Shams Al-Din Lahiji • Commentary on the Secret Garden of Divine Mystery

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Mahmud Shabistarl and Shams al-Dln Lahljl

The com men tary of Lahljl upon the the Gulshan-i raz of raz of M ahm ud Shabistarl Shabistarl is one one o f the most im portant texts texts o f philosop hical Sufism in the the Persian Persian language w hile the Gulshan-i raz raz (The Secret Garden of Divine Mystery) itself is a supreme masterpiece of Persian Sufi poetry. In introducing this section an account must be given, needless to say, of both Shabistarl and Lahljl. The Gulshan-i raz was raz was w ri tt e n in a p e r io d o f a fe w d ay s b y M a h m u d S h a b is ta rl in re sp o n se to a n u m b e r o f questions questions sent to him by the the Khurasan i Sufi master A m ir Hu sayn Hirawi, who w a s a khalifah o khalifah o f the the celebrat celebrated ed Suhrawardiyyah Shaykh Bah a’ al-Din al-Din Zak ariyya’ o f Multan. The Gulshan-i raz, consisting raz, consisting o f about a thousand verses, soon soon became extrem ely fam fam ous and has rem ained to this this day one o f the m ost wide ly read read and oft-quoted of Sufi poems because it combines heavenly-inspired beauty with rem arkable clarity and sim plicity while while discussing the the most im portant elements o f ‘irfan. Yet, ‘irfan. Yet, despite despite the exceptio nal fam e o f this w ork, little is is know n about the life of its author. Wha W ha t w e k n o w ab o ut S a 'd a l-D l- D in M a h m u d ibn A m in a l- D in ‘ A b d a l- K a ri m Shabistari is that he was born in a town near Tabriz by the name of Shabistar. He studied in that area, and travelled in various Islamic countries such as Egypt, A ra b ia an d A n a to lia li a . H e u n d er w en t Su fi tr a in in g w ith it h at lea st tw o kn o w n m aste as te rs o f Azarbaijan, Shaykh Am in al-Din and Shaykh Ba ha’ al-Din. He was famous as both a Sufi and a religious scholar and died in Shabistar where his tomb is to be fou nd to this day day.. It is believ ed that he was born in 687/1288 and, ac cord ing to mo st scholars o f later centuries, centuries, died in 72 0/ 132 0- 132 1 at the the age of thirty-three. thirty-three. Som e recent scholars, basing themselves mostly on a work by Hafiz Husayn Karbala’I Tabrlzl entitled Raw dat al-jinan al-jinan (The G arden o f Paradise), one o f the earli earliest est works to mention Shabistarl, believe, however, that the poet died some twenty years later in 740/1339-1340. Shabistari also wrote a few other works, among the most important being Haqq al-yaqin (The al-yaqin (The Truth o f Certainty) and M and M ir ’at a l-m l- m u h a q q iq in (Mirror of the the Verifiers).

