Tawasin of the Secrets in Unity

An image of the tawasin of the secretes in unity:

Secrets tend from Him & towards Him, & are spread in Him with no sense of necessity. Those secrets from Him alarm, & those toward Him tend, for He is spread. The pronoun of unity is His pronoun, for “I” is hidden. The pronoun of the hidden is His “H.”

If I said “Wah,” they’d say “Ah.”

Varieties & types, & signs don’t pry into the Unknown, “as if they formed a tightly sealed building.” It is one. His oneness doesn’t turn towards the One. The One is one & the attributes of the one tend toward what’s bounded; the Unified lacks boundaries.

The True is the refuge of the True, not the True itself. Unity didn’t speak; speech & truth don’t prove creation true, so how would they do so for the True?

That which takes form is nothing but substance.

That which doesn’t part with body is nothing but body. 

That which doesn’t part with the spirit for a moment is nothing but spirit.

Verily we are spiritual digestions returning to what contained in him -- from what’s contained in Him & His digestion; from His word & His destruction; from His carried load. 

The first circle is for actions. The second circle is for traces. These are the circles of the two existences. The point is the meaning of unity, not unity itself; how would the circle be separate, if so?

- al Hallaj

Tawasin of Unity

 The True is one, unique & lone.

Oneness & unity are in Him and from Him.

Here’s an image of this meaning:

Knowledge of His unity is solitary & discrete. This is an image of that knowledge:

Unity is an attribute of the unifier, not the unified with. If I say “I,” he says “I.” It’s for you, not for him. If I say “Unity returns to the unifier," & if I asked “how does one already unified return to unity?” & if I answered “from the unifier to the unified with,” then He appears attached in His lonesomeness.

If I say “the unity comes from His creation,” then his Essence becomes two essences, & that which converges with an essence. When the Essence isn’t essential, then it’s an essence, inessential. He disappeared when He revealed; where’d He go where there’s nowhere? O that & this can't be comprised.

- al Hallaj

Tawasin of Divine Will

The first circle is his will; the second is his rule; the third is his power; the fourth is his knowledge & his pre-eternity.

Iblis said: “If I entered the first circle I would be tried by the second. If I was made to pass the second, I would be tried by the third. If I was satisfied with the third, I would be tried by the fourth.

So no, no, no, no, no.

Even if I stayed at the first, I'd be cursed until the second, & rejected until the third. What's the fourth to me? If I knew that bowing would save me, I would have bowed, but I knew that there were circles beyond this circle. I said, in my state: “If I’m saved from this circle, how will I be rescued from the second & the third & the fourth?”

The fifth alif is Him, the Ever Living.

- al Hallaj

Tawasin of Pre-Eternity and Obscurity

The Curious High Master Abu’l Magith (may Allah be merciful to him) said: There was calling more fit for anyone than Iblis & Ahmed (peace be unto him), but Iblis fell from the Source, & Ahmed was shown the source of the Source.

Iblis was told “Bow” & Ahmed was told “Look;” the one didn’t bow & the other didn’t look, nor did he turn left or right; “his eye didn’t swerve or stray.”

As for Iblis -- he called out, but he never returned to his state. Ahmed announced himself, & refrained from his state by saying “for you, I transform & for you, I leap,” & “O beater of hearts,” & “I can’t amass enough praise for you.” There was no monotheist among the kin of Heaven like Iblis. When the Source altered before Iblis, &, he was separated from glances on his way; when he worshipped the Worshipped in isolation, & was damned upon reaching solitariness; when he was interrogated for asking for the utmost -- Allah said  “Bow (before Adam)" & he said “to no other.” Allah asked  “even if my damnation be upon you?” He said “to no other.”

My denial, in you, is a hallowing;
my reason, in you, is a folly.

What is Adam, before you?
& who is, furthermore, Iblis?

Why would I follow anyone but You,
when, for your love, I’m already lowly?

Allah said: “You were proud.” Iblis said: “If I had a glance at you, pride and tyranny would suit me; I’m him who knew you since pre-eternity -- the ‘best of them,’ with a share in your service. There’s no one in existence more familiar with you than me. In you, there’s a desire for me, just as there’s a desire for You in me. Your desire preceded Adam. Whether I bowed to any else or didn’t bow, I’d still return to my origin: you created me from fire, which returns to fire. The estimation & the choice are yours.

There was no distance, for me, after yours, after
I learned that distance and nearness are one.

If I separated from you, separation was my friend;
how true it seems that love and separation are one.

Glory be to you, in your purity and genuineness
for the pious slave, who didn’t bow to any other One.

Musa met Iblis on the side of Mount Sinai & said: “O Iblis, what kept you from bowing?” Iblis replied: “It was my declaration for a singular Worshipped. If I bowed, I'd be like you; you were told to ‘look at the mountain’ only once & you looked. I was told to bow a thousand times, but I didn’t, because of my substance's calling. Musa said: “didn't you neglect a command?” Iblis answered: “It was a trial, not a command.” Musa asked: "didn’t the sin alter your image?” Iblis replied: “O Musa, that image is a garb; the true state isn't bound by it, for it's unchanging. Gnosis remains right as it always was, & doesn’t change even if the gnostic does.”

His memory is mine & my memory is his;
what else are these two memories but mutual?

My service now is purer; my time is freer; my memory is clearer. I served him for my sake, before eternity; now I serve Him for His. We lifted greed from prevention, repellent, impairment, and usefulness. He isolated me; he found me; he baffled me; he banished me.

He prevented me from altering, because of my change. He altered me because of my bafflement. He baffled me because of my exile. He made me forbidden because of my companionship. He made me repulsive because of my praise. He consecrated me because of my separation. He separated me because of my exposure. He exposed me because of my arrival. He made me arrive because of my obstacle. He blocked me to prevent my strength.

He corrected what I mistook in notion. I didn’t refuse his estimation; I gave no thought to my image's change. Through all of this, I maintained the estimation. If He punished me with eternal fire, I wouldn’t bow to any else; I wouldn’t humble myself to any man or anybody; I wouldn’t know opposition, because my calling wouldn’t be sincere. Through love, I'm one of the sincerest.

