles believed to represent the most generalized nature of the order of things in the universe.” (ER IV,
Cosmic Law) For our concerns this principle is that of the Logos or the theophany of the divine in the physical realm, the
manifestation of the spiritual in the material. “Examples of the concept of cosmic law include the following: ‘rta’ and, later,
‘dharma’ in Indian tradition[3]; ‘dharma’ (Pali, ‘dhamma’) in Buddhism[4]; ‘tao’ or ‘t’ien-ming’ in Confucianism and Taoism[5];
‘maat’ in ancient Egyptian religion; ‘moira’, ‘dike’, ‘logos’, or ‘heimarmene’ in the Greco-Roman tradition[6]; haqq, qismah,
shari’ah, fitrah, or khalq in Islam[7]” (Eliade ed., ER IV, Cosmic Law) and according to Francis Cornford the Persian or
Zoroastrian equivalent is ‘asha’. And in the Judaic tradition this is ‘hokma’ or wisdom and in the Christian tradition this is the
Logos of the Gospel of John (cf. F. Cornford, From Religion to Philosophy). And in the Monotheistic traditions of the Middle
East we have the notion of God as the Author of such principles which govern the order of the physical cosmos. What is the
nature and configuration of the governing principles this is the topic of the Divine. Which brings us to the Qur’anic, Plotinian,
Isma’ili, `Irfani and Baha’i intellectual and meta-physical worlds.

NOTES:

1 The classical literary criticism developed by al-Jurjani is what is referenced here. See his Ta’rifat
for an elaboration on Sufi terminology.

2 “Demiurge” is defined in the Encyclopedia of Religion as the Greek term ‘demiourgos’ (together
with its variants) is derived from the words ‘demos’ (people) and ‘ergon’ (work) and thus has the
basic meaning of ‘one who works for the people,’ an artisan or a professional. This etymological
basis subsequently developed in two directions. On the one hand, ‘demiourgos’ came to refer to a
magistrate; on the other hand, it became a name of the original creator of the world, in the specific
sense of an ordainer or arranger, someone who as an artist fashions the world out of pre-existing
matter in accord with a preesixting model. It is this second meaning that is of primary concern here.
The verb for making is demiourgeo.

3 “Hindus developed a concept of cosmic law during the earliest stage of their religious history and
the idea has served as the central basis for the development of the entire tradition up to the
present day.Two terms have usually been used to refer to cosmic law, namely ‘rta’ and ‘dharma’. In
the Vedic literature ‘rta’ designates cosmic order, the law governing the natural world, or simply the
course of things. Derivative uses include such related meanings as established order or divine law;
reality or truth; what is fitting, proper, or right; or, by extension, righteousness. ‘Dharma’, the post-
Vedic term that supplanted ‘rta’, is derived from ‘dha’ (to establish, create, or support). Hence the
term refers to what is established and firm, with regard to both the natural order and the socio-
moral order (i.e. law, ordinance, customary observances, duty, right, justice, or virtue). When
interpreted as referring to the general principle of human behaviour, the term is a virtual equivalent
of ‘religion’. (“Cosmic Law” in ER )

4 “…dharma is nothing more or less thatn reality reflected in the Buddha Dharma. As a
philosophical or metaphysical term, dharma is used in singular form to refer to ultimate, eternal,
and unconditioned reality and in the plural form to designate the plethora of subtle factors or
conditions that constitute finite things and states of being. Hence there is nothing within the
universe or beyond that is not embraced by this term. The word includes all aspects of reality:
eternal and temporal, infinite and finite, conditioned and unconditioned, good and evil. As the
appellation for the whole of reality, dharma is manifestyed in the dharmas, or fundamental
constituents of the universe.” (“Cosmic Law” in ER)
5 “…Confucious employed ‘tao’ in two ways, quite similar to the use of ‘dharmas’ by the Buddhists.
As a single and singular universal law, the Tao governs the production and transformation of all
things. Its generational activities are articulated succinclty in the aphorism ‘One yand and one yin,
this is the Tao’. In it’s pluralistic and multifaceted manifestation, the Tao is a myriad of ‘tao’
principles that determine the definitive essences of various classes of objects–that is, thw wetness
of wet things, the finitude of finiet things, thw sovereignty of sovereigns, ans so forth. The concept
is somewhat similar in function to Plato’s use of ther ideas and varius other Western thinker’s
notions of universals.” (“Cosmic Law” in ER )

6 “Confusion reigned in ancient Greece as to the precise identity of the root cause of all events of
whatever nature. Among the numerous candidates for this office were fate (moira), destiny
(heimarmene), natural law (dike), a cosmic source of all existing entities (phusis), chance or
universal randomness (tuche), the decrees of heaven or the Divinitys, universal reason (logos), the
wandering stars, the four elements in varying combinations, or, finally, the decisions of the
individual which set events moving in a given direction with ineluctable determination.” (“Cosmic
Law” in ER ) Hesoid, the early Greek mythographer, laid the foundation for the use of ‘dike’ and
‘heimarmene’ and it was from early myth that the later philosophical concepts developed.

7 Cyril Glasse defines ‘fitrah’ as (lit. primordial nature). The primordial norm; a harmony between
man, creation and Divinity, such as existed beteen Divinity and Adam in the Garden. Islam sees
itself as the restoration of the religion Abraham, which itself is a re-consecration and a prolongation
of the religion of Adam as primordial man after his fall, and reconciliation with Divinity. The concept
of ‘fitrah’, the primordial norm, is at once the measure of truth in our actions and being, and at the
same time the quality of harmony between ourselves and cosmos. It corresponds exactly to the
Hindu notion of universal ‘dharma’, or to the Chinese ‘Tao”.

WORKS CITED:

TT Bertels, Yevgeni Edvardovich. Tasawwof wa Adabiyat-e Tasawwof. Incl. Anonymous

Persian language MS, Mer’at-e ‘Oshshaq. Russian text translated into Persian by Sirus Izadi.
Tehran, 1979.

MA Lahiji, Shamso’d-Din Mohammad, (Asiri). Mafatih al-E’jaz fi Sharh-e Golshan-e Raz. Ed.
Kaiwan Sami’i. Tehran, 1958.

GHZ Nakamura, Kokiro ““Imam Ghazali’s Cosmology Reconsidered with Special Reference to
the Concept of Jabarut” in Studia Islamica Vol. 80 (1994).”
SH Leaonard Lewisohn, Beyond Faith and Infedility: the Sufi Poetry and Teachings of Mahmud
Shabistari, Curzon Press

Lexicon Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh’s Farhang at-Tassawuf (Sufi Symbolism: the Nurbakhsh
Encyclopedia of Sufi Terminology). New York. Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications (1993)

NICH R.A. Nicholson quoted in Samah Salim’s “Mansur al-Hallaj and the Poetry of Ecstasy” in
Journal of Arabic Literature Vol. XXI, March 1990

ER Eliade, Mircea, Encyclopdia or Religion, Vol 4 New York: Collier Macmillan. 1987

COHT Douglas A. Knight, “Cosmogony and Order in the Hebrew Tradition.” in Cosmogony and
Ethical Order; New Studies in Comparative Ethics, ed. Robin W. Lovin & Frank E. Reynolds
(Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1985)

Chapter 2 – Creation in the Qur’an

by Michael McCarron

The One Creator, God:

When speaking of creation the foremost concept in Islam is that of Tawhid (Oneness of Divinity).
God alone is the Creator and He has no help in this affair. This doctrine is known as tawhid. The
term Tawhid is derived from One (Wahid). There are no other elements capable of creativity such
as God. He alone is the Creator. In Sufism and Baha’i thought this concept becomes broadened
into the concepts of Ahadiyyat and Wahidiyyat, Oneness and Singularity. Suffice it to say that the
following Qur`anic Ayats convey the meaning of tawhid in the Qur`an: 4:119, 6:101, 13:16, 16:20,
71:14 and 74:11. The notion of God’s Tawhid is formulated as La ilah illa Allah(there is no Divinity
except Divinity).

QUR`ANIC CREATIVE TERMINOLOGY:

There is a differentiated level of meaning to each term of the act “to create’ in Qur`anic Arabic. Of
these various levels we can see that there is a differentiation in the meanings used in the Qur`an
for the creating the present order either out of a previous stasis or ex nihilo. The most used terms
in the Qur`an are as follows:

– Khalaq: prime creative term meaning the initial creative act, the production of prime matter, the
basic unit that all other created things is composed, It is also a generic term for “creating”. In the
Arabic Lexicon it means: ‘to create, ‘creating’, ‘creation’; ‘stature’, ‘constitution’. It is also similar to
‘Fatara’. An Islamic scholar writes of Khaliq:

“Khalq, noun of the action verb khalaqa, which properly means the act of creating, can also
be used to designate Creation in its entirety: wa’l-Khalq yakun al-masdar wa-yakun al-
 makhluq (LA). The noun of the agent, al-khaliq, defined by the article, is applied only to
Divinity and is one of His Names. According to the LA, in the speech of the Arabs al-khalq
is used to designate the production fo some new thing (ibtida`) on a pattern which has not
been previously employed (`ala mithal lam yusbaq ilayh). Abu Bakr b. Al-Anbari, a
philologist of the 4th/10th century, gives a slightly different definition: khalq is either a
product (insha`) designed on an invented model (abda`a), or it is the act that determines
the proportions (taqdir) of something which is to be brought into being; thus when `Isa bin
Maryam [Jesus] (Qur`an III, 49) says: Yes, I will create (akhluqu) for you from clay the
likeness of a bird, he does not wish to say that he will bring into existence that which does
not exist (lam yurid annahu yahdithu ma’dum). Ibn Sidah (5/11th century) considers that
for Divinity to create is to bring into being a thing which previously was not (ba`d an lam
yakun). It should be noted that some commentators (al-Hasan al-Basri and Mujahid) give
the meaning of din (religion) in the sense of Hukm (the totality of classes of Law) the word
Khalq in the verse (IV, 119): ‘They have tampered with Divinity’s Creation.’ The reasoning
behind this is that Divinity has stamped on creation a nature (fatara ‘l-khalq) that conforms
with Islam; cf. Qur`an 30:30): Anature created by Divinity fitrat God) according to which He
has stamped the nature of men; there can be no change in Divinity’s creation….” (EI III,
pg. 980)”

– Badaa: to produce a thing out of prime matter and give it definition in this respect it is
accomplished by the ‘Amr’ or command of God. It is noted:

“The Tafsir al-Jalalayn explains badi as: that which gives existence (muwajid) without
following a previous model.” (EI III, pg. 983)

– Ja’ala: to create new forms out of previously created forms, and in this respect is akin to number
and division in the neo-platonic formula. In the Arabic lexicon it is defined as: ‘to make’, ‘to appoint’
(li), ‘assign’, ‘to place’ and ‘to reckon’. Of this the scholar again writes:

Here khalaqa has precisely the same meaning as ja’ala: to render an object this way or that, to
make from that object this thing or that, which is exactly equivalent to one of the usage’s of the
Latin creare, e.g. creare aliquem consulem, ja’ala fulanan hakiman, to make soemone a governor.
In the passage in Qur`an, 32, already cited, verse 12 has >We created (khalaqna) man of clay,
verse 13 states, We made (ja’alnahu) a drop of sperm of clay…” (EI III, pg. 981)

– Sawwa: to bring something to perfection or to create a higher state within a previous existing
thing, not the creation of something new in form or substance Further elucidated as:

“…The Qur`an links the creative act to the informing act by the particle thumma.
According to the grammarians, there is a relationship of diminishing order between
wa (and), fa (and then), and thumma (and afterwards). There is therefore a certain
distance between the act of creating and the act fo giving form, the khalq and the
tawsir. The verb sawa (to level to smooth; …to polish) is linked to khalaqa by the
particle fa: He who has created you and then proportioned and stabilized you
(alladhi khalqaka fa sawwka fa `adalaka, LXXXII, 7); He who has created and
proportioned (LXXXVII,2). The close relationship between these two verbs seems
 to indicate a kind of explanation of the etymological meaning of khalaqa can be
explained by qaddara: He created him from a drop of sperm and (fa) fixed their
proportions of their species (fa-qaddarahu taqdiran, LIV, 49).” (EI III, pg. 981)

– Ansha’a: which is to produce something out of a form but not changing that form which is
replicated in the new creation, it is exemplified in reproduction of human each new human is in the
same form as their parent, and made of the same matter–genetic or biological– and is a new being
or creation.

– Bara’a: to create, Creator (active participle).

– Dhara’a: to create, to multiply, to scatter abroad.

– Qada‘: to decree, to create. Qada‘ is an important concept in Islamic thought it is written of as:

“On the basis of the Qur`an the word qada’ can be understood as Divinity’s eternal
decision or decree concerning all beings. It is given different interpretations, especially
when, contrasted with another term, qadar, meaning destiny, predestination. For instance
according to al-Bukhari qada’ is th eternal, universal and all-embracing decree of Divinity,
while qadar denotes the details of His eternal universal decree.” (EI IV, pg. 364) (See
Divinity’s Speech for more on this below)

We will see a recurrent theme in Islam of the Command or Decree being the vehicle of creative
power.

THE QUR`ANIC CREATIVE PROCESS:

To examine the use of some of these terms we begin by looking at ayah 4:1:

“O mankind (insan)! Fear (taquwa) your Guardian Lord, Who created (khalaqa) you from a
single Person (nafsi wahid), Created (khalaqa), out of it, His mate (zawjah), and from them
twain scattered (kathira) countless men and women…”

َ ۡ ِ ‫وخلق‬
َ َ ۡ َ ‫منہا‬
‫زوجھا‬ ٍ ۟ َ ِ َ ‫نفس‬
َ َ َ َ ‫وٲحدة‬ ٍ ۟ ۡ ‫لقكم ﱢمن ﱠ‬ ُ َ َ ‫ٱلذى َخ‬ ِ ‫ربكم ﱠ‬
۟
ْ ُ ‫ٱلناس ﱠ‬
ُ ُ ‫ٱتقوا َ ﱠ‬ َ ‫َٰٓ َ ﱡ‬
ُ ‫يـأيہا ﱠ‬
‫بهۦ‬ َ ُ َ ٓ َ َ ‫ٱلذى‬
ِ ِ ‫تساءلون‬ ِ ‫ٱ>َ ﱠ‬ ‫وٱتقوا ﱠ‬ ً ۟ ٓ َ ِ َ ‫كثيرا‬
ْ ُ ‫ونساء ۚ◌ َ ﱠ‬ ً ۟ ِ َ ً‫رجاال‬
َ ِ ‫منہما‬َ ُ ۡ ِ ‫وبث‬
‫ََ ﱠ‬
ً ۟ ِ َ ۡ‫عليكم‬
‫رقيبا‬ ُ ۡ َ َ ‫كان‬
َ َ َ>‫ٱ‬‫إن ﱠ‬ َ َ ۡ َ ۡ َ (١)
‫وٱألرحام ۚ◌ ِ ﱠ‬
In this verse we see the use of the term “khalaqa” to create something out of the prime matter
which here is called a Person or Soul (Nafs) depending on the translator. The ‘Person’ (nafsi) is
equated with the neo-Platonic ‘Prime Matter’ (hayula awwal) or that whose substance all
substances are generated from. Thus we see how ‘khalaqa’ is used for creation of the first
substance and the naming of that substance as a ‘nafsi’ understood to be a ‘Person’ or ‘Soul’.

In the following two ayahs we see the development from this point of primary oneness of creation:
 “It is he Who Produced (ansha’a) you from a single soul (nafsi wahid): then there is a
resting place and a repository: We detail (fasila) Our signs for people who understand.”
Qur’an 6:97

ِ َ ۡ ‫ظلمـت‬
ّ‫ٱلبر‬ ِ ٰ َ ُ ُ ‫بﮩا ِفى‬ ْ ُ ‫لتﮩت‬
َ ِ ‫دوا‬ َ ۡ َ ِ ‫ٱلنجوم‬
َ ُ ‫لكم ﱡ‬ ُ ُ َ ‫جعل‬ ِ ‫وھو ﱠ‬
َ َ َ ‫ٱلذى‬ َ ُ َ
َ ُ َ ۡ َ ‫لقوم‬
‫يعلمون‬ ِ ٰ َ َ ۡ ‫فصلنا‬
ٍ ۟ ۡ َ ِ ‫ٱأليـت‬ َ ۡ ‫قد َ ﱠ‬ ِ ۡ َ ۡ َ (٩٧)
ۡ َ ◌ۗ ‫وٱلبحر‬
Notice here the use of the creative term ansha’a, meaning to grow, increase, develop, reach
maturity. It is quite possible that one interpretation may be that this ‘soul’ is the ‘mate’ of the
‘Person’ created by God since in this instance the creative term is not ‘khalaqa’ as it was for the
‘Person’ and ‘mate’ of the previously cited ayah, and it was from the level of the ‘mate’ that all
qualifying creative terms were used for further processes of creation (as shall be demonstrated in
the following). The use of the term ‘ansha’a’ is to be paid close attention to for if ansha’a means
‘produce from’ then the ‘mate’ is made of the same substance of the Person and thus is a
projection out of the ‘Person’ vice a separate matter.

In terms of fashioning that which is produced it is important to look at the following:

“Glorify the name of thy Guardian Lord Most High, Who hath created (khalaqa), and
further, given order (fasawwa’a) and proportion; Who hath measured (qaddara). And
granted guidance (hida’a).” Qur’an 87:1-3

َ ۡ َ ۡ ‫ربك‬
‫ٱألعلى‬ َ ِّ َ ‫ٱسم‬
َ ۡ ِ‫سبح‬
ّ ِ َ (١) ‫فسوى‬ َ َ َ ‫ٱلذى‬
ٰ ‫خلق َ َ ﱠ‬ ِ ‫( ﱠ‬٢) ‫وٱلذى‬
ِ ‫َ ﱠ‬
ٰ َ َ َ ‫قدر‬
‫فھدى‬ َ ‫( َ ﱠ‬٣)
In the above we see the relationship of creating through the process of ‘khalaqa’ and the qualifying
of that created through the reasoning mechanism of God’s process, here it is called ‘qadar’ which
is like the balance. We also see the use of the term ‘sawwa’ in ‘fasawwaa’ which is used after the
term khalaqa and here it’s meaning is a qualifying proportion, and again it maintains the true
position of the hierarchy of creative modes. Again ‘sawwa’ is ‘to fashion’ or ‘polish’ it is not to
change or alter the form or create a new being it is an intellectual creative process not a substantial
one or physical creation it is to take a thing from one state to a higher state. Going back a step to
‘Ja’ala’ we see in the following verse:

“He created you from a single Person: then created, of like nature, his mate; and sent
down…” Qur’an 39:6

َ َ َ َ ‫زوجھا‬
‫وأنزل لَُكم‬ َ َ ۡ َ ‫منﮩا‬
َ ۡ ِ ‫جعل‬َ َ َ ‫ثم‬ ٍ ۟ َ ِ َ ٍ‫س‬
‫وٲحدة ُ ﱠ‬ ۟ ‫نف‬ ۡ ‫من ﱠ‬ ّ ِ ‫خلقكم‬ُ َ َ َ
‫ ُۡم‬Rِ‫أمھـت‬ٰ َ ‫بطون ُ ﱠ‬
ِ ُ ُ ‫يخلقكم ِفى‬ ۡ ُ ُ ُ ۡ َ ◌ۚ ٍ‫أزوٲج‬ ۟ َ ۡ َ ‫ثمـنية‬ ِ ٰ َ ۡ َ ۡ ‫من‬
َ َ ِ ٰ َ َ ‫ٱألنعـم‬ َ ِّ
‫ربكم‬ ُ ُ ِ َ ◌ۚ ‫ثلـث‬
ُ ‫ذٲلكم ﱠ‬
ۡ ُ ‫ٱلله َ ﱡ‬ ٍ ۟ ٰ َ َ ‫ظلمـت‬
ٍ ۟ ٰ َ ُ ُ ‫خلقٍ ِفى‬ ۟ ۡ َ ‫بعد‬ ِ ۡ َ ‫من‬ ۟
ً َۡ
ۢ ّ ِ ‫خلقا‬
‫تصرفون‬
َ ُ َ ۡ ُ ‫فأنى‬ ٰ ‫ھو ۖ◌ َ َ ﱠ‬
َ ُ ‫إال‬ ‫إلـه ِ ﱠ‬ ُ ۡ ُ ۡ ‫له‬
َ ٰ َ ِ ٓ‫ٱلملك ۖ◌ َال‬ ُ َ (٦)
Again we see in this verse that first ‘khalaqa’ appears (in the above the creation a geno type is
denoted by the term ‘khalaqa’, i.e. humans (you) not an individual but a species). The use of ‘ja’ala’
versus the previous ‘khalaqa’ for ‘mate’ is due to the mate being of the same nature of the Person:
this raises a question of how it, the mate, can be of the same nature and be referred to as created
by ‘ja’ala’ (akin to philosophical ideas of emenation {Arabic: fayd, sadir, tajalli, ishraq) in previous
ayahs, but this can be answered by the reference of Person and ‘mate’ to the creation of sub-
species which is a species onto itself in comparison to the division of earlier ayahs of many
persons or as there was no reference to the common nature of ‘Person’ and ‘mate’ there would be
no need for a term of gradation, i.e. ‘ja’ala’, but of creation, i.e. khalaqa. This ‘khalaqa’ establishes
the genus and ‘ja’ala’ establishes the species. So there is a logic and motion in the Qur’an which is
a rational order. And this rational order establishes a relationship of created to it’s Originator.

“the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among
yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing
whatever comparable unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees.”Qur’an 42:11

ِ ٰ َ ۡ َ ۡ ‫ومن‬
‫ٱألنعـم‬ ً ۟ َ ۡ َ ۡ‫أنفسكم‬
َ ِ َ ‫أزوٲجا‬ ُ ِ ُ َ ‫من‬ ۡ ‫لكم ﱢ‬ َ َ َ ◌ۚ ‫وٱألرض‬
ُ َ ‫جعل‬ ۡ ِ َ ٰ َ ‫فاطر ﱠ‬
ِ ۡ َ َ ‫ٱلسمـوٲت‬ ُ ِ َ
ُ ِ َ ۡ ‫ٱلسميع‬
‫ٱلبصير‬ ُ ِ ‫وھو ﱠ‬ َ ُ َ ◌ۖ ‫شى ۟ ٌء‬ ِ ِ ۡ ِ َ ‫ليس‬
ۡ َ ‫كمثلهۦ‬ َ ۡ َ ◌ۚ ‫فيه‬
ِ ِ ۡ‫يذرؤكم‬ ً ۟ َ ۡ َ (١١)
ُ ُ َ ۡ َ ◌ۖ ‫أزوٲجا‬
It is interesting in this ayah that God is known as Al-Fatiru, the Creator, whereas He is also known
as al-Khaliq also the Creator. The term used for ‘made pairs’ is ‘ja’ala’ or to make out of something
and the creation is carried on in pairs. Later it shall be very interesting to compare the primary
created matter the ‘Person’ which is known as a ‘wahid’ or unicity or primary one or a monad and
the dyad of two created beings out of a primary thing by the mode of ‘ja’ala’. This is an integral
expression for division in the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus. It is also interesting that the form of ‘ja’ala’,
‘ja’il’, is used in the Qur’an to indicate placing a viceregent:”I am setting (ja’il) in the earth a viceroy
(khalifah).” 2:30 In the context of this ayah it is Adam that is the viceroy that God has placed on the
earth. It is interesting to note the use of the term ‘badaa’ in the sense of originator and to note that
this origination is conducted via the verbal command ‘be’. In the following we see:

“The Originator is He of the heavens and the earth: and when He wills a thing to be, He but
says unto it, “Be” and it is.” Qur’an 2:117

‫يقول َلهُ ۥ ُكن‬ َ ‫قضى َأمۡ ۟ ًرا َ ِ ﱠ‬

ُ ُ َ ‫فإنما‬ ٓ ٰ َ َ ‫وإذا‬
َ ِ َ ◌ۖ ‫وٱألرض‬ۡ ِ َ ٰ َ ‫بديع ﱠ‬
ِ ۡ َ َ ‫ٱلسمـوٲت‬ ُ َِ
ُ ُ َ َ (١١٧)
‫فيكون‬
It is important to note that taken together ‘the heavens and the earth’ (as-ssama’wati wa’la urDi)
imply a sense of dominion or entire realm or species whereas the sub-species of heavens or earth.
Thus, the high term for creation is ‘badaa’ (also related to the term ‘ibda).We see the use of higher
terms for a ‘Creator’ in the following ayah:

“He is God, the Creator (al-bari’), the Maker who shapes (al-musawwar) all forms and
appearances! All that is in the heavens and on earth extols His limitless glory: for He alone
is almighty, truly wise! Qur’an 59:24
 ٰ َ ۡ ُ ۡ ‫ٱألسماء‬
ُ ‫ٱلحسنى ۚ◌ ُ َ ﱢ‬
‫يسبح َلهُ ۥ َما ِفى‬ ُ ‫ٱلبارئ ۡ ُ َ ﱢ‬
ُ ٓ َ ۡ َ ۡ ُ‫ٱلمصور ۖ◌ َله‬ ُ ِ َ ۡ ‫ٱلخـلق‬
ُ ِ ٰ َ ۡ ُ>‫ٱ‬
‫ھو ﱠ‬
َُ
ُ ِ َ ۡ ‫ٱلعزيز‬
‫ٱلحكيم‬ ُ ِ َ ۡ ‫وھو‬ ۡ ِ َ ٰ َ ‫( ﱠ‬٢٤)
ِ ۡ َ َ ‫ٱلسمـوٲت‬
َ ُ َ ◌ۖ ‫وٱألرض‬
The term for Creator is ‘Khaliq’ the term for liberator is ‘baari’ and the term for shaper of forms is
‘sawwa’. It is important to realise the use of the term ‘sawwa’ is not in the sense of creating a new
form but shaping a form into an appearance. As though one is not creating a new substantial thing
but sculpting the existing matter as an artisan into a thing of definition by design. It is also important
to notice that the higher names of God are in the sense of primary createdness of ‘Khaliq’ and
‘Baari’.

We see two distinctive processes in creation through this ayah that of prime creation and that of
qualifying that primary creation in a secondary process of bringing into definition. (It is this
secondary process that is spoken of in the cosmogenic narratives of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt
and Israeli/Arabic cultures). In terms of ‘sawwa’ we see the further elaboration of the Soul in the
following ayah:

“By the soul and the proportion (saww’aha) given to it.” 91:7

َ ٰ ‫وما َ ﱠ‬
‫سوٮھا‬ ٍ ۟ ۡ َ َ (٧)
َ َ ‫ونفس‬
It is interesting that the soul (nafsi) is spoken of as being granted a process of secondary
createdness through ‘sawwa’ it is an embellishment of the soul created by ‘khaliq’ and taken to a
higher state. Additionally:

“And when I have fashioned him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before
him in prostration!” Qur’an 15:29

‫سـجدين‬ ْ ُ َ َ ‫روحى‬
َ ِ ِ ٰ َ ‫فقعوا َلهُ ۥ‬ ِ ‫فيه ِمن ﱡ‬ ُ ۡ َ َ َ ‫سويتهُ ۥ‬
ِ ِ ‫ونفخت‬ َ ِ َ (٢٩)
ُ ۡ ‫فإذا َ ﱠ‬
The aspects of fashioning are here expressed through ‘sawwa’ the secondary process so it is in
this aspect that we see ‘him’ as not being completed until he is fashioned by the spirit (ruah) of
God, which is created by a primary process of ‘khaliq’ so it is the agent of primicity that dwells
within a secondary being. From the term ‘sujud’ (prostrate) we know this must refer to Adam as it is
indicated in Surah al-Baqara that ‘the angels bow down before him’. This raises a question as to
the identity of the ‘Person’ in ayah 4:1. Could that person be Adam the first created human being?
In the Ismaili tradition there is a heavenly Adam who in non-corporeal and the corporeal Adam who
is a corporeal being (this shall be addressed later in the paper).

It is important to consider other aspects of the created cosmos to understand the relationship of the
hierarchy of creative terminology.

“God is He Who has created seven heavens and like them, of the earth. Through all of the
realm flows down from on high, unceasingly, His will, , so that you might come to know that
 God has the power to will anything, and that God encompasses all things with His
knowledge.” Qur`an 65:12

َ ۡ ‫يتنزل‬
‫ٱألمۡ ُر َ ۡ َ ُ ﱠ‬
‫بينہن‬ ‫ٱألرض ِ ۡ َ ُ ﱠ‬
ُ ‫مثلھن َ َ َ ﱠ‬ ۡ َ ِ َ ‫سمـوٲت‬
ِ ۡ َ ‫ومن‬ ٍ ۟ َ ٰ َ َ ‫سبع‬ َ َ َ ‫ٱلذى‬
َ ۡ َ ‫خلق‬ ِ ‫ٱ>ُ ﱠ‬‫ﱠ‬
َ ۢ ۡ ِ ‫شى ٍء‬
‫علما‬ ۡ َ ‫بكل‬ َ َ َ ‫ٱ>َ َ ۡقد‬
‫أحاط ِ ُ ﱢ‬ ‫وأن ﱠ‬ ٌ ۟ ِ َ ‫كل َش ۡى ۟ ٍء‬
‫قدير َ َ ﱠ‬ ‫على ُ ﱢ‬ ‫أن ﱠ‬
ٰ َ َ َ>‫ٱ‬ ‫لتعلموا َ ﱠ‬
ْ ٓ ُ َ ۡ َ ِ (١٢)
Addressing the creation of the earth we see that the term for the creation of ‘heavens and earth’ is
‘khaliq’ which is to say both taken together equates to a species. It is also of interest to note the
‘will’ (‘Ansha) of God descending through all the realms, numbered as Seven (saba), which
encompasses all things–the heavens and the earth and creatures therein. The individuation of
each component of the species of ‘heavens and earth’ is known as occurring out of a process of
‘ja’ala’:

“As a blessing He made the constellations (zodiac) and placed therein a lamp and a
moon” Qur’an 25:61

ً ۟ ِ ‫وقمرا ﱡ‬
‫منيرا‬ ً ۟ َ َ َ ‫سرٲجا‬
ً ۟ َ ِ ‫فيہا‬
َ ِ ‫وجعل‬ ً ۟ ُ ُ ‫ٱلسماء‬
َ َ َ َ ‫بروجا‬ ِ ٓ َ ‫جعل ِفى ﱠ‬ ِ ‫تبارك ﱠ‬
َ َ َ ‫ٱلذى‬ َ َ َ َ (٦١)
We see that the typology of creation of a primary process and a secondary process is continued in
terms of the creation of the firmaments. It could be suggested that the moon or lamp is an
unfoldment out of the dominion of the heavens or constellations, created in primacy with the
secondary creation being the formation of individual units of the heavens the lamp and the moon.
Thus, we would see the higher heavens (‘samaa’) solar system and the lower heavens as the
individual earth. Also, we see that the earth has seven firmaments within it as the heavens also
and since the earth is unfolded out of that primary unit it is a sense of mimesis that the earth has
seven climbs as it’s progenitor species. {see the works of Haydar Amuli for more indigenous Shi’a
thought on this subject}

Time (zaman) plays an important role as well in this cosmology if we see that in ayah 7:54 that the
heavens and earth are created in six aeons. We see the use of time in creation in:

“He it is who has made the sun a radiant light and the moon a light, and has determined for
it phases so that you might know how to compute the years and to measure. None of this
has God created without [an inner] truth. Clearly does He spell out these messages unto
people of [innate] knowledge” Qur’an 10:5

‫عدد‬ ْ ُ َ ۡ َ ِ ‫منازل‬
َ َ َ ‫لتعلموا‬ ً ۟ ُ ‫وٱلقمر‬
َ ‫نورا َ َ ﱠ‬
َ ِ َ َ ‫وقدرهُ ۥ‬ َ َ َ ۡ َ ‫ضياء‬
ً۟ ٓ َ ِ ‫س‬ ‫جعل ﱠ‬
َ ۡ‫ٱلشم‬ ِ ‫ھو ﱠ‬
َ َ َ ‫ٱلذى‬ َُ
ِ ٰ َ َ ۡ ‫يفصل‬
ٍ ۟ ۡ َ ِ ‫ٱأليـت‬
‫لقوم‬ ‫ذٲلك ِ ﱠإال ِ ۡ َ ﱢ‬
ُ ‫بﭑلحق ۚ◌ ُ َ ﱢ‬ َ ِ َ ُ>‫ٱ‬‫خلق ﱠ‬ َ َ ِ ۡ َ ‫ٱلسنين‬
َ َ َ ‫وٱلحساب ۚ◌ َما‬ َ ِ‫ﱢ‬
َ ُ َ ۡ َ (٥)
‫يعلمون‬
It is interesting to note the use of time in the sense of measuring out the years as well it is of
interest to note the term ‘qadar’ for determination whereas elsewhere it is used as ‘proportion’ so it
is the sun and moon are that which gives proportion to our lives through a measuring out. The
agents of this measuring, the sun and moon, is made by a secondary process, ‘ja’ala’. So we see
proportioning or destiny (qadar) is a secondary process.In terms of the creation we must recount
the agent of the creative act, for it is by the word, which in Greek philosophy is known as ‘logos’
that things take on existence:

“Verily, all things have we created in proportion and measure, and our command is but a
single word, like the twinkling of an eye.” Qur’an 54:49-50

ۡ َ۟
‫بقدر‬ ٰ َ ۡ َ َ ‫شى ٍء‬
ٍ ۟ َ َ ِ ُ‫خلقنـه‬ ‫( ِ ﱠإنا ُ ﱠ‬٤٩) ‫بﭑلبصر‬
ۡ َ ‫كل‬ ِ َ َ ِ ‫ح‬
ِۭ َ
ۡ‫كلم‬َ ٌ ‫وٲحدة‬ َ ُ ۡ‫ومآ َأم‬
ِ َ ‫رنآ ِ ﱠإال‬ َ َ (٥٠)
“Whenever We will anything to be, We but say unto it Our word ‘Be’ and it is.” Qur’an 16:40

‫فيكون‬ َ ُ ‫أردنـه َأن ﱠ‬

ُ َ ‫نقول‬
ُ ُ َ َ ‫له ۥ ُكن‬ ُ ٰ َ ۡ َ َ ٓ‫إذا‬
َ ِ ‫لشىء‬ َ ُ ۡ َ ‫إنما‬
ٍ ۡ َ ِ ‫قولنا‬ َ ‫( ِ ﱠ‬٤٠)
The term for the will, in this case is, ‘irada’ where the agency of that will is the word ‘Be’ (kun
fayakun). It is the Command (Amr) of God and the Command is the Word (Ar. Kalimah, Gr. Logos)
which is the active agent to giving proportion and it is also a higher creative processive agent (See
Qur’an 2:117). And since it is the will of God descending through all the realms of God and the
word is the active agent in the creation we see that it is the Word as a Command (logos) that is
descending through the several realms of God. It is the word which gives proportion (qadar) and in
an esoteric sense it is the Qur’anic revelation which is a pre-destiny, thus eternal (pre-existing).

To conclude it is necessary to outline what the Islamic Cosmos’ structure. From the definition of
primary and secondary processes their is the recognition of hierarchic structure of the universe. It
is established in the Qur’an (see ayah 25:2 re: malakut) that God has no partner in His dominion
(malakut) thus, there are two dominions His, known in mystical terms as Huwit, and the created
dominion of the heavens and earth. We see also, that by primary and secondary processes of
creation that the created dominion is also divided into higher and lower levels, by way of ‘khalaqa’
and ‘ja’ala’. We see this also in the terms of earth with seven zones and heavens with seven
zones. As well we know of God assigning duties by His ‘Amr in each of the seven firmaments. As
well, we can see that the six dispensations may mean a day for each aeon or zone, thus if the
earth is unfolded out of the heavens by the process of ‘ja’ala’ it is the seventh day or firmament and
by mimesis also has seven firmaments. Thus we have a three-fold picture of reality: God’s
Dominion, the dominion of creation, and the particular dominion of earth or the plane of 4
dimensions. Terms of creation of the species or created dominion are: ‘khalaqa’, ‘badaa’, and
‘fatara’. The Terms for enfolding out, or sub-species, of this primary createdness are: ‘ja’ala,
‘anshaa’ and ‘baari’. An example of this total creation process is that of the creation of the ‘Soul’
(Nafsii) by the primary process of ‘khalaqa’; the bringing forth of the ‘mate’ by the secondary
process of ‘ja’ala’ and further creation continua of pairs denoted by the process of ‘anshaa’.

Work Cited:

EI Ed. By Bianquis, Bosworth, van Donzel, Heinrichs “Encyclopedia of Islam”, Leiden 1987.
Chapter 3 – Neo-Platonism in Shi’a Philosophy

By Michael McCarron

Neo-Platonism and Islamic Philosophical Shi’ism:

To begin Plotinus was a 3rd century C.E. philosopher of the Greek tradition, originally an Egyptian
he was born in Alexandria, Egypt and eventually came to study under Ammonius Saccas, also the
teacher of the early Christian philosopher Origen, Plotinus’ contemporary and fellow peer, later he
founded his own philosophical school in Rome. His Eanneads are a collection of essays compiled
by his student Porphyry. They entail his philosophy of emenationalism and mixture of Platonic and
Aristotelian thought. Introduced into the Islamic world as the Theology of Aristotle (Eanneads III-VI)
they have had an impact on theosophy (hikma), theology (kalam) and gnostic
(`irfan) traditions. Farhad Daftary, an authority of great competence on Islamic philosophy, records:

“…Neo-platonism, continuing in the tradition of Greek philosophy, especially that

maintained by the Platonist school, had been founded in the third century A.D. by Plotinus.
After Plotinus, known to Muslims as al-Shaykh al- Yunani, Plotinian philosophy was further
developed by a number of his disciples, notably Porphyry and the latter’s student
Iamblichus. Neoplatonism received its major systematization by the philosopher Proclus, of
the famous Platonic Academy of Athens. It was during the 3rd(A.H.), 9th (C.E.) century, in
the course of translating the philosophical texts of the various Greek masters, that the
Muslims became familiar with the writings of the Neo-platonist and adopted some of their
ideas.”(Daftary, I, pg. 324)

Corbin summarizes the germinal elements of Neo-Platonism in Islam as:

1. The utter transcendence of the First Principle or God

2. The procession or emenation of the things from It

3. The role of Reason as the instrument of God in his creation, the locus of the form of
things, as well as the source of the illumination of the human mind.

4. The position of the Soul at the periphery of the intelligible world and the link or “horizon”
between the intelligible and the sensible worlds.

5. The contempt in which matter was held as the basest creation or emanation from the
One and the lowest rung in the cosmic scale. (Corbin, IP, pg. 18)

In the following we shall see how each of these points has impacted Islam and how it has helped
Islamic philosophers understand and comprehend the revelation of the Prophets in greater
magnitude.The Isma’ili’s sometimes referred to as Seveners, and pejoratively as “Assassins” in the
west, are a sect of Shi’a Islam, most notably they are resident in Central Asia, however they have
been in a position of power in North Africa and the Middle East, and the establishment of the Nizari
Isma’ili State under the leadership of Hasan-i Sabbah in Iran lasted some 160 years in the 11th-
13th centuries (1090-1256 CE). Their philosophical beliefs can be related in a system of an Angelic
Hierarchy or levels of Being, alternatively known as world, spheres, or concourses and resemble
Aristotle’s idea of Being mixed with some Platonic elements of the Ideas. This Hierarchy is
responsible for the establishment of the cosmic order of physical reality. The 19th century
Iranian messianic movement (referred to as the ‘Baha`i’) has it’s roots in Ithna Ashari Shi’a Islam of
19th century (Qajar) Iran. Its principle leaders where Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri (Baha’ Allah) and the
Sayyid Ali-Muhammad, al Bab. al-Bab proclaimed to be a Herald of “Him Whom God shall make
manifest” (man yazhiruhuzzullah) a messianic figure not unlike the Qa’im or Mahdi of other Islamic
eschatological expectations. The Baha`i hold that the world is ordained by God through a
manifestation of God (zuhur) which interprets the Will of God to mankind. It’s Hierocosmic
teachings resemble closely the teachings of the Five Divine Presences found in mystical traditions
of the Sufis, Isma’ilis, and other movements. However, the exact relationship between all these
terms and how each movement uses the term is unique to that particular movement and thus the
Baha`i cosmic hierarchy is unique and sui generis. The writings of Mulla Sadra a respected Shi’a
Muslim thinker have their basis in traditional Shi’a cosmology and the teachings of the sufi teacher
Shaykh Ibn Arabi.

Plotinus’ World

Plotinus posited that reality as we know it was a by-product of emanations having their origin in an
transcendental realm composed of Three Hypostasis these hypostasis where: the One, The Divine
Mind or First Thinker and Thought and the All-Soul or First and Only Principle of Life.

THE ONE: holds the position in most cosmological (christological) schematics as that of the
Father. It is the First, that which stands above all and everything else. And gives power and
breathes life into all others below it.