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M a h m u d S h a b is ta ri a n d S h a m s a l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 4 7 7 It is known that Shabistari was a Sunni in madhhab and madhhab and an Ash'arite in kalam. But above all els elsee he was a Su fi deeply influenced by the teachings teachings o f the School o f Ibn ‘Arabi. Much of the Gulshan-i raz is raz is pure pure m etaphysics in Persian poe tic form, form, som etimes one or two lines sum marizing a whole treatise treatise o f the Shaykh al-Akbar. In his Sa adat-namah (The Treatise Treatise on Happiness), Happiness), M ahm ud Shabistari writes that that he stud ied the Futuhat and Futuhat and the Fusus o Fusus o f Ibn ‘Ar ab i thoroughly, b ut that that despite this deep attraction to his works and command of his teachings, felt a certain unease wh w h en read re ad in g them th em . His Hi s m as te r e x p la in e d to t o him hi m that tha t t his hi s une u ne ase as e cam ca m e fr o m a dar d ar k element o f his own soul but reflected in Ibn ‘A rab i’s i’s writings. In any case along w ith it h ‘Ira ‘I ra q i, Sh am s a l-D l- D in L a h iji ij i an d Jam Ja m i, Sh ab ista is ta ri is the grea gr eate test st S u fi p o e t o f the Persian Persian language associated with the the gnosis and philosoph ical Sufism o f the School o f Ibn ‘Arabi. A s for his Gulshan-i raz, raz, it is a unique work of the Persian language in combining poetry of celestial inspiration with the lucid exposition of the most profound metaphysical teachings. Precisely because of its clarity and its synthesizing nature, the Gulshan-i raz becam e the subject subject of num erous com me ntaries over the the ages, ages, from from those of Kam al al-Din Husayn Ardibili, Shah Da'i ila’Llah, Nizam al-Din Mahmud Husayni and Qadi M ir H usayn Yazdi, to the M the M is h w a q (Inci (Incitement tement to to Yearning) Yearning) ofM ulla Muhsin Fayd Kashani, which is a comm entary on a num ber o f symb ols used in the the Gulshan, to Muh am m ad Iqbal’s Iqbal’s ‘new ‘new ’ Gulshan -i raz. raz. Besides Iqbal, other commentators were formally Sufis belonging to various schools of tasawwuf but but one can also coun t an Ismaili commentator among them. The most important com m entary is, is, however, however, that that of Shams al-Din M uham m ad ibn Yahya La hiji entitled M entitled M af at ih a l - i j a z f i shar sh arh h g u ls h a n -i ra z (Keys o f Wonder in the the Com m entary upon the the Gulshan-i raz) raz) written in 877/1473. This long work of over 800 pages in its its current current edition is based entirely on Ibn Ibn ‘Arab ian term inolo gy and provides a complete cycle of ‘irfan ‘irfan written in clear Persian and embellished w ith it h p o e m s o f m a n y o ther th er S u fis fi s e sp e c ia lly ll y R um I an d M a g h ri b l. It is ce rta rt a in ly am ong the m ost complete and thorou gh texts of philosop hical Sufism in the Persia Persian n language. Little is known about the life of Lahiji except that he was the foremost khalifah of the famous Sufi master Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh and belonged to the Nurbakhshiyyah Order. He entered the order in 849/1445 and served his master for sixteen years. It is also kno wn that he enjoye d great fam e as a m ajor Su fi master during his own lifetime, died in Shiraz in 912/1506-1507 and is buried in that city near the Shah Da‘i Gate. He was visited by such famous philosophers as DawanI, Ghiyath al-Din Mansur Dashtaki and and Qadi M aybudi, all all of whom held him him in









478 From the School o f Illumina tion to Philosophical Mysticism Mysticism w h ic h Sh a bist bi star ar i m en tio ti o n s an d id en tifi ti fies es w ith it h the state sta te o f re aliz al iz at io n o f R e a lity li ty bey on d all manifestation and differentiation. differentiation. It is said said that that La hljl identified him self w ith it h that tha t stat st atio ion n a n d th er efo ef o re w ore or e blac bl ack. k. Besides this this comm entary, Lahiji comp osed a mathnawi entitled entitled Asrar al-shuhud (Mysteries of Contemplation) and a diwan o f poe try in which he used the the pen-name A s ir i. B u t hi s m ost os t im p o rtan rt an t w o rk is w ith it h ou t doub do ub t the co m m en ta ry up on the Gulshan-i raz, a raz, a selection o f which appears below. below. S. H. Nasr









COMMENTARY ON THE SECRET GARDEN OF DIVINE MYSTERY

Shark gulshan-i raz

Translated for this volume by Mohammad H. Faghfoory from Shams al-Din Muhammad Lahiji Gilani, Sharh gulshan-i raz, raz, ed. with an introduction by ‘Ali Quli Mahmudi Bakhtyari (Tehran, 1381 Sh./2002), pp. 69-104.

