This letter, written for
Mîr Mansûr, expatiates on the haqîqat (true essence) of the Kâinât (universe)
and on the difference between his, (i.e. Imâm Rabbânî’s) kashf and that of
Hadrat Muhyiddîn-i-’Arabî:
This Kâinât, which we
see as a wide, flat, and long expanse, i.e. all beings, are, in the view of
Hadrat Muhyiddîn-i-’Arabî, and also according to his followers, (in the
aggregate,) a single being that exists in the outside. And this single being
(according to them) is Allâhu ta’âlâ Himself. The Kâinât, they say, is the appearance of this single
being. They call this being zâhir-i-wujûd. They say that the various images that are in the knowledge Allâhu ta’âlâ have been reflected on
this single being and appear in it in various shapes. They call these shapes in
knowledge bâtin-i-wujûd
and a’yân-i-thâbita. They say, “That being, which is single and simple, is being imagined as wide, long, and extansive
shapes. The various shapes seen by all people, learned and unlearned ones alike, are
Allâhu ta’âlâ. Unlearned people suppose these appearances are the ’âlam. The fact, however, is that the ’âlam have
never gone out of the ’ilm-i-ilâhî (knowledge of Allâhu ta’âlâ). They do not exist in the outside. The ’âlam, which exist in knowledge in various shapes and images,
have been reflected on the wujûd-i-ilâhî, which is like a mirror, and have appeared in the outside. Ignorant people suppose that these appearances are the ’âlam
themselves.” Molla ’Abd-ur-Rahmân Jâmî ‘’alaih-ir-rahma’ expresses this as follows:
Of old we have divided creatures
Into many various classes.
Now we have understood perfectly:
All are one. That’s Dhât-i-ilâhî!
I the
faqîr, [i.e. Imâm-i-Rabbânî,] have had the following kashf and belief: All
these things that appear are not existences; they are wahms (fancies). Allâhu ta’âlâ has created these
various creatures of His at the martaba-i-wahm (level of fancy, imagination). They all stay in various shapes
at that level. Everything that is seen or heard or known is a creature. Most of
the wayfarers of Tasawwuf have supposed that these things are the wâjib, [i.e. Allâhu ta’âlâ Himself.] They have
looked on them as one real existence. Yet they are all ’âlam, creatures. Allâhu ta’âlâ is beyond the beyonds.
We can never see or know Him. He cannot
be known by way of kashf and shuhûd. A Persian couplet in English:
How can a creature ever know Him?
How can a mirror ever show Him?
It is only Allâhu ta’âlâ who exists in the
outside. All creatures exist at the level of wahm (fancy, imagination); they
are the appearance of His Power. The level of wahm is the image and appearance of
the level of real existence. Since the level of wahm is the image of the level
of the existence in the outside, it is possible to call it khârij (existence in the
outside). By the same token, it may be said to be mawjûd (existent), since it
is the image of the wujûd (existence). Existences at the level of wahm, [i.e.
creatures,] are nafs-ul-emr, like the existence in the outside, [i.e. Allâhu ta’âlâ.] [In other words, they are not a fancy or a thought; they themselves exist.] They have attributes, deeds. They will exist eternally. The Mukhbir-i-sâdiq, he who has always
reported the truth, i.e. the blessed Prophet ‘’alaihis-salât-u-wa-s-salâm’, has informed us that this is the
case.
It requires careful consideration to judge which one of the two kashfs presented above is better in
making tenzîh (or tanzîh) of Allâhu ta’âlâ, (i.e. in expressing that He is free from defect,) and more consistent with His Attributes of Ulûhiyyat. We should listen to
reason to see well which one has more to do with the beginning and the middle
of the path being followed and which one would better suit the end of the path.
I the faqîr had been believing as they had for years. I had
been undergoing astounding hâls and curious mushâhadas agreeable with that
belief. I had been relishing many flavours at that grade. Thereafter, as a kindness of
Allâhu ta’âlâ, it was realized that none of the things being seen and known was Him. All those things would have to be annihilated. As another kindness of
Jenâb-i-Haqq, they all disappeared by themselves. Thus the bâtil (wrong) that had been supposed to be Haqq ceased to exist. Love of the Ghayb (Unknown) was
attained. The mawhûm (fancied) was separated from the mawjûd (existent). The Qadîm (eternal) was purified from the hâdith (not eternal).
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