TASBÎH – تسبيح
Derived from the root of س ب ح . Declaring the praises of Allah, Who is Subhân, with the expressions that are worthy of His glory. The glorification of Allah, which is to proclaim that He is purified and free from all faults in His essence, attributes and actions. Particularly, this word expresses the dhikr of Subhânallah.
The meaning of ‘ibâdah is this: At the Ilahî Court, the ‘abd performs sajda with amazement and love before the perfection of Rubûbiyah, the qoudrah of As-Samad and rahmah of Allah through seeing his own faults, impotence and poverty. That means, just as the sovereignty of Rubûbiyyah demands ‘ubûdiyyah and obedience, so too, the sacredness and purity of Rubûbiyyah demand that through seeing his own faults, with istighfâr, tasbîh and “Subhânallah”, the ‘abd may declare that his Rabb is pure and free of all deficiencies, and free of and exalted from the false (bâtil) ideas of the people of dhalâlah, and hallowed and exempt from all the faults of the universe.
The Ninth Word-2nd Subtle Point
One time, it came to my heart, why can wondrous individuals like Muhyiddîn Bin 'Arabî not reach the Sahabah? Then, while saying سُبْحَانَ رَبِّىَ اْلاَعْلٰى during the salâh, the meaning of the phrase was unfolded to me. Not in its complete meaning, but part of its haqiqah appeared. I said in my heart: "If only Allah granted me success in one salâh as He granted it with this phrase, it would be better than a year's ‘ibâdah." After the salâh, I understood that that thought and state were a guidance indicating that the Sahabah’s degree in ‘ibâdah could not be reached. Yes, while opposites were separated from one another in that mighty social revolution that occurred as a result of the nûrs of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm, at a time when sharr together with all its darkness, consequences and details and khayr and perfections together with all their nûrs and results came face to face, in such a state and exciting time, all dhikr and tasbîh expressed all the levels of their meanings freshly and newly, in a young fashion, and awoke all the feelings and ma’nawî subtle faculties of the people, who were amid the turmoil of that mighty revolution; even feelings like wahm, imagination and sirr, in an awakened and aware way, received and absorbed the numerous meanings within those dhikr and tasbîh according to their own tastes.
Thus, as a consequence of this hikmah, when the Sahabah, whose senses, feelings and subtle faculties were awakened, said those blessed words comprising the nûrs of îmân and tasbîh, they were saying those blessed words with all their meaning and receiving a share from them with all their subtle faculties. Whereas after that revolution and division, the subtle faculties have gradually sunk into sleep and the senses and feelings have fallen into ghaflah in point of those haqiqahs; like fruits, those blessed words have gradually lost their subtlety and freshness due to the veil of familiarity. It is as though they dry up due to the air of superficiality; only a little freshness remains that it can only be restored to its former state through a strong surgery of tafakkur. Thus, it is because of this that other can only reach in forty years the fadhîlah and rank of the Sahabah which they achieved in forty minutes.
Addendum to The Twenty-Seventh Word