)40 yoshitsugu Sawai

HokuseidoPress, 1973), I. 17.64,p. 141.Cf. ibid.,I. 15.22,p.ll}. 13' ibid.,l. 11.11, p.89; sengakuMaveda, A Thousandrnaihings, The upadesasd. hasrl of sanhara (Tokyo: press, University of rokyo 1929),p.r2I. cf. Byhadar. a4yakofanisad,IV. iii. 9, p.877. 3 14. ibid., I. 15.24, p. ll2; A ThousandTeachings, p. t44. 15 sankara, Brahmasiltrabhasva, \r. ii. 1,p. 622.Cf. Byhadaranvakopanigad, ry . iii. On Sufi : 9, p. 877. 1ti. Saflkara, LlpadeSasdhasri,I. 15.25, p. 113;A ThousandTeachings, p. 144. A Debate bettueen ti:. S.utUi:1, Braltmastztrabhasya,L i. b, pp.113-114.Cf. Chandogyopanipad,yL vilr. 1. D.5ZI. the Soul and the SPirit 18. Byhadaranyahopanigad,IV. iii. 23, p. g96. William C. Chittick 19.Sankara, Brahmasrtrabhasya, II. iii. 31,p. 54I; IiI. ii. 9, pp.63b_637. 20. sankara, Llpadeiasdhasri,r.1T.zs, p. r3s; A Thousan.dieachings, p.162. 2f ibid-, I. lz. 65, p.14r; A Thousandreachings, p. 166.In his chaidogyopani5ad. bhapya, ,,the sankara-i'terprets this term in the senseof baseof **d.,, (uag- alanrbana).Cf. Sarikara, Chdndogyopanisatlbhasga,VI. i. 4, p. 505. 22' The word h.r'rIya appears in Brhadaranyakopanigad,v. xiv. 3-z; turya in I,laitryurtani5ad, VI. 19 and VII. xi. 7-g; caturthain MdrydilkyopanisadT. 23 sankara, Llpadesasdhasrr,r. i0.4, p. 85; A Thousand-reiciingi, p tzs 24. ibid.,I. 11.6, p.88; A ThousandTeat:hings, p.726. The writings of ProfessorToshihiko Izutsu have long been savored '25.ibid.,l. 15.29. p. 113;,4 TlzousandTeachings, p.l4S. by those convincedof the pertinenceof Islamic thought to the social 26.sarikara' Brah,mastttrabhasya,r. i.4, p. g7; tt. rii. p.ssz; +t, Lrpadesasahasrr,r.T. and spiritual crises of the contemporary world. The publication last 2, p._81;I. 11.6, p.88; I. 13.19, p.98; I. tS.38, p. il5; I. 18.26, p. tSO;t. 18.94, p. 161. Timeless Order of Things reminds us 27. Sarikara,BrcthmasiltrablLasya, L i. 4, p. gZ. year of his Creation and the that his works, which occupy the intellectual tip of the iceberg that is interest in ,have a wicle and growing audience in North America. The current popularity of Sufism is part of the broader fascination with everything that breaks with the mechanistic and its scientific world view that has brought modern civilization to presentimpasse. All sorts of peopleare searchingfor solutionsto the encroachingdissolution of personalities,social structures, and envi- ronments that are all too obvious in the modern world. The interest in ProfessorIzutsu's brilliant and broad-rangingworks suggeststhat for many of them the intellectual roots of the present predicament need to be elucidatedbefore lasting practical solutionscan be found. Although Professor Izutsu, in his search for what he has called a 1 ',metaphilosophyof oriental philosophies," focusedon philosophical issues, he frequently reminded his readers that the Islamic and psycho- Oriental traditions have always kept in view the necessityof logical and spiritual transformation.one cannot come to understand the nature of existence without transcending ordinary consciousness' 142 William C. Chittick On Sufi PsychologY 14)

peopie If do not recognizethe world for what it is, the problem lies someof the technicalterminology and phraseologyof Ibn al-'Arabi's professor in the subject,not the object.As Izutsnremarks in a tvpical writings. This current had beenset in motion by figuressuch as 'Ala' passage from his writings, al-Dawla Simndni (d. 73711336)and it was continuedby Gis0 Dardz to [M]etaphysics or ontology is inseparably connectedwith the G,.825/1422)and others.The last part of the work alludesbriefly subjectivestate of man, so that the self-samereality is said to be the position of the most famous of these critics, the perceived differently in accordancewith the different desreesof shaykh, Afrmad Sirhindi (d. 1034/1624). consciousness.' Like many other works I saw in India, this treatise provides In r'vorkson strfism,the issueof degreesof consciousnessis addressecl evidencethat the importanceof Shaykh Al.rmadSirhindi's criticisr-ns far more often than cluestionsof ontology or metaphysics.In what of Ibn al-'Arabi in the history of Sufismhas beenvastly overratedby frllows, I offer a glir'pse of the types of issuesthat are addressedi' modern scholars.6Most of the later authorities who supportedIbn of consciousnessby presentingthe example of a al-,Arabi's positionshardly even bothered to refer to Sirhindi, since ,Abcl single text, written probably in the seventeenthcentury by one they found his criticisms superficial and self-inflating.In Su'Al uta al-Jalilof Allahabad,who can be consideredan intellectualfollower jawdb, 'Abd al Jalil alludes to sirhindi as "one of the recent Suls of tl'rc'school of ,Abcl is in Ibn al-'Arabi. He is probably identical with [who] have objected to your persuasion,saying that Oneness al Jalil ibn Sadr al Din Ilahabadi, the author of a book called Irskarl shukfid,not in wujftd." Ibn al 'Arabi respondsby