There are several reports regarding the states of Azazyl [Iblis before the fall]. One relates how he was called to Heaven & Earth: in Heaven he addressed the angels, showing them Goodness; on Earth, he addressed men & jinn, showing them Repulsiveness, since things are known by their opposites -- behold, the delicate garment is woven behind black wool. Thus angels display goodness & say to one who’s good: “Do it, & be rewarded.” But he who didn’t know repulsiveness, wouldn’t know goodness.

I debated with Iblis & Pharoah about nobleness. Iblis said: “If I bowed, my noble name would have fallen.” Pharoah said: “ If I believed in His messenger, I would have fallen from my noble name.” I said: “If I refrained from my calling & my speech, I would have fallen from my noble rank.”

Iblis said: “I’m better than him,” when he didn’t see any but himself altered. Pharoah said: “I know no other god for you all but myself,” when he didn’t know his people could distinguish between True & False. I said: “If you don’t know him, then know His signs. I'm that sign, & the True; I stay true forever with the True.”

Iblis & Pharoah are my companions & my masters. Iblis was ruined by fire, but he didn’t deny his calling. Pharaoh drowned in the sea & didn’t deny his calling – after determining there was no mediator. He said “I believed in no god but He, in whom the tribe of Israel believed.” Don’t you see that Allah in his glory resisted Jibril? He said “why did you fill his mouth with sand?”

I would be killed or crucified, or I would lose my hands & legs, if I denied my calling.

The name Iblis is derived from his other name. He changed the “ayn” for the attachment of his intention; and “zay,” for the growth of his excess in his excess; “alif,” for his increase in affection; the second “zay,” for his renunciation of rank; “ya,” for his search for the knowledge of his precedence; & “lam” for his quarrel during (in) his trial. Allah told him: “Bow, O vile one.” He said: “I’m a lover, & all lovers must be vile, since you call me such. I read all of this in a Revealed Book. O Powerful and Firm, how could I lower myself to Adam? You had ‘created me from fire & created him from earth.’ Those opposites don’t reconcile. I served you longer; I was greater in favor; I was wiser in wisdom (‘ilm); I was riper in age.

The True told him: “The choice is mine, not yours.” He replied: “All choices, including mine, are yours. You chose this for me, O creator.  If you prevented me from bowing to him, you were the preventer. If my tongue errs, you don’t abandon me, for you’re All Hearing. If you willed me to bow, I’d be obedient; there’s no one among the gnostics more knowledgeable than me.

Don’t blame me, for blame is far
from me; reward me, Lord, for I’m but one.

If, in promise, your promise is truly true,
in beginning, the beginning of my call is firm.

To whoso wishes to record my speech:
read & know that I’m a martyr.

O brother, he was named Azazyl because he was removed (‘azl) & was remote in his sovereignty. He didn’t return from his beginning to an end, because he never left his end. His exit was cast back in the steadiness of his kindling. He was set ablaze by the fire of his marriage & the light of his title. His ailment was thirst & dubiousness. His wreck was sick & sparkling.

O brother, if you understand, you’ve picturingly pictured the Picture. & deludingly deluded the Delusion. You’ve returned afflicted & been annihilated anxiously.

The most eloquent of the people, before His door, went mute. His gnostics grew too enfeebled for what they learned. Only Iblis was more familiar with bowing than them, & closer to existence than them, & most generous in effort than them, & more loyal to the Entrusted than them & more closely drawn to the Worshipped than them. The others bowed to Adam for help. Iblis denied bowing, for a long period of observation. His command got confused & his thoughts grew dark, so he said “I’m better than him,” & he stayed in the veil & he rolled in the dust, & made himself forever damned forever.

- al Hallaj

Tawasin of the Point

More particular than the Circle is the matter of the Point –the origin that doesn’t grow, or shrink, or pass away. The denier dwells in the first circle; he denies my state, when he can’t see me. He dubs me “unbeliever” & accuses me of evil.

Whoso sees my glory in the forbidden circle cries out to me for vision. Whoso wields the second circle thinks I’m the Divine Scholar. Whoso reaches the third supposes I’m secure. Whoso reaches the circle of truth forgets me & vanishes from my sight. “There is no refuge; that day your resting place is for your Lord. Man will be informed of what he set forth & deferred.” Man takes to tales & makes off for refuge. He fears the sparks. He’s blind & blinded.

I once encountered a bird among the flock of winged Sufis. He denied my glory, though he continued to fly. He asked me about purity; I told him “Cut your wings with the shears of annihilation, or else don't follow me.” He said: “I fly with these wings.” I replied: “Alas; ‘there’s nothing like Him, the All Seeing & Hearing.’” This Sufi stopped, one day, upon the sea of understanding, & drowned. This is the image of that sea:

I saw my lord with my eye’s heart;
I asked “who are you?” He said “you.”

But “where” from you is nowhere
And there’s no where regarding you;

You are that which touches everywhere
as far as nowhere, so where are you?

Delusion holds no dream of you,
& only Where knows where you are.

The first point is from the circle of Thoughts; understanding of one of them is true. The second point is false. He drew near loftily, then returned toweringly. He drew near seeking, then returned overjoyed. He kept far from his direction & he drew near to his Lord. He stayed (bata) at his heart & drew near to his Lord.

He was absent when he saw me. He wasn’t absent. How was he present while not present? How did he look without looking?

He startled, so he recognized. He recognized, so he startled. He witnessed, so he was witnessed. He arrived, so he was divided. He arrived at his desire, so he was divided from his inner heart; “the heart didn’t forge what it saw.” Allah concealed him, so He drew him near. He entrusted him, so He purified him. He made him thirst, so He fed him. He purified him, so He chose him. He called him, so He invited him. He afflicted him, so He healed him. He shielded him, so He made him saddle.

There stretched “bow length,” when he repented & reached his aim. He was called, so he answered. He saw, so he went absent. He drank, so he was sated. He drew near, so he startled. He parted from cities, helpers, secrets, look, visions, & traces: “your friend didn’t stray.” He didn’t weaken & didn’t tire. His eye didn’t weaken from Where, or tire from When. “Your friend didn’t stray” in our dwelling or our conduct. “Your friend didn’t stray” in the garden of remembrance (dhikr), before our view. “He didn’t err” in the wandering of thought; he was mindful of the True in breaths & blinks, & thankful to Him for trials & gifts. “There’s nothing but revelation revealed” from Light to Light.

