The commentators side by side

﴿فهو العالم الجاهل فيقبل الاتصاف بالأضداد﴾

باعتبار الحيثيات

by consideration of the various respects (ḥaythiyyāt)

﴿فهو العالم الجاهل، فيقبل الاتصاف بالأضداد﴾

أي، في مقام واحد باعتبارين من حيث اتصافه بالصفات الكونية، وأما من حيث اتصافه بالصفات الإلهية فباعتبار واحد لما سنبينه

That is, in one station, from two considerations: from the standpoint of his being characterized by cosmic attributes (al-ṣifāt al-kawniyya). As for his being characterized by Divine attributes, that is from a single consideration, as we shall explain.

﴿فهو العالم الجاهل، فيقبل الاتصاف بالأضداد كما قبل الأصل الاتصاف بذلك، کالجليل والجميل، وكالظاهر والباطن والأول والآخر وهو عينه ليس غيره. فيعلم لا يعلم، ويدري لا يدرى، ويشهد لا يشهد. وبهذا العلم﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

سمی شیث لأن معناه هبة الله، فبيده مفتاح العطايا على اختلاف أصنافها ونسبها." قلت: إن الأسماء هي اعتبارات في الأشياء، مثاله حصول الرزق لشخص ما منه تعيين الاسم الرازق. والأشياء لا تتناهي فالاعتبارات لا تتناهي فالأسماء لا تتناهي وإن رجعت إلى أصلين : الاسم الله والاسم الرحمن ، لقوله تعالى: "قل ادعوا الله أو ادعوا الرحمن أيا ما تدعوا فله الأسماء الحسنى " (الإسراء: 110). ولما كانت الأشياء كل شيء منها يتميز بتشخصه كانت أحكامه متشخصة به أيضا فامتازت الأسماء وامتازت الأشياء. فإن قال قائل: إن الأشياء هي تبع للأسماء. فقال: يجوز أن يقال ذلك باعتبار وأن يقال هذا باعتبار، فإن الوجود الالهي قدر شامل بجميع أشتات الموجودات بل والأعيان كلها باعتبار أن لها نوعا من الثبوت والثبوت لا يكون منسوبا لغير الوجود . فالذي يقع فيه الاشتراك في نظر المحقق ليس إلا الوجود ولما كانت الأعطيات من جملة الأشياء دخلت مع ما ذكر قال: (وهذا هو علم شیث). وقوله: "عالم به من حيث هو جاهل به لا يريد ظاهر هذا اللفظ، فإن العلم ينافي الجهل، فلا يفهم المعلوم من حيث هو مجهول بل من حيث ما هو مجهول يجهل ومن حيث ما هو معلوم يعلم . وإلا اختلطت الحقائق " ولكن مراد الشيخ، رضي الله عنه ، أن العلم والجهل يجتمعان في هذا الشخص المذكور باعتبارین متغايرين أحد الاعتبارين اعتبار الرتبة والآخر اعتبار الوجود المشخص. و قوله رضي الله عنه: "فيقبل الأضداد كما قبلها الأصل كالظاهر والباطن والأول والآخر والمعطي والمانع وهو هو، ومن جملة الأضداد التي قبلها الفرع لا الأصل أنه يعلم ولا يعلم ويدري ولا يدري ويشهد ولا يشهد " وباقي الكلام ظاهر . قوله رضي الله عنه: "فإن الله وهبه لآدم أول ما وهبه، وما وهبه إلا منه لأن الولد سر أبيه،" و قوله رضي الله عنه: "فمنه خرج وإليه عاد. فما أتاه غريب لمن عقل عن الله. وكل عطاء في الكون على هذا المجرى. فما في أحد من الله شیء، وما في أحد من سوى نفسه شيء وإن تنوعت عليه الصورة" قلت: يعني أن شيث، عليه السلام، هو أول أولاد آدم، عليه السلام، وهو ولد ابنه وهذا باعتبار أن آدم لما كانت عينه الثابتة على قاعدة اصطلاح الشيخ، رضي الله عنه، متعينة في الأزل وفيها كل ما هو صادر عنها في المستقبل، فإذا اعتبرت، اعتبرت لواحقها معها وإن كانت الأجسام متباينة إذا فهم على ما قررناه من أن لواحق الأعيان الثابتة أنها تكون معها في الاعتبار. " قال رضي الله عنه

does not know, he is aware [yet] not aware, he witnesses [yet] does not witness. And by this knowledge] he was named Seth (Shīth), for its meaning is "the gift of God" (hibat Allāh), so in his hand is the key to the gifts (ʿaṭāyā) in their various kinds and relations (nisab)." I say: The Names are considerations (iʿtibārāt) within things; its example is the occurrence of provision (rizq) for some person, from which the entification of the Name "the Provider" (al-Rāziq) [derives]. Things are non-finite, so considerations are non-finite, so the Names are non-finite, even though they return to two roots: the Name "Allāh" and the Name "al-Raḥmān," according to His saying, Most High: "Say: Call upon God, or call upon the Merciful; whichever you call upon, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names" (al-Isrāʾ: 110). And since each thing among things is distinguished by its particular determination (tashakhkhuṣ), its properties (aḥkām) are likewise particularized by it; thus the Names became distinguished [from one another] and the things became distinguished [from one another]. Should someone say: "Things are subordinate to the Names" - he said: it is permissible to say that from one consideration, and to say this from another consideration, for the Divine Existence (al-wujūd al-ilāhī) is a measure encompassing all the various existents, indeed all the entities (aʿyān) as well, in view of the fact that they possess a kind of fixity (thubūt), and fixity cannot be ascribed to anything other than existence. That in which commonality (ishtirāk) occurs, in the view of the verifying gnostic (al-muḥaqqiq), is nothing but existence. And since the bestowals (aʿṭiyāt) are among the totality of things, they enter along with what has been mentioned. He said: "and this is the knowledge of Seth." And his saying "knowing it from the very respect in which he is ignorant of it" - he does not intend the outward sense of this expression, for knowledge negates ignorance; the known is not understood from the very respect in which it is unknown, but rather: from the respect in which it is unknown it is [called] unknown, and from the respect in which it is known it is [called] known - otherwise the realities (ḥaqāʾiq) would become confounded. Rather, what the Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, intends is that knowledge and ignorance come together in this aforementioned person by two differing considerations: one consideration being that of rank (rutba), and the other being that of particularized existence (al-wujūd al-mushakhkhaṣ). And his saying, may God be pleased with him: "He accepts the opposites just as the origin accepted them, such as the Manifest and the Nonmanifest, the First and the Last, the Giver and the Withholder - and he is he [i.e., the same]. And among the opposites which the branch, not the origin, accepted, is that he knows and does not know, is aware and is not aware, witnesses and does not witness." The rest of the discourse is self-evident. His saying, may God be pleased with him: "For God bestowed him upon Adam as the first thing He bestowed upon him, and He bestowed him only from him [Adam], for the child is the secret (sirr) of his father." And his saying, may God be pleased with him: "So from him he came forth, and to him he returned. Thus nothing came to him as a stranger, for one who understands from God. And every gift in existence flows along this same course. So there is nothing in anyone from God, and there is nothing in anyone from other than himself, even if the form appears diversified upon him." I say: this means that Seth, peace be upon him, is the first of the children of Adam, peace be upon him, and he is the child of his own child - and this is in view of the fact that Adam, since his fixed entity (ʿayn thābita), according to the principle of the Shaykh's terminology, may God be pleased with him, was determined (mutaʿayyina) in pre-eternity, and within it is everything that proceeds from it in the future - so when it is considered, its concomitants (lawāḥiq) are considered along with it, even though the bodies are distinct, if this is understood according to what we have established: that the concomitants of the fixed entities are [always] together with them in consideration. He, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿فهو العالم الجاهل ، فيقبل الاتصاف بالأضداد كما قبل الأصل الاتصاف بذلك ، كالجليل والجميل﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