The One in Eannead V.2.1 is described as

“…all things and no one of them; the source of all things is not all things; and yet it is all
things in a transcendental sense–all things, so to speak, having run back to it: or,
more correc tly, not all as yet are within it, they will be. It is precisely because there is
nothing within the One that all things are from it: in order that being may be brought about,
the source must be no Being but Being’s generator, in what is to be thought of as the
primal act of generation. Seeking nothing, possessing nothing, lacking nothing, the One is
perfect and, in our metaphor, has overflowed,, and it’s exuberance has produced the new;
this product has turned again to it’s begetter and been filled and has become
it’s contemplator and so an Intellectual-Principle.”[ McKenna, PL, pg. 380]

It is also described as not having body nor shape and being above generation or being the creator
an apparent contradiction as it is the First of all things this is where the intermediary role of the
Intellective-Principle or the Projection out of the First takes it’s most important role in standing
between the One and the Third which in actuality is the demiurge or that which forms the lower
hierocsmic emenations and the necessary step inbetween disembodied spirits and embodied
physical nature. The similarities to the Originator of the Isma`ilis is apparent where the The One of
Plotinus is transcendental and no body can contain it so to is the thought of the Isma`ilis in
agreement here. For the Ismailis envision their God as a spiritual essence which is
unapproachable by human conception. It also is reflected in the Hierarchy of Being of the more
common Islamic teaching of the Five Divine Presences, which to this day can be seen reflected in
the teaching’s of Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, as Hahut, who defines Presence as:

“By this Presence (liqa’llah– Ar. meeting) is meant The Presence of Him Who is the
Dayspring of the signs, and Dawning-Place of the clear tokens, and the Manifestation of
the Excellent Names (Lahut), and the Source of the attributes (Jabarut), of the true God,
exalted be His glory. God in His Essence and in His Own Self hath ever been unseen,
inaccessible, and unknowable (Huwahut). By Presence, therefore, is meant the Presence
of the One Who is His Viceregent (Imam) amongs men. He, moreover, hath never had, nor
hath He, any peer or likeness. For were He to have any peer or likeness, how could it then
be demonstrated that His being is exalted above, and His essence sanctified from, all
comparison and likeness.”[ Baha' Allah, KI, pg. 356]

This hierarchy of the Five Divine Presences (Huwahut, Lahut, Jabarut, Malakut and Nasut [see
Sufi Symbolic Cosmology]) which is credited by some scholars to Abu Talib al-Makki (d. 996)
maintains that the Godhead which is ineffable by human standards exists in the realm of Hahut
(derivation of ‘huwa’ or ‘He’) which is beyond Being. It is like the Platonic ‘the One who is One’ and
the Brahma beyond qualities or nirguna brahman. It is reflected in the Qur’anic Surah al-Ikhlas
(sincerity):

“Say: ‘He is God, One God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, and has not
begotten and equal to Him is not any one.” Qur’an 112:1-5

And by Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, the One is characterised as:

“God was, and His creation had ever existed beneath His shelter from the beginning that
hath no beginning, apart from its (creation) being preceded by a Firstness which cannot be
regarded as firstness and originated by a Cause inscrutable even unto all men of learning.”
(Baha’ Allah, BW,, pg. 355)

and in another passage Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, writes of God being above the “Throne
of God” the Isma’ili station of Kuni or Sabiq or the Intellectual-Principle or the Realm of Lahut, he
quotes herein the Qur’an:

“Concerning the Divine Presence there hath been sent down what no denier hath been or
is now able to refute or repudiate. He –blessed and exalted be He–saith: ‘It is God Who
hath reared the heavens without pillars thou canst behold; then mounted His throne, and
imposed laws on the sun and moon: each traveleth to its appointed goal. He ordereth all
things. He maketh His signs clear, that ye may have firm faith in the Presence of your
Lord.’”(Baha’ Allah, BW, pg. 355)

THE INTELLECTUAL-PRINCIPLE:

In the words of Plotinus:

 ” the Divine Thought is a Real Being, the first thing of whom existence may if only in some
vague sense, be affirmed: it is an Intelligence or rather is the Universal-Intelligence. As the
act, offspring, and image of the First, it is a sort of mediation to us of the Unknowable
One.”(McKenna , PL, pg. XXVI)

This Intellectual-Principle is that which is the cause of causes in the Aristotelian sense. It through
it’s own act gives rise to the All-Soul.

Below this One is the Intellectual-Principle which in V.1.4 is:

“the yet more authentic sphere (above the All-Soul): there we are to contemplate all things
as members of the Intellectual–eternal in their own right, vested with a self-springing
consciousness and life–and, presiding over all these, the unsoiled Intelligence and the
unapproachable wisdom. That, Archetypal world is the true Golden Age, age of Kronos,
whose very name suggests Abundance and Intellect (nous). For here is contained all that
is immortal: nothing here but is Divine Mind; all is God; this is the place of every soul…and
everything in that entire content, is Intellectual-Principle entire and Being entire.
Intellectual-Principle by its intellective act establishes Being, which in turn, as the object of
intellection, becomes the cause of intellection and existence to the Intellectual-Principle–
though, of course, there is another cause of intellection which is also a cause to Being,
both rising in a source distinct from either.”(McKenna, PL, pg. 372)

This Intellectual-Principle is the First Principle of the Isma’ili Hierarchy, that is the First Principle
below the One, it is the Universal Intellect and as such it is the archetype of all other emanations
below it as the Third is created through a process of duplication and all other emanations below it
a duplication of the duplication. The cause of intellection in Plotinus is described as the combining
of Kaf-Nun in the Isma’ili cosmos where the command to Be is a Command to think or duplicate, an
act. This also is found in the common Islamic presence of Lahut, which is that realm of Being and
the ‘Personal God (al-Rahman)”, which is embodied in the messenger like Muhammad. Mirza
Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, writes:

“If the wayfarers (salik) goal be the dwelling of the Praiseworthy One (Mahmud) this is the
station (maqam) of primal reason (raja’ bi-`aql) which is known as the Prophet and the
Most Great Pillar (rukn a’zim). Here Reason signifieth the divine, universal mind (‘aql kulli
rabba fiy maqsud) whose soveriegnty enlighteneth all created things (rutbah tarubiyat
imkan)” (Nuri, CV, pg. 53)

From this station God’s manifestation become manifest into the lowest emanation of the Hierarchy.
The realm of Lahut which is the heavenly seat of the Manifestation is interestingly used in the
Arabic for Divinity (lahut) and according to a neo-platonic reading all the Three Hypostasis; the
One, Intellectual-Principle and All-Soul in Isma’ili terms, Mubdi, Sabiq and Tali all would be in the
realm of Divinity, that is to say as higher and lower principles of Lahut (lahutiyyat): Sabiq and Tali,
and as the One seperated even higher than these in the realm of Hahut. It, the First Principle or
Intellectual-Principle is the ‘Throne of God” which can be taken to mean that which sits below the
Divinityhead Himself. It is recorded in the Umm al-Kitab:
 “E questa cupola e lo Spirito Supremo dal vuoto dei mille colori e questo cervello e proprio
come la Terra Bianca che si trova al di sopra dei sette cieli, all stessa maniera che il Mare
di Biancore e sopra ai sette Consessi del Trone [di Dio]. A fede, secondo la parola di Lui–
che sia esaltato!–’Rivelazione disces da Colui che creo la terra ed I cieli sublime. Il
misericordioso e seduto sopra il Trono: a lui appatiene quanto vi ha nei cieli e nella terra
ed in mezzo ai due e sotto allo humus’. cio vale a dire che il Signore e al di sopra del Mare
di Biancore ed il Mare di Biancore e il Trono del Re Sublime–se esaltata la Sua maesta!–
Presso il quale, al di sopra della cupola del Mare di Biancore, Egli ha dispiegato le Huri, I
castelli, I lumi, le lapade, I gilman ed ‘I fanciulli resi eterni–come perle scorinate…”
(Ronconi, UK, pg. 32)

[roughly meaning that the Supreme Spirit is hidden in the Land of Whiteness or Purity.
Next is the Throne in the Sea of White from which descends the revelation to the created
earth. It descends through seven layers or realms]

As this level of Being is the Idealic and archetypal realm this is reflected in an alternative
understanding of the Isma’ili hierarchy where the Seven Cherubim (karibiyyun) are created as the
offspring, so to speak, of Kuni, the First Principle, instead of the higher aspect of the Second
Principle (the Third One) they become the Ideals of the earthly sensual realm, and are the
Differentiated entities within the Second One, where in Isma’ili these seven stand for the seven
intimates of God: Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatima, Hasan, Husayn, Abdu’l, and Abu Talib.

THE ALL-SOUL:

Is the Universal Soul the product of the Intellectual-Principle:

“The Supreme Intellectual Principle cannot be unproductive: accompanying its Act of

Thought there is what we may indicate as an Act of Act: the Divine Thinking engenders a
power apt to the realization of its Thought, apt that is to Creation: this engendered power is
the Third Hypostasis of the Divine Triad.” (McKenna, PL, pg. XXVI)

It is the emanation created by the Second which has two Acts: contemplation of the Higher or
Leading Principle of the Soul ( it is the act of a subject thinking about it’s own object) or the
Celestial Soul. The Lower Soul or Generative (the product of the act of thought), the demiurge of
the lower emanations including Nature. The Logos[i] of the Universe–that all, which in the
Hericletan sense, all else is steered through–or the Reason-Principle of the Universe. The Soul is
resident in Man in three aspects:

1. The intellective Soul (Spirit);

2. The reasoning Soul (scientific);

3. The Unreasoning Soul (animal).

These Three Hypostasis are the members of an Emenation Hierarchy of Being of which all lower
emanations or copies or structures within structures are derivative of. The One is the inaccessible
and stands above Creation, the Second is that of the Intellect as Intellect is needed to form and
shape and guide the soul it stands over the All-Soul it is Real Being and the Archetypal world of the
Ideas is at this level of True Reality. Below this is the All-Soul, the twin beams of light of the
Zoroastrian mythos which is one; the contemplative intelligence of the Soul and two; the creator or
demiurge of the lower realms of the lesser emenations from the principle of the All-Soul.

The All-Soul is that according to Plotinus in V.1.3. is,

“Soul, for all the worth we have shown to belong to it is yet a secondary, and image of the
Intellectual-Principle: reason uttered is an image of reason stored within the Soul, and in
the same way soul is an utterance of the Intellectual-Principle: it is even the total of its
activity, the entire stream of life sent forth by that Principle to the production of further
being; it is the forthgoing heat of a fire which has also heat essentially inherent. But within
the supreme we must see energy not as an overflow but in the double aspect of integral
inherence with the establishment of a new Being. Sprung, in other words, from the
Intellectual-Principle, soul is intellective, but with an intellection operating by the method of
reasoning; for its perfecting it must look to that Divine Mind, which may be thought of as a
father watching over the development of his child born imperfect in comparison with
himself.” (McKenna, PL, pg. 37)

Here we are reminded of the primordial stuff of Hericletus, the fire, which is the energy bearing the
logos; the logic of the heat of the fire the reasoning principle of the lower realms which is itself
conditioned by it’s higher principle the Intellectual-Principle and is the product of that Principle. In
this way too the Isma’ili idea of Tali, the Second Principle below the One, created out of duplication
of the First Principle which this second as tablet is written upon by the pen and the logic is
conditioned by that writing for the rest of the lower angelic realms and on down tell it reaches the
concrete expression written in the stone of sensual worldly existence. As Plotinus writes:

“Yet the offspring of the Intellectual-Principle must be a Reason-Principle, that is to say, a

substantial existence (hypostasis) identified with the principle of deliberative thought: such
then is that (higher Soul) which circles about the Divine Mind, Its light, it’s image
inseparably attached to it: on the upper level united with it, filled from it, enjoying it,
participant in its nature, intellective with it, but on the lower level in contact with the realm
beneath itself, or rather, generating in turn an offspring which must lie beneath; of this
lower we will treat later; so far we deal still with the Divine.”(McKenna, PL, pg. 406)

The Active Intellect, for the Isma’ilis, is the vehicle for the transmission of the logos or Word of God
(kalam Allah) which becomes the cement holding each limit (hadd) to each other. Mirza Husayn-
’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, writes regarding this Third One (Reason-Principle, Logos, Command of God,
All-Soul, Tali):

“Only those will attain to the knowledge of the Word of God that have turned unto Him, and
repudiated the manifestations of Satan. Thus God hath reaffirmed the law of the day of His
Reveleation, and inscribed it with the pen of power upon the mystic Tablet hidden beneath
the veil of celestial glory.” (Baha’ Allah, BW, Kitab-i Iqan, pg. 106)
 “Know thou, moreover, that the Word of God–exalted be His glory–is higher and far
superior to that which the senses can perceive, for it is sanctified from any property or
substance. It transcendeth the limitations of known elements and is exalted above all the
essential and recognized substances. It became manifest without any syllable or sound
and is none but the Command of God which pervadeth all created things. It hath never
been withheld from the world of being. It is God’s all pervasive grace, fromwhich all grace
doth emanate. It is an entity far removed above all that hath been and shall be.”(Baha’
Allah, BW, Lawh-i Hikmat, Pg. 241)

“Every thing must needs have an origin and every building a builder. Verily, the Word of
God is the cause (kun yafakun) which hath preceded the contingent world–a world which is
adorned with the splendours of the Ancient of Days, yet is being renewed and regenerated
at all times. Immeasurably exalted is the God of Wisdom Who hath raised this sublime
structure.” (Baha’ Allah, BW, Lawh-i Hikmat, pg. 241)

Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, describes the Tablet (lawh-i mahfuz) in the same terms of the
Isma’ilis as being beneath the second principle or that which is the ‘Glory of the Lord’. This third
One is the Logos of the Universe and is creative and forms in the same function as the demiurge.

Thus from the descriptions of Plotinus we can corroborate a close similarity to Isma’ili
Hierocsmological thinking in that the One is Mubdi, the Intellectual-Principle is Sabiq and the All-
Soul is Tali; for the Bahai Symbolic cosmology the One is God, and resident in the realm of Hahut;
Sabiq is the higher of the realm of Lahut, and refered to as glory (baha’); and the Third is the Logos
or demiurge originated in the Intellectual-Principle seated in the Third One which is independent
and is the ‘Tablet’ beneath the ‘Pen of Glory’, but also, resident in the realm of Lahut. Also, Plotinus
shows how the Three Hypostasis coordinate to the Greek Pantheon of Ouranos, Kronos, and
Zeus.

“Zeus (Universal Soul) is in this a symbol of him. Zeus who is not content with the
contemplation of his father (Kronos, Divine Intellect) but looks to that father’s father (to
Ouranos, the Transcendent) as what may be called the divine energy working to the
establishment of real being.”

So that now if one wanted the Greek myth with the beliefs of the Isma’ili symbolic cosmology it
would be easy to see the comparison between Ouranos as a being of the realm of Hahut and the
Isma’ili Mubdi, and Kronos as a being of Lahut and compared to Sabiq and Zeus as the
comparable counterpart to Tali, the Universal Soul. Another interesting comparison is that of
Zoroastrianism as R.C. Zaehner points out:

“The main doctrines preached by the Prophet Zoroaster….There is a supreme Deity who is
creator of all things both spiritual and material. He thinks his creation into existence by his
Holy Spirit: he is holy and righteous, and by holiness are also understood creativeness,
productivity, bounty, and generosity. He is surrounded by six other entities of which he is
said to be the father and Creator. There can be said to be inseparable from his own
essence–the Holy Spirit through which he creates, the Good Mind (akin to Nous), and
Truth (akin to Reason-Principle), He dwells in his Kingdom, which means, no doubt, that
 he is absolute Lord of all that he has created–a kingdom which is now marred by the
onslaughts of evil but which will be restored to its purity in the last days.” (Zaehner, Z, pg.
60)

The Isma’ili World The Isma’ili’s take their name from Isma’il the son of the sixth Imam, Jafir Sadiq.
The Isma’ilis of Central Asia have at the base of their view of the world (`alam) a system of
Hierocosmic Emenations like the system of Plotinus they have the One as the Father or prime
originator (mubdi) from the Absolute One goes forth the command (Gr. Logos, Ar. Kalima or Amr)
this command through the intentions of God (mashi’a) and His Will (irada) creates the divine
command Kaf-Nun or BE, this divine light is reflected through duplication in the principle of Kuni
and Qdr. Kuni is the correlary to the Universal Intelligence, the Intellectual-Principle known as
Sabiq or the ‘pen’ it is the First Principle, the light of God which creates the Second Principle;
likewise, it is also called the ‘Spirit of Glory” (ruhani baha’) also, it is the “Throne of God” (arsh).
The Second Principle which is that of Qdr or Tali which is the tablet of God or that which is written
upon by the pen (qalam) of God. This product of the First Principle is the Universal Soul of Isma’ili
belief and is correlary to the All-Soul of Plotinus. One may speculate that the lower emenations of
this Symbolic cosmology is like that of the dividing into two acts of the All-Soul where Kuni-Qdr
become reflected as two aspects of the Third Station of Tali, the lower aspect of Qdr creates out of
it’s light the Twelve Spiritual ranks of angels and Kuni, as the higher aspect creates Seven
Cherubs. And both together create a mediation Pentad composed of the elements of Imagination
(khayal), esoteric interpretation (fath), enunciation of shari’a (jadd), principle of consciousness and
understanding (‘aql) and soul (nafs); each of which corresponds to the Angelic persons of Kuni,
Qdr, Mikhail, Israfil, and Gabriel. This pentad now becomes responsible for the creation of the
lower emenations below it and the natural cosmic order. It may be said that Qdr becomes the
demiurge as the Third station and that the pentad is the tool of the demiurge to create the natural
cosmos keeping in line with Plotinus’s vision of the world and Real Being. The cosmology of the
Isma’ilis is contained in it’s earliest known codification in the works of Abu ‘Isa al-Murshid (4th
century A.H./ 10th C.E.) he writes:

“He (God) existed when there was no space, no eternity (dahr) no time (zaman), no things
occupying space and no minutae of time. When He conceived a will and a wish (irada wa
mashi’a), He created (kalaqa) a light (nur) and produced out of this light a creature (khalq).
This light remained for some length of its eternity not knowing whether it was a creator or a
created thing. Then Divinity breathed into it a spirit and directed at it a voice: ‘Be’ (kun
yafaqun), thus it came into being with God’s permission. All things were made by Divinity
through creating them (mubda’atan) from the letters kaf and nun (making the word ‘kun’).
There is bringing-into-being, and a thing which is brought-into-being, one who brings-into-
being, and a thing which is brought-into-being. Then there is God (wa takuwwna wa
makuwwna wa kan shum allah). Then through the waw and the ya’, which became a name
for what is above it, calling it there for ‘kuni’.Then the command (amr) of the Creator of all
things went to kuni: ‘Create for yourself out of your own light a creature to act for you as a
vizier (wazir) and helper and to carry out our command”. Thus it created a creature out of
its light and gave it a name, calling it qadar. Through kuni God broght to being (kawwana)
all things, and through qadar He determined (qaddara) them.” (Stern, SI, pg. 18)

In this passage we see that there are several key elements of the Isma’ili creation story. It is first a
creation acted by God. It differs not in the basic ideas of creation but in the manner of the creation
through what is known as Kuni. It is Kuni out of which Qdr is created or emenated. It is important
that Kuni brings into existence in the sense of prime matter and Qdr proportions all creations in the
sense of reason.The rest of the hierocosmic account is also noted by al-Murshid:

“Kuni consist of four letter (ahruf), qadar of three, which makes seven letters. This
indicates that when he (kuni) had created qadar, he created out of the light which is
between itself and qadar seven Cherubim (karubi), giving them esoteric names (‘asma
batinah) the meaning (ma’ani) of which can only be understood by the Friends (‘awliya) of
God (peace be upon them) and the sincere believers (mu’iminiyn husana) who follow
them. These names are: ‘azama (might), ‘izza (glory), huda (right guidance), baha’
(splendour), ra’fa (mercy), ‘amr (command), mu’tamar. (counsel). (Stern, SI, pg. 19)

It is clear in this passage that the Seven Cherubim are emenated out of the Light of Kuni and that
this emenation consists of relationship to the inherent design of Kuni being based on the
numerological archetype within the term ‘to be’. Angelology plays an important part in Theological
Neo-Platonism as shall be seen. Along with this Symbolic cosmology of the Isma’ilis are the
various teachings I think are addressed in the Eannead under consideration. The doctrine of ta’wil
related to Intellectual Beauty and inner and outer realities of the Idealic and the Sensual are
expressed vertically in the Isma’ili belief system of the typos of the soul in heaven with it’s manifest
earthly correspondence (Idea/Form); horizontally this is expressed as zahir and batin, outer and
inner reality in the entity itself. This has been known as the Primal Man, the universal Adam and his
earthly counterpart the ‘Adam juizi’. Or as Daftary defines him as the ‘qutb’, the pole, or most
perfect human being of Islamic mysticism the ‘al-insan al-kamil’. For the Baha`i this would be the
station of the Bab, the pole of the world who is to revolutionize the world. As Mirza Husayn-’Ali
Nuri, Baha’ Allah, has written:

“The sign of the invisible heaven must needs be revealed in the person of that perfect man
who, before each Manifestation appeareth, educateth, and prepareth the souls of men for
the advent of the divine Luminary, the Light of the unity of God amongst men.” (Baha’
Allah, WB, Kitab-i Iqan, pg. 85)

The Isma’ili Symbolic Cosmology: In addition to this Creative Hierarchy is the Hierarchy of the
Firmaments. Where the absolute unknowability and seperateness of God is expressed in the
identification of the realm of Ilahiyat (Divinity) with Gods Essence (dhat), with a descending list of
hierachical order assigned to each realm which signifies Gods knowledge and Gods Command
(‘Amr). The Umm al-Kitab records that:

“E questo Spirito secondo la Sua Essenzialita Divino (ba-ilahit), che e stata detta; secondo
la Sua Essenzialita Luminosa (ba-nuranit), e il Sole (logos); secondo la Sua Essenzialita
Spirituale (ba-ruhanit) il Suo nome e Cosciente…” (Ronconi, UK, pg. 41)[and this Spirit
according to the Divine Essentiality, since the word states, according to the Essential
Lights, it is the Sun, according to the Essential Spirit it is His Rational Name]

It is seen that the Essential Divinity of God is symbolized in the realm of Ilahiyyat which is
analogous to the typical Iranian hierarchy of Huwahut. Gods Essential Light is identified with the
realm of Nuranit it is symbolised in the allegorical writing of the Umm al-Kitab as The Sun (a il Sole)
it is commented on by Pio Filippani-Ranconi as the Logos or ‘Amr of God– here the Sun is
analagous to the Spirit and the Spirit is the embodiment of the Logos (logos endiathetos),
understood as such it is the stage of the “Kuni”–the first projection of God’s Will. Below this realm is
that of Ruhuniyyat (Spirit) which is identified in the allegory as being Conscience (cosciente) or as
the Word (logos prophorikos). The Kalima’llah, it is at this stage that the ‘Point’ (natiq) is identifed
with the Prophet of God. Below these are lesser realms, including Lahut. It is written in this
passage that Spirit (Ruah) is second to all these Essentialities. It may be suggested by the context
that all these realms– Ilahiyyat, Nuraniyyat, Ruhaniyyat– are not realms to be identified with any
created realm. Which would mean in a way all these realms are identified with Huwahut or Lahut of
the Bahai and Sufi Hierarchy we shall see in a later section. ‘Allamah Nasir al-Din Hunzai defines
Uluhiyatt as,

“The third part of the ‘Fatihah’ is about divinity or uluhiyyat and this is hidden in the word
‘God’. The word ‘God’ which originally was ‘al-ilah’, is the definite form of ‘ilah’, but
because of frequent usage it became ‘God’, which thus is derived from ‘ilah’.[divinity] The
word ‘God’ is mostly used in the sense of Divinity. Sometimes it also means Worshipped
and in fact this is it’s original meaning….”(Hunzai, Ibadut, pg. n/a )

Interesting also is the following passage:

“Ora questo principe dei miscredenti per ben sette volte nego che avesse creato tutti gli
altri Divini Consessi: quei sette colori splendenti, ognuno dei quali e di mille e mille tonalita
diverse, Salman gli tolse ad ognuno dei sette diwan: un colore per il Divino Consesso dell-
Ilahit, uno per il Divino Consesso ed il velame in cui se manifesta la Malakutit, uno nella
cortina della Rabubit, uno nel mare della Gabarutiyyyat, uno nei mari della Lahutit, uno per
la distesa della Nuranit ed uno per la manifestation dell Ruhunit…”(Ronconi tr., UK, pg. 75)

According to this passage in each of the presences or realms of God there is a 1000 colors of
resplendent diverse hues. Through which Salman must combat the evil Iblis and expell him from
each realm to the earthly realm which is his prison. Later we shall see how this earthly realm of
matter is considered evil and we see in Isma’ilism the symbolic representation of this Neo-Platonic
belief. In regards to the orthodox Islamic idea of Seven realms with a command in each realm we
can see in the story of the Mi’raj of Muhammad (the Night Journey) the representation of similiar
ideas as that regarding Hierocosmic thought it is recorded in the Sahih al-Bukhari:

:”[narrated by Abu Dhar] God’s Apostle said, ‘While I was at Mecca the roof of my house
was opened and Gabriel descended, open my chest, and washed it with zam-zam water.
Then he brought a golden tray full of wisdom and faith and having poured its contents into
my chest, he closed it. Then he took my hand and ascended with me to the nearest
heaven, when I reached the nearest heaven, Gabriel said to the Gatekeeper of the
Heaven, ‘Open (the gate).’ The gatekeeper asked, ‘Who is it?’ Gabriel replied, ‘Gabriel’. He
asked, ‘Is there anyone with you?’ Gabriel replied ‘Yes, Muhammad is with Me.’ he asked,
‘Has he been called?’ Gabriel said, ‘Yes’. So the gate was opened and we went over to the
nearest heaven and there we saw a man sitting with some people on his right and some
on his left. When he looked towards his right, He laughed and when He looked toward His
left he wept. Then he said, ‘Welcome! O pious prophet and pious son.’ I asked Gabriel,
 ‘Who is He He replied, ‘He is Adam and the people on His right and left are the souls of
His offspring. Those on his right are the people of Paradise and those on his left are the
people of Hell and when he looks towards his right he laughs and when he looks towards
his left he weeps.’Then he ascended with me till he reached the second heaven and he
said to its Gatekeeper, ‘Open (the gate).’ The gate keeper said to him the same as the
Gatekeeper of the first heaven had said and he opened the gate.Anas said: ‘Abu Dhar
added that the prophet met Adam, Idris, Moses, Jesus and Abraham, he did not mention
on which heaven they were but he mentioned that he met Adam on the nearest heaven
and Abraham on the sixth heaven……..Then Gabriel took me till we reached Sidrat-ul-
Muntaha (the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundry) which was shrouded in Colours,
Indescribable. Then I was admitted into Paradise where I found small (tents) or walls
(made) of pearls and its earth was of musk.”

We see that in this hadith that the Prophet was guided into the seven heavens where he saw
therein a Commander for each heaven and that in the ultimate experience of this episode, similar
to the Isma’ili symbolic cosmos that the veil of the Tree of Life (Tree of Wisdom in Judaic
mysticism, possibly the Manifestation of God in the Baha`i tradition) that it is engulfed by the
wondrous spectacle of many colored veil and that Paradise is comprised of walls made of pearls
which resemble the spheres or lights of the Isma’ili mythic epic. The Isma’ili idea of an Imam of the
Time in each realm is similiar to Qur’an 41:12 which describes God assigning a command for each
of the seven firmaments. Of course we can also see the similarity in the Mi’raj. It may be the
rationale for the Isma’ili representation for the Seven ‘Nutqs’ as well as Seven ‘Dahrs’ (durations) in
the cyclical history of Isma’ilism, this also is rationalized in the Umm al-Kitab with the explication of
seven episodes of expulsion of Iblis from the heavenly realms of the Symbolic cosmology.

Ibn `Arabi’s School:

The school of Ibn Arabi, an 12th century sufi theosophist, taught a neo-platonic schema as well.
His student al-Kashani explicated on this schema as well incoprorating the First Intelligence and
Universal Soul, or the All-Soul:

“Above is God, the One, the Alone; from him proceeds, by a dynamic emanation, the
Universal Reason (al-aql al-awwal), called also the Primary or Universal Spirit (al-ruh al-
awwal) and the Highest Knowledge (al-`ilm al-a’la). This is a spiritual substance and the
first of the properties which the divine essence implies. From it two other substances are
produced, one spiritual (ruhaniyya) which is the substance of the world of the Universal
Reason, considered as apart from God and inhabited by particular intelligences, somewhat
as fractions of the Universal Reason, which are the angels of revealed religion; the other is
psychical, being the Universal Soul (nafs). Finally come the material elements with their
natural forces and laws. In the Universal Reason are the types of all things, as universals
and this Reason, with its types is known directly by God. God’s omnipotence (qahiriyya) is
manifested through these angels or Intelligences and their world is therefore call the World
of Power (‘alam al-qudra). But they also, in their perfection, repair the imperfections of
other beings. Their world again, therefore is called the World of Repairing (`alam al-
Jabarut). Some, however, take the other sense of the root jabar and render it, the World of
Constraint, because they constrain other being towards perfection. This world is also
 called the Mother of the Book (umm al-Kitab; Qur’an 13:39; 43:4) from it comes all
knowledge of divine mysteries, it is above all fetters of time and change. The world of the
Universal Soul, on the other hand called the World of Ruling (`alam al-malakut), is a step
nearer the particular, material world. The types which exist in the Universal Reason
becomeing its general conceptions, and these are further specialized, determined. limited,
brought near to what we know by being engraved on the individual reasonable souls,
which are the souls of the heavenly bodies, coresponding to the Angelic Intelligences, the
fraction of the Universal Reason. This world, from it’s likeness to the human imagination,
is called the Imagination of the world (khayal al-`alam) and the Nearer Heavean (al-sama’
al-dunya). From it issue all being in order to appear in the World of Sense (`alam al-
shahada), it moves and directs everything, measuring out matter and assigning causes.
The heavenly bodies, then, have reasonable souls just like our own, these are the
imaginative faculties of the particular reasonable souls, into which the Universal Soul
divides. On their changes all change in this world below depends.” (“`Abd al-Razzak al-
Kashani”, EI, pg. 89, D. B. McDonald)

Thus from the One is derived Universal Reason, the Intellectual Principle and thus Universal Soul
and Angelic Intelligences.

Adam and Cyclical Time in Isma’ili Thought:

Time (zaman) plays an integral part in the cosmology of Isma’ilism. In fact, it is the only Islamic
interpretation that integrates the concept of time to the extent that it does. In the “Hermetic”
traditions of Empodocles and Pythagoras time is thought of as recurring. The Pythogorean doctrine
of the eternal return recounts that all that has existed exists now. It was the belief that time was a
continuous cyclical loop as pictured in the Orobus snake eating it own tail. Likewise, in Isma’ilism
time is cyclical and proceeds through periods (dahr) of duration each duration accorded to a ‘nutq’
or prophet begining with Prophet Adam to Prophet Muhammad. Adam is known as the Third
Intelligence, as corollary to the ‘mate’ and manifest on a lower level of the higher Qdr that which
gives measure to time the duration of time. This Heavenly Archetype of Adam is known as ‘Adam
Ruhani’ or the Spiritual Adam in the mystical allegory. In the Isma’ili interpretation of the fall of
Adam from the garden of Paradise (firdaus, jannat) it is recounted that Adam falls from His position
as the Third Intelligence to the rank of the Tenth Intelligence, the earthly plane. Thus becoming the
archetype for each prophet of each age He is ‘adam al-awwal al-kulli’. He is to be distinguished
from the ‘Adam juizi’ who inaugurates the entire process with Eve. This Adam is simultaneously the
epiphanic form (Arabic: mazhar, mirror or manifestation) and the Veil of the Celestial Adam (adam
ruhani) His own cycle was one of ephiphany (dahr al-kashf, unveiling). Each prophetic adam
appears with 27 companions with 12 deputies. The seven ranks ‘adam al-awwal al-kulli’ falls
through become the seven periods of the cyclical time. Each revelation brings Adam to a Higher
Intelligence until He reaches that station (maqamat) that He descended from. With each epiphanic
dispensations conclusion with the ascension of the prophet a period of ‘satr’ (hiddeness) is begun
until the descension of the next prophetic adam.

The Divine Pentad:

In the Isma’ili system of emenation there is a conjunction of five hypostatic entelechia known
collectively as the Divine Pentad: Fath–esoteric interpretation, Khayal– imaginative faculty, Jadd–
enunciation of Shari’a, ‘aql–principle of consciousness and understanding, intelligence and nafs–
soul. Together they form the ‘alam al-mithal or symbolic archetypal world. An archetype is defined
as “in modern times, the term has been used to refer to fundamental structures in man’s psyche as
well as in his religious life. In either sense, an archetype is a pattern that determines human
experience (whether on a conscious or an unconscious level) and makes itself felt as something
both vital and holy”.[ER, "Archetype"] Plotinus the archetype was the ordering system for the
expression of the divine in nature. Thus the Divine Pentad is a heavenly symbol of the sign that is
each human soul. These five are resident in the psychologies of the individual and help in the
ta’wil–interpretation for the rendering of the Qur’an in batini terms. It is envinced by using the way
of the Hikma Ilahiyuh or Divine Philosophy. If we are to separate the five out in terms of quality of
function then we would have three groups:

1. Intellective: ‘Aql and Fath,

2. Power: Nafs and Khayal,

3. Logos: Jadd.

There is a axis between higher and lower functions like a human mind with autonomic and
cerebrum which in turn has a two fold division the axis being jadd; the higher is ‘aql and nafs and
lower fath and khayal. It would be parallel to the division in the monad of kalima (jadd), kaf (‘aql),
nun (nafs), kuni ( khayal) and qdr (fath). Jadd establishes a structure or framework or schematic
where the intelligence (‘aql) is empowered by soul (nafs) to duplicate kuni-qdr (fath and khayal) the
pen and tablet which creates a portrait of the schematic drawing of the jadd which in turn becomes
a new structure or sketch for the additional portraits thereof. Jadd is the catalyst to another level of
artistic or intellective creation and that creation becomes the catalyst to further creations based on
the first sketch. One could also see a similarity to the Sufi doctrine regarding the five lata’if[ii].

“…Divino Consesso, soto la specie di cinque immagini risplendenti, le quali presso gli
uomini sono denominate: Intelleto (‘aql), Anima (nafs), Vittoria (fath), Gloria (jadd),
Immaginazione (hayal)…e l’Angel a schiera a schiera…Queste centoventiquattromila aure
luminose in questo Divino Consesso sono altrettanto luminose a splendenti quanto
centomila lune e soli misti a rosso…” (Ranconi, UK, pg. 51)

(the Divine Concourse, gives 5 resplendent images, they dominate over humanity: Intellect
(‘aql), Anima (nafs), Vittoria (fath), Glory (jadd), Immagination (khayal)…and the Angel light
upon light…With 154,000 luminous lights in which the Divine Concourse is bathed in
luminosity resplendent with 100,000 lights of mystic suns a rosa)

Symbolically the Divine Pentad is embodied in the Angelic Beings of Salman, Michael, Azriel, Israfil
and Ba Huraira or as the Intimates of God: Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn.
Symbolically ‘Ali is married to Fatima; that is, creative imagination to esoteric interpretation and
only through these faculties can the ta’wil have power to interpret the sacred word, thus only
through these can the Command of God (Muhammad) be understood, thus the Reason-Principle of
‘Ali and Fatima, embodied in the Isma’ili Imam, is the means of making the Shari’a understood to
the community. In this way the feminine is married to the masculine (the dark-eyed huri’s married
to the faithful). The pentad can also be seen in Sufi thought on the microcosmic level where the
pentad is embodied within each individual self. The Sufis of the Naqshbandi order, specifically,
Mujaddidi, taught that there where subtle (lata’if) organs in each person, it was considered a
spiritual rather than physical organ for perceiving the divine in creation. These five organs where
known as Qalb (heart), Ruh (soul), Sirr (secret), Khafi (hidden), and Nafs (animal self). The Imam,
throughout the religious history, is present and at times in occultation, which necessitates the
return of the Imam to commence a resurrection in preperation for the announcement of a new
Shari’a; these periods are known as dawr-i kashf–period of manifestation, dawr-i satr–period of
concealment, dawr-i qiyama–period of resurrection, and finaly the qiyam-i qiyamat–resurrection of
resurrections. This can be expressed in the aspect of time of zaman or religious history as the
announcement of Shari’a by Muhammad as the jadd aspect of the Pentad, the intelligence and
soul of the world in the new revelation with the interpretation of that revelation in the position of the
Imam, a marriage between esoteric interpretation and imaginative intellect (fath and khayal).From
the point of view of the Isma’ilis reality is divided into three levels the zahir (outer), the batin (inner)
and the haqa’iq (tthe inner and true reality, that Intellectual Beauty ascribed Truth by Plotinus). This
can be visualized by the structure of a tree, the bark, the inner layer and finally the hardwood of the
trees interior. These levels of reality are related in the hierarchy of the religious community which is
emenated out of the Pentad, there are seven prophetic cycles; corresponding to the horizontal
emenation at the same magnitude of a given realm. In each of these cycles there is the hierarchy
of the community which reflects the symbolic Divine Pentad:

Natiq– speaking prophet who reveals the Shari’a

Samit or Asas– interprets the shari’a according to the rules of ta’wil, the unchangeable
truths were the exclusive sovereignty of the pure Imam.

Imam or Wasi- guarded the true meaning of the scriptures and laws in both their zahir and
batini aspects

Hujja or the Proof– maintained control of the Da’is.

Da’i– Isma’ilis re-interpreted the Shi’i principle of taqi to include guarding against their
secret teachings from falling into the hands of the unauthorized person, the da’is protected
and preached the message.

Based on the archetypes of the Pentad the process of the revealed Shari’a was to culminate in the
transformation of the religious community with specific functions assigned to different layers of the
Spiritual and Religious Hierarchy. This transformation has been summed up in the words of one
researcher as:

” in short, the passage from zahir to batin, from shari’a to haqi’qa, from tanzil (outer form of
the letter) to ta’wil, entailed the passage from the appearance to the true reality, from the
letters of the revelation to the inner message behind them, and from the symbol to the
symbolized. It corresponded to a passage from the world of phenomenon to the world of
 noumenon. The initiation into the haqa’iq, attained through the ta’wil or ta’wil al-batin…The
tawil, translated also as spiritual hermeneutics or hermeneutic exegesis.” (Daftary, I, pg.
98)

Thus also, the Pentad served as archetype for the function of emenation and spiritual
transformation. The emenations of other realms is accomplished through the power of the Active
Intellect of which the Pentad is the substantial existence. Each of the Five is a part of the Active
Intellect:Jadd; ‘Aql; Nafs; Khayal; Fath = al-`Aql al-Fa`il (understanding = active intelligence).

Monad and Dyad:

An issue for contemplation would be that of the Monad (unity) and Dyad (diversity) how duality
comes out of unicity. In Islam a firm belief is in the Unity (tawhid) of God and any conception, as
sometimes perceived in Christianity by the Muslim onlooker, of dividing God, the One, into three
stations is to be considered shirk or illicit. Separating the conception of Divinity (lahut) into active
(dyad) and inactive (monad or essential) categories shows how God can be unitary and in His
essential aspect and active in His attributes (sifah) revealed through the acts of the Intellectual-
Principle which enfolds out of the One as an act and in the All-Soul as the heat which emenates
the realms of th lower half, as the Act of Act, of the Hierocosmos. It is important to understand the
philosophical operation of subject/object designation to understand these basic points. A thinker is
the subject of thought, the actor, the object of thought is the loci of the thinkers contemplation and
the process of thought is the act of the thinker. Thus, any results of the subjects act of
contemplation of an object are referred to as Ideas. Plotinus writes regarding the monad and dyad
that

“the dyad has come into being, but the precedent monad still stands; and this monad is
quite distinct within the dyad from either of the two constituent unities, since there is
nothing to make it one rather than the other: being neither, but simply that thing apart, it is
present without being inherent.”[ McKenna, PL, pg. 407]

and

“The Dyad is a secondary; deriving from unity, it finds in unity the determinant needed by
its native indetermination; once there is any determnination, there is Number, in the sense
of course, of the real (the archetypal) Number…Thus by what we call the Number and the
dyad of that higher realm, we mean Reason-Principles and the Intellectual-Principle:
but while the Dyad is undetermined–representing, as it were, the underlie (or Matter) of
the Intellectual World–the number which rises from the Dyad and The One is always a
Form-Idea: thus the Intellectual-Principle is, so to speak, shaped by the Ideas rising within
it–or rather, it is shaped in a certain sense by the One and is another sense by itelf, since
its potential vision becomes actual and intellection is, precisely, an act of vision in which
the subject and object are identical.”[ Mckenna, PL, pg. 373]

Thus we have the unity safegaurded in the Monad which the Dyad is a Duality which enfold out of
the previous monad by power of the act of intellection. We start at the level of unicity of the One
then enfolding out through the act of intellection the first half of the dyad comes into being, the
Intellectual-Principle and further down through the determination of Number of Divinity the All-Soul
takes its place among the Three. Additionally below the level of the present dyad is a further
intellective division in the All-Soul which brings about the further emenation of the lower cosmos.
Which brings us to the question of the Origin of the Hierocsmos itself out of the Three initial
Hypostasis.

In the writings of Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, we can see similar motifs:

“We have already in the foregoing pages assigned two stations unto each of the
Luminaries arising from the Daysprings of eternal holiness. One of these stations, the
station of essential unity, We have already explained. ‘No distinction do We make
between any of them.’ (Qur’an 2:136) The other is the station of distinction, and pertaineth
to the world of creation and to the limitations thereof In this respect, each Manifestation of
God hath a distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission, a predestined Revelation,
and specially designated limitations. Each one of them is known by a different name, is
characterized by a special attribute, fullfills a definite Mission, and is entrusted with a
particular Revelation.”[ Baha' Allah, BW, Kitab-I-Iqan, pg. 125]

“That which hath been in existence had existed before, but not in the form thou seest
today. The world of existence came into being through the heat generated from the
interaction between the active force and that which is its recipient. These two are the
same, yet they are different. Thus doth the Great Announcement inform thee about this
glorious structure. Such as communicate the generating influence and such as receive its
impact are indeed created through the irresistible Word of God which is the Cause of the
entire creation, while all else besides His Word are but the creatures and the effects
therof. Verily thy Lord is the Expounder, the All-Wise.”[ Nuri, BW, Lawh-i-hikmat pg. 241]

We have the station of the Prophet as a unity, a monad, and out of this monad through
differentiation a number of prophets manifest into the realm of existence along different intervals of
the linear time line (zaman afaqi) each individual prophet has His unique attributes and activity of
revealing a shari’a of His age. This monad/dyad aspect is exhibited in the other passage as the
aspect of an inactive and active force the active force the act of differentiation and the inactive the
monad of the enfolded order, that which is whole within itself not yet unfolded into a existence
below it’s current stasis. In this way we see how physical reality is the three times removed (if not
more) stasis of the original act of the Original Stasis or Enfolded One, the Monad, Undifferentiated
Substance. The Word of God again is the catalyst or the mover of the emenation, the effecient
cause, the act which is differentiation.