pointing out qttite al.sAliktn,a collection c_rfinvocations (adkkar) of the Chishtis ancl rightly that in the Futafudt,he has already said everythingsuch critics others. h a rnanuscript copy of this book, he says that he was have said, becausethere he presents all valid points of view. The requestedto write it because"l had written many treatises in the problem lies in the critics' inability to seebeyond their orvn limita- scienceof taruhtdconcerning the realities, the gnostic sciences,and tions. the intricacies,but a treatise was needed...inthe scienceof the The manuscript that I want to discuss here, Rfrft rua or rvayfaring I suliikl, the invocations,and the disciplinesthat take the 'ubfr.rtatal-tazytn,1 is similar to the first in both length (22 pagesof.2\ traveler in tl-redirection of the divine gnostic sciences,a treatise that lines) and the fact that it is presentedas a visionaryconversation, but would be the key to as such in a manner that opensthe lock in this treatise the two principlesare the spirit (rft.h) and the soul or ,Abcl of the hearts."3He may be identicalwith the chishti shaykh, self (nafs). On the one hand this worl< discussesmany of Ibn al- al Jalil of Lucknow (d. 1043/1633-34),who, according to saiyid 'Arabi's ideason existenceor being (wujnd) and its levels,the nature ,.things" Athar Abbas Rizvi, showed "great franknessin expressinghis belief of the (asltya',)or the "immutable entities" ful a'yan al- in the lvahdnt nl-wujud and little concernfor the strict observanceof tkdbita),the unknowability of the Divine Essence,and the experieuces Lhe Slnia."o that take place in the afterlife. On the other it providesan interesting 'Abd al-Jalil first attracted my attention when I came across a example of spiritual psychology,since it analysesthe forces at worh rvcrrkby hinr listed as Su'al ruajanab in the library of the Institute in the human microcosm in terms that recall earlier currents of Sufi of Islarnic Strrdiesin New Delhi.srhis short treatise (27 pagesof 2r teachingsand reflect the developmentsand debatesgoing on in the lines in length) describesa visionary conversationwith Ibn al-,Arabi. subcontinent.It is the psychologicaltheme that I wish to follow up on During the discussion,Ibn al-'Arabi answersa number of questions here. corrnectedwith difficult passagesin his works, mainly at.Fuffihdt Given the current dismal state of our knowledge of the develop- al mahhiyya.Most of the questio.s have in view the long-standing ment of Islamic thought in India, it would be impossibleto trace the current of criticisrns directed by well known Sufi teachers against numerous Sufis, theologians' and philosophers whose views rnay be 14t j44 William C. Chittick On Sufi PsYchologY

philosophicaltradition concerning reflectedin the treatise.The best I can do is to point to the roots of in the discussioninitiated by the of things manifests some of the ideasin the writings of Ibn al-'Arabi and other relatively the three basic levelsin which the inner dimension and human levels' Some early figures.It would be difficuit to say to what extent 'Abd al-Jalil itself outwardly, that is, the plant, animal, "soul"' while others is influenceddirectly by Ibn al-'Arabi in thesetwo treatises,since he texts speak of the plant, animal, and human work Kitdb al'r[ih may have known Ibn al-'Arabi's works largely through the tradition prefer the term "spirit." Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawzi's the early sourcesdo tlot of criticism and commentary.The onebook that he almostcertainly devotesa good deal of spaceto the fact that many authors do had read, thor-rghhe refersneither to its title nor to its author, is Naqd clearly distinguishamong the terms. Nevertheless, their descriptions of the differences nl-nugfigfi sharh naqsh al.fusi; by 'Abd al-Rahmdn (d. BgB/ distinguish among them, and Muslim understandingof \492). In Rfr,huta n.afsthis work is quoted or paraphrasedat least provide us with detailed insights into the twice, and a passagethat is attributed to "one of them" is taken from human consciousness. of the human aLFukfrk by Sadr al-Din Q0nawi, most likely through the intermedi- The discussionof the different levels or dimensions Sufis' ary of Naqd al nusfi,5.8 being was by no meanssimply theoretical, particularly for the In other words, theseunseen realities were definedand differentiated distinct Sufi Psychology with a speci{icaim, which was for them to be experiencedas path to God. withottt Mr-rcl-rof Sufi theoreticalteaching has to do with the invisible dimen- levels of consciousnessby the traveler on the "errbodin"rent"of the tendenciesrif the sion of the human being,the ambiguoussomething that filis the vast the theoretical and iinguistic grips with one's own inuer nature' "space" between the human body and the Essenceof God, a some- soul, it is impossibleto come to travelers to picture, thing that we might today refer to as "consciousness."In