It is is gene rally held am ong the seekers o f truth that the first obligation o f those obedient to to G od who reach the the age age of adolescence is know ledge o f Go d (ma'rifat A ll a h ) , which is the foundation of all realized knowledge and religious beliefs. In relation to this, the the obligation o f all the the ma nd ato ry rites rites and religious duties becomes secondary. With regard to the particulars, the paths to acquire Divine knowledge are countless, [for it has been said that] the roads toward God are as num erous as the num ber o f G od ’s creatur creatures. es. In respect to the the universals, however, there are two ways toward this end. One is through rational arguments ( istidlal), and the second through intuition and unveiling (kashf (kashf ), ) , as has been discussed previously. The w ay o f rational argument is to to seek pr oo f o f the Creator fro m the creat created. ed. The way of unveiling is for the created to remove the veils of [Divine] beauty. Bo th o f these paths paths rely on the intellect intellect and contemplation, for intellection intellection and contem plation are are ways o f journ eyin g from the manifest to to the non-man ifest, from from the form to the meaning. The refore, the the contemplative m an first questions his own intellect and says, ‘I am pe rple xed w ith rega rd to m y own intellect’. One o f the first difficulties that arises is that I am bewildered about the nature of my own intellect and cannot prop erly comp rehend what is called called ‘intellection’ ‘intellection’ in the the term inolo gy o f the seekers o f truth. He [Shabistari] states that kno win g the the nature o f intellection is an obligation because it it is necessary for the know ledge o f Go d. Poem: Knowledge is the the foundation o f kno wing God, It is is like like the sight for the eye o f the heart. On the path path o f kno win g G od, you w ill never be on the right right course, course, Until Until you know you rself well. well. Since Since real knowledge o f G od, that that is to to say becom ing connected to the Real









480 From the School o f Illumin ation to Philosophical M ysticism ysticism Poem: Yo u ask ed, ed , ‘Tel ‘T elll m e w h at is inte in telle lle ctio ct ion? n? For I have rem ained perp lexed about its its mean ing’. Since you asked this question repeatedly [I shall answer] so that the eager Seeker is encouraged and devotes his total attention to the answer. [Shabistari] says: Intellection Intellection is a jou rne y from falsehoo d to Truth. Truth. It is to see in the particular the Absolute Universal. Falseho od stands in opposition to the the truth. Truth is o f two categories: the real real ( h a q i q i) i ) and that which is relational to it (idafi ( idafi), ), and so is false. The Real Truth is the Being o f the the One Absolute Being who stands opposite to non-existence. Therefore, the real false is non-existence, ‘Be aware that all things except God are false’. Relative falsehood is that which is real only in relation to something lower than itself itself.. For exam ple, honey is useful and real only in relation relation to moist and cold na tures, tures, and harm ful and false in relation relation to hot and dry natures. The sk in o f melon and rice an d the straw o f wh eat are false false in relation to man because they are not edible, but they are real and useful in relation to animals, and so forth. The relatively real and relatively false are both categories of the real Truth, for they are und er the catego ry o f existence and not outside o f it. it. B y the true and false of this group we mean ‘real true’ and ‘real false’. The meaning of this poem is that intellection, according to this group, is the wayfarer’s journey toward unveiling m ultiplicities and entifications, which a re in reality non-ex istence in relation to the Truth, that is to say, in relation to the Absolute Unity of Being which is the Real Truth. This jou rne y consists of the the wayfarer reach ing the station station o f the the annihilation annihilation in God (fana (fana f i ’Llah), and the disappearance of all particles o f engendered things in the rays o f the light light o f the unity o f His Essence like a drop in the ocean. Poem: Travel on this path in such a manner that duality disappears. A n d i f du a lity li ty stil st illl rem re m ain ai n s, It will begin to disappear As A s y o u p ro ce e d on the th e path. pat h. Yo u shal sh alll n o t b ec o m e H im , but i f yo y o u try, try ,









