The commentators side by side

﴿هم الصم والبكم الذين أتى بهم %~% لأسماعنا المعصوم في نص قرآن اعلم أيدنا الله وإياك أن إبراهيم الخليل عليه السلام قال لابنه: «إني أرى في المنام أني أذبحك» والمنام حضرة الخيال فلم يعبرها. وكان كبش ظهر في صورة ابن إبراهيم في المنام فصدق إبراهيم الرؤيا، ففداه ربه من وهم إبراهيم بالذبح العظيم الذي هو تعبير رؤياه عند الله تعالى وهو لا يشعر.﴾

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

(هم) أي هؤلاء العميان (الصم) عن استماع الحق (والبكم) عن الإقرار به (الذين أتي بهما) ، أي ذكرهم جامعين لهذه الأوصاف الثلاثة (لأسماعنا ) النبي (المعصوم) عن تهمة الكذب صلى الله عليه وسلم

brought to our hearing, in the text of the Qurʾān." Know—may God support us and you—that Abraham the Friend [of God], peace be upon him, said to his son: "Indeed I see in a dream that I am sacrificing you," and the dream is the presence of imagination (ḥaḍrat al-khayāl), which he did not interpret. And there appeared a ram in the form of the son of Abraham in the dream, so Abraham confirmed the vision as true, and his Lord ransomed him from Abraham's supposition with the Mighty Sacrifice (al-dhabḥ al-ʿaẓīm), which was the [true] interpretation of his vision with God Most High, while he was unaware of it.] ("They") i.e., these blind ones ("are the deaf") to hearing the Real, ("and the dumb") in acknowledging Him ("whom he brought," i.e., he mentioned them) combining these three attributes ("to our hearing") [through] the Prophet ("the infallible one"), protected from the accusation of falsehood, may God's blessings and peace be upon him

﴿و أما المسمى آدما فمقيد ... بعقل و فكر أو قلادة إيمان بذا قال سهل و المحقق مثلن %~% لأنا و إياهم بمنزل إحسان فمن شهد الأمر الذي قد شهدته ... يقول بقولي في خفاء و إعلان و لا تلتفت قولا يخالف قولنا %~% و لا تبذر السمراء في أمر عميان هم الصم و البكم الذين أتى بهم %~% لأسماعنا المعصوم في نص قرآن﴾

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

قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه : (وأما المسمى آدم نمقيد بعقل وفكر) إن كان من أهل النظر

The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said: (As for the one named Adam, he is restricted by intellect and reflection) if he is among the people of rational inquiry

﴿فلا خلق أعلى من جماد وبعده %~% نبات على قدر يكون وأوزان … فلا خلق أعلى من جماد﴾

لقلة أجزائه فكان أقرب من المبدإ لقلة الوسائط ، وما كان أقرب فهو الأفضل من الأبعد ، "وإيضاح" البرهان قوله تعالى : "سَبَّحَ لِلَّه ما في السَّماواتِ وما في الأَرْضِ " إلخ فظهر من هذا أن كلهم أعلى من آدم من هذا الوجه ، وقد كان علمك أن آدم أفضل الخلق كيف ظهر خلاف علمك ، فاترك علمك واطلب علما نافعا يحصل عن كشف إلهي لا خلاف فيه ، وهو مقام الحيوانات والنباتات والجمادات اهـ. ""

because of the paucity of its constituent parts, making it nearer to the Source due to fewer intermediaries; and what is nearer is more excellent than what is farther. And the clarifying proof is His saying, the Exalted: "Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth glorifies God" etc. It thus becomes evident from this that all of them are, in this respect, higher than Adam; and you had known that Adam is the most excellent of creatures—how, then, has the opposite of your knowledge appeared? So abandon your [discursive] knowledge and seek beneficial knowledge arising from a Divine unveiling admitting no contradiction—namely, the station of animals, plants, and inanimate things.

﴿فلا خلق أعلى من جماد وبعده %~% نبات على قدر يكون وأوزان﴾

ولما كان السر الوجودي ظاهرا في الكل والتفاوت والتفاضل إنما يقع في المراتب بين أن الأقرب إلى الحق أفضل من غيره، لقلة الوسائط بينه وبين المقام الجمعي الإلهي، ولعدم تضاعف الوجوه الإمكانية، لأن كل ما يتركب من أمور ممكنة، يتصف بإمكان الهيئة الاجتماعية الحاصلة له، وإمكانات أجزائه، فيتضاعف الإمكان. وكل ما كثرة وجوه إمكاناته، يزداد بعدا من الواجب لذاته. لذلك قال تعالى: "ولقد خلقنا الإنسان في أحسن تقويم ثم رددناه أسفل سافلين". فكما أنه بحسب التجرد عن خواص الممكنات و أداء الأمانات المأخوذة منها عند نزوله من كل مقام ومرتبة من عالم الغيب إلى عالم الشهادة بترك التعشق إليها والإعراض عنها، يتنزه عن وجوه الإمكانات ونقائصها، فيظهر له الوجوب الذاتي الذي كان له بحسب الذات الإلهية وكمالاته الذاتية فيكون في أعلا عليين مرتبة. كذلك الواقف في مقامه السفلى البشرى متعشقا إلى كل ما حصل له عند النزول يكون في (أسفل سافلين). ولا شك أن البسائط أقرب من المركبات إلى الحق، ثم المعادن، وهو المراد بالجماد، ثم النبات، ثم الحيوان. ولما كان كل منها مظهرا للذات التي هي منبع جميع الكمالات، كان الكل موصوفا بالعلم بربه كاشفا لما يتعلق بمراتبهم بأرواحهم في الباطن وإن لم يظهر ذلك منهم، لعدم الاعتدال الموجب لظهور ذلك، كما يظهر من الإنسان. وقوله

Since the existential secret (al-sirr al-wujūdī) is manifest in all things, and disparity and superiority occur only among the levels in that what is nearer to the Real is more excellent than what is not, due to the fewness of intermediaries between it and the Divine all-comprehensive station (al-maqām al-jamʿī), and due to the non-multiplication of possible aspects—for everything composed of possible things is qualified by the possibility of the collective configuration it attains, together with the possibilities of its parts, so possibility is multiplied; and whatever has many aspects of possibility becomes more remote from the Necessary in Itself. For this reason the Exalted said: "We created man in the fairest stature, then We reduced him to the lowest of the low." Just as, in accordance with his divestment from the properties of possible things and his discharge of the trusts taken from them upon his descent from each station and level of the world of the unseen to the world of the visible—by abandoning attachment to them and turning away from them—he is purified of the aspects of possibilities and their deficiencies, so that the essential necessity (al-wujūb al-dhātī) which was his by virtue of the Divine Essence and Its essential perfections becomes manifest in him, and he attains the highest of the high (aʿlā ʿilliyyīn); likewise one who remains fixed in his lower human station, attached to all that he acquired in his descent, is in (the lowest of the low). There is no doubt that simple things (basāʾiṭ) are nearer to the Real than composite things; then minerals—which is what is meant by (jamād/the inanimate)—then plants, then animals. And since each of these is a locus of manifestation for the Essence, which is the source of all perfections, all of them are qualified by knowledge of their Lord, unveiling what pertains to their levels through their spirits in the inward dimension, even if this does not become manifest from them outwardly, due to the absence of the equilibrium (iʿtidāl) that would necessitate such manifestation, as it becomes manifest from the human being. His statement:

﴿فلا خلق أعلى من جماد﴾

لعروّ ماهيّته عن انتساب فعل إليه لنفسه

Due to the freedom of its quiddity from the ascription of any act to it by itself.

