The commentators side by side

﴿يقول أبو يزيد رضي الله عنه في هذا المقام : لو أن العرش وما حواه مائة ألف ألف مرة في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف ما أحس بها وهذا وسع أبى يزيد في عالم الأجسام ، بل أقول : لو أن ما لا يتناهى وجوده يقدر انتهاء وجوده من العين الموجدة له ، في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف ما أحسن بذلك في علمه﴾

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

قلب العارف : هو الذي وسع الحق بفنائه فيه وبقائه به مطلقا بلا تعين ، وكل ما فرض وجوده من الأمور المعينة مع العين الواحدة التي تعينت بالتعين الأول ويتعين بها كل متعين ، فهو متعين منحصر في تعينه غير مطلق ، وكل متعين فهو فان في المطلق الواجب ، وقلب العارف مع الحق المطلق بإطلاقه فيفنى فيه الكل فلا يحس به . قوله

The heart of the gnostic is that which encompassed the Real by its own annihilation (fanāʾ) in Him and its subsistence (baqāʾ) through Him absolutely, without any determination (taʿayyun). Everything whose existence is posited among determined matters, together with the single entity (al-ʿayn al-wāḥida) that became determined by the first determination, and by which every determined thing becomes determined — it is determined, confined within its determination, not absolute. And every determined thing is annihilated (fānī) in the absolute Necessary Being. The heart of the gnostic is with the absolute Real in His absoluteness, so the whole is annihilated in Him and he does not sense it.

﴿ويقبل في مجلي العقول وفي الذي %~% يسمى خيالا والصحيح النواظر يقول أبو يزيد في هذا المقام لو أن العرش وما حواه مائة ألف ألف مرة في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف ما أحس بها. وهذا وسع أبي يزيد في عالم الأجسام. بل أقول لو أن ما لا يتناهى وجوده يقدر انتهاء وجوده مع العين الموجدة له في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف ما أحس بذلك في علمه. فإنه قد ثبت أن القلب وسع الحق ومع ذلك ما اتصف بالري فلو امتلأ ارتوى. وقد قال ذلك أبو يزيد.﴾

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

قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه : (ويقبل) الحق على البناء للمفعول

the [direct] visionary faculties (al-nawāẓir). Abū Yazīd says, regarding this station: 'If the Throne and all it contains were multiplied a hundred thousand thousand times in a corner of the corners of the gnostic's heart, he would not sense it.' And this was the capacity of Abū Yazīd in the world of bodies. Nay, I say: if that whose existence is infinite were supposed to have its existence come to an end—together with the very eye that brought it into existence—in a corner of the corners of the gnostic's heart, he would not sense that in his knowledge. For it has been established that the heart contains (wasiʿa) the Real, and yet it is not characterized by satiation (al-riyy); for were it to be filled, it would be sated. And Abū Yazīd said this.] The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said: (And He is accepted)—the Real—[the verb] in the passive voice

﴿وما حكمه في موطن دون موطن %~% ولكنه بالحق للخلق سافر﴾

أي ليس حكمه في موطن أولى به من موطن آخر ، فإن المواطن كلها بالنسبة إلى الحق سواء ، ففي أي موطن تجلى كان حكم تجليه في سائر المواطن كذلك ، ولكنه تعالى بحقيقته يسفر عن وجه الحق للخلق . وفيه إيماء إلى أنه يظهر بحقيقته للخلق في صورة الخلق وإلا لم يعرفوه فلم يظهر ، لأنه إنما يبرز في صورة العين الثابتة لكل واحد من الخلائق ، فيعرفونه ويشهدونه بقدر ما تجلى لهم فيهم : قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

[Verse: And His ruling is not [specific] to one station rather than another %~% but rather He, through the Real, is manifest/traveling (sāfir) to creation] That is, His ruling in one station is not more fitting for Him than in another station, for all the stations are, relative to the Real, the same; so in whatever station He discloses Himself, the ruling of His self-disclosure is likewise in all the other stations. But He, Exalted is He, in His true reality, unveils the Face of the Real to creation. And in this there is an allusion to the fact that He manifests, in His true reality, to creation in the form of creation — otherwise they would not know Him, and so He would not be manifest — for He only appears in the form of the fixed entity (al-ʿayn al-thābita) proper to each one of created things, so that they know Him and witness Him according to the measure in which He discloses Himself to them within themselves. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿وما حكمه في موطن دون موطن %~% ولكنه بالحق للحق سافر﴾

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

أي، ليس حكم الحق منحصرا في موطن ومقام لئلا يكون في موطن آخر، بل حكمه سار في جميع المواطن بحسب سريان ذاته فيها. غاية ما في الباب أن أحكامه يختلف باختلاف المواطن. وضمير (لكنه) يرجع إلى (الحكم). أي، لكن حكمه بسبب ظهور الحق في الخلق. (سافر) أي، ظاهر فيه. يقال: سفرت المرأة وجهها. إذا كشفت وجهها. فتكون (اللام) بمعنى (في). وإلا تكون للتعدية. تقديره: لكن حكمه بحسب تجلى الحق ظاهر للخلق

, for the Real] that is, the ruling of the Real is not confined to one station and rank such that it would not be in another station; rather His ruling pervades (sārī) all stations according to the pervasion of His Essence within them. The utmost that can be said is that His rulings differ according to the difference of stations. The pronoun in "lakinnahu" refers to "the ruling" (al-ḥukm). That is, but his ruling, by reason of the Real's manifestation in creation, is "sāfir" (manifest/unveiled) — that is, manifest within it. It is said: "the woman unveiled (safarat) her face," when she uncovers her face. So the "lām" would carry the meaning of "in" (fī). Otherwise it would be for transitivity, its sense being: but His ruling, according to the self-disclosure of the Real, is manifest to creation

﴿وما حكمه في موطن دون موطن﴾

لأنّه المطلق الشامل

because He is the Absolute, all-encompassing.

