Feature 15428 · God as agent

1One of the most marvelous things in this path—it is not found in any other— is the following: Every group which has a science—logicians, grammarians, geo- meters, arithmeticians, astronomers, the- ologians, philosophers—has technical terms not known to him who comes from outside unless a master or someone familiar with it acquaints him with it. The only exception is this path [of Sufism]. ¶ The sincere seeker—and by this they know his sincerity—enters in among them and has no news of their technical terms. Then God opens up the eye of his understanding and he takes from his Lord at the beginning of his tasting, even though he had no news of the terminol- ogy they were using. He did not know ¶ that there was a people among the Folk of Allah who employed special technical terminology and

2God’s obligations by any extra state whereby they might be known. They walk in the markets, they speak to the people, and none of God’s creatures sees any of them distinguishing himself from the common people by a single thing; they add nothing to the obligatory works or the Sunna customary among the com- mon folk. They are alone with God, firmly rooted, not wavering from their servanthood for the blink of an eye. They find no flavor in leadership, since Lord- ship has overcome their hearts and they are lowly before it. God has given them knowledge of the places of things and of appropriate works and states. They are veiled from the creatures and stay con- cealed from them by the covering of the common people. For they are sincere and purely devoted servants of their Master. They witness Him constantly

3the heart to the infusion of knowledge. The word “opening” suggests that this type of knowledge comes to the aspirant sud- denly after he had been waiting patiently at the door. It involves neither “self- exertion, raising up the gaze, nor seek- ing” (II 505.17), that is, seeking after that ¶ particular knowledge, since man must always seck after God Himself. Opening is the type of knowledge given to the prophets (though it is not equivalent to scripture): They receive it directly from God without rational inquiry or reflect- ive consideration. ¶ The prophets and the friends among the Folk of Allah have no knowledge of God derived from reflection. God has purified them from that. Rather, they possess the “opening of unveiling” through the Real. (III 116.23)

4to the extent that his mind is attached to what he has left behind, because of the regard he pays to it. ¶ Even better than this person is the state of him who smashes his scale. If it is made of wood, he burns it, and if it is something that melts, he melts it. Or he freezes it, so that it ceases being a scale. If its substance remains, he does not care. But this is exceedingly rare. | have not heard that anyone has done it, though we can suppose it, and it is not impossible that God should strengthen one of His ¶ 237 ¶ scan page 262 238 ¶ Hermeneutics ¶ servants until he does something like this. (II 644.17) ¶ The ideal rational faculty is that which accepts from God the knowledge

5judging the revelation, and the Koran is no longer the standard for judging man. Ibn al-‘Arabi rejects this approach entirely, insisting instead that man must allow himself to be judged, shaped, and formed by the Divine Speech. Man must devote himself to worship and godfearing, to recitation of the Koran, and to all the spiritual disci- plines set down by the Law and the Way. He must constantly pray to God to en- lighten him as to the meaning of the Holy Book and to increase him in knowledge. When and if God unveils to him the meaning of a verse or a portion of the Book, he must weigh his un- veiling in the scales of the Law and the tradition. Only if it harmonizes with these can it be taken seriously. In any case, there is no guarantee that man

6.” All of them are equal in th they call to God “upon insight,” as God commanded His prophet to do... . The like of these preserve the sound Law in which there is no doubt both for them- selves and for those in this community who follow them. Among the people they have the greatest knowledge of the w, although the juri that to them. (1350.13) 0 "t concede When man renounces hij indivi ual desire, shrinks from hie own cee an prefers his Lord over all else, then God sets up before him in Place of the form of his own soul the form of a divine guid- ance, a real form from the Real, so that he may walk proudly in diaphanous capes of light. This form is the Law of his prophet and the a psc