Overturn speech & absent yourself from delusions. Raise your feet above man & creature. Separate His Order & orders. Be infatuated with infatuation. Rise, so you may fly between mountains & fields -- the mountains of understanding & the fields of peace – & see what lies therein. The fast ends at the Sacred (Forbidden) House. So he drew near, as if he drew near to the meaning. Then he quarantined himself, like a feeble one unlike the feeble. He went from the station of correction to the station of discipline; from the station of discipline to the station of nearness. He drew near seeking so he returned fleeing. He drew near calling, so he returned crying out. He drew near answering & returned near. He drew near witnessing & returned watching. “There were two bow lengths.” He hit “Where” with the arrow of “Between.” He established “two bows” to verify “Where,” or make it absent. The Source drew near through the Source’s source.

The Strange Master, al-Hussain ibn Mansur al-Hallaj (may God be merciful to him) said:

I don’t think our words will be understood except to him who’s reached the second bow – the one below the tablet.

It contains many letters that aren’t Arabic, except one: Meem – the letter signifying the Last Name (Muhammad): this is the string of the first bow.

[He who rules the second bow is the Kingdom & the first bow. Sovereignty acts omnipotently.  The second bow is the Sovereignity of the Kingdom. Sovereignity is an attribute of the two bows; it contains a specific revelation where the arrow points to Nothingness. The arrow is the two bows.]

Who lights the defect, Allah said of him: his clarity of speech is in the meaning of nearing. The True bestowed the meaning of the truth; it doesn’t belong to the mode of Creation. Nearing is an exact circle.  Truth is true of truths, in the particle of particulars: in past testimonies; in the lover’s description of longing; in the cut off vision of those bound to the saddles of insolence; in the persistence of misfortune & the revelation of particulars; in the enunciation of deliverance; in the path of the select; in the nearing of he who is broad for understanding of its importance, which is the observed, transmitted, & prophetic tradition.

Of this matter that was safeguarded & protected in a hidden book, the Master Yathrib (peace be unto him) said:

As was mentioned in a “written & visible book” on the meaning of the conference of birds: He “moved us” until “there stood two bow lengths,” because the Source shoots. So lover, understand – if you’ve so far understood – the Almighty doesn’t address any but kin – & kin from kin, & kin of kin; He is Him who has no master or disciple, who has no choice or preference, who has no caution, who has no attire, who has no through, & who has no from; what’s in Him in Him. He’s in Him, no in him’s in Him; He’s a desert in a desert & a sign in a sign. His meanings are public, and His meaning is His hope. His hopes are far. His path is hard. His name is glorious. His symbol is singular. His knowledge is His indefiniteness. His indefiniteness is His truth. His value is His deed. His name is His path. His naming is his fire. Desire is His attribute.  Moral law is His character. The suns are his courtyard. The souls are his portico. The familiarized are his animal. The effacement is His glory. The teachers are His witness.  The bride is His garden. The effacement is His edifice. His lords are my refuge. His principles are my gift. Their desire is my question. His helpers are my way station. His sorrows are my mishap... His saying is “Be.” So one supposes. What's below Him angers Him. By Allah is the only success.

al Hallaj

Tawasin of the Circle

The first reached it. The second reached it & got cut off. The third got lost in the desert of truth’s truth.

The Bah is the second door in the circle, represented by ب . This door is for arrivals: whoso passes it arrives. The third door is the desert of the truth. The door represented by ب standing opposite the other doors & beneath the second circle -- that door is truth.

Whoso enters the circle – the way is blocked for him; whoso seeks is driven back. The high point is his intention. The low point is his return to origin. The middle point is his bewilderment.

The low point, returning him to the origin, seeks the right side; the middle point bewilders him – the way through the center leads to the left. 

The circle has no doors. The point in the middle of the circle is the truth. The meaning of the truth is that from which outward & inward aren’t absent, & that which doesn’t welcome forms.

If you wish to understand what I’ve thus shown, “take four birds & twist them towards you” -- for the True doesn’t fly. Jealously brought it after absence. Awe obstructed it. Bewilderment stole it. These are the meanings of the truth.

Subtler than that is the understanding of Understanding -- which, to Delusion’s shroud, appears around the circle, not beyond it.

As for knowledge of the truth – it’s forbidden & the circle’s been forbidden. For this, they named the Prophet “forbidden” (haram). He went beyond it, so he said “Ah!”

- al Hallaj

The souls of infatuates are sick for desire
& the lover's condition doesn’t alter;

the tears of the lover, upon seeing his love,
rush down his cheek -- one after the other:

who's kin to love isn’t freed by a glance,
but, every day, he's scolded or seeks more.

Grieved, distracted, starved, & enfeebled,
he can’t navigate a way, or get a lick of slumber.

Qays ibn al-Mulawwah

 ***

انفس العاشقون مرضى
بلاء المحب لا يتفضى

عبرات المحب كيف تراها
بعضها يستحث في الخد بعضا

ليس يخلو اخو الهوى ان تراه
كل يوم يلام او يترضى

باكيا ساهىا نحيلا ذليلا
ليس يهدا و ليس يطعم غمضا

قيس بن الملوح

She is wine in beauty, like her spit is wine;
her delicacy, too, is tinged by wine: 

three wines are joined in her, but from one
a drunkard exceeds drunkenness.

Qays ibn al-Mulawwah


هي الخمر في حسن و كالخمر ريقها
و رقة ذاك اللون في رقة الخمر

و قد جمعت منها خمور ثلالثة
و في واحد سكر يزيد السكر

قيس بن الملوح

Mawqif of Choice

He stopped me at Choice & said: “All of them are sick.”

“Behold, the doctor enters upon them day & night. I address them with the doctor’s tongue & they know that it's I who speaks to them, but they promise diet for the doctor, not for me.”

“They were in my hand, so I turned them to my hand & didn’t restore them to the hand in which they were."