﴿وما حكمه﴾

الذي هو نجليه الوجودي منحصرة

, which is its existential self-disclosure, is not confined

﴿وما حكمه في موطن دون موطن %~% ولكنه بالحق للخلق سافر﴾

( وإن قلت أمرا آخرا ) باحتجابك بالصور عن الحق ( أنت عابر ) أي مجاوز من الصورة إلى أمر آخر فأنت صادق أيضا على هذا الوجه ( فما حكمة في موطن دون موطن ) كما جعل العقل منحصر لظهوره في الصفة الكمالية ( للخلق ) أي لإيجاد الخلق ( سافر ) أي يصير نزولا من مقام أحديته إلى مقام تفصيله ، فلا يكون موطن إلا والحق ظاهر فيه بالأحكام اللائقة

- [you are] also [truthful]; so what is the ruling in one locus but not another? Yet He travels openly to creation by the Real] (And if you say something else) - namely, that you are veiled by the forms from the Real, (you are passing through) i.e., moving from the form to something else - then you are also truthful on this account. (So what is the ruling in one locus but not another), as when reason confines His appearance exclusively to the attribute of perfection? (He travels openly) for the sake of creation, i.e., for bringing creation into existence, (He travels openly), meaning He descends from the station of His Oneness to the station of His differentiation - so there is no locus except that the Real is manifest therein with the rulings appropriate to it.

Bālī Zāde's gloss, printed inside al-Qāshānī's commentary in the ibnalarabi.com text (line 3670); moved here

﴿في موطن دون موطن﴾

ولكنه سبحانه (بالحق) ، أي بتجليه بالوجود الحق

; but He, glory be to Him, (through the Real), that is, through His self-disclosure by true existence

﴿في موطن دون موطن﴾

كما جعل العقل منحصرة لظهوره في الصفة الكمالية . (ولكنه) أي لكن الحق. (بالحق) أي الحق بذاته . (للخلق) أي لأجل إيجاد الخلق. (سافر) أي سير نزولا من مقام أحديته إلى مقام تفصيله فلا يكون موطن إلا والحق ظاهر فيه بالأحكام اللائقة بهذا الموطن . (إذا) شرط (ما) زیادت للتأكيد (تجلي) الحق (للعيون) بالصورة الحسية والمثالية (ترده) أي ترد الحق

as reason would confine His manifestation exclusively to the perfect attribute. (But rather He)—that is, the Real—(through the Real)—that is, the Real by His own Essence—(for creation's sake)—that is, for the sake of bringing creation into existence—(journeys)—that is, travels downward from the station of His Oneness (aḥadiyya) to the station of His differentiation. So there is no locus but that the Real is manifest therein with the rulings appropriate to that locus. (Whenever)—a conditional particle—(mā) an intensifying addition—(He discloses Himself)—that is, the Real discloses Himself—(to the eyes)—in sensory and imaginal form—(they reject Him)—that is, [intellects] reject the Real

﴿ولكنّه بالحقّ للخلق سافر﴾

أي ظاهر الخلق بحسب المناسبات لهم ، ومدارج التنزّلات إليهم بالحقّ ، وإن كان ذلك في صورة الباطل ، كما قال شيخ الشيخ المؤلف أبو مدين رضي الله عنه كذلك نظما : لا تنكر الباطل في طوره %~% فإنّه بعض ظهوراته وأعطه منه بمقداره %~% حتى توفّي حقّ إثباته فالحقّ قد يظهر في صورة %~% ينكرها الجاهل في ذاته ولأنّ ظهور الحقّ للمحجوبين من الخلق ، إنّما يمكن في رقائق المناسبات لهم ، ومدارج التنزلات إليهم ، تراه

i.e., apparent to creation according to what suits them, and the degrees of descent toward them by means of the Real — even if that be in the form of what is seemingly false, just as the Shaykh of our author's shaykh, Abū Madyan, God be pleased with him, said likewise in verse: Do not deny the false in its mode, for it is one of His manifestations; and give it its due measure from Him, until you have fulfilled the right of affirming it. For the Real may manifest in a form which the ignorant one denies in his very being. And because the manifestation of the Real to those veiled among creation is possible only through the subtle correspondences suited to them, and the degrees of descent toward them, you see Him

﴿للخلق سافر﴾

أي كاشف للخلق ومظهر إياهم بکشف حجاب الخفاء عن وجوه أعيانهم الثابتة

, that is, disclosing to creation and manifesting them by lifting the veil of concealment from the faces of their fixed entities

﴿إذا ما تجلى للعيون ترده %~% عقول ببرهان عليه تثابر﴾

يعنى إذا تجلى في صورة محسوسة ترده العقول بالبرهان العقلي وإن كان حقا في طور عالم الحس وفي نفس الأمر ، لأن العقل ينزهه من أن يكون محسوسا ، فيكون في حيز وجهة ويجله عن ذلك ، وهو كما يتعالى عما ينزهه عنه تعالى يتعالى عن ذلك التنزيه أيضا . فإنه تشبيه بالأرواح وتقييد للمطلق فيكون محدودا ، والحق أنه متعال عن الجهة واللاجهة ، والتحيز واللاتحيز ، وعن تقييد الحس والعقل والخيال والوهم والفكر ، ولا يحيطون به علما وهو المحيط بالكل ، ولا يحوم حول عرفانه المقيدون ولا المشبهون ولا المنزهون ، لا باطن يحصره ويخفيه ولا ظاهر يظهره ويبديه ، تعالى عما يصفون وعما يقول الظالمون علوا كبيرا . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

