The Book of Stations

1. Mawqif 188 · “We made the sign of the day seeing”

   In brief✦AI

   Starting from Q 17:12, “We made the night and the day two signs”, the Emir reads night as the dark elemental soul and day as the luminous spirit, both present in every human and pointing to the Real's manifestation through opposites and to His acting by will and choice. God effaces the night's sign by removing the soul's rule, though its entity remains, and makes the day's sign seeing. Such a person seeks bounty from God only through God's bounty, knowing nothing of the matter is his.

   See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 413, Damascus 1966, p. 414, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 390, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 391 (archive.org)

   قَالَ تَعَالَى: «وَجَعَلْنَا اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ آيَتَيْنِ».

   He, exalted is He, said: “And We made the night and the day two signs” (Q 17:12).✦

   ¶ 3329

2. اللَّيْلُ كِنَايَةٌ عَنِ النَّفْسِ الْعُنْصُرِيَّةِ الظُّلْمَانِيَّةِ.

   The night is an allusion to the elemental, dark soul.✦

   ¶ 3330

3. وَالنَّهَارُ كِنَايَةٌ عَنِ الرُّوحِ الْعُلْوِيَّةِ النُّورَانِيَّةِ،

   And the day is an allusion to the lofty, luminous spirit;✦

   ¶ 3331

4. «آيَتَيْنِ» عَلَامَتَيْنِ عَلَى الْمُوجِدِ– تَعَالَى– وَكَمَالِ اقْتِدَارِهِ، وَاِطْلَاقِهِ عَنْ ظُهُورَاتِهِ وَتَعَيُّنَاتِهِ،

   “two signs”: two marks pointing to the Bringer-into-existence (exalted is He), to the perfection of His power, and to His being unbound by His manifestations and determinations.✦

   ¶ 3332

5. وَلَوْ تَقَيَّدَ بِمَظْهَرٍ، وَتَعَيَّنَ لَمَا ظَهَرَ وَتَعَيَّنَ بِالضِّدَّيْنِ، كَاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ، وَالنَّفْسِ وَالرُّوحِ، مَعَ تَبَايُنِهِمَا، وَالتَّغَايُرِ الَّذِي بَيْنَهُمَا وَصْفاً،

   Had He been bound to one locus of manifestation and determined, He would not have become manifest and determined through the two opposites, such as night and day, soul and spirit, despite their being distinct from each other and the difference in attribute between them,✦

   ¶ 3333

6. اِذِ الْعَالَمُ كُلُّهُ ظُهُورُهُ وَتَعَيُّنُهُ،

   for the whole world is His manifestation and His determination,✦

   ¶ 3334

7. وَمَا عُرِفَ الْحَقُّ اِلَاّ بِظُهُورِهِ عَلَى الضِّدَّيْنِ، وَتَعَيُّنِهِ بِالنَّقِيضَيْنِ،

   and the Real is known only through His manifestation upon the two opposites and His determination through the two contradictories,✦

   ¶ 3335

8. وَالنَّفْسُ وَالرُّوحُ ثَابِتَانِ لِكُلِّ اِنْسَانٍ: «فَمَحَوْنَا آيَةَ اللَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَا آيَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً».

   and the soul and the spirit are both established in every human being: “Then We effaced the sign of the night and made the sign of the day seeing” (Q 17:12).✦

   ¶ 3336

9. هَاتَانِ آيَتَانِ أَيْضاً دَالَّتَانِ عَلَى أَنَّهُ– تَعَالَى– يَفْعَلُ بِالْاِرَادَةِ وَالِاخْتِيَارِ،

   These two are also signs indicating that He, exalted is He, acts by will and choice,✦

   ¶ 3337

10. فَلَيْسَ هُوَ عِلَّةً يَكُونُ مِنْهُ الْفِعْلُ دُونَ التَّرْكِ؛ بَلْ لَهُ الْاِيجَادُ وَالْاِعْدَامُ، بِتَبْدِيلِ الْأَوْصَافِ،

    so He is not a cause from which the act proceeds without the refraining; rather, His are bringing into existence and bringing into non-existence, through the changing of attributes,✦

    ¶ 3338

11. فَاِنَّهُ يَرْحَمُ بَعْضَ عِبَادِهِ، فَيَمْحُو آيَةَ لَيْلِهِمْ وَهِيَ أَنْفُسُهُمُ الظُّلْمَانِيَّةُ الشَّهْوَانِيَّةُ السُّفْلِيَّةُ،