M a h m u d S h a b is ta r i a n d S h a m s a l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 481 48 1 in knowing God (ma'rifah ( ma'rifah ), which is finding subsistence in God (baqa ( baqa bi’Llah). Th ere is no station above this station. station. There are differences am ong stations o f those w h o have hav e re ac h ed u n io n [w ith it h G o d ], b ec au se ofte of ten n e n tifi ti fica ca tio ti o n an d in d iv id u a tio ti o n prevent witnessing true Unity. Unity. He says that that in the term inolo gy o f the people o f the the path [i.e [i.e.. Sufis], intellection, which is the means o f acq uiring G od ’s know ledge, refers to the path on which the wayfarer finds that his own individuality and all other individualities are imm ersed in the the ocean o f D ivine Unity. Unity. After annihilation and return to his original nothingness, he [a Sufi] would find subsistence in God (baqa bi’Llah). Hence bi’Llah). Hence he will see all visible and invisible things and those phenom ena which are the locus of the manifestation of a single Truth that is manifested in different forms and in different places. He would see the single Truth manifested in all contingent things. Poem: For the sake of those those who have have discernm ent, The One God made the six directions The locus o f manifesta manifestation tion o f His signs o f power. power. That is wh y the Noble Being told us, ‘Wherever you turn, there is His Face.’ If I drink water in a pitcher to quench m y thirst, thirst, I am witnessing the Truth hidden in the water. Wit W ith h d isce is ce rn m e n t an d a tr u th -s ee k in g eye, ey e, the th e w a y fa re r w ill il l b e co m e free fr ee o f the pain of otherness {ghayriyyah) {ghayriyyah) and see the Absolute Truth in every single entity that is in fact part of the totality of Truth. If one looks with discernment [one will realize that] that] all entifications are the ve ry same A bsolute w hich is entified. entified. In realit reality, y, entification is a contingent being that has not been actualized in the external world, and other than the Absolute Being there is no reality. This station is the utmost degree o f witnessing b y those who have attained perfection. perfection. Since he [the Shaykh] has presented the description of intellection in the termi no logy of the the people of vision vision and witness, he also also alludes to the the wa y o f the the people o f opinion and rational argumen t and says: says: A n d to Allah belongs the East East and the West W est,, so w h e re v e r to tu rn y o u sh all al l see se e A llah ll ah ’s C o u n te n a n ce . V e ri ly A ll a h is A llll Encompassing and All-Knowing’ (Qur’an 2:115). Philosophers who have reflected on this, have confirmed it. A philosopher {hakim) {hakim) is a person who knows through rational argument and acts on the basis basis o f that knowledge. A ccord ing to truth-see king people, one is not











482 From the School o f Illum Illum ination to Philosophical Mysticism Mysticism Poem: W h en a hy p o th es is ap p e ars ar s in on e’s he art, ar t, First it is called recollection. It means whenever a form from among forms appears in the soul, it finds its w ay to the the heart. Acco rdin g to the definition o f peo ple it is is the ration al soul that differentiates among meanings. Before discussing the notion of intellectual conception, by which we mean knowledge, there is a form that appears first in the mind called recollection (tadhakkur ( tadhakkur ). ) . When a philosopher wants to prove an unknown through rational argument and reason, he must first gather desired principles and precepts so that that he can demonstrate the known principles from the the unknown. Therefore, whenever he conceptualizes the preliminary information that he know s [whether its its principles are known or unknow n] he is recollecting or being reminded (tadhakkur (tadhakkur ). Thi s is becau se he had forgotten [the [the truth] and n ow he has remembered it, for there is a thirst to know the unknown. That is to say, understanding that which is known and perceived in general terms has to reach the heart, but because of physical impurities and obstacles one forgets what he has perce ived but m ay reme mb er with full concentration concentration and remo val o f obstacles. obstacles. Tho se things become become known because because o f the the removal o f the the obstac obstacles les.. As some ph i losoph ers have stated, stated, although in the beginning he knew the principles o f things, things, he had forgotten them because he did not pay attention to them. When he pays attention to remembering them, he is thus reminded of them. [However], merely rem em bering those principles is not enough to learn learn them. F urther consideration and contem plation are needed. Poem: W he n y o u re co lle ct so m e th in g d u ri n g co n te m p lati la tio on, In comm on usage it it is is called taking heed (‘ibrat (‘ ibrat). ). The above lines state that when one comes across the principles one seeks, one









M a h m u d S h a b is t a r i a n d S h a m s a l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 483 them to pass from one point to another. At this point a philosopher has gone past conceptualizing prelim inary precepts, and in a special way has attained attained that that which he was seeking. That is why it is called ‘ibrat, because ‘ibrat, because conceptualizing precepts in such a manner leads to the desired results, as he said: Poem: A hy p o th es is up o n w h ich ic h on e refle re fle cts ct s Is called intellection by the people of reason. W h en co n ce p tu aliz al iz at io n is a cc o m p a n ie d b y co n te m p lati la tion on , as de scri sc ribe be d, By the people o f intell intellect ect who are masters o f rational discourse, and kn ow things according to the laws o f intel intellec lect, t, This is called intellection ((tafakkur). tafakkur). No w Shabistari Shabistari describes intellection intellection according to the the d efinition efinition o f the people o f intell intellect ect and says: says: Poem: Through hierarchical hierarchical order o f know n hypotheses, hypotheses, The unknown is proved and becomes known. Since intellect is defined as the hierarchical order (tartib ( tartib ) of known principles that lead to the discovery of the unknown, know that the view of the people of kno wledg e is that med itation and intellection intellection require finding the unkno wn through that which is known. Undoubtedly, it is not possible to find every unknown just through e very know n, and therefore it it is is necessary to find find each unkn own through the known that corresponds to it. In addition, there is no doubt that acquiring a particular unknown from what is known is not possible in every sense that one may desire; rather, it requires a particular order (tartib ( tartib)) of those known things, w h ic h are ar e co n ting ti ng en t on w h et h er they th ey are ar e in rela re lati tion on to a co nc ep t {tasawwur) or {tasawwur) or a ju d g m e n t {tasdiq), as {tasdiq), as was mentioned previously.