In the Ismaili cosmos the belief that Sabiq, the Universal Intellect creates an angelic realm of
Seven Cherubim which inturn have their earthly correspondents. These Ideals within the Universal

Intellect have their individual Ideas attributed to them as embodied in differing functions of the
archangels. In the Umm al-Kitab we read:

“Questi Sette e Dodici si trovano ne velame dei sette Angeli, Che sono il simbolo delle
sette lettere di bismi’l-lahi, cioe Salman e Miqdad e Ba-Darr e Ammar e Ba Huraira e Ba
 Gundab e Ba Kumail. I seete Velami e Cortine sono venuti ad essere da questi Sette e
Dodici”[ Ronconi, UK, pg. 34-35]

(These Seven and Twelve form the the veil of the Seven Archangels, they symbolize the
seven letters of Bismallah, these are Salman…)

In Plotinus we see a similar idea,

” So too the objects of intellection (the ideal content of the Divine Mind)–identical in virtue
of the self-concentration of the principle which is their common ground–must still be
distinct each from another; this distinction constitutes Difference. The Intellectual Cosmos
thus a manifold, Number and Quantity arise: Quality is the specific character of each of
these Ideas which stand as the principles from which all else derives.”[ McKenna, PL, pg.
373]

So here Difference constitutes the individual cherubs and Quality is the virtue of each of these
individual archangels and the specific function they serve. Likewise in Ismaili cosmological thinking
of this type the Seven become symbolised in the typology of Spheres or worlds of God, similiar to
the idea of the realms of God in the writings of Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri. Each world having a
specific quality and differing from the other spheres in the manner of which of the seven virtues is
more emphatically displayed by the given sphere even though all the virtues are present in each of
these differing realms. So that downwards or upwards differing levels of emenation are
accomplishded as Plotinus explains:

“The Supreme in its progress could never be borne forward upon some souless vehicle
nor even directly upon the Soul: it will be heralded by some ineffable beauty: before the
great King in his progress there comes first the minor train, then rank by rank the greater
and more exalted, closer to the King the kinglier; next his own honoured company until,
last among all these grandeurs, suddenly appears the Supreme Monarch himself, and all–
unless indeed for those who have contented themselves with the spectacle before his
coming and gone away–prostrate themselves and hail him.”[McKenna, PL, pg. 405-6]

An Isma’ili reading of this passage would place Sabiq as the ineffable beauty , the minor train the
earthly believers, the ranks the limits or concourses in the heavens, honoured company the vahid
or one; comprised of the saying “BismGod ar-rahman ar-rahim”, and then the Supreme Monarch
of the One (alternatively this might be viewed as the Sabiq appearing out of the honoured
company). So we see that the Hierocosmos becomes inundated with manifold realms of
emenations preceding downward through the hierarchy of being till we reach the level of Nature.
Plotinus alludes to Nature with it’s correllary in the Isma’ili hierarchy of the “Blue Sphere” and in
the Baha’i hierarchy as Nasut as “still remains pregnant with this offspring; for it has, so to speak,
drawn all within itself again, holding them lest they fall away towards Matter to be brought up in the
House of Rhea (in the realm of flux).”[ McKenna, PL, pg. 376] And Mirza Husayn-’Ali writes “We
accidentally came upon the story of the ‘Mir’aj’ of Muhammad, of Whom was spoken: ‘But for Thee
I would not have created the spheres’”…How well and true is the saying: Flingest thou thy
calumnies unto the face of Them Whom the one true God hath made the Trustees of the treasures
of His seventh sphere.”[ Baha' Allah, BW, pg. 86, The Kitab-i-Iqan]
The letter uttered in the heavenly realms, the spheres of the Isma`ilis is that of the first letter of the
command of God, it could be taken to be the Prophet in allegorical cloaking symbolized in the Ba
of Bismallah. Also, the glimmer of the effulgent “Glory” and the company of the dwellers is like that
honoured company of Plotinus which is also like the effulgent 1000 points of light in the heavenly
concourse described in the Ismaili Umm al-Kitab (2nd century A.H./ 8th century C.E.).

The emenations proceeding hypothetically downwards, in actuality the emenations are falling
inward; into the Principle or limit before and above it, form the Hierocosmos which lie in between
the realms of Divinity and the realm of physical reality described alternatively as the “House of
Rhea”, “Nasut” and the “Seventh or Blue Sphere”. The Isma`ili account of this meta-cosmos is
From the One through God’s Intentions (iradah) and His Will (mashiah) goes forth the command
which is an act creating the syzergy of Kaf-Nun the essential aspect of Kuni-Qdr. Through the act
of BE at the same instance is the creation through the process of duplication the First Principle of
Sabiq (Second One) which is the only part of the Ipseity approachable by human comprehension.
This Principle is the Universal Intellect or in other words the hypostization of the Essential Act.
Within the Essential act we have God’s intentions taking on the form of Power of the Essential
thought or intellect or a guiding principle the Will represents the energy of thought or the spirit of
the Act of Intellection. This Second One creates out of another act of Its’ subject and object the
Third One or the All-Soul of Plotinus and thus Tali of the Ismailis which through it’s act creates the
lesser emenations down to physical reality. The entire process is a process of act producing a new
entity which becomes a subject and object to be acted out. Thus each level has a monad, the
Principle itself, and the dyad the process of the Principle’s object being acted against which is the
lower half of the Principle creating in the end a new Hypostasis. Within the higher aspect of each
Principle are the contents of the monad, the Ideas in the case of Sabiq, the ideas are manifest as
the Seven Cherubim, in the Universal Soul or Tali these ideas become the 12 Mothers or Angelic
Ranks (6 male, 6 female which form pairs to form three parts of the Divine Pentad: Fath, Khayal,
Jadd; Kuni and Qdr are added to form five. The Seven mark off each of the Spheres one per each
world of God. The Qur’anic verse reads: “It is God who has created seven heavens, and earths as
many. His commandment descends through them, so that you may know that God has power over
all things, and that He has knowledge of all things.” (65:12) Thus they are the vertical principle of
Guidance, the 1st dimension, the second dimension or horizontal plane is formed by Twelve with
the pentad manifest in each concourse as the Five Divine Presences. The Seven Ideas, as the
Intellectual-Principle is a principle of action or movement, represents the number or differentiation
of the Intellectual-Principle, thus marks off the number of acts in the Hierocosmos. Seven Ideas
would necessitate seven emenations. The quality of the contents of each of these emenations is
determines the attributes prevalent in the particular emenation.

Rectifying Isma’ili Ta’wil on Creation with the Qur’anic Creative Typology:

The historical development of the Isma’ili interpretation of God’s creation is understood in

correlation with the development of mystical Shi’ism, a vision of the Imamat as a spiritual office
rather than political. With the establishment of the Nizari Isma’ili state in the 12th Century C.E. we
have the founding of Isma’ili mystical understanding in Iran. This establishment consequently
develops the Iranian Shi’ite mystical tradition in the dissemenation of Isma’ili mystical doctrines
through various Sufi tariqas, additionally their doctrines where spread by non-Isma’ili Shi’a such as
the Qarmatians of Bahrain which later developed an influence on Iraqi Shi’ism.
Creation has an unprecedented importance in mystical traditions in Isma’ili Thought for in the
Creation is the foundation of most Isma’ili doctrines as has been seen with the development of the
concept of Sabiq and Tali (the Pen and Tablet) or more orthodoxically in Isma’ili terms the role of
Kuni-Qdr (kaf-nun). Resolving the Isma’ili mystical understanding with the Qur’anic revelation is not
as difficult as most Orthodox scholar of the Ahl as-Sunnah would posit. To begin we must focus on
the understanding of the role of the “Person” and “Mate” in Ayah 4:1. Muhammad Asad comments
regarding these terms:

“Out of the many meanings attributable to the term nafs–soul, spirit, mind, animate being,
living entity, human being, person, self (in the sense of a personal identity), humankind,
life-essence, vital principle, and so forth– most of the classical commentator choose
‘human being’, and assume that it refers here to Adam…..My rendering of nafs, in this
context, as ‘living entity’ follows the same reasoning [not tied to Adam]. As regards the
expression zawjaha (‘its mate’), it is to be noted that, with reference to animate beings, the
term zawj (‘a pair’, ‘one of a pair’ or ‘a mate’) applies to the male as well as to the female
component of a pair or couple;hence, with reference to human beings, it signifies a
woman’s mate (husband) as well as a man’s mate (wife). Abd Muslim–as quoted by Razi–
interprets the phrase ‘He created out of it (minha) its mate” as meaning “He created its
mate out of its own kind [own genus] (min jinsiha)”…The literal translation of minha as ‘out
of it’ clearly alludes, in conformity with the text, to the biological fact that both sexes have
originated from ‘one living entity’.” (Asad, Q, note #1, pg. 100)

We see that the commentators interpret ‘Nafsi’ as a ‘living entity’ or ‘Person’ or ‘Soul’. The mate
(zawjaha) is not specifically is not gender specific. So we can extropolate that it is not definitively
the Prophet Adam as the ‘Person’. We must also understand the development of the mate out of
the same nature of the Person in the sense of emenation. In Isma’ilism the term for creation is
conceptualized into two distinct spheres:

‘inbiath’–the emenation of a thing out of another, which is the equivalent to ‘tajalli’ of Mirza
Husayn-’Ali Nuri and the ‘Khalq’ of the Naqshbandi sufi saint Shah Wali’ullah; and

‘abda–’ which is the creation of something by another not part of, as is the case of the
creation of Kuni by God by origination, ‘badaa’.

Thus the Isma’ili understanding is that of the creation of the ‘mate’, equivalent to Qdr which is
created by ‘inbiath or in Qur’anic Arabic as ‘ja’ala’. For Isma’ilis one of the fundamentals of Islam is
imported in the belief of the absolute transcendence of God apart from creation. Thus, the orthodox
doctrine of Tawhid is observed and Kuni is not emenated out of the Essence of God, rather, Kuni is
a product of God’s creation. However, there is a concept of emenation, inbiath, which appears in
the stage of the development of Qdr. Comparing the Isma’ili idea of Creation in two folds of ‘abda
and inbiath to Shah Wali’llah we see that Shah Wali’llah writes:

“The works of God are many but they do not exceed the following four kinds: Ibda’a, Khalq,
Tadbir, and Tajalli. Ibda’a means to bring out a thing from pure non-existence….By Khalq
is meant making a thing from a thing (as the making of Adam from dust). This is between
God and what passes from one state to another state….tadbir, it refers to the free acting in
 the universe so that the happenings therein should turn in conformity with the Universal
Expediency….Tajalli originally means the appearannce [manifestation, Ar.Mazhar] of the
Real as an Administrator in the world in the same manner as the human soul is the
administrator of the body.” (Sirhindi, SW, Lamha 33)

We see that the Isma’ili use of creative terms is distinct from other Sufi or mystical accounts of
creative processes. It is however analogous to Qur’anic Arabic terminology. So when we see that
Kuni/Qdr is interpreted as being created we see they develop out of the same typology as the
‘Person’ and ‘Mate’ of ayah 4:1. The question really is whether or not it can be interpreted to be a
non-corporeal creation or a corporeal creation as is the tradition in Sunni Islam. I would point out
that some have argued that the Person of ayahs 4:1 and 39:6 is the ‘Soul’ of ayahs 6:97 and 91:7.
Whereas, others have argued that the ‘Soul’ in ayah 6:97 is the ‘Mate’ of ayahs 39:6 and 4:1.
Howoever, we see that ‘Soul’ does not equal ‘Mate’. The ‘Soul’ of 6:97 is the Adamic soul the
created soul of the lower realms of the created dominion. Since, the creative terminology is that
associated with a creation or production from pre-existing matter, the creation of the ‘Mate’ is an
emenation (abda, ja’ala) as in ‘ja’ala’ in 39:6. So every creative act of God is a ‘kalaqa’ but not
every creation (kaliq) is solely by ‘kalaqa’ it may be a initial ‘kalaqa’ plus an qualifying term such as
‘ja’ala. So we see the Person by creative terminology is associated with creation out of nothing
thus the Person is created out of no previously created entity since ‘kalaqa’ is always the creative
term for the ‘Person’ it is a creation out of no previously created entity and our realm, the realm of
earth with seven divisions, is a creation out of something fashioned. Therefore, the ‘Person’
inhabits a realm higher than ours. Additionally, if Adam is created out of ‘dust’ or ‘clay’ then Adam
is created out of something.

For the Isma’ilis this typology is a manifestation repeated in the Spiritual realm and on the earthly
plane thus the ‘Person’ is the Universal Spiritual Adam and is manifest on earth by the Prophet
Adam (adam juizi). It is understood by the Isma’ilis that the Qur’anic verse of 42:11 which declares
to God belong both high and low similitudes (Ar. ‘mathal’) we see the high similitude of the Spiritual
Adam with the low similitude of the Prophet Adam. Regarding Shah Wali’llah we see he thinks
similiarly in:

“Being in the sense of Reality and not as a concept is of three stages: Pure Essence,
Stage of Intellect, Stage of the Great Body[Person]….Shakhs Akbar by its being one of the
unities (wahid) is one thing: but when we split it, two parts become manifest. The Universal
Soul and the Rahmani Soul. The universal Soul is a penetrating one and a determiner
while the Rahmani Soul is an object of penetration and a substratum.” (Sirhindi, SW,
Sata’at)

Having addressed this question we see that Qdr as ‘time’ is another consideration. The Isma’ili
philosopher al-Kirmani addresses this matter. The early debate in Isma’ili philosophical discussions
was the role of time: was time a part of Divinity or was it a creation. Al-Kirmani points out, as Dr.
Paul Walker accounts, that: Intellect gives rise to two–ibda’i and inbiathi, which contains time. The
soul, which is second to Intellect, cannot be trapped by Nature. This soul is the first procession (al-
mubaa’ith al-awwal) and the second existent being. It is not body nor in body. At this stage time
cannot be a part of the realm, rather at the level of the Mate, time becomes an operative function
as ‘qadara’ as is the typology of the Qur’an, since the ‘mate’ is created by ‘ja’ala’ at the same level
of ‘qadara’ functionality.

To recount we see that creation is first established by ‘kalaqa’ with the product being ‘Person’
(nafsi) [see 4:1,39:6] which in God creates out of it the ‘Mate’ (zawjaha) [see 4:1, 6:97] by ‘ja’ala’.
Now the question is does the ‘nafsi’ of ayah 6:97 equate to the same meaning as in 4:1? It is if we
consider the overall context of the passage however what is established in the allegorical spheres
of the Isma’ilis is that everything on earth correspond to an higher similitude thus the reflection of
this process has it’s origin in the spiritual realms. Therefore, we have mankind produced by
‘anshaa’ out of the ‘mate’ or according to the Isma’ili “adam juizi”, which now corresponds to the
Biblical story of Adam and Eve. This corresponds to the Isma’ili spiritual analogy of the creation of
1. Kuni, out of which we get 2. Qdr, out of which we get the pairs of angelic ranks, corresponding to
the creation of pairs out of the soul of 6:97.

Isma’ili and Zoroastrian Tradition:

A short note on the similiarities of Isma’ilism to Zoroastrian inspired religous systems (i.e.
Manicheism, Mazdakism and the Mithraic cultus) is needed to identify some of the primordial
analogs to the Isma’ili doctrine. It is recorded in the Qur’an that there where a people known as the
Sabeans with the Book, it is supposed by many commentators that these Sabeans where in fact
the Zoroastrians (ca. 8th Century B.C.E.). The Zoroastrian hierarchy consisted of Ahura Mazda
“Ormazd”, the High Divinity (God), and with the coexisting evil deity Angra Maniu (Ahriman, Ar.
Shaitan). It is held by the Zurvanites of Zoroastrian tradition that there in fact was not a dualistic
existence between Good and Evil (Ahura Mazda and Angra Maniu), but rather that a High Divinity
known as Zurwan (the Divinity of Time) created both Ahura Mazda and Angra Maniu. Subsequently
Ahura Mazda creates Seven archangelic beings (similar to the Four Archangels of the Book of
Revelation of John) each given soveriegnty to protect the creation of Ahura Mazda of these are
Vohu Maniu, the Good Mind (Nous) and Asha[iii], order or reason (Logos). Of the similarities to
Isma’ilism is the concept of Seven Creations. Evil becomes trapped in a protective realm beneath
Divinity. Ohrmazd forms his creation out of light and in a spiritual state. Zurvanite deity of Zurwan
creating the Good and Evil which is similiar to the Isma’ili concept of Sabiq and Shaitan being born
out of the same light with one obedient and the other disobedient to the Will of God. And
interestingly is the concept of Zoroastrianism that Divinity creates through a recitation or verbal
formula, Ohrmazd fashions his creations in a form (getig), by celebrating a “spiritual yasna”
(yasna=recitation [ayah or sura]). This process is begun by Ohrmazds recitation of the Ahunwar
which spells out Ahrimans ultimate defeat. Each of his creations is placed under the protection of
one of the seven Amahraspands (Avestan, Amesta Spenta [i.e. Vohu Maniu, Asha, etc.])
Additonally, there are three periods of creation in Zoroastrianism: Material Creation, The Mixture of
Good & Evil and the Seperation of Evil from Good which occurs outside of time. There is also the
primordial man, like Adam, known as Gayormad whose protector is Ohrmazd and from which the
firsthuman couples develop from his seed.

Besides these Zoroastrian parallels there are also the derivatives of Zoroastrianism of Manicheism
(ca. 3rd Century C.E.) and Mazdakism (6th Century C.E.) which in each there are some parallels to
Isma’ilism. Of course it should be noted all of these traditions where active in lands where
Isma’ilism was active. In Mazdakism we see that there are Four faculties: discernment (at-tamyiz),
understanding (al-fahm), memory (al-hafz) and joy (al-sorur). There are also Seven wazirs who
each are in charge of a given affair: the commander (salar), the provost (peskar), unknown (b’lwn),
the messenger (bivn) the expert (kardan), the statesman (dustur), the page (kodag). Additionally,
there are 12 spiritual beings (ruhaniyun) that the seven wazirs revolve within. We see that the
faculties are similar to the Isma’ili Pentad and the wazirs similar to the Seven Natiq and the 12
spiritual beings similar to the 12 mothers of the Isma`il symbolic cosmology.

In terms of the similarity to Manicheism we can see that the Manichean idea of the creation of the
Mother of Life and the First Man primordially and supra-materially can be similar to the relationship
of the Sabiq and Tali and that the subsequent creation of the Living Spirit similar to the role of
Salman and of ar-Ruh. There is additionally the archetype of the Active Intellect or Logos in the
Column of Glory which is described as an evocation (Jesus, the Splendour) of the Third Messenger
(Living Spirit) through which portions of Light ascend and are purified first passing through the
moon and the Sun then ultimately ascending to the primordial heavenly existence.

It is important to note the difference between Zoroastrianism and Manicheism which is a difference
of the respect of the creative power of Evil. In Zoroastrianism material creation is a product of the
Good and in Manicheism it is a creation of Evil. However, one could say the process of purification
of the light trapped in the dark evil creation of Manicheism is a movement toward a positive idea
behind creation.

Archetypically, it is important to note that there may be some confusion between these similiarities
and one may posit that these similarities devise a direct causation and plagiarism in religious
authorship. However, understood, aside from the Manichean idea of creation by demonic forces,
that all these traditions are based on a Archetype which is founded anciently and perhaps firstly in
Zoroastrainism or perhaps the original Adamic religion, which is said to have started in the Central
Asian steppes somewhere out of the malaise of Shamanism. Archetypically, which is to say that in
the Jungian tradition that there is a deep imbedded imprint of primordial existence within the
individual conscious and collective conscious of humanity which gives an imprint like map of the
original situation of creation– a symbolic expression of a reality, all these traditions share a single
origin, which among believers is indicated as Divine, and therefore the similarities become
understandable as a Divine Archetype which is shared amongst religious traditions, not as a simple
human deficiency of plagiarism.

WORKS CITED:

Z R.C. Zaehner The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism Oxford: 1961

I Daftary, Farhad The Ismailis: Their History & Doctrine Cambridge University Press:
Cambridge (1990)

Q Assad, Muhammad The Message of the Qur’an Dar al-Andalus: Gibraltar (1984)

BW Baha’ Allah (Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri) Writings of Baha’u’llah, Baha’I Publishing Trust
India
HV Baha’ Allah (Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri) Seven Valleys, Baha’I Publishing Trust Wilmette

IP Henri Corbin (Paul Keegan tr) Introduction to Islamic Philosophy International:

London (1964)

PL Plotinus The Enneads, tr.Stephen McKenna (Penguin) 1991

UK Pio Filippani-Ronconi Umm al-Kitab (Napoli: Institut de l’Université Orientale de

Napoli, 1966)

Ibadut Dr. Allamah Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Ibadut

SI S.M. Stern Studies in Early Ismailism 1983

SW Shah Waliullah Sirhindi, Sufism and the Islamic Tradition: Lamahat and Sata’at of
Shah Waliullah / translated by G.N. Jalbani and edited by D.B. Fry. London: Octagon
Press 1980

David Roochnik in his deltaThe Tragedy of Reason: Toward a Platonic Conception of Logos” defines ‘logos’ as: 1.
[i]

the word, or the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed; 2. the inward thought itself. This dual nature
of its meaning gives logos’ extraordinary range. Primarily it refers to those outward sounds tht express thought. Logos
differs from ‘voice’ or the production of mere sound. It is the ability to give voice some reasoned thought. Word,
sentence, talk, speech, explanation, language, discourse, story, argument, rational account– all these function at
different times as th proper translation of ‘logos’. It can also be internal talk which goes on within. ‘Logos’ thus
comprehends virtually all that is verbal and rational within us. The one phrase that begins to capture both f these
meanings is ‘rational account’, a speech that attempts to render rational or intelligible any given phenomenon. A third
meaning should be added. ‘Logos’ refer to something like ‘rational structure’. It can refer to that which exists outside of
the human mind or the voice…this logos is not a human speech or thought but the stucture of the world ‘out there’
that can be apprehended by human beings and then expressed n language (in logos).”

Marcia Hermansen in “SHAH WALI ALLAH’S THEORY OF THE SUBTLE SPIRITUAL CENTERS (LATA’IF): A SUFI
[ii]

MODEL OF PERSONHOOD AND SELF-TRANFORMATION” remarks: “Shah Wali Allah in his theory of the lata’if
further developed a system existing among the Naqshbandi Sufis, particularly the Mujaddidiyya branch, so called
because they followed the teachings of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhind (d. 1625), who was known as the Mujaddid, or “renewer”
of the second millenium. This system was based on the idea that the human being had ten parts—five material, five
immaterial. The lower level of the material parts consisted of the Lower Soul (nafs) and the four elements (fire, air,
earth, and water), while the higher level consisted of the five lata’if, sometimes called the ‘five jewels’ (al-jawahir al-
khams): the Heart (qalb), Spirit (ruh), Mystery (sirr), Arcane (khafi), and the Super-Arcane (akhfa). The two levels of
this Naqshbandi system were said to correspond respectively to the distinction between the World of God’s Creation
(`alam al-Khalq) and the World of God’s Command (`alam al-`amr), a distinction based on Qur’anic terminology and
having an long history in Sufi thought. For example, the Qur’anic vese (17:85) ‘the Spirit is from the command of my
Lord” (al-ruh min amr rabbi) is taken by the sufis to mean that the ruh, or human spirit, comes form an immaterial
timeless realm of God’s command (`amr) which precedes physical manifestation.

It is interesting to note that the five-fold structure of the lata’if according to the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya seems to
parallel the model of the Islamic version of Greek medical theory (tibb) in which there are five inner and five outer
senses.[23] The model of the lata’if which appeared early in Sufism clearly developed and was refined over time.
Najmuddin al-Razi (d. 1256), a Kubrawiyya Sufi of Iran and author of the Mirsad al-`ibad, formulated a systemof five
lata’if and found a Qur’anic basis of the terms sirr and khafi—Qur’an 20:7, ‘if thou makest utterance aloud, verily He
knows the secret (sirr) and what is more hidden (khafi).”[24] `Ala ad-Daula Simnani (d. 1336), whose woks influenced
Sirhindi, expanded the system of Najmuddin al-Razi to a seven-fold one by adding below the five lata’if the concept of
a physical from or mold (qalab) and above them a further center called the haqiyya or ananiyya. Sirhindi’s model then
expanded to represent the lata’if as part of a distinct set of symbols and practices (ser figs. 1 and 2),[25] and this was
finallydeveloped by Shah Wali Allah into a three-tiered model with a total of some fifteen components.”

[iii] Mary Boyce writes regarding ‘asha’: “The vastness of the steppes encouraged the Indo-Iranians to conceive their

gods as cosmic, not local, divinities; and they apprehended a universal principle of what ought to be, Av. ‘asha’, Skt.
‘rta’, variously translated as ‘order, righteousness, truth’. This principle should govern everything, form the workings of
nature to human as and all human conduct. It was guarded, they held, by a great triad of ethical divinities, the Lords,
Ahura. The greatest of them, known to the Iranians as Ahura Mazda, ‘Lord of Wisdom’…” pg. 9, in Textual Sources for
the Study of Zoroastrianism Barnes and Noble: New Jersey (1984)

Chapter 4 -The Baha’i & Sufi Symbolic Cosmology of the Pentad of Being

By Michael McCarron

The Baha’i Cosmos is one delineated by Five realms or worlds (`alam) of God. These five are
known as Hahut, Lahut, Jabarut, Malakut, and Nasut. The realm of Hahut, is the realm of the One,
The realm of Lahut of the Kuni-Qdr or otherwise using Plotinus’ terms the Intellectual Principle and
the All-Soul as higher and lower aspects of the same realm, the realm of Jabarut is the realm of
Power, the realm of Malakut the realm of angels, and the realm of Nasut is the realm of physical
reality:

Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, writes:

“Ponder the differences among the worlds (`awalim). Although the divine worlds (`alam
ilahi) be never ending, yet some refer to them as four: the world of time (zaman), which is
the one that hath both a beginning (awwal) and an end (ukhra); the world of duration
(dahr), which hath a beginning, but whose end is not revealed; the world of perpetuity
(sarmand), whose begining is not to be seen but which is known to have an end; and the
world of eternity (azal), neither a begining nor an end of which is visible. Although there are
many differing statements as to these points, to recount them in detail would result in
weariness. Thus, some have said that the world of perpetuity hath neither a begining nor
end, and have named the world of eternity as the invisible, impregnable Empyrean. Other
have called these the worlds of the Heavenly Court (Lahut), of the Empyrean Heaven
(Jabarut), of the Kingdom of the Angels (Malakut), and of the mortal world (Nasut).” (Baha’
Allah [Ghail tr.], SV pg. 25, HV pg. 29 )

“Now as regards the fourth letter [of sura 103] which is the letter ‘ayn. It signifieth the
sublimity of the Divine Unicity (uluw al-ahadi) in the realms of Lahut (maqamat Godut); the
sublimity of the Divine Uniqueness (‘uluw al-wahidi) in the grades of jabarut (shu’unat al-
Jabarut); the sublimity of the Divine Mercy (‘uluw al-rahmani) in the realms of the dominion
(al-mulk) and Malakut; the sublimity of the Divine Perpetuity (‘uluw al-samadani) in that
God revealed [manifest] Himself unto all in the realities of the selves (fi haqa’iq al-anfus)
and the horizons (al-afaq); seen in the land of Nasut.” (Shirazi [Lambden tr.], KT, pg. N/a )
In this commentary on the cosmological relationship of both Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah,
and Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, al-Bab, we have a mystical placement of the realms of God. The
setting of course is addressed more on the individual level rather than on the doctrinal level of
Orthodoxy. ‘Ali-Muhammad makes an allusion to Qur’an 41:53: “In time We shall make them fully
understand Our messages [through what they perceive] in the utmost horizons (al-afaq) [of the
universe] and within themselves, so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is
indeed the truth. [Still,] is it not enough [for them to know] that thy Sustainer is witness unto
everything?” ‘Ali-Muhammad places the physical plane, the earthly plane as the level of gaining
understanding within the self of God’s divine plan. Thus, the realm of where the logos is manifest.

It is apparent that the use of cosmological motifs by both Mirza Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah and Sayyid
‘Ali-Muhammad Shirazi is to explain deeper matters of religion through allusion and analogy. Mirza
Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah additionally writes:

“[explaining the meaning of ta'am in Qur'anic Arabic] It signifieth the realm of the Throne of
Hahut, the Paradise of the Divine Oneness….It signifieth the realm of the Paradise of
Endless Duration, the Throne of Lahut, the Snow-White Light…..It signifieth the Paradise
of the Divine Unicity, the Golden Land, the Depths of Jabarut.” (Baha’ Allah [Lambden tr.],
KT, pg. N/a )

And further elaborates:

“The meaning of the Kingdom (malakut) in its primary sense and degree is the scene of His
transcendent glory. In another sense it is the world of similitudes (‘alam-i-mithal) which
existeth between the Dominion on high (jabarut) and this mortal realm (nasut [i.e. in
Malakut]; whatever is in the heavens or on the earth hath its counterpart in that world. Whilst
a thing remaineth hidden and concealed within the power of utterance it is said to be of the
Dominion (jabarut) and this is the first stage of its substantiaition (taqyid). Whenever it
becometh manifest it is said to be of the Kingdom (malakut). The power and potency it
deriveth from the first stage, it bestoweth upon whatever lieth below.” (Baha’ Allah [Momen
tr.], REL, pg. N/a )

It is interesting to compare the use of realms by Baha’ Allah and al-Bab with that of the Sufis and
Isma’ilis. It is noteworthy that as the earlier passage regarding the Isma’ili conception of the realms
and the type of interpretation that corresponds to a different conception of a term in each realm, in
the case of Isma’ili the Spirit. Baha’ Allah uses the same relative interpretation to the specific
aspect of each realm for a subject in his case the interpretation of the meaning of ‘ta’am’ (food).
This ‘hiero-tafsir’ is likened to as-Simnanis teachings:

“According to this scheme the Qur’an has four levels of meaning corresponding to the four
realms of existence [for as-Simnani: Lahut, Jabarut, Malakut and Nasut]. The exoteric
dimension the Qur’an relates to the Human Realm, the esoteric level to the secrets of the
Realm of Sovereignty, the limit of the Qur’an to the Realm of Omnipotence, and the point
of ascent to the Realm of Divinity. ” (Elias, TC, pg. 108)
In the Umm al-Kitab it is recorded that there are Ten realms similiar in name and function to that
of Baha’ Allah and al-Bab:

“…in tutte le sedi di (in all, the levels are) Ilahit, Malakutit, Gabarutit, Rabubit, Azalit,
Lahutit, Nuranit, Ruhanit, Nasutit, Basarit ed Imamit” (Ranconi tr., UK, pg.108)

Interestingly in Abbas Effendi `Abdul-Baha’s thought we see the use of Isma’ili terms for
hierarchical thinking instead of Hahut:

“And similarly, some of the those who dwell among the sanctified signs consider that the
Love of the Divinity (uluhiyyat) and the continuance of the attributes of the Heavenly Realm
(lahutiyyat) in the temples and places of manifestation of the physical world
(nasutiyyat).”(Effendi [Momen tr.], KM, pg. 24)

In sufism we see a two fold hierarchy similiar to two processes of Qur’anic creation:

Maratib-i Ilahi (Divine Ranks)

a. Ahadiyat– Oneness

b. Wahdat– Unity

c. Wahidiyyat– Unity in Plurality

Maratib-i Kawni (Worldly Ranks)

a. Ruh– Spirit

b. Mithal– Similitudinal

c. Jism– Body or corporeality

We can see similiarities in all these cosmological hierarchies. Ahadiyat is similiar to Huhat is
similiar to Ilahiyat. Isma’ili Ruhaniyat is similiar to the Ruh of Sufism. In All these we can see that
there is a similiar structure and function alll maintain the absolute seperateness of God from the
other realms which are created. As well this is expressed by ‘Abdu’l-Baha of the Baha’i school in
regards to Ahadiyyat and Wahidiyyat when he writes:

“…for the worlds of Divinity are infinite and, in each world, the Names and Attributes have
a specific effect (hukm). In the World of Primal Oneness (ahadityya), they [objects of
knowledge] are identical to the Essence. In the World of Manifested Oneness (wahidiyyat),
they are distinguished. These stations of Primal Oneness and pillar of Manifested Oneness
and Divinity have always remained and will continue to endure.” (Effendi [Momen tr.], KM,
pg. 24 )
The background and development to Sufi cosmology has it’s roots in the Qur`an where it is
recorded that there are number of heavens and dominions. In Sufi tradition the greatest of authors
on these realms was Ibn ‘Arabi. His students Qunawi and Qaysari have relayed an reliable picture
of how Ibn ‘Arabi viewed the universe. Al-Kashani summates the Sufi Penta-Reality (hazair al-ilahi)
as:

“In the views of the sufis there are five worlds, each of which is a Presence within which
Divinity becomes manifest: 1. The Presence of the Essence (Huwiyat); 2. The Presence of
the Attributes and names, i.e., the Presence of Divinity (Lahut); 3. The presence of the
Acts, i.e., the Presence of Lordship (Jabarut); 4. The Presence of Image-Exemplars and
Imagination (malakut or mulk or ‘alam al-mithal); and 5. The Presence of Sense-
Perception and the Visible. (In each case), the lower is an image and locus of
manifestation of the higher. The highest is (the Essence or) the World of the Nondelimited
Unseen, also called the ‘Unseen of the Unseens.’ The lowest is the World of the Visible,
which is the last of the Presences (Nasut).” (Qashani, FN III)

These Presences are known as worlds in many Sufi languages.

A world (alam) “…(it) signifies that by which things are known, for Divinity is known through it in
terms of Divine Names and Attributes.” (Jorjani [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Ta’rifat, 188)

Rather than attempt an interpretive explanation I will rely on the technique of Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh,
Pir of the Ni`matu`llahi Dhar-Riyasitayni Sufi school, and simply present the terms. The following
are from his sufi “Lexicon”:

The Worlds Defined:

‘Alam al-’Amr: “According to the Sufis, the realm of the command may be ascribed to that
realm which is without time or matter, such as the realms of intellect (‘aql) and souls
(nafus). In the same way, the realm of creation may be ascribed to that realm which is
material, including the heavens, the elements, and the three kingdoms of nature.”
(Tahanawi [Nurbakhsh tr.], See Lexicon, Kashshaf Istilihat al-Funun, 1054)

‘Alam al-Khalq: “The realm of the creation is made up of sky, earth, land, sea, air and
space. It is finite and transitory and may be seen by created beings. The realm of the
command, however, is infinite and everlasting.” (Maibodi [Nurbakshsh tr.], see Lexicon,
Kashf al-Asrar, V 165)

‘Alam al-Ghaib: “the realm of the unseen is said to refer to the level of the Oneness.
(Tahanawi [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Kashshaf al-Istilihat al-Funun 1054)

‘Alam Lahut: “Sabzavari says the realm of Divinity, refers to the level particular to Divinity
which is known as the realm of the everlasting, as well as the level of the Essence of the
Unicity.” (Dohkoda [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Farhang-i Dohkhoda)
‘Alam al-Jabarut: “In the Kashf al-Loghat, it is stated that in the terminology of the Sufis,
the realm of Divine Power, is said represent the level of Unity (wahdat), which is the
Mohammadan reality linked to the level of the Attributes. The level of the Attributes is also
termed the realm of Divine Power, where the level of the Names is called the angelic realm
(‘alam al-malakut).” (Tahanawi [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Kashshaf Istilihat al-Funun,
1200)

“According to Abu Talib Makki, the realm of Divine Power is the world of the Grandeur, by
which he maens the realm of the Divine Names and Attributes. Most masters maintain that
it refers to the intermediate realm lying between the All-Encompassing and His
commands.” (Jorjani [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Ta’rifat, 101)

‘Alam al-Malakut: As a Universal, “In Sufi terminology, the angelic realm represents the
realm of spirits, the realm of the Unseen, and the realm of spiritual reality. The level of the
Attributes is called the realm of Divine Power (Jabarut), the level of the Names is called the
angelic realm.” (Tahanawi [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Kashshaf Istilihat al-Funun, 1339)

As a particular, “The gnostics angelic realm is his heart, which contains the realm of
Divinity and His wonders, such as the marvels of His mysteries, the subtleties of His lights,
the manifestation of His Essence and Attributes, and the forms of His Acts. When his heart
is characterised thus, it becomes a mirror of Divinity’s angelic realm. Whatever lies within
the angelic realm, he sees in his heart. Either objectively or through contemplative vision.
According to the Koran, ‘Thus did we show Abraham the kingdom of the Heavens.’ (6:75)
The Prophet said, ‘If demons did not surround people’s hearts, they would look upon the
angelic realm of the heavens.’ The gnostic said, ‘The station of the angelic realm is that of
certitude.’” (Ruzbihan [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Mashrab al-Arwah, 210)

‘Alam al-Mithal: “The imaginal realm, which is also known as the realm of souls, is higher
than the realm of the visible (‘alam al-shahadat) and lower than the realm of spirits. The
realm of the visible is the shadow of the imaginal realm which, inturn, is the shadow of the
realm of spirits. Everything that exists in this world exist also in the imaginal realm, that
which is seen in dreams being a form of the imaginal realm. In the Kashf al-Lughat it states
that the absolute imaginal realm is the realm of spirits, while the relative imaginal realm is
the realm of imagination (khayal).” (Tahanawi [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Kashshaf
Istilahat al-Funun, 1342)

‘Alam al-Mulk: “The realm of sovereignty refers to that which is other than Divinity,
meaning those contingent beings that have perished, those that exist, and those that have
yet to come” (Nurbakhsh, Sufi Symbolism Vol. III, pg. 106)

In Addition, to the ideas of the presences or worlds of God is that of Time which is
associatied with each realm. In Islam time plays an important part in it’s prevalence as an
awareness of the Final Judgement which is literally an end or running out of time. The
following Sufi definitions are applied to the concepts of time used by Baha’ Allah:
 Zaman: “Time is related to the presence of nearness (hadhrat al-’indiyat), which in turn is
the ‘eternal duration’.” (Shah Nimatullah [Nurbakhsh tr.], Risalah Shah Nimatullah, IV 37)

Dahr: “eternal duration is an eternal time and is an extension of the presence of Divinity
(hadhrat al-ilahiyat), being the inward aspect of time through which eternal time, pre-
eternity (azal) and post-eternity (abad) are joined.” [Jorjani [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon,
Ta’rifat]

Azal: “Pre-eternity symbolizes the extension of the flow of grace from the Absolute spritual
Reality, and the manifestation of the essence of Oneness (ahadiyat) at the sites of the
names of the Divine Acts (asma-i fa”li) , in the sense that it is not dependent on space and
time. This is the pre-eternal nature of the Essence, which lies beyond the imaginal realm
(‘alam al-mithal) and within the angelic realm (‘alam al-malakut) and the relm of Divine
Power (‘alam al-jabarut). In the realms below the archetypal realms, namely those of
sovereignty and vision, the Essence manifest in the names of the Divine Acts, those Acts
being dependent on space and time, and forming the basis for the manifestation of bodies.
Furthermore, time, as the measure of movement of the material universe, is ordained and
actualized in those acts.” (Bertels [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Tasawwuf wa Adabiyat-i
Tasawwuf, 168)

Abad: Post-eternity (abad) and pre-eternalness are both qualities of Divinity. The
difference between pre-eternalness and post-eternalness is that the former has no
beginning while the latter has no end. When Waseti was asked about post-eternity, he
replied, ‘It is an allusion to the aboandonment of fineite enumeration and the effacement of
one’s moments (waqt) in everlastingness.’ He added, ‘Sign and designation are two
characteristics that flow in post-eternity, as they have done in pre-eternity. Pre-eternity,
prexistence, and post-eternity do not attain the reality of the Oneness; they are merely
definitions and allusions through which Divinity becomes known.” (Sarraj [Nurbakhsh tr.],
Kitab al-Loma’ fi’t-Tasawwuf, 364)

Sarmadi: “In Sufi terminology, while the pre-eternal is that which has no primacy and the
post-eternal that which has no finality, the everlastig is that which has neither primacy
(begining) nor finality (end). (Tahanawi [Nurbakhsh tr.], see Lexicon, Kashshaf Istilahat al-
Fonum, 647)

It is worth noting that the great Sufi teacher Ruzbihan speaks of time in terms of spiritual
enlightenment or for each category of time corresponds to a degree or station on the path of
enlightenment.

Baha’i Symbolic Cosmos Overview:

In brief the symbolic cosmos of the Baha’i can be recounted as:

1. The highest level of all existence is Hahut, this represent God’s essential oneness
(ahadiyyat). It is represented by the color white in Babi/Baha’i color symbolism.
 2. The level of Divinity’s attributes being manifest within His Divinityhead (uluhiyyat) in the
realm of Lahut. This is the level of singularity (wahidiyyat). This is the station of the
Prophetic Oneness. It is represented by the color white in Babi/Baha’i color symbolism It is
a realm of the Command (‘alam al-’Amr).

3. The level of Divinity’s attributes being manifest in the locus of manifestation (mahall).
This is the level of Divinity’s Names and Attributes (asma wa’l-sifat) which is in the realm of
Jabarut. This is the Station of the Prophetic Plurality, not to be confused with their actual
Manifestation in the realm of nature or sense (‘alam al-nasut, ‘alam shuhud wa’l-huss). It is
important to point out that in Shuhudi sufism this is the realm of witnessing (shahuda) of
Divinity’s beauty. Only a prophet can witness in the station (maqam) of Prophetic
Oneness. It is represented by the color yellow in Babi/Baha’i color symbolism. It is a realm
of Creation (‘alam al-khalq).

4. The level of the symbolic representations (‘alam al-mithal) in the realm of Malakut. This is the
realm of spirits and angelic beings. In which there are the cities of Jabalqa and Jabalsa.
Represanted by the color green in Babi/Baha’i color symbolism. It is a realm of Creation.

5. The level of sense perception the natural world, which is divided into seven climbs and
four kingdoms-animal, mineral, vegetative and human. This is the realm of Nasut. In this
realm all contingencies and quiddities take on concrete existence. There is a direct
correlation between what is in the realm of Malakut to that which is in the realm of Nasut. It
is represented by the color red in Babi/Baha’i color symbolism. It is a realm of Creation.

Cosmogenesis in Sufi and Baha’i Thought:

In the following a brief overview of cosmogensis in the writings of the Sufis and Baha’is is given. To
begin the works of the Sufis usually begin with an introduction or pre-amble where Praise to God is
made, a statement of Divinity’s bringing the Cosmos to being is made and peace and blessings are
extolled on the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, we can see this in both the pre-amble of the
Naqshbandi Sufi, al-Jami’s, work: al-Durrah al-Fikhirah (The Precious Pearl) and in Baha’u'llah’s
work, Haft Vadi (Seven Valleys). Below I have provided them both in full, al-Jami’s thesis provided
with additional commentary by his student al-Lari.

Sufi, Pre-amble al-Durah al-Fikhirah:

“Praise be to Divinity, Who became manifest (tajalla) through His essence (bi-dhatihi) to His
essence (li-dhatihi), so that the manifestations (majali) of His essence and of His attributes
became individuated (ta’ayyana) in His inner knowledge, the effects (athar) of these
manifestations being then reflected upon His outward aspect (zahir) from within (al-batin),
such that unity (al-wahdah) became multiplicity (kathrah), as you see and behold. May
Divinity’s blessing and peace be upon him through whom this multiplicity reverted to its
 original unity, and upon his family and companions, who have inherited of this virtue a large
portion.” (Jami, DF, pg. 33)

“’Praise be to Divinity, Who became manifest through His essence to His essence’: that is,
Who knew His essence through His essence rather than through a knowledge superadded
to His essence. This is knowledge in a universal and general manner (‘ala wajh kulli jumli)
and by it the author has alluded to the first individuation (al-ta’ayyun al-awwal).” (al-Lari,
Sharh, DF, pg. 115)

“’Became individuated in His inner knowledge’: that is, became individuated after that as fixed
essences (ta’ayyana ta’ayyunan thubutiyan) in His inner knowledge. This is knowledge of
particulars (‘ilm tafsili) and by it the author has alluded to the second individuation.” (al-Lari, Sharh,
DF, pg. 115)

Bahai, Pre-amble of the Haft Vadi:

Praise be to Divinity, Who hath made being to come forth (izhara) from nothingness (`adam)

graven upon the tablet of man (lawh al-insan) he secrets of pre-existence (asrar al-qadim)

taught him from the mysteries of divine utterance that which he knew not;

made him a Luminous Book unto those who believed (imana) and surrendered (istaslama)
themselves,

caused him to witness the creation (khalq) of all things in this black and ruinous age,

and to speak forth from the apex of eternity (qutb al-baqa’) with a wondrous voice in the
Excellent Temple:

to the end that every man may testify, in himself, by himself, in the station of the
Manifestation of his Lord (maqam tajalli), that verily there is no Divinity save Him (la illah illa
huwa),

and that every man may thereby win his way to the summit of realities (haqa’iq),

until none shall contemplate anything whatsoever but that he shall see Divinity therein

And I praise and glorify the first sea (awwal bahr) which hath branched (tasha’ba) from the
ocean of the Divine Essence

and the first morn (awwal sabah) which hath glowed from the horizon of oneness (al-
ahadiyyat)

and the first sun (awwal shams) which hath risen (ishraqat) in the Heaven of Eternity
(sama’ al-azaliyyat)
 and the first fire (awwal nar) which was lit from the lamp of Pre-existence in the lantern of
singleness (al-wahidiyyat:

He who was Ahmad in the kingdom of exalted ones (malakut al-`alimin),

and Muhammad amongst the concourse of the near ones (mala’ al-muqarrabin),

and Mahmud in the realm of the sincere ones (jabarut al-khalisin).

