2. Al-Baqara

And when We said to the angels, “Prostrate yourselves before Adam!” Majestic and all-compelling is the God of the world and the world's folk, the Enactor, the renowned knower of the hidden, the eternal in beautiful doing and tremendous in rank, never ignorant of what He knows, never regretful for what He bestows, never at a loss over what He has done. He is a Lord who adorns what He disapproves for some and makes ugly what He approves for others. He created the despairing Iblis from fire, gave him a place in the Lote Tree of the Final End, and sent the proximate angels of the Presence to seek knowledge from him. Despite such distinction and level, He wrote out the inscription of wretchedness for him and bound his waist with the sash of the curse. He pulled Adam up from dark dust, made the Higher Plenum the bearers of his throne, clothed him in the cape of exaltedness, placed the crown of generosity on his head, and said to the proximate angels of the Presence, “Prostrate yourselves before Adam!” It has come in the traditions that Adam was placed on a throne that had seven hundred legs, the distance of one leg to another a seven-hundred year journey. The command came: “O Gabriel, O Michael, you chiefs of the angels! Lift up Adam's throne and carry it around the heavens so that his eminence and rank may be known to those who said, 'What, wilt Thou set therein one who will work corruption therein, and shed blood?'” [2:30]. Then they placed that throne before the Majestic Throne. The command came to the angels, “All of you go to Adam's throne and prostrate yourself before Adam.” The angels came and gazed upon Adam, and they all became drunk with his beauty. A face adorned by the God of heaven has no need for a hairdresser's touch. They saw a beauty without end, the crown of “He created Adam in His form” on his head, the garb of “I have blown into him of My spirit” [15:29] on his body, the embroidery of the solicitude of “He loves them, and they love Him” [5:54] on the sleeve of his sinlessness. Though we're strangers and our hearts are upset, we're serving-boys of that world-adorning face. Concerning the description of Adam, Wahab ibn Munabbih said, “When God created Adam, He created him in the most beautiful form and dressed him in the ornaments of the Garden. He put rings on ten fingers, anklets on his legs, and dressed him with bracelets on his arms. He attended to the crown and diadem on his head and forehead and gave him as title the most beloved of names to Him. He said to him, 'O Abū MuḤammad! Go around the Garden and look to see if anyone is similar to you or if I created any creature more beautiful than you.' “So Adam wandered around in the Garden and became conceited. He strode proudly in the Garden. God deemed that beautiful in him, so He called to him from beyond the Throne: 'Be conceited, Adam, for the likes of you are conceited. I loved something, so I created it solitary for the Solitary.' Then God conveyed that conceit to his offspring. It is arrogance in the ignorant, pridefulness in kings, and ecstasy in the friends.” Good fortune in the spirit and the world is not a game, and felicity is not to be bought. Iblis saw the …