[Verse: Whenever He discloses Himself to the eyes, there are %~% intellects that persist in rejecting Him with a proof against Him] That is, when He discloses Himself in a sensible form, the intellects reject it by rational proof, even though it is true in the register of the sensible world and in point of fact — because the intellect declares Him incomparable (tanzīh) with being something sensible, which would place Him in a locus and a direction, and holds Him too exalted for that. But just as He is above that which [the intellect] declares Him incomparable with, so too is He above that very declaration of incomparability (tanzīh) itself. For [absolutizing tanzīh] amounts to likening Him (tashbīh) to spirits, and a restriction of the Absolute, so that He would become delimited — whereas the truth is that He is exalted above direction and non-direction, above spatial confinement and non-confinement, and above the restriction of sense, intellect, imagination, estimation, and thought. None encompass Him in knowledge, while He encompasses all; neither those who restrict Him, nor those who liken Him (mushabbihūn), nor those who declare Him incomparable (munazzihūn) can hover around true knowledge of Him. There is no nonmanifest (bāṭin) that confines and conceals Him, nor manifest (ẓāhir) that displays and reveals Him. Exalted is He above what they describe, and above what the wrongdoers say, with great exaltation. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿إذا ما تجلى للعيون ترده %~% عقول ببرهان عليه تثابر﴾

أي، إذا تجلى الحق في صورة مثالية أو حسية، ترده العقول المحجوبة، بواسطة أنهادائما منزهة للحق ببراهين عقلية تواظب عليها، إذ (المثابرة) المدارسة والمواظبة على الشئ. والعقل، وإن كان ينزه الحق عن التشبيه، يشبه في عين التنزيه بالمجردات وهو لا يشعر. والحق تعالى منزه عن التشبيه والتنزيه بحسب ذاته، وموصوف بهما في مراتب أسمائه وصفاته

eyes, / intellects reject it, persisting with proof against it] that is, whenever the Real discloses Himself in an imaginal or sensory form, veiled intellects reject it, by means of [the fact] that they are forever declaring the Real incomparable (tanzīh), with rational proofs upon which they persistently labor — for "muthābara" means persistent application and diligence upon a thing. And reason (ʿaql), even though it declares the Real incomparable with respect to similarity, nevertheless, in the very act of declaring incomparability, likens Him to incorporeal things, without being aware of it. And the Real, exalted is He, is incomparable with respect to both similarity and incomparability according to His Essence, while being described by both in the ranks of His Names and Attributes

﴿إذا ما تجلَّى للعيون تردّه %~% عقول ببرهان عليه تثابر﴾

لأنّ الصور الكونيّة والمواد الهيولانيّة التي بها يظهر الحقّ للعيون ، قد نزّه العقول بالبراهين القاطعة جناب الحقّ عنها

for the cosmic forms and hylic materials through which the Real becomes manifest to eyes have, by decisive demonstrations, been declared by reason as incomparable with respect to the sacred precinct of the Real, apart from them.

﴿إذا ما تجلى للعيون﴾

الحسية أو الحالية التي من شأنها الاقتصار على التشبيه في صورة حسية أو مثالية

, the sensory eyes or the imaginal ones, whose nature it is to be confined to declaring similarity (tashbīh) in a sensory or imaginal form

﴿إذا ما تجلى للعيون ترده %~% عقول ببرهان عليه تثابر﴾

وقابل الحق ( في مجلى العقول ) العقول المجردة ، وفي مجلى الخيال القلب والنفوس المجردة ، حصر ظهور الحق كل منهما في مرتبتهما ، وليس ذلك الحصر بصحيح ( والصحيح ) في قبول الحق ( النواظر ) وهي جمع ناظرة ، فتشاهد الناظرة الحق في جميع المراتب الإلهية والكونية ، فيعرفون الحق في كل موطن فيعبدونه ، فهم يستغفرون الحق بجميع كمالاته فلا يحتجبون بصور الأكوان عن الحق ، فقلوبهم يسعون فيفوتهم غير الحق

And the Real is received (in the locus of disclosure of) the intellects - the separate intellects - and in the locus of disclosure of the imagination - the heart and the separate souls. [Some] confined the Real's appearance, each of these to its own level, but this confinement is not correct. (And the correct [reception]) of the Real is (the eyes/vision) (al-nawāẕir), the plural of nāẕira (perceiving eye); for the perceiving eye witnesses the Real in all the divine and cosmic levels, so they know the Real in every locus and worship Him accordingly. They seek forgiveness from the Real through all His perfections, and are not veiled by the forms of created things from the Real; their hearts strive onward, so nothing but the Real escapes them.

Bālī Zāde's gloss, printed inside al-Qāshānī's commentary in the ibnalarabi.com text (line 3688); moved here

﴿ترده عقول﴾

ناقصة مقتصرة على التنزيه غير مهتدية بنور الكشف والمشاهدة إلى الجمع بين التنزيه والتشبيه وذلك الرد إنما هو (ببرهان) أي بسبب برهان (علیه تثابر) وتواظب تلك العقول ما ينتج تنزيهه تعالى عما يثني عن التشبيه. (ويقبل) ، أي تجليه للعقول (في مجلی العقول) ، أي في مجلی ترتضيه العقول وهو مقام التنزيه (و) يقبل للخيال (في) المجلی

, deficient intellects confined to declaring incomparability (tanzīh), not guided by the light of unveiling and witnessing to combining incomparability and similarity; and that rejection is only (through a demonstrative proof), that is, by reason of a proof (which they persistently maintain) and adhere to, which yields His transcendence, exalted, above what precludes similarity. (And it is accepted), that is, His self-disclosure to the intellects, (in the self-disclosure of intellects), that is, in a locus of manifestation that the intellects find acceptable, which is the station of incomparability, (and) it is accepted for the imagination (in the locus of manifestation)

﴿عقول ببرهان﴾

أي بسببه (عليه) أي على ذلك البرهان (تثابر) تداوم العقول وتواظبه دائما قوله عليه يتعلق بقوله تثابر . قال الشيخ الأكبر رضي الله عنه

that is, by means of it (ʿalayhi), referring to that proof, (against it) (persist)—that is, the intellects continually and perpetually persist in it. His saying 'ʿalayhi' is connected to his saying 'tathābaru' [they persist]. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said