(Baha’ Allah, HV pg. 1-2, SV para 1-2)

I think it is worthwhile at this early juncture to draw an overview of the Wahdat al-Wujud
cosmological perspective of al-Jami. For the Unitarian Sufis existence is a single thing, although
that thing has qualitative differentiation, akin to the idea of atomic particles which exist at a lower
level of energy but are unfolded out of a higher energy state where atoms do not exist, although
their evolution is from that one string of existence.[ actually atoms are alot like quiddities] This
analogy withstanding, the supreme “thing” of their cosmological perspective is termed Ahadiyyat al-
Dhati. It is that which is the Essence of all Essences, or the Essence of God (Divinity). Divinity is
manifest through His Essence to His essence, this is the Unity (wahdah) of Divinity. His Essential
Knowledge is His cognition, this is Universal Knowledge, the first individuation (ta’ayyun al-awwal),
this first individuation is known mystically as al-Qalam al-A’la and is equated with the first faculty,
that of speech and is the Word of Divinity (kalimat God) and existence is based on this general
existence. There is also His inner Knowledge which are His individuation of His attributes, that is to
say I think on my self qualities, thus giving me ideas of the qualities of my self. This inner
knowledge is knowledge of Particulars (‘ilm tafsili) and is the second individuation (ta’ayyun al-
thani) which exist in the intermediary level (al-barzakh) in something that has the mystical monicer
of the World of Ideas and Forms (‘alam al-ma’ani wa-al-suwar). Now the important point to
remember at this stage is that all this is a mental existence (wujud al-dhihni or wujud al-’aql) and
the Inner knowledge (particulars) is a mental entity (amr i’tabar). This helps to distinguish the Unity
from the Multiplicity (kathrat). The Multiplicity is the manifestation of the Inner or Mental Existence
or Mental Entity in the outer world, the very space/time continuum we live within, mystically known
as variously: Nasut, ‘alam al-hiss wa-al-shuhud (the world of sense and visibility), kathrat
(multiplicity). The Reality of this Existence is a substratum of the mental entity (amr i’tabar). Usually
the mirror analogy is employed to explain this phenomenon. However, I would like to employ a
different analogy:

There is a ring on the hand of the Creator (necessary existent, wajib al-wujud). We
understand this ring to be the Logos or Word (kalimat) it is known as the Most-Exalted Pen
(al-Qalam al-A’la). This word is the existence of all existents. Say the necessary existent
shines a pure light on the ring, the emerald set on the ring band reflects this ray of light.
depending on the color of the emerald set in the ring will determine the quality of the light
reflected once it finds expression on a physical plane intersecting the reflected light making
their reflection of the pure light now visible on the physical plane. We can see the ring as
the Word of Divinity or General Existence, the emerald the quiddities who depending on
thier receptive qualities give the expression of the light in similative existence (wujud al-
mithali fiy ‘alam al-mithal) until they find concrete existence in the expression of a physical
 plane, finally the red light on the plane is the world of sense and visibility (‘alam al-hiss wa
shahada).

Now understanding this let us turn our attention to the symbolic allegory of Baha’u'llah in the Haft
Vadi which portrays a cosmological perspective similiar to this, depending on your interpretation.

The Haft Vadi establishes that their is a cosmological source and derivative and an act which
derives these derivations. Hence we see in the Pre-amble four things derived:

1. “Sea” (bahr) from the Ocean of the Divine Essence (Huwit) by the act of branching (tusha’ba).

2. “Morn” (sabah) from the Horizon of Oneness (afaq al-Ahadiyyat) by the act of glowing or
appearing (lah).

3. “Sun” (shams) from the Heaven of Eternity (sama’ al-Azaliyyat) by the act of effulging or
overflowing (ishraqat).

4. “Fire” from the Lamp of Pre-existence (Musabah al-Qadimiyyat) in the Lantern of Singleness
(mishkuwat al-wahidiyyat) by the act of fueling (awqudat).

Thus I would argue that based on these relations that the “Sea” is Universal Knowledge, that is to
say Essential. The “Morn” are the Names and Attributes which is to say the aspects (i’tabar) which
exist in the level of Wahdah. The “Sun” is the first aspect which begets all other aspects which is to
say the Command or Word of Divinity. And the “Fire” is another way of expressing the first aspect
or Command at the level of wahidiyyat, instead of ahadiyyat (see section on Divinity’s Oneness
below).

Regarding the Mental Existence of the Divine Mind it is interesting to look at a passage from the
Four Valleys (Chahar Vadi) in the Second Valley it is noted:

“If the wayfarers (salik) goal be the dwelling of the Praiseworthy One (Mahmud) this is the
station (maqam) of primal reason (raja’ bi-`aql) which is known as the Prophet and the
Most Great Pillar (rukn a’zim). Here Reason signifieth the divine, universal mind (‘aql kulli
rabba fiy maqasud) whose soveriegnty enlighteneth all created things (rutbah tarubiyat
imkan)” (Baha’ Allah, SV pg. 52)

Abbas Effendi Abdu’l-Baha addresses this issue in his commentary:

“…these realities that are sometimes called quiddities, potentialities and archetypes have
always had an intellectual existence and are incorporated within the mirror of the Essence
of the Absolute in a state of absolute simplicity and unity and not in a state of
plurality.”[emphasis added] (Effendi [Momen tr.], KM, pg. 22)

Understanding that the Prophet represents the Universal Mind, that is to say the intellectual entity
(amr i’tibari) we can understand the use of the terms of Ahmad, Muhammad and Mahmud in the
Seven Valleys as three differing perspectives from angelic subjects, angels of the throne, gazing
upon the effulgence of the undifferentiated ray of light the prophet exists in in his unmanifest state.
This is the station of unicity. The plurality of prophets is an expression of this un-manifest state in
the realm of sense and visibility.

Another interesting passage from the Pre-amble of the Haft Vadi is one in regards to the
manifestation of existence in terms of it’s source:

“By My life, O friend, wert thou to taste (dhawq) of these fruits (thahrat) , from the green
garden of these blossoms which grow in the lands of knowledge, beside the orient lights of
the Essence (‘inda tajalli anwar al-dhat) in the mirrors (miraya) of names and attributes (al-
asma’ wa-al-sifat)– yearning would seize the reins of patience (sabr) and reserve (istabar)
from out thy hand, and make thy soul (ruah) to shake with the flashing [faithful] light (bi-
waraqa al-anwar), and draw thee from the earthly homeland (watan) to the first, heavenly
abode in the Center of Realities [Pole of Transcendent Immanence] (al-watan al-asaliy al-
ilahi fiy qutb al-ma’i), and lift thee to a plane (maqam) wherein thou wouldst soar in the air
even as thou walkest upon the earth, and move over the water as thou runnest on the
land. Wherefore, may it rejoice Me, and thee, and whosoever mounteth into the heaven of
knowledge (sama’ al-`irfan), and whose heart (qalb) is refreshed by this, that the wind of
certitude (saba al-yaqin) hath blown over the garden of his being (riyad sirrah), from the
Sheba of the All-Merciful.”(Baha’ Allah, SV para #5, pg. 3-4)

Interestingly the use of the term “qutb al-ma’i” has a deeper meaning than translation allows. al-
Jami speaking on the concept of “Ma’i” writes:

“They (Unitarian Sufis) also say that the Truth, because of His essential absoluteness
(itlaqihi al-dhatihi) possesses essential coextension (al-ma’iyah al-dhatiyah) with every
existent thing, and that his being present (hudur) with things is His knowledge of them, so
that not an atom’s weight escapes His knowledge on earth or in the heavens.” (Jami, DF,
pg. 52)

“Ma’i” is literally “withness’. Understanding that the “qutb” is the pole or axis around which all things
revolve we see that the center of realities is the Knowledge of Divinity or the first emenation (sadir
al-awwal) which is the universal prophetic station or general existence as al-Jami would say.

Likewise we can see a similiar symbolic representation in other works of Mirza Husayn-`Ali Baha’
Allah:

Lawh-i Kulli at-Ta’am:

“Praise be to Divinity Who hath caused Oceans of Light (bahr an-nur) to surge in the divine
Fiery water; excited the Letters of Manifestation (ahruf al-zuhur) in the incomporable point
of the realm of Unknowing (bi-al-nuqtat al-`ama’i al-firdani); made (ja’il) the Hidden Mount
(tur al-ghaybi) revolve about the Firmament of Manifestation (falak al-zuhur), the
concealed Self (nafs al-batun), the Focal Center of Eternality (wijhat al-azali); caused the
lordly Point (nuqtat al-rububi) to circle round the Most-Splendid, All-Enduring Ornament
(tarz al-abha’i al-sarmadi) to the end that all may testify ‘He is the True One. No Divinity is
 there save Him. He, verily, is the incomporable, the One, the Eternal Who neither
begetteth nor is begotten. He cannot be likened to any single thing and He, Divinity, is the
Majestic, the All-Compelling’[Qur'an Surah al-Ikhlas].” (Baha’ Allah [Lambden Tr.], KT, pg.
28 )

Baha’ Allah’s comments on a poem al-Qasida al-Warqa’i:

“In other words, the sign of effulgence (tajalli) which was from the effulgence of the lights
(tajalliyat anwar) of the morn of unknowing and the appearance of the dawn (tazaharat
ishraq) of the sun of holiness and glory (shams qudsi), which arose and was manifested
from the sun of existence (shams wujud) and the moon of the desired One (qamara
maqsud) and the Worshipped Point (Nuqtah mu`ibad) conferred and bestowed
(mutashraq) everlasting and eternal life through the drops of the water of divine existence
(wujud `aliy) and sprinklings of the undying pure and limpid waters upon the realities of
contingent beings (haqa`iq mumiknat wujud) and the essence of created things (dhat
muwujudat) and all the atoms of existent entities and rememberances, and clothed and
garbed them in eternal robes and exalted shirts and everlasting imperishable garments.”
(Baha’ Allah [Mac Eoin tr.], QW, pg. 20-21 )

WORKS CITED:

SV Baha’u’llah (Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri) Seven Valleys, Baha’I Publishing Trust

Wilmette

KM Abdu’l Baha (Moojan Momen Translator) “I Was a Hidden Treasure”

inBulletin of Baha’i Studies, vol. 3, no. 4 (Dec. 1985), pp. 4-64 available on-line
athttp://www.northill.demon.co.uk/relstud/kkm.htm

Lexicon Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh’s Farhang at-Tassawuf (Sufi Symbolism: the Nurbakhsh
Encyclopedia of Sufi Terminology). New York. Khaniqah Nimatullahi Publications (1993)

KT Stephen Lambden “Lawh-I Kull al-Ta’am (“Tablet of all Food; c. 1854 CE) of
Baha’ Allah. Bahai Studies Bulletin 3:1 (June 1984) pp. 4-67 see
http://www.hurqalya.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/BAHA’-ALLAH/L-ta%60am.htm

TC Jamal Elias “The Throne Carrier of God: The Life and Thought of ‘Ala’ ad-
dawla as-Simnani”. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995 (a study of one of the most
influential religious figures inmedieval Iran).

QW Dennis MacEoin “Baha Allah’s Qasida Warqiah” Baha’i Studies Bulletin 2:

DF Nur al-Din Rahman al-Jami, Trans. By Nicholas Heer “Durrah al-Fakhirah

(The Precious Pearl)” SUNY Press Albany 1979
Chapter 5 – Gnostic Shi’a Cosmology

by Michael McCarron

Generally, Shi’ite cosmology does not differ greatly from Sunni cosmology. The Essence of the
Creator is seperated from creation by veils (hijab), curtains (satr), and pavillions (soradeq)
impregnated with divine attributes. He created the creation ex nihilo. The First created things where
the Archetypes: al-qalam, al-lawh al-mahfuz, al- arsh, and al-kursi (see Qur`an 68:1). Creation took
place in six aeons. Their are Seven Heavens, with a colour symbolism associated with each
heaven as in Suhrawardi and Simnani’s thought. In each heaven their are elements: Paradise in
the seventh heaven, sudratu’l muntaha, al-bayt al-ma’mur (the house frequented– a temple located
at the center of the highest heaven, see Qur`an 52:4). In terms of Angelology there is the Highest
Angel, ar-Ruh, and the four archangels: Gabriel, Mikail, Saraphiel, and Azrail, as well, the
luminaries (an-najm). Seperating the creation from the Creator is the realm of the Barzakh: which
“contains the fountain of life (‘ayn al-hayat) in the center; the silver tents (qiam min feyza) where
the spirits of past imams dwell, the ‘kingdom of earth’ (malakut al-arz) and the cities Jabalqa &
Jabalsa which, though described as located at the hidden centre, the extreme east & west, seem
nevertheless located outside it’s physical boundaries. [Muhammad 'Ali Amir-Moezzi, EIr,
"Cosmology and Cosmogeny" ]

The Earth is divided into Seven earths. The elements which are contained within it include:

1) Ka’ba, located at the center of the seven climes of the earth, it is also the middle
member in a tower of fifteen sanctuaries located in the centers of the super imposed seven
heavens and seven earths– the highest of which is the house frequented, which stands
below the throne in it’s image.

2) Mystic Whale, in the most frequently mentioned sequence the seventh earth rests on
the cock– the trumpeter of the Day of Judgement– which stands on a rock poised on the
back of a whale that swims in the ocean of darkness; the ocean is borne by the air, which
is in turn sustained by the moist earth.

3) Zaman (Ages of the World), the age of the world is said to be 50,000 years symbolically
divided between: 1. emptiness, 2. being populated, 3. emptiness, 4. creation of jinn & men,
and 5. the descendants of Adam are born; Also, incorporated into the cyclical scheme are
particular cycles of humanity within the cycle of the descendants of Adam.

And in more general terms a Shi’ite philosopher writes on Time:

“as for Him who is exalted above time (al-muta’ali an al-zaman), time fro Him is a
single thing from eternity (azal) to everlastingness (abad) and equally related to
Him. His knowledge encompasses its parts in detail as well as what occurs in its
parts one thing after anther. It is as if a temporal being were to be likened to
someone reading a book. His sight falls on the letter after another, such that one
letter has passed by him, another is present before his eyes, and yet another his
sight has not yet reached. A being exalted above time, on the other hand, is like
 somenoe who has the whole book present before him and knows its arrangement.
The First’s knowledge of temporal being (al-zamaniyat) is of this sort.” (Al-Tusi, qtd
by al-Jami in Gloss 36, pg. 100, DF)

In Shi’ite Islam is also a ‘Light Cosmology’ which is the descent (tanazallut) of Light into creation it
is described through several stages:

1) In the immaterial place of the ‘Umm al-Kitab’ God sent forth the Light of Muhammad and
the second light from the Muhammadan Light the light of ‘Ali.

2) The stage of the ‘shadow of light’ is supposed to have occured not in the primordial world but in
the second world, the first world of shadows (alam al-azzeela al-awwal) or the first world of
particles (alam al-dharr al-awwal).

3) The transition from primary to secondary marks the transition of light into subtle human
form (spiritual human existence). [The immaculate ones are described as having
performed a circumambulation of the throne (al-arsh) making tashbih and testifying to
Gods glory.]

4) Classes of Pure Beings are: a. shadows of future spiritual inhabitants of the heavens &
earth, b. shadows of the prophets particularly the ulo’l-azim (prophets of constancy), and
the shadows of the initiates (mu’minun).

5) The Covenant (mithaq) contains four solemn oaths: a. the promise to worship God, b.
love and fidelity (walaya) to Muhammad, c. obedience to the Imams, d. obedience to the
Mahdi, the universal saviour at the end of times.

6) Humanity is divided between the saved and the lost which correspond to the armies of
light (a’immat an-nur) and the armies of darkness (a’immat az-zalam).

Also of importance is that of the Shaykhi Shi’ite school of thought which held that reality was
divided between three parts: a. al-dunya or al-mulk (earthly existence), b. al-barzakh (hurqulya–
the inter world) and c. al-malakut or al-akhira (the transcendent world). It is interesting to note the
use of akhira to designate the transcendent world as the reflections on qiyama become important
in the Baha’i movement and may be understood more in term of a spiritual attainment of divine
vision than the supreme day of judgement as in orthodox Islam where akhira designates the
‘hereafter’. Hurqulya is pointed out to be

“According to al-Ahsa’i, hurqulya is a barzak between the realms of mulk (al-donya) and al-
malakut; he describes it in one place as ‘another mulk’. It’s lowest extension touches the
‘prime mover’, the outermost celestial spheres, ‘in rank not in direction’. Images appearing
in physical mirrors belong to this level of hurqulya. In temporal terms it stands between the
highest point of earthly time (a’la al-zaman) and the lowest level of eternity (asfal al-dahr).
hurqulya is situated in the eight clime (al-iqlim at-tamin) of which it forms the highest part,
with the cities of Jabalqa and Jabalsa forming the lower. The earthly paradise (jonnat al-
 donya) is located in the western part of hurqulya and the earthly hell to the east.”
[MacEoin, EIr, "Cosmology and Cosmogeny" ]

Also, the Shaykhi school taught that there where three periods of history:

1) al-donya, the time of concealment

2) al-raja’, the time of the return of Muhammad and the Imams

3) al-Qiyama, the time of the universal resurrection. It should also be pointed out that
Shaykh Ahsa’i had an elaborate theory regarding resurrection which is not carried through
by the Bahai movement, rather the Bahai, especially ‘Ali-Muhammad-i Shiraz,al-Bab,
teachings bare more resemblance to the universal theory of resurrection of Mulla Sadra.

The Symbolic Cosmology of Mulla Sadra:

Mulla Sadra was an influential `irfani philosopher of the 17th century in Shiraz. His teacher was Mir
Damad a famous ‘Irfani philosopher of Iran and considered a member of the Dhahabi Sufi Tariqat.
He was schooled in the ‘Irfani tradition of the Ishraqiyyun. Mulla Sadra’s primary view does not
differ in terms of the contents of the cosmos, but rather of the quality or substance of the cosmos.
He wrote of all existence being reality, that is essences are not real they are conceptual. The only
real reality is Existence of which Essence is an accident. This is directly opposed to the Ishraqiyyun
philosophers Suhrawardi and Sayyid Qutb al-Din. Of Existence he writes that it is in perpetual
motion (ar. harakat, per. junbish) and existence beside the Real Reality, God, is ambiguous due to
this motion. The Doctrine of Mulla Sadra states that even though his philosophy sounds monistic it
is not existentially so and thus he teaches an doctrine of Tawhid al-Wujud (Existential Unity), in
terms of humanities knowledge of the Creator.

His Doctrine of Perpetual Motion:

Movement does not occur only in the qualities of things but in their very substance.
Substansive Motion (haraka jawhariya)– transforms the fixed ‘grades’ of al-Suhrawardi into
a systematically ambiguous (tashkik) idea of existence.

“1. ‘grades’ of being are no longer fixed and static but ceaselessly move and achieve
higher forms of existence in time.

2. ‘existence is applicable to all evolutionary stages (bi-al-tashkik), with systematic

ambiguity, and no other concept has this character: only existence is that principle which
‘by virtue of being simple and unitary (basit) creates differences:

3. this movement of the universe (which is irreversible and unidirectional) ends in the
‘Perfect Man’ (al-insan al-kamil) who becomes a member of the Divine Realm and
becomes unified with the Attributes of Divinity (Sifat God)
 4. each higher stage of existence includes all the lower ones and transcends them; this is
expressed by the formula ‘a simple reality is everything’, i.e. the higher reality is, the
simpler and more inclusive it is.

5. the more something has or achieves of existence, the less it has of essence, since,
while existence is real, concrete, determinate, individual and luminous, essences are
exactly the opposite and arise only in the mind by the impact of reality upon it. hence,
Divinity being pure existence, has no essence at all.” [Note: essences ('ayan) should not
be confused with the Essence of Divinity (Dhat God)] (Rahman, MS, pg. 11)

So what is ‘ambiguity’. It is that existence moves continuously and successively through higher and
higher forms of evolutionary ‘modes’ of being, culminating in the Perfect Man (al-insan al-kamil).

Cosmogenesis in Sadra’s Thought:

This brings us to how Sadra imagined creations genesis. He bases his ideas on the doctrine of ‘Ibn
Arabi and synthesizing this with Muslim Peripatetic tradition. His process runs like this:

1. When Divinity as Necessary Existence, reflects upon Himself, the first effulgence from
His being takes place. This is the first effect of Divinity. It is the self-unfolding existence (al-
wujud al-munbasit). It is absolute (itlaq).

2. Contingency (mumkinat): Contingency is the particular determination of the self,

unfolding being necessitates the attachment to it of a ‘thing’– in the mind. When the self-
unfolding being enters the realm of contingency and through it’s self-determination
(ta’ayyuna) being with ‘thingness’ arise, it is called the ‘the Breath of the Merciful’ (nafas al-
rahman), this is the self-unfolding being insofar as it gives rise to contingent beings and
manifest ‘things’. This occurs in the Mind of Divinity.

3. A second reflection or effulgence upon Himself generates a multiplicity of attributes. The

attributes are also the Ideal Entities of the created world. Difference between the two
reflections: the first reflection– of existence– had reflected or irradiated the outward of
Divinity, which is pure existence; the second is inward. Due to the principle that existence
is reality while ‘things’ are concepts, and concepts are confined to mental existence.

4. With this Second Effulgence, a change occurs in the first effulgence– it becomes
infected with ‘entitization’. Sadra calls this new substance highest Intelligible Substance,
which by casting a shadow upon the temporal world, generates the primary substance,
Pure Matter– which generates specific substances, like Intelligence, man, animal… in the
Case of Divinity, there is nothing but an absolute and pure existence which in His mind
generates a multiplicity of attributes.(cf. Rahman, MS, pg. 86-89)

It is clearly differentiated substantially between Divinity and that which is emanated. These lesser
realms are actually according to Sadra modes of Existence (anha al-wujud). That is that as
existence is one there is actually different modes within existence which generates the idea of
Unity in Diversity or Diversity in Unity (wahda wa’l-kathrat):
 “…in the realm of diversity and multiplicity, a real unity exists while, conversely, in the
realm of absolute unity, multiplicity exists in an eminent, ideal, or simple manner. This is
the doctrine of unity-in-diversity and diversity-in-unity (wahda fi’l-kathra wa’l-kathra fi’l
wahda). He condemns those materialist atheists who recognize only a disjointed
multiplicity in nature and do not recognize the presence of one Existence-principle, one
Divinity in it… he declares erroneous the views of those mystics, who even in the realm of
contingent multiplicity only see unity and deny the existence of diversity” (Rahman, MS,
pg. 132)

Sadra’s Unity and Diversity in Sufi and Baha’i Terms:

To begin I would like to draw attention to the correlation of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s usage of the principle of
movement (harakat) and ambiguity (tashkik). In the Baha’i prayer (salat/namaz) it is recorded that
the Pen of God is that which moves (haraka) creation (al-mumiknat) and that creation is ambiguous
(mutashkik), ‘stirred up’, by the movement of the Pen. ‘Abdu’l-Baha likewise writes that:

“Know that nothing which exists remains in a state of repose– that is to say, all things are
in motion. Everything is either growing or declining; all things are either coming from non-
existence into being, or going from existence into non-existence… This state of motion is
said to be essential– that is, natural; it cannot be separated from beings because it is their
essential requirement, as it is the essential requirement of fire to burn.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha,
SAQ, pg. 232)

From this usage we can derive a field of context to Mulla Sadra’s philosophy. Unity-in-Diversity
(wahda fi’l-kathrat) is not an isolated usage of Mulla Sadra’s view and philosophy, i.e. Bada’,
Harakat, Tashkik, Shuhudi Unitarianism, Tanazallut, Mental Existence.

In terms of Unity-in-Diversity Baha’ Allah writes:

“These Lights have proceeded from but one Source, and these fruits are the fruits of one
Tree. Thou canst discern neither difference nor distinction among them. All this is by the
grace of God! On whom He will, He bestoweth His grace. Please God, that we avoid the
land of denial, and advance into the ocean of acceptance, so that we may perceive, with
an eye purged from all conflicting elements, the worlds of unity and diversity, of variation
and oneness, of limitation and detachment…” (Mirza Husayn-`Ali, BW, Kitab-i Iqan, pg.
160)

as seen in the opening quote from Baha’ Allah, the realms of Unity and Diversity are realms
assignated to a station below that of the Divine Unity, Thus the Unity is not that which we speak of
asserting to God’s existence. It is the concept of the unity of existence in terms of contingent
existence. Abdu’l-Baha speaks of it in this manner when using the doctrine:

“And this Spirit hath both restitution and return, inasmuch as it consists of the Light of God
and the unconditioned grace. So, having regard to this state and station, Christ announced
that John the Baptist was Elias, who was to come before Christ. And the likeness of this
 station is as that of lamps kindled: for these in respect to their glasses and oil-holders, are
different, but in respect to their light, One…” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, BWF, pg. 371)

And again he writes:

“The Creator of all is One God. From this same God all creation sprang into existence…
Man is the sum of Creation, and the Perfect Man is the expression of the complete thought
of the Creator– the Word of God. Consider the world of created beings, how varied and
diverse they are in species, yet with one sole origin. All the differences that appear are
those of outward form and colour. This diversity of type is apparent throughout the whole
of nature.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, PT, pg. 51)

It is interesting that he speaks of diversity as type, underlying an unity. This process of

differentiation is likened in Mulla Sadra’s writings to differing modes of existence. Hence, each
lower differentiation is the differentia of the higher genus. That is, diversity of the unity. It is this
idea of diversity of an underlying unity which gives us the concept of the unity. (see below for
further elucidation) Albeit this is a short glimpse of Sadra’s Philosophy in the Baha’i movement it
demonstrates one point: that the Baha’i movemenet continues the Shi’a ‘irfani tradition in both
philosophy and sufism. :

“The background to Sadra and Baha’i thought is owned in great part to Ibn `Arabi, the
twelfth century mystic. He writes on the Unity and Diversity that it is similar to the
mathematical reciprocity of ‘one as source of all numbers, and the numbers: “The numbers
are produced in a serial form by the (repetition of) ‘one’. Thus the one brings into existence
the numbers, while the numbers divide the ‘one’, (the only essential difference between
them being that) a ‘number’ subsists as a number by virtue of something which is
counted.” (Ibn `Arabi, ST, pg. 79)

All the numbers are each a particular form in which ‘one’ manifests itself according to its peculiar
determination and the rank it occupies in the numerical series. This is noted by Bali Efendi as:

“You must notice that ‘one’ corresponds symbolically to the one inner essence (‘ayn) which
is the reality itself of the Absolute, while the numbers correspond to the multiplicity of the
Names arising from the self-manifestation of that reality (i.e. of the Absolute) in various
forms in accordance with the requirements of its own aspects and relations… Finally, the
‘things counted’ correspond to the concrete things of this world, that is, creaturely forms of
theophany, without which neither the properties of the Names nor the states of the
permanent archetypes can become manifest (in the external world in a concrete way).” (
Izutsu, ST, pg. 79)

Abbas Effendi ‘Abdu’l-Baha uses the same imagery to convey the same meaning where he writes:

“And similarly consider the Unitary Concept (ahad) how all the numbers appear from it and
it is in no number since it is the point of origin of all numbers. And the first to be specified
and to appear from it is the number ‘one’ (wahid) and from ‘one’ all other numbers come
into being. So all these numbers are contained in the unitary concept in the most perfect
 simplicity and oneness. And so it is the Hidden Treasure of all numbers and from it do they
appear.” (Abbas Effendi ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Momen trans., KM, pg. 11)

Each number is an independent reality:

“The ‘thing counted’ partakes of both non-existence and existence, for one and the same
thing can be non-existent of the level of the senses while being existent on the level of the
intellect. So there must be both the ‘number’ and the ‘thing counted’.But there must be, in
addition, also ‘one’ which causes all this and is caused by it. (And the relation between
‘one’ and the numbers is to be conceived as follows) Every degree in the numerical series
(i.e. every number) is in itself one reality. (thus each number is a self-subsistent unity and)
not a mere conglomeration, and yet, on the other hand, there certainly is a respect in
which it must be regarded as ‘one’s put together’. Thus two is one reality (though it is a
gathering of one and one)… Since each number is in this way one (i.e. an independent
reality), the essence of each number cannot be the same as the essences of other
numbers. And yet, the fact of ‘gathering’ (of ones is common to all of them (i.e. as genus,
as it were, which comprises all species).” (Izutsu, ST, pg. 79)

Interestingly, again the concept of Genus is integrated into this picture the concept is developed
through further elucidation:

“…that what is in reality the one unique Essence multiplies itself into many essences
through the multiplicity of self-determinations. These self-determination our of two kinds:
one is ‘universal’ (al-ta’ayyun al-kulliy) by which the Reality in the state of Unity becomes
‘man’, for example, and the other is ‘individual’ (al-ta’ayyun juz’iy) by which ‘man’ becomes
Abraham… Since ‘man’ remains preserved both in father and child on the level of the
specific unity, (Ibn `Arabi) avoid affirming the difference of essence [substance/matter] in
father and child and affirms only the difference of ‘capacity’ (hukm) saying ‘or more exactly,
in the capacity of son’. This he does because there is no difference at all between the two
in essence, that is, in so far as they are ‘man’. The difference arises only in regard to their
‘being father’ and ‘being son’ respectively. The same is true of Adam and Eve. Both of
them and their children are one with respect to their ‘being man’. Thus the Absolute is one
in itself, but it is multiple because of it’s various self-determinations, specific and individual.
These self-determinations, specific and individual. These self-determinations do not
contradict the real Unity. In conclusion we say: ‘(The Absolute) is One in the form of
Many.” (al-Qashani, quoted in Izutsu, ST, pg. 80-81:

“Ibn ‘Arabi writes of the role of the Divine Names in the One/Many paradigm. The Names
have two aspects: toward God they are one, toward multiplicity-diversity they are other
than the Absolute.”The Unity of God on the level of the Divine Names which require (the
existence of) us (i.e., the phenomenal world) is the Unity of multiplicity (ahadiyah al-
kathrah). And the Unity of God in the sense of being completely ‘independent’ of us and
even of the Names is the Unity of essence (ahadiyah al-’ayn). Both aspects are called by
the same name: ‘One’.” (pg. 102, ST, Izutsu) :
The Divine Names are the cause (sabab `illah) of multiplicity. Higher Names contain lower names
and every Name contains in a certain sense the other Names in the graded hierarchy of Names:

“When you assign a higher rank to a Divine Name, you are thereby calling it (implicitly) by
all the Names (that belong to the Names of lower ranks). The same is true of the things of
the world; every higher being possesses the capacity of comprehending all that is lower
than itself. However, every particle of the world is (virtually) the whole of the world, that is
every single particle is capable of receiving into itself all the realities of all single particles
of the world. So the observed fact, for instance, that Zayd is inferior to ‘Amr in knowledge
does not in anyway prevent the same He-ness of the Absolute being the very essence of
Zayd and ‘Amr; nor does it prevent the He-ness being more perfect, more conspicuous in
‘Amr than in Zayd.” (Isutzu, ST, pg. 107)

Abbas Effendi `Abdu’l-Baha writes similarly:

“Know thou, O lover of the All-Glorious Beauty, that differences between the statements of
the saints is on account of differences in the effulgences of the Names of the Absolute and
variations in their places of manifestation. For in the being of every one of the mirrors of
the Attributes of the Absolute and in the reality of each locus of the manifestation of
Absolute Self-Sufficiency, one of the Names of the Absolute is King over the rest of the
Names. Moreover humanity is honoured by the cloak of ‘We have created mankind the
best of forms’ and has put on the spiritual garment of’ and praised be to God the best of
Creators.’ The True One (praised be He) has manifested every created thing through one
of His Names. Thus some of the mystic knowers have said that the angels are the
manifestations of the Praiseworthy One and the Holy One while devils are the
manifestation He who leads astray and He who is proud. Similarly everything else is each
one under the revelation of one of the Absolutes’ Names. And if this Divine Subtlety and
this Heavenly Refinement be separated for one instant from a thing, it would become
absolute nothingness and complete non-existence.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, Momen trans., KM, pg.
28-29)

Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, writes in the same way in direct regards to the doctrine of
Tawhid al-Wajid (Existential Oneness) and Wahdat al-Shuhud in Kitab-I-Ittihad:

Two stations can be observed in the Divine Unity: Existential Oneness (tawhíd-i wujúdí),
and this is that [station] wherein all things are negated with a “no” and only the Absolute
Reality is affirmed. This means the existence of nothing is acknowledged except the
Absolute Reality, in the sense that all things, when compared with Its manifestation and
remembrance, have been and will continue to be absolute nothingness (faná-yi mahd). “All
things perish save the [Divine] Face(21)”, which means that compared with Its existence,
nothing else has the capacity for existence and so no mention of the existence of anything
else should be made. It has been said “God was and there was nothing else beside Him.
And He is now as He always has been.” And yet it can be seen that things exist and have
existed. The meaning of these words is that, in His court, nothing has, or has ever had,
existence. In the Existential Oneness, “all things” perish and are nothing and the [Divine]
“Face(22)”, which is the Absolute Reality, and is eternal and unceasing.
 [The second station in Divine Unity,] Manifestational Oneness (tawhíd-i shuhúdí), is that
[station] where the signs of the Primal Divine Unity, the manifestations of Eternity, and the
effulgences of the light of Singleness can be observed in all things. Thus in the divine book
it is revealed: “We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and in themselves.”(23)
[108] In this station the effulgences of the signs of the uncompounded reality can be
observed and are apparent in all things. The meaning of the philosopher was not that the
Absolute Reality is dispersed among the innumerable existent things. Immeasurably
exalted is It from being dispersed in any thing or from being constrained by any limits or
from being associated with any other thing in creation. It is and continues to be sanctified
from and exalted above all else except Itself. We bear witness that It is one in Its Essence
and one in Its attributes. And all things are held in the grasp of the power of Him [God]
Who is the sovereign Protector of all the worlds. [Baha' Allah, LAWH BASÍT AL-
HAQÍQA, Momen tr.,http://www.northill.demon.co.uk/relstud/basit.htm (1/17/05)]

UNITY, INDIVIDUATION AND DIVERSITY:

So far we have seen the over arching idea behind diversity and unity, however there are some
philosophical questions which need addressing. The question of unity and diversity is one which
involves several issues. Of interest in regards to individuation is that of the Natural Universal (al-
tabi’ah kulli). The Natural Universal is defined as the nature (al-tabi’ah) or quiddity (al-mahiyyah) as
it is in itself (min huwiyyat hiya hiya), absolute and unconditioned by anything (la bi-shart shay’),
whether universality, particularity, existence, non-existence. Philosophers held that natural
universals existed externally. Theologians held they exist in the mind:

The question of external existence (wujud khariji) is argued through the following lines: a)
Tusi argues that a concrete thing cannot subsist in things, if it did it would be many things.
If it is a composite then it does not subsist in things. If it is the whole in the sense of being
divided among it’s units (ahad), then each unit is only a part of that thing. Therefore, it is in
neither units or the whole it does not subsist in them. (cf. Jami, DF 13, pg. 38)

Fanari counters:

“The meaning of the realization (tahaqquq) of a universal reality (al-haqiqah al-kulliyah) in

its singulars (afrad) is its realization at one time qualified by this individuation (al-ta’ayyun)
and at another by that individuation. This does not necessitate it’s being many things…”
(al-Fanari quoted in Jami, DF 14, pg. 38-39)

al-Razi adds:

“numerous realities such as genus, difference and species are all realized in one singular
(fard). If they existed [externally], however, predication between them would be impossible
because of the impossibility of predication between multiple [external] existents (mawjudat
muta’addidah).” (Jami, DF 15, pg. 39)

al-Fanari answers:
 “it is possible for numerous related realities (haqa’iq mutanasibah) to exist through a single
existence which includes them as such, just as fatherhood subsists in the sum total of
parts of the father as a whole.” (Fanari quoted by Jami, DF 16, pg. 39)

The Source of Existents (Mabda’ al-Mawjudat) is the reality of existence. If the Source of Existents
is the Absolute then the external thesis is proven since the Absolute is simple not compound. If the
Source is an individuation then the universal must be extrinsic (kharij)

Sufis attest:

“to the affirmation of the existence of an absolute essence (dhat mutlaqah) encompassing
the intellectual and concrete planes and expanding over mental and external existents. It
has no individuation which prevents it form appearing in other individuations whether
divine or created. Thus it is not impossible to affirm of it an individuation which is
consistent with (yujami’) any of them, which is identical with it’s essence and not
superadded to it either in the mind or externally, and which the intellect, should it conceive
of it in a certain individuation, would be unable to imagine as being common (mushtarak)
to many in the same way that universals are common to either particulars, but would be
able to conceive of as being transformed into or as appearing in numerous forms (al-suwar
al-kathirah) and infinite manifestations (al-mazahir al-ghayr al-muyaniyah)…” (Jami, DF 20,
pg. 40-41)

These concepts are explained through an analogy by Jami:

“If a single particular form (surah wahidah juz’iyah) is impressed (intaba’at) in many mirrors
which differ with respect to being large or small, long or short, flat convex or concave, and
so forth, then there can be no doubt that this form multiplies (yatakaththar) in accordance
with the multiplicity of the mirrors, and that its impressions differ in accordance with the
differences in the mirrors. Furthermore, this multiplicity [of impressions] does not impair the
unity of the [original] form, nor does the appearance [of the form] in any one of these
mirrors preclude it from appearing in the others. The True One (al-Wahid al-Haqq), ‘and
God’s is the loftiest likeness,’ is thus analogous to the one form, whereas quiddities (al-
mahiyat) are analogous to the many mirrors with their differing predispositions (istii’dadat).
God appears in each and every individual essence (‘ayn) in accordance with that essence,
without any multiplicity (takaththur) or change (taghayyur) occurring in His holy essence.
Moreover, His appearing in accordance with the characteristics (ahkam) of any one of
these individual essences does not prevent Him from appearing also in accordance with
the characteristics of the others, as you have learned from the foregoing analogy.” (Jami,
DF 24, pg. 42)

Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, uses this same analogy in the Seven Valleys (cf. Pg. 27) What
is clearly established is that the One is not affected by the Multiplicity. As well, Universality is
analogous to the Form and the particular to the Quiddity. Thus we can understand the subtlety
involved with the concept of Unity in Diversity. Sadra holds that Universals are mental existents,
that is internal (dhihni) not external. The same is true for genus. He holds this view since for him
essences have no reality only existence is real. And all concrete existents are differentia of multiple
particulars. For a universal to have reality it must be something other than a mental concept such
as essence. On genus he holds:

1. Genus is identical with or parallel to the potentiality of matter, while the differentia is
identical with the actualized form;

2. Genus, because of it’s imperfection and indeterminacy requires and is perfected by the
differentia;

3. Differentia is the only reality, since genus, as a pure potentiality in the nature of matter,
cannot form part of actual existence. :

4. hence, differentia equal concrete existence:

5. species and specific nature is a classification of objects by the mind.

Speculatively we may suggest that Abbas Effendi calls existence one due to the realization that
diversity is particularization this particularization is the process of entitization (ta’ayyuna) or forming
essences (‘ayn) and these have no real existence in Sadra’s system. Entitization is related to
Sadra’s doctrine which relates the differentia of a higher mode becomes the genus of the station of
the differential of the lower mode. So all reality is one once entitization is annihilated in the Unity of
God, that is the Shuhudi Unitarianism vis. Wujudi Unitarianism or the materialist doctrine of
witnessing only multiplicity. This can be seen in the Seven Valleys of Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri:

“In sum the differences (ikhtilaf) in objects (mahall) have been made plain. Thus when the
wayfarer (salik) gazeth (nazar) only upon the place of appearance (al-mahall)-that is, when
he seeth only the many colored globes-he beholdeth yellow and red and white; hence it is
that conflict hath prevailed among the creatures, and a darksome dust from limited souls
(anfus) hath hid the world (‘alam). And some do gaze upon the effulgence (ishraq) of the
light; and some have drunk of the wine of oneness (wahidat) and these see nothing but the
sun itself.” (Baha’ Allah, SV, pg. 20-21, HV pg. 21)

Hence, what is really real or actual is Oneness. And later it shall be seen that Existence is the proof
for the Existence of God, though not in an anthropomorphic sense (hulul).

DIVERSITY IN UNITY:

The next consideration is in regards to the One as simple and without multiplicity so how is it the
Unity has diversity/multiplicity. Multiplicity enters at the level of Divine Knowledge through the
differing relations (attributes of God), the Divine quiddities. The conflict between the Shuhudi
Unitarians and Wujudi Unitarians to be considered at a later period is in regards to the question of
the Quiddity (mahiyya) being created (‘ibda) or emanated (fayd/sudur). Shuhudis say they are
originated. Wujudis say emanated. For now it is necessary to examine the role of the quiddity in
forming multiplicity. This brings us to a discussion of Emanation in general in Sufi thought.
For the Sufis it is impossible for multiplicity to emanate from what is One. This is shared with the
Philosophers.

