The Book of Stations

1. Mawqif 341 · The angels and the He-ness: “Glory be to You!”

   In brief✦AI

   Starting from the angels' words in Q 37:165-166 and Q 2:30, 2:32, the Emir says their glorification is transcendence (tanzīh), so they behold the Real only in the He-ness, the level of the Essence; likening belongs to the level of Divinity. Angels are spirits without matter or imaginative faculty, ever transforming in forms, with universal knowledge. They cannot see the Real in forms, because the locus of self-disclosure rules the One disclosed. A human who becomes spirit-like knows God likewise only by transcendence.

   See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 1100, Damascus 1966, p. 1101 (archive.org)

   قَالَ تَعَالَى حِكَايَةَ قَوْلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ: «وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الصَّافُّونَ، وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الْمُسَبِّحُونَ».

   He (exalted is He) said, relating the words of the angels: “And indeed we are those ranged in rows, and indeed we are those who glorify” (Q 37:165–166).✦

   ¶ 2802

2. وَقَالَ: «وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ».

   And He said: “while we glorify You with Your praise and hallow You” (Q 2:30).✦

   ¶ 2803

3. وَقَالَ: «قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا».

   And He said: “They said: Glory be to You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us” (Q 2:32).✦

   ¶ 2804

4. وَنَحْوُ هَذَا مِمَّا تَبَجَّحَتْ وَافْتَخَرَتْ اِلَاّ بِالتَّسْبِيحِ، وَهُوَ التَّنْزِيهُ، بِمَعْنَى التَّبْعِيدِ عَنْ صِفَاتِ النَّقْصِ وَسِمَاتِ الْحُدُوثِ.

   And the like of this: in what they boasted of and took pride in, it was only glorification (tasbīḥ), which is declaring transcendence (tanzīh), in the sense of putting far away [from Him] the attributes of deficiency and the marks of temporal origination.✦

   ¶ 2805

5. فَلَيْسَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ شُهُودُ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- اِلَّا فِي الْهُوِيَّةِ، وَهِيَ مَرْتَبَةُ التَّنْزِيهِ الْمُطْلَقِ.

   So the angels have no beholding of the Real (exalted is He) except in the He-ness, which is the level of absolute transcendence.✦

   ¶ 2806

6. فَاِنَّ لِلْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- مَرْتَبَتَيْنِ مَرْتَبَةَ الذَّاتِ الْهُوِيَّةِ وَمَرْتَبَةَ الْأُلُوهِيَّةِ.

   For the Real (exalted is He) has two levels: the level of the Essence, the He-ness, and the level of Divinity.✦

   ¶ 2807

7. فَمَا وَرَدَ فِي الْكُتُبِ الْاِلَهِيَّةِ وَالسُّنَّةِ الْمُحَمَّدِيَّةِ مِنَ التَّنْزِيهِ، فَهُوَ مَصْرُوفٌ اِلَى مَرْتَبَةِ الذَّاتِ الْهُوِيَّةِ.

   So whatever has come in the divine Books and the Muḥammadan Sunna by way of transcendence is to be referred to the level of the Essence, the He-ness.✦

   ¶ 2808

8. وَمَا وَرَدَ فِي الْكُتُبِ الْاِلَهِيَّةِ وَالسُّنَّةِ مِنَ التَّشْبِيهِ فَهُوَ مَصْرُوفٌ اِلَى مَرْتَبَةِ الْاُلُوهِيَّةِ•

   And whatever has come in the divine Books and the Sunna by way of likening is to be referred to the level of Divinity.✦

   ¶ 2809

9. وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ الْكِرَامُ أَرْوَاحٌ مُجَرَّدَةٌ عَنِ الْمَادَّةِ، فَاِنَّهَا عَالَمُ الْأَمْرِ الْمَوْجُودُ عَنِ الْحَقِّ- تَعَالَى- بِلَا وَاسِطَةِ مَادَّةٍ وَلَا سَبَبٍ، غَيْرَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى «كُنْ»

