The commentators side by side

﴿و صاحب الطريق المستطيل مائل خارج عن المقصود طالب ما هو فيه صاحب خيال إليه غايته: فله من و إلى و ما بينهما. و صاحب الحركة الدورية لا بدء له فيلزمه «من» و لا غاية فتحكم عليه «إلى»، فله الوجود الأتم و هو المؤتى جوامع الكلم و الحكم. «مما خطيئاتهم» فهي التي خطت بهم فغرقوا في بحار العلم بالله، و هو الحيرة، «فأدخلوا نارا» في عين الماء في المحمديين﴾

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

أو المركز لحركته الدورية

or the center of his circular motion

﴿فالحائر له الدور﴾

أي السير باللَّه ومن الله وإلى الله ، فسيره سير الله منه المبدأ وإليه المنتهى ، فلا أول لسيرة ولا آخر

that is, the wayfaring bi-Llāh (by God), min Allāh (from God), and ilā Allāh (to God), so his wayfaring is God's wayfaring: from Him the beginning, and to Him the end; so his journey has neither first nor last

﴿فالحائر له الدور والحركة الدورية حول القطب فلا يبرح منه﴾

أي، الحائر يتحرك بالحركة الدورية، لأنه يرى مطلوبه مع كل موجود يوجد في دائرة الوجود بوجه آخر، فيتحرك إليه، والوجود دوري فتقع الحركة دورية. والحركة الدورية لا يكون إلا حول القطب الذي مدار الوجود عليه، فالحائر لا تزال حركته دورية. ولما يبرح من القطب، أي، لا ينفك منه لاستفاضته منه دائما وتوجهه إليه سرمدا. كالملائكة المهيمة في الجمال المطلق الإلهي

That is, the bewildered one moves with a circular motion, because he sees his sought object with every existent that comes to be within the circle of existence, under another aspect, and so he moves toward it; and existence is circular, so the motion that occurs is circular. Circular motion can only be around the pole upon which the axis of existence turns, so the bewildered one's motion remains ever circular. And he never departs from the pole—that is, he is never separated from it, since he receives effusion (fayḍ) from it constantly and turns toward it perpetually—like the angels lost in rapture before the absolute divine Beauty.

﴿فالحائر له الدور ، والحركة الدوريّة حول القطب﴾

حيث أنّ المتحرّك لم يختلف نسبته إلى القطب بالبعد والقرب ، وإن كان في كل لحظة معرضا عن جزء من أجزاء تلك المسافة ومقبلا إياها ، ولكن تلك الكثرة ما أثرت في وحدة نسبته إلى القطب

in that the mover's relation to the pole does not vary in nearness and farness, even though at every instant it is turning away from a part of that distance and advancing toward it; yet that multiplicity has not affected the oneness of its relation to the pole

﴿فالحائر له﴾

وفي بعض النسخ: فالمحيرون لهم (الدور) يعني الحائر الذي لا يتعين مشهوده في جهة معينة ، حركته دورية لا تختلف نسبتها إليه بالقرب والبعد فإنه كالقطب قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

and in some copies: so the bewildered ones have (the circling motion), meaning the bewildered one whose witnessed object is not fixed in any particular direction - his motion is circular, its relation to him not varying by nearness and farness, for he is like the pole (quṭb). The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said

﴿فالحائر له الدور والحركة الدورية حول القطب﴾

وهو الذي مدار الوجود عليه وهو الحقيقة المحمدية قطب العالم فالوجود دوري فإذا دار الحائر حول القطب

which is that upon which the axis of existence turns, namely the Muhammadan Reality, the pole (quṭb) of the world. So existence is circular; and when the bewildered one circles around the pole

﴿والحركة الدورية حول القطب﴾

شبه لقرب الحائر وملازمته للحضرة الأحدية ولذلك قال

a likeness for the nearness of the one in bewilderment and his constant adherence to the Unitary Presence (al-ḥaḍra al-aḥadiyya); and for that he said

﴿والحركة الدورية … حول القطب﴾

أو المركز لا تختلف نسبتها إليه بالقرب والبعد. وهذا معنى قوله : (فلا تبرح عنه) يعني لا تبعد عنه بعدها كانت قريبة منه قال رضي الله عنه

or the center, its relation to him not varying by nearness or farness. This is the meaning of his saying: (so do not depart from it), meaning: do not become distant from it after having been near to it. He, may God be pleased with him, said

﴿فلا يبرح منه﴾

ثم قال رضي الله عنه

then he, may God be pleased with him, said

﴿فلا يبرح منه﴾

أي لا يتحرّك عنه أصلا ، فهي الجامع بين الحركة والسكون ، كما أنّ الحيرة جامعة بين العلم والجهل فهو معتنق الأطراف . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه : ( وصاحب المستطيل ) يعني الأدنى الذي يتخيّل صورة متعيّنة ويجعلها قبلة التوجّه ، وينتهض إليها معرضا عن الكلّ ، فإنّه إنّما يتصوّر ذلك في الحركة المستطيلة المستلزمة للإعراض عمّا هو المطلوب من التعيّنات والجهات ، فهو أبد

that is, it does not move away from it at all. So it (circular motion) is that which combines motion and rest, just as bewilderment combines knowledge and ignorance, so it embraces all the extremities. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said: ("and he who has the rectilinear [motion]") meaning the lower one who imagines a determinate form and makes it the qibla of his orientation, rising up toward it while turning away from the whole; for this is conceivable only in rectilinear motion, which necessitates turning away from what is sought among the determinations (taʿayyunāt) and directions. So he is forever