7ing greater than reason in following au- thority. Reason imagines it has God- given proofs, but it only has proofs given by reflection. Reflection’s proofs let it take reason wherever it wants, while rea- son is like a blind man. No, it is even blinder in the path of God. The Folk of Allah do not follow the authority of their reflections, since a created thing should not follow the authority of another cre- ated thing. Hence they incline toward fol- lowing God’s authority. They come to know God through God, and He is as He says about Himself, not as meddlesome reason judges. ¶ How is it proper for an intelligent man to follow the authority of the reflective faculty, when he divides reflective consid- eration into correct and corrupt? Neces- sarily, he has need for a

8<bos>of the Sufi orders, are qualified to open those doors for others. Any attempt to enter this house by other than its door represents the utmost discourtesy toward God and His Prophet. ¶ Even in Ibn al-‘Arabi’s time there were people who claimed to be Sufi mas- ters without possessing the proper quali- fications. Often these were seekers who began with good intentions, but were then “led on step by step” through the divine deception. In other words, God continued to show them favors while they did not fulfill their part of the cove- nant. Instead of acting in accordance with the rules of courtesy in every situa- tion and observing all the intricacies of the Law, they gradually were embold- ened to the point of considering them- selves beyond these affairs, which they saw as fit only for the common people.

9them “wherever” they “are” (57:4), within the confines of their places, their times, and their states. ¶ But the creatures are not with Him— majestic indeed is His majesty! For no creature knows Him that it should be with Him. Hence, he who calls upon God with the creatures is not like him who calls upon the creatures with God. “So call not upon anyone with God” (72:18). ¶ In reality, there can be no prostration to other than God, except in respect to the fact that God is with the creatures wher- ever they are. Hence we neither know Him nor find Him except along with the creatures. In reality prostration is to God described by withness with the creatures. That is why the Law set down the kibla, as the Prophet said, “

10ing men from the sea of destructive sins, and to take them away from their familiar ways. For this is one of the greatest signs by which people are called to God, which is why it was a quality of the prophets and messengers. This person sees in him- self that he is one of the inheritors, and that these signs are one of the inheritances from states. This prevents him from con- cealing these signs in the manner that God has made mandatory for the friends, even though they possess power over them. It hides from him the fact that God has made the manifestation of signs manda- tory for the messengers because, from the first, they are commanded to call to God, while the friend is not like that. The friend only calls to God by recounting (hikaya) the call and tongue of the mes- s

11he knows that the actual situation is such in itself for himself and for others. Hence he cannot designate a technical term concerning this through which any ¶ scan page 378 354 ¶ Consummation ¶ positive knowledge would accrue to those who discuss it. ¶ So the gnostics know, but what they ¶ know cannot be communicated. It is not in the power of the possessors of this most delightful station, higher than which there is no station among the possible things, to coin a word which would de- note what they know. There is only what He has sent down— His words, “Nothing is like Him” (42:11). Hence He negated all likeness. Hence no form in which He dis- closes Himself to someone resembles any other form. . . . _ Through our own delimitation we judge that He

12lordship is smelt from him,” I only add, “On his part, in himself,” since he is never heedless of witnessing his servitude. ¶ However, others might ascribe lordship ¶ to this servant, because of the effects of it which they see becoming manifest from him. But this belongs to God, not to him. And in himself he is different from that which he makes manifest to the cosmos. ¶ It is impossible for the effect of lordship not to become manifest from him. When the disciple (tilmidh) knows that the shaykh is of this sort, God opens up to the disciple that in which is his felicity. For he becomes disengaged from every- thing for God’s side just as the shaykh is disengaged. He trusts in God, not in the shaykh. Then he remains looking upon the shaykh to sce

13cal with reception, since preparedness de- pends upon a divine designation. Indeed, certain souls may walk upon the path which takes them to the door from be- hind which, when opened, there takes place this specific casting and other kinds. Then, when they reach the door, they stop until they see that through which it will be opened for them. When it is opened, the command emerges one in en- tity, and they receive it from outside the door to the measure of their preparedness. They perform no works in this. On the contrary, God specifies each of them with a preparedness. It is here that distinctions are drawn among the various groups, be- tween followers and those who are not followers, between the prophets and the messengers, and between the messengers and those followers who are called in common usage the “friends.”