في الأوصاف الحقيقية الغير النسبية

admitted description by that, such as the Majestic and the Beautiful] among the real, non-relational attributes

﴿فهو العالم الجاهل فيقبل﴾

باعتبار حقيقته المطلقة

in consideration of his absolute reality.

﴿فهو العالم الجاهل﴾

لكن جهله عين كماله كما بين في موضعه

but his ignorance is itself his perfection, as explained in its place,

﴿الاتصاف بالأضداد﴾

كالعلم والجهل فلا تنافي فيه بين العلم والجهل كما لا تنافي بين الزوجية والفردية في العدد وبين المواد والبياض في متن نص فصوص الحكم : بذلك، كالجليل و الجميل ، و كالظاهر و الباطن و الأول و الآخر و هو عينه ليس غير. فيعلم لا يعلم، و يدري لا يدري، و يشهد لا يشهد. و بهذا العلم سمي شيث لأن معناه هبة الله. فبيده مفتاح العطايا على اختلاف أصنافها و نسبها شرح الجامي : اللون بين الحقية والخلقية في الوجود المطلق (كما يقبل الأصل) وهو الهوية الأحدية الواحدية الجمعية

— such as knowledge and ignorance, for there is no incompatibility in it between knowledge and ignorance, just as there is no incompatibility between evenness and oddness in number, nor between blackness and whiteness. [Text of the Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam]: with that — like the Majestic (al-Jalīl) and the Beautiful (al-Jamīl), and like the Manifest and the Nonmanifest, the First and the Last, and he is his very self (ʿaynuhu), none other. So he knows yet does not know, is aware yet is not aware, witnesses yet does not witness. And by this knowledge Seth was named, for its meaning is 'the gift of God.' In his hand is the key of the gifts (al-ʿaṭāyā) in their various kinds and relations (nisab). [Jāmī's Commentary]: the shade (lawn) between the reality of the Real (al-ḥaqqiyya) and the reality of creation (al-khalqiyya) in Absolute Existence (as the Origin admits), which is the all-comprehensive Unitary-Singular Identity (al-huwiyya al-aḥadiyya al-wāḥidiyya al-jamʿiyya).

﴿فيقبل الاتصاف بالأضداد … كما يقبل الأصل الاتصاف بذلك﴾

أي بالأضداد لكنه باعتبار واحد كما بين في موضعه (كالجليل والجميل و كالظاهر والباطن والأول والآخر وهو عينه وليس غيره) أي خاتم الرسل من حيث حقیقته عین الحق وإن كان من حيث جسده العنصري غيره . و معنی عینیته من حيث الحقيقة كونه على صفته لا غير (فيعلم) من حيث كونه عمن أصله

that is, by opposites, but from a single consideration, as explained in its place (such as the Majestic and the Beautiful, and such as the Manifest and the Nonmanifest, the First and the Last)—and he is its very self, not other than it, that is, the Seal of the Messengers, from the standpoint of his reality, is the very self of the Real, even though from the standpoint of his elemental body he is other than It. And the meaning of his identity from the standpoint of reality is that he is upon Its attribute, not other than it. (So he knows) from the standpoint of his being from his Root,

﴿كما قبل الأصل﴾

أي الحق تعالى

that is, the Real, Exalted

﴿كما قيل الأصل الاتصاف بذلك، كالجليل والجميل، والظاهر والباطن، والأول والآخر﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

أي، يقبل الكامل الاتصاف بالأضداد، كما قبل أصله، وهو الحضرة الأسماء والصفات الجلالية والجمالية، لا الحضرة الأحدية، إذ لا كثرة فيها بوجه من الوجوه، وكونها أصلا للكامل بناء على أنه مخلوق على صورته. قال رضى الله عنه في الفصل الأول من أجوبة الإمام محمد بن على الترمذي، قدس الله روحه: (وأما ما تعطيه المعرفة الذوقية، فهو أن الحق ظاهر من حيث ما هو باطن)، وباطن من حيث ما هو ظاهر. وأول من حيث عين ما هو آخر، وآخر من حيث عين ما هو أول. لا يتصف أبدا بنسبتين مختلفتين، كما يقرره ويعقله العقل من حيث ما هو ذو فكر. ولهذا قال أبو سعيد الخراز، قدس الله روحه، وقد قيل له: "بما عرفت الله"؟ فقال: "بجمعه بين الضدين". ثم تلا "هو الأول و الآخر والظاهر والباطن". فلو كان عنده هذا العلم من نسبتين مختلفين، ما صدق قوله: "بجمعه بين الضدين". أي، لا ينسبان إليه من جهتين مختلفتين، بل من حيث إنه أول، بعين تلك الحيثية هو آخر. وهذا طور فوق طور العقل المشوب بالوهم، إذ العقل لا ينسب الضدين إلى شئ واحد إلا من جهتين مختلفتين