﴿فلا يبرح منه﴾

أي لا يزال ولا ينفك من القطب لأنه أينما تولى يرى وجه الله تعالى في دائرة الوجود ويرى أن مطلوبه معه في كل موجود وهو مقام الواصلين من أهل الله تعالى قال رضي الله عنه

i.e., he never ceases and never separates from the pole, because wherever he turns he sees the Face of God Most High within the circle of existence, and he sees that his sought object is with him in every existent thing — and this is the station of those who have attained union (al-wāṣilīn) among the people of God Most High. He, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿وصاحب الطريق المستطيل﴾

أي الأدنى الجاهل المحجوب الذي تخيل أن الله بعيد منه

that is, the lower, ignorant, veiled one who imagines that God is far from him

﴿وصاحب الطريق المستطيل مائل خارج عن المقصود، طالب ما هو فيه صاحب خيال إليه﴾

أي، إلى الخيال. (غايته: فله (من) و (إلى) وما بينهما. وصاحب الحركة الدورية لا بدأ له، أي لا بدأ له في سيره وسلوكه، فيلزمه (من) ولا غاية) لكماله (فيحكم عليه (إلى)). (فيلزمه)

— that is, toward imagination. ("His goal: so he has 'from' and 'to' and what lies between them. But the one on the circular motion has no beginning" — that is, no beginning in his journeying and wayfaring, so "from" applies necessarily to him "and has no end" (owing to his perfection), "so 'to' is decreed upon him.") ("so it applies necessarily to him")

﴿وصاحب الطريق المستطيل﴾

الذي تخیل مطلوبه مفقودا من البداية موجودا في الغاية

who imagined his sought object as absent at the beginning, existent at the final end

﴿وصاحب الطريق المستطيل مائل خارج عن المقصود طالب ما هو فيه﴾

أي نفسه في خارج وزعم أنه يوصل إلى مطلوبه مجردة عن المظاهر نهر صارف عمره فيما لا يمكن حصوله

is] i.e., seeking his own self externally, imagining that he will attain his sought object stripped of the loci of manifestation — a river spending his lifetime upon what cannot possibly be attained.

﴿مائل خارج عن المقصود طالب ماهر فيه صاحب خيال﴾

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

لأنه تخيل أن الله بعيد خارج عنه فيطلبه من خارج وهو فيه ( إليه ) أي إلى ذلك الخيال

because he has imagined that God is distant, outside himself, so he seeks Him from outside, whereas He is within him. ("toward it") that is, toward that imagined thing

﴿مائل ، خارج عن المقصود ، طالب ما هو فيه﴾

كما قيل : "أراك تسأل عن نجد وأنت بها "

in] as it was said: "I see you asking about Najd while you are in it"

﴿مائل خارج عن المقصود﴾

الذي تركه بحسب خياله في البداية

which he left behind, according to his imagination, at the beginning

﴿يطلب ما هو فيه﴾

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

أي يطلب الشيء الذي ذلك الشيء فيه هو في ذلك الشيء. (صاحب خیال إليه) ، أي إلى التخيل (غابته) ، أي تنتهي غاية سلوكه إلى ما تخيلة في الحق سبحانه من التقييد والتعيين، فلا يتجلى له الحق سبحانه إلا في صورة ما تخيله واعتقده فيه (فله) ، أي لصاحب التخيل (من) الدال على المبدأ وفقدان الحق فيه. (وإلى) الدال على الغاية ووجدان الحق سبحانه فيه

i.e., he seeks the thing, that thing being within the very thing he seeks. (a possessor of imagination toward which) i.e., toward imagination (his final end tends), i.e., the final end of his wayfaring terminates upon what he had imagined of the Real, glory be to Him, in terms of restriction and specification, so that the Real, glory be to Him, discloses Himself to him only in the form of what he had imagined and believed concerning Him. (so his is) i.e., for the possessor of imagination ("from") indicating the point of origin and the absence of the Real therein. (and "to") indicating the final end and the finding of the Real, glory be to Him, therein

﴿صاحب خيال﴾

أي مثال متخيّل من الصور المجعولة له

that is, an imagined exemplar from among the forms set up for him

﴿صاحب خيال إليه﴾

أي إلى الخيال (غايته) فهر وأصل إلى ما يتخيله نفسه لا إلى مطلوبه (فله) أي لصاحب الطريق المستطيل

i.e., toward imagination (his goal); so he goes and arrives only at what his own self imagines, not at his true sought object. (So he has) — i.e., the one on the elongated path has

﴿غايته فله من وإلى وما بينهما﴾

أي فله ابتداء من نفسه على ما يتوهمه وهو في الحقيقة من الله الحاصل فيه ، وانتهاؤه إلى غاية الخيال الذي تخيله وما بينهما من المسافة التي توهمها وحسبها الطريق إلى الله. فهو يبعد بسيره عن الله دائم

that is, he has a beginning from himself as he supposes—though in reality it is from God, existing within him—and an ending at the goal of the imagined thing he has conceived, and between them lies the distance he has imagined and reckoned to be the path to God. So by his very wayfaring he grows ever more distant from God