14of intox- ication, since it has a strong effect upon the imaginal faculty. Those of the Folk of Allah who halt with imagination possess this natural intoxication, since they never cease examining those affairs desired by them which can be actualized through imagination. Finally that becomes firm with them and rules over them, like the Prophet’s words, “Worship God as if ¶ you see Him” or like His words, “God is in the kibla of him who performs the prayer.” . . . In the case of some of those who achieve this station, God causes the imaginalized form to remain with them in the state of their sobriety. He establishes it for them as a sensory object after it had been imaginal. This was the case with the garden which Iblis made to appear to Sol- omon at the level of discontiguous

15relationships and aspects.'"° Too much justice without generosity will end up in tyranny, and too much forgiveness with- out justice will lead to chaos. In ethics and morality, balance is everything. So also is the case, Ibn al-‘Arabi would add, in assuming the traits of the divine names, which is what ethics and morality are all about. It is especially difficult to assume the traits of the names because all the names do not stand on the same level. Hence, some must be displayed be- fore others, and some must even be avoided until God bestows them on man in accordance with His wisdom. ¶ It is clear that a certain hierarchy exists among the names. For example, God does not do something (power) without wanting to (desire). He cannot desire to do something without discerning its situ- ation (knowledge

16remember once again that You are the Giver and the Sustainer. Bless this beautiful child, Shaquifah, cause her to flourish in your love in every cell of her body, in her beautiful heart and mind. Her destiny is written in You. O Allah, bless her mother, Irza, and restore her in every way. You are the Secret in her heart. You are the cries of her heart and You are the Merciful and Gracious Perceiver of those cries. O Allah, bless her father, Wajid, and may the father's tender loving heart which You have given him blossom in abiding faith and trust in You. You know his need now, and you are his Nourisher. O Allah, bless this entire family, and our friend, Iman. May the blessing you bring with this child, and this prayer extend to all children, all parents, all

17ayka<0xC2><0xA0>Brother Musa ¶ I tried to comment on your website but for some reason was unable to do so. ¶ The story of "Woman and Sakina-The Parable of Umm Waraqah" ravished my heart. It arrived in my life this morning, at the moment needed most. It has been my experience all along that often, The All Mighty, All Merciful, All Encompassing puts a discreet sign along the Path, often at a crossroad, to show you the way He invites you to. Sometimes it's a book, sometimes something that one says to you and He makes it echo in your heart, sometimes an internet story like that of Umm Waraqah on your website. You only stop and listen if you love Him, look to please Him, and ask for His guidance. Otherwise you keep on rushing and pass the sign without even noticing it. ¶ As

18away. Mahbub hasn¹t been answering my emails, so I guess I ought to just let it rest. I was worried, but I guess he¹s going to find a way through and he does have a lot of help from his wife, who is really his source of strength (and if he realised what that really means, it would be all done). Prior to Ramadan, I felt like I failed with that whole friendship, not pulling my friend through to where he was very much asking me to pull him and in fact making stuff worse by my clumsy declarations of love -- but I guess Allah was doing the increasing and decreasing for us both, and everyone¹s got a complicated path. ¶ I now feel somewhat relieved of that sorrow (though sorrow is still there, I am relieved)‹ throwing myself back into Qur¹an (and being as crazily difficult as I want to be)

19the middle of it. Because of who he is and how highly the ummah features within his personal space -- this has meant that this part of his journey has been shared publicly and made a (somewhat frightening) spectacle. ¶ His retraction is part of that journey too (it is not a way of avoiding the death sentence but, rather, something coming from his love/attachment for his people and for the religion of his people -- a people and a religion that he found himself at odds with). ¶ For some leaving behind that attachment is easy, for some it is difficult -- but either way, Allah places these trials before us each, individually (there is no repetition of trials between one soul and another). ¶ To avoid our involvement becoming just one of passive voyeuristic observers (even though we defend him, sign petitions, provide moral support etc) -- it is vital we make du'a for