That is, the perfect human accepts being described by opposites, just as his root accepted this, namely, the Presence of the Names and the Majestic and Beautiful Attributes—not the Unitary Presence (al-ḥaḍra al-aḥadiyya), since there is no multiplicity in it in any respect whatsoever. Its being a root for the perfect human is based on the fact that he was created upon His form (ṣūra). He (may God be pleased with him) said in the first section of the Answers to Imam Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Tirmidhī, may God sanctify his spirit: "As for what experiential/tasting knowledge (al-maʿrifa al-dhawqiyya) yields, it is that the Real is manifest (ẓāhir) insofar as He is nonmanifest (bāṭin), and nonmanifest insofar as He is manifest; and He is First from the very respect in which He is Last, and Last from the very respect in which He is First. He is never described by two different relations (nisbatayn), as the intellect (al-ʿaql) determines and conceives it, insofar as it is possessed of discursive thought (fikr)." For this reason Abū Saʿīd al-Kharrāz, may God sanctify his spirit, when asked: "By what did you come to know God?" replied: "By His joining together the two opposites." Then he recited: "He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Nonmanifest." Now, if this knowledge were, in his view, derived from two different relations, his statement "by His joining together the two opposites" would not hold true. That is, the two are not attributed to Him from two different aspects; rather, from the very respect in which He is First, from that very same respect He is Last. This is a station (ṭawr) beyond the station of the intellect mixed with imagination (wahm), since the intellect does not attribute two opposites to a single thing except from two different aspects.

﴿الاتصاف بذلك كالجليل والجميل والظاهر والباطن والأول والآخر وهو عينه﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

أي باعتبار الحقيقة . فإن الوجود المقيد في الحقيقة هو المطلق مع قيد التعين والتعين ليس إلا قصوره عن قبول سائر التعينات وضيقه عن الاتصاف بجميع الصفات والتسمى بالأسماء ، وذلك القصور والضيق خلقية فهو حق باعتبار الحقيقة والوجود خلق باعتبار النقص والعدم

i.e., with respect to the (Ultimate) Reality (al-ḥaqīqa). For the restricted existence is, in reality, the Absolute together with the qualification of entification (taʿayyun), and entification is nothing but its falling short of accepting the rest of the entifications, and its narrowness with respect to being qualified by all the attributes and being named by the Names. That falling-short and narrowness are created, so it (the restricted existent) is Real (ḥaqq) with respect to the (Ultimate) Reality, while existence is created (khalq) with respect to deficiency and nonexistence.

﴿الاتصاف بذلك﴾

المذكور من الأضداد (کالجليل والجميل) في الصفات الحقيقية و

the aforementioned [attribution] of opposites (such as the Majestic and the Beautiful) among the real attributes (al-ṣifāt al-ḥaqīqiyya), and

﴿وكالظاهر والباطن والأول والآخر﴾

في الأوصاف النسبية

among the relational attributes

﴿كالظاهر والباطن والأول والآخر﴾

في الصفات الإضافية. وإنما جعلهما أصلا للخاتم لأنه مخلوق على الصورة الإلهية فكما أن الأصل يقبل الأضداد من جهة واحدة، فكذلك الفرع إذا تحقق به . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه في الفصل الأول من أجوبة الإمام محمد بن علي الترمذي قدس الله سره: وأما ما نعطيه المعرفة الذوقية فهو أنه أي الحق سبحانه ظاهر من حيث ما هو باطن وباطن من حيث ما هو ظاهر وأول من حيث هو آخر، وكذلك القول في الآخر لا ينصف أبدأ بشيئين مختلفين كما يقرره ويعقله العقلي من حيث ما هو ذو فكر . ولهذا قال أبو سعيد الخراز قدس الله سره وقد قيل له : بما عرفت الله؟ فقال : بجمعه بين الضدين. ثم تلا: "هو الأول والأخر والظاهر والباطن" آية 3 سورة الحديد. فلو كان عنده هذا العلم من تسميتين مختلفتين ما صدق قوله بجمعية الضدين ولو كانت معقولية الأولية والآخرية والظاهرية والباطنية في نسبتها إلى الحق من الأولية تسميتها إلى الخلق لما كان ذلك مدحا في الجناب الإلهي. ولا استعظم العارفون بحقائق الأسماء ورود هذه النسب بئی يصل العبد إذا تحقق بالحق أن تنسب إليه الأضداد وغيرها من عين واحدة لا تختلف فيه. (وهو) ، أي الخاتم (عينه) ، أي عين الأصل

among the relational attributes (al-ṣifāt al-iḍāfiyya). And he made these two [pairs] a root/origin for the Seal only because he is created upon the divine form; so just as the Origin admits opposites from a single respect, so too the branch, when it is realized/verified through it. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said in the first chapter of his Answers to Imam Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Tirmidhī, may God sanctify his secret: 'As for what experiential gnosis (al-maʿrifa al-dhawqiyya) grants us, it is that He — that is, the Real, glory be to Him — is Manifest in respect of His being Nonmanifest, and Nonmanifest in respect of His being Manifest, and First in respect of His being Last — and likewise regarding the Last. He is never described by two differing things, as the rational faculty establishes and conceives it insofar as it is possessed of reflective thought.' For this reason Abū Saʿīd al-Kharrāz, may God sanctify his secret, said, when he was asked: 'By what did you know God?' He replied: 'By His joining together of the two opposites.' Then he recited: 'He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Nonmanifest' (Qurʾān 57:3). For if this knowledge had been for him a matter of two differing designations, his statement about the joining of opposites would not have been true; and if the intelligibility of firstness, lastness, manifestness, and nonmanifestness, in their attribution to the Real, were of the same order as their designation with respect to creation, that would not constitute praise in the Divine Presence. Nor would the knowers of the realities of the Names have regarded as momentous the occurrence of these relations [being predicated] — such that the servant, when realized/verified through the Real, has opposites and other than them attributed to him from a single entity (ʿayn wāḥida) that does not differ in respect of it. (And he), that is, the Seal, (is its very entity), that is, the very entity of the Origin

﴿وهو عينه وليس غيره، فيعلم لا يعلم يدرى لا يدرى يشهد لا يشهد﴾

أي، هذا الكامل هو عين أصله وليس غيره من حيث الحقيقة، والتغاير بينهما من حيث الإطلاق والتقييد، فيقبل الاتصاف بالضدين من جهة واحدة، فيصدق أنه يعلم ولا يعلم، ويدري ولا يدري، ويشهد ولا يشهد، كما أن أصله يعلم في المرتبة الإلهية ومظاهره الكمالية، ولا يعلم في مرتبة ظهوره في صور الجاهلين. و كذلك البواقي

That is, this perfect human is the very identity of his root and not other than it, from the standpoint of reality (ḥaqīqa); the differentiation between the two is from the standpoint of absoluteness (iṭlāq) and delimitation/restriction (taqyīd). Thus he accepts being described by two opposites from a single respect, so it is true of him that he knows and does not know, perceives and does not perceive, witnesses and does not witness—just as his root knows in the Divine Rank (al-martaba al-ilāhiyya) and in His perfect manifestations (maẓāhir), yet does not know in the rank of His manifestation in the forms of the ignorant. And likewise for the remaining [attributes].