﴿إليه غايته﴾

أي، إلى الخيال غايته ومقصوده، فيلزم لصاحب هذه الحركة (من) و (إلى) وما بينهما، فله بداية ونهاية. ولصاحب الحركة الدورية لا بداية ولا نهاية، لأنه يشاهده في جميع المظاهر الروحانية والجسمانية دنيا وآخرة، ولا نهاية للمظاهر، فلا نهاية لشهوده فيها، فلا يلزمه (من) ولا يحكم عليه (إلى.) وإنما قال: (صاحب الطريق المستطيل) ولم يقل: المستقيم. لأن الصراط المستقيم يطلق على الطريق المستطيل وعلى غيره، كما يقال: فلان على الطريق المستقيم. إذا كان أقواله وأفعاله على سبيل الصواب وطريق السداد. وصاحب الطريق المستقيم، بهذا المعنى، هو الذي يرى الحق في كل شئ ويعظمه تعظيما لائقا بظهور الحق في ذلك الشئ ويعطى حق جهة حقيته وخلقيته، لذلك صارت الاستقامة أصعب الأشياء. وإليه إشارة النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم،بقوله: (شيبتني سورة هود). إذ أمر فيها بالاستقامة. قال تعالى: (فاستقم كما أمرت). في السير من الخلق إلى الحق، وإن كان يلزم (من) و (إلى) لكنه غير مذموم، لأن السالك يسلك في الحقيقة من نفسه إلى نفسه وعينه الثابتة التي هي ربه، ليعرفها فيعرف ربها. فحركته من جهة عبوديته إلى جهة ربوبيته، فليسك المحجوب الطالب لربه خارجا عن نفسه وعن سلسلة الموجودات الممكنة جميعا، كالمتفلسف والمتكلم

his goal"] That is, toward imagination is his goal and objective, so for the possessor of this motion "from" and "to" and what lies between them are binding upon him—he has a beginning and an end. But for the possessor of circular motion there is neither beginning nor end, because he witnesses Him in all loci of manifestation, spiritual and corporeal, in this world and the next, and there is no end to the loci of manifestation, so there is no end to his witnessing within them; hence neither "from" is binding upon him nor is he subject to "to." He said "the possessor of the elongated path (al-ṭarīq al-mustaṭīl)" and did not say "the straight [path] (al-mustaqīm)," because the Straight Path is applied both to the elongated path and to other than it, just as one says: "So-and-so is upon the straight path" when his sayings and deeds are on the way of correctness and rectitude. The possessor of the Straight Path, in this sense, is the one who sees the Real in every thing and glorifies it with a glorification befitting the Real's manifestation in that thing, giving each thing its due right from the aspect of its truth-status (ḥaqqiyya) and its createdness—wherefore rectitude (istiqāma) became the most difficult of things. To this the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, alluded when he said: "Sūrat Hūd has made me gray," since it commands rectitude, God, exalted is He, saying: "So be steadfast as you have been commanded." In the journey from creation to the Real, though "from" and "to" are binding upon it, it is not blameworthy, because the traveler in truth travels from himself to himself, to his fixed entity (ʿayn thābita) which is his Lord, that he may know it and thereby know its Lord. So his motion is from the aspect of his servanthood to the aspect of his lordship. But let the veiled one who seeks his Lord as external to himself and to the whole chain of possible existents beware—like the philosopher and the theologian (mutakallim).

﴿إليه غايته ، فله « من » و « إلى » وما بينهما﴾

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

ممّا فيه من المدارج والمقامات المختلفة بنسبة القرب والبعد

consisting of the various degrees and stations therein, in respect of nearness and farness

﴿من وإلى وما بينهما﴾

أي له ابتداء وانتهاء ومسافة فابتداؤه من نفسه وانتهاؤه إلى خياله ومسافته ما بينهما . فلا يصل إلى مطلوبه بهذا الطريق وهو الطريق العابدين من أهل الظاهر فهم ليسوا من الحائرين الذين نحن في بيانه

i.e., he has a beginning and an end and a distance [between them]: his beginning is from himself, his end is to his imagination, and his distance is what lies between them. So he does not attain his sought object by this path — and this is the path of the worshippers among the people of the outward (ahl al-ẓāhir); they are not among the bewildered ones whom we are now explaining.

﴿وما بينهما﴾

من المسافة التي سلك عليها في طلب الحق من غیر وجود الحق معه بحسب خيانه

namely the distance he traveled in seeking the Real without the Real's being present with him, according to his imagining

﴿وصاحب الحركة الدورية لا بداية﴾

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

أي لسيرة في شهوده

that is, to his wayfaring in his witnessing

﴿وصاحب الحركة الدوريّة لا بدء … فيلزمه « من » ولا غاية فيحكم عليه « إلى » ، فله الوجود الأتمّ﴾

الذي لا يقبل الزيادة أصلا من حيث الرتبة الذاتيّة التي له ، وجمعيّة الأطراف

which admits of no increase at all, in respect of the essential rank that is his, and the all-comprehensiveness of the extremities

﴿وصاحب الحركة الدورية لا بدء﴾

أي لا بداية لسيره . (فيلزمه) حينئذ معنى من الابتدائية (ولا غاية لكماله فيحكم عليه) حيث ينتهى (إلى) معنی الانتهائية (فله) ، أي لصاحب الحركة الدورية (الوجود) ، أي الوجدان (الأتم) والذوق الأشمل الأعم لأنه دائر مع الحق سبحانه يجده في كل شيء ويشهده في كل نور

i.e., no beginning to his journeying. (so there attaches to him) at that point the meaning of point-of-origin (nor any final end to his perfection, so that there is predicated of him), where he terminates, ("to") the meaning of terminus (so his is) i.e., for the possessor of circular motion (the existence) i.e., the finding (most complete) and the most comprehensive, most all-encompassing tasting, because he circles with the Real, glory be to Him, finding Him in everything and witnessing Him in every light

