Third Stopping-Place

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَ اِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ

This Third Stopping-Place is “The Second Point” that consists of two discussions. 

FIRST DISCUSSION: 

According to the mystery  

وَ اِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ 1

everything has numerous faces that serve as windows to Janâb-i Haqq. The haqiqah of the universe and all beings relies upon the names of Allah. The haqiqah of everything relies upon one or many Names. Each attribute of things and each art on them also relies upon a Name. Just as each of the sciences relies upon a Name, such as the true science of hikmah upon the name Hakîm, the true science of medicine upon the name Shâfî, and geometry on the name Muqaddir, and so on, so too, the true sciences reach their perfection point through a Name and all the haqiqahs of all sciences and all the haqiqahs of attainments of mankind and all levels of the perfect men rely upon the names of Allah. To a degree that one group of muhaqqiqîn awliyâ have said, “The true haqiqah of things is the names of Allah, while the essences of things are only the shadows of those haqiqahs.” Even on a single living being, only on the outward of that being, nearly twenty embroideries of manifestation of the names of Allah can be seen. Through a comparison, we will try to bring this subtle, abstruse, great and vast haqiqah closer to understanding. We will analyse it by sifting it through two or three different sieves. However long our discussion is, it would still be short; one should not get bored. It is as follows: 

When a highly skilled painter and sculptor wishes to sculpt or paint a picture of an exquisitely beautiful flower and a very beautiful woman from the delicate gender of mankind, he first determines the general shapes of those two objects with some lines. This determination is through arranging. He determines by measuring. According to the science of geometry, he determines boundaries. This arrangement and measurement show that they are done with hikmah and ‘ilm, as the acts of arranging and limiting with boundaries turn on the compass of hikmah and ‘ilm. In which case, behind the arranging and limiting with boundaries, the meanings of hikmah and ‘ilm govern. Therefore, the compass of hikmah and ‘ilm should reveal itself. Here, it reveals itself that it has begun the portrayal of things, such as the eyes, ears, nose, leaves and fine stamens, within those boundaries. 

Now we see that the members determined by the movement of the compass inside of them are artful and full of ‘inâyah. It means that what turns the compass of hikmah and ‘ilm are the meanings of art and ‘inâyah, they govern behind the compass and will reveal themselves. The compass possesses a capacity for beauty and adornment because of these meanings. Since this is so, what makes ‘inâyah and the creation with art work is the will to beautify and the intention to adorn. In which case, it is the will to beautify and the intention to adorn that govern, so they have begun to adorn and illuminate; the will to beautify and the intention to adorn show a state of smiling on those two objects and give a living form to them. And what makes these meanings of beautifying and illuminating work is indeed the meanings of favouring and generosity. Yes, these two meanings govern them to such a degree that it is as if that flower is an embodied favour and the statue, embodied generosity. Now, what makes the meanings of favouring and generosity work and sets them in motion are the meanings of mutual love and acquaintance. That is, behind the meanings of favouring and generosity, the meanings of making himself known through his art and skill and making himself loved by people govern. These actions of making himself known and loved surely arise from an inclination for mercy and the will to bestow ni’mah. Since rahmah and the will to bestow ni’mah are governing behind them, he will fill the statue with all sorts of ni’mahs and adorn it; he will also attach the image of the flower to a gift. Here, he filled the statue's hands, arms and pockets with precious ni’mahs and attached the image of the flower on a jewel. It means that what makes this rahmah and the will to bestow ni’mah work are compassion and pity. That is, the meaning of pitying and showing compassion sets the rahmah and ni’mah in motion. Furthermore, what sets the meaning of pitying and showing compassion within that independent (mustaghnî) person, who needs no one, in motion and drives it to reveal itself are indeed the ma’nawî beauty (Jamâl) and perfection (Kamal) in that person that they desire to be visible. And as for love and rahmah, which are the sweetest and most delightful parts of that beauty, they want to be seen through the mirror of art and to behold themselves through the eyes of those filled with yearning. In other words, beauty and perfection (because they are loved for themselves) love themselves above all else. They are both beauty and love. The union of beauty and love stems from this point. Since beauty loves itself, it wants to see itself in mirrors. Here, these lovely ni’mahs placed on the statue and attached to the image, these exquisite fruits, each of them, carry a flash of that ma’nawî beauty according to their own abilities. These lovely ni’mahs and exquisite fruits display those flashes both to the one who possesses the beauty and to others. 