﴿ويقبل في مجلى العقول وفي الذي %~% يسمى خيالا والصحيح النواظر﴾

أي يقبله العقلاء إذا تجلى في صورة عقلية غير محسوسة ، ولا مكيفة بكيف ولا مقدرة بمقدار يطابقها البرهان العقلي ، وكذلك تقبله الناس إذا تجلى في صورة خيالية في المنام ، ولا يقبلونه في صورة محسوسة ، والصحيح كشف شهود العيون النواظر ، وهي العيون الناظرة بالحق الغير الحاصرة له فيما تجلى لهم ظاهرا. كقوله تعالى : "وُجُوه يَوْمَئِذٍ ناضِرَةٌ إِلى رَبِّها ناظِرَةٌ " . قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

That is, the rational ones accept Him when He discloses Himself in an intelligible form, not sensible, not qualified by any quality nor measured by any measure, matching rational proof. Likewise people accept Him when He discloses Himself in an imaginal form in a dream, but they do not accept Him in a sensible form. The correct view is the unveiled witnessing of the beholding eyes (al-nawāẕir) — the eyes that behold by the Real, without confining Him to what was disclosed to them manifestly, as in His saying, exalted is He: "Faces that Day will be radiant, looking toward their Lord." The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿وتقبل في مجلي العقول وفي الذي %~% يسمى خيالا والصحيح النواظر﴾

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

أي، يقبل الحق عند أهل الكشف والشهود في مجلي العقول، أي في مقام التنزيه، وفي المجلى المثالي الذي يسمى خيالا، والحسي أيضا، لجمعهم بين مقامي التنزيه والتشبيه

the eyes'] That is, the Real is received, according to the people of unveiling and witnessing, in the self-disclosure-loci of intellects—i.e., in the station of declaring incomparability (tanzīh)—and in the imaginal self-disclosure-locus called imagination (khayāl), and the sensory [locus] as well, because they combine the two stations of tanzīh and tashbīh.

﴿ويقبل في مجلى العقول﴾

وذلك لأنّ هذا المجلى من شأنه أن يجرّد ما فيه عن الغواشي الغريبة واللواحق الهيولانيّة الخارجة مطلقا ، بل وعمّا يلحقه فيه أيضا من خصوصيّات المجلى ، وذلك الذي هو مقبول الفلاسفة وذوي العقول

for it is the nature of this mirror to strip what is within it of all extraneous coverings and hylic accretions whatsoever, and even of whatever may attach to it therein of the peculiarities of the mirror itself. This is what is accepted by the philosophers and the possessors of reason,

﴿في مجلي العقول وفي … الذي يسمى خيالا﴾

وقابل الحق في مجلي العقول العقول المجردة ، وفي مجلي الخيال القلب والنفوس المجردة فحضر ظهور الحق كل منهما في مرتبتهما وليس ذلك الحضور بصحيح. ( والصحيح) في قبول الحق ما تقبله (النواظر) وهي جمع ناظرة فيشاهد أهل الناظرة الحق في جميع المراتب الإلهية والكونية فيعرفون الحق في كل موطن فيعبدونه فهم يسعون للحق بجميع كمالاته . فلا يحتجبون بصور الأكوان عن الحق فقلوبهم يسعون الحق فيفوتهم غير الحق

The Real is received in the theophany-locus of the intellects by the abstracted intellects, and in the theophany-locus of imagination by the heart and the abstracted souls; so the manifestation of the Real is present to each of these two in their [respective] level—but this presence is not correct [i.e., not the complete or sound mode]. (And the correct [mode]) in receiving the Real is what is received by (the visionary faculties, al-nawāẓir)—plural of nāẓira [the perceiving faculty]—so the people of the [direct] visionary faculty witness the Real in all the divine and cosmic levels; thus they know the Real in every locus and worship Him, striving toward the Real in all His perfections. They are not veiled from the Real by the forms of created things; their hearts encompass the Real, so that what is other than the Real escapes them [i.e., does not preoccupy them]

﴿وفي الذي %~% يسمّى خيالا﴾

لما في الصور المختصّة به من التجرّد عن المواد الهيولانيّة والتنزّه عن اللواحق الجسمانيّة ما ليس لغيرها من الصور . على ما هو مقبول أرباب الخلوات الرسميّة والرياضات العاديّة ، من الأنوار الشعشعانيّة والإشراقات الخالصة عن الشوائب الهيولانيّة

on account of what is in the forms proper to it of freedom from hylic materials, and incomparability with corporeal accretions, such as no other forms possess — as is accepted by the possessors of formal retreats and habitual spiritual exercises, in terms of radiant lights and illuminations purified of hylic admixtures,

﴿الذي يسمى خيالا﴾

فما تقبله العقول برده الخيال وما يقبله الخيال ترده العقول (و) الشهود (الصحيح النواظر) ، أي شهود النواظر المشار إليها بقوله تعالى: "وجوه يومئذ ناضرة إلى ربها ناظرة"[القيامة : 22 - 23 ] التي تشاهد الحق سبحانه في المجالي كلها حسية كانت،أو مثالية أو عقلية

: so what the intellects accept, the imagination rejects, and what the imagination accepts, the intellects reject. (And) the witnessing (of sound vision), that is, the witnessing of the eyes referred to in His saying, exalted: "Faces that day will be radiant, looking at their Lord" [al-Qiyāma 75:22-23], which witnesses the Real, glory be to Him, in all the loci of manifestation, whether sensory, imaginal, or intellectual

﴿والصحيح النواظر﴾

أي، النواظر الصحيحة تشاهد تلك المجالي كلها. فحذف الخبر لقرينة (النواظر) . أو: والصحيح ما يشاهده النواظر في مجالي الحق، كما قال تعالى في أهل الآخرة: (وجوه يومئذ ناضرة إلى ربها ناظرة) . لأن عين اليقين أعلى مرتبة من علم اليقين. وقوله: (يقبل) مبنى للمفعول لا للفاعل، لأن العقول ما تقبل المجالي الخيالية بالآلهية

the eyes'] That is, sound eyes witness all those self-disclosure-loci. The predicate is elided due to the indication of 'the eyes.' Or: the correct [understanding] is what the eyes witness in the self-disclosure-loci of the Real, as He, exalted, said concerning the people of the Hereafter: 'Faces that Day will be radiant, looking at their Lord.' For the eye of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn) is a higher rank than the knowledge of certainty (ʿilm al-yaqīn). And his saying 'is received' (yuqbalu) is constructed as passive, not active, because intellects do not receive the imaginal self-disclosure-loci in [their aspect of] divinity.

