The Quran in Faṣṣ Isḥāq

﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾

• خَلِيفَةِ رَحْمَانِ¶1

  Recalls God's declaration 'innī jāʿilun fī l-arḍi khalīfa', identifying the ransomed son as the human vicegerent for whom the ram substitutes.

﴿ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ﴾

• لَوْ أَنَّ العَرْشَ وَمَا حَوَاهُ¶11

  The comparison of the heart's capacity with the Throne and all it encompasses echoes the Throne Verse, where the Footstool 'encompasses (wasiʿa) the heavens and the earth.'

• وَلَا يَئُودُهَا حِفْظُهُ¶13

  This adapts 'وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا' from the Throne Verse, transferring to the gnostic's himma the divine attribute of never being wearied by preserving what it sustains.

﴿وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَـٰٓئِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم ۚ مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِن شَىْءٍ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ﴾

• مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِن شَىْءٍ¶16

  The verse saying nothing has been omitted from the Book is quoted to liken the imaginal presence to a Book that contains both what occurs and what does not.

﴿إِنَّ شَرَّ ٱلدَّوَآبِّ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلصُّمُّ ٱلْبُكْمُ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ﴾

• هُمْ الصُّمُّ وَالبُكْمُ الَّذِينَ¶2

  This echoes 'the worst of creatures in God's sight are the deaf, the dumb, who do not reason (lā yaʿqilūn)'. Ibn ʿArabī applies the verse to those who reject his view, which the poem calls the Qurʾān text brought by the Prophet.

﴿يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِن تَتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّكُمْ فُرْقَانًا وَيُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو ٱلْفَضْلِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ﴾

• فَإِنَّ المُتَّقِيَ اللَّهَ «يَجْعَلْ لَهُ فُرْقَانًا»¶16

  The promise 'if you fear God He will appoint for you a criterion' is quoted in the singular and applied to the discernment between servant and Lord.

﴿وَقَالَ ٱلْمَلِكُ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰ سَبْعَ بَقَرَٰتٍ سِمَانٍ يَأْكُلُهُنَّ سَبْعٌ عِجَافٌ وَسَبْعَ سُنۢبُلَـٰتٍ خُضْرٍ وَأُخَرَ يَابِسَـٰتٍ ۖ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلَأُ أَفْتُونِى فِى رُءْيَـٰىَ إِن كُنتُمْ لِلرُّءْيَا تَعْبُرُونَ﴾

• إِن كُنتُمْ لِلرُّءْيَا تَعْبُرُونَ¶4

  The Egyptian ruler's request to his court, here attributed to al-ʿazīz, is quoted as proof that a vision calls for taʿbīr.

﴿وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِى فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُۥ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ أَعْمَىٰ﴾

• كَانَ فِي عِيشَةٍ ضَنْكِ¶16

  This echoes 'for him is a narrow life' (maʿīshatan ḍankan), said of the one who turns from remembrance, and applies it to the servant who takes himself for a lord.

﴿وَٱلْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَـٰهَا لَكُم مِّن شَعَـٰٓئِرِ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ فِيهَا خَيْرٌ ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا صَوَآفَّ ۖ فَإِذَا وَجَبَتْ جُنُوبُهَا فَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا۟ ٱلْقَانِعَ وَٱلْمُعْتَرَّ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ سَخَّرْنَـٰهَا لَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ﴾

• وَلَا شَكَّ أَنَّ البُدْنَ¶1

  The budn, the sacrificial camels named among God's rites in 22:36, are cited as the costlier offering against which the ram's preeminence is questioned.

﴿قَدْ صَدَّقْتَ ٱلرُّءْيَآ ۚ إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾

• وَإِنَّمَا صَدَّقَ الرُّؤْيَا¶5

  This echoes 'qad ṣaddaqta al-ruʾyā' and reads ṣaddaqa as taking the dream literally.

﴿وَفَدَيْنَـٰهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ﴾

• فِدَاءُ نَبِيٍّ ذَبْحٌ ذِبْحٍ¶1

  Echoes 'wa-fadaynāhu bi-dhibḥin ʿaẓīm' (We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice), using fidāʾ and dhibḥ from the verse to introduce the ram that replaced Abraham's son.

• وَعَظَّمَهُ اللَّهُ العَظِيمُ¶1

  Recasts the verse's epithet ʿaẓīm as God's act of magnifying the ram, and asks whether this was done for our sake or for the ram's.

• فَفَدَاهُ رَبُّهُ مِنْ وَهْمِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالذَّبْحِ العَظِيمِ¶3

  This echoes «وَفَدَيْنَٰهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ», with the ransom recast as release from Abraham's mistaken notion.

• الذِّبْحُ العَظِيمُ¶5

  This takes up 'bi-dhibḥin ʿaẓīm,' the great sacrifice, and identifies it as the true referent of the dream image.