   The noble angels are spirits stripped of matter, for they are the world of the Command, brought into existence from the Real (exalted is He) without the mediation of matter or of any cause other than His word (exalted is He) “Be” (Q 2:117; 36:82).✦

   ¶ 2810

10. فَاِنَّهَا أَرْوَاحٌ مَنْفُوخَةٌ فِي أَنْوَارٍ فَلَيْسَتْ لَهَا الْقُوَّةُ الْمُتَخَيِّلَةُ حَتَّى تَتَخَيَّلَ الْحَقَّ- تَعَالَى- وَتَشْهَدَهُ فِي الصُّوَرِ الْخَيَالِيَّةِ وَالْحِسِّيَّةِ وَالْمَعْنَوِيَّةِ كَمَا يَشْهَدُهُ الْاِنْسَانُ فِي الصُّوَرِ كُلِّهَا وَيَشْهَدُهُ فِي الْهُوِيَّةِ مُجَرَّداً عَنِ الصُّوَرِ كُلِّهَا لِمَا خَصَّهُ اللَّهُ بِهِ مِنَ الْكَمَالِ•

    For they are spirits breathed into lights, and so they do not have the imaginative faculty by which they could imagine the Real (exalted is He) and behold Him in imaginal, sensory and conceptual forms, as the human being beholds Him in all forms and beholds Him in the He-ness stripped of all forms, because of the perfection with which God has singled him out.✦

    ¶ 2811

11. وَاعْلَمْ اَنَّ الْمَلَكَ هُوَ عَيْنُ الْخَيَالِ وَحَقِيقَةُ الْخَيَالِ التَّحَوُّلُ وَعَدَمُ الثَّبَاتِ، وَالِاسْتِحَالَةُ اِمَّا سَرِيعَةٌ وَاِمَّا بَطِيئَةٌ،

    Know that the angel is imagination itself; the reality of imagination is transformation and lack of fixity, and change is either swift or slow;✦

    ¶ 2812

12. فَلِهَذَا الْمَلَكُ دَائِمُ التَّحَوُّلِ فِي الصُّوَرِ لَايَثْبُتُ عَلَى صُورَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ هَذَا مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ الذَّاتِيَّةِ،

    this is why the angel is ever transforming in forms, never remaining fixed in a single form; this is one of its essential attributes.✦

    ¶ 2813

13. وَلَمَّا كَانَتِ الرُّوحُ الْاِنْسَانِيَّةُ مِنْ جِنْسِ الْمَلَكِ كَانَ لَهَا التَّحَوُّلُ فِي الْخَوَاطِرِ دَائِماً، وَلَا تَثْبُتُ عَلَى صُورَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَهَذَا ضَرُورِيٌّ لِمَنْ رَاقَبَ حَالَهُ•

    And since the human spirit is of the same genus as the angel, it is constantly transforming in passing thoughts and does not remain fixed in a single form; this is self-evident to anyone who watches over his own state.✦

    ¶ 2814

14. وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْمُرَاقِبِينَ: اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ يَخْطُرُ لَهُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ سَبْعُونَ اَلْفَ خَاطِرٍ، وَهِيَ الصُّوَرُ الَّتِي يَتَحَوَّلُ فِيهَا،

    One of those who practise watchfulness has said: seventy thousand passing thoughts occur to a human being every day; these are the forms in which he transforms.✦

    ¶ 2815

15. وَلَمَّا كَانَ الْمَلَكُ هُوَ الْخَيَالَ عَنْهُ كَانَ كُلَّمَا أَرَادَ الظُّهُورَ بِصُورَةٍ خَلَقَهَا وَظَهَرَ بِهَا فِي عَيْنِ الرَّائِي، وَاِلَّا فَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ الَّتِي خَلَقَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا•