“They differed from them, however, with respect to the First Principle’s being really one,
for, as has been said, they affirm of Him attributes (sifat) and relations (nisab) which differ
from Him in the mind (‘aqlan) but not in the external world (kharijan). Thus, in view of His
being the origin (mabda’) of the world, they believe it possible for multiplicity to emanate
from Him with respect to the multiplicity to emanate from with respect to the multiplicity of
His attributes and relations (i’tibarat). However, with respect to His essential unity
(wahdatihi al-dhatiyah) there can emanate from Him only a single one of these attributes
and relations. Then, through the mediacy of this one, there attaches to Him all the other
relations and, through the mediacy of the multiplicity of these relations there attaches to
Him a real existential multiplicity (kathrah wujudiyah haqiqiyah).” (Jami, DF 78,pg. 67)

Philosophers believe multiplicity has being through multiple aspects. Sufis believe multiplicity has
existence though the First Principle. The quiddities take existence through the aspects (I’tibarat),
each arising out of the previous, through the mediacy of the aspects arise concrete existential
entities in a single station or plane. These existential entities are of two ranks. Those having
contingency except for its being in its reality contingent and created. And those contingent in it’s
essence whose existence is dependent on an existential entity other than the Absolute, i.e. the
Exalted Pen. This first emanation which all other aspects take their existence is an mental existent,
the philosophers say that the first emanation is an concrete existent, such as the spheres or Divine
Ideas. Qunawi writes:

“And that single entity which emanates first (al-wahid al-sadir awwalan) is, in our opinion,
general existence (al-wujud al-’amm) which is poured forth upon the individual essences of
contingents (a’yan al-mumkinat), that is, upon their fixed essences (al-a’yan al-thabitah
laha). This existence is common both to the Most Exalted Pen, which is the first existent
according to the philosophers and is also called the first intellect, as well as to all other
existents. This single emanation is not, however the first intellect as mentioned by the
rationalist philosophers”

He further states,

“This general existence is, in reality, not different from the inner True Existence (al-Wujud
al-Haqq al-batin), which is unconnected (al-mujarrad) with individual essences (al-a’yan)
and manifestations (al-mazahir) except through relations and aspects (nisab wa-I’tabarat)
such as manifestation (al-zuhur), individuation (al-taayyun), and multiplicity (al-ta’addud),
which occur to it through attachment (al-iqtiran) and through reception of the quality of
being common (qabul hukm al-ishtirak).” (Qunawi, quoted by Jami, DF 89, pg. 71)

Succinctly stated the First Principle is One, multiplicity derives from aspects, which are the Divine
Attributes, the first of these is the first emanation through which all other existents take their
existence. Multiplicity is a product of Knowledge not of the Essence of God, which is One. God is
the source of all existents, but there is no multiplicity in His essence (dhat). Thus in relation to the
Baha’i teachings there are three considerations to look at to verify the similarity to Sufism in this
respect: :

1. There is no multiplicity in the Absolute:

2. the First Emanation is the source of multiplicity:

3. Natural Universals have an internal existence, proved through God as source

of existence.

It can be demonstrated that the Baha’i teachings reflect this through textual citation:

THE SUN OF REALITY: In our solar system, the center of illumination is the sun itself.
Through the will of God this central luminary is the one source of the existence and
development of all phenomenal things. When we observe the organisms of the material
kingdoms we find that their growth and training are dependent upon the heat and light of
the sun. Without this quickening impulse there would be no growth of tree or vegetation,
neither would the existence of animal or human being be possible; in fact no forms of
created life would be manifest upon the earth. But if we reflect deeply we will perceive that
the great bestower and giver of life is God; the sun is the intermediary of His will and plan.
Without the bounty of the sun therefore the world would be in darkness. All illumination of
our planetary system proceeds or emanates from the solar center. Likewise in the spiritual
realm of intelligence and idealism there must be a center of illumination, and that center is
the everlasting, ever-shining Sun, the Word of God. Its lights are the lights of reality which
have shone upon humanity, illumining the realm of thought and morals, conferring the
bounties of the divine world upon man. These lights are the cause of the education of
souls and the source of the enlightenment of hearts, sending forth in effulgent radiance the
message of the glad-tidings of the kingdom of God. In brief, the moral and ethical world
and the world of spiritual regeneration are dependent for their progressive being upon that
heavenly center of illumination. It gives forth the light of religion and bestows the life of the
spirit, imbues humanity with archetypal virtues and confers eternal splendors. This Sun of
Reality, this center of effulgences is the prophet or Manifestation of God. Just as the
phenomenal sun shines upon the material world producing life and growth, likewise the
spiritual or prophetic Sun confers illumination upon the human world of thought and
intelligence, and unless it rose upon the horizon of human existence the kingdom of man
would become dark and extinguished. (Effendi, BWF, pg. 254)

Thus, the considerations are verified in Baha’i thought and thus it can be said on the issue of Unity
and Diversity the Baha’i teachings are in accord with this doctrine.
Unity and Diversity presents some difficult questions as can be seen there is no multiplicity in the
Self of God, multiplicity in the Divine Station is the multiplicity of Divine Ideas in the Knowledge of
God. This is expressed in concrete form in the world of sense and vision (‘alam al-huss wa’l-
shuhud). The use of ‘Abdu’l-Baha of the terms Unity and Diversity is common to that of Mulla
Sadra’s, where both are derived from Sufi sources.

WORKS CITED:

ST “Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts”, Toshiko Izutsu, UC
Press, Berkeley 1983

DF Nur al-Din Rahman al-Jami, Trans. By Nicholas Heer “Durrah

al-Fakhirah (The Precious Pearl)” SUNY Press Albany 1979

MS Fazlur Rahman “The Philosophy of Mulla Sadra (Sadr al-Din

al-Shirazi)” SUNY Press Albany 1975

Eir “Encyclopedia Iranica”, Columbia University Press

SAQ Abdu’l-Baha (Abbas Effendi) “Some Answered Questions” Baha’I Publishing

Trust: Wilmette 1990

BWF Abdu’l Baha (Abbas Effendi), Baha’u’llah (Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri) “Baha’I
World Faith” Bahai Publishing 1943

PT Abdu’l Baha (Abbas Effendi), “Paris Talks” Baha’I Publishing Trust; Wilmette
1972

KM Abdu’l Baha (Moojan Momen Translator) “I Was a Hidden Treasure”

inBulletin of Baha’i Studies, vol. 3, no. 4 (Dec. 1985), pp. 4-64 available on-line at
http://www.northill.demon.co.uk/relstud/kkm.htm

HV Baha’u’llah (Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri) “Seven Valleys”, Baha’I Publishing Trust

Wilmette

KA Baha’u’llah (Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri) “Kitab-I-

Aqdas”,http://www.ibiblio.org/Bahai/Texts/English/AQD/

GLN Baha’u’llah (Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri) “Gleanings from the Writings of

Baha’u’llah”, http://www.ibiblio.org/Bahai/Texts/EN/GWB/

Chapter 6 – The Question of Witnessing, Quiddity and Knowledge in Mulla Sadra

and Sufism.
By Michael McCarron

“There is no Divinity but He; that is the witness of Divinity” Al-Qur`an al-Karim 3:18

INTRODUCTION:

Rumi wrote sometime ago a collection of his lectures on Sufi sama sessions (majlis) it was entitled
“Fihi ma fihi”, literally meaning “in it, what is in it”. It was a symposium on the contents of the Sufi
path, literally the what is it of Sufism, the contents. These contents are known as the quiddity (latin:
quidditas; arabic: mahiyya or ‘ayn) The question of what it is of the Path is a major question for the
quiddity is the distinguishing characteristic between the unitarian[1] schools of sufism, wahdat al-
wujud and wahdat al-shuhud.

Mahiyya is defined as

“… it is that which replies to the question: what is this? It expresses the genus (jins), while
the question ayu shay’ huwa (what kind of thing is it?) relates to the species (naw’). … Ibn
Sina writes with regard to the ‘hadd’: ‘it is that which indicates the quiddity of a thing, this
being the perfection of its existence in essence (kamal wujud al-dhati): it is composed of the
genus and of the specific difference’. This question will be encountered again with regard to
the inniya.” (Arnaldez, EI Vol. VI, pg. 1261, “Mahiyya”)

Another definition is given with a slight difference

“The mahiyya is that through which a thing is what it is (ma bihi al-shay’ huwa huwa)….In
this sense, the term is synonymous with essence (dhat) and with reality (haqiqa). This
reality, like quiddity and essence is beyond the universal and the particular, the existent and
the non-existent, meaning that it can express not only the genus but also the
individual essence, not only that which exists in beings themselves (fi al-a’yan), but that
which does not exist thus, while existing in thought (fi al-dhihni).” [2](EI Vol. VI, pg. 1261)

Whereas Mulla Sadra shows a different understanding of the quiddity or essence giving it a
subsidiary role to Absolute Existence: ‹Existences (al-wujudat) are genuine [determinate] realities
(haqa`iq) and essences (mahiyyat) are the eternal “thisnesses” (al-a’yan al-thabitat) which have
never inhaled the perfume of real existence at all. These existences are merely the rays and
reflected lights of the True Light and of the Eternal Existence– Exalted Be His Sublimity!–,
however, each of them has essential predicates (nu`uta dhatiyyat) and contains intelligible
concepts (ma`ayn `aqliyyat) called essences (al-mahiyyat).” (M, pg. 43) Mulla Sadra conceived of
the Quiddity of having two meanings [3] The Quiddity which is a universal and exists in the mind.
And the Essence of “mahi ash-shay, huwa huwa” (What thing is it?). The concrete existing
individual.

In the following I shall be examining the question of the quiddity in determing the relationship of
Sadrian and Sufi doctrines in regards to existential unity. My starting point is to look at the theory of
God’s Knowledge in popular Islam. We shall see that it is the quiddity which lends itself as definer
to the definitive seperation amongst the different schools. We will see how the answer to five
questions delineates the conception of Unity-of-Being and the Sadrian view of the quiddity. These
five questions are:

1. Is Existence precedent over Essence?

2. Are Forms external to God?

3. Are Objects of Knowledge needed for God to have Knowledge or caused by God’s Essential
Knowledge?

4. Quiddities (mahiyya) are simultaneous or originated as posteriors or effects?

5. Is there substantial union (hulul) with Creator and created?

Knowledge (‘Ilm):

Question 1: “Is Existence precedent over Essence?”

In Sadrian thought it is established that Existence is precedent over Essence as shall be

demonstrated in the latter sections of this paper. Suffice it to say for now that Suhrawardi, along
with Qutb ad-Din, held that essence was precedent over existence. This idea of existence
precedent before essence was elemental in Mulla Sadras philosophical revolution. Sadrian thought
was developed out of Ibn Sina’s thought.

Ibn Sina writes regarding Mahiyyat and Wujud:

“That whose essence (mahiyya) is other than existence is not the Necessary Existent. It has
become evident that existence has an accidental meaning for that whose essence is other
than existence (anniyya). And it has also become evident that there is a cause for that which
has an accidental idea (i.e. for that which has a contingent being). The cause of such a
being is either the essence (dhat) of that entity in whic it subsists or something else.” (MA,
pg. 55-56)

Question 2: “Are Forms external to God?”

To begin it is necessary to present an overview of the different perspectives regarding God’s

Knowledge in the traditional aspects of Islam. The main question is whether God has knowledge of
things by His existence or by some outside external Existent to His existence.

Overview of Different Schools:

The Major conflict between the different schools of thought on God’s Knowledge is that in regards
to Forms of Knowledge as necessity for God to have Knowledge. In this way we have:

Theologians:
 “Since theologian affirmed attributes super added to His essence, they found no difficulty
with respect to the connection (ta`alluq) of His knowledge with things outside His essence by
means of forms (suwar) corresponding to those things and super-added to Him.” (DF, pg.
44)

Philosophers:

A. Ibn Sina:

1. “Since the first (al-Awwal) apprehends (`aqala) His essence by means of His essence
and because His essence is the cause (`illah) of multiplicity (al-kathrah), it follows that He
apprehends multiplicity because of His apprehension of His essence by means of His
essence.

2. Thus, his apprehension of multiplicity is a concomitant (lazim) effected by Him (ma`lul

lahu), and the forms of multiplicity, which are the objects of His apprehension (ma`qulat),
are also His effects (ma`lulat) and His concomitants ranked in the order of effects and
therefore posterior to (muta`akhkhirah `an) the reality of His essence as an effect is
posterior to its causes.

3. His essence is not constituted by them (mutaqawwimah) by them or by anything else. It is

one, and the multiplicity of concomitants (al-lawazim) and effects (al-ma`lulat) is not
inconsistent with the unity of their cause (`illah) of which they are the concomitants,
regardless of whether these concomitants are established (mutaqarrirah) in the cause itself
or distinct (mubayinah)from it.

4. Deduction: Therefore, the establishment (taqarrur) in the essence of the Self-Subsistent

One, who is prior to them with respect to causality (al-`illiyah) and existence, does not
necessitate His being multiple.” (DF, pg. 45) [Emphasis and Numbering Added]

B. Sadra:

Knowledge, being a perfection, cannot be denied to God. For Sadra Knowledge is Existence.

“Knowledge is neither a privation like abstraction from matter, nor a relation but a being
(wujud). (It is) not every being but that which is an actual being, not potential. (It is) not even
every actual being, but a pure being, unmixed with non-being. To the extent that it becomes
free from an admixture of non-being, it’s intensity as knowledge increases.” (Sadra quoted
by Rahman, MS, pg. 213)

Sadra also holds that the Forms are internal as the existence of knower and known is one (cf. M,
pg. 64).

C. Sufi:
 “… His attributes, does not require a form superadded to Him. neither does His knowledge of
the quiddities (mahiyat) of things or their ipseities (huwiyat), for their quiddities and ipseities
are nothing but His transcendent essence (al-dhat al-muta`aliyah) clothed in these
aforementioned considerations whose intellections are. There is no doubt that His
knowledge of His essence and these considerations (al-i’tabarat) derived one from another.”
(DF, pg. 49-50)

Sadra Criticism of Different Schools:

Mulla Sadra refutes certain views of the schools of thought on the topic:

Mu`tazila: Essences subsist before their actual existence and in this state of subsistence (thubut)
are known by God. All non-existents are, nevertheless, ‘something’ that can be talked about as
referent of thought and hence ‘subsist’. Sadra rejects this saying essences have no reality at all
unless they are invested with real, external existence and that the non-existent cannot ‘subsist’ by
itself whether real or mental.

Peripatetic: Identify God’s knowledge with Platonic Forms as separate from God’s being. Sadra
rejects this saying these forms are posterior to God’s existence and His knowledge of them. How
could they, in that case, be God’s eternal and primordial knowledge? Sadra holds that the Forms
are not separate from God’s existence. Forms are identified by Sadra with the transcendental
Intelligence’s of the Peripatetics; they are not ’causes’ by Him, nor ‘emanate’ from Him, but are with
Him. Sadra does not accept the traditional view that God’s knowledge, in it’s ‘simplicity’ ensures
knowledge of all things. He upholds the doctrine of simplicity– a simple being is all things.

In Summation

Succinctly the issue at hand in the preceding was the question of whether God’s Knowledge is
dependent on an external Form for Him to Know. The Theologians say there is an external Form
the Sufis and Sadra say that there is no necessity of an External Form, God’s Knowledge is
internal to Him. The next question regards the objects of Knowledge.

Question 3: “Are Objects of Knowledge needed for God to have Knowledge or caused by
God’s Essential Knowledge?”

The Argument of God’s Simple Knowledge

The question at hand in this section is that regarding does God need objects of knowledge to
Know. Is God a self-subsisting and knowing thing without need of outside objects for knowledge.
In the normal sense, the sense we learn by, it is necessary to have objects of knowledge for
knowledge. For instance this paper presents information it is the object of our knowing. We as
subjects learn from the quiddities presented here in. The definitions provided of varying
perspectives. The is of it, the contents. The question is is God a self-knowing knower? Thus what
the distinguishing characteristic involves is that of the quiddities of God, the attributes or aspects.
Are these attributes originated although co-extensive with God, or our they part of His eternal
existence. Hence, we get in mystical discourse talk of things with an beginning and no end or
things with no beginning and no end. This may seem an highly esoteric distinction. However, in
more common terms the distinction is in regards to God’s Essential Existence being above
composition and connection to created things. For if the attributes are truly co-eternal with His
Essence then there is connection and composition.

But if they are originated, although they be a part of His existence they cannot be a part of His
eternality (no beginning and no end, azaliyyat). Thus it would seem we have two modes of God’s
existence, the pre-cognitive and the post-cognitive.

This issue is addressed by Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra. Mulla Sadra agrees with Ibn Sina on the
simplicity argument of God’s Knowledge although formulating a new perspective of his own.
Sadra’s arguments follow.

Mulla Sadra’s Argument on Simplicity:

Mulla Sadra posits that existence and knowledge are co-extensive and to view existence as the
original reality and knowledge as an ‘abstracted notion’. For it is existence alone which in its all-
comprehensiveness can contain everything in a simple manner. Once knowledge is disengaged
from existence and is viewed per se, then one must talk of so many essences, concepts and ideas
as mutually exclusive units that it is impossible to reduce them to any simple unity. The only
principle of unity-in-diversity is the principle of existence as it is the only veritable reality, while
attributes like knowledge, power, and will are derivative realities or notions.

This brings us back to Ibn Sina’s view on Knowledge:

“Gods knowledge cannot derive from things since this would make Him dependent upon
something other than Himself, and since there is a succession in temporal things, His
knowledge would change from moment to moment. God’s knowledge, therefore, is not
produced by things; on the contrary, things are created by His knowledge. This
instantaneous knowledge, however is ordered knowledge in accordance with the order of
causes and effects. Thanks to this order, God knows priorities and posteriorities-even
though He does not possess sense perception…” (Rahman, MS, pg. 151)

This naturally brings in the question of the Forms and God’s Existence: If the forms are a part of
His being, God is composite and the simplicity is nullified. If these forms exist independently they
are Platonic Forms. If they are extrinsic accidents, God is not absolutely necessary. They likewise
cannot exist in other beings. Therefore, these forms are necessary consequences or properties
(lawazim) of His being.

Sadra’s defense of Ibn Sina against al-Tusi, Abu’l Barakat, and Suhrawardi. These philosophers
hold that God’s knowledge is directly related to things and not through prior cognitive forms.
a) Abu’l Barakat writes that if the function of prior cognitive forms is to save God from being directly
related to contingents then the same difficulty arises with regard to God’s power and knowledge;
some have tried to suggest that there is a differentiation between objects of power and knowledge:
power need not have an object where knowledge does need an object; and whereas, knowledge
needs a real relation to the object power does not.

Sadra’s Reply: relations in both cases are real. Therefore, the argument is not a valid analogy. It is
sufficient for God’s knowledge and power to have a form through which He both knows what will be
and intends what He will do but the existential counterpart of this form is not necessary.

b) Suhrawardi says this renders God into a subject characterized by so many inherent qualities
and accidents that a substratum must be affected by these. Whether or not the first form
contemplated by God precedes or follows or is simultaneous with the first external effect, God, in
His own being, will not be complete cause since He needs a form to cause the first external effect;
and finally, that the first form will have a dual role in giving a form to God’s being and helping cause
the external effect and in it’s former role, at least, will be an agent of God’s perfection. (cf. Rahman,
MS, pg. 153)

Sadra’s Reply: Qualities or attributes change or affect a subject only when the former are extrinsic
to the latter, not when they necessarily arise from it as in the case of the necessary attributes of a
simple essence. And the first form necessarily precedes the first external effect, otherwise God’s
providence (‘inaya) will be as nothing, these forms being related to different contingents have to be
different. Lastly, there is nothing wrong in the dual nature of the first form, since necessary
consequences (lawazim) of God’s knowledge do not constitute His perfection’s which is rather the
principle and source of these forms, which is God’s being. (cf. Rahman, MS, pg. 152)

In Summation:

Summarily the arguments can be thought in the following way. Al-Tusi and Suhrawardi, who hold
the same belief, say that God’s knowledge of things are the things themselves. They say this
direct knowledge is of universals and particulars. Sadra criticizes this view on the grounds that at
the level of pure unity (ahadiyya) according to them God is denied all knowledge-since they do not
recognize prior cognitive forms- and that His knowledge is derived from things. By this they are
denying God Providence (‘inaya)[4], prior knowledge, thus denying order or purpose in creation,
thus everything is up to luck. It is additionally important to understand that the cognitive forms are
posterior in existence to God’s Absolute Unity, although latent within It as undifferentiated
existence.

Finally one last point in this connection is that of the defining of the three stages of God’s
knowledge by Sadra. He states that God’s knowledge exists on three levels as well there are three
levels of existence (cf. M, pg. 51-52):

a) Absolute Unity (ahadiyya)

b) Godhead (uluhiya) where distinct attributes appear in the stage of unity, usually known as
wahidiya. Cognitive forms belong to the level of Divinity (uluhiya), where God’s Attributes appear.
They are latent in the level of Absolute Unity or absolute unseen (ghaib al-ghaib).

c) Form Ideas, every form exists by itself and which he calls the stage of distinction. (i.e. the locus
of manifestiation, ‘jamiyah’ in the station of Jabarut)

The Shuhudi Perspective on Union (ittihad) with God

Shuhudi Sufism has it’s origin in the early Sufi Mansur al-Hallaj the martyr of Baghdad. In it’s first
manifestation it was severely persecuted by the ‘uluma of the times. Later it was the orthodox
‘uluma that revived this doctrine among the Sufis of Persia (i.e. Kubrawiyya, Nurbakhshiyya,
Dhahabiyya, Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya. The Wujudi sufis take their precedence from Ibn ‘Arabi,
although it is clearly not a doctrine he personally supported. The Wujudi stream was an
interpretation of the Great Shaykhs writings. The main issue at hand between the two
interpretations of fana wa’l-baqa’ is in regards to the station of passing away: is it within the
existence of God or within a lesser mode? This is answered in wujudism by an affirmation and by
shuhudism by an negation-our passing away and subsisting is on this side of the absolute reality
paradigm. Mulla Sadra a student of mystics and Ibn ‘Arabi combined intuitive knowledge of Sufism
with the dialectical wisdom of the Philosophers. Thus he produced his Shuhudi doctrine in the
following.

Question 4. Quiddities (mahiyya) are simultaneous or originated as posteriors or effects?

Mulla Sadra on Existential Monism:

The question of existential unity, which Mulla Sadra affirms, is not equal to that of substantial unity
which is known as “hulul”. The qualification of existential unity in this way is what has become to
be known as “wahdat ash-shuhud– a created entity may realize it’s absorption in the One and the
One’s encompassment by the One, however, the created entity is not substantially united wiht the
One, union is a matter of conception not actual. The defining seperation between the unity-of-
being in terms of a substantial unity and that of a conceptual unity is attributed to the role of the
quiddity. There are four perspectives on the quiddity:

1. Quiddity is dual with existence

2. Quiddity is prior to existence

3. Quiddity is posterior or an effect (ma’lul) from the Necessary Existent (wajib al-wujud)

Mulla Sadra affirms the third view, although differing from at-Tusi on the terminology where Tusi
says “posterior”, Sadra says “effect” (cf. M, pg. 53; M, pg. 28-29)). Additionally, Sadra holds that
what is originated is in actuality existence not essence/quiddity. The Quiddity is united with this
existence (cf. M, pg. 46) The Necessary Existent is prior to all existents (cf. M, pg. 24).
The Cause is Allah’s Oneness– Ahadiyyat. The effect is Allahs singularitiness– wahidiyyat. It is
Allahs’s self knowledge of “Be” which begets the unfoldment or “tashkik” (systematic ambiguity) of
existence. Mulla Sadra’s thought might correctly be termed “wahdat-i tashkik al-wujud” Thus, the
substantialist wahdat al-wujudis have argued that if God is in need of an external form for
knowledge then the quiddities must be unoriginated. They do not recognize forms (aswar),
potentialities (qabilliyat), realities (haqa`iq), and quiddities (mahiyya) as being created (hadithah).
Their argument has been stated colloquially: “Originated things come into being, the quiddities
have always existed since knowledge (‘ilm) needs an object of knwledge (ma’lum) ia an essential
attrribute (sifat al-dhatiyya). Therefore, if potentialities have a beginning then we would be
asserting ignorance or need within God’s essence (dhat).”

As Jami has made reference to this conception in non-absolute terms, using a subjective context
between two modes:

“The gist of this is that He knows things in two ways. One of these is through the chain of
succession [of causes and effects] (silsilat al-tartib) in a manner close to that of the
philosophers. The other is through his oneness (ahadiyah), which encompasses all things. It
is obvious, of course, that His knowledge of them by the first way, for the first is
absentational knowledge (‘ilm ghaybi) of them prior to their existence, and the second is
presentational knowledge (‘ilm shuhudi) of them during their existence. In reality, however,
there are not two knowledges, but rather there attaches to the first knowledge through (bi-
wasitah) the existence of its connection (muta’alliq), that is, the thing known (al-ma’lum), a
relation (nisbah) in consideration of which we call that knowledge presence (shuhud) and
attendance (hudur). It is not that another knowledge has originated. Should you say that this
implies that His knowledge by the second way is limited to presently existing things(al-
mawjudat al-haliyah), I should answer yes, but all existents in relation to Him are present,
since [all] times are the same in relation to Him as well as present (hadirah) with Him, as has
just been mentioned in the quotation from one of the verifiers (ba’d al-muhaqqiqin).” (DF 44,
pg. 52-53)

The issue encountered here for Wahdat al-Wujud is that objects of knowledge in time are
participating in the formation of God’s Knowledge. This is how Shuhudis have interpreted such
passages, whether rightly or wrongly it is the issue taken up in this discourse. Al-Jami takes up the
issue of temporality here as means to disuade criticism of the doctrine. He suggest that due to
God’s being above temporality He encompasses all time and therefore is not dependent on the
created things. However, this would make God posterior to the objects of knowledge even if God
where above the level of temporality since that which is in time is forming the Knowledge,
Knowledge would be an eternal attribute yet conditioned by temporalilty, this is a contradiction. The
argument of non-substantial unitarians[5] is that God is the source of the objects of knowledge
within Himself and not dependent on Objects for Knowledge, He is Nafs al-Amr the thing itself
which gives it’s own objects of knowledge. The Created objects of knowledge are in fact, effects
from the One’s Cause.
Question 5. Is there substantial union (hulul) with Creator and created?

Mulla Sadra notes that eventhough everything is existence that we cannot delineate from this that
hulul (substantial union) is attributed to his vision of Unity-of-Being he writes:

“Beware that you may be swept out from your listening to these phrases, and imagine that
the relation among contingencies and Him-The Exalted- is incarnation (hulul) and union
(ittihad), and relates to these two [modes]! Lest [this notion is seriously entertained, for] this
would necessitate the duality in the foundation of existence. When the true sun has arisen
and its light shines on the contingencies which are spread in the forms of essences
(mahiyya), it becomes clear and evident that whatever has the name of existence is nothing
but a form of [ever] persisting unity and a radiance of the Light of Lights.” (M, pg. 67)

The conception of an ordered level of existence is maintained by Mulla Sadra which draws out the
idea of the differentiation between creation and Creator:

“That which is of simple nature is everything (basit al-haqiqa kulli al-ashya’). Existence, then
inherently manifest itself in existents ordered according to existential priority and posteriority
and in terms of intensity and diminution of existence. Since these manifestations are a
consequence of the very nature of existence itself and are not due to any extrinsic factor,
each and ever existent is unique and irreducible. It is, therefore, impossible that a contingent
be analyzable into two constituents: an essence and an existence, and the latter be simply
‘given back’ to God, the Primordial and Original Existence.” (Rahman, MS, pg. 39)

Fadl ar-Rahman explains the difference most eloquently as:

“In this simple, primordial sense, then, everything witnesses God and proclaims the existence of its
Maker. The question is, if existence is known directly and if God is nothing but existence, why not
admit a full and total knowledge of God on the part of His witness and a complete union of the
latter with the former? This is because everything else besides God is finite, determined, and
determinate and, no matter how much it develops, it cannot transcend this finitude. It is true that in
mystic experience the experient can lose sight of his finite self and fix his gaze entirely upon God
and ‘be lost’ in Him, but losing sight of his finitude is not the same as losing his finitude. A drop, as
part of the ocean, may enjoy the ocean, but cannot cease to be a drop as the Persian verses
quoted by al-Sabzawari on the point have it. It was this finitude and its inalienable otherness (or,
was it, rather, its consciousness?) with which al-Hallaj was so impatient when he exclaimed:
‘Between You and me ‘I am’ is in constant struggle with me; Lift this ‘I am’ from the middle by Your
Grace!’

On this interpretation of the mystic experience, Sadra view is close to that of al-Ghazali and
identical with that of his Indian contemporary Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi who declared the unity
experienced by the mystic to be a unity of perception (wahdat al-shuhud) rather than unity of being
(wahdat al-wujud). Yet, this immediate knowledge of God vouchsafed to everything is the universe
and immune from error is not the basis of religious and moral obligation, says Sadra. For that, a
more conscious knowledge is required, which is, by its nature, liable to error, is capable of degree
and qualitative differences, and becomes immune from error only in rare and exceptional cases
which constitute the logical limit of the form of knowledge and where the truth is ‘revealed’ to the
human agent.” (Rahman, MS, pg. 131-132)

What can be seen is that there is a difference of opinion regarding the idea of Existence as Prime
Reality and the idea that the Existence is only one entity without mode or differentiation. Al-Lari a
wujudi commentator on al-Jami writes: “…in the opinion of the unveiled (al-makshufin) who say:

‘There is nothing in existence except a single individual (`ayn wahidah). These are the
verifying Sufis (al-sufiyah al-muhaqqiqun), who assert the unity of existence (wahdat al-
wujud), may God sanctify their souls.” ”…Subsistence (hulul) is not impossible is that in
reality there is no real quality of being subsistent (halliyah) or being a substratum
(mahalliyah), but rather, a single really existent reality….In reality, no multiplicity or change
hovers around its real and essential unity. It is now as it was. Neither adoration nor really
being adored…nor are real, and actual proximity, distance, union and seperation, as you see
and observe with all their chracteristics (al-khususiyat) occuring in the universe (al-`alamin),
incompatible [with it].” (DF, pg. 135)

In contradistincition to this assertion of one existence where “hulul” is not an impossiblity there is
Sadra’s doctrine which details:

“Existence has three ranks (miratib). The first of these is Existence which does not depend
on other things and is not confined to any species, and this is the most deserving to be the
source (mubda) of everything. The second is: existnece which depends on other things,
such as intelligences (al-`aqul), souls (al-nafus), natures (al-taba’i), celestial bodies (al-
akram), and [sublunary] matter (al-muwad). The third is: the prevailing existents whose
comprehensiveness and extension on [formal] structures and extension on [formal]
structures [of] individuals and essences is not like that of universal natures and the
intelligible essences, but rather is like that [known] by gnosis to the mystics and called the
merciful soul, derived from His-The Exalted- Saying “but My Mercy extendeth to all things.”
[7:156] This is the first being among the contingents issued from the First Cause [Which is]
the True [Reality], and which is called the Truth which [fashions] the creation.” (M, pg. 51)

Clearly in Sadra’s doctrine there is an intermediary between existences. In each rank of existence
existence itself is the primordial thing and essence is a subsidiary and abstracted thing. Due to the
Rahmani Spirit, which would seem to equivocate to Substantial Form there is no “hulul” of the
Absolute Reality. Thus Ittihad (union) with it is an existential impossiblity. The Union is a perceived
union and thus shuhudi. It is interesting to see the perspective manifested in the Kubrawiyya Sufi
master, al-Simnani.

Answer Schema:
Here we encounter the string of question which leads us to the understanding of the difference
between simple witnessing of Oneness and Union with Oneness. Again the questions are:

1. Is Existence precedent over Essence?

2. Are Forms external to God?

3. Are Objects of Knowledge needed for God to have Knowledge or caused by God’s
Essential Knowledge?

4. Quiddities (mahiyya) are simultaneous or originated as posteriors or effects?

5. Is there substantial union (hulul) with Creator and created?

Wujudis and Shuhudis aggree on Question #1 Question #2, when they say existence is precedent
over essence and that the forms of Allahs Knowledge are internal not external. However, they
diverge from this point. On Question #3 the wujudis answer Yes, when the Shuhudis answer No:
“Are Objects of Knowledge needed for God to have Knowledge or caused by God’s Essential
Knowledge? The Wujudis say “there must be objects”. The Shuhudis say “objects of knowledge
are derived from God’s Knowledge as effects.” This brings us to Question #4, “are quiddities
originated?”. Wujudis say no, Shuhidis say Yes. And Question #5 “is there substantial union?”. The
wujudis answer Yes and Shuhudis answer “no”.
Question Wujudis Shuhudis
Existence over Essence? Yes Yes
External Forms? No No
Objects of Knowledge? Yes No
Quiddities originated? No Yes
Union with Creator? Yes No

CONCLUSION:

As it can be seen the difference between Wujudi and Shuhudi Sufism are:

1. According to the Sadrian Shuhudi tradition of `Irfan and Tasawwuf. God is not in need of objects
of knowledge. 2. God is the source of all knowledge. 3. Although there is existential unity in the
Godhead (uluhiya), the quiddities are originated as effects by the Absolute Existent (ahadiya). 4.
Contingents cannot subsist (baqa’) in Allah.

FOOTNOTES:

[ 1] I consider both the Shuhudi and Wujudi unitarians in the sense of testifying to God’s unity and
maintaining the same symbolic cosmologies with the only difference the question of the origination
of the quiddity.
 [2]That through which it s by it’s own power is ‘truth-in-itself’ (nafs al-amr) this pertains to God’s
Divinity. According to al-Qaysari, repeated by Mulla Sadra, “the thing itself (nafs al-amr) is an
expression for God’s essential knowledge, which contains the forms of all things whether universal
or particular, large or small, in general or in detail, cognitive or concrete” (Qaysari quoted in DF, pg.
82, Para. 51, note 1)

[3] See pg. 180-181, Mehdi Dehbashi’s “Mulla Sadra Theory of Transubstantial Motion: a
Translation and Critical Exposition”, University Microfilms: Ann Arbor (1984)

[4] “Providence is therefore the full comprehension which the First[God] has, in his science, of all
and of the necessity for all to rest on Him so as to be according to the best order. [He fully
understands also] that this comes necessarily from Him and from the total grasp which He has of
it”. (Ibn Sina quoted in “‘Inaya”, EI Vol. V, pg. 1203)

[5] Sadra notes in M 138, pg. 81 that the Substantial Form is the veil between Creator and
Creation.

————————————————–

WORKS CITED:

DF Nur al-Din Rahman al-Jami, Trans. By Nicholas Heer “Durrah al-Fakhirah (The Precious Pearl)”
SUNY Press Albany 1979

EI E. van Donzel, “Encyclopedia of Islam” E.J. Brill Leiden 1993

M Mulla Sadra (Translated by Morewedge), “The Metaphysics of Mulla Sadra: Kitab al-Masha`ir”,
The Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science: New York (1992)

MS Fazlur Rahman “The Philosophy of Mulla Sadra (Sadr al-Din al-Shirazi)” SUNY Press Albany
1975

MI Morewedge, “The Metaphysic of Avicenna”, Columbia Univesity Press, New York 1973

Chapter 7 – Sufi Symbols in the Seven Valleys

by Michael McCarron

• Symbol & Allusion in Sufi Discourse

• Historical Development of Iranian Sufism
• Literary Tradition of Iranian Sufism
• Stations (maqamat) of Farrid-din ‘Attar, as-Sarraj & Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri Baha’ Allah
• Baha’ Allah’s ‘Haft Vadi’ Symbols in Context

Symbolism described and popularized in the west by Jung has for a very long time held captive our
imaginations concerning the unseen and it’s representation in artistic expression–poetry, painting,
architecture, etc. As is the case in most sciences and disciplines in the west the art of symbol,
whether of the great painters of the 19th century or the poets of the Metaphysical Movement, has
it’s origin in the east. So it is in the study of Symbol that one encounters the voice of God in the
immenant and present experential basis in Sufism. It is interesting that the symbol understood in
context in Iran of Sufi origin can be misunderstood in the west thus, it is important to have an idea
of what the original context of a Sufi symbol carries in the context of the present page of it’s
environment or field of relationships. To quote the work of Lewisohn on this subject:

“(the symbolist) Those who approach Sufi poetry as a statement of archetypal logopoeia,
that is to say, as a communication derived from the imaginal world (‘alam-i mithal) or the
realm of archetypal meanings (‘alam-i ma’na), understanding it as an expression of precise
symbolic meanings working systematically at a supraconscious associative level. Although
scholars such as Toshihiko Izutsu, S.H. Nasr, and Henry Corbin have examined Pesian
philosophical doctrines from this point of view , no one has examined Persian
metaphysical poetry from this standpoint, even though this is the mode of classical lliterary
criticism employed by the Sufis themselves. Considering the importance of symbolic
structure and meaning as the main criterion of asssessing a poem’s ultimate meaning
among the Sufis, it seems worthwhile to investigate the underlying philosophical
assumptions of this poetic symbolism, the study of which has been neglected by
Iranologists East and West alike.”[1]

In the following study I shall be examining one such Sufi symbolic exposition that of Husayn-’Ali’s
Haft Vadi. In this work Baha’ Allah discusses the typication of the steps of Spiritual progress known
in Sufism as the Maqamat (stations) which in the American Catholic tradition can be identified with
Thomas Merton’s discussion of the Seven Mountains. I shall also be discussing the concepts of
Manifestation, Symbolism, and a commentary on key elements of the Haft Vadi.

I. The Sufi Understanding of Manifestation and Intimacy with God (allah):

In Sufism the term used to designate manifestation is mazhar. It is derivative of the Arabic word
zuhur, “place of outward appearance”. Hence, it is known as manifestation the appearance of an
outer expression in form of an internal thought which is unmanifest in the world of appearance. The
term in Shi’ite and Sufi circles is strongly associated with the Imam, in the sense of successor to
prophet in an interpretive and guiding faculty, not the Prophet nor the wali of God. Waliyat or
guardianship is identified by the Kubrawiya Tariqa (sufi order or school) as being intimate with God.
Waliyat is “an Arabic verbal noun derived from the root ‘wly’, it carries the basic meaning of
‘friendship’, assistance, and ‘authority, power’. A fundamental notion of Islamic social and spiritual
life, the term is used with a complex variety of meanings related to the function, position, authority
of a ‘wali’…It appears in Persian as valayat, vilayat and in turkish as vilayet.” The Sufi definition of
Waliyat is as a charismatic nature associated with miracles (karamat). Al-Jurjani wrote “a wali is in
oblivion (fana’) of himself but subsisting (baqa’) in contemplation.” Ala al-Dawlah Simnani wrote of
the dual nature of Prophet Muhammad; his prophetic nature and his wilayat or mystical experience.
The plural of waliyat is that of the friends of God which is known as the awliya (saints) some hadith,
of grade mursal, relating to these awliya are:
 “[relating to Muhammad] I am His ear by which He hears, His eye by which He sees His
tongue by which He speaks, His heart by which He understands”

“…[the awliya are] under God’s tents, unknown to anyone but him.”

“Marvelous is their (awliya) story, and they know marvelous stories (hadith).”[2]

The [heavenly] Book stands through them and they stand through it; the Book speaks through it
and they speak through the Book.”[3] For Ibn ‘Arabi walayat is characterized in the following terms
by Ibn Arabi: as Prophethood being ended in a stricto sensu sense. Hence, the idea of a genral
prophethood (nubuwwa ‘amma) is invoked in the idea of walayat. Which is non-legislative being
spritiual in basis not authoritative.[4]

This Walayat or intimacy with God is seen in symbolic representation in Sufism with the teachings
of the Arab sufi Sahl at-Tustari who teaches that the Resurrection (qiyama) will allow man to
approach the meeting with God (liqa’u'llah), the vision of Truth (an-nazar ila’l-haqq), and thelife in
the permanence of Truth (baqa al-haqq). Thus, in at-Tustari’s conception the manifestation of God
in the sense of the theophany of the Transcendent Reality is consumated in the resurrection not in
earthly existence, it is in this future age that God will manifest Himself to His ‘awliya.

Returning to the concept of manifestation (mazhar) we must draw our attention to the early Sufi
understanding of this concept. At-Tustari an early Sunni Sufi of Iraq held that mazhar and the term
tajalli (effulgence) held the same meaning Kalabadi on Tustari’s beliefs writes: “Sahl, said, there
are three modes (ahwal) of theophany (tajalli): theophany of the divine essence (tajalli dhat) which
is unveiling (muskhashafah), thoephany of the divine attributes (tajalli sifat al-dhat) which is
illumination (mawdi an-nur), and theophany of the divine decree (tajalli hukm al-dhat).”[5]

In at-Tustari’s definition manifestation is not a single referent for a unique event but is an term with
implications in a differential of appearances we can see a similiar concept in many Sufi authors.
Also of importance is the work of Simnani on manifestation he holds that “in order to maintain the
absolute transcendence and oneness of Divinity, Simnani incoroporates a system of mirror imagery
within his scheme of emenation. According to this scheme, a subsequent emanation is the locus of
manifestation (mazhar) of the object from which it emanates, the word mazhar implying a place of
appearance or manifestation in which there is an immediate correspondence between the mirror
image (or outward manifestation) and the object reflected or manifested therein. This concept
endeavors to remove any possibility of divine indwelling (hulul) in a created entity.”[6]

Important for the study of manifestation in Sufism is the work of Ibn ‘Arabi who held that tajalli
(manifestation) is the process of God’s Self-Manifestaition delimiting Itself or determining Itself for
Itself by Itself. (Ta’ayyun, making oneself a particular, individual entity). It is the basis of this self-
determination that Ibn ‘Arabi holds the universe is a manifestation of. Qashani, Ibn ‘Arabi’s pupil,
relates that according to Ibn ‘Arabi there are six levels of manifestation:

1. Reality, non-determined or delimited. Being is still in it’s absolute Essence.

2. Determination, the One Self-Determination to Itself.

 3. Ahadit, all the active and effective self dterminations are realized as an integral whole.

4. The level of further dterminations of Ahadit into the Divine Names

5. Passive Nature: the unity of passive self-determination those receiving investment.

6. The world, those in actual existence.

Interestingly for Ibn ‘Arabi Tajalli is equal to Emenation (fayd). It is written that there are two types
of emenations in Ibn Arabi’s thought– Fayd al-aqdas (Most Holy Emenation) and fayd al-muqaddas
(Holy Emenation). Qashani writes regarding this emenation:

“The essential self-manifestation is the appearance of the absolute under the form of the
permanent archetypes which are ready to receive existence and whose domain is the
Presence of Knowledge and Names, i.e. the Presence of Oneness (wahadit). By this
appearance the Absolute descends from the presence of Unity (ahadit) to the Presence of
Oneness. And this is the ‘most holy emenation’ of the Absolute, which consists in that the
pure Essence not yet accompanied by any Names manifests itself (in the Plane of the
Names). So there can be no plurality at all (in actuality) in this self-manifestation which
occurs in the visible world as actualization of the Names, which therfore occurs in
accordance with the ‘preparedeness’ of each locus.”

Thus we can see that there are number of different ways that Sufi authorities discuss the terms of
Manifestation and Intimacy. Where manifestation is the substance and intimacy the individuation of
that substance in experential terms in spiritual discourse.[7]

The Historical Development & Literary Background of Iranian Sufism:[8]

The Development of Iranian Sufism, in comparison to other Sufi developments in other nations,
has been largely influenced by the poetic imagery of the Sufis. The philosophical description of the
world is alluded to through the rhythmic verse of poetry. This development has it’s source in the
Arabic poetry before the rise of Iranian sufism. These Arab poets such as Qays whose initial
depiction of the story of Majnun & Layli is later taken to Persia and popularized. The initial allusion
to the usurpation of the Rightly Guided Caliphate by the Umayyad heresy is taken to a mystical
level in the writings of the Persians. These writings of Sufi authors in Iran has three categories:
adab– ethical discourses, religious inspiration– the esoteric tafsir, and Sufi literature proper– the
discourse regarding the steps on the path and the elements of the steps. This Sufi literature is
written in a style of quatraints (ruba’i), rhyming couplets (mathnawi) or sonnetic (ghazal).