﴿فلا خلق … أعلى من جماد﴾

فإنها بأسرها مفطورة على معرفة الله كشف و شهودة بحسب الذات، وأعلاها في هذه المعرفة الذاتية الفطرية الجماد. فإنه ليس فيه تغير أصلا عن فطرته الأصلية يدل على ذلك كمال انقياده الله تعالى وثباته تحت تصرفاته (وبعده) ، أي بعد الجماد و دونه

for all created things are innately disposed to the recognition of God through disclosure (kashf) and witnessing, according to their essence (dhāt); and the highest in this essential, innate recognition is the mineral. For in it there is absolutely no alteration from its original innate disposition—this being indicated by the completeness of its submission to God, Exalted is He, and its constancy under His dispositions. ("and after it"), i.e., after the mineral, and beneath it

﴿فلا خلق أعلى من جماد﴾

لقلة أجزائه فكان أقرب من المبدأ من غيره لقلة الوسيط وما كان أقرب فهو الأفضل من الأبعد فقد كان أفضل ما كان أسفل عندك وأسفل ما كان أفضل عندك فاعتبروا أيها السالكون في طريق الحق و اتركوا علومكم العادية والرسمية حتى يعلمكم الله من لدنه علما. (وبعده) أي والأعلى بعد الجماد

due to the paucity of its parts, for it is thereby closer to the Origin than others, owing to the fewness of intermediaries; and whatever is closer is more excellent than what is farther. So what is lowest in your view may be most excellent, and what is most excellent in your view may be lowest. Take heed, then, O travelers upon the path of the Real, and abandon your customary and formal sciences, that God may teach you knowledge from His own presence. (And after it)—that is, and what is higher after the mineral

﴿وبعده نبات﴾

- لعروّه عن انتساب حسّ وفعل اختياري إليه

Due to its freedom from the ascription of sensation and voluntary action to it.

﴿نبات على قدر﴾

منوع . (يكون) بحسب نوعه لظهور قوة النمو فيه (وأوزان) ، أي أقدار معينة بتعيين صنفي أو شخصي بحسب أصنافه وأشخاصة في أن الوزن أيضا هو القدر والمرتبة. يقال : فلان لا وزن له عند السلطان، أي لا قدر له ولا قيمة عنده، وإنما كان النبات بعد الجماد و دونه ، لأنه زاد فيه على أصل الفطرة الجمادية النمو، وذلك نوع نصرف طبيعي يضاف إليه ، فبقدر هذا التصرف والإضافة تنص معرفته من معرفة الجماد، فإنه إذا كان صاحب معرفة وشهود ولا يبعد أن يصير شنود هذا التصرف والإضافة حجابا على شهوده الحق تعالى قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

diversified ("according to" its kind), by virtue of the manifestation of the power of growth within it, ("and weights"), i.e., determinate measures, determined specifically or individually according to its species and individuals, "weight" (wazn) here also meaning measure and rank. One says: "So-and-so has no weight with the Sultan," meaning he has no measure or value in his estimation. The plant comes after the mineral and below it only because growth has been added in it beyond the basic mineral disposition, and this is a kind of natural activity (taṣarruf) that is additional to it; and to the degree of this activity and addition, its recognition falls short of the mineral's recognition. For if it possesses recognition and witnessing, it is not unlikely that the witnessing of this activity and addition becomes a veil upon its witnessing of the Real, Exalted is He. The Shaykh (may God be pleased with him) said:

﴿نبات على قدر يكون واوزان﴾

يعني أن العلو يكون على قدر أجزائه وأوزانه

meaning that superiority is in proportion to its parts and weights

﴿على قدر يكون وأوزان﴾

أي، على منزلة ومرتبة يكون للنبات عند الله. و (الوزن) هو القدر والمرتبة. يقال: فلان لا وزن له عند الملك. أي،لا قدر له ولا قيمة عنده

means: according to the rank and station the plant has with God. (Al-wazn/weight) is rank and station; one says "so-and-so has no weight with the king," meaning he has no worth or value with him.

﴿على قدر يكون﴾

ذلك النبات عليه ( وأوزان ) يستقرّ مزاجه في ميزان الاعتدال إليه ، فإنّ عرض النبات ممتدّ من الجماد إلى الحيوان - كما سبق القول فيه -

That plant subsists upon [that measure] (and proportions) by which its temperament settles into the balance of equilibrium therein; for the range of the plant extends from the inanimate to the animal — as has been said previously.

﴿وذو الحس بعد النبت والكل عارف %~% بخلاقه كشفا وإيضاح برهان … وأما المسمى آدما فمقيد %~% بعقل وفكر أو قلادة إيمان﴾