In exactly the same way, As-Sâni’, Who is Hakîm, through the manifestation of His Names, defines and arranges the forms of Jannah and this world, the samâwât and the Earth, plants and animals, men and jinn, malâikah and rûh beings and all things, particular and universal, and He gives each a specific measure. By doing this, He makes them recite the names Muqaddir, Munazzim, Musawwir. He determines the boundaries of their general shapes in such a way that He displays the names ‘Alîm and Hakîm. Then, with the measure of ‘Ilm and Hikmah, He begins to form that thing within those boundaries. In such a way that He displays the meanings of art and ‘inâyah, and the names Sâni' and Karîm. Then, with the white hand (yad al-baydhâ2) of art and the brush of ‘inâyah, He gives the colours of beauty and adornment to the members of that image – if it is a single human being or a single flower – such as the eyes, ears, leaves and tassels. If it is the Earth, He gives the colours of beauty and adornment to its minerals, plants and animals. And if it is Jannah, He gives the colours of beauty and adornment to its gardens, palaces, houris, and so on. Make analogies for others! 

He adorns and illuminates in such a fashion that the meanings of favouring and generosity govern those things to a degree that those adorned beings, illuminated artful beings, become embodied favour and munificence. They recite the names Latîf and Karîm. 

Then, what drives the favouring and generosity to manifest are surely mutual love and acquaintance; that is, it is the shuûn of making Himself loved by living beings and known by conscious beings that these shuûn cause the names Wadûd and Ma’rûf to be read behind the names Latîf and Karîm; these names are heard from the language of being of those artful beings. 

Then, decorating that adorned being and that beautiful creature with delicious fruits and lovable results, He transforms adornment to ni’mah and favour to rahmah. He makes them recite the names Mun'im and Rahîm and displays the manifestation of those two Names behind the outer veils. 

Then, what drives the One Who is Rahîm and Karîm and the Absolute Mustaghnî to this manifestation is indeed the shuûn of pitying and showing compassion that these shuûn show the names Hannân and Rahmân and cause those names to be read and recited. What drives the meanings of pitying and showing compassion to manifest are surely a beauty (Jamâl) and perfection (Kamal) in His essence that desire to be visible; this beauty (Jamâl) and perfection (Kamal) make the name Jamîl and the names Wadûd and Rahîm that are within the name Jamîl recited because beauty is loved for itself. Beauty and the one who possesses beauty love themselves. It is both beauty and love. Perfection is also loved for itself without any cause. It is both lover and beloved.

Since a beauty of infinite perfection and a perfection of infinite beauty are loved and are worthy of love and ‘ashq to the utmost degree, most certainly, beauty and perfection will desire to see their flashes and manifestations in mirrors in accordance with the capacity of the mirrors and to reveal themselves by displaying those flashes and manifestations. It means that the beauty and perfection in the essence of As-Sâni Zuljalâl, Al-Hakîm Zuljamâl and Al-Qadîr Zulkamal desire to pity and show compassion and impel the names Rahmân and Hannân to manifest. As for pitying and showing compassion, by displaying rahmah and ni’mah, they impel the names Rahîm and Mun'im to manifest. As for rahmah and ni’mah, they require the shuûn of mutual love and acquaintance and impel the names Wadûd and Ma’rûf to manifest. On a veil of artful beings, rahmah and ni’mah show those Names. As for mutual love and acquaintance, they set the meanings of favouring and generosity in motion, and on some of the veils of those artful beings, they cause the names Latîf and Karîm to be read. As for the shuûn of favouring and generosity, they set the acts of adorning and illuminating in motion. They make the names Muzayyin and Musawwir recited by the language of the beauty and luminosity of those artful beings. As for the shuûn of adorning and beautifying, they require the meanings of art and ‘inâyah. They cause the names Sâni' and Muhsîn to be read on the beautiful faces of those artful beings. As for art and ‘inâyah, they require ‘ilm and hikmah, and they cause the names Alîm and Hakîm to be read on those artful beings’ well-ordered members full of hikmah. And ‘ilm and hikmah require the actions (fi’îl) of ordering, forming and shaping; they show the names Musawwir and Muqaddir and cause them to be read on the entirety and form of those artful beings. 