There are several literary devices used in Sufism the important element in literary works of Sufism
is the concept of allegorical similitude (mathal). This is initially derived from the writings within
the Qur’an where it is recorded that God disdains not to speak in allegories (Surah al-Baqara). In
Sufism, the literary devices are symbol (ramz), gesturing (ima), metaphor (kenaya) and allusion
(ishara) [see Chapter 1].
Allegory has been a large stumbling block to others outside the Sufi tradition in understanding the
symbolic utterance of the Sufis. Perhaps the most important element of Sufi utterance is that of
Shathiyyat, the ecstatic utterance relating the sufis perception of reality and identification within the
sufi as being a part of the object of his direct contemplation thus unifying object with subject in an
ecstatic moment. This is the basis of the famous utterance by the al-Hallaj: “I am the Truth (Haqq)”.
It has been arguably related that this is not an utterance with a literal truth but is an utterance full of
symbolic meaning relating the Sufis love and intimacy with the object of his contemplation. It is also
seen in Mirza Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah’s writing that “I am He and He is I” (Anna Huwa wa Huwa
anna).

One of the greatest Sufi and scholars of Islam al-Ghazzali writes of the use of symbolic metaphor
in Sufism as:

“We mean by metaphor or analogue (mathal) to render meaning (ma’na) into the external
form (surah). So if one sees its inner meaning, he finds it true. But if he sees only its
external form, he finds it deceiving…The prophets can talk to the people only by means of
the metaphors (amthal), since it is necessary to talk to the people in accordance with their
intellect. Their intellect is on the sleeper’s level. So it is necessary to make use of
metaphors to explain to the sleeper…their understanding does not go beyond the apparent
meaning, because of their ignorance of the interpretation, called ‘metaphorical
interpretation’ (ta’wil), as the decipherment symbolls in dream is called ‘the interpretation of
dream’ (ta’bir)” [Ihya, IV, 23-24] [9]

The Evolution of Sufism in Iran is intimately tied to the literary sources of Iranian Sufism. This
literary sources can be divided into critical periods of development the first of which is the early
period. The Early period authors of Iranian sufism is founded by Abu’l-Hasan ibn ‘Uthman Hujwiri
(d. 465/1071) with his Kashf al-Mahjub (the Unveiling of the Veiled). Active also during this period
is the first poet of Iranian Sufism Abu Sa’id Abi’l-Khayr (d. 440/1089), a contemporary of Baba
Tahir. Also, is the early sufi works of ‘Abd God ‘Ansari (d. 1089), whose Manazallut (the Sent
Down) is quoted by Baha’ Allah in the Haft Vadi, his famous work the 100 Fields and the Manazil
as-Sairin became fundamental works for later Sufi thought. The development of Sufism after this
early period is a development toward the concept of Mahhabat.

The “School of Love” is founded by the concept of the ultimate and supreme concept of love by
God and of God. The members of the school of love where:

1. Ahmad Ghazzali (d. 1126) the famous philosopher.

2. Surhrawardi, the famous Ishraqiyun founder and poet. He was the last author of a
visionary treatise until the early work of Mirza Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah, Baha’ Allah.

3. Ruzbihan Baqli, the author of The Jasmine of Lovers

4. Fakhr al-Din ‘Iraqi author of Lama’at (Divine Flashes)

5. ‘Abd al-Rahman Jami, author of Lawami (Flashing Lights).

After the school of love was the highly esoteric writings of ‘Ayn al-Qudat (solace of the eyes)
Hamdani, the martyr saint, who was a great formulator of Sufi ideas. His work the Complaint of the
Stranger was written while he was imprisoned shortly before his martyrdom at the hands of the
government clerics. Similiar to the martyrdom in the 19th century of Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad Shirazi.

Following the works of Hamdani is that of the middle period the formulation of the Kubrawi tradition
in Iran. The early works written in mathnawi style where those of Sana’i (d. 1150) whose Hadiqat
al-haqiqah (the Garden of Truth) was the first mathnawi. Following his work is that of Farid al-Din
‘Attar, who we shall see more later, and of course the master of the mathnawi Jalal al-Din “Rumi”,
the founder of the Mevlevi Sufi Order in Konya and the author of the famous Mathnawi, an esoteric
commentary on the Quran. Other authors of interest are thse of Awhad al-Din Kirmanif (d. 1238) a
shaykh of the Suhrawardiyah order. He expounded a doctrine of beauty and was a supporter of Ibn
‘Arabi. Later, was the work of Shaykh Mahmud Shabistari (d. 1320) author of the Gulshan-i Raz
(the Garden of Divine Mysteries).

Another group of poets is that of the Shirazi college. The poets of Shiraz where known as the
exppounders of strong jurisprudential and mystical tendencies. Sa’di (d. 1296) the author of the
Gulistan was a member of the Suhrawardiya order. The poet Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz (d.
1389) was also a member of the Shirazi college.

“Hafiz was not only a poet but also a scholar knowledgeable in the religious sciences,
literature, philosophy, and in sufism, to which he was devoted. He had an extra-ordinary
talent to combine the profoundest thought with the most delicate poetic images. In his
poetry one observes the final and most perfect wedding between exalted spirituality and
vivid sensuality. He speaks of the Divine Names and Qualities while describing the hair of
the beloved moving gently in the morning breeze. He aludes to the more esoteric of Sufi
doctrines while emphasizing the importance of the Shari’ah…the spiritual and the the
sensual are woven together in a poetry which is itself a vehicle that carries man to the
exalted proximity of the Divine Empyrean”.

The Seal of the Persian poets was ‘Abd al-Rahman Jami (d.1492), he was a Naqshbandi Sufi, the
author of Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones), including the story of Layla & Majnun. After Sadi the high
point of Persian Sufi poetry declines with a few brilliant stars appearing in remote instances. It is
interesting to note the resurgence of Sufism in general during the 19th century and hence, the
development of strong sufi poetic tendencies in the mystic Mirza Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah,
Baha’u’llah.

It is important to trace out the development of the Kubrawi order in Iran as it shall be seen that this
is a major source of influence upon all Sufis in Iran and specifically, the majority of Sufi authors
quoted by Mirza Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah are members of the Kubrawi order. The Kubrawi order
developed out of the Sunni tradition of Iran before the conversion by royal decree of the populace
to Ithna Asharism. The Kubrawi was founded by Najm al-Din Kubra (d. 1221) he was an expounder
of a unique visionary experience based on Divine Lights. This doctrine was followed by all the
major Kubrawi Shaykhs. Following the Silsalah of the Kubrawi we see the major Shaykhs of this
order such as Majd al-Din Baghdadi the teacher of Farrid-Din Attar. After Majd we see Baha al-Din
Walad (d. 1231) who was the father and teacher of Jalal al-Din Rumi. Following Baha we see Najm
al-Din Dayah ar-Razi (d. 1256) and later we have the important sufi doctrinal expounder ‘Ala al-
Dawlah Simnani (d. 1336). Simnani’s legacy can be seen not only in the Kubrawi but also in the
Naqshbandi order and writings of Shah Wali’llah, especially the doctrine of Wahdat al-Shuhud.

The influences on Mirza Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah can be seen through Rumi and ‘Attar in poetic
terms. In doctrinal terms there is a great similarity between Simnani and Baha’ Allah and Baha’
Allah’s son, Abbas Effendi Abdu’l-Baha. Other influences or similarities on Mirza Husayn-’Ali can
be seen from Shah Wali’llah and Ansari.

It is important to point out the development of the Kubrawi order after the 15th Century. The
Kubrawiya order branched into two different orders after the 15th century. The two branches where
both Shi’a orders, it was not until after the branching and the rise of the Shi’ite monarchy that the
Kubrawi left it’s Sunni heritage. The two branches where the Dhahabi Order centered in Shiraz.
And the Nurbakhshi order which became allied with the Shah and had several murids of the order
appointed as ministers in the Shah’s administration. It is important to note regarding the Dhahabi
order that the order had some interesting parallels to later Bahai teachings and influences. These
include hermetic influences, the use of gold in symbolism, the use of talismans and the emphasis
on visions relating to the hidden Imam.[11]

Mystical Discourse through the Symbol:

In the previous section we touched upon the use of symbol (ramz) in Sufism. In Sufism the
symbolic is expressed through a varied ways of expression. No longer do we have the common
literal meaning attached to things. No longer is a light merely a collection of photonic discharges,
but is an expression of divine source or enlightenment, a non-physical non-literal expression
attached to a common literal object but having an internal vocabulary known to the adept which
reveals itself in a code which can exalt the adept to a higher plane understanding the code
attached to the literal object which is a symbol of the esoteric. Nicholson writes of the Sufi symbolic
style:

“…the Sufis adopt the symbolic style because there is no other way of interpreting mystical
experience. So little does knowledge of the infinite revealed in ecstatic vision need an
artificial disguise that it cannot be communicated at all except through types and emblems
drawn from the sensible world, which, imperfect as they are, may suggest and shadow
forth a deeper meaning than appears on the surface.”[12]

The ‘Seven Valleys’ (Haft Vadi), Commentary and Comparison to Farrid-din ‘Attar [16]:

It is known that the Haft Vadi [17] was written in the mountains near Sulayman, in Iraqi Kurdistan. It
was written in response to questions on the spiritual stations of the way of God posed by members
of the local Naqshbandi order. Mirza Husayn-’Ali Nuri, Baha’ Allah, was regarded as a shaykh of
importance and was known as Darwish Irani at this time in Iraq. The stations (maqamat) are a very
critical element in Sufism. Defined by Hujwiri as:

“Maqam (station) denotes the perseverance of the seeker in fulfilling his obligations
towards the object of his search with strenuous exertion and flawless intention. Everyone
 who desires Divinity has a station (maqam), which, in the beginning of his search, is a
means whereby he seeks Divinity…..’None of us hath a certain station’ (Quran 37:164)”
[14]

The early development of the maqamat can be traced back to the Imam Muhammad ibn Husayn
and to Imam Jafar as-Sadiq who wrote of three spiritual stations. Other non Imami writers on the
Maqamat are those of Dhu’l-Nun, the Egyptian (d. 861), and Yahya ibn Mu’ad (d. 872). The writing
of seven stations first appeared in the writings of As-Sarraj (d.988). Of course in Persia the famous
‘Abd Allah ‘Ansari wrote of 10 stations: Irada, Zuhd, Tawakkul, Sabr, Huzn, Khawf, Ra’ja, Sukr,
Mahabba and Shawq. And in the writings of Ruzbihan Baqli (d.1209) we have 10 stations: Ubudit,
Wilayat, Muraqabat, Khawf, Raja, Wajd, Yaqin, Qurbat, Mukashafa, Mushahad, Mahabbat, and
Shawq. The most famous of the Seven Stations are those of Farrid-din ‘Attar who wrote of seven
valleys. It was his ‘Mantaq-i Tur’ (Conference of the Birds) which became the same archetypical
format that Mirza Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah used to write of the spiritual stations using the same
names of stations as Farrid-Din Attar: Vadi-ye Talab, Vadi-ye ‘Ishq, Vadi-ye Marifat, Vadi-ye
Istighna’, Vadi-ye Tawhid, Vadi-ye Hairat, Vadi-ye Faqr wa Fana.

In the following I shall be comparing the use of the The Seven Spiritual Stations by Sarraj, ‘Attar
and Baha’ Allah:

The First Station:

‘Attar’s Valley of the Quest:

“When you enter the first valley, the Valley of the Quest, a hundred difficulties will assail
you…you will have to give up all that has seemed precious to you and regard as nothing
all that you possess…You will still need to detach yourself from all that exists.” This valley
depends on right seeking that is good intentions and the seeker must possess hope and
love for the goal of his search.

Baha’ Allah’s Valley of Search:

“The steed of this Valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will
reach nowhere and attain no goal. Nor should he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a
hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he should not
falter.”

“It is incumbent on these servants that they cleanse the heart–which is the wellspring of
divine treasures–from every marking, and that they turn away from imitation…”

In every face one sees the object of his search. And abandons all but the object.

In the above we see that the first station on the path is referred to in differing degrees of a similiar
concept, namely the repentance of one’s sins and turning away from what is distractive from the
Will of Divinity in the world. This uniform starting point is where we find the point of depature is for
the path amongst the authors. We see that for Sarraj we will see the development of the stations
along an less poetic form, as is the case with Farrid al-Din ‘Attar and as we progress through time
the luxariant symbols of Mirza Husayn-’Ali take on an atmosphere which is clearly removed,
intellectualy, from the world of phenomenon.

Baha’ Allah points out the primary necessity of patience to succeed on this path. Patience in Arabic
is Sabr. It is written in Qur’an 13:22 “In patience (the believers) seek the inner reality, countenance,
of thier Lord” [wa al-dhiyna sabruwa abtaghaa' wajh Rabbikum] The idea of the inner reality shall
be an important concept as we progress through this study. In this instance we speak of seeking
God’s inner reality. However, our own inner reality must by transformed for us to seek the inner
reality of God, eventhough we realize it is an impossible task in material and metaphysical terms.
To be an enlightened being according to the Qur’an is to be a Muhsin (a doer of good). It is
recorded in the verse: “And who can be better in religion than one who submits his essential being
to God; and he is a Muhsin. And follows the religion of Abraham– Hanifa. And God did take
Abraham as an intimate friend.” (4:125) [wa min ahusan diynaa mim man islam wajhah God wa
huwa muhsin wa atba'a millat Ibrahim haniyfaa wa atakhdha God inrahyma khalyla] Muhsin is the
turning of ones inner life to the reality of God. So in this sense it is Sufistic, the turning away from
outer distraction to inner tranquility. Abdullah ‘Ansari writes of Patience:

“Patience is observed over afflictions on account of (true) love and it produces three
things: onesidedness of the heart; discerning knowledge (‘ilm); light of sagacity. The
patience of (or abandonment of) sins is due to fear of Divinity Almighty and it produces
three things: intention in hearts; acceptance of the supplication; light of cleanliness. The
patence over (or indulgence in complete) obedience is due to hopefulness. It also
generates three things: disappearance of the calamities; grant of sustenance
unexpectedly; inclination toward virtues.”[18]

The Second Station:

‘Attar’s Valley of Love:

The face of thelover must be afire. With love and good and evil cease to exist. Reason is
overcome with love. “Love should tear aside your prudence Love changes your attitude. To
love is to give up your ordinary life and forsake your tawdry pleasures.”

“Lovers who have staked their lives for their love have entered on the Path. In the life of
the Spirit they are united to the object of their affection.”

Baha’ Allah’s Valley of Love:

“…and be dissolved in the fire of love. In this city the heaven of ecstasy is upraised and the
world-illuming sun of yearning shineth, and the fire of love is ablaze; and when the fire of
love is ablaze, it burneth to ashes the harvest of reason.”

The seeker loses self-consciousness and enters a stage of unawareness of differentiation in

existence.
The Valley of Love is the second station in the maqamat path of ‘Attar and Baha’ Allah. We see
that it is important to understand the development of the Concept of Love (Mahabbat) in the ideas
of the Sufi’s.

Love (mahabbat) is written of in a mystical sense by Imam Jafar Sadiq where love is a spring of
marifat (gnosis). Love is written of extensively by the female Sufi Saint, Rabia’aal-’Adawi (d.
185/801) she wrote:

“I love you (God) with two loves, a selfish love and a love of which You are worthy.”

And ‘Abd God ‘Ansari wrote of love as being the supreme field that all mystical fields are contained
within and in this configuration it is seen to be similiar to the transcendence of God and God’s
immanence within the that which is surrounded. And the Saint Ayn al-Qudat writes of love as
having three aspects:

“1. the lesser love (‘ishq-i saghir), which is our love for Divinity; the greater love, (‘ishq-i
kabir), which is Divinity’s love for Himself– it has no trace by which it can be recognized,
and because of its surpassing beauty it is describable only by cypher and parable (ba-
ramzi wa mithali); the in-between or mutual love (‘ishq-i miyana), which he also despairs of
describing– in it one at first finds a difference between witnesser and witnessed, until it
reaches the limit, when they become one.”

In terms of the use of symbol it is interesting to note the reference to the greater love as being only
accomplished through symbol and allegory (ramz wa mithali) it is in the realm of imagination not
literalism that the ultimate Love is voiced to the creation of God which also was an act of love.

The Third Station:

‘Attar’s The Valley of Understanding

“Understanding, for each traveller, is enduring; but knowledge is temporary. The soul, like
the body, is in a state of progress or decline; and the Spiritual Way reveals itself only in the
degree to which the traveller has overcome his faultsand weaknesses, his sleep and his
inertia, and each will approach nearer to his aim according to his effort.”

Baha’ Allah’s The Valley of Knowledge

“He in this station is content with the decree of Divinity…”

“The wayfarer in this valley seeth in the fashionings of the True One nothing save clear
providence, and at every moment saith: ‘No defect canst thou see in the creation of the
Divinity of Mercy: Repeat the gaze: Seest thou a single flaw?’”

The wayfarers of this valley seeth neither first nor last. They have passed beyond such
attributes. This is the last plane of limitation.
In this station we have Baha’ Allah’s speaking of knowledge, in this case the type of knowledge is
that of the inner knowledge or gnosis. It is important to realize the designation in Arabic between
‘ilm and marifat, ‘ilm designates the knowledge of the science of something and is similiar to french
savoir, whereas marifat is to know something in an interior and close sense not so much a science
but an experience and it is similiar to french ‘faire’. So we see that the valley of knowledge (marifat)
is not a scientific knowing but is more emotional and direct. The great sufi doctrinarian Hujwiri,
writes about marifat as:

“The Apostle said: ‘If ye knew Divinity as It ought to be known, ye would walk on the seas,
and the mountains would move at your call’. Gnosis of Divinity is of two kinds: conditional
(‘ilmi) and emotional (hali)….Theologians, lawyers, and other classes of men give the
name of gnosis (marifat) to right cognition (‘ilm) of Divinity, but the Sufi Shaykhs call right
feeling (hal) towards Divinity by that name. Hence they have said that gnosis (marifat) is
more excellent than cognition (‘ilm), for right feeling (hal) is the result of right cognition, but
right cognition is not the same thing as right feeling, i.e. one who has not cognition of
Divinity is not a gnostic (‘arif), but one may have cognition of Divinity without being a
gnostic.”[19]

This type of knowledge is critical in the understanding of waliyat, since a wali is not known as an
‘uluma (cleric) of the outer religious law but is a knower of the inner truth it is similiarly expressed in
terms of the Imamate of ‘Ali by Tustari who writes of a hadith attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib:

“‘They (those firmly rooted in knowledge) are those who are disclosed (mukashafun) three
kinds of knowledge (‘ulum), since those possessed of knowledge (‘uluma) ar e of three
kinds: rabbaniyyun (those who perceive Divinity as Lord), nuraniyyn (those who perceive
Divinity as Light), and datiyyun (those who perceive Divinity as Essence), in addition to
four kinds of knowledge: scriptural revelation (wahy), theophanic revelation (tajalli), innate
knowledge (al-’indi) and intuitive knowledge (al-ladunni).’[end of hadith] Baqli’s variant
considers the rabbaniyyun, nuraniyyun, and datiyyun as representatives of three kinds of
knowledge by unveiling (mukasafah), and determines scriptural revelation, theophanic
revelation, innate knowledge and intuitive knowledge as the principles (ahkam) of this
knowledge.”[20]

IV. The Fourth Station

‘Attar’s The Valley of Unity:

In this valley the seeker perceives unity through duality.

“When the spiritual traveller enters this valley he will disappear and be lost to sight
because the Unique Being will manifest himself; he will be silent because this Being will
speak.

‘The Part will become the whole, or rather, there will be neither part nor whole. In the
School of the Secret you will see thousands of men with intellectual knowledge, their lips
 parted in silence. What is intellectual knowledge here? It stops on the threshold of the door
like a blind child.”

Baha’ Allah’s The Valley of Unity:

“In this station he pierceth the veils of plurality, fleeth from the worlds of the flesh, and
ascendeth into the heavens of singleness. With the ear of Divinity he heareth, with the eye
of Divinity he beholdeth the mysteries of divine creation. He steppeth into the sanctuary of
the Friend, and and shareth as an intimate the pavilion of the Loved One. He stretcheth
out the hand of truth from the sleeve of the Absolute; he revealeth the secrets of power. He
seeth in himself neither name nor fame nor rank, but findeth his own praise in praising
Divinity.”

Tawhid is the unitive principle within Islam and as the primary unity is the basis of the main
argument of Islam: La illa illah God (there is no Divinity but Divinity) which is understood as the
belief in the Absolute Transcendence of God. In the Valley of Unity we see the mystication of the
doctrine of Tawhid which is understood in this case as the supreme origin of all spiritual stations,
although not in a substansive sense. The intermediary of the spritual station is the Ruh (Spirit) the
sufi definition of Ruh is: “The Universal Spirit (ar- Ruh), which is also called the ‘first intellect’ (al-
’Aql al-awwal), is described asometimes as created and uncreated. Uncreated in it’s immutable
essence, yet created insasmuch it is the first cosmic entity.”

V. The Fifth Station

‘Attar’s The Valley of Independence and Detachment:

The valley where theri is neither the desir e to posses nor the wish to discover.

“This Valley is not so easy to cross as you in your simplicity perhaps think. Even when the
blood of your heart shall fill the ocean, you will only be able to make the first stage. Even if
you were to journey ov er all the ways of the world you would still find yourself at the first
step. No traveller has seen the limit of this journey neither has he found a remedy for love.
If you halt you are petrified, or you may even die; if you continou on your way, always
advancing, you will hear unti eternity the cry: ‘Go still further.’ You can neither go nor stay.
It is no _advantage either to live or to die.”

Baha’ Allah’s The Valley of Contentment:

“In this valley he feeleth the winds of divine contentment blowing from the plane of the spirit. He
burneth away the veils of want, and with inward and joutward eye, percieveth within and without all
things the fday of: ‘Divinity will compensate each one out of His abundance.’ Form sorrow he
turneth to bliss, form anguish to joy. His grief and mourning yield to delight and rapture.”

In this valley we see that ‘Attar and Baha’ Allah both speak of the contentment in God. It is
a station marked by a lack of movement from God nor toward God but a remaining in God
and absorption so to speak of consciousness in the awareness of God and God’s beautific
 creativity in creation. ‘Abdullah ‘Ansari writes of content (jamam) “that it signifies receiving
salvation from three things: disturbance of heart; bad intentions ; and disturbance of time.”

VI. The Sixth Station

‘Attar’s The Valley of Astonishment and Bewilderment:

“…where one is prey to sadness and defection., There sighs are like swords, and each
breath a bitter sigh; ther, is sorrow and lamentation, and a burning eagerness. It is at once
day and night. There, is fire, yet a man is depressed and despondent. How, in his
bewilderment, shall he continue his way? But he who has achieved unity forgets all and
cforgets himself. If he is asked: ‘Ar you, or are you not? …He will reply with certainty: ‘I
know nothing, I understand nothing, I am unaware of myself. I am in love, but with whom I
do not know. My heart is at the same time both fulll and empty of love.”

Baha’ Allah’s The Valley of Wonderment:

“After journeying through the planes of pure contentment, the traveler cometh to the Valley
of Wonderment and is tossed in the oceans of grandeur, and at every moment his wonder
groweth. Now he seeth the shape of wealth as poverty itself, and the essence of freedom
as sheer impotence…”

“Indeed, O Brother, if we ponder each created thing, we shall witness a myriad perfect
wisdoms and learn a myriad new and wondrous truths.”

Perhaps, aside from the mystical aspects of this passage, most interesting is the comment on
relativity and unicity in the work of Baha’ Allah and ‘Attar on this plane of spritual awakening. In
these works we see the ideal of abondonment of the illusory for the appreciation of the Real (al-
Haqq). In Islamic philosophy the understanding of the relationship between unicity and duality is
similiar to that of numerological developments. Out of the one we get two. Hence, the further one is
from the primary root of one the more numerous the divisions and multiplicity. So to suggest seeing
the unicity in the duality is not only the recognition of the manifest oneness in all things but also to
grow nearer in conscious awareness toward the unicity of origin. In the case of the Sufi this origin
is God.

Another example is that of the fractal. Fractals existing in multiples still maintain their original shape
and form of thier mother. A fractal, in fact, is a configuration composed of each element being the
same as the other elements that in their totality maintain the structure and shape of each element.
As paradoxical this may seem the theory of manifestation is one which supposses the similiar idea.
Counter this with the Qur`anic denial of giving God any natural or anthropomorphical analogs we
realize that what we see in creation of the Creator may very well indeed be the plan of the Creator
not the creator itself. Thus, we realize that the manifest oneness is the one word of the Command
to create, namely, “Be” and it is. (Kun yafakun). Later we shall see how this promotes the idea of
annihilation into God’s Will.
The Seventh Station

‘Attar’s The Valley of Deprivation & Death:

“The essence of this valley is forgetfulness, dumbness, deafness and distraction; the
thousand shadows which surround you dissapear in a single ray of the celestial sun. When
the ocean of immensity begins to heave, the pattern on its surface loses its form; and this
pattern is no other than the world present and the world to come. Whoever Declares that
he does not exist acquires great merit. The drop that avecomes part of this great ocean
abides there for ever in peace. In this calm sea, a man, at first, experiences only
humiliation and ovethrow; but wnen he emerges from this state he will understand it as
creation, and many secrets will be revealed_ to him.”

Baha’ Allah’s The Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness:

“This station is the dying from the self and the living in Good, the being poor in self and rich
in the Desired One. Poverty as here referred to signifieth being poor in the things of the
created world, rich in the things of Divinity’s world….. He who hath attained this station is
sanctified from all that pertaineth to the world.”

“This is the plane wheron the vestiges of all things are destroyed in the traveler, and on the
horizon of eternity the Divine Face riseth out of the darkness, and the meaning of ‘All on
the earth shall pass away, but the face ot thy Lord…” is made manifest.”

In this passage we see in Baha’ Allah’s comments the exposition of self-poverty in the ego sense
and being a desirer of the beloved which is God, this is orthodoxically stated in the Quran as
seeking the Countenance of God. The idea of poverty is explicated in the Nimatullahi sufi manual
as:

“Poverty (faqr) signifies destitution, impoverishment, and neediness, as contrasted to

‘wealth’ (ghana), which connotes ‘independence’ and self-sufficiency’. Poverty is in reality
a devotee’s attribute, whereas wealth is an attribute of the Lord. In this sense, the Quran
declares: ‘O Mankind,! You are poor in relation to God, and God is the Rich, the Glorious’.
(Qur’an 35:15)

The Term Poverty has various meanings:

Sometimes poverty implies straightened circumstances and material need.

Sometimes povety implies an individual spiritual impoverishment and need for

God….synonymous with the ascetic (zahid), who renounces the wourld to attain a reward
in the hereafter. Synonymous with Sufi, who renounces both this world and the next to
attain the Truth. Here, the term faqir is identical in meaning to the Perfect Man (Insan al-
Kamil) and the sufi who has attained total mystical reabsorbment (fana) in the Truth.”[20]
This station marks the completion of the purification of the individual and the rise of the manifesting
of purity that is originated in God’s teachings.

A Study in Common Sufi Symbols used in the Haft Vadi:

1. Avicenan and Ghazzalan Recital: “If thou be a man of communion and prayer, soar up on the
wings of assistance from Holy Souls, that thou mayest behold the mysteries of the Friend and
Attain to the lights of fthe Beloved. ‘Verily, we are from Divinity and to Him shall we return.’”(pg. 17,
Haft Vadi) This passage from Baha’ Allah’s treatise indicates a common sufi stream of thought: the
idea of soaring heavenward toward contact with the Luminous. This soaring is not so much a
heavenly journey through time and spatial awareness but rather through a metaphysical virtual
reality– the journey of vision. The earliest visounary recital as it is known in the Sufi world is
attributed to Ibn Sina whose father and Grandfather where members of the Ismaili Shi’a
community. His early recital was later taken up by Ghazzali the once critic of Sufism and Ismailism
and later an avid Sufi himself. The Visionary recital is composed of a mystic voyage toward the
Heavenly Mountains (Ar. tur as-samawati) as has been seen in Haft Vadi and the writings of ‘Attar.
Both the Avicennan and Ghazzalan recital use the bird image as symbol for the soul as it ascends
to the King. Of course we see this symbol used by ‘Attar and in shorter episodes by Baha’ Allah.

Corbin summates the Ghazzalin traetise as:

“There was a great assembly of the birds; all the varieties of their species and kinds were
represented. The birds thought that they should have a king, and thatn none was worthier
to rule over them than the bird ‘Anqa. Whereupon they learn that she has gone to dwell in
a distant and utterly inaccessible island. Such is their ardent desire, and such the firmness
of their resolution, that they nevertheless decide to set out to find her, to put themselves
under her protection and be admitted to her court. To be sure, they are warned: before you
are endless deserts, vetigionous summits, suffocating vapors, regions of heat asnd regions
of cold. You will faint before you have reached the goal of your desire! But the warning was
given in vain. Tey set out. Each mounted the steed of firm resolution, putting on it the the
bridle of ardent desire. And what was bound to happen came to pass: those who were
from warm countries died in the cold regions, those who were from cold countries perished
in the regions of heat; others fell, pitiful victims of the storms and accidents they
encountered. Finally, only a small band reached the distant island of the bird ‘Anqa.

They begged that the King be informed of their arrival, but she was in an inaccessible
castle. They asked that she would at least deign to appear, in order to become thier king.
But the stupefying answer came: ‘You have wearied yourseleves in vain. We are King,
whether you consent or refuse, whether you come or depart. We have noneed of you.’
When they understood that they were regarded as of no account and that their desire was
treated with the most contemptuous indifference, they succumbed to despair and shame,
they felt disillusioned, helpless. They told one another thtat the road of return was closed
to them: their strength did not suffice to attempt it, their passion had exhausted them.
Better to die where they were, even to the last of them.
 When they were almost choked by their grief and disappointment, lo! Another message
was brought them: ‘Away, away with despair of Divinity’s mercy (Qur’aan 12:87)’. If our
perfect independence of all things demanded that you be treated with scorn and and
rebuffed, the beauty of munifecence demands that you be received and treated with
unstinted gentleness. Now that you have experienced the measure of your impotence to
know our measure, it befits us that you have here your dwelling …It befits the King ‘Anqa
that she choose freely him who has become really concious of his own unworthiness.’
Savoring the joys of familiarity after having known despair, the birds inquired concerning
the fate of their companions who had fallen on the road and would never arrive….They
were ansewered: ‘Beware, beware! If any goes forth from his house to flee to Divinity and
His Prophet, and death overtakes him, his reward is in the Hand of Divinity (Qur’aan
4:149)’. ‘Say, not of them who have been killed on the way of Divinity that they are dead.
Nay, they are alive (11:149).’”[22]

As is seen the typology of the Visionary recitsl is the same throughout the works of all the great
Sufi authors it is a typology which identifies God as the point of Adoration and that which is moved
toward. God does not move toward us but we must move toward God. In this moving is great
sacrifice and a transformation of the inner reality of one’s soul.

2. Nightengale: “And if a nightengale soar upward from the clay of self and dwell in the rose bower
of the heart, and in Arabian melodies and sweet Iranian songs recount the mysteries of Divinity– a
single word of which quickenenth to fresh, new life the bodies of the dead [see resurrection below],
and bestoweth the Holy Spirit upon the moldering bones of the this existence– thou wilt behold a
thousand claws of envy, a myriad beaks of rancor hunting after Him and with all their power intent
upon His death.” (Pg.20, Haft Vadi) As mentioned in the previous example the Nightengale or Bird
(tayr) is the vehicle of the soul in sufi symbolism. The bird is written of in the following examples:

“The Divine bird (morgh-i ilahi) refers to the spirit.” (Latifa-ye Ghaibi, pg. 13, [translated by
Nurbakhsh])

“The bird of the sacred rose-garden (tayer-i goshan-i quds) is said to represent the human
spirit. Hafiz: ‘I am the bird of the sacred rose-garden; How can I describe my separation?
How have I fallen into this trap of transitoriness?’”

“In Sufi terminology, the dove ( fakhta, warqa) may be defined as the Universal Soul which
is the heart of the world. It may also signify the Guarded Tablet ( lawh al-mahfuz), as well
as the Manifest Book.” (Jorjani, Ta’rifat, 325 [translated by Nurbakhsh])

“The Simorgh or ‘Anqa represents Absolute Being or the being of the Absolute. The ‘Anqa
applies to each universal level of the Unseen, and is the goal and reality for that which lies
below it

Mount Qaf represnets the lowest level and phenomenal reealm, where the Simorgha of
spiritual reality (ma’na’) resides. The si (thirty) of the Simorgh, as the multiple of ten times
three, the three represent, being the Oneness (ahadit), the Unicity (wahediyat), and the
 angelic realm (malakut)..” (Tasawwof wa Adabiyat-i Tasawwof, 216 [translated by
Nurbakhsh])

Baha’ Allah writes of the persian bird, Gunjishk:

“Thus hath it been made clear that these stages depend on the vision of the wayfarer. In
every city he will behold a world, in every Valley reach a spring, in every meadow hear a
song. But the falcon of the mystic heaven hath many a wondrous carol of the spirit in His
breast, and the Persian bird keepeth in His soul many a sweet Arab melody; yet these are
hdden, and hidden shall remain.”

“The thoughts thou hast expressed as to the interpretation of the common species of bird
that is called in Persian Gunjishk (sparrow) were considered. Thou appearest to be well
grounded in mystic truth. However, on every plane, to every letter a meaning is allotted
which relateth to that plane. Indeed, the wayfarer findeth a secret in every name, a mystery
in every letter. In one sense, these letters refer to holiness.” (Haft Vadi)

In the description of the contents of the letters of the Persian Bird “Gunjishk” Baha’ Allah defines
each consonant as a step in the purification process he identifies “G” with freeing thyself from
earthly attachments; “N” with purifying oneself; “J” with purifying one’s intentions toward God; “Sh”
with thanking (shukara) God for His Grace; and “K” for the unwrapping of limitations of the soul.
This can be counterpoised to the similair five steps written of by Jami:

1.Thank thy Lord; 2. Pray and Remember; 3. Dependence on God and Submission to His
Will; 4. Patience and Wisdom; 5. Resignation, the denial of resistance to God.

Additionally, the five letters of the Persian Sparrow are similiar to the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi Order
in Kurdistans concept of Illumination of the Spirit (Tajliya-i Ruh) it is comprised of the following five
steps:

1. Obedience to the Shari’a; 2. Seperating the relationship the spirit has with the world; 3. The
Spirit rejoins the source of it’s origin which is now the sole object of it’s tariqa (path); 4. It is guided
by Divine Love; 5. When the Illumination of the Divine Essence is revealed like a moth the spirit
flings itself onto it and vanishes in it’s radiance it loses the consiousness of it’s individuality and a
Divine Substance with Divine Attributes is substituted.

We see that what is Holiness in these letters is the steps taken to achieve a “Spiritual” visage in the
path of God.[23] In fact one may recollect that another of Baha’ Allah’s works the Kitab al-Aqdas
taken in this context is not merely a book of Adab (ethical duties), rather a concise guide to
achieving spiritual purification.

3. Inner and Outward, Zahir, Batin and Haqa’iqat:

“O My Brother! Until thou enter the Egypt of love, thou shalt never come to the Joseph of
the Beauty of the Friend: and until, like Jacob, thour forsake thine outward eyes, thou shalt
 never open the eye of thine inward being; and until thou burn with the fire of love, thou
shalt never commune with the Lover of Longing.” (Pg. 9, Haft Vadi)

Here Baha’ Allah identifies love as being the equivalent to Egypt and Beauty of th Friend with
Joseph this metaphor is taken from Surah al-Yusuf (Qur’aan Surah al-Yusuf ) Where Yusuf
(Joseph) is abandoned by his brothers in Egypt or in the wilderness and later proves himself to be
a strong guide. It is mentioned of vision that one must open the inward seeing to approach love or
see the beauty of the wilderness. Vision in Sufism is accorded as:

“… it emenates out of Certitude (yaqin). God Almighty says: ‘…they call to mind (Divinity
and His commandments) and Lo; they are enlightened (7:201).’ The term Basirat means
‘clear vision’ it is of three kinds: Insight of Acceptance (rida), Insight of Following (Khalifat);
and Insight of Reality (Haqq). The insight of Acceptance is the name of access to the place
where love is attained… The insight of Following is to strictly follow the Sunnah of the
Prophet (peace be upon him)….The Insight of Reality is the sight of the Real Master
(Divinity Almighty) with the eyes of heart…..the Insight of acceptance lies in the
observation of experiences, signs and proofs; the insight of following lies in the Holy Book,
the Sunnah and the tradition of our righteous past Muslims. The insight of reality is a lamp
in the heart proclaiming that ‘it is Me’; it is a voice in the ear that says: ‘I am here’. And an
illuminous sight telling that ‘I am with you.’” [Ansari, 100 Fields]

“Of this hath the nightingale of oneness sung in the garden of Ghawthiyyih. He saith: ‘And there
shall appear upon the tablet of thine heart a writing of the subtle mysteries of ‘Fear Divinity and
Divinity will give you knowledge’[cf. Quran 16:128,23:57]; and the bird of thy soul shall recall the
holy sanctuarites of preexistence and soar on the wings of longing in the heaven of ‘walk the
beaten paths of thy Lord,’(zahir) and gather the fruits of communion in the gardens of ‘Then feed
on every kind of fruit.’” (batin) (Pg. 4, Haft Vadi) Describing the Haqa’iq: “…besides the orient light
of the Essence [see Kubrawiya & Baha' Allah Lights below] in the mirrors of names and attributes–
yearning would seize the reins of patience and reserve from out thy hand, and make thy soul to
shake with the flashing light, and draw thee from the earthly homeland to the first, heavenly abode
in the Center of Realities, and lift thee to a plane wherein thou wouldst soar in the air even as thou
walkest upon the earth…” (Pg. 4, Haft Vadi) “…stray not a breadth of a hair from the Law (shariah,
the Islamic Law) , for it is indeed the secret of the Path and the fruit of the Tree of ‘Truth’; and in all
these stages he must cling to the rope of obedience to the commandments, and hold fast to the
cord of shunning all forbidden things, that he may be nourished from the cup of the Law and
informed of the mysteries of Truth.” (Pg. 40, Haft Vadi) In the classical Sufi teachings the distinction
between Batin and Zahir is one that is defined as the relationship to the Inner to the Outer. It can
have the similitude of the heart, one where the life blood is contained within the vessel of natural
tissue of the outer chamber. The Haqa’iq is likened unto the life that is developed out of the
relationship of the inner and outer heart working together to nourish the human vessel in it’s quest
for attaining the nirvana of submission (muslim) to the Will which wills all wills.

4. Qalb: “They who soar in the heaven of singlenes and reach to the sea of the Absolute, reckon
this city– which is the station of life in Divinity– as the furthermost state of mystic knowers, and the
farthest homeland of the lovers. But to this evanescent One of the mystic ocean, this station is the
first gate of the heart’s citadel, that is , man’s first entrance to the city of the heart; and the heart is
endowed with four stages, which would be recounted should a kindred soul be found.”(Haft Vadi)

In Sufi symbolism the heart is the locus of divine attraction and the seat of righteousness. The early
Wahhabi teacher Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab reminds us “There is an emphasis on
sincerity (ikhlas); for many pretend to call to God when they, in fact, call to themselves.’ And the
progress of such an understanding develops in stages. First, we must consider the elements of the
heart and rememberance. The heart (Ar. Qalb, Per. Dil) in the Qur`an is described as that which
allows us the approach with the Lord: ‘Behold he approached his Lord with a sound heart.’ (37:84)
The commentators describe this ‘qalb salimi’ as a ‘heart that is pure, and unaffected by the
diseases that afflict others’. As the heart in Arabic is taken to be not only the seat of feelings and
affections, but also of intelligence and resulting action, it implies the whole character.’ It is the
purification of the heart, as mentioned by Baha’ Allah in the Haft Vadi, which leads to the
purification of our observance of duties of religion and to the obedience of the Will which wills all
wills. The heart is also the center of the seating of Faith (iman). The vehicle for such a purification
and setting of faith in the heart is that of the rememberance of Alllah, It is the prayer and the dhikr
(remembrance ) which generates a force within the wall of our chest which can withstand the
viscisitudes of the trangressors of the Way. In a Sahih hadith catalogued by Muslim it is recorded
that:

“I am near to the thought of My servant as he thinks about me, and I am with him in My
heart, and if he remembers Me in assembly I remember him in assembly, better than his,
and if he draws near Me by the span of a palm I draw near him by the cubit, and if he
draws near Me by the cubit I draw near him by the space of two hands. And if he walks
towards me, I rush towards him”.

And it is this asscension of the mind with the rememberance of God in the mirroring of the Divine
Decree in the heart which engulfs the lover of the Shrouded Supremacy, like Majnun, the lover to
his Layli which enthralls the seeker of the spiritual rapture to the reunion of Certainty. Progress of
the lovers soul to al-Haqq is that of travelling through states like a ladder. There are three states
(Ar. Hal) of the development of the human soul, coincidentally like that of a child in it’s mothers
feotus: Fist is that as described as ‘Ammara’: “Yet I do not absolve myself: the soul certainly
incites(‘ammara’) to do evil. Unless my Lord do bestow His Mercy: but surely My Lord is Oft-
forgiving, Most Merciful”. (Qur’an 12:53) This is the stage of the soul commanding to evil. The
Second is that of “Lawwama”: “And I do swear by the self-reproaching (lawwama) soul.” (Qur’an
75:2) This is the soul which commands resistance or is still prone to evil but resists evil. The Third
sou is the soul which is called the “Mutamainna” “(to the righteous soul will be said:) ‘O soul, in rest
and satisfaction (‘mutmainna’)! Come back thou to thy Lord, well pleased and well-pleasing unto
Him! Enter thou, then, among my devotees! Yae, enter thou My Heaven!” (Qur’an 89:27-30) This
faithfull soul is that of the highest state of all states and is accomplished through the purification of
the heart by way to the observance of perfect righteousness (Ar. Taqwa).