“When you see fire, fall in it & don’t flee: if you fall in it, it will be slaked; if you flee from it, it will seek you out & scorch you.”

“I light the fire with my second hand.”

“You must break habit. But when you break habit, you lose manners.”

“Your prayer belongs to that which stops you or propels you. Your intention belongs to that which talks to you or you talk to.”

“There’s no door or way to me.”

 “When I speak, speak. When I’m silent, silence.”

“Go to the barren wilderness & sit solitary, until I see you.  For when I do, I’ll ascend from earth to heaven with you. I won’t conceal myself from you.”

“If the call of my people doesn’t accompany you through all this, you’ve erred.”

“If you’re everything I want, weep to yourself & call out to me; I’ll protect you from the companion’s evil.”

“If you're only something I want, you straddle danger, & even a pupil’s movement will harm you.”

“I’ve created all of you. What do you wish?”
I saw the barricade encircle me & saw Him laughing from it.

He said: "This is the station of my people & none laughs in it but me.”

“I’ve made as many doors as creations, in the barricade & planted a tree & a cool spring at each door. I made you thirst. If you depart, I won’t restore you to the station or let you drink its water.”

“Sleep to see me & you will see; wake to see yourself & you won’t see me.”

“When you find me with the liar, don’t remember him with me. When you find me with the sincere, remember him with me.”

“I must make myself known to you & this making known is a trial; I don’t stop. I’m the source of the trial. I love it in you. I manifested it for you. I loathe it in you. Gnosis of the trial is trial. Ignorance of the trial is trial.”

“Remember me as a child does; call out to me as a woman would.”

“You’re no slave of mine if you tell men of yourself or yours. But when you come to me, it’s as if everything that happened didn't.”

al Niffari

***

موقف الاختيار

أوقفني في الاختيار وقال لي كلهم مرضى

وقال لي هو ذا يدخل الطب عليهم بالغداة والعشي وأخاطبهم أنا على ألسنة الطب ويعلمون أنني أنا أكلمهم ويعدون الطب بالحمية ولا يعدوني

وقال لي كانوا في يدي فقلبتهم إلى يدي وليس أردهم إلى اليد التي كانوا فيها

وقال لي إذا رأيت النار فقع فيها ولا تهرب فإنك إن وقعت فيها أنطقت وإن هربت منها طلبتك وأحرقتك

وقال لي أنا أوقد النار باليد الثانية

وقال لي لابد أن تتحرك عادة فإذا تحركت عادة فما لك أدب

وقال لي صلوتك لما يوقفك أو يعجلك وقصدك لما يحادثك أو تحادثه

وقال لي ما لي باب ولا طريق

وقال لي إذا تكلمت فتكلم وإذا صمت فاصمت

وقال لي اخرج إلى البرية الفارغة واقعد وحدك حتى أراك فإني إذا رأيتك عرجت بك من الأرض إلى السماء ولم أحتجب عنك

وقال لي إن لم تصحبك في هذا كله دعوة عامي تهت

وقال لي إذا كنت كما أريد في كل شيء فابك على نفسك ونادني أعوذ بك من سوء القرين

وقال لي إذا كنت لي كما أريد في بعض الشيء فقد ركبت الخطر وإن تحرك بؤبؤ عينك ضرك

وقال لي كلك خلق فماذا تروم، فرأيت السد قد أحاط بي ورأيته في السد يضحك، وقال هذا منزل أهلي ولا أضحك إلا فيه

وقال لي قد جعلت لك في السد أبواباً بعدد ما خلقت وغرست على كل باب شجرة وعين ماء باردة وأظمأتك وعزتي لئن خرجت لا رددتك إلى منزل أهلي ولا سقيتك من الماء

وقال لي نم لتراني فإنك تراني، واستيقظ لتراك فإنك لن تراني

وقال لي إذا وجدتني عند الكذاب فلا تذكره بي، وإذا وجدتني عند المخلص فذكره بي

وقال لي لا بد من أن أتعرف إليك وتعرفي إليك بلاء، أنا لا أزول أنا أصل البلاء أحببت فيك البلاء أظهرت لك البلاء كرهت منك البلاء معرفتك بالبلاء بلاء إنكارك للبلاء بلاء

وقال لي اذكرني كما يذكرني الطفل وادعني كما تدعوني المرأة

وقال لي لا تكون لي عبداً وأنت تخبر الناس بم أو بما منك فإذا جئت إلى فكأن الذي جرى كله لم يكن.

النفري

Mawqif of Who Are You & Who Am I

He stopped me & said: “Who are you & who am I?” I saw the sun, the moon, the stars, & all the lights.

He said: “No light remains in my sea’s current but what you’ve seen.” Everything approached me until there was nothing; & kissed me between the eyes, & greeted me, & stopped in shadow.

He said: “You know me, but I don’t know you.” I saw His all cleaved to my garb & not to me.” He said: “This is my worship.” My garb bent down & I did not; & when it bent, He said “who am I?” Then sun & moon darkened, & stars fell, & lights extinguished, & all was wrapped in dark but Him.

My eyes didn’t see. My ears didn’t hear. My sense was nullified. Everything uttered, & said Allahu akbar. Everything approached me carrying a sword. He said: “Flee” & I said “where?” He said “Fall into the dark.” So I fell, & beheld myself. He said: “You’ll behold none other than yourself forever &, never leave the dark. When I oust you from it, I’ll see you for myself & you’ll see me. When you finally see me, you’ll be further from me than all that is far.”

al Niffari

***

موقف من أنت ومن أنا

أوقفني وقال لي من أنت ومن أنا، فرأيت الشمس والقمر والنجوم وجميع الأنوار.

وقال لي ما بقي نور في مجري بحري إلا وقد رأيته، وجاءني كل شيء حتى لم يبق شيء فقبل بين عيني وسلم علي ووقف في الظل.

