3. Aal-i-Imraan

Alif Lām Mīm.

God! There is no god except Him, the Living, the Eternal: the interpretation of this [verse] has already been [given].

He has revealed to you the Book by the truth, He has elevated you from level to level and from grade to grade by sending down the Book to you showing the way to the knowledge of the affirmation of the Oneness which is the Truth with respect to the union called the Gathering-intellect (ʿaql qirānī), confirming what was before it, of the pre-eternal affirmation of Oneness that has preceded, and which is known in the first covenant that is stored in the Unseen of preparedness, and He revealed the Torah and the Gospel,

before, in that way, [as guidance to people] then, He revealed the Criterion, that is, the differentiated affirmation of Oneness with respect to the dispersion called the Differentiating-intellect (ʿaql furqānī), which is the source of uprightness and the starting point of the mission. As for those who disbelieve in God's signs, that is, those who have veiled themselves from these two aspects of the affirmation of the Oneness by the loci of manifestation and the engendered things which in reality constitute the signs of the affirmation of the Oneness, for them awaits a terrible chastisement, by way of distance and privation, for God is Mighty, that is, vanquishing, Lord of Retribution: whose description cannot be made nor its quintessence fathomed nor its like be paralleled by any retributer.

Truly God, nothing whatever is hidden from Him, in the worlds, knowing as He does the times and places of retribution.

He it is who forms you in the wombs as He wills. Talk of this has two sides: the affirmation of the form of the Creator, and the explication of His power over creatures and favor toward them through predetermination and form-giving. As for affirming the form of the Creator, in a sound report MuṣṬafā said, “God created Adam in His form, and his height was sixty cubits.” It has also been narrated as, “in the form of His face.” The folk of interpretation-the foundation of whose religion is adulteration, interpretation, and negation-have turned the referent of the pronoun away from the Real and rejected the out- wardness. The folk of the Sunnah-the foundation of whose religion is hearing, accepting, and surrendering-have left aside interpretation and gone by the outwardness. They say that in this report the pronoun refers to God, that investigation, reflection, and interpretation are not allowed, and that fancying similarity is an error, for the Real is without peer in all attributes. Concerning vision there are many reports that the Real has a shining face and form. Ibn ʿAbbās narrates that MuṣṬafā said, “I saw my Lord in the most beautiful form.” In the narrative of Abū Umāma Bāhilī, MuṣṬafā said, “My Lord was shown to me in the most beautiful form. He said, 'O MuḤammad!' I said, 'Here I am, obeying Thee.' About what are the Higher Plenum disput- ing?” This report is a long one and will be discussed in its place, God willing. The narrative of Jābir ibn Samura is this: “Surely God disclosed Himself to me in the most beautiful form.” The narrative of Anas is this: “My Lord came to me in the most beautiful form.” Anas also said, “Among the favors God will bestow on Adam on the Day of Resurrection is that He will say, 'Did I not bestow upon you My form?” Ibn ʿAbbās said, “Moses was angry with the Children of Israel, so when he came down with interdiction, he said to them, 'Drink this, you donkeys!' God said to him, 'Do you liken creatures whom I created in My form to donkeys?'” It is well known that in the reports of the resurrection MuṣṬafā said, “God will come to them in other than the form in which they recognize Him.

He it is who has sent down upon thee the Book, wherein are firm verses, which are the mother of the Book, and others ambiguous. He is neither a name nor an attribute. Rather, it is an allusion to being. It means that our Lord is, He is fitting to be, and He has been-beyond location and transcendent in attributes. ShurayḤ ʿābid said, “I saw a dervish in the mosque of the Sanctuary calling upon God by saying, 'O He who is He! O He other than whom there is no he! Forgive me.' A voice came from the Unseen: 'O dervish, you received so much reward for saying that the first time that the angels will be writ- ing it out until the resurrection.'” Huwa is two letters, h and w. The place of articulation of h is the last part of the throat, and the place of articulation of the w is the first part of the throat. This alludes to the fact that the letters begin from Him at first and return to Him at last. From Him they begin and to Him they return. It has also been said it alludes to the created things and engendered beings: all things come in the beginning from His power and return in the end by His decree. A dervish in the state of rapture was asked, “What is your name?” He answered, “He.” They said, “Where have you come from?” He said, “He.” They said, “What do you want?” He said, “He.” They said, “Perhaps you mean 'God'.” When the dervish heard the name God, he gave his spirit to the name and left this world. The painters depict Your name in a hundred meanings; remembering You and Your name they give up their spirits. They scatter their lives for the scent of union with You with nothing in hand of Your description but incapacity. Wherein are firm verses, which are the mother of the Book, and others ambiguous. These are the two great divisions of the Qur'an, one apparent and clear, the other abstruse and difficult. The ap- parent belongs to the majesty of the Shariah, and the difficult belongs to the beauty of the Haqiqah. The apparent is so the common people may reach joy and blessings by perceiving it and putting it into practice. The difficult is so the elect may reach the mystery of the Beneficent by surrendering and attesting to it. From the place of blessings and joy to the place of intimacy and mystery are numerous ups and downs. Given the exaltedness of this state and the eminence of this work, He did not lift up the curtain of abstruseness and ambiguity, lest any of the non-privy walk into this street, for not everyone is worthy to know the secrets of kings. Go, don't wander round the pavilion of secrets! Why try? You're no man for this battle. It needs a man cut off from both worlds to drink down the dregs of the friends' draft.

Our Lord, let not our hearts stray after Thou hast guided us, and give us mercy from Thee. When they were truthful in the beauty of asking for help, He assisted them with the lights of suf- ficiency. When the heart is limpid, the present moment empty, and the tongue flowing with the Real's remembrance, the arrow of supplication inevitably reaches the target of response. But the work is in this: When will this limpidness, loyalty, and supplication come together and how will they join with each other? The meaning of this supplication is this: “O God, keep our hearts far from confusion and straying and make us firm on the carpet of service with the stipulation of the Sunnah.” And give us mercy from Thee: And give what you give, O Lord, as Your bounty and mercy, not as the recompense for our works or the compensation for our acts of obedience! Our acts of obedience are not worthy for the Presence of Your Majesty, so the only thing to do is to efface them and ignore them. One of the pirs of the Tariqah said, “The gall-bladders of the travelers and the obedient ser- vants burst in fear at the verse: 'We shall advance upon what deeds they have done and make them scattered dust' [25:23]. But, of all the Qur'an's verses, I find this the sweetest.” He was asked, “What does it mean?” He said, “We will finally be released from these displeasing deeds and unworthy acts of obedi- ence and attach our hearts totally to His bounty and mercy.”

Our Lord, You shall gather mankind for a day of which there is no doubt, that is, He will gather them for the Day of Gathering which is the arrival at the station of the unity that comprehends the entirety of creation, the first and the last, such that they shall have no lingering doubt in that locus of witnessing of theirs.