﴿والصحيح النواظر﴾

بالنصب ، عطفا على « خيالا » والنظر حينئذ بمعنى الفكر وبالرفع على أن يكون جملة حاليّة ، والنظر حينئذ بمعنى البصر . ثمّ إنّ الكلام لما انساق إلى طرف سعة الحقّ ومجال ظهوره في سائر المواطن والمجالي ، وبروزه بكسرة الكلّ خفاء وظهورا ، أخذ في تبيين ذلك قائلا

— read in the accusative, coordinated with 'imagination,' in which case 'naẕar' means 'thought'; or in the nominative, as a circumstantial clause, in which case 'naẕar' means 'sight.' Then, since the discourse has been led to the extent of the Real's vastness and the scope of His manifestation in all the various loci and mirrors, and His emergence through the totality of the All in both concealment and manifestation, he begins to clarify this, saying:

﴿يقول أبو يزيد في هذا المقام﴾

أي، في هذا المقام القلبي. لأن كلامه رضي الله عنه كان في عالم المثال. وهذا العالم لا يدرك إلا بالقلب وقواه، والخيال محل ظهوره لا أنه يدركه، إذ لو كان مدركا له، لكان يدركه كل واحد لظهور الخيال في كلواحد، بخلاف القلب، فإنه خفى لا يظهر إلا لمن كحلت بصيرته بنور الهداية. وما يجده كل واحد في خياله من المنامات الصادقة، إنما هو بمقدار صفاء قلبه وظهوره، لا بحسب خياله

That is, regarding this station of the heart. For his speech—may God be pleased with him—was about the imaginal world (ʿālam al-mithāl). This world is not perceived except by the heart and its faculties, while imagination (khayāl) is merely the locus of its manifestation, not that which perceives it. For if it were the perceiver of it, every single person would perceive it, since imagination manifests in every person—unlike the heart, which is hidden and does not become manifest except to one whose insight has been anointed with the light of guidance. And what each person finds in his imagination of true dreams is only in proportion to the purity and manifestation of his heart, not according to his imagination.

﴿يقول أبو يزيد "البسطامي" في هذا المقام : « لو أنّ العرش وما حواه مائة ألف ألف مرّة في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف م أحسّ بها »﴾

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

أي ما وجد لها حسّا ، وهذا غاية ما أمكن من السعة في مرتبة الأجسام ، لأنّه قد جمع غاية البعدين المتّصل والمنفصل في المظروف وفي الظرف وقد خصّ من بين عموم زواياه زاوية واحدة . ولذلك قال

— meaning, he would find no sensory perception of it. This is the utmost possible extent of vastness at the level of bodies, for it combines the extreme of both connection and separation, in the contained thing and in the container, while singling out, from the generality of its corners, one single corner. Therefore he said:

﴿يقول أبو يزيد رضي الله عنه في هذا المقام﴾

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

أي مقام هذا الكشف التام والشهود العام

, that is, the station of this complete unveiling and general witnessing

﴿يقول أبو يزيد "البسطامي" في هذا المقام﴾

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

أي في مقام سعة القلب

that is, regarding the station of the heart's vastness

﴿لو أن العرش وما حواه﴾

فإنه أيضا يتضمن عدم الارتواء

for it also implies the absence of quenching

﴿لو أن العرش وما حواه﴾

أي من السماوات والأرضين وما فيهم

, that is, of the heavens and earths and what is in them

﴿لو أن العرش وما حواه﴾

أي مع إحاطته من السموات والأرضين

that is, together with its encompassing of the heavens and earths

﴿مائة ألف ألف مرة … في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف ما أحس﴾

أي العارف وقلبه (به) لحقارتها "لصغرها" بالنسبة إلى سعة قلبه لأنها متناهية، وسعة القلب غير متناهية لأنه بإطلاقه مقابل لإطلاق الحق الغير المتناهي وليس للمتناهي قدر محسوس بالنسبة إلى غير المتناهي. (وهذا) الذي ذكرناه من قول أبي يزيد

, that is, the gnostic, and his heart would not feel it, due to its insignificance (smallness) relative to the vastness of his heart, because it is finite, while the vastness of the heart is infinite, since in its absoluteness it corresponds to the absoluteness of the Real, the infinite, and the finite has no perceptible measure relative to the infinite. (And this), which we have mentioned of Abū Yazīd's saying

﴿مائة ألف ألف مرة في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف ما أحس به﴾