The classical Sufi explanation of the four paths of the heart is attributed to Hakim Tirmidhi, also a
sahih hadith scholar, who draws on the relationship of the soul to the heart. He correlates four
levels of the soul with four level of the heart as:
Degree of the Soul: Degree of the Heart:
Soul that commands to evil. The submitter with the Breast
undeepened belief (muslim)
Inspired Soul, a person of faith (mu’imin) the Heart
Blaming Soul, a “knower” (arif) the Inner Heart
Soul at Peace, one who asserts Divinity to Unity the Kernel, or innermost essence of the Heart
(muwahhid)

Among other interpretations is that of Rashid al-Din Maybudi he writes:

“The human heart has four curtains: The first is the breast (sadr), the resting place of the
covenant of submission (islam), accordig to God’s word, ‘Is he whose breast God has
opened up to submission…?’ (39:22). Thew second curtain is the heart (qalb), the place of
the light of faith, according to His words, ‘He has written, ‘He has written faith upon their
hearts’ (58:22). The third curtain is th einner heart (fu’ad), the pavillio of the witnessing
(mushahid) of the Real (al-Haqq), in accordance with His words, ‘Love for him has rent her
innermost heart.’(12:30).”[24]

5. Spiritual Resurrections: “With inward and outward eyes he witnesseth the mysteries of
resurrection in the realms of creation and the souls of men, and with a pure heart apprehendeth the
divine wisdom in the endless Manifestations of Divinity. ‘In the ocean he findeth a drop, in a drop
he beholdeth the secrets of the sea.’”(pg. 12, Haft Vadi) “Thus, too, Luqman, who had drunk from
the wellspring of wisdom and tasted of the waters of mercy, in proving to his son Nathan the planes
of resurrection and death, advanced the dream as an evidence and an example. We relate it here,
that through this evanescent Servant a memory may endure of that youth of the school of the
Divine Unity…” (Pg. 34, Haft Vadi) In Sufism it is extremely important, especially from the point of
view of jurisprudential knowledge, to remember that the term resurrection (qiyamat) is not the
Judgement or return of ‘Isa that the Quran holds to be the Qiyamat. In Sufism the term qiyamat has
another connotation. In the teachings of Simnani we see these teachings laid out.

Simnani uses the term qiyamat in connection with fana which is to say after the annihilation of the
individual he subsides (baqa) in the Love of God.

For Simnani these resurrections are due to the process of voluntary death (al-mawt al-ikhtiyari)
which is the initiation of the mystical experience in this life as a living being and dieing to the
material world of ego. As such the resurrections are those of al-qiyama as-sughra, the lesser
resurrection.

In the broader teachings of Sufism it is related that qiyama is:

“Resurrection symbolizes the turning of the wayfarer’s heart from the forms of illusory
multiplicity to visions of the theophanies of Majesty at the different levels of manifestation
of the divine beauty. At each level, of manifestation which is directed inwards, a
resurrection takes place and the phenomenal realm is constantly full of these
 resurrections. It is in this context that the Prophet said, ‘One who dies experiences
resurrection,’ beginning with the wayfarer’s resurrection after voluntary death, and ending
with the great resurrection which comes about after natural death.” [Nurbakhsh, "Qiyama",
Sufi Symbolism]

6. Annihilation: “This is the plane whereon the vestiges of all things are destroyed in the traveler
(musallik), and on the horizonof eternity the Divine Face riseth out of the darkness, and the
meaning of ‘All on the earth shall pass away, but the face of thy Lord….’ is made manifest.” (Pg.
37, Haft Vadi) The idea of Annihilation (fana) is an essential concept in the Sufi system of
purification. Jami writes:

“Annihilation means that the overpowering force of the manifestation of Divinity’s Being to
the Sufi’s inward reality erases his awareness of other than Divinity. It should be
understood that ‘annihilation from annihilation’ is contained in annihilation. That is, if the
annihilated traveler is aware of his own annihilation, he is not truly annihilated, since both
the attribute of annihilation and the possessor of that attribute are in the category of ‘other
than Divinity’. Hence, awareness of annihilation negates annihilation.”

Annihilation promotes the individual consciousness to seeing all as being origined in the creative
power of God. Najm al-Din Kubra describes the process of passing away:

“The possession of a man by a mystical state (al-halah) is stronger than the possession of
a state by a man…1. at first a man passes away (yafna) from his own will (ikhtiyarihi) into
the Divine Will (ikhtiyar al-Haqq). 2. Then he ascends and is characterized (yattasifu) by
Divine Will, this being more sublime (ajalla) than passing away (al-fana) into Divine Will.
This characterization by Divine Will come to an end 3. When he (the mystic voyager) is
tried by affliction (ibtula) and tested by the onslaughts of Awesome Majesty (hawahimi’l-
’azamah). 4. Thus he pastures alone in the meadows of Majesty (al-jalal) and speeds
onwards into the plazas of Awesomeness (al-kibriya’i) and flies in the atmosphere of
Essence (or substance, al-huwih) until he is clothed with (Divine) Will (al-ikhtiyar). Then he
is a khalif (successor) with full claim (al-’istihqaqaq) to teaching the Path (al-tariqah).”[25]

It is interesting that for Kubra that the annihilation of the individual is an annihilation of one’s will
with that of the Divine Will. This is also spoken of to some extent by ‘Ali-Muhammad Shirazi and
Mirza Husayn-Ali Baha’ Allah.

7. Wahdat ash-Shuhud: An important accomplishment of Baha’ Allah is the distinction in his system
of the Unity of Witnessing rather than the pantheistic leaning Unity of Being doctrine (wahdat al-
wajub). Being (wajub) is above all that is created we see this in the phrases:

“Wherefore, the lovers of the face of the Beloved have said; ‘O thou, the One Whose
essence alone showeth the way to His Essence, and Who is sanctified above any likeness
to His creatures.” How can utter nothingness gallop its steed in the field of preexistence, or
a fleeting shadow reach to the everlasting sun? The Friend hath said, ‘But for Thee, we
had not known Thee.’ and the Beloved said, ‘nor attained Thy Presence.” (Pg. 23, Haft
Vadi)
It is an interesting concept within the Qur’aan that the worshippers are to seek out Gods
countenance when it is clearly stated that Gods countenance or Essence is unattainable. We see
this here explained in the doctrine of Wahdat ash-Shuhud as a witnessing to the Countenance of
God through the meditant however, the reality of achieving substantial oneness whether physical
or metaphysical is a perception not an experience or rather the experience of consciousness which
is devoid of other than God. This doctrine was first expounded upon by Shah Wali’llah (Sirhindi) the
Naqshbandi Sufi of al-Hind. Some scholars give initial claim to this to Simnani. Baha’ Allah further
points out on the substantial seperation of God from the ascendee:

“However, let none construe these utterances to be anthropomorphism, nor see in them
the descent of the worlds of God into the grades of the creatures; nor should they lead
thine Eminence to such assumptions. For Divinity is, in His Essence, holy above ascent
and descent, entrance and exit; ; He hath through all eternity been free of the attributes of
human creatures, and ever will remain so. No man hath ever known Him; no soul hath
ever found the pathway to His Being. Every mystic knower hath wandered far astray in the
valley of the knowledge of Him; every saint hath lost his way in seeking to comprehend His
Essence. Sanctified is He above the understanding of the wise; exalted is He above the
knowledge of the knowing! The way is barred and to seek it is impiety; His proof is His
signs; His being is His evidence.” (Pg. 22, Haft Vadi)

8. Muhammadan Reality:

“And I praise and glorify the first sea which hath branched from the ocean of the Divine
Essence, and the first morn which hath glowed from the Horizon of Oneness, and the first
sun which hath risen in the heaven of eternity, and which hath risen in the Heaven of
Eternity, and the first fire which was lit from the Lamp of Preexistence in the lantern of
singleness: He who was Ahmad in the kingdom of the exalted ones, and Muhammad
amongst the concourse of the near ones, and Mahmud in the realm of the sincere ones.
‘…by whichsoever ye will, invoke Him: he hath most excellent names’ in the hearts of
those who know. And upon His household and companions be abundant and abiding and
eternal peace!” (Pg. 2, Haft Vadi)

“If any of the utterances of this servant may not be comprehended, or may lead to
perturbation, the same must be inquired of again, that no doubt may linger, and the
meaning be clear as the Face of the Beloved One shining from the ‘Glorious Station’
(Maqamat-i Mahmud, cf. Quran 17:81).”

The concept of Maqam Mahmuda has it’s origins in Orthodox hadith related by Bukhari.[27] In this
conception the Positon of Muhammad is exalted at the final judgement and he is given the highest
position in paradise. Of course we do not know what this really means. However, in Ismaili thought
it has taken on the occurrence of the “Nutq”, the point of all-awareness. In Sufism, many have
rendered this the most exalted point in terms of knowing.

Hadith 1: “Narrated Ibn ‘Umar: ‘On the Day of Resurrection the people will fall on their
knees and every nation will follow their prophet and they will say, ‘O so-and-so! Intercede
(for us with God), til (the right of) of intercession will be given to the Prophet and that will
 be the day when God will raise him to a station of praise and glory (Glorious Station).”
[Bukhari, Vol. 6, Hadith No. 242]

Hadith 2: “Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: ‘God’s Messenger said, ‘Whoever, after listeining
to the Adhan says, ‘O God, the Lord of this complete call and of this prayer, which is going
to be established! Give Muhammad al-Wasila and al-Fadila and raise him to Maqam
Mahmuda, which you have promised him,’ will be granted my intercession for him on the
Day of Resurrection.” [Bukhari, Vol. 6, Hadith No. 243]

It is important to point out that the Muhammadan Reality is the Ocean which has branched out and
in another sense the Sea which the Throne is set upon:

“The Arabic root for the word prophecy is based on a root connoting the giving of news or
tidings. The prophet is one who expounds upon the divine essence, attributes, names, and
decrees, as they are revelaed to him. He is a realized one, who is primally and essentially
the Universal Intellect (‘aql al-kulli), delegated by Divinity to inform the Universal Soul (nafs
al-kulli) directly and the individual soul indirectly. Each of the prophets, from the time of
Adam to that of Mohammad, represents a different manifestation of the prophecy of the
Supreme Spirit which is the First Intellect.

The prophecy of the first intellect is lasting and essential, while the prophecy of manifestations is
phenomenal and accidental. The Mohammadan reality represents the First Intellect or Supreme
Spirit, as indicated in the Prophet’s statements: ‘First, Divinity created the intellect’, ‘First Divinity
created my light’, and First, Divinity created my spirit.’ [Nurbakhsh, Lexicon: Foruzanfar, Ahadith-i
Mathnawi, no. 342]” [Lahiji, Sharh-i Golshan-i Raz, 23]

9. Kubrawi & Baha’ Allah Light Symbols: The most common symbol through the spritually bound
Islamic meditants is that of light. It’s origin is based in the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet it is
used by Baha’ Allah and the Kubrawi and all great sufi poets and writers.

“…Thus when the wayfarer gazeth only upon the place of appearance– that is, when he
seeth only the many-colored globes –he beholdeth yellow and red and white; hence it is
that conflict hath prevailed among the creatures, and a darksome dust from limited souls
hath hid the world. And some do gaze upon the effulgence of the light; and some have
drunk of the wine of oneness and these see nothing but the sun itself.” (Pg. 21, Haft Vadi)

“O My Brother! A pure heart is as a mirror; cleanse it with the burnish of love and
severance from all save Divinity, that the true sun may shine within it and the eternal
morning dawn.” (Pg. 21-22, Haft Vadi)

“The purpose of this is to say that when the mystic sees the effect within himself (which is the
acceptance of the words of mystical saints), he put his foot forward on the mystical path with full
confidence. He then witnesses the lights, obtains knowledge of the signs of the path, and
comprehends the real nature of the removal of the veils and lifting of the covers. It is vital that, until
his dying breath, he should not be heedless for one instant, since the veil of darkness falls in every
instant in the visible realm which is itself nothing but absolute darkness and nothingness.”
Another example of the power of Seven in mystical discourse is presented by Simnani as he
summates his mystical stages as:

“The first curtain is of the invisible realm of Satan which is turbid, and 10,000 veils must be
lifted at this stage. After this is the curtain of the invisible realm of the soul, the curtain of
which is blue, and 10,000 additional veils must be removed at this stage. After this is the
curtain of the invisible realm of the heart which is red and ruby-colored, and 10,000 veils
must be destroyed in this stage. Then there is the curtain of the invisible realm of the
inmost being, the color of which is white and extremely fine and there are also 10,000 veils
in this stage which must be lifted. After this is the curtain of the invisible of the spirit. The
color of this curtain is a very pleasing yellow and there are 10.000 more veils at this stage
which must be illuminated. After this an awesome pure black, and 10,000 more veils must
be llifted at this stage. After this is the curtain of the hiddenmost mystery (ghayb al-
ghuyub); the color of it’s curtain is green and 10,000 additional veils lie at this threshold.
And all these veils relate to the mystic’s being. It is he who is veiled by these veils which
are brought about by Divinity, not Divinity thai is veiled. Nothing can veil Divinity.” [28]

According to Hadith:

“After the lifiting of these 70,.000 veils the reaches the veil of ‘Divine Grandeur’ (hijab al-
kubriya) just as the Prophet (upon him be peace) says: ‘His veil is of light (fire, according to
another tradition). If it were lifted, the splendor of His face would burn whatever turned it’s
eyes towards it.’ “(Reported by Muslim)

It may not in fact be a Kubrawiya influence that we see the use of light symbolism in Baha’ Allahs
writings. Some may; argue that it is, in fact, due to the Suhrawardi tradition. However, it would
seem at least they both have a common origin that being the symbolism of discourse of Isma`ilism
where there has been a continual tradition of relating spiritual insight in symbols composed of
lights, veils of lights and color symbolism. Regarding the Suhrawardian tradition it is interesting to
point out that his writings regarding Gabriel identify the Spirit, as Gabriel is sometimes known, as
having in idealic state a white color, as the Active Intellect– one step removed from the Ideal of his
existence– he has a red color and of course the earthly color is represented by the darksome
globe.

One author writes of the Light symbolism as it relates to Prophet Muhammad as:

“Divinity calls the Prophet (s) ‘Nur’ or ‘Light’ and ‘Siraajan muneeran’ or ‘a Light-Giving
Lamp’ when He says to mankind: ‘There has come to you from Divinity a Light and a Book
for discernment’ (5:15) and ‘O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a Witness, a Bearer of
glad tidings, and a Warner — and as one who invites to Divinity’s (grace) by His leave, and
as a Lampspreading light’ (33:46).

Al-Qadi ‘Iyad said: ‘Divinity calls the Prophet (s) ‘Nur’ or ‘Light’ … and it is also said that
the Light refers to the Qur’an.’ ( al-Shifa, Part 1, Ch. 3, sec. 14). Ibn ‘Abbas explains that
‘Nur’ means ‘Rasul,’ i.e. the Light is the Prophet (s), and the Book is the Qur’an
(Fairuzabadi, Tanweer al-miqbaas). Ali al-Qari says: “It has also been said that both the
 Light and the Book refer to Muhammad (s), because just as he is a tremendous light and
the source of all lights, he is also a book that gathers up and makes clear all the secrets” (
Sharh al-Shifa, 1:505). Qadi ‘Iyad said: “He called him a luminous lamp to make his
position clear, to clarify his prophethood and to illumine the hearts of the believers and the
gnostics (‘aarifeen) by what he had brought.” Ali al-Qari said: “To illumine the hearts of the
believers in general and the gnostics in particular,” and “Sirajan muniran means a
luminous sun, because of His saying: “He hath placed therein a great lamp and a moon
giving light” (25:61). Therefore there is in this verse a warning that the sun is the highest of
the material lights (al-anwaar al-hissi) and that other lights are outpourings from it: similarly
the Prophet (s) is the highest of the spiritual lights and other lights are derived from him by
virtue of his mediating connection and pivotal rank in the overall sphere of creation. This is
also inferred from the tradition: “The first thing that Divinity created is my light”" ( Sharh al-
Shifa, 1:505).

It has been said that “Divinity has extended [amadd] the light of discernment [basira] through the
light of his prophethood just as He extends the light of eyesight [basar] through the light of the sun,”
and this extension of Divinity’s light, or madad, extends from the Prophet (s) to everyone; that is
why “Divinity called him a lamp and not a sun, because it is impossible to take anything directly
from the light of the sun, but it is possible to take many lights from the lamp” (Tafsir al-Khazin).”[29]

Another interesting example of the use of hierachical division is that of the following passage:

“Thus for they move on these three differing planes, the understanding and the words of
the wayfarers have differed; and hence the sign of conflict doth continually appear on
earth. For some there are who dwell upon the plane of oneness and speak of that world,
ans some inhabit the realms of limitation, and some the grades of self, while others are
completely veiled.” (Pg. 21, Haft Vadi)

The tri-hierarchical division is spoken of by Sufis in the following passage the lights are put on
three levels and is loosely analoguos to the configuration of Baha’ Allah in a previous passage:

“The Light-of-Reality (nur-i haqiqat) comprises three levels: Light aligned with Absolute Being,.
Light aligned with true absolute knowledge. Light which comprehensiviely circumscribes everything
because it has both appearance and manifestation (zahir wa izhar). When considered from the
perspective of Unity (wahdat), Being, Knowledge and Light remain invisible and incomprehensible–
an plurality exists on the plane of the incomprehensible– no plurality exists on the plane of the
Oneness-of-the-Essence (hadhrat-i ahadiyat-i dhatiya). On the level of Divine Unicity (wahidiyat),
however, differentiation between these three comes to exist, in so far as there are many different
objects-of-knowledge (ma’lumat), each with its own attachments in contrast to Existence (which is
unique). Beings, however, are innumerable in their differentiated manifestation. So the
manifestation of being (wojud) is juxtaposed to the nonexistent archetypal objects-of-knowledge
contained in Divinity’s Knowledge. Pure light cannot be perceived except by its appearance
throuugh a being’s manifestation (mazhar-i maujud).

Pure light is Divinity’s Being and is intellegible when juxtaposed to non-existence (‘adam).
Be that as it may, non-existence has its own proper self-determination (ta’ayyun)
 conceptualised in the human mind. Non-existence is darkness, and Existence is light. The
world has two aspects (wajh): one facing non-exitence and the other facing Existence. The
aspect of the world which faces Existence possesses perfection, while the aspect facing
non-existence is imperfect.” [ tr. Nurbakhsh, see Lexicon, Shah Ne'motGod, Risalaha-yi
Shah Ne'matollah-i Wali, III 195-6]

In the Quran those who are against the Way of God, and without belief in anything are known as
Al-Zalimun, the dark ones. This position is juxtaposed with those who are full of faith (mu’iminiun)
who are known as having a brilliant light shining from their faces, which may be understood to
mean their soul– the essence of thier beings. In fact, the white symbolism of Sufism may be more
Quranic than the typical non-Sufi orthodox Muslim may think. Considering the numerous allusions
to light in the Quran, it would seem lacking not to have such a symbolism when talking of matters
of true belief, inner faith.

In Conclusion

Undoubtedly the Sufi background to the writings of Mirza Husayn-Ali Baha’ Allah, Baha’u’llah, are
better understood when we actually look at how the Sufi discourse is carried out. The Haft Vadi
was not written in a vacuum but spoke directly to the Sufi paradigm, it used Symbolic utterance to
convey a message of religious reform and the need for a new “Muslim”.

Bibliography of Works Cited from “Lexicon” (Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh’s Farhang at-Tassawuf Sufi
Symbolism: the Nurbakhsh Encyclopedia of Sufi Terminology). New York. Khaniqah Nimatullahi
Publications 1993) available on-line for order at http://www.nimatullahi.com

The Following works were translated into english by Javad Nurbakhsh, the Pir of the Nimatullahi
Order, and appear in this study:

Bertels, Yevgeni Edvardovich. Tasawwof wa Adabiyat-e Tasawwof. Incl. Anonymous Persian

language MS, Mer’at-e ‘Oshshaq. Russian text translated into Persian by Sirus Izadi. Tehran,
1979.

Darabi, Mohammad. Latifa-ye Ghaibi. Nurbakhsh Library, Tehran, photocopy (n.d.)

Jorjani, ‘Ali ebn Mohammad. Ketab at-Ta’rifat. Ed. Ebrahim al-Abyari. Beirut, 1985.

Lahiji, Shamso’d-Din Mohammad, (Asiri). Mafatih al-E’jaz fi Sharh-e Golshan-e Raz. Ed. Kaiwan
Sami’i. Tehran, 1958.

Maibodi, Abo’l-Fadhl Rasido’d-Din. Kashf al-Asrar wa ‘Oddat al-Abrar. 10 Vols. Ed. ‘Ali-Asghar
Hekmat. Tehran, 1978.

Ne’mato’llah Wali, Sayyed Nuro’d-Din, (Shah). Rasa’el-e Shah Ne’mato’llah-e Wali. 4 Vols. Ed.
Javad Nurbakhsh. Tehran, 1978. Ruzbehan, Baqli Shirazi. Mashrab al-Arwah. Ed. Nazif M. Hoca.
Istanbul, 1974.
Sarraj Tusi, Abu Nasr. Ketab al-loma’ fe’t-Tasawwof. E.J.W. Gibb Memorial Series, No. 22.
London, 1914.

Tahanawi, Mohammad A’la ebn ‘Ali. Kashshaf Estelehat al-Fonun. Ed. Asiatic Soceity of Bengal.
Calcutta, 1982.

FOOTNOTES:

1 Pg. 175, Beyond Faith and Infedility: the Sufi Poetry and Teachings of Mahmud Shabistari,
Leaonard Lewisohn, Curzon Press

2 Quoted in “Wilayat” in Encyclopedia of Religion, Eliad (Ed.)

3 See “Wilayat” in Encyclopedia of Religion, Eliade (Ed.).

4 See pg. 51, Michael Chodkiewicz’s Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the
Doctrine of Ibn Arabi. Cambridge. The Islamic Texts Society (1993)

5 Quoted in Gerhard Bowering’s The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam. Berlin/New
York. De Gruyter (1980)

6 Jamal Elias, pg. 62, in The Throne Carriers of Divinity , Albany. State University of New York
Press (1995)

7 See Izutsu, “Manifestation” in Sufism and Taoism: A Comparitive Study of Key Philosophical
Concept, Berkeley. University of California Press (1984)

8 The following section is a synopsis of the work on Iranian Sufi development of Mohammad Isa
Waley Najm al-Din Kubra and the Central Asian School of Sufism and the work of S.H. Nasr and J.
Matini’s Persian Literature in S.H. Nasr (ed.) “Islamic Sprituality: Manifestations”, New York.
Crossroads (1991)

9 Quoted in Kojiro Nakamura’s “Imam Ghazali’s Cosmology Reconsidered with Special Reference
to the Concept of Jabarut” in Studia Islamica Vol. 80 (1994).

10 Pg. 352, Persian Literature.

11 See “Dahabiya” in the Encyclopedia Iranica, Ed. By Esham Yar-Shater. New York. Routledge
(1982).

12 R.A. Nicholson quoted in Samah Salim’s “Mansur al-Hallaj and the Poetry of Ecstasy” in Journal
of Arabic Literature Vol. XXI, March 1990

13 The following excerpts are taken from Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh’s Farhang at-Tassawuf (Sufi
Symbolism: the Nurbakhsh Encyclopedia of Sufi Terminology). New York. Khaniqah Nimatullahi
Publications (1993)
14 Pg. 38, ‘Ali b. ‘Uthman al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri (translated by R.A. Nicholson), Kashf al-Mahjub.
London. Luzac & Co. Ltd. (1976)

15 See Hamid Algar’s The Path of Divinity’s Bondsmen from Origin to Return. Costa Mesa Mazda
Publishers (1979) for as-Sarraj’s maqamat quoted here and throughout.

16 See Farrid al-Din ‘Attar’s The Conference of the Birds. London. Routledge and Kegan Paul
(1974) for ‘Attar’s maqamat quoted here and throughout.

17 See Mirza Husayn-’Ali Baha’ Allah’s (translated by Marzieh Gail) Haft Vadi (the Seven Valleys).
Wilmette. Baha’i Publishing Trust (1991) for Baha’ Allah’s maqamat quoted here and throughout.

18 Field No 7, Khoja Abdullah Ansari Hirawi (tranlated by Dr. Munir Ahmad Mughal) Said Maidan
(The 100 Fields between Man and Divinity) Islamic Book Foundation (1983)

19 Pg. 267, Kashf al-M ahjub.

20 Pg. 228, The Mystical Vision of Existence in Classical Islam.

21 Titus Burckhardt in Introduction to Sufism. San Francisco. Thorsons (1995)

22 Ibn Sina (translated by Henry Corbin) in Henry Corbin’s Avicenna & the Visionary Recital.
Princeton: Princeton University Press (1990).

23 See Dr. Mir Waliuddin’s Contemplative Disciplines in Sufism, London. East-West Publications
(1980)

24 This and the preceding in Sachiko Murata’s The Tao of Islam. Albany. State University of New
York Press (1992).# Pg. 88-89, in Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh’s Sufism II. New York. Khaniqah
Nimatullahi Publications

25 Quoted in “Return to the One” in Neoplatonism and Islamic Mysticism. Edited by R. Baine
Harris. Albany. State University of New York Press (1992)

26 Quoted pg. 122 in Willam Chittick’s “the Five Divine Presences” in The Muslim World (1983)

27 Pg. 440, Quoted in Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan’s
Interpretation (tafsir) of the Meanings of The Noble Qur’an in the English Language: A Summarized
Version of At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir with comments from Sahih al-Bukhari. Riyadh.
Maktaba Dar as-Salam (1993). This tafsir is written in the strict traditionalist school of Qur’anic
interpretation. Of which there is also the rational school of Murtidi and the new ideas of Amin al-
Khuli who uses an inter-textual technique.

28 Quoted in “Mysticasl Visions: the Risala -i Nur” in Muslim World Vol. 83, No.1, (1993)
29 Quoted from “The Light of the Prophet” on the World Wide Web 10/23/96:
http//www.naqshbandi.org/contents/light

Chapter 8 – Some Sufi Conceptions on Resurrection (Qiyama)

by Michael McCarron

The Resurrection or Qiyama is an important principle not just generally within Islam but particularly
for Sufis. The following chapter is an attempt at addressing Sufi conceptions of Qiyama. First a
general overview of Resurrection is in order.

Qiyama (kiyama): the action of raising oneself, of rising, and of resurrection. In Islam it is believed
in the following:

1. Prophetic Signs. Resurrection is preceded by Annihilation. Signs: “the earth will be

shaken with its earthquake” and will “yield up its burdens (Kuran XLIX 1-2). The sky will
crack, the planets will be dispersed, the seas “poured forth”, the graves overturned
(LXXXXII: 1-4), the mountains will fly. (cf. pg. 235 Encyclopedia of Islam vol. 5 article
“Kiyama”)

2. The annihilation, “the Sound shall ring out, and a second shall follow it (Kuran XLLIX: 6-
7). This sound is the sound of a trumpet one announcing the annihilation the other sound
announcing the resurrection. Only God shall remain all shall perish save his face (wajh).”
(Kuran XXVIII, 88)

3. The resurrection, the second blast from the trumpet. The whole of humanity will be
revived in body, soul and spirit. “The day when the crier shall cry out from a nearby place,
the day when they shall all in truth hear the cry that will be the day of resurrection” (Kuran
L, 41-2).

4. The gathering (hashr) God “shall gather” all for judgement.

Shi’a anomaly to traditional Islamic Resurrection, for those practicing Shi’a Irfan there is an
important belief in the return of the 12th Imam which is also recoginized in some Sunni Sufi circles:

“We may further note that the Shi’i beliefs refer to a first “return” which will precede the
universal resurrectiona and gathering; only the virtuous will take part in it under the
guidance of the Mahdi of the last times. This is the raj’a (return to life) of kind of
millenarianism. The Rafidis, in the early centuries of Islam, insisted on this. It continues to
be one of the perspectives of IMamism, linked to the “return” of the 12th Imam,
Muhammad al-Mahdi, the ‘vanished one’ (al-Gha’ib), who with this ‘first return’, will be al-
Qa’im, ‘the riser’. The Isma’ili ‘hidden sense’ has more than once transposed the foretould
parousia on a gnostic and extra-temporal basis. ” pg. 236 EI Vol. 5, “Kiyama”

3 Quranic motifs of Resurrection:

 1. comparing the creation to the resurrection, which then appars to be a “new creation”
(Kuran XVII:49) or the “second creation” (LIII: 47)

2. A second “sign” of the resurrection is the anology of the produ tion of vegetables and of
fruits, and the revivication of the soil by water (XLI, 39, LXIII, 11). “Thus we restore life to
the earth after its death. Observe how resurrection (nushur) comes about (XXXV, 9).

3. The example of miracles with reference to a dead man raised by God, (Surah Baqara
72-3)

Baha’ Allah writes regarding resurrection and life and the gathering:

“Know then that when Muhammad, the Point of the Qur’án and the Light of the All-
Glorious, came with perspicuous verses and luminous proofs manifested in such signs as
are beyond the proof of all existence to produce, He bade all men follow this lofty and
outstretched Path in accordance with the precepts that He had brought from God. Whoso
acknowledged Him, recognized the signs of God in His inmost Being, and saw in His
beauty the changeless beauty of God, the decree of “resurrection”, “ingathering”, “life”, and
“paradise” was passed upon him. For he who had believed in God and in the Manifestation
of His beauty was raised from the grave of heedlessness, gathered together in the sacred
ground of the heart, quickened to the life of faith and certitude, and admitted into the
paradise of the divine presence. What paradise can be loftier than this, what ingathering
mightier, and what resurrection greater? Indeed, should a soul be acquainted with these
mysteries, he would grasp that which none other hath fathomed. ” (Baha’ Allah, Para #57,
Jawahir al-Asrar,http://omv.op.het.net/gems/gemsofdivinemysteries.html)

In Sufism we can see a different understanding of Resurrection than a literal reading of the Qur’an.
There is a deeper level of meaning that the sufi sees in Resurrection:

“With inward and outward eyes he witnesseth the mysteries of resurrection in the realms of
creation and the souls of men, and with a pure heart apprehendeth the divine wisdom in
the endless Manifestations of Divinity. ‘In the ocean he findeth a drop, in a drop he
beholdeth the secrets of the sea.”(pg. 12, Baha’ Allah, Haft Vadi)

In Sufism the term qiyamat has another connotation. In the teachings of Simnani we see these
teachings laid out.

Simnani uses the term qiyamat in connection with fana which is to say after the annihilation of the
individual he subsides (baqa) in the Love of al-Lah. For Simnani another stage developed that of
the resurrection (qiyamat) of the individaul, like that of a phoenix, from the Annihilation. Simanani
has five resurrections of Inner Levels of Death and Resurrection, perhaps in realtion to the five
Lata’if:

Resurrection of the Mystery (al-azifa),

Resurrection of the Spirit (al-waqi’a, the stage of visionary expreinces),

 Resurrection of the Inmost Being (al-haqqa),

Resurrection of the Heart (as-sa’a) ,

Resurrection of the Bodily Substance (al-qiyama).

For Simnani these resurrections are due to the process of voluntary death (al-mawt al-ikhtiyari)
which is the initiation of the mystical experience in this life as a living being and dieing to the
material world of ego. As such the resurrections are those of al-qiyama as-sughra, the lesser
resurrection.

In the broader teachings of Sufism it is related that qiyama is:

«Resurrection symbolizes the turning of the wayfarer’s heart from the forms of illusory multiplicity to visions of the
theophanies of Majesty at the different levels of manifestation of the divine beauty. At each level, of manifestation
which is directed inwards, a resurrection takes place and the phenomenal realm is constantly full of these
resurrections. It is in this context that the Prophet said, ‘One who dies experiences resurrection,’ beginning with the
wayfarer’s resurrection after voluntary death, and ending with the great resurrection which comes about after
natural death.” [Nurbakhsh, "Qiyama", Sufi Symbolism]

The Sufi Messiah is known as the Mahdi:

“Another variation on the Mahdi doctrine is the Sufi view, which stresses the mystical
lineage of the Mahdi and his role as Sufi master. Overall, the Sufi view does not
fundamentally differ from the views articulated by other Muslims, except in one very
important respect. Whereas the Sunnis expect the return of a pious Muslim reformer, and
Shi’a expect the return of a vanished imam, the Sufis generally expect the Mahdi to be the
final link in a long chain of masters and disciples in the Sufi tradition. In that sense, this
continuous chain or lineage begins with Muhammad and ends with the Mahdi. The Mahdi is
therefore viewed as the final and most perfect Sufi master, who is able to guide Muslims to
God. As the “divinely guided guide of humanity” he will occupy a place between the
believers and God. This is not to say that the Mahdi will be divine in any way. Rather, it is to
say that he will serve as the axis of human faith in God, or stated differently, he will serve as
a doorway of sorts on the path to God.” (Kamran Scot Aghaie (2005) Pg. 5982
“Messianism:Messianism in the Muslim Tradition” Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd Edition).
Vol. 9 Macmillan Reference USA Detroit)

The Sufi messianic figure becomes transfigured in the Sufi understanding of Qiyama to one of a
great teacher that shall come in the Spirit of Christ according to Ibn Arabi. Ibn Arabi wrote of a
messianic figure known as the “Seal of the Saints”, he used the figure of the simorgh or “Phoenix”
to represent this messianic figure in his poetry. It is interesting to note that Ibn Arabi is instructed
regarding the Seal by an intermediary identified with the Phoenix, which is itself identified with the
title, ”the courier of my Lord” (furaniq Rabb-i).The notion of the Seal of sainthood was first
introduced by al-Hakim al- Tirmidhi (d. ca. 295/908) in his Kitab Sirat al-Awliya’ (The book of the life
conduct of the saints). However, Tirmidhi does not identify who the Seal of the Saints is whereas
Ibn Arabi does:
Ibn Arabi further instructs us regarding who the Seal is:

But in the Jawab Ibn al-’Arabi wrote, “The one who is worthy [of being the Seal of
sainthood] is a man who is like unto his father, who is non-Arab (a jami), well-proportioned
in his physical make-up, and of me-dium height. The cycle of the kingdom will be sealed by
him, and sainthood, likewise, shall be sealed by him. He has a minister (wazir) named
John [the Baptist] (Yahya). The Seal is spiritual in origin, human in manifestation (ruhani
al-mahtid, insi al-mashhad).” (pg. 417, The “Millennial” Motif in Book of the Fabulous
Gryphon)

He is from a foreign people, not an Arab. His complexion is of a fair, ruddy hue, his hair
reddish, and he is rather tall than short. He is like the radiant full-moon. His name is ‘Abd
Allah-that being the name of every Servant of God. As for the name by which he is
particularly distinguished [i.e., 'Isa], no inflection (i’rab) occurs therein, as it “operates
without restriction” (yatsarrafu) in the esoteric art of the grammar of Arabic: It begins with
the eye/source of certitude (‘ayn al-yaqin) and ends with the eternality of enablement
(qayyamiyyat al-tamkin). (pg. 416, The “Millennial” Motif in Book of the Fabulous Gryphon)

It should be noted that in the Islamic eschatology Jesus (‘Isa) is to return as the Mahdi, so there is
here an identification of the Mahdi with the Seal of the Saints. Ibn Arabi as well identifies this figure
with the rising of the Sun from the West, stating that:

“For the “Sun of the West” is the light of intellections arising in the world of your
transcendence and that which manifests itself of the secrets of particularization and
generalization to your heart, just as the “Seal of sainthood” is that by which your own
situation is sealed (ma khatama bi-hi ‘ala maqami-ka) in the furthest boundary of your
station (muntaha maqami-ka)”. (pg. 422, The “Millenial” Motif in the Book of the Fabulous
Gryphon)

One more attribute to be noted about Ibn Arabi is his belief in cyclical manifestations of the re-
emergence of the Phoneix (‘anqa). He notes that Muhammad appeared in the year 622 C.E. thus
every 622 years a new cycle would begin. It was this notion that became important to one Mahdist
claimant in the Sudan, Imam Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi (d. 1302/1885) made claim to be the
Mahdi since 622 X 3 = 1866. Which would put this claim also within the living ministry of Baha’
Allah, founder of the Baha’i Tariqat or Faith.

It should be noted that Ibn Arabi’s successor in the initiatic chain of transmission, Qunawi, ended
the initatic chain until the time of the Mahdi’s return when as Seal of the Saints all guidance is
referenced to the mahdi:

“I enjoin my companions not to take up after me the problematic questions (mujmalât)in

the intricacies of the intuitive sciences (al-ma’ârif al-dhawqiyyah). Rather they should limit
themselves to pondering that which is unambiguous (sarîh) and clearly
determined (mansûs) without trying to interpret what is not plain and unambiguous,
whether in my words or the words of the Shaykh. For after me these are closed
passages(âyât masdûdah). Let none of them accept a single word from the
 intuition(dhawq) of anyone, unless he should come upon the Imam, the Mahdi. Then he
should extend to him my greetings in order that he may take from him the sciences which
flow from him.[38] But no one else.” (“The last will and testament of Ibn ‘Arabi’s foremost
disciple, Sadr al-Din Qunawi”,http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articles/sadraldinwill.html,
10/25/2008)

The following prophecies are from Ibn Arabi’s Futuhat 366 regarding the function of the Mahdi:

…Know–may God support us!–that God has a viceregent (khalifa) who will come forth
when the earth has become filled with injustice and oppression, and will then fill it with
justice and equity. Even if there were only one day left for this world, God would lengthen it
so that he (i.e., the Mahdi) could rule. …He will wipe out injustice and its people and
uphold Religion (al-Din), and he will breathe the spirit back into Islam. He will reinvigorate
Islam after its degradation and bring it back to life after its death. He will levy the poll-tax
and call (mankind) to God with the sword, so that whoever refuses will be killed, and
whoever opposes him will be forsaken.

He will manifest Religion as it (really) is in Itself, the Religion by which the Messenger of
God would judge and rule if he were there. He will eliminate the different schools (of
religious law) so that only the Pure Religion (Kor. 39:3) remains, and his enemies will be
those who follow blindly the ‘ulama’, the people of ijtihad, because they will see the Mahdi
judging differently from the way followed by their imams (i.e., the historical founders of the
schools of Islamic law). So they will only accept the Mahdi’s authority grudgingly and
against their will, because of their fear of his sword and his strength and because they
covet (the power and wealth) that he possesses. But the common people of the Muslims
and the greater part of the elite among them will rejoice in him, while the true Knowers of
God among the People of the (spiritual) Realities will pledge allegiance to him because of
God’s directly informing them (of the Mahdi’s true nature and mission), through (inner)
unveiling and immediate witnessing.

the Companions (of the Prophet) who sincerely fulfilled what they had pledged to God.
These Helpers are from the non-Arab peoples; none of them is Arab, although they speak
only Arabic. And they have a guardian, not of their kind, who never disobeys God at all; he
is the most elect of the Helpers and the most excellent of (the Mahdi’s) Trusted Ones.

Now in this verse (30:47)–which the Helpers take as their constant prayer (by day) and
their inseparable companion at night–God has given them the most excellent knowledge of
true sincerity (sidq), as their inner state and direct experience. So they know that true
sincerity is God’s sword on earth: God always gives His victorious support (nasr) to
whoever stands up for someone (in the divine cause) while being distinguished by this true
sincerity…. pg. 3-6

So if there is only one Helper, then everything he needs is united in that one person, and if
they are more than one, then there are not more than nine of them, since that was the limit
of the uncertainty the Messenger of God expressed in his saying concerning the rule of the
Mahdi, that it was “for five, seven or nine years.” And the totality of what he needs to have
 performed for him by his Helpers are nine things; there is not a tenth, nor can they be any
fewer…. pg. 9

From the preceding Ibn Arabi prophecies concerning the Mahdi there are some interesting parallels
to the Madhist movement of the Baha’i Faith. It is worth pondering whether the Baha’is based their
structure on some of Ibn Arabi’s teachings although it is just as likely to be a independent
formation. One can see interesting parallels in the Baha’i Faith to the prophecy for instance:

1. Baha’ Allah came as a reinvigorator of Islam.

2. Baha’ Allahs enemies were the mujahids of Islam.

3. Baha’ Allah was Persian, not Arab, Baha’is came from Iran and speak arabic on a daily
basis in prayer.

4. The Baha’i Faith has a Guardian as part of it’s structure which oversees the Awliya as
defined in the Kitab-i Aqdas, the term for members of the Universal House of Justice is
Awliya or Helper.

5. The Awliya number 9 in total and can not be more or less then this number.

6. Prayer is the central act of worship in the Baha’i Faith along with Dhikr, the central
gathering place is known as a Mashriq’l-Adhkar or Dawining Point of Invocation

In Conclusion, we can see how Sufis envision the Mahdi and the Qiyama. The Mahdi will not
simply be a ruler but a mystic teacher that will show people the Path within themsleves and outside
of themselves, the Mahdi will not simply be a ruler with a sword, but armed with the sword of
spiritual insight and guidance. The Mahdi will be helped by a group of spiritually enlightened beings
known as the Helpers (Awliya). All sufi orders culminate in the Seal of the Saints or Mahdi.

Works Cited:

The “Millennial” Motif in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s “Book of the Fabulous Gryphon”

Author(s): Gerald T. Elmore

Source: The Journal of Religion, Vol. 81, No. 3, (Jul., 2001), pp. 410-437

Published by: The University of Chicago Press

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1206403

Accessed: 29/07/2008 14:15

Ibn Arabi’s Futuhat 366, translated by James Morris

http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articlespdf/sp_mahdi.pdf

This is an unrevised, pre-publication version of an article or translation

which has subsequently been published, with revisions and corrections as Section II (‘At the End

of Time’) in Ibn ‘Arabī: The Meccan Revelations (co-author with W. Chittick), New York, Pir

Press, 2002, pp. 65-92 and 251-275.

Encyclopedia of Islam

Edited by P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs et
al.,Encyclopædia of Islam, 2nd Edition., 12 vols. with indexes and etc., Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960-
2005

Chapter 9 – Baha’i and Sufi Spiritual Practices

by Michael McCarron

In the preceding we have read about how the Sufis and Baha’is viewed the universe that they
inhabit. How the cosmology has impacted their world view and their view of the Divine. How the
creative emanative outpouring of the manifestation of Being has been envisioned by them. Now
we will take a brief look at another similiar aspect that of Spiritual Practices. Both Sufis and
Baha’is have adapted spiritual practices that are very similiar. This may be do to the nature of
Baha’ Allah frequenting Sufi gatherings, living amongst Sufis as such in Iraqi Kurdistan. We have
seen how Baha’ Allah was in regular communication with Sufis, some sufis were amongst his
earliest followers so it is not without surprise that some practices would have been carried over in
the Baha’i Teachings. Most sufis practices are comprised majorly of Recitation (dhikr), Meditation
(muraqaba), Accounting (muhasaba), Audition (sama’) and Prayer (salat). All of which are aimed
at purifying (latifa) the spiritual centers (lata’if) or chakras within each human being. In the
following I will discuss the spiritual centers briefly before going through the Sufi and Baha’i writings
on the spiritual practices.