﴿وهو عينه﴾

عند الاتصاف بتلك المتقابلات

when described by those mutually opposed qualities

﴿وليس غيره … فيعلم لا يعلم ويدرى لا يدرى ويشهد لا يشهد﴾

لأن ما هو به موجود عالم شاهد هو الحق ، وما هو به معدوم جاهل غير شاهد هو الخلق . قوله

because that by which it is existent, knowing, and witnessing is the Real, while that by which it is nonexistent, ignorant, and non-witnessing is the creature (khalq). His saying —

﴿وليس غيره﴾

حقيقة فإن الوجود المقيد هو المطلق مع قيد التعيين. والتعيين ليس إلا قصوره عن قبول سائر التعيينات وصفة عن الاتصاف بجميع الصفات فإذا ارتفع التعيين بالسلوك عمن نظر السالك، واختفى حكمه اتصف بما اتصف به المطلق من الأضداد

in reality — for restricted existence (al-wujūd al-muqayyad) is [identical with] the absolute [existence] together with the restriction of entification (taʿayyun). And entification is nothing but its falling short of receiving the rest of the entifications, and [its falling short], as an attribute, from being qualified by all the attributes. So when entification is lifted through wayfaring (sulūk) from whomever the wayfarer considers, and its ruling property disappears, he becomes qualified by that with which the Absolute is qualified, of the opposites.

﴿فيعلم لا يعلم ويدري لا يدري ويشهد لا يشهد﴾

كما أن الأصل يعلم في مرتبته الإلهية ومظاهره الكمالية ولا يعلم في مرتبة ظهوره تصور الجاهلين. وكذلك البواقي

just as the Origin knows in His divine level (martaba) and His perfective loci of manifestation (maẓāhir), yet does not know — in the level of His manifestation — the conception of the ignorant. And likewise for the rest.

﴿لا يعلم﴾

من حيث كونه غبره ومن أجل هذين الوجهين ينسب إليه م ما ينسب الى الأصل غير الوجوب الذاتي وما لا ينسب إليه وكذا قوله

from the standpoint of his being other than It; and on account of these two aspects, there is attributed to him what is attributed to the Root, apart from essential Necessity, and there is [also attributed to him] what is not attributed to It. Likewise his saying,

﴿و يدري لا يدري ويشهد لا يشهد﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

والمراد من انصاف هذا الكامل بالأضداد انصافه بالصفات اللائقة لحضرة الإمكان من النقصان والكمال . لذلك قال فهو العالم الجاهل فيعلم لا يعلم والمراد من اتصاف الأصل اتصافه بالصفات الكاملة اللائقة لحضرة الوجوب . لذلك قال كالجميل والجليل فمن قال كما أن أصله بعلم في مرتبة الإلهية ولا يعلم في مرتبة ظهوره في صورة الجاهلين مع أنه سوء أدب مع الله فقد أخطأ في فهم المراد من المقام. ولما فرغ من أحوال ختم الرسل رجع إلى شيث فقال

and what is meant by this Perfect One's being qualified by opposites is his being qualified by the attributes fitting for the Presence of Possibility, [namely] deficiency and perfection. That is why he said: he is the knowing-ignorant one, so he knows yet does not know. And what is meant by the Root's being qualified is Its being qualified by the perfect attributes fitting for the Presence of Necessity. That is why he said: such as the Beautiful and the Majestic. So whoever says that just as his Root knows in the divine rank, [likewise] he does not know in the rank of his manifestation in the form of the ignorant—even though this would be bad manners toward God—has erred in understanding what is intended by this station. And when he finished with the states of the Seal of the Messengers, he returned to Seth, saying:

﴿وبهذا العلم﴾

أي علم الأعطية والأسماء

that is, the knowledge of the gifts and the Names

﴿وبهذا العلم سمى " شيث" لأن معناه "هبة الله".﴾

أي، وبسبب أن شيث، عليه السلام، كان مختصا بعلم الأسماء التي هي مفاتيح العطايا ومعنى "شيث"

That is, because Sheth, upon him be peace, was specific to the knowledge of the Names, which are the keys of the bestowals, and the meaning of 'Sheth' is

﴿وبهذا العلم سمي شيث﴾

أي بالعلم بأحدية جمع جميع العطايا الإلهية جمعا إحاطيا حاويا لجميع النهايات وغايات الزيادات بما لا يفي بمقابلته نقود استعداد العباد، فيكون من خزانة الوهب ومحض الامتنان . فوقع اسم شيث مطابقا لمسماه

that is, by the knowledge of the oneness of the totality-gathering of all the divine gifts, an all-encompassing gathering containing all the ends and the utmost points of the increases, such that the specie-coin of the servants' preparedness cannot match it in equivalence; so it comes from the treasury of pure bestowal and sheer grace. Thus the name Seth coincided with what it names

﴿وبهذا العلم﴾

أي نسبة علم الأعطيات والمنح والهبات علما ذوقية وجدانية . (سمي شيث باسمه لأن معناه) بالعبرانية (الهبة) بمعنى العطية (أي هبة الله) فلما كان عالما بهباته سبحانه كان له نوع ملابسة بهبة الله مع أنه عين هبة الله فسمي به لهذا المعنى. (وبیده) وفي قبضة تصرفه

that is, the relation of the knowledge of the gifts, grants, and bestowals as a tasting, experiential knowledge. (Seth was named with this name because its meaning) in Hebrew (is the gift [al-hiba]) in the sense of bestowal (that is, the gift of God). Since he possessed knowledge of His, glory be to Him, bestowals, he had a certain affinity (mulābasa) with the gift of God, even though he is himself the very gift of God; so he was named thus for this meaning. (And in his hand) — that is, within the grasp of his disposal (taṣarruf).