﴿وصاحب الحركة الدورية لا بدء له﴾

في حركته (فيلزمه) من نصب بإضمار أن (ولا غاية له) لمشاهدة مطلوبه في كل مظهر ولا نهاية للمظاهر فلا غاية لصاحب هذه الحركة (فنحكم عليه إلى) كناية عن الانتهاء (فله) أي لصاحب الحركة الدورية

in his motion, (so it necessarily follows for him) — naṣb by an implied "that" — (and no end) — because of his witnessing his sought object in every locus of manifestation, and there is no end to the loci of manifestation, so there is no final goal for the one possessing this motion. (So we pronounce judgment upon him as reaching) — a metonymy for termination — (so he has) — i.e., the one of circular motion has

﴿فيلزمه من ولا غاية فتحكم عليه إلى فيلزمه﴾

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

منصوب جوابا للنفي وكذا فتحكم أي لا ابتداء لسيرة حتى يلزمه من ، ولا انتهاء حتى تحكم عليه إلى

("fa-yalzamuhu," "so that it would be necessarily entailed for him") is in the accusative as the answer to the negation, and likewise ("fa-taḥkumu," "so that it would be imposed"); that is, his wayfaring has no beginning such that a "from" would be entailed for it, nor an end such that a "to" would be imposed upon it

﴿، ولا غاية فيحكم عليه «إلى»، فله الوجود الأتم وهو المؤتی جوامع الكلم والحكم .﴾

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

مما خطيئاتهم

imposed upon him. His is the most complete existence (al-wujūd al-atamm), and he is the one given the sum totals of speech (jawāmiʿ al-kalim) and wisdom.] '[Because] of their sins' —

﴿فيحكم عليه﴾

منصوبان بإضمار (إن) لوقوعهما بعد (الفاء) في جواب النفي. أي، صاحب الحركة المستطيلة خارج عن طريق الحق مائل عن مقصوده، لأنه ما يرى الحق في المظاهر،بل توهم أن مطلوبه خارج عن هذه المظاهر، فيتحرك بالحركة المستطيلة للوصول إليه، ومقصوده معه وهو لا يشعر. فهذا المتحرك طالب لما هو معه وفي نفسه، وهو يطلب خارجا من الموجودات، فهو صاحب خيال وتوهم، لأن الحق مجردا عن المظاهر لا نسبة بينه وبين العالم، كما قال: (ويحذركم الله نفسه والله رؤوف بالعباد، لا تدركه الأبصار وهو يدرك الأبصار). فلا يمكن إدراكه إلا في المظاهر. قوله

— both are in the accusative by an implied "in" (an), since they occur after the "fā" in the apodosis of a negation. That is: the one on the elongated (rectilinear) motion is outside the path of the Real, deviating from his goal, because he does not see the Real within the loci of manifestation (maẓāhir); rather, he imagines that his sought object lies outside these loci, and so he moves with the elongated motion in order to reach it, while his goal is with him, though he is unaware of it. This mover, then, seeks what is [already] with him and within himself, yet he seeks it as something external to existent things — so he is a man of imagination and illusion, for the Real, considered in abstraction from the loci of manifestation, has no relation between Himself and the world, as He says: "And God warns you of Himself, and God is Compassionate toward [His] servants... Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision" (Q 3:30, 6:103). So He cannot be perceived except within the loci of manifestation. His words:

﴿فله الوجود الأتم﴾

أي المحيط بكل شيء ، فسيره سير لله في الله باللَّه

that is, the one encompassing all things; so his wayfaring is a wayfaring for God, in God, by God

﴿فله الوجود الأتمّ وهو المؤتى جوامع الكلم والحكم﴾

يعني رضي الله عنه : نبيّنا صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم والمحمّديين من ورثته ، فإنّ مشهدهم "فَأَيْنَما تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْه ُ الله " و "يا أَهْلَ يَثْرِبَ لا مُقامَ لَكُمْ " . " قُلِ الله ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ ". قال رضي الله عنه : " مِمَّا خَطِيئاتِهِمْ " فهي التي خطت بهم فغرقوا في بحار العلم بالله وهو الحيرة" يعني رضي الله عنه : أنّ العباد هطت بهم الخطيئات عن خطط تعيّناتهم فأضلَّتهم عن حظوظهم وإنّياتهم ، ففنوا في شهود الواحد الأحد حيث تجلَّى وتعرّف ، وحاروا في أحدية التصرّف والمصرّف والمتصرّف ، كيف صرف وانصرف. فغرقوا في بحار شهود العين ، عن التعيّن في حرف الغين ، الكائن في البين بين اثنين . قال رضي الله عنه : " فَأُدْخِلُوا ناراً

wisdom (jawāmiʿ al-kalim wa-l-ḥikam)."] He means, may God be pleased with him: our Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, and the Muḥammadans among his heirs, for their witnessing-station is [expressed by] "Wherever you turn, there is the Face of God" (Q. 2:115), and "O people of Yathrib, there is no stationing/abode for you" (Q. 33:13), [and] "Say: God - then leave them" (Q. 6:91). He said, may God be pleased with him: "'Because of their transgressions/sins (khaṭīʾāt)' - it is that which made them stride/step (khaṭṭat bihim), so they drowned in the seas of knowledge of God, which is bewilderment (ḥayra)." He means, may God be pleased with him: that the servants were made to step by [their] sins away from the tracts/plots of their entifications (taʿayyunāt), so [these sins] led them astray from their [worldly] portions and their egoities (inniyyāt); and they passed away (faniya) in the witnessing of the One, the Unique, where He disclosed Himself and made Himself known, and they were bewildered in the oneness of disposal - the disposer, the one disposed, and the one who disposes - how He disposed and was disposed. So they drowned in the seas of witnessing the very Essence (al-ʿayn), away from entification (taʿayyun) in the letter ghayn, existing in the interval between two [things]. He said, may God be pleased with him: "Then they were made to enter a Fire" (Q. 71:25).