وقال لي تعرفني ولا أعرفك، فرأيته كله يتعلق بثوبي ولا يتعلق بي، وقال هذه عبادتي، ومال ثوبي وما ملت فلما مال ثوبي قال لي من أنا، فكسفت الشمس والقمر وسقطت النجوم وخمدت الأنوار وغشيت الظلمة كل شيء سواه ولم تر عيني ولم تسمع أذني وبطل حسي، ونطق كل شيء فقال الله أكبر، وجاءني كل شيء وفي يده حربة، فقال لي اهرب، فقلت إلى أين، فقال قع في الظلمة، فوقعت في الظلمة فأبصرت نفسي، فقال لي لا تبصر غيرك أبداً ولا تخرج من الظلمة أبداً فإذا أخرجتك منها أريتك نفسي فرأيتني وإذا رأيتني فأنت أبعد الأبعدين.

النفري

Tawasin of Clarity

The truth is particular; its paths are narrow. In it, howling fires burn; beside it, deep deserts span -- the stranger travels them & tells others of the forty stations (maqamat) he meets along the way. Such as:

manners (adab), awe (rahab), fatigue (nasab), search (talab), wonder (‘ajab), ruin (‘atab), rapture (tarab), ravenousness (sharah), pureness (nazah), clarity (safa’), sincerity (sidq), company (rifq), emancipation (litq), embarking (taswih), rest (tarwih), providing, (tamani), witnessing (shuhud), existence (wujud), enumeration (‘add), labor (kada), restoration (rada), extension (imtidad), self-reliance (‘itadad), isolation (infirad), obedience (inqiyad), attraction (murad), reflection (tadabbur), presence (hudur), exercise (riyada), circumspection (hiyata), study (iftiqad), resistence (istilad), consideration (tadabbur), perplexity (tahayyur), contemplation (tafakkur), patience (tasabbur), interpretion (ta’abbur), refusal (rafd), criticism (naqd), care (ri’aya), guidance (hidaya), beginning (bidaya) In beginning is the station for the people of clarity (safa) & mysticism (sufwaya). For each station there’s a principle -- known and unknown.

He entered the desert, then conquered it, & passed though it. He didn’t belong to the lagging people of the mountains & the plains. “When Musa fulfilled the term” (28:29), he left his people to become a kin to truth. But he was satisfied with tales deprived of vision. There was a cleft (farqan) between him from the best of humankind; he said: “perhaps I’ll bring you some word” (28:29). If the guided one was satisfied with tales, how is the seeker not with the sign? At the Burning Bush, he didn’t hear the bush, or what appeared before his eyes. My form is like that Bush; these are His words, so they are the truth -- the truth is a creation. Reject the created world, so you may be Him or He you, regarding the truth. “I” is the modifier, & the modifier is modified; the modifier is with truth, so how is it modified? The True says to him: “You guide towards the proof, not the proven; I am the proof’s proof.”

The True conveyed me to the truth;
there is my secret & this is the way.

My secret is witness without my;
there is my secret & this is the way.

[The True spoke unto my heart; with knowledge of my tongue. He drew me in through distance & made me a Chosen One.]

- al Hallaj

***

الحقيقة دقيقة، طرقها مضيقة، فيها نيران شهيقة ودونها مفاوز، عميقة، الغريب سلكها يخبر عن قطع مقامات الأربعين مثل :
مقام الأدب، والرهب، والسبب والطلب، والعجب، والعطب، والطرب، والشره، والنزه، والصفاء، والصدق، والرفق، والعتق، والتسويح، والترويح، والتماني، والشهود، والوجود، والعد، والكد، والرد، والامتداد، والاعتداد، والانفراد، والانقياد، والمراد، والشهود، والحضور، والرياضة، والحياطة، والافتقاد، والاصطلاد، والتدبر، والتحير، والتفكر، والتصبر، والتغير، والرفض، والنقض، والرعاية، والهداية، والبداية، فهي مقام أهل الصفاء والصفوية.
ولكل مقام معلوم مفهوم وغير مفهوم
ثم دخل على المفازة وحازها، ثم جازها، فما لأهل المهل، مر الجبل والسهل (فلما  قضى موسى الأجل)  ترك الأهل حين صار للحقيقة أهلاً ومع ذلك كله رضي بالخبر دون النظر ليكون فرقاً بينه وبين خير البشر،  فقال: لعلي آتيكم منها بخبر، فإذا رضي المهتدي بالخبر، فكيف لا يكون المقتدي على الأثر ؟ من الشجرة  من جانب الطور ما سمع من شجرة، ما سمع من برزه، ومثلي مثل تلك الشجرة، هذا كلامه، فالحقيقة والحقيقة خليقة، دع الخليقة، لتكون أنت هو، أو هو أنت من حيث الحقيقة، لأني واصف، والموصوف واصف، والواصف بالحقيقة فكيف الموصوف، فقال له الحق (أنت تهدي إلى الدليل لا إلى المدلول، وأنا دليل الدليل). [من مخلع البسيط]
صيرني  الحق بالحقيقة
        هناك سري وذي الطريقه
شاهد سري بلا ضميري
        هناك سري وذي الطريقه
[قال الحق: وحدثني عن قلبي، ومن علم بلساني، وقربني له بعد بعدي وجعلني من الخواص واصطفاني]

الحلاج

Tawasin of the Prophetic Lamp

From the Light of the Unseen arose a lamp. It appeared & returned – reigning; its light outgleamed all other lamps -- a moon among moons beaming, a star whose sign was housed within Empyrean. The True named him “Illiterate,” for the aim of his intention & “Forbidden,” for the greatness of his gift & “Situated [makkan],” for the nearness of his home to Him.

He bared his heart & raised his power – he imposed his rule and manifested his moon. His lamp showed light from Magnanimity’s mouth.

He related nothing but that which his eye had seen into the heart of. He paved no path, but that which was plain for truth. He was present (before the True), so he conveyed His Presence.  He saw, so spoke. He was sent as guide, so he set limits.

No one could discern the depth of his achievement, save the sincere, who makes himself agreeable with him & cleaves to him, so between them there would no longer be a rift.

No Gnostic knows this, save he who is ignorant of His Attribute: “Those to whom We have given the Book, who recognize their sons, even though a part of them knowingly conceals the truth.”

Prophetic lights sprouted from his light, their lights, from his lights, manifested; there is no light more light, more bare, & more aged than age, than the light alighted by the Lord of Generosity.