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

أي لا يدرك ذلك العارف ما في زاوية قلبه أي لا يشغله عن مشاهدة ربه ولا يضيق وسعة قلبه الحق. "" قال الشيخ في الفتوحات الباب الثامن والسبعون ومائة في معرفة مقام المحبة: المحب لا فكرة له في تدبير الكون وإنما همه وشغله بذكر محبوبه قد أفرط فيه الخيال فلا يعرف المقادير فإن كان محبوبه الله لما وسعه قلبه . فذلك الخارج عن الوزن فلا يزنه شيء ألا ترى إلى التلفظ بذكره . وهي لفظة لا إله إلا الله لا تدخل الميزان ولما دخلت بطاقتها من حيث ما هي مكتوبة في الميزان لصاحب السجلات طاشت السجلات وما وزنها شيء . ولو وضعت أصناف العالم ما وزنته و هي لفظة من قائل لم يتصف بالمحبة فما ظنك بقول محب فما ظنك بحاله فما ظنك بقلبه الذي هو أوسع من رحمة الله وسعته إنما كانت من رحمة الله . قال قائلهم في ذلك : أنا من أهوى %~% ومن أهوى أن "" قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه فى الفتوحات الباب الثامن والسبعون ومائة في معرفة مقام المحبة : وهذه حالة أبي يزيد المحب الله أحب بعض عباده فكان سمعه وبصره ولسانه وجميع قواه . منصة ومجلى نعت المحب بأنه مصطلم مجهود لا يقول لمحبوبه لم فعلت كذا لم قلت كذ منصة ومجلى نعت المحب بأنه دائم السهر: لما رأى أن المحبوب لا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ ولا نَوْمٌ علم إن ذلك من مقام حبه لحفظ العالم ودعاه إلى هذا النظر كون الحق يتجلى في الصور و للصور أحكام ومن أحكام بعض الصور النوم ورآه في مثل هذه الصورة " لا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ ولا نَوْمٌ " من حيث هذه الصورة فعلم إن ذلك من مقام حبه لحفظ العالم وإذا كان المحب جليس محبوبه ومحبوبه بهذه الصفة فالنوم عليه حرام فالمحب يقول مع الفراق إن النوم عليه حرام فكيف مع الشهود والمجالسة. قال بعضهم في سهر الفراق: النوم بعدكم علي حرام %~% من فارق الأحباب كيف ينام منصة ومجلى نعت المحب بأنه كامن الغم : أي غمه مستور لا ظهور له فسبب ذلك قوله تعالى وما قَدَرُوا الله حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ منصة ومجلى نعت المحب بأنه راغب في الخروج من الدنيا إلى لقاء محبوبه هو لما ذكرناه في هذا الفصل قبله لأن النفس من حقيقتها طلب الاستراحة والغم تعب وكمونه أتعب والدنيا محل الغموم والذي تختص به. منصة ومجلى نعت المحب بأنه متبرم بصحبة ما يحول بينه وبين لقاء محبوبه هذا النعت أعم من الأول في المحب فإن العارف ما يحول بينه وبين لقاء محبوبه إلا العدم وما هو ثم وليس الوجود سواه فهو شاهده في كل عين تراه فليس بين المحب والمحبوب إلا حجاب الخلق. منصة ومجلى نعت المحب بأنه كثير التأوه : وهو قوله إِنَّ إِبْراهِيمَ لَأَوَّاهٌ حَلِيمٌ وصف الحق من كونه اسمه الرحمن أن له نفسا ينفس به عن عباده وفي ذلك النفس ظهر العالم ولذلك جعل تكوين العالم بقول كُنْ .أه "" (وهذا) أي ما قال أبو يزيد

that is, that gnostic does not perceive what is in the corner of his heart, meaning it does not distract him from witnessing his Lord, nor does it constrict the capacious breadth of his heart, which is the Real (al-Ḥaqq). The Shaykh said in the Futūḥāt, Chapter 178, on the knowledge of the station of love: The lover has no thought for the governance of the cosmos; his only concern and occupation is the remembrance of his beloved, in which imagination has gone to excess, so he does not know measures. If his beloved is God, then how vast would his heart become! That is beyond weighing — nothing can weigh it. Do you not see the utterance of His remembrance — the phrase "there is no god but God" — it does not enter the scale; yet when its card entered, inscribed as it is, into the scale of the Keeper of Records, the scales were overwhelmed and nothing could weigh it, even if all the varieties of the world were placed upon it, they could not weigh it down — and this from one who had not even attained the quality of love! What then of the speech of a lover? What then of his state? What then of his heart, which is vaster than the mercy of God — its vastness itself being from the mercy of God? One of them said regarding this: "I am from him whom I love, and he whom I love is..." The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said in the Futūḥāt, Chapter 178, on the knowledge of the station of love: This is the state of Abū Yazīd — the Lover (God) loved some of His servants, so He became his hearing, his sight, his tongue, and all his faculties — a stage and manifestation of the lover's quality that he is overwhelmed, exhausted, not saying to his beloved "why did you do such-and-such, why did you say such-and-such" — a stage and manifestation of the lover's quality that he is perpetually wakeful: when he saw that the Beloved is not overtaken by slumber or sleep, he knew that this belongs to the station of His love in preserving the world, and this consideration led him to this — that the Real discloses Himself in forms, and forms have their own properties, and among the properties of some forms is sleep; and he saw Him in such a form as 'not overtaken by slumber or sleep' with respect to this form, so he knew that this belongs to the station of His love in preserving the world. And since the lover is the companion of his beloved, and his beloved has this attribute, then sleep is forbidden to him; so the lover says, even in separation, sleep is forbidden to him — how much more so in witnessing and companionship! Someone said regarding the wakefulness of separation: "Sleep after you is forbidden to me — how can one separated from loved ones sleep?" — a stage and manifestation of the lover's quality that his grief is hidden: that is, his grief is concealed, having no outward appearance; the cause of this is His saying, Most High: "They did not measure God according to His true measure" — a stage and manifestation of the lover's quality that he desires to depart from this world to meet his beloved, for the reason mentioned in the previous section before this: because the soul's reality is to seek rest, and grief is exhausting, and its concealment is yet more exhausting, and this world is the abode of grief and that to which it is specifically attached — a stage and manifestation of the lover's quality that he is vexed by any companionship that comes between him and meeting his beloved; this quality is more general than the first in the lover, for the gnostic (ʿārif) — nothing comes between him and meeting his beloved except non-existence, and that is not truly there, for existence is nothing but Him; he witnesses Him in every eye he beholds, so there is no veil between the lover and the beloved except the veil of creation — a stage and manifestation of the lover's quality that he sighs frequently: this is His saying, "Indeed Abraham was most imploring (awwāh), forbearing." He described the Real, in respect of His name the All-Merciful, as having a Breath (nafas) by which He relieves His servants, and in that Breath the cosmos appeared; and for that reason the formation of the cosmos was made through the word "Be." End. This (i.e., what Abū Yazīd said)