قال الشيخ القاشاني : يريد أن الكشف والشهود المراد بإيضاح البرهان يحكمان أن الحق متجل في كل شيء وسار بأحديته في كل موجود ، وهو عين صورته وعلمه بل كل اسم من أسمائه موصوف بجميع الأسماء الأحدية الذات الشاملة لجميع الأسماء المشتركة بينهما ، وحيث وجد الأصل وجد جميع لوازمه ، فحيث كان الوجود كان العلم والعقل ، لكن المحل إذا لم يبلغ التسوية الإنسانية أعنى الاعتدال الموجب لظهور العقل والإدراك خفى الحياة والإدراك في الباطن ولم يظهر على المحل ، فلا حس له ولا شعور كالمسكور والمغمى عليه. فالجماد والنبات ذو حياة وإدراك في الباطن لا في الظاهر ، أي في جسده ، وكل من له حس فله نفس فله حكم ووهم ، يدرك نفسه بقوة جسدانية فتحتجب بالأنانية ويخطئ بالحكم ، بخلاف من لا حس له ولا نفس فإنه باق على فطرته لا تصرف له بنفسه . فالجماد عارف بربه كشفا وحقيقة منقاد مطيع طبعا وطوعا . وبعده النبات لما فيه من تصرف ما كالنمو بالغذاء وجذبه وإحالته وتوليد المثل . فلذلك التصرف والحركة ينقص عن الجماد ، فإن الجماد يشهد بذاته وفطرته أن لا متصرف إلا الله ، وبعده الحيوان الحساس لاحتجابه بأنانيته وظهوره بإرادته وتأبيه لما يراد منه . ثم الإنسان الناقص فإنه جاهل بربه مشرك مخطئ في رأيه ، وخصوصا في معرفة الله تعالى ، فلذلك قال تعالى: " إِنَّه كانَ ظَلُوماً جَهُولًا " فإنه غير فطرته واتخذ إلهه هواه وشاب عقله بالوهم ، فظهر بالنفس واحتجب بالأنانية وتقيد بعقله وفكره أو تقليده ، كقوله تعالى : " بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ ما وَجَدْنا عَلَيْه آباءَنا " فثبت أن الكبش أعلى مرتبة منه " أُولئِكَ كَالأَنْعامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ " – " ولكِنَّه أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الأَرْضِ واتَّبَعَ هَواه فَمَثَلُه كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ " - بل تبين أن الجماد أعلى مرتبة من الجميع . " وإِنَّ مِنْها لَما يَهْبِطُ من خَشْيَةِ الله " كذلك أقل درجات وأدونها لقوله " وإِنَّ من الْحِجارَةِ لَما يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنْه الأَنْهارُ ". وأما الإنسان الكامل فإنما كان أشرف الجميع ، لظهور الكمالات الإلهية عليه وفنائه فيه بصفاته وذواته ، لا من حيث إنه حيوان مستوى القامة عارى البشرة ، ولو لم يغير فطرته ولم يحتجب بأنانيته ولم يشب عقله بهواه ولم يتبع الشيطان وخطاه لم يكن أحسن منه ، كما قال عليه الصلاة والسلام: " كل مولود يولد على الفطرة فأبواه يهودانه ويمجسانه وينصرانه"

after the plant, and all are knowers %~% of their Creator through unveiling and the clarification of proof… / But as for the one named Adam, he is restricted %~% by intellect and reflection, or by the collar of faith.] Shaykh al-Qāshānī said: He means that unveiling (kashf) and witnessing (shuhūd), [which are] what is intended by 'the clarification of proof,' both establish that the Real discloses Himself (mutajallī) in everything and pervades, by His unicity (aḥadiyya), every existent thing—He being identical with its form and its knowledge. Indeed, every one of His names is qualified by all the unitary names of the Essence, which comprehends all the names shared in common between them. And wherever the root (al-aṣl) is found, all its necessary concomitants are found with it; so wherever there is existence, there is knowledge and intellect. However, if the receptacle (al-maḥall) has not attained the human equilibrium—I mean the balance that necessitates the manifestation of intellect and perception—then life and perception remain hidden in the inward dimension and do not appear upon the receptacle; so it has neither sense-perception nor consciousness, like one intoxicated or one who has fainted. Thus the inanimate and the plant possess life and perception in their inward dimension, not in their outward—that is, not in their body. And everyone who has sense-perception has a self (nafs), and so has judgment and supposition (wahm); he perceives himself by a corporeal faculty, and is thereby veiled by egohood and errs in judgment—unlike one who has neither sense-perception nor self, for he remains upon his original disposition (fiṭra), having no self-direction of his own. Thus the inanimate is a knower of its Lord through unveiling and through reality itself, submissive and obedient both by nature and by choice. After it comes the plant, on account of the measure of self-direction it possesses—such as growth through nourishment, its attraction of nutrients and their transformation, and the generation of its like; and due to that self-direction and movement it falls short of the inanimate, for the inanimate bears witness, by its very essence and original disposition, that there is no agent of direction save God. After the plant comes the sentient animal, due to its being veiled by its egohood and its manifesting through its own will and its resistance to what is demanded of it. Then comes the deficient human being, for he is ignorant of his Lord, an associator [of partners with God] (mushrik), erring in his opinion—especially in the knowledge of God, the Exalted; hence the Exalted said: 'Indeed he was most unjust, most ignorant.' For he has altered his original disposition and taken his own caprice (hawā) as his god, and has adulterated his intellect with supposition; so he has manifested through the self and been veiled by egohood, and has become restricted by his intellect and reflection, or by his blind imitation (taqlīd)—as in His saying: 'Rather, we follow that upon which we found our fathers.' Thus it is established that the ram is of higher rank than he is: 'Those are like cattle—nay, they are more astray'—'But he clung to the earth and followed his caprice, so his likeness is as the likeness of the dog.' Indeed, it becomes clear that the inanimate is of higher rank than all the rest: 'And indeed among them are some that fall down out of fear of God'—likewise [some stones are] of the lowest degrees and most base, according to His saying: 'And indeed among the stones are some from which rivers burst forth.' As for the perfect human (al-insān al-kāmil), he alone is the noblest of all, due to the manifestation of the divine perfections upon him and his annihilation in Him through his attributes and essences—not insofar as he is merely an animal of upright stature with bare skin. For had he not altered his original disposition, nor been veiled by his egohood, nor adulterated his intellect with his caprice, nor followed Satan and his footsteps, he would not have been better than it—as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Every child is born upon the fiṭra; it is his two parents who make him a Jew, or a Zoroastrian, or a Christian.'

﴿وذو الحس بعد النبت فالكل عارف %~% بخلاقه كشفا وإيضاح برهان﴾

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

أي، الأقرب من الله بعد البسائط والمعادن والنبات، الحيوان، لذلك أعطى الله له جميع ما يحتاج إليه، كما قال تعالى: (أعطى كل شئ خلقه ثم هدى) . ولا ترقى له إلى غير ما تعين له من الكمال. ولما كان جميع الموجودات حيا عالما بربه عند أهل الكشف والشهود. قال: (فالكل عارف بخلاقه). وقوله: (كشفا) أي، الكل يعرفون ربهم بالكشف الصحيح الحاصل لروحانيتهم عند الفطرة الأولى. أو: نحن علمناه كشفا، ولما كان الكشف حجة لصاحبه دون غيره، قال

That is, nearer to God than the simple things, the minerals, and the plants is the animal; for this reason God gave it all that it needs, as the Exalted said: "He gave everything its creation, then guided it." Yet it does not rise to other than what has been determined for it of perfection. And since all existent things are living and knowing of their Lord in the view of the people of unveiling and witnessing, he said: (So all are knowers of their Creator). His statement (kashfan/through unveiling) means: all know their Lord through the sound unveiling attained by their spirituality at the primordial constitution (al-fiṭra al-ūlā). Or: We taught it through unveiling. And since unveiling is a proof binding upon its possessor but not upon others, he said:

﴿وذو الحسّ بعد النبت والكل عارف %~% بخلَّاقه كشفا وإيضاح برهان﴾

ضرورة امتناع تخلَّف لوازم الوجود وبيّنات خواصّه عنه في مراتب تنزّلاته ، بما اعتورت عليها من الحجب الإمكانيّة والغواشي الخارجيّة الهيولانيّة ، فالبرهان له مجرّد إيضاح الأمر هاهنا للمسترشد الخبير لا أن يوصله إليه ولذلك قلَّما يهتدي أحد منهم به إليه. ولا يذهب على المتفطَّن هاهنا أنّه كلَّما كان أعلى فهو أعرف - على ما توهّمه البعض . "" يشير المؤلف لما قاله بعض الشارحين – كالقاشاني ومؤيد الدين الجندي قال: " وأعلى المخلوقات في هذا الكشف والمعرفة المعدن والجماد.أه "" فإنّ العلوّ والشرف بحسب القرب للإطلاق الذاتي وقدسها ، وأمّا العرفان فبحسب التنزّل في المراتب ، واستجماع خصوصيّاتها ، فكلَّما كان أنزل ، فهو أكمل وأعرف ، كما أنّه كلَّما كان أعلى ، كان أقدس وأشرف ، وقد سلف لك في الفصّ الآدمي ما يفيد زيادة تحقيق لهذا الكلام

Out of the necessity that the concomitants of existence and the manifest signs of its properties cannot be absent from it throughout the levels of its descents, despite what has beset them of contingent veils and external hylic coverings. So proof (burhān) here is merely a clarification of the matter for the discerning seeker of guidance, not something that conveys him to it; hence rarely does anyone among them attain guidance through it. And it should not escape the attentive reader here that it is not the case that the loftier a thing is, the more knowing it is — as some have imagined. [Addition of the editor: The author alludes to what some commentators have said — such as al-Qāshānī and Muʾayyid al-Dīn al-Jandī, who said: "And the loftiest of creatures in this unveiling and knowledge is the mineral and the inanimate." End.] For loftiness and nobility are in accordance with proximity to essential absoluteness and its sanctity, whereas gnosis is in accordance with descent through the levels and the gathering together of their particularities. So the lower a thing is, the more complete and knowing it is, just as the loftier it is, the more sanctified and noble it is. And there has preceded for you in the Faṣṣ of Adam what affords further verification of this discourse.

﴿وذو الحس بعد النبت والكل عارف %~% بخلاف كشفا وإيضاح برهان وأما المسمى آدما فمقيد %~% بعقل وفكر أو قلادة إيمان بذا قال سهل والمحقق مثلنا %~% لأنا وإياهم بمنزل إحسان فمن شهد الأمر الذي قد شهدته %~% يقول بقولي في خفاء وإعلان ولا تلتفت قولا يخالف قولنا %~% ولا تبذر السمراء في أرض عميان … وذو الحس﴾

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

يعني الحيوان

meaning the animal,

﴿وذو الحس بعد النبت والكل عارف %~% بخلاقه كشفا وإيضاح برهان﴾

" والكل عارف بخلاقه " لعدم احتجابهم عن ربهم بسبب قلة الأجزاء والإمكانات في تركيب وجودهم " كشفا وإيضاح برهان " إذ الكشف عبارة عن رفع الحجاب ، فلا حجاب ولا رفع ، ولأن أنفسهم بقلة الأجزاء براهين واضحة على ربهم دون نفس الإنسان فيتعلق الكشف والبرهان إلى عرفانهم

"And all are knowers of their Creator" — because they are not veiled from their Lord, owing to the paucity of the parts and potentialities in the composition of their existence. "Through unveiling and the clarity of demonstrative proof" — since unveiling (kashf) is an expression for the lifting of a veil, [and here] there is neither veil nor lifting; and because their very selves, by reason of the paucity of their parts, are clear proofs of their Lord, unlike the self of the human being — so unveiling and demonstrative proof here pertain to [direct] gnosis on their part.

Bālī Zāde's gloss, printed inside al-Qāshānī's commentary in the ibnalarabi.com text (line 3407); moved here

﴿بعد النبت﴾

ودونه لزيادة الحس والحركة الإرادية فيه وإضافتهما إليه فبقدرهما تنقص معرفه الما عرفت في النبات (والكل) ، أي كل من الجماد والنبات والحيوان

and beneath it, due to the increase of sense-perception and voluntary motion within it, and their addition to it; to the degree of these two, its recognition falls short, as you learned concerning the plant. ("And all")—i.e., each of the mineral, the plant, and the animal—

﴿عارف بخلاقه﴾

وموجده (كشفا)، أي معرفة كشف

and Originator, ("by way of disclosure"), i.e., a recognition of disclosure (kashf),

﴿وإيضاح برهان﴾

أي، علمناه برهانا صريحا أيضا. والمراد بـ (البرهان) ما يعطيه العقل المنور والشرع المطهر من الأدلة: منها قوله: (سبح لله ما في السماوات ومافي الأرض). وقوله: (وإن من شئ إلا يسبح بحمده ولكن لا تفقهون تسبيحهم). و (التسبيح) لا يكون إلا بعد المعرفة بأن له ربا يربه صاحب كمالات منزها عن النقائص الكونية. فنبه بعرفانهم وبعدم عرفان الثقلين، لأن الخطاب للأمة وهو، صلى الله عليه وسلم، مبعوث إليهما، فالجن أيضا داخل في قوله: (ولكن لا تفقهون تسبيحهم). وأيضا الجن لا مدخل لهم في غيوب الموجودات احتجابها عن الحقائق، كما قال: (فلما خر تبينت الجن أن لو كانوا يعلمون الغيب ما لبثوا في العذاب المهين). ومنها ما رواه البخاري عن أبى سعيد الخدري، قال: (كان النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، يقول: إذا وضعت الجنازة، فاحتملها الرجال على أعناقهم، فإن كانت صالحة، قالت: قدموني، قدموني. وإن كانتغير صالحة، قالت لأهلها: يا ويلها، إلى أين تذهبون بها. يسمع صوتها كل شيء إلا الإنسان، ولو سمع الإنسان لصعق). وروى الترمذي عن أبى أمامة: (أن رسول الله قال: فضل العالم على العابد كفضلي على أدناكم). ثم، قال رسول الله، صلى الله عليه وسلم: (إن الله وملائكته وأهل السماوات والأرض،حتى النملة في جحرها وحتى الحوت في الماء، ليصلون على معلم الناس). وروى أبو داود والترمذي في باب فضيلة العلم عن أبى الدرداء في حديث طويل: (وأن العالم ليستغفر له من في السماوات ومن في الأرض حتى الحيتان في الماء). وعن سهل بن سعد رضي الله عنه قال: (قال رسول الله، صلى الله عليه وسلم: ما من مسلم يلبى إلا لبى من عن يمينه وشماله من حجر أو شجر أو مدر حتى ينقطع الأرض من هاهنا وهاهنا). لذلك كانت البدن التي جعلها النبي، عليه السلام، قربانا يزدلف كل منها إليه، صلى الله عليه وسلم، ليكون أول ما يتقرب به بين يديه. والعقل وإن كان محجوبا عن هذا الطور، لكنه إذا تنور بالنور الإلهي وعرف سريان وجوده في جميع الموجودات، يعلم أن لكل منها نفسا ناطقة عالمة سامعة، هي نصيبه من العالم الملكوتي، كما قال تعالى: (بيده ملكوت كل شئ). وبحسب كثرة وجوده الإمكانات تبعد عن الحق وتغفل عن عالمه النوري، فتحجب ويحصل لها الرين. وبحسب قلتها تقرب منه ويستفيض منه الكمالات وتتنور بأنواره. ولا شك أن البسائط أقرب إليه من المركبات، ثم المعادن،ثم النبات، ثم الحيوان. فيصح عنده أيضا أن الكل عارف بالله منقاد لديه مطلع لما يفيض عليه وتمر منه على ما دونه