20been thinking about you recently. He is most Blessed in this special connection through His Essence, in His Essence. ¶ I am most touched that you remember me. "i" have also been missing "you". ¶ Insha'AllaH you and all of your Loved ones are well. ¶ Yes, Life has brought its plenty tests recently. AlhamdulillaH. I now have to take care of my elderly parents, who have arrived to the USA and live here by themselves. It is like having to take care of two homes instead of one. Though at times the weight is heavy, i am thankful that He has chosen me, among all their children, for this task in which He is most Loved. My father is a recently handicapped man who used to be very wealthy, is now raising a lawsuit against the government of Egypt, and i am his only assistant. Rains have been plenty here, but

21<bos>But I think sometimes, on the other side, we Sufis are sometimes problematize our journey in our (very human) pre-judgement of what people can and cannot take. Whether or not they can take it is not so much the issue (although is as you say the other important side of consideration) -- but the human pre-judgement would be kind of key here ... ¶ Whatever Allah grants to people of mercy - none can withhold it; and whatever He withholds - none can release it thereafter. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (35:2) ¶ and the rest of the surah as well ... ¶ So my point about my friend was that she (like me at times) was worried about how much people were getting. Actually, the main discussion that the Muslims had with me after the screening was not about the images or the nature

22<bos>You seem more intelligent than this Turkish brother, so I am curious that you would be eager to defend him -- perhaps there is something of his theory of relativity in the Qur'an that I missed -- and maybe you can explain its value more clearly than he did. ¶ On the other hand, maybe you aren't defending his theories, but are simply saying that he is personally experiencing the revelation of God in a Sufi kind of sense: that in some ways, the scientism trend in modern Islam is a kind of divine madness -- that in seeing ghosts of religion in science, these brothers are in fact drunk on a wine of God-consciousness. ¶ Just as a man might experience a portion of Divine Love through his family -- maybe these brothers love Einstein so much that, through Einstein, they can come closer to the Qur'an and, ultimately to God. ¶ In this way, they establish the idols of genetics, physics, post

23among the divinely revealed judgments (ahkam shar'iya) which we had not learned about from the learned or from books. For if the form is not that of (that person's) prophet, then it still necessarily refers to their spiritual state or to the stage of the shar' with regard to that moment and that (particular) situation in which (that person) saw that vision....' ¶ And even in that instance, 'apart from what is forbidden or enjoined (by the Sharia), there is no restriction on what (that person) accepts from (that vision), whether with regard to beliefs or other things-for God's Presence includes the totality of beliefs (jami' al-'aqa'id).' ¶ [james souttar]: "that ’stumbler’ isn’t going to taste a drop of the Ma’rifah of Allah if he remains in that state (kufr)." ¶ Since when did this depend on

24talk at home and no action outside. They want to change the natural order of things that Allah has prescribed and inevitably lead us all astray. ¶ So while the Sufis, Salafis, Tableeghis and everyone else is fighting over who are the real Muslims, the Progressives are leading thousands of ignorant Muslims astray. Even worse, these so-called Progressives are usually well funded and have the backing of Western organizations and Western governments. ¶ These same progressives like Musa from London state that homosexuality is okay, we should give up our struggle for justice in Palestine, women can lead men in prayer, and that anyone of any faith can make it into Paradise so long as they are ³good people.² ¶ I tell you, these guys are the most misguided and corrupt individuals on earth. May Allah forgive me for my anger, but I can¹t stand them. ¶ Watch out for them.