﴿وبهذا العلم﴾

أي بسبب علمه العطايا الأسمائية (سمي شیث لأن معناه) أي معنى شيث

that is, by reason of his knowledge of the name-bestowals (he was named Seth, for its meaning is) that is, the meaning of "Seth" is

﴿سمى شيث لأن معناه الهبة … فبيده مفتاح العطايا﴾

لأن العطايا تصدر من الأسماء ، وهو يعرف الأسماء وما يعرف أحد شيئا إلا بما فيه من ذلك الشيء فهو من لا يعرف الأسماء إلا لأنها فيه وهو مفتاح العطايا ، فصح قوله بيده مفتاح العطاي

because the gifts issue from the Names, and he knows the Names — and no one knows a thing except by virtue of that thing being within him; so he who knows the Names does so only because they are within him, and he is the key of the gifts. Thus his statement 'in his hand is the key of the gifts' is confirmed

﴿لأن معناه : هبة الله ؛ فبيده﴾

أي في قبضة حقيقته الجامعة واستعداده الأصلي

that is, in the grasp of his comprehensive reality and his original preparedness

﴿هبة الله﴾

تعالى. وهو أول من وهبه الله تعالى آدم بعد تفجعه. وهو أول من وهبه الله تعالى على فقد هابيل فعوضه الله تعالىعن هابيل شيث. ولما كان آدم تعينا أوليا إجماليا مشتملا مرتبته على جميع مراتب العالم وأراد الله أن يبين ويفصل ذلك الإجمال بحسب "النفس الرحماني" الذي هو عبارة عن انبساط الوجود على الأعيان الثابتة من حضرة "الوهاب" و "الجواد" الذين عليهما يتفرع "المبدئ" و "الخالق" وكان يعد المرتبة الإلهية المرتبة المبدئية والموجودية وهي لا تحصل إلا بنفث النفس الرحماني في الوجود الأعياني ليكون ظاهرا كما كان باطنا، أورد الحكمة الإلهية وخصصها بالكلمة (الشيثية) التي هي بعد التعين الأولى ومظهر التجلي الجودي، فطابق اسمه مسماه. ولما كان تعينه بحسب الفيض الجودي والمنح الوهبي، شرع (رض) في تحقيق العطاي وبيان أقسامها: فقال

the Exalted. And he was the first whom God, the Exalted, bestowed [a gift] upon Adam after his grief. And he was the first whom God, the Exalted, bestowed [a gift] upon on account of the loss of Abel, for God, the Exalted, compensated [Adam] for Abel with Seth. Now since Adam was the first, comprehensive entification (taʿayyun), his rank encompassing all the ranks of the cosmos, and since God willed to manifest and differentiate that comprehensiveness in accordance with the "Breath of the All-Merciful" (al-nafas al-raḥmānī), which is an expression for the unfolding of Being upon the fixed entities (al-aʿyān al-thābita) from the Presence of "the Bestower" (al-Wahhāb) and "the Munificent" (al-Jawād), upon which "the Originator" (al-Mubdiʾ) and "the Creator" (al-Khāliq) are branches — and since the divine rank was reckoned the rank of origination and existentiation, and this is not achieved except by the breathing-forth of the All-Merciful Breath into entified existence, so that it become manifest (ẓāhir) as it had been nonmanifest (bāṭin) — he [Ibn ʿArabī] brought forth the divine wisdom and specified it with the Sethian Word, which comes after the first entification and is the locus of manifestation of the self-disclosure of munificence (al-tajallī al-jūdī); thus his name matched what it named. And since his entification was in accordance with the effusion of munificence (al-fayḍ al-jūdī) and the bestowal-gifts of giving (al-manḥ al-wahbī), he [the commentator], may God be pleased with him, set about verifying the [meaning of] gifts and explaining their divisions, saying:

﴿هبة الله﴾

فإذا كان هذا العلم مختصا بشيث عليه السلام

Since this knowledge is specific to Seth, peace be upon him,

﴿فبيده مفاتيح العطايا على اختلاف أصنافها ونسبها﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

لما كان علم الأسماء التي هي مفاتيح العطايا مختصا به، عليه السلام، ولا يعلم أحد شيئا بالذوق والوجدان إلا بما فيه منه، صح أنه بيده مفاتيح العطايا، إذ هو مشتمل على الأسماء كلها ومظهر للوهاب، فصار روحه مظهرا للعطايا والمواهب الإلهية. فمن روحه تفيض العلوم اللدنية والكمالات الوهبية، على اختلاف أصنافها و نسبها على الأرواح كلها، إلا على روح الخاتم، فإنه يأخذ منه بلا واسطة. ولما ذكرنا أن شيث هبة الله التي حصلت من الاسم "الوهاب" وكان مظهرا له وبيده مفاتيح العطايا، علل بقوله

Since the knowledge of the Names, which are the keys of the bestowals, is specific to him, upon him be peace, and no one knows anything by tasting and finding (dhawq wa-wijdān) except through what is in him of that, it is established that in his hand are the keys of the bestowals, since he encompasses all the Names and is a locus of manifestation for the Bestower (al-Wahhāb). So his spirit became a locus of manifestation for the Divine bestowals and grants (al-ʿaṭāyā wa-l-mawāhib al-ilāhiyya). From his spirit, then, the forms of knowledge from the Divine Presence (al-ʿulūm al-ladunniyya) and the perfections granted (al-kamālāt al-wahbiyya) flow forth, in their various kinds and relations, upon all the spirits, except the spirit of the Seal, for he takes from Him without intermediary. And since we mentioned that Sheth is 'the gift of God' which resulted from the Name 'the Bestower,' and that he was a locus of manifestation for it and that in his hand are the keys of the bestowals, [the Shaykh] gave the reason by saying:

﴿مفتاح العطايا على اختلاف أصنافها ونسبها﴾

كما سبق تفصيلها . قال رضي الله عنه

as was detailed previously. He, may God be pleased with him, said

﴿مفتاح العطايا﴾

الوهبية وهو مظهرية الاسم الوهاب والظاهر فيه

— the bestowal-gifts, which is [his] being the locus of manifestation (maẓhariyya) of the Name the Bestower (al-Wahhāb) and the Manifest [Name] within him.