That is, We taught him a clear proof also. What is meant by (proof/burhān) is what the illumined intellect and the purified Sacred Law provide of evidences. Among them is His saying: "Everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies God," and His saying: "There is not a thing but it glorifies Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification." And (glorification/tasbīḥ) cannot occur except after knowledge that one has a Lord who nurtures it, possessed of perfections, transcendent above the deficiencies of created being. So He drew attention to their [the creatures'] gnosis, and to the lack of gnosis on the part of the two weighty kinds [humans and jinn], since the address is to the Community, and he (God bless him and grant him peace) was sent to both of them; so the jinn too are included in His saying: "but you do not understand their glorification." Also, the jinn have no access to the unseen realities of existent things, being veiled from the true natures, as He said: "So when he fell down, it became clear to the jinn that, had they known the Unseen, they would not have remained in humiliating punishment." Among these [proofs] also is what al-Bukhārī reported from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, who said: The Prophet (God bless him and grant him peace) used to say: 'When the bier is set down and the men carry it upon their shoulders, if it [the deceased] was righteous, it says: Take me forward, take me forward! And if it was not righteous, it says to its people: Woe to it! Where are you taking it? Everything hears its voice except man, and were man to hear it he would fall unconscious.' And al-Tirmidhī reported from Abū Umāma that the Messenger of God said: 'The superiority of the learned man over the devout worshipper is like my superiority over the least of you.' Then the Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) said: 'Indeed God, His angels, and the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the ant in its hole and the whale in the water, pray blessings upon the teacher of mankind.' And Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī reported, in the chapter on the merit of knowledge, from Abū al-Dardāʾ in a long ḥadīth: 'and indeed the learned man is asked forgiveness for by all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth, even the fish in the water.' And from Sahl ibn Saʿd (God be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) said: 'There is no Muslim who utters the pilgrim's cry (talbiya) but that whatever is on his right and his left of stone, tree, or clay responds likewise, until the earth comes to an end here and there.' For this reason the sacrificial animals which the Prophet (peace be upon him) designated as an offering, each of them draws near to him (God bless him and grant him peace), so that it may be the first thing offered in approach before him. And the intellect, though veiled from this level, yet when it is illumined by the divine light and comes to know the pervasion of its [God's] existence through all existent things, it knows that each of them has a speaking soul, knowing and hearing, which is its share of the Dominion-world (al-ʿālam al-malakūtī), as He says, exalted is He: "In His hand is the dominion of everything." And according to the multiplicity of the existence of possible things, they grow distant from the Real and become heedless of His luminous world, so they become veiled and a rust (al-rayn) befalls them. And according to their fewness they draw near to Him and receive an overflow of perfections from Him and are illumined by His lights. And there is no doubt that simple things (al-basāʾiṭ) are nearer to Him than composite things, then minerals, then plants, then animals. So it is also sound in his [the author's] view that all are knowers of God, submissive before Him, aware of what overflows upon them and passes from them to what is beneath them.

﴿وإيضاح برهان﴾

كشفي لا برهان فطري فإن ذلك من خواص الإنسان . وحمل الكلام على أن كون الكل عارفا بخلافه؟ معلوم لن «كشفا و إيضاح برهان» لا يلائم البيت الآتي أعني قوئه : (وأما المسمى آدم) الذي ليس له من الآدمية إلا اسم وهو الإنسان الحيوان (فمقید بعقل وفكر) مشوب بالوهم إن كان من أهل النقر

a disclosure-based proof, not an innate rational proof, for that is a property peculiar to the human being. To construe the statement as meaning that the knowledge possessed by all [created things] of their Creator is "by way of disclosure and the clarification of proof" does not fit the following verse, namely his words: "As for the one named 'Adam'"—that is, one who possesses nothing of true humanity (ādamiyya) but the name, being the animal human—("he is constrained by intellect and reflection"), tainted with doubt if he be among the people of rational inquiry,

﴿فأما المسمى آدما فمقيد %~% بعقل وفكر أو قلادة إيمان﴾

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

أي، والحال أن المسمى بالإنسان مقيد ومحجوب بعقله الجزئي المشوب بالوهم، وبقوته الفكرية التي لا ترفع رأسا إلى العالم العلوي الغيبي - إن كان من أهل النظر- فإن كان مقلدا فمقيد بالتقليد الإيماني القابل للتغيير والزوال سريعا، وكل منهما لا يطلع لربه إطلاع العارف المشاهد للحق ومراتبه التي هي روحانية الجماد والنبات والحيوان من الكمل والأفراد من الإنسان

That is, the state is that the one named "human" is restricted and veiled by his partial intellect mixed with illusory supposition (wahm), and by his faculty of reflective thought (fikr) which does not raise its head to the sublime unseen world — if he is among the people of rational inquiry (naẕar). And if he is one who follows authority blindly (muqallid), he is restricted by faith-based imitation (taqlīd īmānī) which is susceptible to change and swift disappearance. And neither of the two attains to his Lord the attainment of the gnostic who witnesses the Real and His ranks — which is the spirituality of the mineral, the plant, and the animal belonging to the perfect ones and the singular individuals among humankind.

﴿وأمّا المسمّى آدما فمقيّد بعقل وفكر﴾

إن كان من أهل النظر وعلومه الاستدلاليّة

If he is among the people of speculative reasoning and its discursive sciences.

﴿وأما المسمى آدما فمقيد %~% بعقل وفكر أو قلادة إيمان﴾

( فمقيد بعقل وفكر ) مشوب بالوهم إن كان من أهل النظر ( أو قلادة إيمان ) إن كان من أهل التقليد الإيماني ، فتنقص معرفته عن سائر الحيوانات لزيادة الآثار النفسية ، فظهر من هذا أن الكبش إن كان أدنى وأخس من النبات والجماد ، لكنه أعلى وأشرف من الأناسى الحيوانيين ، فبهذا العلو والشرف يستأهل أن يكون فداء لإنسان شريف اهـ جامى

("constrained by intellect and reflection") mixed with conjecture (wahm), if he be among the people of speculative reasoning (naẓar); ("or by the collar of faith") if he be among the people of imitative faith (taqlīd). Thus his gnosis falls short of that of the other animals, due to the increase of psychic traces [veiling him]. It thus appears from this that although the ram is lower and baser than the plant and the mineral, it is nevertheless higher and nobler than those human beings who are merely animal-like; and by this loftiness and nobility it merits being a ransom for a noble human being. End, Jāmī.