25cut it, in my opinion, it's not free like the caravansarai. To each his own. ¶ Peace, Maureen ¶ [bilqquees]: Salaam, Dear Musa, ¶ Have you read "Against the Modern World" by Mark Sedgwick? Just reading the reviews of the book will give a flavor of the hornets' nest this topic can stir up. ¶ Whenever the topic of cults and/or spiritual abuse in connection with the sufi path comes up, people are going to have some strong reactions if they have vested interests they think they need to protect. ¶ I believe God has it all in control, and shining a little light in the dark places can only be of benefit in the long run. ¶ May the Force be with you (you may need it)! Maureen ¶ Salaams Maureen, ¶ I think a bit more was said (not by me) but not a lot.

26<bos>ḍā, radical acceptance. Pleased with whatever God decrees, including suffering. Not resignation but recognition that the decree *is* the beloved's face. **6. Nafs al-Marḍiyya** (the Pleasing Soul) — the reciprocal: now God is pleased with *it*. The soul has become a mirror clean enough to reflect without distortion. The two-way gaze of tanāẓur is operative here—mutual beholding. **7. Nafs al-Kāmila** (the Perfect/Complete Soul) — sometimes called al-Ṣāfiya (the Pure). Fanā' has completed its work; what remains is baqā'—subsistence in God. The soul is transparent to the Real. Some traditions say this is the station of the prophets and the greatest awliyā'. --- The systematization varies by ṭarīqa—Kubrawiyya, Naqshband

27masculine", we are not masculine immediately. We are all feminine immediately. ¶ So when you mention (physically) male people giving pain, anger and hatred, I would say that, on the contrary, they are exactly manifesting Lilith: in the sense that they are running away from the bridegroom (let's say, running away from Christ). They THINK they are giving. But actually all they are doing is taking, in a wayward fashion. ¶ (I could go on about the nature of this "marriage" -- for me it actually takes place by the nature of Christ as the "food" of the "wedding feast". There is another marriage, the one that we can manifest before the marriage to Christ, which is a marriage to Prophecy, and it is that marriage which my article here addresses primarily. I can explain more if you wish, but let'

28h Wajib, necessity for few, to speak out against these killings, and demand cease & desist, and remember those killed. ¶ In Sufism we do take sides with the victims, we have no interest in the affairs of the governors and politicians. In Sufism we worship Allah, we do not worship microphones or Facebook. In Sufism we yearn for the company of Allah, we do not wish the companionship of the governors nor politicians nor the media. ¶ For those of you who have life living in their hearts, remember those your girls who were sent to their death in Hama under the false banner of Jihad, may Allah ease their journey. Feb was their anniversary, the anniversary of all the college graduations they did not attent, all the weddings they did not celebrate, all the children they did not raise, all the Dhikr and worship they did not perform. Wash your face and limbs, offer two Rak'a for these girls

29om is contagious. Just as the glue of the shards suggests the Love, the falsity of their hatred (and the range of our possible reactions when presented with that falsity, from agreement to the desire to debate) pushes us in the direction of further dispersal, purging, branch cutting, fragmentation, chaos. God makes provision for this. ¶ That is to say, if you were to debate evolution and Islam with these people, you will miss the point of Adam. Because you will enter into their mode of using language, which is not a Divine way of reading -- it is a _distraction_ , a satanic distraction from what God is trying to tell us. To debate with them is to forget Islam, literally. ¶ Their mosque is unclean. Do not enter it, nor pray behind them. ¶ They are not friends, so ought not be treated as such. They have cold hearts and do not understand the Qur'an: their ignorance is

30by human languages in particular the 28 phonemes of the language of Arab. ¶ http://untiredwithloving.org/28_glances.html#muqattat These token strings are made from 14 alphabets and they are the beginnings of 28+1 Surahs, '1' for the Hazma the non-phonic alphabet. ¶ This Rahi (Author) was made cognizant of these alphabets in 2006 in Makkah, however kept the material unwritten until Amr asked about them, since the material was a loan to me and whatever truth Allah shall put within these words are for Amr and his folk. ¶ Dara ¶ SLM Sheikh, ¶ Blessings upon you for sharing this, as always. ¶ Do you know of any relation between these 28, the letters and the 7x4 movement of Hajar in her sa'ee