﴿فله الوجود الأتم وهو الموتى جوامع الكلم والحكم﴾

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

أي، فلصاحب الحركة الدورية، الإدراك والوجدان التام. ف (الوجود) بمعنى (الوجدان)، كقوله تعالى: (ومن يعمل سوءا أو يظلم نفسه ثم يستغفر الله يجد الله غفورا رحيما) . أو فله الوجود المحيط بكل شئ بتمامه، لأنه يشاهد الحقيقة الوجودية في جميع مظاهرها. وهو الذي أوتى جوامع أنوار الكلم الروحانية والحكم الربانية

That is, the possessor of circular motion has complete perception and finding (wijdān). "Existence" here is in the sense of "finding," as in His saying, exalted is He: "And whoever does evil or wrongs himself, then seeks God's forgiveness, will find (yajid) God forgiving, merciful." Or: he has the existence that encompasses everything in its totality, because he witnesses existential reality in all its loci of manifestation. And he is the one given the totalities of the lights of the spiritual Words and the divine Wisdoms.

﴿الوجود الأتم﴾

أي الإحاطة بمراتب الوجود كلها وشاهد مقصوده فيها

i.e., encompassing all the levels of existence, and witnessing his sought object within them

﴿وهو المؤتى جوامع الكلم والحكم﴾

يعنى نبينا محمدا عليه الصلاة والسلام ومن اتبعه من المحبوبين من أمته المحبين الذين أراد الله بخطابه لنبيه " قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ الله فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ الله " . فإن مشهدهم الحق – " فَأَيْنَما تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْه الله " – " قُلِ الله ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ " – " مِمَّا خَطِيئاتِهِمْ " يريد حيرة المحمديين والجمع باعتبار تعددهم وكثرتهم ولهذا وصفها بقوله

meaning our Prophet Muḥammad, upon him blessing and peace, and those among the beloved of his community who follow him—the lovers whom God intended by His address to His Prophet: "Say: If you love God, then follow me; God will love you." For their witnessed object is the Real—"Wherever you turn, there is the Face of God"—"Say: God—then leave them"—"because of their offenses"—meaning the bewilderment of the Muḥammadans; and the plural is in consideration of their multiplicity and abundance. For this he described it, saying

﴿وهو المؤتى جوامع الكلم والحكم﴾

بما ورثه أولا من الكتاب يعني القرآن الجمعيّ الفرقيّ . تأويل الغرق في قوم نوح ومن جملة تلك الحكم قوله فيهم أيضا : " مِمَّا خَطِيئاتِهِمْ أُغْرِقُوا فَأُدْخِلُوا ناراً " [ 71 / 25 ] ( ممّا خطيئاتهم ) أي صور أعمالهم وأحكام تعيّناتهم الباطلة التي هي الخطاء

by virtue of what he first inherited from the Book, meaning the all-comprehensive, differentiating Qur'an. [The interpretation of the drowning of the people of Noah] Among these wisdoms is also His saying concerning them: "Because of their sins they were drowned, then made to enter a Fire" [71/25]. ("Because of their sins") that is, the forms of their deeds and the judgments of their false determinations, which constitute error (al-khaṭāʾ)

﴿وهو الموتي جوامع الكلم﴾

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

الروحانية (والحكم) الربانية ثم أشار رضي الله عنه إلى قوله : ("مما خطيئاتهم أغرقوا" فهي) [نوح: 25] ، أي الخطيئات هي الذنوب والخطايا التي أدتها أولا بصورهم وحثهم إلى الغرق في الطوفان فأغرقوا في الدنيا وأدخلوا نار في الآخرة وهي بعينها الأمور

the spiritual ones (and the wisdoms) the divine ones. Then he, may God be pleased with him, alluded to His saying: ("because of their transgressions they were drowned" so it is) [Nūḥ: 25], i.e., the transgressions are the sins and offenses which first led them, by way of their forms, and drove them to drowning in the Flood, so they were drowned in this world and made to enter fire in the hereafter - and this is the very same matters

﴿وهو المؤتی جوامع الكلم والحكم﴾

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

وهو محمد عليه السلام فمقام الحيرة جامع لجميع الحقائق الإلهية والحكم الربانية فأشار نوح عليه السلام في دعائه إلى هذا المقام بقوله : إلا ضلالا ثم رجع إلى الإشارات بقوله تعالى في حق قوم نوح عليه السلام . (مما) أي من أجل (خطيئاتهم فهي التي خطئت) أي ساقت (بهم) وهي مجاهدتهم في السلوك بالتعدي حدود الله تعالى بأوامر أنفسهم (فغرقوا) بسبب ذلك

namely Muhammad, peace be upon him. So the station of bewilderment comprehends all the divine realities and the lordly wisdoms. Noah, peace be upon him, indicated this station in his supplication by his saying: "except in error." Then he returned to the indications through the saying of God Most High concerning the people of Noah, peace be upon him: (because of) — i.e., on account of — (their sins they were caused to err [khaṭīʾātihim fa-hiya allatī khaṭṭaʾat]) — i.e., it drove — (them) — and this refers to their striving in wayfaring (sulūk) by transgressing the limits of God Most High through the commands of their own selves — (so they were drowned) because of that.