484 From the the School o f Illumina tion to Philosophical M ysticis ysticism m Know that a conceptual hypotheses (majhul-i ( majhul-i tasawwuri) tasawwuri ) is derived from a con cept and a conceptual judgment (majhul-i tasdiqi) is tasdiqi) is derive d from concepts. However, no one has presented an explanation why tasawwur cannot cannot be derived from tasdiq and vice-versa. Therefore, it is possible that it could also happen. Here, his statement that that the the pr oo f o f the unkno wn be come s kno wn could be an allusion to the fact tha thatt it could be possible for it to happen. Althou gh pro ving a concept amo ng the seekers o f truth is defined as know ledge based upon a hypothetical subject that that is predicated predicated upon the relationship between the two, among the possessors of intuition, in fact, tasdiq tasdiq is taken to denote its literal meaning, not a logical concept. Since during the formation o f the the unknown concepts, concepts, the the know n concepts concepts must be prioritized and their hierarchies determined, the two must meet in the middle so that they would lead to the pro o f o f the concept that is desired. desired. A s he said said:: Poem: The major premise is like a father, Followed by the m inor prem ise, which is like like a mother. O brother! Know that the result is like a child. In predicative propositions, the minor and major premises and in conditional propositions (qadaya-yi (qadaya-yi shartiyyah), shartiyyah ), the two premises that are technically one after the other, other, are like like a man (fathe (father) r) and a wom an (mother) who m arr y each other, other, and a child child is born out of their their marriage. Shabistari Shabistari expressed this in philosophica l term i nolo gy and said that the the details details o f such a disposition n eed to observe certain rules: rules: Poem: But such an order in its details, Is in need o f follow ing certain rules. The ab ove discourse advocates contemplation in the style style of philosophers, philosophers, an d says that the way people of intellect obtain knowledge requires them to ascertain the rules.









M a h m u d S h a b is t a r i a n d S h a m s a l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 485 48 5 If the special order and the rules of logic, argumentation, and proofs are not accompanied by Divine Guidance, which includes also spiritual preparedness and inner purity, and if the heart is not illuminated by Divine Light, nothing will be accom plished except pure imitation and repetition. Poem: That imitating man is like a handicapped person; Alt A lth h o u g h he p o sse ss e ss es reas re aso o n an d so u n d argu ar gu m en t, The depth depth o f his argument and form o f presentat presentation ion Distance Distance him from discernment discernment and sound judgment. judgment. Since multiplicity and unity are contradictory, it is hardly possible for man to attain attain Divine knowledge b y m erely relying relying on the hierarchical order o f premises ( muqaddamat). muqaddamat). As he points out: The road is long and tedious, abandon that that.. Like Mo ses cast thy staff aside aside for a while. while. Philosophers and theologians unanimously agree that understanding the real ity of things by way of rational argumentation and reason alone is most difficult. A c q u ir in g kn o w le d ge o f G o d ’s A ttri tt ribu bu tes te s a n d E sse ss e n ce is im p o ssib ss ible le,, as it h as be en said: ‘The reality of God’s Attributes and Essence is hidden from the understand ing o f reason.’ reason.’ Whenever we perceive a con ceptual judgm judgm ent (tasdiqi) tasdiqi) and seek to und erstand it in in the most perfect manner, ou r m ind m ust be directed toward that that w h ic h it k n o w s so that tha t it can ca n pa ss fro fr o m one on e o bjec bj ectt o f kn o w le d ge to an o th e r in an undifferentiated undifferentiated man ner until it it can can find its its desired object object o f knowledge. Our m ind already know s those knowa bles as as principles principles (mabadi), mabadi ), but the mind must put the principles in a special order that leads it toward the unknown which it is looking for. Obviously that special order requires paying attention to that which is sought, detaching the mind from ties ties and attachments attachments and directing the the min d tow ard the the