His intention preceded all intentions, His existence preexisted Nothingness, His name was word before the Pen;

Since he preceded nations, there was never anyone on, beyond, below horizon, more graceful, nobler, wiser, more just & kinder, more Godly fearing & more sympathetic than the holder of his rank. He is the Master of Creation & that his name (the most praised, AHMD): his quality is singular, his command is certainty, his essence is excellence, his attribute is glory, his aspiration is unmatchable. .

O wonder! How manifest, how visible, how great, how famous, how brilliant, how powerful, how penetrating another there is naught. He was and is & known before beginnings, before beings. He was and is & there before Before and after After – before substances and qualities. His substance is clear, his speech prophetic. His knowledge is exalted, his tongue is Arabic. His tribe is “neither East nor West”: his lineage is patriarchal, his mission is conciliation. His title is Illiterate. He brought vision through his signs to seeing eyes – through him the mysteries were recognized.  .

The True made him speak and the Proof substantiated him. The True sent him forth as the Proven and the Proof.

It's him who cleared the rust from the shackled heart.

It’s him who carried forth the ancient word, unconditioned & unuttered & unfettered but united indivisibly to Him. It's him who announced the end of The Ends, and the ends of The End.

He lifted the cloud and pointed to the Sacred House, perfect & gallant. It’s him who was brought out to break the idols & was sent against the slander and the sin of man.

Above him flashed a cloud & below him a bolt – announcing light & rain & growth. The bulk of knowledge is nothing but a volume in His sea. The whole of wisdom is no greater than a handful from His stream. The ages are an hour to His time.

The True is with him & with him is the truth. He's the first link & the last among the prophets, inward he bears truth & outward gnosis.

No learned man has ever reached his knowledge & no wise man ever proved his understanding.

The True did not submit His truth to His creation; because he's him & he is he & him is him.

Nothing escaped the eM of MHMD (Muhammad) & no one entered the Ha -- his second eM. The first eM is his Dee. His Dee is his duration. His eM is his mark. His Ha is his habitual state, which is his second M.

The True manifested his speech & deepened his sign & revealed his proof. He sent the furqan down to him & attuned his tongue, making that which dwells deep in him glow, hindering all others from imitation. He caused clarity & magnified his glory.

If you shun his law, what direction will you follow, O afflicted? No guide is here: the wisdom of wise men to his wisdom is a sliding heap of sand.

- al Hallaj

Tawasin of Understanding

The understanding of creation doesn’t depend on truth; the truth doesn’t depend on creation. Thoughts are dependencies; the dependencies of creation doesn’t relate to truths. Meeting with the knowledge of truth is difficult; so what’s to be done with the truth of truth? The True is behind the truth, which is below the True.

The moth flutters, till daybreak, ‘round the flame, & then returns to friends; he tells them, tenderly, of his state -- reveling in the details with his hunger for more. 

The light of the flame is the knowledge of truth; its heat is the truth of the truth; the meeting with it is the True of truth. The moth wasn’t satisfied with light & heat; he meets the flame with his whole body. His friends, meanwhile, knowing him unsatisfied with tales, expect him to return with a vision. But at that time, he’s utterly consumed --dwindled down & torn apart; devoid of form or body -- name or mark. In what form can he return to them, after what he has become?

In his meeting with vision, he dispensed with tales: whoever meets his eye’s object dispenses with sight.

These meanings do not vindicate the languid, or the transient, or the sinful, or he who seeks security. “As if I’m” is “as if I’m” & it’s as if I’m him or he is me; & you would not long for me, if you were me.

O you uncertain, don’t relate “I’m” with Me; now, or later, or then. Don’t think that I’m Me or that I am or, that I was; though I’m Gnostic & knowing is my state – it’s blemished. Though I’m his, I’m not him.

If you have understood thus, then understand: these meanings were not true to anyone but AHMD, because “Muhammad was a father to no one” save the prophets. He disappeared from men and jinn & closed his eyes to Where until there was no trace of ornament. There was a distance of two bows when he reached the desert of truth’s knowledge; he related from his heart. When he arrived at the truth of the True, his desire fled, so he gave himself to Generousness. After meeting with The True, he returned & said “the outer heart believes, while the hidden heart prostrates.” When he reached the limit’s Limit he said: “I can never praise you as you should be praised.” When he reached the truth of the truth he said: “You are the only that can praise yourself.” He renounced his desire and followed his vocation; “the heart did not fib what it saw” by the Lotus Tree. He did not turn right towards the truth & did not turn left towards the truth of the truth. “His eye strayed not, nor overstepped.”

- al Hallaj

Mawqif of Light

He stopped me in the light & said: “I don’t constrict it or expand it; I don’t fold it or unravel it; I don’t hide it or reveal it.”

He said: “O light: be constricted & expanded, be enfolded & unraveled, be hidden & revealed,” so it did. I saw the realities of “I don’t constrict” & “O light: be constricted.”

He said: “I give no more to you than this expression.” I turned away & saw to seek his affirmation was a disobedience.

He said: “Obey me. None obey me. When you obey me, you no longer do.” I saw his true oneness & his true ordinance.

He said: “Cast your gaze from all of this & upon yourself. When you gaze upon yourself, I don’t affirm it; I pardon it & am indifferent.”

al Niffari

***

موقف نور

  أوقفني في نور وقال لي لا أقبضه ولا أبسطه ولا أطويه ولا أنشره ولا أخفيه ولا أظهره، وقال يا نور انقبض وانبسط وانطو وانتشر وأخف وأظهر، فانقبض وأنبسط وانطوى وانتشر وخفى وظهر و رأيت حقيقة لا أقبض وحقيقة يا نور انقبض

وقال لي ليس اعطيك أكثر من هذه العبارة، فانصرف فرأيت طلب رضاه معصيته فقال لي أطعني فإذا أطعتني فما أطعتني ولا أطاعني أحد، فرأيت الوحدانية الحقيقية والقدرة الحقيقية، فقال غض عن هذا كله وانظر إليك وإذا نظرت إليك لم أرض وأنا أغفر ولا أبالي.

النفري

Mawqif of My Moment’s Come

He stopped me & said: “if you don’t see me, you’re not with me.”

“If you see other than me, you don’t see me.”