﴿"ومما خطيئاتهم" فهي التي خطت بهم، فغرقوا في بحار العلم بالله و هو الحيرة﴾

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

أي، جاء في حقهم و (مما خطيئاتهم أغرقوا)

That is, it came concerning them: "and because of their faults they were drowned."

﴿فهي التي خطت لهم﴾

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

أي حازت بهم من خطط تعيناتهم وأنياتهم

that is, has encompassed them, from the tracings (khiṭaṭ) of their determinations (taʿayyunāt) and their individual selfhoods (aniyyāt)

﴿فهي التي خطت بهم﴾

أي، ساقهم وسلك بهم إشارة إلى أنها مأخوذة من (الخطو)، لأنه يخطو ويتعدى أوامر الله، فيقع في الذنب. وواحدة: (خطوة)، وجمعه: (خطوات). أي، خطواتهم وقطع مقاماتهم بالسلوك هي التي خطت بهم إلى بحار العلم بالله، فغرقوا فيها و حاروا. أو ذنوبهم وخطاياهم هي التي أوجبت عليهم أن يغرقوا. والتأويل الأول لا ينافي ظاهر المفهوم منها، لأنه بالنسبة إلى الكمل من أمته، وما يفهم منه ظاهرا إنما هو بالنسبة إلى الكافرين به و المحجوبين عن دينه. والضمير في قوله

That is, it drove them and led them—an indication that it is derived from "al-khaṭw" (striding), because one strides and thereby oversteps God's commands, and so falls into sin. Its singular is "khaṭwa" and its plural "khaṭawāt." That is: their strides, and their traversal of the stations through spiritual travel, are what led them to the seas of the knowledge of God, so they drowned in them and were bewildered. Or: their sins and faults are what necessitated their drowning. The first interpretation does not contradict the apparent, literal sense, because [the first] pertains to the perfect ones (kummal) of his community, while what is apparently understood from it pertains to those who disbelieve in him and are veiled from his religion. The pronoun in his saying:

﴿فهي التي خطت بهم فغرقوا في بحار العلم بالله، وهو الحيرة،﴾

فأدخلوا نارا

that led them onward until they drowned in the seas of the knowledge of God, which is bewilderment (ḥayra).] 'And they were made to enter a fire' —

﴿فهي التي خطت بهم﴾

إمّا من « الخطو » ، أي تلك الصور هي التي ساقتهم ، وإمّا من « خطَّ بالقلم » ، أي الصور الكثيرة المتولَّدة عنهم في طيّ المراتب والمقامات تولَّد الصور الكتابيّة من القلم هي التي أعدّتهم لأن يغرقوا في بحار العلم باللَّه . وهي الصور الكتابيّة التي أنزلت على الأنبياء وأرسلوا بها ، فإنّها هي التي أوردتهم مخاض العرفان

either from "stepping" (al-khaṭw) — meaning those forms are what drove them on — or from "writing with the pen" (khaṭṭa bi'l-qalam) — meaning the many forms generated from them in the folding-up of the ranks and stations; the generation of written forms from the pen are what prepared them to be drowned in the seas of knowledge of God. These are the scriptural forms sent down upon the prophets, with which they were sent as messengers; for it is these that brought them to the travail of gnosis

﴿التي خطت﴾

أي سلكت (بهم) وساقتهم من حيث نفوسهم وأرواحهم ثانيا إلى الغرق في بحر العلم والشهود إذ بها حصل لهم الخلاص من ظلمات الجثث والأبدان و آثارهم ولو بعد مرور الدهور والأحقاب . (فغرقوا) بعد خلاصهم بغرق الجثث وحرقها وزوال آثاره

stumble] i.e., which conducted (them) and drove them, from the standpoint of their souls and spirits, a second time to drowning in the sea of knowledge and witnessing, since by it they attained deliverance from the darknesses of their corporeal bodies and physical frames and their traces, even if only after the passing of ages and epochs. (so they were drowned) after their deliverance, by the drowning of their bodies and their being consumed, and the disappearance of its traces

﴿فغرقوا في بحار العلم باللَّه وهو الحيرة﴾

أي في الأحدية السارية في الكل المتجلية في صورة الكثرة المحيرة بتعينها في كل شيء مع لا تعينها في الكل وإطلاقها وتقييده

that is, in the Oneness (aḥadiyya) pervading all things, self-disclosed in the form of the bewildering multiplicity through its determination (taʿayyun) in every thing, together with its non-determination in the whole, and its unboundedness together with its being bounded

﴿فغرقوا في بحار العلم باللَّه ، وهو الحيرة﴾

التي لا تبقى معها صورة من الصور العلميّة والحقائق أصلا ، فإنّها " لا تُبْقِي وَلا تَذَرُ " * [ 74 / 28 ]

with which no form among the cognitive forms and realities remains at all, for it "leaves nothing and spares nothing" [74/28]

﴿في بحار العلم بالله﴾

و فنوا في شهود أحديته

and they became annihilated in the witnessing of His Oneness (aḥadiyya)