Bālī Zāde's gloss, printed inside al-Qāshānī's commentary in the ibnalarabi.com text (line 3412); moved here

﴿أو قلادة إيمان﴾

إن كان من أرباب العقائد التقليديّة ، فإنّ الإنسان له في الارتقاء إلى مدارج كماله الشهودي ثلاث مراتب : برهان وإيمان وإحسان . لأنّ المعارف اليقينيّة المستحصلة له إمّا أن يكون عقدا أو انشراحا وعلما . والأوّل هو الإيمان ، والثاني إمّا أن يكون وراء أستار الأسباب والآثار وهو البرهان ، أو يكون منكشفا ، منزّها عمّا يطلق عليه الغطاء أو الحجاب وهو الإحسان ، وهذا منزل اولي التحقيق . كما قال

If he is among those possessed of traditional/received creeds (ʿaqāʾid taqlīdiyya). For man, in ascending to the degrees of his witnessing perfection, has three ranks: proof (burhān), faith (īmān), and excellence (iḥsān). For the certain knowledges acquired by him are either a binding [of the heart] (ʿaqd) or an expansion (inshirāḥ) and [direct] knowledge. The first is faith; the second is either behind the veils of causes and effects — and this is proof — or it is disclosed, free from what may be termed covering or veil — and this is excellence — and this is the station of those firmly grounded in realization (ahl al-taḥqīq). As he said:

﴿أو قلادة إيمان﴾

إن كان من أهل التقليد الإيماني وتنقص معرفته عن معرفة سائر الحيوان بزيادة الآثار النفسية والتصرفات الغرضية من الفكر والتقليد و غيرها بنقص معرفته من سائر الحيوانات. فظهر من هذا أن الكبش إن كان أدنى وأخس من النبات والجماد لكنه أعلى وأشرف من الأناسي الحيوانيين، فهذا العلو والشرف يستاهل أن يكون فداء لإنسان شریف. (بذا) ، أي بما ذكرناه من بیان مراتب الموجودات

if he be among the people of faith-based conformism (taqlīd). His recognition falls short of the recognition of other animals due to the addition of psychic effects and purposive activities arising from reflection, conformism, and the like; by this his recognition falls short of that of other animals. From this it has become clear that the ram, though lower and baser than the plant and the mineral, is nevertheless higher and nobler than animal-like humans; and this elevation and nobility makes it worthy of being a ransom for a noble human being. ("By this"), i.e., by what we have mentioned concerning the explanation of the ranks of existing things,

﴿او قلادة إيمان﴾

إن كان من المؤمنين فمقيد بالإيمان التقليدي لكثرة قيودهم واجزائهم فكانوا محجوبين عن ربهم فلم يصل إلى درجتهم إلا بالكشف فكان كلهم أعلى من آدم عليه السلام من هذا الوجه . وقد كان علمك على أن آدم عليه السلام أفضل الخلق كيف ظهر خلاف علمك فاترك علمك واطلب العلم النافع الذي يحصل عن كشف إلهي لا خلاف فيه وهو مقام الحيوانات والنباتات والجمادات. (بنا) أي بما قلت

if he is among the believers—restricted by imitative faith, due to the abundance of their restrictions and parts; so they are veiled from their Lord, and none attain their rank except through unveiling. All of them, then, are higher than Adam, peace be upon him, from this respect. And your knowledge may have held that Adam, peace be upon him, is the most excellent of creation—yet see how the opposite of your knowledge has become manifest! So abandon your knowledge and seek the beneficial knowledge that is obtained through divine unveiling, concerning which there is no disagreement—and this is the station of animals, plants, and minerals. (By us)—that is, by what I have said

﴿بذا قال سهل والمحقق مثلن %~% لأنا وإياهم بمنزل إحسان﴾

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

أي بهذا القول ، وهو أن الجماد أعرف باللَّه وأطوع له من المخلوقات سيما الإنسان الناقص . قال سهل بن عبد الله الصوفي: " وكل محقق مثلنا لأنا وإياهم في مقام الإنسان وهو مقام المشاهدة والكشف وراء مقام الإيمان ، كما قال تعالى: " ثُمَّ اتَّقَوْا وآمَنُوا ثُمَّ اتَّقَوْا وأَحْسَنُوا ". وقال عليه الصلاة والسلام « الإحسان أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه » فمن لم يذق الشهود فليؤمن بقول الصحابي عن بدن النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام حين أمر بتقريبها لله قرابين أنها جاءت يزدلفن إليه عليه الصلاة والسلام بأيتهن يبدأ في قربانه : قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

That is, by this saying — namely that the inanimate thing is more knowing of God and more obedient to Him than created things, especially the deficient human being. Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh the Sufi said: "Every realizer (muḥaqqiq) is like us, for we and they are in the station of the human being, which is the station of witnessing (mushāhada) and unveiling (kashf), beyond the station of faith (īmān), as the Exalted said: 'Then they were God-fearing and believed, then they were God-fearing and did good (aḥsanū).'" And he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Iḥsān is that you worship God as though you see Him." So whoever has not tasted witnessing, let him believe the report of the Companion concerning the body of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he ordered that it [i.e., the sacrificial animals] be brought near to God as offerings — that they came pressing close to him, peace and blessings be upon him, each one vying to be first in its sacrifice. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿بذا قال سهل والمحقق مثلن %~% لأنا وإياهم بمنزل إحسان﴾

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

أي، قال سهل التستري بهذا القول من أن البسائط أقرب إلى الحق، كما مر. وهكذا يقول كل محقق عارف بالله. و (المنزل الإحساني) هو مقام المشاهدة وإنم قال: (مثلنا) لأن العارف المطلع على مقامه هو على بينة من ربه، يخبر عن الأمر كما هو عليه، كإخبار الرسل عن كونهم رسلا وأنبياء، لا أنهم ظاهرون بأنفسهم مفتخرون بما يخبرون عنه

That is, Sahl al-Tustarī spoke with this statement, that simple things are nearer to the Real, as mentioned before. And thus speaks every verifying gnostic of God. And the "station of beneficence" is the station of direct witnessing (mushāhada). He said "likewise us" because the gnostic who is aware of his station is upon clear evidence from his Lord, reporting the matter as it truly is — like the reporting of the messengers about their being messengers and prophets, not that they are manifesting themselves out of self-glorification in what they report.

