MULK – MALAKÛT
ملك – ملكوت
Mulk is literally: Possession. Ownership. Property. Sovereignty. Dominion. Possession of something by rules and dominion. The outer face of a thing that looks to this ‘âlam ash-shahâdah.
Allah's supreme sovereignty and dominion.
Malakût is: Allah’s absolute sovereignty. Supreme dominion. The whole creation. Allah’s (‘Azza wa jalla) ma’nawî dominion. Samâwât.
The inner face of the things that Allah’s command and power manifest directly and without veils of cause. The inner face of the things that look to its Creator. The rûh, soul, haqiqah of everything in their own degree, which is suitable to their degrees.
“Everything has two aspects: the mulk aspect, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. Different forms intrude on it in succession, like the back of a mirror. The malakût aspect looks to Al-Khâliq. It is transparent in every respect, as the front of a mirror. Thus, the creation of bad is not bad, because its creation in respect of the malakût is good. The creation of bad is to complete the good, so is indirectly good. So pay no attention to the specious arguments of the Mu'tazilites!” Signs of Miraculousness ( 79 )
“If you were to ask: Aren't the triviality and baseness of things opposed to the sublimity of Qoudrah and purity of Kalâm?
You would be told: Their insignificance, lowliness, ugliness and so on are only in regard to their mulk and the face that looks to us and appears to our superficial view. Apparent causes have been put to act as intermediaries in this aspect, to absolve Ilahî sublimity [of any fault]. However, the malakût of things is entirely translucent and exalted. This aspect is the locus of qoudrah, and there is nothing outside it. Thus, on the one hand, Ilahî sublimity necessitates the placing of causes outwardly, and on the other wahdah and dignity demand that qoudrah and kalâm encompass all things. However, a Qur'an written in minute particles on an atom is no less eloquent than a Qur'an written in the ink of the stars on the page of the samâ. And the creation of a gnat is of no lesser art than the creation of an elephant. Thus, kalâm is the same as qoudrah.” Signs of Miraculousness ( 227 )
“O ghâfil who performs ‘ibâdah to the causes! Causes are a veil; for Divine dignity and grandeur require them to be thus. But that which acts and performs matters is the qoudrah of As-Samad; for Tawhîd and glory require it to be thus, and necessitate their independence. The officials of the Pre-Eternal Sultân are not executives of the sovereignty of Rubûbiyyah they are the heralds of His sovereignty and the observers and superintendents of His Rubûbiyyah. Their purpose is to make known the dignity of qoudrah and majesty of Rubûbiyyah so that qoudrah should not be seen to be associated with the base and lowly matters. Not like a human sultân, tainted by impotence and indigence, who therefore takes officials as shariks. That is to say, causes have been placed so that the dignity of qoudrah may be preserved in the superficial view of the mind. For like the two faces of a mirror, everything has an aspect of “mulk”, which resembles the mirror's coloured face and may reflect various colours and states, and an aspect of “malakût”, which resembles the mirror's shining face. There are incompatible states within the dignity and perfection of As-Samad’s qoudrah in the aspect of mulk and outer face. Causes have been put to be both the source and the means of those states. But in the aspect of malakût and haqiqah, everything is transparent and beautiful; it is fitting that qoudrah should itself be associated with it. It is not incompatible with its dignity; therefore, causes are purely apparent and in the malakût of things and in haqiqah have no true effect.” The Words (300-301 )
“Qoudrah is related to the malakût of things. Yes, the universe has two faces like a mirror. One is its face of mulk, which resembles the coloured face of the mirror, the other is the face of malakût. This resembles the mirror's shining face. Its face of mulk is the arena of opposites. It is where matters like beautiful and ugly, khayr and sharr, big and small, difficult and easy appear. It is because of this that As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl has made apparent causes a veil to the disposal of His qoudrah so that the hand of qoudrah should not appear to the mind to be directly concerned with matters that on the face of it are insignificant or unworthy. For majesty and dignity require it to be thus. But He did not give a true effect to causes and intermediaries, because the ahadiyyah of wahdah requires that they have none.
As for the face of malakût, in everything it is shining, it is clean. The colours and distortions of individuality do not intervene in it. This aspect faces its Khâliq without an intermediary. There are no chains and disposition of causes in it. Cause and effect cannot intrude on it. It contains nothing contorted or askew. Obstacles cannot interfere with it. A particle becomes brother to the sun.” The Words ( 547 )