﴿في بحار العلم بالله وهو﴾

أي بحار العلم

i.e., the seas of knowledge

﴿العلم بالله﴾

وإنما قال كذلك لأنها يلزم العلم بالله كما يلزم العجز. فحملها عليه مجازا، حمل اللازم على الملزوم، كما حملا لإدراك على العجز مجازا في قولهم: (العجز عن درك الإدراك إدراك). حملا لملزوم على اللازم، لأن العجز عن إدراك الحق على ما هو عليه وحقيقته، إنما يلزم من غاية العلم بالله وجهاته المتكثرة المحيرة للناظر فيها

He phrased it thus because knowledge of God necessarily entails incapacity, just as it entails [the term] itself. So he predicated it of it metaphorically, predicating the necessary consequence (lāzim) of the thing necessitating it (malzūm), just as perception was predicated of incapacity metaphorically in their saying: "Incapacity to attain [true] perception is [itself] perception"—predicating the necessitating thing of the necessary consequence, because incapacity to perceive the Real as He truly is in Himself necessarily follows from the utmost degree of knowledge of God and of His manifold aspects, which bewilder the one who contemplates them.

﴿وهو الحيرة﴾

راجع إلى (الغرق). أي، ذلك الغرق هو الحيرة. ويجوز أن يرجع إلى

refers back to "drowning"—that is, that drowning is bewilderment. It may also refer to:

﴿الحيرة فأدخلوا نارا﴾

أي نار المحبة

i.e., the fire of love

﴿" فَأُدْخِلُوا ناراً " في عين الماء﴾

أي نار العشق بنور سبحات وجهه المخترقة بجميع التعينات والأنيات في عين بحر ماء العلم باللَّه ، والحياة الحقيقية التي يحيا بها الكل من وجه ويفنى بها الكل من وجه ، فلا حيرة أشد من الحيرة في شهود الغرق والحرق مع الحياة والعلم والفناء مع البقاء

that is, the fire of passionate love by the light of the effulgences of His Face, which pierces through all determinations and individual selfhoods, within the very sea-water of the knowledge of God, and the true life by which the whole lives in one respect, and by which the whole perishes in another respect; so there is no bewilderment more intense than bewilderment in witnessing drowning and burning together with life, and knowledge together with annihilation together with subsistence

﴿"فأدخلوا نارا" في عين الماء﴾

أي، فادخلوا في نار المحبة والشوق حال كونهم في عين الماء. أو نارا كائنة في عين الماء، ليفنيهم عن أنفسهم و يبقيهم بالحق. وإنما قال

That is, they were made to enter the fire of love and yearning while in the very state of being in water. Or: a fire existing within the very water, so as to annihilate them from themselves and preserve them subsistent through the Real. He said:

﴿(نوح: 20) في عين الماء وفي المحمديين.﴾

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

وإذا البحار سجرت

'And when the seas are set ablaze' —

﴿"فَأُدْخِلُوا ناراً " في عين الماء … في المحمّديّين﴾

من هذه الحكمة ما يؤدّيه قوله

From this wisdom is what is conveyed by His saying

﴿"فأدخلوا نارا"﴾

من نور سبحات وجهه المحرفة حجب أنياتهم

from the light of the glories (subuhāt) of His Face which consume the veils of their egoities

﴿في عين الماء﴾

يعني رضي الله عنه : لمّا أشهدوا الوحدة في عين الكثرة وبالعكس ، فقد حصلوا في نار تجلَّي نور سبحات وجهه ، المحرقة من عين طوفان بحر حيرة شهود النفس . قال رضي الله عنه : « في المحمّديّين

He means, may God be pleased with him: when they were made to witness Unity within the very essence of multiplicity, and vice versa, they thereby came to be in the fire of the self-disclosure of the light of the subḥāt (glories) of His Face—the burning [fire proceeding] from the very deluge of the sea of the bewilderment of the witnessing of the self. He said, may God be pleased with him: "among the Muhammadans...

﴿في عين الماء﴾

لأن نار المحبة المفنية لهم بأنوار سبحات وجه الحق، حصلت لهم واستولت عليهم في عين العلم بالله. و (الماء) صورة العلم. (في المحمديين

because the fire of love that annihilates them through the lights of the splendors of the Face of the Real came to them and overcame them precisely within the knowledge of God, and "water" is the form of knowledge—in the case of the Muhammadans:

﴿في عين الماء﴾

أي عين ماء العلم وشهود أحديته سبحانه . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

i.e., the very substance of the water of knowledge and the witnessing of His Oneness, glory be to Him. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said

﴿في عين الماء﴾

وهو العلم وجاء كون النار في الماء

which is knowledge; and there occurs [the notion of] fire being in water

﴿في المحمديين " وإِذَا الْبِحارُ سُجِّرَتْ "﴾

من سجرت التنور إذا أوقدته . فإن عين بحار العلم باللَّه في الكل عين إيقاد نار العشق المحرق . قال رضي الله عنه

from "he set the oven ablaze," meaning he kindled it. For the very sea of the knowledge of God in the whole is the very kindling of the burning fire of passionate love. He, may God be pleased with him, said

﴿"و إذا البحار سجرت": سجرت التنور إذا أوقدته. "فلم يجدوا لهم من دون الله أنصارا» فكان الله عين أنصارهم فهلكوا فيه إلى الأبد. فلو أخرجهم إلى السيف، سيف الطبيعة لنزل بهم عن هذه الدرجة الرفيعة،﴾