﴿بذا قال سهل والمحقّق مثلنا %~% لأنّا وإيّاهم بمنزل إحسان … فمن شهد الأمر الذي قد شهدته﴾

من الإجمال الذاتي وتفاصيل تعيّناتها وتنوّعاتها ، ومقتضيات الكلّ من الإظهار والإخفاء بحسب أحكام المواطن ، ومدارك المعاصرين ذوي العناد أو أهل الاسترشاد

Of the essential summation (ijmāl dhātī) and the details of its entifications (taʿayyunāt) and their diversifications, and the requirements of the whole, by way of manifestation and concealment, according to the rulings of the [various] stations, and the perceptive capacities of contemporaries — whether obstinate opponents or seekers of guidance.

﴿قال سهل﴾

يعني سهل بن عبد الله التستري قدس الله سره (والمحقق) كانن من كان (مثلنا) ، أي مثل قولنا بهذ (فإنا) يعني سهلا ونفسه (وإياهم) .. يعني سائر المحققين المماثلين لهما في هذا القول

meaning Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Tustarī, may God sanctify his secret—("and the realized ones"), whoever they may be, ("are as we are"), i.e., as our saying in this—("for we"), meaning Sahl and himself, ("and they"), meaning the rest of the realized ones who match them in this saying,

﴿بذا قال سهل والمحقق مثلن %~% لأنا وإياهم بمنزل إحسان﴾

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

( بذا ) أي بما قلت ( قال سهل ) فإن علم المحققين يحصل عن كشف إلهي ، فلا يقبل الاختلاف فإنه لا يكون إلا في العلم الاجتهادى ( ولا تبذر السمراء ) أي المحنطة ( في أرض عميان ) أي لا تقل قولي لمن كان عمى قلبه ، فإنها لا تنبت المعارف الإلهية في أرضهم

("Thus") i.e. by what I have said ("Sahl said") — for the knowledge of the verifiers (muḥaqqiqūn) proceeds from divine unveiling, and so admits of no disagreement, since disagreement occurs only in knowledge attained by independent reasoning (ijtihād). ("Do not scatter the wheat") i.e. the cultivated grain, ("in the land of the blind") — i.e. do not utter my saying to one whose heart is blind, for the divine gnoses will not grow in such soil.

Bālī Zāde's gloss, printed inside al-Qāshānī's commentary in the ibnalarabi.com text (line 3452); moved here

﴿لأنا وإياهم بمنزل إحسان﴾

بمقام المشاهدة والعيان

that is, the station of witnessing and direct vision

﴿بمنزل إحسان﴾

و مقام مشاهدة فيعرف ويشاهد الأمور على ما هي عليه

and a station of witnessing, whereby one knows and witnesses things as they truly are.

﴿فمن شهد الأمر الذي قد شهدته %~% يقول بقولي في خفاء وإعلان … ولا تلتفت قولا يخالف قولن %~% ولا تبذر السمراء في أرض عميان … هم الصم والبكم الذي أتى بهم %~% لأسماعنا المعصوم في نص قرآن﴾

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

أي من شهد ما شهدته عرف أن شهادة الأعيان الموجودة كلها بلسان الحال الحق ، هي ذاتية فطرية . وقال : ما أقول به كأمير المؤمنين علي كرم الله وجهه ، حيث قال :يشهد له أعلام الوجود على إقرار قلب ذي الجحود ولا تبذر السمراء في أرض عميان مثل لمن يلقن المعرفة من لا يستعد لقبولها ولا يهتدى إلى الحق . ويبصر من لا بصيرة له وهم الذين سماهم الله في القرآن الذي جاء به المعصوم أي النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام " صما وبكما " مع أنهم يسمعون وينطقون عرفا . لعدم فهم الحق وانتفاعهم بحاسة السمع ونطقهم بالحق ، كما سماهم " عُمْياً " مع سلامة حاسة بصرهم ، لاحتجابهم عن الحق وعدم اهتدائهم ، كقوله تعالى: " لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لا يَفْقَهُونَ بِها ، ولَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لا يُبْصِرُونَ بِه " الآية

i.e., whoever has witnessed what I have witnessed knows that the testimony of all existent entities (aʿyān mawjūda), by the tongue of state (lisān al-ḥāl), is the Real — it is essential and primordial (dhātiyya fiṭriyya). And he said: what I say is like what the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī, God ennoble his countenance, said, when he said: the signs of existence bear witness for him against the acknowledgment of the heart of the denier. "Nor scatter the wheat in a land of blind ones" is an image for one who imparts gnosis (maʿrifa) to someone who lacks the preparedness (istiʿdād) to receive it and is not guided to the Real, and who imagines he has insight when he has none. These are the ones God named in the Qurʾān, which the infallible one — i.e., the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) — brought, as "deaf and dumb," even though they hear and speak conventionally, because they do not comprehend the Real nor benefit by the faculty of hearing, nor speak the truth with their speech; just as He named them "blind" despite the soundness of their faculty of sight, because of their being veiled from the Real and their lack of guidance — as in His saying: "They have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see" — the verse.]

﴿فمن شهد الأمر الذي قد شهدته %~% يقول بقولي في خفاء وإعلان﴾

أي، من شهد الحقائق في الغيب الإلهي كما شهدت ويجد الأمر كما وجدت، لا يبالي أن يقول بمثل هذا القول في السر والعلانية

That is, whoever has witnessed the realities in the divine Unseen as I have witnessed, and finds the matter as I have found it, has no concern about speaking with the like of this statement in secret and in the open.

﴿فمن شهد الأمر الذي قد شهدته يقول بقولي في خفاء وإعلان﴾

أي في السر والعلانية

i.e., in secret and in public

﴿فمن شهد الأمر الذي قد شهدته يقول بفولي في خفاء وإعلان﴾

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

أن يتكلم قولي في أي حال كان لأن ما شهدته مطابق بنص قرآن

that is, he speaks my words in whatever state he may be, since what he has witnessed corresponds to the explicit text of the Qurʾān

﴿يقول بقولي في خفاء﴾

للغمر من المعاندين الغافلين. ( وإعلان ) للمسترشدين المتفطَّنين. "الغمر = الجاهل"

[This is addressed] to the ignorant among the heedless opponents, in concealment. (And openly) to the attentive seekers of guidance. "Al-ghamr = the ignorant one."

﴿ولا تلتفت قولا يخالف قولن %~% ولا تبذر السمراء في أرض عميان﴾

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

أي، لا يلتفت إلى قول المحجوبين من أهل النظر وغيرهم من المقلدين لهم وأصحاب الظاهر الذين لا علم لهم بحقائق الأمور، إذا كان قولهم مخالفا لقولنا. ولا تبذر الحنطة السمراء. أي، القول الحق الذي يغذي الباطن والروح، في أرض استعداد العميان الذين لا يبصرون الحق في الأشياء ولا يشاهدونه في المظاهر

That is, do not heed the statement of the veiled ones among the people of rational inquiry, and others among their blind followers and the people of outward form (ẕāhir), who have no knowledge of the true natures of things, when their statement contradicts our statement. And do not scatter the brown wheat — that is, the true statement which nourishes the inward (bāṭin) and the spirit — in the land of the preparedness of the blind, who do not see the Real in things nor witness Him in the manifest loci (maẕāhir).