    For He has mercy on some of His servants and effaces the sign of their night, which is their dark, appetitive, lower souls;✦

    ¶ 3339

12. وَمَحْوُهَا بِزَوَالِ حُكْمِهَا فَلَا يَبْقَى لَهَا حُكْمٌ عَلَيْهِمْ بِظُلْمَانِيَّتِهَا لِتَبَدُّلِ أَوْصَافِهَا بِغَلَبَةِ النُّورِ الرُّوحِيِّ عَلَى ظُلْمَتِهَا، وَاِشْرَاقِهِ عَلَى عَالَمِهَا، وَاِنْ بَقِيَتْ عَيْنُهَا،

    and its effacement is by the removal of its rule, so that it no longer has any rule over them through its darkness, because its attributes are changed by the prevailing of the spiritual light over its darkness and the light's shining upon its world, even if its entity remains,✦

    ¶ 3340

13. لِاَنَّ الضَّرَرَ لَيْسَ فِي عَيْنِهَا، وَاِنَّمَا هُوَ فِي صِفَاتِهَا،

    for the harm is not in its entity; it is only in its attributes.✦

    ¶ 3341

14. وَيَجْعَلُ آيَةَنَهَارِهِمْ مُبْصِرَةً، وَهِيَ رُوحُهُمُ الْعُلْوِيَّةُ الْقُدْسِيَّةُ،

    And He makes the sign of their day seeing, and that is their lofty, holy spirit;✦

    ¶ 3342

15. وَجَعْلُهَا مُبْصِرَةً، هُوَ بِزَوَالِ قَذَى النَّفْسِ الظُّلْمَانِيَّةِ، الَّذِي كَانَ يَمْنَعُ مَا فِي قُوَّتِهَا مِنَ الْأَبْصَارِ، فَتَخْرُجُ اِلَى الْفِعْلِ بَعْدَ مَا كَانَ بِالْقُوَّةِ،

    and its being made seeing is through the removal of the mote of the dark soul, which used to prevent the seeing that lies in its potency, so that it passes into act after having been in potency,✦

    ¶ 3343

16. لِأَنَّ الْاِبْصَارَ وَجَمِيعَ الْكَمَالَاتِ ذَاتِيٌّ لِلْأَرْوَاحِ،

    for seeing and all perfections are essential to spirits,✦

    ¶ 3344

17. وَلَكِنَّ الْمَوَانِعَ النَّفْسِيَّةَ الظُّلْمَانِيَّةَ تَمْنَعُ مِنْ ظُهُورِ كَمَالَاتِ الْأَرْوَاحِ، مَادَامَ الْحُكْمُ وَالْغَلَبَةُ لِلنَّفْسِ عَلَى الْبَدَنِ.

    but the dark impediments of the soul prevent the perfections of the spirits from appearing, as long as rule and dominance over the body belong to the soul.✦

    ¶ 3345

18. «لِتَبْتَغُوا فَضْلاً مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ».

    “that you may seek bounty from your Lord” (Q 17:12).✦

    ¶ 3346

19. اللَّامُ؛ لَامُ الْعَاقِبَةِ،

    The lām is the lām of outcome,✦

    ¶ 3347

20. اِذْ عَاقِبَهُ مَنْ مُحِيَتْ آيَةُ لَيْلِهِ، وَجُعِلَتْ آيَةُ نَهَارِهِ مُبْصِرَةً؛ أَنَّهُ لَا يَبْتَغِي فَضْلاً مِنَ اللَّهِ اِلَاّ بِفَضْلِهِ، لَا بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهُ،

    since the outcome for one the sign of whose night has been effaced, and the sign of whose day has been made seeing, is that he seeks bounty from God only through His bounty, not through anything of his own,✦

    ¶ 3348

21. لِأَنَّهُ عَرَفَ كَيْفَ هُوَ الْأَمْرُ بَاطِناً، فَهُوَ يَبْتَغِي فَضْلَ اللَّهِ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ،

    because he has come to know how the matter is inwardly; so he seeks God's bounty through God's bounty,✦

    ¶ 3349

22. فَاِنَّهُ عَلِمَ اَنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ.

    for he knows that nothing of the matter is his.✦

    ¶ 3350

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.