﴿وهذا وسع أبى يزيد في عالم الأجسام﴾

أي، وسع قلبه، لأنه ما يخبر إلا عمايجده في قلبه، لا وسع مرتبة القلب إذا كان في غاية كماله. لذلك قال

That is, the expansiveness of his heart—for he only reports what he finds in his heart, not the expansiveness of the rank of the heart when it is at the utmost of its perfection. Therefore he said

﴿وهذا وسع أبي يزيد في عالم الأجسام﴾

لا مطلق . ولما كان وسع القلب وإحاطة رتبته غير مختصّ بما في الأجسام وغيرها ، من المراتب ومدارج التنزّلات ، بل ولا اختصاص له أصلا بالعوالم والتعيّنات الاستجلائيّة فإنّه المجلى الجامع بين الجلائيّ والاستجلائيّ . أشار إليه بقوله

not absolutely. And since the capacity of the heart and the comprehensiveness of its rank are not restricted to what pertains to bodies or otherwise, among the ranks and degrees of descent — nor indeed has it any restriction whatsoever to the worlds and the self-manifesting entifications, for it is the all-comprehensive mirror joining together the manifest (jalāʾī) and the self-manifesting (istijlāʾī) — he alluded to this in his saying:

﴿وسع أبي يزيد﴾

أي بيان وسعه و تصویر سعة قلبه بل سعة قلب العارف مطلقا بالنظر

, that is, an explanation of his capacity and a depiction of the vastness of his heart — indeed the vastness of the heart of the gnostic absolutely — by way of comparison

﴿وسع أبي يزيد في عالم الأجسام﴾

إذ قيد وسعة القلب في الأجسام بقوله : لو أن العرش ولم يعم وسعته عالم الأرواح فكان ذلك وسعة قلب أبي يزيد

since he restricted the capaciousness of the heart to bodies by his saying: "If the Throne..." and this did not encompass the world of spirits, so that was the capaciousness of Abū Yazīd's heart

﴿في عالم الأجسام﴾

وقياسه إليه تقريبا إلى فهم المحجوبين ل بالقياس إلى الموجودات كلها فإن لها أيضا هذه النسبة إلى سعة قلبه بل قلب كل عارف ولهذا قال رضي الله عنه مترقيا عما قاله أبو يزيد البسطامي. قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

, and its comparison to it is an approximation for the understanding of those veiled, relative to all existents, for they too have this same relation to the vastness of his heart, indeed the heart of every gnostic. For this reason he, may God be pleased with him, said, advancing beyond what Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī had said. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said

﴿بلأقول: لو أن ما لا يتناهى وجوده﴾

أي، من عوالم الأرواح والأجسام

That is, from the worlds of spirits and bodies

﴿بل أقول : لو أنّ ما لا يتناهى وجوده﴾

لأنّ جزئيّات العوالم والتعيّنات الاستجلائيّة إذا أريد أن يعبّر بلفظ صادق عليها ومفهوم يحمل عليها جملة ، فهو ذلك لا غير ، والذي قام البرهان العقلي على انتهائه هو البعد الجسماني القائم بالموجود ، لا وجوده . فإنّ وجودات الأكوان والحوادث غير متناهية ، ولهذه الدقيقة صرّح ب « الوجود » . وإنّما قال

This is because when one wishes to express, by a true word and a universal concept predicated of them, the particulars of the worlds and the entifications of self-manifestation, this is precisely what is meant and nothing else. What rational proof has established to be finite is the corporeal extension subsisting in the existent, not its existence. For the existences of the cosmos and events are non-finite, and for this subtle point he explicitly said "existence." He only said

﴿بل أقول لو أن ما لا يتناهى وجوده يقدر انتهاء وجوده مع العين الموجدة له في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف ما أحس بذلك في علمه. فإنه قد ثبت أن القلب وسع الحق ومع ذلك ما اتصف بالري فلو امتلأ ارتوى. وقد قال ذلك أبو يزيد. ولقد نبهنا على هذا المقام بقولنا: يا خالق الأشياء في نفسه %~% أنت لما تخلقه جامع … بل أقول لو أن ما لا يتناهی وجوده﴾

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

روحانيا كان أو جسمانيا مما وجد ويوجد إلى الأبد. فإن الموجودات بالفعل في كل زمان متناهية (يقدر) ، أي يفرض

, whether spiritual or corporeal, of what has existed and will exist unto eternity — for existents in actuality at any given time are finite — (were supposed), that is, hypothesized

﴿بل أقول لو أن ما لا يتناهی وجوده﴾

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

مطلقا من أي عالم كان

absolutely, from whatever world it may be

﴿يقدر انتهاء وجوده مع العين الموجدة له﴾

وهو الحق المخلوق به السماوات والأرض، أي، الجوهر الأول الذي به وجدت السماوات والأرض

which is the Real by whom the heavens and earth were created—that is, the First Substance (al-jawhar al-awwal) by which the heavens and earth came into existence.