Thus, As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl has made all artful beings in such a fashion that most of them, especially living beings, cause many names of Allah to be read and recited. As if He dressed each of His artful beings in twenty different shirts, one on top of each other, and wrapped them in twenty veils. On each shirt and veil, He wrote His different Names. 

For example, as demonstrated in the comparison, there are many pages in the outward creation alone of a single beautiful flower and a beautiful member of mankind's second half. Compare other large and universal artful beings with these two partial examples. 

The First Page: It is the entirety of the form that shows the general shape and proportion. It recalls the names “O Musawwir! O Muqaddir! O Munazzim!” 

The Second Page: It is the simple form of the human being and flower that is the result of the disclosure of different members on their body. Many names, such as ‘Alîm and Hakîm, are written on this page. 

The Third Page: Through bestowing a different beauty and a different adornment on all the various members of those two creatures, many names, such as Sâni’ and Bâri’, are written on this page. 

The Fourth Page: Such beauty and such adornment are given to those two artful beings, as if favour and munificence were embodied and became them. This page recalls and recites many names, such as “O Latîf! O Karîm!” 

The Fifth Page: By attaching delicious fruits to the flower and lovable children and a good moral to the beautiful woman, this page makes names, such as “O Wadûd! O Rahîm! O Mun’im!” recited. 

The Sixth Page: On the page of giving ni’mah and bestowal, names such as “O Rahmân! O Hannân!” are read. 

The Seventh Page: Flashes of such beauty are visible in these ni’mahs and results that they are worthy of a sincere shukr and pure love that have been kneaded with true yearning and compassion. On this page, the names “O Jamîl Zulkamâl! O Kâmil Zuljamâl!” are written and read.  

Thus, if a single beautiful flower and a single beautiful woman display this number of Names only on their physical and external forms, consider how much more exalted and universal Names do all flowers and living beings, along with vast and universal beings, cause to be recited. You can compare!  

You can also compare how many luminous, sacred Names, such as Hayy, Qayyûm and Muhyî, man recites and causes other beings to recite those names on the pages of his life and subtle feelings and in regard to his rûh, heart and mind. 

Thus, Jannah is a flower. The houri species is also a flower. The face of the earth is also a flower. The spring is also a flower. The samâ is also a flower, and the stars are its gilded embroideries. And the sun is also a flower, and the seven colours in its light are the embroidered colours of that flower. The universe is a beautiful and large man, just as a man is a small ‘âlam. The species of houris, the jamâ’ah of rûh beings, the species of malâikah, the jinn nation and the human race all have been formed, arranged and created as beautiful individuals. Just as each of them, in its entirety, and each individual, on its own, displays the names of As-Sâni’ Zuljamâl, they also serve as different mirrors to His beauty (Jamâl), perfection (Kamâl), rahmah and love. And each of it is a truthful witness to His infinite beauty (Jamâl), perfection (Kamâl), rahmah and love and is an âyah and proof of that beauty (Jamâl), perfection (Kamâl), rahmah and love. Thus, these countless varieties of perfections occur within the sphere of wâhidiyyah and ahadiyyah. So, the imagined perfections outside that sphere are not perfections. 

Therefore, understand that the haqiqah of things is based and relies on the names of Allah, in fact, their true haqiqah is the manifestations of those Names, and that everything offers dhikr and tasbih to its Sâni' with numerous tongues in numerous ways. 

Learn one meaning of the âyah: 

وَاِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ3

And say, 

4 سُبْحَانَ مَنِ اخْتَفَى بِشِدَّةِ ظُهُورِهِ

And understand one mystery of the mentioning and repetition at the end of the âyahs of the phrases, such as  

وَ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ٭ وَ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ ٭ وَ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْقَدِيرُ5

If you are unable to read the Names on a flower and cannot see them clearly, look at Jannah, pay attention to the spring, and behold the face of the Earth. You can clearly read the Names written on Jannah, spring and Earth, which are the huge flowers of Rahmah. You can recognise and see the embroideries and manifestations of Names on them. 

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