“My signal blots the substance of a thing’s substance out; it confirms the thing to be from Him, & not in itself.”

“In you lies that which isn’t changed and doesn’t change.”

“Silence the silent in you, for me; speak the spoken, necessarily.”

“The result of my gaze is found in all things. You transform it, if you address it with your tongue.”

“Set my memory behind your back, or you’ll go back to other than me; there lies no barrier between you & me.”

“My moment’s come; the time for me to bare my face & show my splendor; to join my light with courtyards & what remains behind them; to bend the eyes and hearts towards me. You'll see my rivals love me, & my closest rule; I'll raise thrones for them. I'll release fire, so it won't return; I'll fix my ruined houses, so they’re adorned with true adornment. You'll see my lot surpass all others. I'll gather humankind in joy, so they’re no longer split or shamed. Bring out my Treasure & realize what I’ve made you of my word, my providence, & my height’s nearness. I shall emerge, & the stars will gather 'round me; I’ll bring sun & moon together; I’ll enter every house & when they wish me peace, I’ll wish peace unto them. All of this is from my will, & on my watch, the hour strikes. I am Great & Merciful.”

al Niffari

***

موقف قد جاء وقتي


أوقفني وقال إن لم ترني لم تكن بي.

وقال لي أن رأيت غيري لم ترني.

وقال لي أشارتي في الشيء تمحو معنى المعنى فيه وتثبته منه لا به.

وقال لي فيك ما لا ينصرف ولا يصرف.

وقال لي أصمت لي الصامت منك ينطق الناطق ضرورة.

وقال لي أثر نظري في كل شيء فأن خاطبته على لسانك قلبته.

وقال لي أجعل ذكري وراء ظهرك وإلا رجعت إلى سواي لا حائل بينك وبينه.

وقال لي قد جاء وقتي وأن لي أن أكشف عن وجهي وأظهر سبحاتي ويتصل نوري بالأفنية وما وراءها وتطلع على العيون والقلوب، وترى عدوي يحبني وترى أوليائي يحكمون، فأرفع لهم العروش ويرسلون النار قلا ترجع، وأعمر بيوت الخراب وتتزين بالزينة الحق، وترى فسطي كيف ينفى ما سواه، وأجمع الناس على اليسر فلا يفترقون ولا يذلون، فأستخرج كنزي وتحقق ما أحققتك به من خبري وعدتي وقرب طلوعي، فأني سوف أطلع وتجتمع حولي النجوم، وأجمع بين الشمس والقمر، وأدخل في كل بيت ويسلمون علي وأسلم عليهم، بذلك بأن لي المشيئة وبأذني تقوم الساعة، وأنا العزيز الرحيم.

Mawqif of Do Not Blink

He stopped me & said:

“I manifested everything, then warded off from it, & warded off, by it, from Me."

“When you behold Me establishing everything, I’ve allowed you to meet Me."

“Everything contains a mark, by which it’s part & which it's parted by."

“If you dwell with the establisher, the established won’t stand equal to you."

“When you see an end to Me, the traverse is voided."

“There's no end to Me, until you see Me behind everything."

“My establishment effaces naught; through it or Me. Truly, I’m the arbiter of the knowledge I founded."

“Behold Me & do not blink; that’s the first part of your war for Me."

“Raise your concern on fear; I’ll establish it through attention. Don’t raise it on hope; I’ll raze it when the work’s done."

“When I drive you from names, I announce you My authority.”

al Niffari

***

موقف لا تطرف

أوقفني وقال لي أظهرت كل شيء وأدرأت عنه وأدرأت به عني.

وقال لي إذا نظرت إلي أثبت كل شيء فقد آذنتك بمواصلتي.

وقال لي كل له علامة ينقسم بها وتنقسم به.

وقال لي كن بالمثبت لا يقوم لك الثبت.

وقال لي إذا كان إلي المنتهى سقط المعترض.

وقال لي لا يكون إلي المنتهى حتى تراني من وراء كل شيء.

وقال لي إثباتي لا يمتحي به ولا بي، إني أنا الحكيم المتقن على علم ما وضعت.

وقال لي انظر إلي ولا تطرف يكن ذلك أول جهادك في.

وقال لي ابن أمرك على الخوف أثبته بالهم ولا تبن أمرك على الرجاء أهدمه إذا تكامل العمل.

النفري

Mawqif of the Unutterable

He stopped me at the unutterable & said: “Through the unutterable, you join in the utterable.

“If you didn’t witness the unutterable, you’d be left scattered by the utterable."

“The utterable turns you to utterableness; the utterableness is utterance; the utterance is letter; the letter is inflection. The unutterable makes you witness to My Self-Avowal in everything & its sites of gnosis."

“Expression is an inclination; when you witness that which doesn’t change, you don’t slant."

“Utterance turns to ecstasy; ecstasy, through utterance, turns to ecstasy for the uttered."

“Ecstasy for the uttered is disbelief, by definition."

“Don’t hearken to me in the letter & don’t get word of me from it."

“The letter can’t give word of itself, how can it speak of Me?"

“I'm the maker of the letter & the word of it.”

“I'm word of Myself, to whomever I give it.”

“My word shows sign through witnessing; it isn’t found in any other sign & doesn’t show itself through any other form."

“You’ll stay writing as long as you figure & stop when you figure no more."

“When you don’t figure or write, I’ll assign you a portion of illiteracy; for the illiterate prophet doesn’t write or figure."

“Don’t write or intend, don’t figure or examine."

“Intention writes true & false, examination figures taking & leaving."

“He is not of me or my line -- whoso writes the true & false, or figures taking & leaving."

"Every scribe recites his script, and every reciter figures his recitation.”

al Niffari

***

موقف ما لا ينقال

أوقفني في ما لا ينقال وقال لي به تجتمع فيما ينقال.

وقال لي إن لم تشهد ما لا ينقال تشتت بما ينقال.

وقال لي ما ينقال يصرفك إلى القولية والقولية قول والقول حرف والحرف تصريف، وما لا ينقال يشهدك في كل شيء تعرفي إليه ويشهدك من كل شيء مواضع معرفته.

وقال لي العبارة ميل فإذا شهدت ما لا يتغير لم تمل.