486 From the School o f Illumin ation to Philosophical Mysticism Mysticism heart. P urificatio n is contingent upo n the negatio n o f all that that is other than G od, for as long as a pungent substance is not cleansed from the heart with the water of invocation, the inscription o f real tawhid will will not be engraved upo n it. it. The way o f reason that is based on proving som ething on the basis o f logical demo nstration nstration ( burhan) burhan ) is the the opposite o f the way of purification. purification. For a m an o f discursive discursive o rien tation, reason is the explanation and elaboration of the reasoned, whereas for the gnostic, reaso n is a veil for the reasoned. Therefo re, the mo re reason s one presents, the more hidden the object of inquiry becomes. Indeed the utmost perfection of tawhid is is negation negation o f otherness, otherness, as it has been said: ‘The perfect form o f tawhid is tawhid is negation of attributes from it.’ That which is a rational argumentation for a scholar is intuitively demonstrated for a gnostic fa f a r i f ) ; that which is the veil of the Face of the Veiled is the mirror of the beauty of the Beloved held before the people of vis v isio io n a n d disc di sco o ve ry. ry . Poem: The perfection o f the man on the path o f certainty is tha thatt He will see G od in whatever he sees. sees. As A s for fo r the se co n d p ar t o f the p o e m w h ich ic h says sa ys , ‘ Like Li ke M o se s cast ca st th y s t a ff aside asi de for a while’, the staff represents rational argumentation (istidlali (istidlali)). The correspond  ence between these two is ver y obvious, for just just as the blind man relies relies on his sta ff to walk, those whose hearts hearts are not illuminated with the ‘staff’ of unveiling, and cannot see true unity with a spiritual eye, walk on the path of gnosis (ma'rifah ( ma'rifah ) w ith it h the help hel p o f the th e ‘st ‘s t a ff ’ o f rat r at io n a l ar gu m en tati ta tion on . Poem: The abo de o f our intelle intellect ct and reflection reflection is the realm o f [Divine] Attributes. Attributes. Divine Essence is far superior to know ledge and gnosis. gnosis. His Light is enough to be the guide of the caravan, N ob od y who follows the the Truth will ever get lost. lost.











M a h m u d S h a b is ta r i a n d S h a m s a l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 48 7 he must pu rify his heart from the dust dust o f strangers so that the the beauty o f the True True Belove d will be shown in that that mirror. W hatever other people have heard will then become visible to him. Poem: Because it was made possible for me to see [the Face of the Beloved], Today, I am not a hostage to the Day of Judgment. Dha'lab Yamani once asked His Holiness Hazrat ‘All, ‘Did you see your Lord?’ ‘All replied, ‘Would I worship that which I do not see?’ and added, ‘I saw Him, then I recognized Him, then I worshipped Him. I would not worship a lord which I do not see.’ As the Qur’an says: ‘Whoever hopes to meet his Lord, he must do righteous deeds and must wo rship his Lo rd and not assign a partner unto his Lord ’ (Qu r’an 18:110). 18:110). Poem: I [am the one] w ho can see the the Beau ty o f the Frien d eye to eye, eye, I do not need any d escription escription o f His Face. Face. The eye that is weak in its sight, Is blind during the day like a bat. Since the path that leads to the Frien d is the path o f love rs who are the people of purity, and because these people go toward the path of Divine Unity through









488 From the School o f Illumina tion to Philosophical Mysticism Mysticism own perfection, w hich is the reality of the the bush, an d says to Moses, ‘ve rily I am the the nurturer o f the people o f this this world an d the next. next.’’ Poem: I[ness] and we[ness] are the veils of the path, W h en w e [ness [n ess]] d isap is ap pe ar s, we are n o t ‘we’ ‘w e’.. In this poem the Shaykh calls the aspiring wayfarer on the path and advises him to follow the path o f purification and cleanse the the m irror o f the heart from the the dust o f strangers strangers so that that by virtue o f the dom inance o f the theophany o f the the One, and un ity o f the symbol an d the symbolized, w ith the ear of his heart he will hear the call of ‘Verily I am Allah’ and with the truth-seeing eye he will see and know him self and God. W he n a gn o stic st ic re ac he s the th e u tm o st de gree gr ee o f w itn it n e ssin ss in g an d u n v ei lin li n g o f [the truth] without the disturbance of illusions by impurities, he sees in all things the Beau ty o f the Unity o f the Absolute One, as he said: said: Poem: For the truth-seeking man for whom unity is in witnessing, The first glance is to the light of Being. A seek se ek er o f tru tr u th is that th at Pe rfe ct M an fo r w h o m the th e re a lity li ty o f t hing hi ng s have ha ve be en disclose d and revealed as they are. This station is only attainable attainable for the person who