﴿ولا تلتفت قولا يخالف قولنا﴾

أي لا تسمع قول القاصرين عن فهم المراد من كلام الحقّ ، والواقفين عند شواطئ ذلك البحر الزخّار ، القانعين من لآليه ودرره ، المبطونة فيه بطنا بعد بطن ، بما يعلو ظاهر سطوحه المحسوسة من الحثالات والزبد فالعاقل ينبغي أن لا يلتفت إليهم سماعا ولا خطابا ، فإنّ الخطاب معهم ببثّ ذلك الدرر لديهم هو عين إضاعتها عزّت عن ذلك. " الحثالة : ثفل الشيء. ما يسقط من قشر الشعير أو الأرز ونحوه. الزبد : ما يعلو الماء البحر او النهر ونحوه من الرغوة ." كما قال

That is, do not listen to the discourse of those who fall short of understanding the intent of the Real's speech, and who stop at the shores of that surging ocean, content with what rises to the sensible surface of its outward layers — dregs and foam — rather than its pearls and gems, which lie submerged within it, layer beneath layer. So the intelligent person ought not to pay heed to them, whether in listening or in addressing them; for to address them by scattering those pearls before them would be the very squandering of them — they are too precious for that. "Al-ḥuthāla: the sediment of a thing; what falls from the husk of barley or rice and the like. Al-zabad: what rises to the surface of sea water or river water and the like, i.e., froth." As he said:

﴿ولا تلتفت قولا يخالف قولنا﴾

من أقوال المحجوبين من أهل النظر والمقلدين لهم وأصحاب الظواهر الذين لا علم لهم بالبواطن (ولا تبذر السمراء) يعني بيان الحقائق الذي هو غذاء القلب والروح كالسمراء يعني الحنطة للجسم

[referring to] the sayings of those veiled among the people of rational speculation and their blind followers, and the people of outward forms who have no knowledge of the inward realities ("and do not scatter the brown wheat"), meaning the exposition of the realities (ḥaqāʾiq), which is the nourishment of the heart and spirit just as brown wheat is nourishment for the body

﴿ولا تلتفت قولا يخالف قولنا﴾

وهو قول بعض أهل النظر

that is, the saying of some among the people of rational inquiry

﴿ولا تبذر السمراء في أرض عميان﴾

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

" ولا تبذر الحنطة السمراء - أي القول الحق الذي يغذي الباطن والروح - في أرض استعداد العميان ، الذين لا يبصرون الحق في الأشياء ولا يشاهدونه في المظاهر.أهـ القيصري "

"And do not sow the dark/brown wheat — that is, the true discourse (al-qawl al-ḥaqq) that nourishes the inward being and the spirit — in the soil of the preparedness (istiʿdād) of the blind, those who do not perceive the Real in things nor witness Him in the manifestations (maẓāhir)." End, al-Qayṣarī.

﴿ولا تبذر السمراء في ارض عميان﴾

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

أي لا تقل قولي لمن كان أعمى قلبه . وهو قوله تعالى : "لا تعمى الأبصار ولكن تعمى القلوب التى في الصدور" [الحج: 41] . فإنه لا تنبت المعارف الإلهية في أرضهم (هم) أي العميان

that is, do not speak my words to one whose heart is blind. This is [an allusion to] His saying, exalted is He: "It is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts that are within the breasts" (al-Ḥajj 22:46). For divine sciences do not grow in their soil. (They are)—that is, the blind

﴿في أرض عميان﴾

يعني في أرض استعداد، وهؤلاء الطوائف الذين لا يبصرون الحق ولا يشاهدونه في جميع الأشياء قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

meaning in a land of preparedness (istiʿdād); and these are the groups who do not perceive the Real (al-Ḥaqq) nor witness Him in all things. The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said:

﴿هم الصم والبكم الذين أتى بهم %~% لأسماعنا المعصوم في نص قرآن﴾

لأنهم الصم عن سماع الحق، والبكم عن القول به، والعمى عن شهوده، إذ طبع الله على قلوبهم بعدم إعطاء استعداد المشاهدة وإدراك الحق. كما أتى المعصوم، أي نبينا عليه السلام، في القرآن في حقهم: (صم بكم عمى فهم لا يعقلون.) و (الباء) في (بهم) للتعدية. أي، أتى بهذا القول في حقهم

Because they are deaf to hearing the Real, dumb regarding speaking of Him, and blind to witnessing Him, since God has sealed their hearts by not granting them the preparedness for witnessing and perceiving the Real — just as the infallible one, namely our Prophet (peace be upon him), brought in the Qur'an concerning them: "Deaf, dumb, blind, so they do not understand." And the "bi" in "bi-him" (concerning them) is for transitivity — that is, he brought this statement concerning them.

﴿هم الصمّ والبكم الذين أتى بهم %~% لأسماعنا المعصوم في نصّ قرآن﴾

لما سبق غير مرّة أن القصص القرآنيّة حكايات ألسنة أحوال الاستعدادات المتخالفة للعباد ، وهي التي لم يزل يتكلَّم الزمان بأفواههم في كلّ عصر ما هي أساطير الأوّلين ، كما هو زعم البعض من الجهلة المنكرين لبيّنات آياته . رؤيا إبراهيم عليه السّلام وتعبيره

Since it has been said more than once that the Qur'anic stories are narratives [told by] the tongues of the states of the differing preparednesses (istiʿdādāt) of [God's] servants—and it is these that time has never ceased speaking through their mouths in every age—they are not "legends of the ancients" (asāṭīr al-awwalīn), as some of the ignorant deniers of the clear signs of His verses have claimed. The Vision of Abraham, peace be upon him, and Its Interpretation

﴿الصم والبكم الذين أني بهم لإسماعنا المعصوم﴾

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

فاعل أتى المعصوم وهو محمد عليه السلام

—the agent of "brought" is "the Infallible one," namely Muḥammad, peace be upon him

﴿في نص قرآن﴾

يريد قوله تعالى : "صم بكم عمى فهم لا يرجعون" ( البقرة : 18)

He means His saying, Most High: "Deaf, dumb, blind—so they will not return [to the right path]" (al-Baqara 2:18)

﴿في نص قرآن﴾

وهو قوله تعالى : "صم بكم عمي فهم لا يعقلون" [البقرة: 171] . ( قال الشيخ رضي الله عنه

—and this is His saying, exalted is He: "Deaf, dumb, and blind, so they do not understand" (al-Baqarah 2:171). The Shaykh, may God be pleased with him, said