﴿يقدّر انتهاء وجوده﴾

لأنّ التقدير أنّه محاط للقلب . فعلم أنّ انتهاء القلب أيضا تقديريّ فرضيّ، وإذ قد علم أنّ سعة القلب أكثر حياطة من التعيّنات الاستجلائيّة وأفسح فضاء منها. ضمّ إلى ذلك

because the reckoning is that it is encompassed by the heart. Thus it is known that the finitude of the heart is also hypothetical and presumed, and since it is known that the capaciousness of the heart is more encompassing and vaster in extent than the entifications of self-manifestation, he added to that

﴿انتهاء وجوده﴾

ولو كان مستحيلا وإنما قدر ذلك لأن غير المتناهي لا يحاط (مع العين الموجودة له) ، أي التي هي واسطة في اتحاده وهي الحق المخلوق به المشار إليه بقوله تعالى؟ "وما خلقنا السموات والأرض وما بينهما إلا بالحق" [الحجر : 85] وقع

, even if that were impossible — this is only supposed because the infinite cannot be encompassed — (together with the very entity that brought it into existence), that is, that which is the intermediary in its union, which is the Real-created-through, referred to in His saying, exalted: "And We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them except in truth" [al-Ḥijr 15:85] — were to occur

﴿قدر انتهاء وجوده مع العين الموجدة له﴾

وهي العقل الأول إذ به يخلق الله تعالى جميع المخلوقات

which is the First Intellect, since by it God, Most High, creates all created things

﴿مع العين الموجدة له ، في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف ما أحسّ بذلك في علمه﴾

أي ما ظهر له حسّ وخبر تحت حكمه الشامل وأمره المحيط الكامل - أعني العلم

that is, without sense or report appearing to him under its comprehensive judgment and encompassing, perfect command - I mean knowledge

﴿في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف، ما أحس بذلك في علمه﴾

وذلك لأن الحق تجلى له باسمه (الواسع) و (العليم المحيط بكل شئ) ، فيسع الممكن اتكلها. وأما كونه لا يحس بها، فذلك لاشتغال القلب عنها بمبدعها وخالقها، بل لفنائها في الحق وتلاشيها في الوجود المطلق عند نظر قلب هذا العارف. ولا يتوهم أن عدم الإحساس إنما هو لفناء القلب، فإن التجلي بالوحدة والقهر يوجب ذلك، لا بالواسع العليم. وأيضا هذه السعة إنما تحصل للقلب بعد أن فني في الحق وبقى به مرة أخرى، فلا يطرأ عليه الفناء حينئذ. وأيضا هذه السعة إنما تحصل للقلب بعد أن فني في الحق وبقى به مرة أخرى، فلا يطرأ عليه الفناء حينئذ. قوله

This is because the Real disclosed Himself to him by His name 'the All-Encompassing' (al-Wāsiʿ) and 'the All-Knowing, Encompassing all things,' so it encompasses the possible entities (mumkināt) in their entirety. As for his not sensing them, this is because the heart is preoccupied from them by their Originator and Creator—rather, due to their annihilation (fanāʾ) in the Real and their dissolution in Absolute Existence in the view of this gnostic's heart. One should not imagine that the absence of sensation is due to the annihilation of the heart, for self-disclosure through unity and overwhelming [majesty] (qahr) necessitates that, not [self-disclosure] through the All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. Also, this expansiveness only occurs for the heart after it has been annihilated in the Real and subsists (baqāʾ) through Him once more, so that annihilation (fanāʾ) no longer befalls it thereafter. Also, this expansiveness only occurs for the heart after it has been annihilated in the Real and subsists through Him once more, so that annihilation no longer befalls it thereafter. His saying

﴿في زاوية من زوايا القلب العارف﴾

سواء كان أبا يزيد أم غيره

, whether Abū Yazīd or another

﴿في زاوية من زوايا قلب العارف … ما أحس﴾

ذلك العارف بالحق. (بذلك) أي بما كان في قلبه من الأمور الغير المتناهية

that gnostic does not sense the Real by means of (it), i.e., by what was in his heart of unlimited matters

﴿ما أحس بذلك في علمه﴾

وذلك لأن الحق تجلى له باسمه الواسع والعليم المحيط بكل شيء فيسع الممكنات كلها ، وأما كونه لا يحس بها فذلك لاشتغال القلب عنها بخالقها اه "" وقوله : هذا وسع أبى يزيد ، ليس بطعن فيه ، بل أراد أن أبا يزيد مع تعينه الكلى نظر إلى عالم الأجسام بالفناء ، فلو نظر بعين الله لقال مثل ذلك . ولكنه عين عالم الأجسام بالنسبة إلى المحجوبين بالأكوان . وعلل الشيخ ما قال بقوله

That is because the Real disclosed Himself to him by His name the All-Encompassing (al-Wāsiʿ) and the All-Knowing (al-ʿAlīm), which encompasses everything, so he encompasses all possible things; but as for his not sensing them, that is due to the heart's preoccupation, away from them, with their Creator. And his saying "this is the capacity of Abū Yazīd" is not a disparagement of him; rather he means that Abū Yazīd, despite his universal determination, looked upon the world of bodies with annihilation (fanāʾ). Had he looked with God's eye, he would have said the same of it. But he singled out the world of bodies with reference to those veiled by created things. The Shaykh explained what he said by his statement:

﴿ما أحس بذلك﴾

حال كونه حاصل

, while it would be existing

﴿في علمه﴾

منطويا فيما بين معلوماته ونبه رضي الله عنه بهذا القيد إلى أن المراد بعدم الإحساس به أن لا يكون له قدر محسوس لاتفي العلم . ثم استدل رضي الله عنه على ما قال بقوله

, enfolded among his objects of knowledge. And he, may God be pleased with him, alerted by this qualification that what is meant by the absence of feeling it is that it would have no perceptible measure in relation to knowledge. Then he, may God be pleased with him, argued for what he said by saying

﴿في علمه﴾

بالحق أي لا يشغل العارف عن الحق وجود هذه الأشياء في زاوية قلبه وإنما لا يحس العارف بما في قلبه

of the Real — that is, the existence of these things in the corner of his heart does not distract the gnostic from the Real; rather, the gnostic simply does not sense what is in his heart