The Spiritual Centers (Lata’if)

According to the Sufis there are subtle spiritual centers in the human body, some write of five
centers, some of seven. In essence they are very similiar to Hindu Tantric ideas of the Chakra
system. Jamal Elias research on the Lata’if has uncovered that they go back in Sufi thought to the
classic period with the first appearance in the writings of Tustari in 896CE and Hallaj in 992CE,
subsequently to them they have appeared in Gazzali, Ibn Arabi, Kashani, Simnani, Shah Wali Allah
and form a major part in the soteriology of the Naqshbandiyya. However, defining the lata’if or
latifa is far more difficult for the academics:

“…Dikhuda’s Persian ‘Lughatnama’ refers to latifa as a technical term. He states that in

the understanding of the mystics it is a subtle reference, the conceptualization of which
 cannot be explained. He goes on to define the term latifa-i insaniyya as something which
the philosophers call the rational soul and the mystics refer to as the heart, but which is in
reality the spirit.” (Jamal Elias, The Throne Carriers of God, pg. 158)

Others have written long discourses on the Lata’if. Such as Shah Wali Allah who holds that their
are lata’if on three different levels of Being:

“This system was based on the idea that the human being had ten parts—five material,
five immaterial. The lower level of the material parts consisted of the Lower Soul (nafs) and
the four elements (fire, air, earth, and water), while the higher level consisted of the five
lata’if, sometimes called the ‘five jewels’ (al-jawahir al-khams): the Heart (qalb), Spirit (ruh),
Mystery (sirr), Arcane (khafi), and the Super-Arcane (akhfa). The two levels of this
Naqshbandi system were said to correspond respectively to the distinction between the
World of God’s Creation (`alam al-Khalq) and the World of God’s Command (`alam al-
`amr), a distinction based on Qur’anic terminology and having an long history in Sufi
thought. For example, the Qur’anic vese (17:85) ‘the Spirit is from the command of my
Lord” (al-ruh min amr rabbi) is taken by the sufis to mean that the ruh, or human spirit,
comes form an immaterial timeless realm of God’s command (`amr) which precedes
physical manifestation. It is interesting to note that the five-fold structure of the lata’if
according to the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya seems to parallel the model of the Islamic
version of Greek medical theory (tibb) in which there are five inner and five outer
senses.[23] The model of the lata’if which appeared early in Sufism clearly developed and
was refined over time. Najmuddin al-Razi (d. 1256), a Kubrawiyya Sufi of Iran and author
of the Mirsad al-`ibad, formulated a system of five lata’if and found a Qur’anic basis of the
terms sirr and khafi—Qur’an 20:7, ‘if thou makest utterance aloud, verily He knows the
secret (sirr) and what is more hidden (khafi).”[24] `Ala ad-Daula Simnani (d. 1336), whose
woks influenced Sirhindi, expanded the system of Najmuddin al-Razi to a seven-fold one
by adding below the five lata’if the concept of a physical form or mold (qalab) and above
them a further center called the haqiyya or ananiyya. Sirhindi’s model then expanded to
represent the lata’if as part of a distinct set of symbols and practices (ser figs. 1 and 2),[25]
and this was finally developed by Shah Wali Allah into a three-tiered model with a total of
some fifteen components” (SHAH WALI ALLAH’S THEORY OF THE SUBTLE SPIRITUAL
CENTERS (LATA’IF): A SUFI MODEL OF PERSONHOOD AND SELF-
TRANFORMATION by Marcia K. Hermansen, SDSU)

The purification of the lata’if is the purpose of the spiritual practices in Sufism. By going down the
Sufi path one is actively cleansing the latifa of each maqamat. Shah Wali Allah writes regarding
this:

Shah Wali Allah describes the way to purify the Spirit (ruh) as the observance of ritual
purity at all times, Qur’an recitiation, mystical exercises, and cultivating an intuitive
relationship withthe souls of the saints. The Mystery (sirr) is awakened by contemplating
God’s attributes, meditating ion His names and silent and wordless dhikr (remeberance of
the divine names and attributes.[62] It can be seen that Wali Allah associates practices of
a more ‘mental’ nature with the sirr, which is, of course, related to the center ‘aql
(Intelligence) rather than Heart (emotion). In Altaf al-Quds, he observes that there are
 three ways to recognize the cultivation (tahdhib) fo the lata’if: 1. once this is achieved, the
person will find delight and pleasure in the things specific to each latifa; 2. he may exchibit
particular behavior and a developmental stage specific to a certain latifa. Thus, the man of
certainty has mastered the Intelligence, while the person of ecstasy and longing has
mastered the Heart, and so on; 3. a person may see visions (waqi’at) which demonstrate
that certain lata’if have been cultivated or purified.[63] According to Shah Wali Allah, the
Seeker (salik), after completing the journey through the spiritual centers, finally is
dominated by the same latifa which was originally strongest in his nature (fitra). Thus, one
whose Heart is strong will primarily master states of ecstasy, longing, and disquietude,
even though all of his lata’if have been completely awakened. The means of cultivating
lata’if beyond the ruh and sirr is not gone into in detail by Shah Wali Allah, but it apparently
occurs through gnostic contemplation leading to loss of self in the universal, rather than in
overcoming conflict through spiritual practices enjoined to curb animalistic tendencies. This
concurs with his metaphyscial explanation that conflict at lower states is later superseded
by the attraction of the one universal force or beneficial purpose (muSlaHa kulliyya). In his
description of th Sufi terms fana (annihilation) and baqa (subsistence), as well as the
states (ahwal) and the stages (maqamat), Shah Wali Allah incorporates his understanding
of the lata’if. He explains that if the person attends to his worship over time, each of the
centers will absorb its portion of this worship, and the naturally low animalistic attributes
will change to virtuous angelic ones. When these attributes become firmly established, the
person’s acts will continuously manifest the, and then they are called ‘the stages’
(maqamat). On the other hand, if these attributes appear on occasion and then fade away
and do not last for very long they are called ‘states’ (ahwal) or moments (awqat).[65] Shah
Wali Allah’s description of the initial stages of progress and the aptitudes on spiritual
aspirants based on the natural preponderance of their lata’if follows the synthesis of Sufi
manuals with Aristotelian theories of the soul. At the level of basic functioning the Lower
Soul (nafs) loo9ks after physical requirements, the Heart is responsible for emotions and
judgements based on its response of attraction or repulsion, and the Intellect recollects the
past and plans for the future. At the moral level if the Lower Soul or the Heart comes to
dominate the Intellect this will lead to problems of character and behavior. (SHAH WALI
ALLAH’S THEORY OF THE SUBTLE SPIRITUAL CENTERS (LATA’IF): A SUFI MODEL
OF PERSONHOOD AND SELF-TRANFORMATION by Marcia K. Hermansen, SDSU)

Baha’i Purification:

In al-Kitab al-Aqdas the term latafah is found which means to purify and we see how similiar the
Baha’i Thought is to that of to that of Shah Wali Allah’s.

“KA Paragraph 74. ‘Adopt ye such usages as are most in keeping with refinement’. Note
158 This is the first of several passages referring to the importance of refinement and
cleanliness. The original Arabic word “látafah”, rendered here as “refinement”, has a wide
range of meanings with both spiritual and physical implications, such as elegance,
gracefulness, cleanliness, civility, politeness, gentleness, delicacy and graciousness, as
well as being subtle, refined, sanctified and pure. In accordance with the context of the
various passages where it occurs in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, it has been translated either as
“refinement” or “cleanliness”.” (Note 158, Al-Kitab al-Aqdas)
It should be noted that Baha’ Allah does not go into details on the lata’if, there is no comporable
discourse regarding each individual latifa. Although at times each is mentioned. For instance the
heart is seen as the pentacle of belief:

O SON OF SPIRIT!

My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart (qalb), that thine may be a
sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting. (Arabic Hidden Words #1)

In one important work, echoing back to Shah Wali Allah, we see how the path itself is a reference
to the Lata’if for the lata’if are also known as the philosophers stones:

“Then when the light by which He guides conjoins the light to which one is guided, the
person sees the realm of the heavens and the earth and he perceives the secret of destiny
(qadar)—how it controls created things—and this is His, may He be exalted, saying:
‘Light upon Light’” (24:35)[43] The Philosophers’ Stone (al-hajar al-baht), a center of the
alluded to by Shah Wali Allah, particularly in the context of the Prophetic experience, is
also found in Ibn `Arabi’s work. IN an unpublished letter, Wali Allah makes his source
explicit by recounting that in the works of Ibn `Arabi the name—‘perplexing stone’ (hajar-I-
baht)—is applied to this latifa because of its marvelous and perplexing nature. Originally,
the hajar-I-baht indicated a mysterious substance which used to be presented as a gift to
princes and nobles. It could nt be classified as vegetable, mineral, and so on, and this
latifa similarly possesses amazing properties. Ibn `Arabi, in his treateiese al-Tadbirat,
discusses the Philosophers’ Stone as one of the human ‘stones’ (ajjar), using stone in the
sense of ‘jewel,’ jewels (jawahir) being a term used by other Sufis to refer to the lata’if.
According to Ibn `Arabi, the Philosophers’ Stone is

“an essential point in the heart, equivalent to the pupil in the eye which is the locus of
vision…; if there is rust on the heart the existenc of this stone will not be manifest. All of
the spirits (arwah) which are in the human being, such as Intelligence and others,
anticipate the witnessing of this point. Thus, when the heart becomes polished through
meditation, dhikr, and [Qur’an] recitation then this point will become apparent. When it
manifests that in it which parallels the essential presence of God, there spreads out from
that point alight because of the theophany, and it flows to all corners of the physical body
and perplexes the mind and more. Then the light and its rays fill this stone, dazzling them.”

Later in the same passage, Ibn `Arabi associates this experience with the mystical state of
subsistence (baqa), a state which is connected with the role of the prophet, again confirming Wali
Allah’s association of this latifa with the side of his model representing ‘Prophetic Inheritance.’
(Hermansson)

Baha’ Allah mentions the philosophers stone in the context of the true believer:

In one sense, they indicate that no true Shi‘ihs exist. Even as he hath said in another
passage: “A true believer is likened unto the philosopher’s stone.” Addressing
subsequently his listener, he saith: “Hast thou ever seen the philosopher’s stone?” Reflect,
 how this symbolic language, more eloquent than any speech, however direct, testifieth to
the non-existence of a true believer. Such is the testimony of Sádiq. And now consider,
how unfair and numerous are those who, although they themselves have failed to inhale
the fragrance of belief, have condemned as infidels those by whose word belief itself is
recognized and established. (Bahaullah,http://www.ibiblio.org/Bahai/Texts/EN/IQA/IQA-
1.html)

It should also be noted that there is a work by Baha’ Allah titled “Jawahir Asrar” (Secret Jewels)
which relates to the path one must tread to achieve purification, its introduction records about the
mysteries:

The essence of the divine mysteries in the journeys of ascent set forth for those who long
to draw nigh unto God, the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving – blessed be the righteous that
quaff from these crystal streams!

In conclusion to this section we now see that the Sufis believe in subtle spiritual centers the
purpose of the transformation on the Path is to purify these spiritual centers which is also seen in
the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Now we will take a look at the spiritual practices themselves
begining with Remembrance (dhikr).

DHIKR:

Dhikr ‫ذکر‬, Plural ‫ اذكار‬Adhkaar

(Zikir in Turkish and Malay, Zikr in Urdu, Jikir inBengali and Zekr in Persian )
(Arabic“pronouncement”, “invocation” or “remembrance”) is an Islamic practice that
focuses on the remembrance of God. Dhikr as a devotional act often includes the
repetition of the names of Allah, supplications and aphorisms from hadith literature and
sections of the Qur’an. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhikr)

Dhikr is a repitition using the breath to recite names of Allah, or a Mantra, one such popular mantra
in Sufism is “La Illah Illa Allah” (There is no god but God). Which in the Baha’i Faith is similiar to
“Ya Baha ul Abha” (Oh, Glory, Most-Glorious). In many Sufi tariqahs a dhikr is given to each
adherent when they first enter the order. Similiarly each Baha’i has a Dhikr they perform. It can
also double as a form of greeting. For instance Ni’matullahi Sufis greet each other with Ya Haqq
(Oh, Most-Real), the Bahai’s greet each other with “Allahu Abha”(God is the Most-Glorious).
Another form of dhikr is that of using tasbih beads, like in Buddhism, this is a set of beads on a
string for counting recitations in Sufism there are 99 beads for each of the Names of God, in the
Baha’i Faith there are 95 such beads. Additionally, in the Baha’i Faith the assembly hall where
adherents gathered is named after dhikr in it’s plural form Mashriqul-Adhkar (Dawning Point of
Remembrance). [For more on Sufi and Baha'i Dhikr see Steve Scholl's "Rememberance of
God", http://www.scribd.com/doc/8979361/Rememberance-of-God ]

Sama’:
 Sema or sama (Arabic: ‫ )سماع‬is a term that means hearing. It is used, as a borrowed
word inPersian, to refer to some of the ceremonies used by various Sufi orders and often
involves prayer, song, dance, and other ritualistic activities. Sema dancing is known to
Europeans as the dance of the Whirling Dervishes (see Sufi whirling), although many
forms of sema do not include whirling. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sama)

Sama’ is the communal celebration of dhikr and other rituals regarding the divine. This is practiced
in various manners by Sufis. It is also known as a “Nineteen Day Feast” in the Baha’i Faith.

“As to the Nineteen Day Feast, it rejoiceth mind and heart. If this feast be held in the
proper fashion, the friends will, once in nineteen days, find themselves spiritually restored,
and endued with a power that is not of this world.” (`Abdu’l-Bahá: Selection from the
Writings of `Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 91)

Muraqaba:

Muraqaba (Arabic: ‫ )مراقبة‬is the Sufi word for meditation. Literally it is an Arabic term
which means “to watch over”, “to take care of”, or “to keep an eye”. Metaphorically, it
implies that with meditation, a person watches over or takes care of his spiritual heart
(or soul), and acquires knowledge about it, its surroundings, and its creator.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muraqabah)

`Abdu’l-Bahá is quoted as saying:

“Meditation is the key for opening the doors of mysteries to your mind. In that state man
abstracts himself: in that state man withdraws himself from all outside objects; in that
subjective mood he is immersed in the ocean of spiritual life and can unfold the secrets of
things-in-themselves.”(^ `Abdu’l-Bahá (1995) [1912]. Paris Talks. Bahá’í Distribution Service. pp. 175. ISBN 1870989570.)

Muhasaba:

Muhasaba (Self-Reckoning) is the sufi practice of evaluating on a daily basis our actions and what
their moral worth was and trying to be a more moral person. The Encyclopedia of Islam writes
regarding Muhasabah:

“The third form of the root hsb was to be used in Sufism, in a sense which is no longer
eschatological but spiritual, to indicate the account of his conscience which the devout
person presents to God. Hence arose the by name of al-Muhasibi, given to Harith b. Asad:
‘he who excels in the examination of his conscience.’ pg. 466 EI Vol III

This is reflected in the Baha’i Faith:

O SON OF BEING! Bring thyself to account (hasiba nafska) each day ere thou art
summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be
called to give account for thy deeds. (Arabic Hidden Words #31)
In conclusion to this section we see direct parallels between spiritual practices in Sufism and the
Baha’i Faith the goal of which is to aid the adherent on the Path of Purification (tasawwuf). From
these kernels of knowledge we can begin to see the development of a unique Baha’i Sufi practice
as well.

Salat

Salat (prayer) is the ritual observance of connecting with the Ultimate Reality. It is written of:

Ṣalāt (Arabic: ‫ ;صالة‬pl. ṣalawāt) is the name given to the formal prayer of Islam. The prayer is one of the
obligatory rites of the religion, to be performed five times a day by a practising Muslim. Its supreme importance for
Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salah

One of the key components to the Sufi salat is that of the repetition of al-Fatiha, the Opening, this
is the first chapter of the Quran. It is also used in the liturgy of the Naqshbandi and other sufi
orders as part of dhikr:

Al-Fatiha
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful (1)

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, (2) The Beneficent, the Merciful. (3) Owner of the
Day of Judgment, (4) Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help. (5) Show us
the straight path, (6) The path of those whom Thou hast favoured. Not (the path) of those
who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray. (7)

َ ِ َ ‫سورة‬
‫الفاتحة‬ ُ َ ۡ ُ
‫ٱلرحيم‬
ِ ِ ‫ٱلرحمـن ﱠ‬ ِ ‫بسم‬
ِ ٰ َ ۡ ‫ ﱠ‬k‫ٱ‬ ِ ۡ ِ (١)

َ ِ َ ٰ َ ۡ ِ‫رب‬
‫ٱلعـلمين‬ ّ َ ‫لله‬ ُ ۡ َ ۡ (٢) ‫ٱلرحيم‬
ِ ‫ٱلحمد ِ ﱠ‬ ِ ِ ‫ٱلرحمـن ﱠ‬ِ ٰ َ ۡ ‫( ﱠ‬٣) ‫يوم‬ ِ ۡ َ ‫مـلك‬
ِ ِ َٰ
‫ٱلدين‬
ِ ِّ (٤) ‫نستعين‬ُ ِ َ ۡ َ ‫وإياك‬
َ ‫نعبد َ ِ ﱠ‬ َ ‫( ِ ﱠ‬٥) َ‫ٱلصرٲط‬
ُ ُ ۡ َ ‫إياك‬ َ ِّ َِ ۡ
‫ٱھدنا‬
َ ِ َ ۡ ُ ۡ (٦) ِ‫ٱلمغضوب‬
‫ٱلمستقيم‬ ُ ۡ َ ۡ ‫غير‬
ِ ۡ َ ‫عليھم‬ َ ۡ َ ۡ َ ‫ٱلذين‬
ۡ ِ ۡ َ َ ‫أنعمت‬ َ ِ ‫صرٲطَ ﱠ‬ َ ِ
َ ِّ ٓ ‫ﱠ‬
‫ٱلضالين‬ ۡ ِ ۡ َ َ (٧)
َ َ ‫عليھم‬
‫وال‬
Prayer is also an important aspect in the Baha’i Teachings, according to Abdu’l-Baha’:

We should speak in the language of heaven — in the language of the spirit — for there is a language of the spirit and heart. It
is as different from our language as our own language is different from that of the animals, who express themselves only by
cries and sounds. It is the language of the spirit which speaks to God. When, in prayer, we are freed from all outward things
and turn to God, then it is as if in our hearts we hear the voice of God. Without words we speak, we communicate, we
converse with God and hear the answer. … All of us, when we attain to a truly spiritual condition, can hear the Voice of
God.(http://info.bahai.org/article-1-4-7-1.html)

There are three obligatory prayers in the Baha’i teachings. One may choose one of the three
obligatory prayers to say each day.
 I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I
testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy
wealth.

There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. (Revealed by Baha’ Allah)

Chapter 10 – Baha’ Allah’s “Four Valleys” as Sufi Enneagram Types

by Michael McCarron

Abstract:

“Baha’ Allah’s Four Valleys is a mystic treatise on the paths of the various mystic
wayfarers (sufis). Some have contended it is a treatise on the four paths of the heart.
While baring similarities to this Sufi genre in actuality it belongs to another genre that of the
Sufi Enneagram, a system of 9 personality typologies symbolized by a 9 pointed star. It is
discovered that the 3 main paths of the wayfarer correlates to the three main divisions of
personalities in the Enneagram of the Sufis. With the 4th Valley corresponding to the
Enneagram of the Perfect Man (insan al-kamil) of the Sufis.

In regards to the different types associated with adherents and seekers Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri
(Baha’ Allah) has written in the mid 19th Century CE (circa 1857) a treatise entitled the “Four
Valleys“ (Chahar Vadi). In the following I will summarize the treatise while looking to some of the
Sufi content that the treatise has contained within it.

To begin this study we will briefly touch on each of the Four Valleys. Each valley has at the center
a type of seeker and the organ of the body by which they seek as Dr. Julio Savi posits:

“In reality these goals are but one and the same: God Himself, as manifested in four of His
infinite attributes. But for the wayfarers, their aiming at different attributes of God implies
different attitudes. In fact each of these stations “appertaineth” to a different spiritual
reality: “the self” (nafs) or more exactly “the Self of God” (nafsu’lláh), “the primal reason”
(`aql) and “the beauty of love” (tal`at-i-`iu>shq) in the first three Valleys, “the apex of
consciousness (`arsh-i-faw’ád) and the secret of divine guidance” (sirr-i-rashad) in the
Fourth. Apart from the Fourth Valley, which seems precluded to any human being, the
others seem not to be mutually exclusive.” (http://bahai-
library.com/?file=savi_will_knowledge_4valleys, accessed 3/13/2009)

A schema of the Four Valleys gives us a pairing of DIvine Name with a spiritual organ or lata’if for
each of the valleys:

4 Valleys Schema:

1. Guided by the divine name, Maqsud; spiritual center is the Self (Nafs)

2. Guided by the divine name, Mahmud; spiritual center is the Mind (`Aql)
 3. Guided by the divine name, Majdhub; spiritual center is the Heart (Qalb)

4. Guided by the divine name, Mahbub; spiritual center is all three previous combined in
the Insan al-Kamil (Perfect Man).

The content of each valley addresses the attributes of each of the types for each valley. We shall
now look at how each valley bares this out.

The 1st Valley – Self (Nafs)

Baha’ Allah writes in the first valley:

If the travelers seek after the goal of the Intended One (maqṣúd), this station appertaineth
to the self—but that self which is “The Self of God standing within Him with laws.” 1
On this plane, the self is not rejected but beloved; it is well-pleasing and not to be
shunned. Although at the beginning, this plane is the realm of conflict, yet it endeth in
attainment to the throne of splendor. As they have said: “O Abraham of this day, O Friend
Abraham of the Spirit! Kill these four birds of prey,” 2 that after death the riddle of life may
be unraveled.
This is the plane of the soul who is pleasing unto God. Refer to the verse:
O thou soul who art well assured,

Return to thy Lord, well-pleased, and pleasing unto Him.

Here we see the pairing of Maqsud with the Nafs or Universal Soul. It is interesting here that there
is a pariing with the higher universal aspect of Self (nafs) with the individual selves of the seekers.
Nafs (Self) is an integral part of teh Sufi transformative philosophy. Nafs is a important term sowe
look to wikipedia for a definition:

“The word nafs is usually translated as self or psyche. Its etymology is rooted in “breath”
(similar to Biblical or Kabbalistic nefesh) and is common to virtually all archaic
psychologies where the act of breathing was connected with life, animating otherwise
lifeless object. In this respect, ancient notions of “Atman” in Hinduism (cf. German noun
“Atem”, breath, respiration) or Greek “pneuma” (as well as Latin “spiritus”) -all equate the
basic visible process of breathing with energizing principle that confers existence to an
individual human being. Some Sufis consider under the term “Nafs” the entirety of
psychological processes, encompassing whole mental, emotional and volitional life;
however, the majority of Quranic-based Sufis are of the opinion that Nafs is a “lower”,
egotistical and passionate human nature which, along with Tab (literally, physical nature),
comprises vegetative and animal aspects of human life. Synonyms for Nafs are devil,
passion, greed, avarice, ego-centeredness etc. The central aim of the Sufi path is
transformation of Nafs (technical term is “Tazkiya-I-Nafs”‘ or “purgation of the soul’“) from
its deplorable state of ego-centredness through various psycho-spiritual stages to the
purity and submission to the will of God. Although the majority of the Sufi orders have
adopted convenient 7 maqams (maqams are permanent stages on the voyage towards
 spiritual transformation), and some still operate with 3 stages, the picture is clear: the
Sufi’s journey begins with Nafs-e-Ammara (commanding soul), Nafs-e-lawwama (self-
accusing soul), and ends in Nafs-e-Mutma’inna (satisfied soul) -although some Sufis’s final
stage is, in their technical vocabulary, Nafs-I-Safiya wa Kamila (soul restful and perfected
in God’s presence). In essence, this is almost identical to Christian paradigm of “vita
purgativa” and various stages the spiritual aspirant traverses in the journey towards
God.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lataif-e-sitta accessed 3/13/2009)

Nafs appear in the Shi’a tradition traced back to a saying of Imam `Ali:

Amir al Momenin Ali replied, “Of which nafs are you eager to become aware?”

“Is there more than one nafs?” asked Komeil.

“Yes, explained Amir al Momenin Ali, there are four: nafs of growth; nafs of sensibility
(animal spirit); nafs of pure intellect; and nafs of wholeness and Divinity. Each one of
the nufus (plural of nafs) has powers and qualities of its own.
(http://www.sufismjournal.org/psychology/psychology.html Hazrat Mir Ghotbeddin
Mohammad, accessed 3/13/2009)

While the sufi philosopher al-Ghazali provides a tertiary meaning of nafs:

“The second meaning of nafs is the soul, the human being in reality, his self and his
person. However, it is described differently according to its different states. If it assumes
calmness under command and has removed from itself the disturbance caused by the
onslaught of passion, it is called “the satisfied soul” (al-nafs al-mutma’inna)… In its first
meaning the nafs does not envisage its return to God because it has kept itself far from
Him: such a nafs is from the party of shaytan. However, when it does not achieve
calmness, yet sets itself against the love of passions and objects to it, it is called “the self-
accusing soul” (al-nafs al-lawwama), because it rebukes its owner for his neglect in the
worship of his master… If it gives up all protest and surrenders itself in total obedience to
the call of passions and shaytan, it is named “the soul that enjoins evil” (al-nafs al-ammara
bi al-su’)… which could be taken to refer to the ego in its first
meaning.” (http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/jihad002.html, accessed 3/13/2009)

It is interesting that Imam `Ali provides a quarnary definition of Nafs. This may correlate to Baha’
Allah’s quote of Rumi regarding four birds of prey:

“O Abraham of this day, O Friend Abraham of the Spirit! Kill these four birds of prey.” -
Rumi

It has been argued by Savi that the Four Valleys is a treatise, as mentioned in the Seven Valleys of
Baha’ Allah, as a treatise on the Four Paths of the Heart. The Four Paths of the Heart is a sufi
exposition that goes into the levels of the heart and the Nafs associated with it, it is much like Imam
Ali’s version. Here we have al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi’s version:
4 Paths of the Heart according to al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi:

1. the Breast (sadr); dominated by nafs al-ammarrah (self that exhorts to evil); exemplified
by the Muslim; gives us knowledge of Shari’a, the outer law (zahir), effulgence of the light
of Islam.

2. the Heart (qalb); dominated by nafs al-mulhamah (self that inspires); exemplified by the
Mu’min; gives us knowledge of Esoteric, the inner path (batin) effulgence of the light of
Faith.

3. the Inner Heart (fu’ad); dominated by nafs al-lawwamah (self that blames; holds
accountable); exemplified by the `Arif; gives us knowledge of Vision (ru’ya), effulgence of
the light of Gnosis.

4. the Intellect (lubb); dominated by nafs al-mutma’innah (self that is at peace), exemplified
by the Muwahhid; gives us knowledge of God’s Grace and Bounty, effulgence of the light
of Unification. (Nicholas Heer, “The Stations of the
Heart.”http://faculty.washington.edu/heer/stations.pdf, 3/10/2009)

This is an interesting look at Nafs. However, it reveals that the 4 paths is in regards to the Nafs and
is in fact relevant to the 1st Valley, not all 4 Valleys. Additional textual affirmation of this is by Baha’
Allah’s pen. He writes “This is the plane (maqam) of the soul who is pleasing (nafs-i-mardiyya) to
God”. Then goes onto quote Qur’an 89:37-30 which relates to nafs al-mutma’inna, the soul at rest,
the fourth stage of the 4 Paths of the Heart. Thereby sugesting that the 1st Valley the traveller
traverse the the 4 Paths of the Heart rather then each valley being representative of each seperate
Path of the Heart. It is additionally interesting to note that naf-i-mardiyya (pleasing self) appears in
a sufi work, “Shuhud wa’l-Wujud” (19th Century CE Persian) as the second to last stage of 7
stages of Purification of the Nafs, the final stage is reserved for only the Prophets and Friends of
God (insan al-kamil). Again we see this as a correlation to a completion of a process occuring for
the 1st Valley typeology.

2nd Valley – Mind (`Aql)

The second valley is in regard sot the Mind (`aql). The treatise of Baha’ Allah writes:

If the wayfarer’s goal be the dwelling of the Praiseworthy One (Mahmúd), this is the
station of primal reason which is known as the Prophet and the Most Great Pillar. Here
reason signifieth the divine, universal mind, whose sovereignty enlighteneth all created
things—nor doth it refer to every feeble brain; for it is as the wise Saná’í hath written:
How can feeble reason encompass the Qur’án,
Or the spider snare a phoenix in his web?
Wouldst thou that the mind should not entrap thee?
Teach it the science of the love of God!
Again we see a correlation to the Universal Mind, which is also known as the Muhammadan Reality
(Maqam Mahmud), also the Barzakh (intermediary) seperating Creator from creation, to the
individualized minds of the seekers. Mind in the Sufi tradition is a specific meaning:

” The first book of the third part of the ‘Ihya’ is called ‘Sharh `ajab’ib al-qalb’, “A
commentary on the wonders of the heart”. The preliminary definitions where al-Ghazali
analyses the four concepts qalb, ruh, nafs and `aql are well known. For each concept al-
Ghazali distinguishes a ‘physical’ and a spiritual meaning. In the first sense qalb is a bodily
organ: ruh the ‘vital spirits’ in the blood (cf. contemporaneous ideas of physiology); nafs is
the sum of man’s passions, the root of his ‘blameworthy qualities’; and `aql the faculty of
knowing which ‘has its seat in the qalb. In the second sense qalb is a subtle, divine and
spiritual’ principle which is ‘the reality of man’ (haqiqat al-insan); ruh is the spiritual
substance in man that acts and understands; nafs is man in his reality but capable fo being
qualified by diferent attributes according to how his soul controls his carnal desires
(ammara, cf. Qur’an 12:53) or chastises his passions and struggles to reform itself
(lawwama, Qur’an, 75:2), or is ‘at peace’ (mutma’inna, Qur’an 79:27), “pleased by and
pleasing to” the Lord; nafs in that case corresponds to the “rational soul”, the nafs natiqa of
the philosophers. Finally `aql in the second sense is ‘that which understands knowledge’,
in short ‘the heart itself’. In their [Sufis] spiritual interpretation, these four terms designate
man’s reality, but under four different aspects.”( pg. 487, Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. V)

However it is very interesting that Baha’ Allah places the heart at the center of purification for the
Mind:

Wherefore, a man should make ready his heart that it be worthy of the descent of heavenly
grace, and that the bounteous Cup-Bearer may give him to drink of the wine of bestowal
from the merciful vessel. “For the like of this let the travailers travail!”

It is important to point out that for teh SUfis `aql did not sit in the brain rather was associated
directly with the heart:

“…for al-Ghazali and SUfi tradition as a whole, the bodily organ of the heart (and not the
brain) is the seat of `aql, the faculty of knowledge. `Aql, in the meaning of the
understanding of knowledge , is ‘in short the heart itself’, and the heart is the home and
source of ma’rifa [gnosis].” ( pg. 487, Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. V)

3rd Valley – Heart (qalb)

The third valley regards the typology identified with the heart. Baha’ Allah reveals with his pen:

“If the loving seekers wish to live within the precincts of the Attracting One
(Majdhúb), 1 no soul may dwell on this Kingly Throne save the beauty of love. This realm
is not to be pictured in words.
Love shunneth this world and that world too,
In him are lunacies seventy-and-two.
The minstrel of love harpeth this lay:
 Servitude enslaveth, kingship doth betray.”

There is an interesting note on the Divine Name Majdhub by the Baha’i scholar Muin Afnani:

“Majdhub (“Attracting One”) is used in reference to Sufis for whom the path toward God is
to be traversed with the faculty of heart (rather than reason or Laws). The word “Majdhub”
also means “one who is attracted.” In Sufi terminology, Majdhub is a Sufi who is in such a
love with his Beloved (God) that is attracted and drawn to God without most of the pains
and hardships that other seekers have to go through. Such a person gets attracted to the
Attracting One without having to spend long periods of times in stages of the path; they go
through them in less than twinkling of an eye.” (http://bahai-library.com/resources/tablets-
notes/chahar-vadi/notes.html , accessed 03/06/2009)

Obviously the heart is apowerful vehicle for the seeke. It is also of importance to be attracted to a
sufi master on the path. The following reveals as much, as wells as the importance of heart and
Majdhub:

” As for the master (murad), in the sense of one who is initiated and followed, he is one
whose initiatic power (walaya) in influencing others has reached the degree of perfecting
those who are imperfect and who has seen [initiatically] the different kinds of capabilities
and ways of guiding and training disciples. Such a person is either a traveller attracted by
Divine Grace (salik-i majdhdb) who has first traversed all the deserts and precipices of the
qualities of the carnal soul through travelling upon the Path, and then with the help of
Divine attraction has returned from the stations of the heart and ascensions of the spirit,
and has reached the world of vision and certainty and joined the state of contemplation
and examination. Or he is one attracted by Divine Grace who travels on the Path
(majdhub-i salik), who first through the help of Divine attraction has traversed the extent of
the stations and has reached the world of vision and unveiling of the Divine realities and
then has crossed again the stations and stages of the Path through travelling (suluk) and
has rediscovered the truth of contemplation in the form of knowledge. (pg. 38, “The Sufi
Master as Exemplified in Persian Sufi Literature”, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Iran, Vol. 5,
(1967), pp. 35-40, British Institute of Persian Studies Stable
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4299586)

4th Valley – Prophetic Convergence

The final valley is one that correlates all three typologies into one master type. Savi has
writtten regarding the 4th Valley:

“The opening words of the description of this Valley announce that it is different from the
others. In those Valleys Bahá’u'lláh spoke of goals to be searched for, or of precincts
within which “the loving seekers wish(ed) to live,” but here He describes “mystic knowers”
(`arifán) “who have [already] reached to the beauty of the Beloved One …” Their “station is
the apex of consciousness and the secret of divine guidance.” (Valleys 54, 57) Beyond this
no one can go.
 Bahá’u'lláh says very clearly that no human being can fully understand this condition. It is a
“bottomless” and fathomless sea; “it is the blackest of nights …” (Valleys 58). And even
those who know its secrets will explain them only if they will meet true seekers, albeit they
are conscious that by so doing they will be persecuted even to death. But in this stage
there is no fear, neither of pain nor of death: there are only “full awareness,” “utter self-
effacement” and complete detachment (Valleys 60).” (http://bahai-
library.com/?file=savi_will_knowledge_4valleys, accessed 3/13/2009)

Baha’ Allah writes in his treatise about this valley:

If the mystic knowers be of those who have reached to the beauty of the Beloved One (Mahbúb),
this station is the apex of consciousness and the secret of divine guidance. This is the center of the
mystery: “He doth what He willeth, ordaineth what He pleaseth.” Baha’ Allah

It should be pointed out that the apex of consciousness is identified with a part of the
heart again, the fu’ad, the inner heart and the secret of divine guidance may be the lata’if
“sirr” which is an innermost region of ones soul in the terminology of the Sufis. It is seen
here that the travellers in this station are identified with the “Most Great Infallibility
(ismat)”. That is they are perfectly guided and have achieved purity within themselves.
Guidance is an important viewpoint in Baha’i mysticism for the crux of being guided is
recognition of the Manifestation of God, the perfect Master or what is known in Sufism as
the Insan al-Kamil. This is the level of the Insan al-Kamil (the Perfect Human). The
doctrine of the Insan al-Kamil is traced by to Ibn `Arabi, Chittick writes:

“Ibn al-`Arabi makes the clearest connection between the full manifestation of wujud and
the human role in the cosmos in his famous doctrine of the “perfect man” (al-insan al-
kamil), the complete and total human being who has actualized all the potentialities latent
in the form of God. In one respect, perfect human beings– who are contrasted with ‘animal
human beings’ (al-insan al-hayawan)– embody every praiseworthy human quality. They
are examplars of human wisdom, compassion, and all moral and spiritual good. They
guide individuals and society to optimum equilibrium with the ultimate Good. They act as
the Real’s representatives in society, leading people to supreme happiness in the next
world. In their human manifestations they are found as the prophets and the great friends
of God.” pg. 23 “(Imaginal Worlds: Iban al-`Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity”,
by WIlliam C. Chittick, SUNY Press, 1994)

This is the level of “No Station (maqamat)” as written by Baha’ Allah in the Jawahir al-Asrar
(Secret Jewels), it is the level of the Manifestation of God. The Insan al-Kamil is also
related to the Muhammadan Reality as a mediator. It is interesting to read about the
correlation of the recognition of the Manifestation in Baha’ Allah’s writings to the sufi
doctrine of fana al-Rasul (Annhilation in the Prophet). Fana’ is an important concept by
those instructed by the works of Ibn `Arabi:

Muhammad’s comprehensive realization of all the divine names makes him the perfect link
between God and humanity. Ibn ‘Arabi’s encouragement to his reader to “place him before you like
the mirror in which you see your form” may imply the kind of visualization practices that are
associated with fana fi’l-rasul. Ibn ‘Arabi, like many other Sufis, takes comfort in the assurance
given by Muhammad in hadith that Satan cannot assume his form, so whoever sees him in a vision
sees him in truth. pg. 353 (Annihilation in the Messenger of God: The Development of a Sufi
Practice Author(s): Valerie J. Hoffman Source: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.
31, No. 3 (Aug., 1999), pp. 351-369 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/176216 Accessed: 12/03/2009 16:31)

The Sufi al-Jili writes regarding the Prophetic mediation as object of annihilation:

Anyone who thinks that he [Muhammad] is ascending without his mediation will find that his ascent
is a fall into his own prison and scum (sijnihi wa huththalatihi). You must attach yourself to his
exalted presence, and cling to “the firmest handle” (al-’urwa ‘l-wuthqi)24 from his unap- proachable
rank, all the while calling forth this perfect image which contains all of the meanings and forms of
existence. Do this until the secrets flow onto your spirit, and your spirit onto your heart, and your
heart onto your soul, and your soul onto your body, from his love, a spiritual drink that refreshes
both spirit and form, extinguishing all traces of yourself. You go with the Messenger of God in you
as a substitute for you. Then you can obtain the capacity of his exalted Reality in your being to
know what no other creature has known of the One you worship. Because God the Exalted has set
apart Muhammad, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, for the greatest and most perfect
divine manifestations which no other capacity can accept in this world or the next. If the earth of
your existence is illuminated with the light of his sun, and the olefactory sense of your spirit is
perfumed with the fragrance of these radiant gardens, your body will become balanced with its pro-
portion of his mold and capacity to receive some of these divine manifestations, and you will come
to be “looking at their Lord.” pg. 356 (Annihilation in the Messenger of God: The Development of a
Sufi Practice Author(s): Valerie J. Hoffman Source: International Journal of Middle East Studies,
Vol. 31, No. 3 (Aug., 1999), pp. 351-369 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/176216 Accessed: 12/03/2009 16:31)

And Baha’ Allah confirms this same mode of annihilation in the Jawahir al-Asrar:

“ Had these souls but clung steadfastly to the Handle of God manifested in the Person of
Muhammad, had they turned wholly unto God and cast aside all that they had learned from
their divines, He would assuredly have guided them through His grace and acquainted
them with the sacred truths that are enshrined within His imperishable utterances. For far
be it from His greatness and His glory that He should turn away a seeker at His door, cast
aside from His Threshold one who hath set his hopes on Him, reject one who hath sought
the shelter of His shade, deprive one who hath held fast to the hem of His mercy, or
condemn to remoteness the poor one who hath found the river of His riches. But as these
people failed to turn wholly unto God, and to hold fast to the hem of His all-pervading
mercy at the appearance of the Daystar of Truth, they passed out from under the shadow
of guidance and entered the city of error. Thus did they become corrupt and corrupt the
people. Thus did they err and lead the people into error. And thus were they recorded
among the oppressors in the books of heaven.” (Baha’ Allah, Para #55, Jawahir al-
Asrar,http://omv.op.het.net/gems/gemsofdivinemysteries.html accessed 3/16/2009)
We can see how the doctrine of recognition of the Manifestation is held in common between the
Baha’i mystic path and that of much of popular sufism as influenced by Ibn Arabi.

Enneagram of the Four Valleys

In the begining I mentioned that the Four Valleys was not a Baha’i rendition of the 4 Paths of the
Heart, although elements of it are found in the First Valley. Rather, it was a typology of
personalities that travel the path. This work, the Four Valleys, was written to a sufi shaykh that is
from a lineage (silsilah) that practices the Enneagram. The sufi enneagram is:

“The enneagram is an ancient sufi system, which has recently been used to describe nine
personality types. This ‘Ennagram of the personality’ maps psychological aspects and
traits of the ego, exemplyfing its emotional, habitual and character fixations.” (Sufi
Centre of Australia, http://www.australiansuficentre.org/enneagram.htm, 3/10/2009)

We can see a correlation of the valleys to the enneagram three major types, the Sufi
enneagram is comprised of three major types guided by an esoteric organ, with 3 sub-
types to each major type thus equating 9, and is represented, like the Baha’i Faith’s
symbol, a nine-pointed star. What is not revealed in most modern western Enneagrams
is the hidden center dimension of the enneagram where a triange represents the perfect
tritype (3,6,9) relationship of the major types together which represents the completed
person or the Insan al-Kamil. The following is a correlation of valleys to enneagram
types:

1. The first Enneagram type is dominated by the heart (qalb), sub-types are: 2,3,4, The 3rd
Valley of Baha’ Allah

2. The second Enneagram type is dominated by the Mind (`aql), sub-types are 5,6,7; The
2nd Valley of Baha’ Allah

3. The thrid Enneagram type is dominated by the Body/Self (nafs), sub-types are 8,9,1;
The 1st Valley of Baha’ allah

4. The perfect man (insan al-kamil) is the combination of all three major Enneagram Types and
thus correlates to the 4th Valley of Baha’ Allah. (source: “The Enneagram, Sufi Wisdom by Viki
Markham, http://www.practicalaliveness.com/pdfs/TheEnneagram.pdf3/10/2009)

It should also be noted that these common typologies to major enneagram types to elements of the
esoteric organs is not just found in the Baha’i writings here, but also in theGurdjieff inspired 4th
Way with it’s prototypes: way of the monk (heart); yogi (mind); fakir (self); the fourth being
comprehensive of the first three; it should also be noted that this typology is also found in the Hindu
yogic system of Natya Yoga, which Wikipedia writes about as:

“According to the Karma Yoga principles, the practitioner of Natya Yoga learns to do
everything with a certain attitude that leads to the complete detachment from and
control of one’s physical, emotional and mental activities. One is expected to devote all
one’s actions to the Supreme as a sacrifice. The stage performances are an opportunity
for the dancer to remain indifferent to the spectators’ reactions, which require a great
deal of self-control. The dancer strives to learn to be guided in every smallest move by
the variousdevas that are supposed to be established in various chakras.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natya_Yoga, accessed 3/13/2009)

In Conclusion

The Four Valleys is an important work on the stations of seekers on the Sufi Path. It talks of those
guided by the heart, mind, self and finally a master type that is comprehensive. This is not a
treatise on the four paths of the heart rather it is an expository writing that is related to the three
main types of the Sufi Enneagram.