The Book of Stations

1. Mawqif 154 · “How clearly He sees, and hears!”

   Context: God seeing and hearing “by” a servant names the highest nearness to God. It does not say the servant is divine.

   See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 347, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 331, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 332 (archive.org)

   قَالَ تَعَالَى: «لَهُ غَيْبُ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَبْصِرْ بِهِ وَأَسْمِعْ»⁽²⁾.

   He (exalted is He) said: “His is the unseen of the heavens and the earth; how clearly He sees, and how clearly He hears!” (Q 18:26)✦

   ¶ 1949

2. لَا غَيْبَ فِي حَقِّ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى-، بَلِ الْكُلُّ شَهَادَةٌ فِي حَقِّهِ، وَاِنَّمَا انْقَسَمَتِ الْأَشْيَاءُ اِلَى غَيْبٍ وَشَهَادَةٍ بِالنِّسْبَةِ اِلَيْنَا،

   There is no unseen with respect to the Real (exalted is He); rather, everything is witnessed with respect to Him. Things are divided into unseen and witnessed only in relation to us,✦

   ¶ 1950

3. فَالْخَبَرُ فِي الْآيَةِ مَحْذُوفٌ، تَقْدِيرُهُ: غَيْبُ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ؛ «شَهَادَةٌ» أَبْصِرْ بِهِ وَأَسْمِعْ؛

   So the predicate in the verse is elided; its implied wording is: the unseen of the heavens and the earth [is] “witnessed”; how clearly He sees, and how clearly He hears!✦

   ¶ 1951

4. أَيْ مَا أَبْصَرَ الْحَقَّ- تَعَالَى- وَمَا أَسْمَعَهُ، اِذْ كُلُّ بَصَرٍ بَصَرُهُ، وَكُلُّ سَمْعٍ سَمْعُهُ،

   that is: how clearly the Real (exalted is He) sees, and how clearly He hears! For every sight is His sight, and every hearing is His hearing.✦

   ¶ 1952

5. فَمَا أَبْصَرَ مُبْصِرٌ اِلاَّ بِبَصَرِهِ، وَلَا سَمِعَ سَمِيعٌ اِلاَّ بِسَمْعِهِ، وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ بِسَمْعِهِ وَالْبَصِيرُ بِبَصَرِهِ.

   So no seer has seen except by His sight, and no hearer has heard except by His hearing; and He is the Hearer by His hearing and the Seer by His sight.✦

   ¶ 1953

6. فَلَا سَمْعَ وَلَا سَمِيعَ اِلاَّ هُوَ، وَلَا بَصَرَ وَلَا بَصِيرَ اِلاَّ هُوَ، فَكَيْفَ يُتَصَوَّرُ فِي حَقِّهِ غَيْبٌ، تَعَالَى عَنْ ذَلِكَ،

   So there is no hearing and no hearer but He, and no sight and no seer but He. How then could an unseen be conceived with respect to Him? Exalted is He above that.✦

   ¶ 1954

7. وَيَصِحُّ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْأَمْرُ عَلَى بَابِهِ، وَالْخِطَابُ لَهُ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- وَالْمُرَادُ نَحْنُ أَمَرَنَا الْحَقُّ- تَعَالَى-؛ أَنْ نَعْمَلَ عَلَى الْحُصُولِ وَالْوُصُولِ اِلَى مَرْتَبَةِ: بِي يَسْمَعُ وَبِي يُبْصِرُ، اِلَى آخِرِ الْقُوَى،

   It is also valid for the imperative to be taken in its proper sense, the address being to him (God bless him and grant him peace) while those meant are we: the Real (exalted is He) has commanded us to work towards attaining and arriving at the rank of “By Me he hears and by Me he sees”, and so on to the last of the faculties.✦

   ¶ 1955

8. وَلَيْسَ الْمُرَادُ أَمْرَهُ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- أَنْ يُبْصِرَ بِالْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- وَيَسْمَعَ بِهِ؛ فَاِنَّهُ قَدْ حَصَلَ لَهُ ذَلِكَ لَا مَحَالَةَ، بَلِ الْحَقُّ يُبْصِرُ بِهِ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَهِ وَسَلَّمَ- وَيَسْمَعُ بِهِ، كَمَا هِيَ الْمَرْتَبَةُ الْعُلْيَا•

   What is meant is not that he (God bless him and grant him peace) is commanded to see by the Real (exalted is He) and to hear by Him, for that has without doubt been attained by him; rather, the Real sees by him (God bless him and grant him peace) and hears by him, as is the highest rank.✦

   ¶ 1956

9. فَاِنَّ صَاحِبَ الْمَرْتَبَةِ الْأُولَى؛ فِيهِ بَقِيَّةٌ، وَذَلِكَ نَقْصٌ بِالنِّسْبَةِ لِمَقَامِ النُّبُوَّةِ الْأَسْمَى•

   For the one who holds the first rank still has a remnant in him, and that is a deficiency relative to the loftiest station of prophethood.✦

   ¶ 1957

Translations, word glosses and term notes are AI-generated (Claude) and marked as such; no published translation is reproduced.Word analysis is automatic (CAMeL Tools), guided by the text's vowelling. How this text was established.