﴿فبيد، مفتاح العطايا على اختلاف أصنافها ونسبها﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

فلا يأخذ أحد ما عدا روح الخاتم من هذه الخزائن شيئا إلا بشيث و إنما كان مفتاح العطايا بيده

so no one apart from the spirit of the Seal takes anything from these treasuries except through Seth; and the key of the gifts was in his hand only because

﴿على اختلاف أصنافها ونسبها﴾

فإن اختلاف أصناف العطايا إنما يكون باختلاف الأسماء التي هي مصادرها على ما مر . قوله رضي الله عنه

for the diversity of the kinds of gifts occurs only through the diversity of the Names which are their sources, as has preceded. His saying, may God be pleased with him

﴿على اختلاف أصنافها﴾

المتميز بعضها عن بعض بسبب تميز الأسماء. لأن تكل اسم عطاء يختص به (ونسبها) ، أي خصوصياتها المتعينة نسبة إلى قابليات الأعيان %~% متن نص فصوص الحكم : فإن الله وهبه لآدم أول ما وهبه: و ما وهبه إلا منه لأن الولد سر أبيه. فمنه خرج و إليه عاد. فما أتاه غريب لمن عقل عن الله. و كل عطاء في الكون على هذا المجرى. فما في أحد من الله شيء، و ما في أحد من سوى نفسه شي ء و إن تنوعت عليه الصور. و ما كل أحد يعرف هذا، و أن الأمر على ذلك، إلا آحاد من أهل الله. فإذا رأيت من يعرف ذلك فاعتمد عليه فذلك هو عين صفاء خلاصة خاصة الخاصة من عموم أهل الله تعالى. شرح الجامي : الثابتة فإن لكل عين قابلية لعطاء يختص بها ، وإنما جعل مفتاح العطايا

which are distinguished from one another by reason of the distinction of the [divine] Names, for every Name has a gift proper to it. (And their relations) — that is, their determined particularities in relation to the receptivities of the entities (aʿyān). [Text of the Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam]: For God bestowed [this] upon Adam as the first thing He bestowed upon him; and He bestowed it upon him only from Himself, for the child is the secret of his father. From him he issued, and to him he returned. So nothing that comes to him is foreign, for one who understands from God. And every gift in the cosmos follows this same course: there is nothing of God in anyone, and there is nothing in anyone but himself, even though the forms vary upon him. Not everyone knows this, and [knows] that the matter is thus, except a few among the people of God. So if you see one who knows this, rely upon him, for that is the very purity — the quintessence of the elite of the elite — among the generality of the people of God, the Exalted. [Jāmī's Commentary]: ...the fixed [entities], for every entity has a receptivity for a gift proper to it. And he made the key of the gifts...

﴿فإن الله وهبه لآدم أول ما وهبه وما وهبه إلا منه﴾

معناه أنه عطاء من مقتضيات الأسماء التي علمه الله تعالى إياها حيث قال :" وعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الأَسْماءَ كُلَّها ". وقد مر أنه أراد بآدم حقيقة النوع الإنسانى الذي هو الروح الأعظم والنفس الواحدة التي عبر عنها بالعين الواحدة والحضرة الواحدية وحضرة الأسماء الأول الذاتية . فيكون أول مولود وهبه الله تعالى له هي النفس الناطقة الكلية والقلب الأعظم ، الذي يظهر فيه العطايا الأسمائية من الروح الأعظم. فمن ثم قال : وما وهبه إلا منه ، لأن العطايا هي لوازم الأسماء التي لآدم . ولهذا علله ب قوله رضي الله عنه

its meaning is that it is a gift among the requirements of the Names which God, Exalted, taught him, as He said: 'And He taught Adam the Names, all of them.' It has already preceded that by 'Adam' he means the reality of the human species, which is the Greatest Spirit and the Single Soul (al-nafs al-wāḥida), expressed also as the Single Entity (al-ʿayn al-wāḥida) and the Presence of Unity (al-ḥaḍra al-wāḥidiyya) and the Presence of the First Essential Names. Thus the first offspring which God, Exalted, bestowed upon him is the universal rational soul and the Greatest Heart, in which the gifts pertaining to the Names become manifest from the Greatest Spirit. Hence he said: 'He bestowed it upon him only from Himself,' because the gifts are the concomitants of the Names belonging to Adam. This he explained by his saying, may God be pleased with him

﴿فان الله وهبه لآدم أول ما وهبه﴾

قيل: (قد مر أن المراد ب (آدم) حقيقة النوع الإنساني الذي هو الروح الأعظم، ويكون أول مولود وهبه الله تعالى هي النفس الناطقة الكلية والقلب الأعظم الذي يظهر فيه العطايا الأسمائية). وهذا وإن كان له وجه، إلا أن تنزيلهما بالروح والقلب دون غيرهما من الأنبياء المذكورين في الكتاب ترجيح من غير مرجح . وقول الشيخ رضى الله عنه : (وأعنى بآدم النفس الواحدة التي خلق منها هذا النوع الإنساني). لا ينافي آدم عالم الملك، كما مر

It has been said: (It was mentioned earlier that what is meant by 'Adam' is the reality of the human species, which is the Greatest Spirit, and that the first offspring God Most High bestowed is the universal rational soul and the Greatest Heart in which the bestowals proceeding from the Names become manifest). And although this has a certain aspect [of validity], nevertheless to apply these two [terms, Spirit and Heart] rather than others among the prophets mentioned in the Book is a preference without a preferring factor (tarjīḥ min ghayr murajjiḥ). And the Shaykh's—may God be pleased with him—statement, 'And by Adam I mean the single soul from which this human species was created,' does not contradict [the reference to] Adam of the visible/dominion world (ʿālam al-mulk), as was mentioned before.

﴿فإن الله وهبه لآدم أول ما وهبه﴾

إسعافا بما استدعاه لسان استعداده من استخراج كوامن العطايا الذاتية والأسمائية فيه ، فما استدعى آدم إلا ما فيه

as a fulfillment of what the tongue of his [Adam's] preparedness called for, in the drawing-out of the latent essential and nominal gifts within him — for Adam called for nothing but what was [already] within him

﴿فإن الله سبحانه وهبه لآدم أول ما وهبه﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

بعد سؤاله بلسان حاله و مقاله من الوهاب عند فقد هابيل أن يهبه من يكون بدلا منه في مظهر العلوم الوهبية و العطايا المخفية في حقيقة أدم . ملقيا إياها إلى أرواح المستعدين فوهبه الله لآدم و جعله مفتاحا لما أودع فيه

upon Adam as the first thing He bestowed upon him] after Adam had asked, by the tongue of his state and his speech, of the Bestower (al-Wahhāb) — upon the loss of Abel — that He grant him one who would be a substitute for him as a locus of manifestation for the gifted sciences (al-ʿulūm al-wahbiyya) and the hidden gifts within the reality of Adam, casting them upon the spirits of those possessing preparedness (al-mustaʿiddīn). So God bestowed [Seth] upon Adam and made him a key to what He had deposited within him.