M a h m u d S h a b is ta r i a n d S h a m s a l-D l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 489 48 9 light o f the Being o f the the Absolute One. He w ho witnesses in this way is like a person wh w h o has ha s two tw o pa irs ir s o f eyes eye s b y w h ich ic h he sees se es G o d m an ife sted st ed and an d the crea cr eate ted d w orld or ld as non-manifested. Creation for him is the the m irro r o f the the Truth in which the Truth is ma nifested and creation veiled, veiled, as the the m irror itself is hidden by the face. face. Poem: In the theop hany o f that Essence, Essence, Existence man ifested ifested Itself to to m y eye. eye. So whatever I see, I see in His vision. Poem: W h at ev e r I lo o k at, I see T h y Face. Fa ce. That is because only Tho u com est before m y sight. sight. In some manuscripts the first part of the poem ‘The seeker of truth for whom Un ity is in in witnessing’ is recorded recorded as ‘T he seeker o f Truth who has witnessed D ivine Un ity! In this case it m eans that the seeker o f Truth is the the one who has attained divine knowledge through witnessing and unveiling, and not by way of reason and rational argumentation. T his is because for a gnostic, the the Truth consists o f the Abs A bs o lu te B ein ei n g. T h e Sh ay k h [Sha [S ha bist bi star ari] i] co n side si de rs the th e A bs o lu te B e in g an d Tr ut h as synonymous. He says: The heart that witnessed the light light and purity o f Divine Know ledge,









490 From the School School o f Illumination to Philosophica l Mysticism Mysticism A s w as m e n ti o n ed be fore fo re , [su ch a p erso er so n ] see s G o d as m an ifes if es t a n d crea cr ea tion ti on as non-m anifest. The m ost visible visible thing in creation creation is Go d, who is the the Truth, because because He is manifest by Him self whereas other things are are man ifested through H im. D o yo y o u no t see that, tha t, for fo r ex am p le, le , i f an a n o bjec bj ec t is seen se en fro fr o m a far fa r dist di stan an ce , its exist ex ist ence en ce is perceived first? However, sometimes it happens that because the distance is too far, it is not clear whether it is an object, or a bear, or something else. But under all circumstances it is perceived by the reality of its existence. Otherwise it does not exist, because because other than that that form everything is non-existent. That is why the the seeker of truth says, ‘God is perceived and creation is intelligible’. Poem: Thy Face is manifest in the universe but is hidden in essence. If It is hidden, then what is manifest in the universe? The universe universe has become the the locus o f manifestati manifestation on of Th y G oodn ess and Beauty, O m y Beloved, tell tell me where the locus o f man ifestation ifestation and the soul of the Universe is? In the previous poem, [the Shaykh] says that the first glance is upon the light of Being. In the above poem he adds, ‘Whatever he saw, he first saw God in it’. To clarify, according to this group who seeks the Truth, God is the One Being that is m anifested in a [specific] [specific] fo rm in each place. Since the the witnessing o f the people o f vis v is io n v a rie ri e s a cc o rd in g to thei th eirr d isp is p o siti si tio o n s in d iffe if fere re nt tim ti m es , in his hi s de scri sc ript pt io n









M a h m u d S h a b is ta ri a n d Sh a m s a l-D l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 49 1 No! No! There is never separation between us, Never would this veil separate Thee from me. The person who possesses this station is called ‘possessor of intellect* and sees creation as manifest and Go d as non-manifest and hidden. For him G od is the mirro r o f creation, and like the hiding o f the Absolute in the relative, relative, the the mir ror itself appears hidden in that that station. station. This station is the the opposite o f the the previous one (Possessor o f Eye) wh ich we described. Anot her perso n said, ‘I saw nothing unless I saw saw G od in it! it! Sim ilar to the contingent arche typal entities that that are are reflected in their manifestations, the cup and the bowl are realities in which wine has been contained. Poem: A re thes th esee b o w ls that tha t are illu il lu m in at ed w ith it h wine wi ne,, Or suns that are covered by clouds? Poem: From the the pu rity o f the wine and the subtlety subtlety o f the cup, cup, The colour of the wine became mixed and transformed. As A s th o ug h al l is cup , an d w in e is not, no t, Or all is wine, and cup is not. Still som ebo dy else else utters, utters, ‘ I saw noth ing unless I saw Go d with it! it! For acco rding to the law law o f union, the symbo l and the symbolized, an d the lover and the Beloved,