    And since the angel is the imagination [issuing] from it, whenever it wished to appear in a form it created that form and appeared in it to the eye of the viewer; otherwise the angel remains in its own form in which God created it.✦

    ¶ 2816

16. وَالتَّطَوُّرُ فِي الصُّوَرِ اِنَّمَا هُوَ فِي مُدْرَكِ الرَّائِي، وَهَكَذَا كُلُّ رُوحٍ تَشَكَّلَ مِنْ مَلَكٍ وَجِنٍّ وَاِنْسَانٍ مُتَرَوْحِنٍ،

    The passing through forms is only in what the viewer perceives; and so it is with every spirit that takes shape, whether angel, jinn, or a human being who has become spirit-like.✦

    ¶ 2817

17. وَحَيْثُ كَانَ الْمَلَكُ لَامُتَخَيِّلَةَ لَهُ وَلَا عَاقِلَةَ كَانَتْ عُلُومُ الْمَلَكِ وَاِدْرَاكَاتُهُ كُلُّهَا كُلِّيَّةً ، وَلَا فَرْقَ عِنْدَهَا بَيْنَ حَسَنٍ وَقَبِيحٍ ، كَمَا هُوَ عِنْدَنَا ،
    ¶ 2818

18. فَلَا تُدْرِكُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْمُدْرَكَاتِ اِلَاّ جَمَالَ الْكَمَالِ لَا الْجَمَالَ الْمُقَيَّدَ فَلَا تُدْرِكُ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ اِلَّا الْجَمَالَ الْمَعْنَوِىَّ فَلَا تَلْتَذُّ بِرُؤْيَتِهِ الصُّوَرَ الْجَمِيلَةَ عِنْدَنَا وَلَا تَتَأَذَّى بِرُؤْيَةِ الصُّوَرِ الْقَبِيحَةِ •
    ¶ 2819

19. وَمَا وَرَدَ فِي الصَّحِيحِ أَنَّ الْمَلَائِكَةَ تَتَأَذَّى مِمَّا يَتَأَذَّى مِنْهُ الْاِنْسَانُ فَاِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ عِنْدَ تَشَكُّلِهَا بِالصُّوَرِ ،
    ¶ 2820

20. وَلَمَّا كَانَتْ عُلُومُ الْمَلَكِ بِاللَّهِ - تَعَالَى - فِطْرِيَّةً لَا عَنْ نَظَرٍ وَتَخَيُّلٍ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ اسْتِعْدَادُ رُؤْيَةِ الْحَقِّ - تَعَالَى - فِي الصُّوَرِ لِحُكْمِ الْمُتَجَلَّى فِيهِ عَلَى الْمُتَجَلِّى كَانَ لِذَلِكَ لَا يَأْخُذُ الْعُلُومَ بِاللَّهِ اِلَاّ عَلَى التَّنْزِيهِ •
    ¶ 2821

21. وَكَذَلِكَ الْاِنْسَانُ اِذَا تَرَوْحَنَ وَتَجَرَّدَ عَقْلُهُ عَنِ الطَّبِيعَةِ لَايَأْخُذُ الْعُلُومَ بِاللَّهِ اِلَاّ عَلَى التَّنْزِيهِ، كَالْمَلَكِ،
    ¶ 2822

22. وَلَا يَحْصُلُ مِنْ حَيْثُ هُوَ مُتَجَرِّدٌ عَلَى مَعَارِفِ التَّجَلِّي فِي الصُّوَرِ اِلَّا اِذَا رَجَعَ اِلَى الدَّارِ الْآخِرَةِ ،
    ¶ 2823

23. وَاِنَّمَا كَانَ الْحُكْمُ هَكَذَا لِأَنَّ الْمِرْآةَ تَظْهَرُ فِيهَا الصُّورَةُ بِحَسَبِ الْمِرْآةِ مِنْ كِبَرٍ وَصِغَرٍ وَاسْتِقَامَةٍ وَاعْوِجَاجٍ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ •
    ¶ 2824

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.