﴿فإن الله وهبه لآدم أول ما وهبه﴾

فكان عليه السلام أول مظهر للفتوحات الاسمائية لآدم وأول سببه فتح الله به عطاياه فكان مفتاح العطايا بيده

for he, peace be upon him, was the first locus of manifestation for the name-openings [given] to Adam, and the first cause through which God opened His gifts; thus the key of the gifts was in his hand,

﴿وما وهبه إلا منه﴾

لأن آدم يشتمل عليه بل على جميع أولاده، لذلك أخرجوا من ظهره على سبيل الذر، كما نطق به الحديث. لأن الولد سر أبيه، أي، مستور في وجود أبيه وموجود فيه بالقوة. (فمنه خرج وإليه عاد) أي، خرج منه في صورة النطفة الملقاة في الرحم، وإليه عاد بصيرورته إنسانا داخلا في حده و حقيقته. وفيه إشارة إلى أن آدم أيضا سر الحق، لأنه منه ظهوره وإليه عوده، لذلك قال كاشف الأسرار الإلهية، خاتم الولاية الكلية: (إني ذاهب إلى أبى و أبيكم السماوي). فأطلق اسم "الأب" على الحق في الحقيقة، وإن كان ظاهرا مطلقا على "روح القدس"

Because Adam encompasses him—indeed, encompasses all his offspring—which is why they were brought forth from his back in the manner of the "seed-particles" (dharr), as stated in the ḥadīth. For the child is the secret (sirr) of his father, that is, concealed within his father's existence and existing within him potentially. "From Him he came forth, and to Him he returned": that is, he came forth from him in the form of the sperm-drop cast into the womb, and returned to him by becoming a human being, entering into his definition (ḥadd) and reality (ḥaqīqa). Herein lies an indication that Adam, too, is the secret of the Real, since his manifestation is from Him and his return is to Him. For this reason the Unveiler of the Divine Secrets, the Seal of Universal Sainthood (khātam al-walāya al-kulliyya), said: "I am going to my Father and your Father in Heaven." Thus he applied the name "Father" to the Real in reality, even though it is applied in an absolute/manifest sense to the "Holy Spirit" (rūḥ al-quds).

﴿وما وهبه إلآ منه ، لأن الولد سر أبيه﴾

وأما بيان أنه أول ما وهبه : فإن آدم كما عرفت هي النفس الواحدة بالوحدة الجمعية ، الكائنة بالكون الإحاطي ، الكامنة فيها تفاصيل جميع العطايا والمواهب ، من مبدأ الفتح إلى منتهی الختم ؛ وشيث كما ظهر من التنزيلات المتعسفة والتأويلات الغير المتسقة لهذا الكلام . وإذ قد تبين أن الأولاد أسرار الآباء فوهب شيث لآدم ليس مما ناله من الخارج، بل إنما هو من نفسه (فمنه خرج، وإليه عاد، فما أتاه غريب لمن عقل عن الله) أي أدرك منه بلا توسط آلة ولا وساطة عبارة. ولفظ «العقل» له خصوصية هاهنا من دون "الأخذ" و "الكشف" وغيره من حيث أنه من علوم التفرقة التي يعتبر فيها التفصيل، فلابد من عقل يضبطها، ضبط جمعية للأطراف والنهايات ، فالواصلون إلى هذا الإدراك هم الحكماء الإلهيون ، أرباب العقول الكاملة والأذواق الشاملة . وما قيل": «إن غفل» من الغفلة، بناء على أن «ما» موصولة فهو بعيد ، نشأ من الغفلة عن مقصود الكتاب ، فإنه تعريض بمن عقل عن الأسباب أعني أهل النظر كما سيجيء ما يؤيده . قال رضي الله عنه

As for the clarification that it was the first thing He granted him: Adam, as you have come to know, is the single soul (al-nafs al-wāḥida) possessing comprehensive unity (al-waḥda al-jamʿiyya), existing with all-encompassing existence, within which lie latent the details of all gifts and grants (ʿaṭāyā and mawāhib), from the beginning of the opening to the end of the sealing. And Seth, as has become evident from the forced applications and incongruent interpretations (taʾwīlāt) of this discourse... And since it has become clear that children are the secrets of their fathers, the granting of Seth to Adam was not something Adam attained from outside himself, but rather it was from his own self — ("for from him he came forth, and to him he returned; so he did not bring him anything strange, for one who intellects [i.e., understands] from God") — that is, he grasped it from Him without the mediation of any instrument or the mediation of expression. The term "intellection" (al-ʿaql) has a specific sense here, distinct from "taking" (al-akhdh), "unveiling" (al-kashf), and the like, inasmuch as it belongs to the sciences of differentiation (tafriqa), in which detail (tafṣīl) is taken into account; hence there must be an intellect that governs it — a comprehensive governance of its extremities and ends. Those who attain to this comprehension are the divine sages (al-ḥukamāʾ al-ilāhiyyūn), the possessors of perfect intellects and all-encompassing tastes (adhwāq). As for what has been said — that "in ghafala" [should be read] from ghafla (heedlessness), on the assumption that "mā" is a relative pronoun — this is far-fetched, arising from heedlessness of the purpose of the book; for it is in fact an allusion to one who intellects by way of [secondary] causes, I mean the people of rational speculation (ahl al-naẓar), as what will support this is yet to come. He, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿وما وهبه إلا منه لأن الولد سر أبيه﴾

أي مستور موجود فيه بالقوة

that is, [the child is] hidden, existing within him in potentiality.