Dwell thou and thy spouse in the Garden! It has been said that once Iblis met Adam and said, “Know that you have been given a white face and I a black face. Do not be deluded, for our likeness is that of an almond tree planted by a gar- dener. The tree bears fruit, and the fruit is taken to a grocery shop. Some of it is sold to a customer who is a happy man, and some to a customer who is afflicted. The afflicted man blackens the face of the almonds and scatters them on the casket of his dead one. The happy man mixes them with sugar and distributes them with their white faces in his happiness. O Adam! I am the black al- monds scattered over caskets, and the almonds distributed by happiness are the work of your good fortune. But you should know that the gardener is one, and we have drunk water from the same stream. If someone should fall to the work of roses, he will smell roses, and if someone should fall into the gardener's thorns, his eyes will be struck by them.” I said, “In my passion I will be like Your hair, always before Your face.” I thought wrongly and fell far away- I'll be the slaveboy of Your street's watchman. Dhu'l-Nūn Miṣrī said, “I was in the desert and saw Iblis, who had not lifted his head from prostra- tion in forty days. I said, 'Poor wretch, after disownment and the curse, what is all this worship?' “He said, 'O Dhu'l-Nūn, though I have been dismissed from servanthood, He has not been dismissed from lordhood.'” O lovely one, my times and yours are in turmoil, talk of us has filled my city and yours. Union was apportioned in the beginningless, and now separation has come and the talk is of you and me. Sahl ibn ʿAbdallāh Tustarī said, “One day I came across Iblis. I said, 'I seek refuge in God from you.' “He said, 'O Sahl, if you are seeking refuge in God from me, I am seeking refuge in God from God. O Sahl, if you say that you are seeking help against the hand of Iblis, I say that I am seeking help against the hand of the All-Merciful. ' “I said, 'O Iblis, why did you not prostrate yourself before Adam?' “He said, 'O Sahl, let go of these foolish words with me. If I have a road to the Presence, tell me. Do you not want to lay the pretext on me? O Sahl, just now I was at the grave of Adam. I made one thousand prostrations there and placed the dust of his grave on my eyes. In the end I heard this call: “Don't take the trouble. We don't want you.”'” I appear to You as so despoiled that all my obedience is taken as sin. If this story did not turn out like the moon, it is because my carpet's color is black . Sahl said, “Then he gave me a writing and told me to read it, and as I began to read it he disap- peared from my eyes. On it was written this: “Though I erred, destiny did not. Blame me if you want, Sahl, or leave me be.” Abū Yazīd BasṬāmī said, “I asked God to show Iblis to me. I found him in the sanctuary at Mecca and began talking with him. He was speaking clever words. I said, 'O wretch, with all this clever- ness, why did you keep back from the Real's command?' “He said, 'O Abū Yazīd! That was a command of trial, not of a command of desire. If it had been a command of desire, I would never have kept back.' “I said, 'O …

Then Satan made them slip therefrom. Look at this wonder: First He caressed the servant and put all his little jobs in order, then He sent him into tumult and overthrew what He had done for him, and then He rebuked him. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, You show your friends to the enemies and You turn the poor ones over to heartache and grief. You make them ill, and then You take care of them Your- self. You make them helpless, and then You heal them Yourself. “You made Adam out of dust, and then You acted so beautifully toward him. You placed his happiness at the top of the ledger and made him the guest in paradise. You sat him in the garden of approval, You made a compact with him not to eat the wheat, and in Your unseen knowledge You hid the fact that he would in fact eat the wheat. Then You put him in prison, and You made him weep for years. Your all-compellingness does the work of compellers, Your lordhood does the work of lords. All of Your rebukes and war are aimed at Your friends.” The Pir of the Tariqah was asked, “What do you say: Was Adam more complete in this world or in paradise?” He said, “He was more complete in this world, for in paradise he fell into suspicion because of himself, but in this world he fell into suspicion because of passion.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Take care not to have the opinion that Adam was taken out of paradise because of his lowliness. It was not that. Rather, it was because of the grandeur of his aspiration. The petitioner of passion came to the door of Adam's breast and said, 'O Adam, the beauty of meaning has been unveiled, but you have stayed in the abode of peace.' Adam saw an infinite beauty, next to which the beauty of the eight paradises was nothing. His great aspiration tightened its belt and said: 'If you ever want to fall in love, you must fall in love with that.'” If there's no escape from feeding passion to the spirit I'll suffer passion's grief for the likes of You. The command came, “Adam, now that you have stepped into the street of passion, leave paradise, for it is the house of ease. What do the passionate have to do with the safety of the Abode of Peace?” May the throats of the passionate always be caught in the noose of trial! Your passion came to my door and began to knock. I didn't open it, so it burned it down. Adam himself did not go-he was taken. Adam himself did not want-he was wanted. The command came: “The veiled virgin of recognition wants a mate to be her fiancé.” They sifted the eighteen thousand worlds looking for a mate without finding one, for the majestic Qur'an gives news that “Nothing is as His likeness” [42:11]. The cherubim and the proximate angels lifted up their heads at the Exalted Threshold hoping that this crown would be placed on their heads and the veiled virgin of recognition would become their fiancé. The call went out, “You are the sinless and the pure of the Presence, You are the glori- fiers of the Exalted Threshold. If I make you the fiancé, you will say that it is because you match her in holiness and purity. Far be it from the Unity that it should have a match or an equal! He begets not, nor was He begotten, and equal to Him is none …