492 From the School o f Illumina tion to Philosophical Mysticism Mysticism W ha t is the m an ife if e sta st a tio ti o n o f the th e u n iv erse er se , bu t al l is He? He ? Alt A lth h o u g h in a pp ea ra n ce the un ive iv e rse rs e is the lo cu s o f H is m an ifes if es ta tio ti o n , If you look with discernment, discernment, Both the symbol and the symbolized is He. In reality, there is no existent other than the Beloved, Reflection o f everything else else is your illusive imagination. The Friend H imse lf is the the mirror o f His Face, Face, In the reflection reflection o f the m irror w here is any other than the Friend? Since for the the people o f vision attaining that wh ich is sought th rough in tellection is contingent upon detachment of the mind from inhibiting preoccupations, the Shaykh asserts: Proper intellection intellection is based on detachment, A n d the Li gh t o f D iv in e p ro vid vi d en ce .









M a h m u d S h a b is ta r i a n d S h a m s a l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 493 49 3 ( sudur ) from non-existence to existence. existence. That is how creation came to be. be. Som e be lieve that the the reason for contingency is the need to have created beings with specific conditions and orientations. In other words, philosophers and perhaps followers of reason have argued from the existence existence o f the the contingent to prove the existence o f the the Necessary Being in an absolute way. They say that the contingent being, precisely because of its contingency and createdness, is in need of a cause (creator). If that creator is a Ne cessa ry Be ing it proves their argument. I f it it is is another contingent being, then again precisely because o f its its contingency it is in need o f another cause, cause, w hich in relation to it would be Necessary Being. So here rationalists become perplexed. Now, if this contingent being is the same as the first one, because rationalists try to prove the Ne cessary B eing through contingent being, they will fall into the trap trap o f a vic v ic io u s circ ci rcul ular ar argu ar gu m en t (d a w r ). ) . If it is a different one that leads to the Necessary Being or to infinite possibilities, they shall fall into the trap of infinite regression (tasalsul ). Therefore, since they try to prove the the Neces sary Be ing through contingent beings, they becom e perp lexed in knowing the the Essence of the the Necessa ry Being. What is caused becomes the effect of the Cause and the essence and attributes are all the









4 9 4 From the School School o f Illumin ation to Philosophical Mysticism Mysticism being causes another existence that is its effect, and supports that effect by another cause that is the effect of the first cause and so on ad infinitum. In such an argument, since the possibility possibility of the the equ ality o f existence existence an d non-existence is present, in order for one to have preference over the other, the contingent needs a cause. If the cause is the Necessary Being, the argument of the advocate is prove d, an d if the the cause is contingent, the possibility exists that the the very same contingent cause is the first hypothesis. If another contingent being is the first cause, the the argume nt becom es circular. However, i f the first po ssibility is con tin gent upon the second possibility, and the second on the first, then it becomes circular regression. This is the problem with circular arguments and infinite regressions. R egard less o f what they postulate regarding the cause, the the argument becomes circular. Poem: Circu latory argum ent is false, and infinite infinite regression impossible. Therefore, He is the Beginning, and the final destination is the Friend.









M a h m u d S h a b is ta r i a n d S h a m s a l- D in M u h a m m a d L a h i ji 495 Poem: O man o f excessive excessive claims, claims, free yo urs elf o f knowledge, Aba A ba n d o n y o u r s e lf s o that tha t D iv in e M e r c y w ill il l d es ce n d up o n yo u. Intelligence is the antidote o f failure an d need, Aba A ba n d o n inte in telli llige gen n ce a n d b e cont co nten en t w ith it h sim si m plic pl icit ity. y.

Shams Al-Din Lahiji • Commentary on the Secret Garden of Divine Mystery

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