﴿وما وهبه … إلا منه﴾

أي إلا وهبه من نفس آدم. وإنما كان ما وهبه إلا منه

that is, [only] bestowed from Adam's own self. And what He bestowed upon him was only from him,

﴿لأن الولد سر أبيه فمنه خرج وإليه عاد ، فما أتاه غريب لمن عقل عن الله﴾

أي معانى الأسماء كما عقلها آدم عنه

that is, the meanings of the Names, just as Adam understood them from Him

﴿لأن الولد سر أبيه﴾

ليس أمرا خارجة عن وجود أبيه

not a matter external to his father's existence,

﴿فمنه خرج﴾

بصورة النطفة ألمانية في الرحم (وإليه عاد) بصيرورته إنسانا داخلا في حده وحقيقته

in the form of the sperm-drop (nuṭfa) formed in the womb (and to it he returned) by his becoming a human being, entering into its definition (ḥadd) and reality.

﴿فمنه خرج﴾

في صورة النطفة (وإليه عاد) بصیرورته على صورة أبيه فالهبة عبارة عن الإخراج والإعادة . فإذا كان الولد سر

(in the form of the sperm-drop) (and to it he returned) by coming to be in the form of his father—so the gift is an expression for the bringing-forth and the returning. So if the child is a secret

﴿فما أتاه غريب لمن عقل عن الله﴾

بالعين المهملة والقاف بعدها. وفي بعض النسخ بالغين المعجمة والفاء بعدها. فعلى الأول "ما" للنفي. أي، ما أتاه غريب، بل هو من عينه لا من خارج عنه

with the unpointed ʿayn and qāf following it. In some copies, with the pointed ghayn and fāʾ following it. According to the first reading, "mā" is for negation, that is, what comes to him is not strange, but rather it is from his own entity (ʿayn), not from outside him.

﴿فما أتاه غريب﴾

من خارج وذلك ظاهر

from outside, and that is evident.

﴿فما أتاه﴾

أي فما أتي الولد أباه (غريب) أي على غير صورة أبيه بل أتي على صورة أبيه لذلك أحبه . وإذا لم يأت على صورته استكره ونفر منه وليس له ولد ولا بد لسر الشيء بأن يعود إلى ذلك الشيء . أو فما أتاه عن خارج نفسه قعوده إليه منه

that is, what comes to the child's father (is not strange), that is, not in other than his father's form, but rather comes in his father's form—that is why he loved him. And if he does not come in his form, he finds him repugnant and is estranged from him, and he is not [truly] his child; and the secret of a thing must needs return to that thing. Or: what comes to him from outside his own self settles unto him from him,

﴿لمن عقل عن الله﴾

أي، فهم وأدرك الحقائق من الله. وعلى الثاني بمعنى "الذي". أي، فالذي أتاه غريب لمن يكون غافلا عن الله وأفعاله وأسراره. والأول أصح. وقوله : "عن الله" يجوز أن يتعلق بقوله: "غريب" أي، فما أتاه غريب من الله، بل أتاه من عينه عند من عقل عينه وعرف استعداده. ويؤيد هذا المعنى قوله

That is, who comprehends and grasps the realities from God. According to the second reading, it means "that which." That is, what comes to him is strange for one who is heedless of God, His acts, and His secrets. The first is more correct. And his statement "from God" may be connected to his statement "strange," meaning: what comes to him is not strange as coming from God, but rather it comes to him from his own entity, according to one who understands his own entity and knows his preparedness (istiʿdād). This meaning is supported by his statement:

﴿لمن عقل﴾

الحقائق وأدركها

the realities and grasps them.

﴿لمن عقل عن الله﴾

أي لمن كان على بصيرة من ربه و علم الأشياء على ما هي عليه

that is, for one who possesses insight from his Lord and knows things as they [truly] are,

﴿عن الله﴾

لا من عنده نفسه بفكره ونظره

not from himself, by his own reflection and speculation.

﴿وكل عطاء في الكون على هذا المجرى فما في أحد من الله شيء﴾

Quotes words that differ from our text (wavy underline).

أي شيء غريب لم يكن في عينه فإن الأعيان وأنصابها تقسمت بالتجلى الذاتي . فما لم يكن في أحد من الفيض الأقدس بذلك التجلي قبل الوجود الخارجي لم يهبه الله له قط لأنه ليس بنصيبه فصح . قوله رضي الله عنه

that is, nothing foreign that was not already in his entity, for the entities and their portions were apportioned by the essential self-disclosure (al-tajallī al-dhātī). So whatever was not in someone by the Most Holy Effusion (al-fayḍ al-aqdas) through that self-disclosure prior to external existence, God never bestowed upon him at all, because it is not his portion — thus [the statement] is confirmed. His saying, may God be pleased with him

﴿وكل عطاء في الكون على هذا المجرى﴾

أي، جميع العطايا التي تنزل من الحضرة الإلهية على أيدي الأسماء على أرواح الكمل، ومنها على ما تحتها من أرواح العباد، ليس إلا منهم وإليهم، فإن أعيانهم الثابتة اقتضت ذلك بحسب قابليتهم، والحق تعالى يوجد ما هي قابلة له

That is, all the gifts that descend from the Divine Presence, by the hands of the Names, upon the spirits of the perfect ones (kummal), and from them upon what is beneath them among the spirits of servants, are only from them and to them. For their fixed entities (aʿyān thābita) required this according to their receptivity, and the Real, exalted is He, brings into existence what they are receptive to.

﴿وكل عطاء في الكون على هذا المجرى﴾

بواسطة كان ذلك ، أو بلا واسطة، ذاتيا كان ، أو أسمائيا - فإنك قد عرفت أن العطاء الذاتي هو الذي بصورة استعداد المعطى له ، لاغير ؛ والمرآة نصبها الله مثالا له

whether through an intermediary or without one, whether essential or nominal — for you have already come to know that the essential gift is that which takes the form of the preparedness of the recipient, and nothing else; and the mirror was set up by God as an example of this

﴿وكل عطاء … في الكون … على هذا المجرى﴾

فإنه لا يأتي المعطى له إلا منه لا من خارج. فإنه ما لم تقتضي عينه الثابتة ذلك العطاء لا يأتيه أصلا

for it comes to the one given it only from himself, not from outside; for as long as his fixed entity (ʿaynuhu al-thābita) does not require that gift, it will not come to him at all.

﴿وكل عطاء في الكون على هذا المجرى﴾

أي وكل ما وهب الله للعباد من العطايا ليس إلا منهم وإليهم وإذا كان عطاء الحق على هذا

that is, everything God bestows upon [His] servants by way of gifts is only from them and to them; and since the Real's giving follows this course,