وقال لي القول يصرف إلى الوجد والتواجد بالقول يصرف إلى المواجيد بالمقولات.

وقال لي المواجيد بالمقولات كفر على حكم التعريف.

وقال لي لا تسمع في من الحرف ولا تأخذ خبري عن الحرف.

وقال لي الحرف يعجز أن يخبر عن نفسه فكيف يخبر عني.

وقال لي أنا جاعل الحرف والمخبر عنه.

وقال لي أنا المخبر عني لمن أشاء أن أخبره.

وقال لي لإخباري علامة بإشهاد لا توجد بسواه ولا يبدو إخباري إلا فيه.

وقال لي لا تزال تكتب ما دمت تحسب فإذا لم تحسب لم تكتب.

وقال لي إذا لم تحسب ولم تكتب ضربت لك بسهم في الأمية لأن النبي الأمي لا يكتب ولا يحسب.

وقال لي لا تكتب ولا تهم، ولا تحسب ولا تطالع.

وقال لي الهم يكتب الحق والباطل، والمطالعة تحسب الآخذ والترك.

وقال لي ليس مني ولا من نسبتي من كتب الحق والباطل وحسب الآخذ والترك.

وقال لي كل كاتب يقرأ كتابته وكل قارئ يحسب قراءته.

النفري

Upon the land, I stare, as if I stood
behind a glass; looking from Love's Waters,

my eyes occasionally drown from weeping, so I
go blind; sometimes they bare enough for me to see. 

Though no tears pour out from this eye,
it languishes and leaks just the same.

Qays ibn al-Mulawwah


نظرت كأني من وراء زجاجة
إلى الدار من ماء الصبابة أنظر

فعيناي طوراً تغرقان من البكا
فأمشي و طوراً تحسران فأبصر

و ليس الذي يجري من العين ماؤها
و لكنما نفسي تذوب فتقطر

قيس بن المللوح

Mawqif of That Which Appears

He stopped me at That Which Appears, but I didn’t see Him appear; he could appear concealed & not concealed. Substanceless, He could appear & there would be substance.

He said: “Stop at the inferno.” I saw that that with which He punishes is paradise & that with which He eases paradise is punishing.

He said: “One undivided & impenetrable, everlasting & merciful, is He."

He said: “Stop at the earth & sky.” I saw that which descends upon the earth to be a scheme & that which ascends it was a snare; that that which ascends includes that which descends -- the two summon themselves.

He said: “That which descends is your horse & that which ascends is your journey, so consider what you ride & where you go."

“You descend through distance & ascend through distance; a distance of a length of a length that doesn’t speak."

“How can you be with Me, if you’re caught between descending & ascending?"

“I haven’t brought out any matter from the earth that I assemble Myself though, or any matter from the sky. Only this: I’ve made all matter appear & divided Myself from it. I veiled Myself then I began, assembling Myself. These were the ways; the ways were a trajectory.”

He said: “Stop at paradise.” I saw His manifested objects all assembled there; looking just as they did on earth, behind the veil of matter. I saw that He made naught appear behind this matter, for 'Behind' contained a limit. I saw that He made naught appear so He could stay concealed, & make appear, so substanceless He would be what there was substance for.

He said: “If you dwell on the throne, you’ll remain in flight. If you dwell in recollection, you’ll remain veiled.”

“If any other than Me be your stray, vanquish him."

“If I’m your stray, you err from Me & are bewildered by anyone beside Me."

“Consider -- why haven’t I ever made you my stray, or turned to you?"

“You’re my stray & I’m yours; there's no one absent among us."

“All that shows itself & other than it, through itself, has wound you with itself & other; & it shakes you free from itself & other."

“All that shows you that which is beside itself, & not itself , has schemed against you. All that shows you itself, & not what is beside itself -- you shall see all its luminousness alights."

al Niffari

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موقف ما يبدو

أوقفني فيما يبدو فيخفي ولا يخفى فيبدو ولا معنى فيكون معنى، وقال لي قف في النار، فرأيته يعذب بها ورأيتها جنة ورأيت ما ينعم به في الجنة هو ما يعذب به في النار.
وقال لي أحد لا يفترق صمد لا ينقسم رحمن هو هو.
وقال لي قف في الأرض والسماء، فرأيت ما ينزل ما ينزل إلى الأرض مكراً وما يصعد منها شركاً ورأيت الذي يصعد هو عما ينزل ورأيت ما ينزل يدعو إلى نفسه ورأيت ما يصعد يدعو إلى نفسه.
وقال لي ينزل مطيتك وما يصعد مسيرك فأنظر ما تركب وأين تقصد.
وقال لي تنزل مسافة تصعد مسافة مسافة بعد بعد لا يحادث.
وقال لي كيف تكون عندي وأنت بين النزول والصعود.
وقال لي ما أخرجت من الأرض عينا جمعت بها علي ولا أنزلت من السماء عيناً جمعت بها علي إنما أبديت كل عين فقسمت بها عني وحجبت عني وحجبت ثم بدأت فجمعت بي وكانت هي الطرق وكانت الطرق جهة.
وقال لي قف في الجنة؛ فرأيته يجمع ما أظهر فيها من العيون كما جمع في الأرض ببدوه من وراء العيون فرأيته يبدو لا من وراء العيون فيكون الوراء ظرفاً ورأيته لا يبدو فيخفي ولا يخفى فيبدو ولا معنى فيكون معنى.
وقال لي إن أقمت في العرش فما بعده فابق فاراً، وإن أقمت في الذكر فما بعده فابق محجوباً.
وقال لي إن كان غيري ضالتك فأظفر بالحرب.
وقال لي إن كانت ضالتك تهت إلا عني وحرت إلا معي.
وقال لي انظر إلي لما جعلتك ضالتي ألم أقبل عليك.
وقال لي أنت ضالتي وأنا ضالتك وما منا من غاب.
وقال لي كلما أراك نفسه وأراك غيره به فقد ربطك به وبغيره ونفضك عنه وعن غيره.
وقال لي ما أراك سواه ولم يرك نفسه فقد مكربك، وما أراكه ولم يرك سواه رأيت كل شيء في نور نورتيه.

النفري
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