Then Adam received from his Lord some words. Then He spoke with the lid on, not letting out the details, lest the secrets of love fall into the open and so that love's story would stay concealed. I said to her, “Halt [qifī].” She said, “Qāf.” She did not say, “I have halted,” thereby keeping the secret from the watchers. Nor did she say, “I will not halt,” thereby showing consideration for the lover's heart.3 Although the tongue of commentary does not speak of it, the folk of allusion say that it is likely that at the moment of farewell lovers say, “'When you depart from me, do not forget my covenant. Even if awareness of me dwindles one day, do not prefer another over me.'4 O Adam! Do not forget Our compact and do not choose anyone over Me.” The tongue of his state replied, “My heart is Your fellow-traveler and companion- how could it attach its love anywhere else? A heart for whom You are both spirit and awareness- how could it forget Your remembrance?”

O children of Israel! Remember My blessings with which I blessed you. And be loyal to My covenant; I will be loyal to your covenant. And of Me have dread. This is an allusion to the Real's gentleness, generosity, and loving kindness toward the servants. He reminds them of His favor toward them: “I am the generous Lord, the thankful, the forgiver of the servants. I have come forth with kindness despite every disloyalty, I invite the servants to praise Me despite all their offenses, and I ask them to be grateful for My blessings.” This is why He says to the children of Israel, “Remember My blessings! O children of Israel, be grateful for My blessings and recognize your duty toward Me so that you will be worthy of increase and have good name and good fortune.” There is a great difference between the children of Israel and this community. To them He said, “Remember My blessings!” To this community He said, “Remember Me!” [2:152]. He gave them blessings and He gave this community companionship. He kept those away from Himself by the witnessing of blessings, and He kept these with Himself by stipulating love. The tongue of this state says, “I traveled to you seeking the highest things, but others traveled seeking a good life.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, the one who does the work is he who has work with You, the one who has a friend is he whose friend is the likes of You. How could he who has You in the two worlds leave You aside! The wonder is that he who has You weeps more than anyone else. He who has not found weeps at not having found-why then does he who finds also weep?” When the like of You is someone's friend, if he complains, that's disgraceful. And be loyal to My covenant; I will be loyal to your covenant. There are many verses like this in the Qur'an: “Supplicate Me; I will respond to you [40:60]. So remember Me; I will remember you [2:152]. My servant! Open a door so that I may open a door. Open the door of turning back so that I may open the door of good news: They turned back to God, and for them is good news [39:17]. Open the door of expending so that I may open the door of replacement: Whatever you expend, He will replace it [34:39]. Open the door of struggle so that I may open the door of guidance: Those who struggle in Us, We will guide them on Our paths [29:69]. Open the door of asking forgiveness so that I may open the door of forgiveness: And then asks forgiveness of God, he will find God forgiving, ever-merciful [4:110]. Open the door of gratitude so that I may open the door of increased blessings: If you give thanks, I will surely increase you [14:7]. My servant, come back to My covenant so that I may come back to your covenant: Be loyal to My covenant; I will be loyal to your covenant.” It has been said that God has many covenants with His servant and, in each covenant in which the servant has loyalty, the Lord of the Worlds has a loyalty as its counterpart. First is that the servant makes manifest the words of the Shahadah. Its counterpart from the Lord of the Worlds is the rightful due of blood and property. That is in His words, “When someone says 'No god but God,' his wealth and property are protected from …