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

وفي قوله : عين الماء إبهام لا يخلو عن عذوبة (وهو)، أي الغرق في بحار العلم بالله هو (الحيرة) وكل ذلك بناء على ما ذهب رضي الله عنه من أن ما آن حال أجل الشفاء إلى السعادة ولو كانوا خالدين في دار الشقاء في قوله : خطت بهم توهمت إشارة أن الخطيئات مأخوذة من الخطو لأن صاحب الخطيئة يخطو وينعدی بارتكابها أوامر الله تعالى فيقع في الخطية . وإنما يصح ذلك على أحد احتمالي إلى قراءة خطياتهم بتشديد الياء بلا همز فإنه حينئذ يحتمل أن تكون الخطية من الخطو خطيئاتهم بالهمز فذكر لفظة خطت لمناسبة تقطته لا لبيان الاشتقاق. (وجاء في المحمديين) ما يدل عني إدخالهم النار في عين الحق له تعالى ("وإذا البحار سجرت " [تكویر: 6]. تقول: (من سجرت التنور إذا أوقدت بها) ، أي إذا سجرت بحار علمه وشهود وحدته بنار نور سبحات وجهه المحرقة حجب التعيينات

and in his saying "the very substance of water" there is an ambiguity not devoid of sweetness. (and it is) i.e., drowning in the seas of knowledge of God is (bewilderment), and all of this is built upon what he, may God be pleased with him, held, namely that whatever pertains to the state of the term of healing (shifāʾ) leads to felicity, even if they were to remain eternally in the abode of wretchedness. As for his saying: "made them stumble," it suggests that transgressions (khaṭīʾāt) are derived from stepping (khaṭw), since the possessor of a transgression steps and is transported by committing it beyond the commands of God, Most High, and so falls into error. This is valid only on one of two possibilities regarding the reading of "khaṭīʾātihim" with doubled yāʾ and without hamza, for then it could be that khaṭīʾa derives from khaṭw; as for "khaṭīʾātihim" with hamza, he mentioned the word "khaṭat" for the sake of the paronomasia he intended, not to indicate derivation. (And there came, regarding the Muhammadans) that which indicates their being made to enter fire in the very substance of the Real, Most High: ("and when the seas are set ablaze") [al-Takwīr: 6]. You say: (from sujjirat al-tannūr, meaning it was heated) i.e., when the seas of His knowledge and the witnessing of His Unity are set ablaze by the fire of the light of the glories of His Face which consumes the veils of determinations (taʿayyunāt)

﴿في المحمديين وإذا البحار سجرت. سجرت التنور إذا أوقدته﴾

فكان المحمديون داخلين نارا في بحار العلم بالله فإذا أدخلوا نارا في عين الماء . قال رضي الله عنه

as in "he set the oven ablaze (sajarta al-tannūr) when you kindled it"] So the Muhammadans were ones who entered fire within the seas of knowledge of God; thus, when they were made to enter fire into the very water — He, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿وَإِذَا الْبِحارُ سُجِّرَتْ﴾

من سجرت التنّور إذا أوقدتها ". يعني رضي الله عنه : أنّ عين الحق الواحد المحيط وهو عين حياة الكثير وهويّته هي المتجلَّية في إنّيّات الصغير والكبير ، فهي تجيش بنار نور تجلَّيه ، فبحارها به مسجّرة ، وخائضوها غرقى محيّرة لا مخيّرة ومسخّرة مسجّرة " وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ ما يَشاءُ وَيَخْتارُ ما كانَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ " قال رضي الله عنه : " فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا لَهُمْ من دُونِ الله أَنْصاراً

He means, may God be pleased with him: that the very essence of the One, All-Encompassing Real—which is the very life of the many and their ipseity (huwiyya)—is that which discloses itself in the selfhoods (inniyyāt) of the small and the great; so it surges with the fire of the light of His self-disclosure, and thus its seas are set ablaze by it, and those wading in them are drowned, bewildered—not given a choice, but subjugated and set ablaze—"'And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; they have no choice.'" He said, may God be pleased with him: "'So they found no helpers for themselves besides God...'

﴿وإذا البحار سجرت﴾

من سجرت التنور إذا أو قدته.) أي، جاء في حق المحمديين

That is, it came concerning the Muhammadans:

﴿وإذا البحار سجرت﴾

(التكوير: 6) والبحار هي ماء وقد وصفها بصفة النار في قوله "سجرت" والدليل على أنها صفة النار قولهم: سجرت التنور إذا أوقدت فيه النار، فصح قوله: إن قوله: فأدخلوا نارا أنها نار في ماء. ثم أخذ يبين معنى قوله

(al-Takwīr: 6) — the seas are water, yet He described them with the attribute of fire in His saying "sujjirat" (were set ablaze). The proof that this is an attribute of fire is their expression "sajara the oven" (sajara al-tannūr), [said] when fire is kindled within it. Thus his statement is confirmed: that His saying "then made to enter a Fire" means a fire within water. Then he began to clarify the meaning of His saying—

﴿" وَإِذَا الْبِحارُ سُجِّرَتْ " [ 81 / 6 ] سجّرت التنور : إذا أوقدته﴾

ولا يخفى على الفطن ما بينهما من التفاوت في الجمعيّة القرآنيّة . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

— sajjarat al-tannūr means: when you kindled the oven] It is not hidden from the discerning what difference there is between the two [verses] in Qur'anic comprehensiveness. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said