discussing The descriptionsmade it possiblefor spiritual psychic and spiritual tendencies this son-rething,the earliest texts usually employ various terms localize, and personify their own imaginal universe derir.edfrorl the Kuran and the Hadith-such as soul (nafs), spirit within the sea of consciotlsness,that unbounded "ocean soul" (bakr al nafs). once (r'illr),heart (),intellect ('aql), and mystery (sirr) without much that is sometimescalled the of the elaboration or explanation.Br-rt already by the third/ninth century, thiswasaccomplished,itwaspossibletostrengthenwhatneecled to be overcolne' Sufi authors like al-IJakim al Tirmidhie-.not to mention the early strengtheningor passbeyond what needed the ascendinglevels of Muslim philosophers-employ such terms to describea hierarchy of one can recall here the distinctionsamong distinctions that have increasinglyinvisible levels, tendencies, or dimensionsreaching as far the human reality made by Kubrawi authors, and others. 'lhus, for as the divine realm. In the theoretical discussionsprovided by al- been studied in some detail by Najm al-Din KubrA (d' Tirmidhi, al Ghazdli(d. 505/1111),'o'Izz al-Din KAshdni(d. T3S/ example, the founder of the Kubrawi Order, self-intellect, heart, spirit, 1335),"and many others,it is clear that the multiplicity of words 618/122f,,refersto five basiclevels of the (knnq. later Kubrawi authority, 'Ald' does not imply a multiplicity of independententities. Instead, the mystery, and the hidden A or mold soul' words are diversenames given to a single reality-the unseendimen- al-Dawla Simndni,refers to sevenlevels-body Q^lab)' the Real (haqq)'" These siori of the human being--in respectof its different attributes,dimen- heart, mystery, spirit, the hidden' and of these sionc or qtaocq l2 authors clearly bring out the practical relevatrce they also discussthe Since theseaspects of human consciousnessare by definition invis- classificationsfor the spiritual travelers, since "photisms" as corbin calls them. that ible and difficult to pinpoint, the terminology tends to be fluid. For vision of colored lights, or example, the definitionssome authors provide for nafs frequently signal the experienceof the different levels''o of material on the differer-it correspondto what othersrefer to as rfrfu-This is seenmost clearly Ibn al-,Arabi provides a vast amount i41 )46 William C. Chittick On Suii PsYchologY

hierarchy of levels and levels of the self, but the six or seven ascending"subtle realities" this is achievedrecalls both a Kubrawi-style his followers concertrit]g (latA'if), so important in the Kubrawi literature and much of the later the specific teachingsof Ibn al-'Arabi and tradition, are probably not discussedin his works in any systematic the soul, spirit, heart, and mYsterY' of the long-sLanding manner. In general, he speaks of three basic levels in both the The text is presented within the context humanbeing irr relationshipto macrocosm and the microcosm-spiritr-ral,iuraginal, and corporeai; debatesin India over lhe status of the practical results of the spiritual or spirit, soul, and body. Inasmuchas thesethree levelsare tied to the God. More specifically,what are the union is achieved'can experientialside of the path to God, the traveler'sgoal is to bring realization of the gnostic?Once the supreme and the world? Granted lhat them into harmony,and this takes placethrough the "heart" (qalb), any distinction be drawn betweenGocl was taken as typifying the which is the spiritual organ par excellencein Ibn al-'Arabi'steach- "Ail is He" (hanta dsl)-the slogan that the "oneness of Being" (ruahdat ir-rgs.''In the u'ritings of Ibn al'Arabi's followers,especially Sadr position of those who believed in the gnosticare the commaudsand al-DinQ0nawi and his immediatedisciples, emphasis is placedon the al-wujhd)t'-of what relevatrceto heart as the harmoniousur-rion of all tl-reattributes of spirit and soul." prohibitions of the Shariah? of lbr-ral-'Arabi arose ont of Ibn al-'Arabi also discussesthe "mystery" (sirr) as a still higher Shaykh Ahmad Sirhincli'scriticisms in fact criticizing Ibn a1-'Arabi stage of a\vareness,be1'6yn,i the level of spirit. In his teachings,the this background. Sirhindi is not m-ystery,or, more often, the "divine mystery" (al sirr al-ildht),is the himself,butratherthepositiorlascribedtolbrral..Arabibycertairr individual'sreality as known by God himself.It marks the furtirest groupsofMuslimswhclthentrsedthispositiorrtojustifytheirolvtt that Sirhindi considered limit of what the gnostic can conte to know, sinceultimately no one neglect of the Law or of doctrinal teachings 'Abd had this same backgrotttrdirt cart linorn'an-vthing but himself, rvhile the Divine Essenceremains essential.It is clear that al Jalil forever unknoi.vablel.ht other terrns, the mystery is the "immutable view,sincehegoestogreatlengthstodisprovesomeoftheimportartt contlttonlyaccepted tniscorrcep entity," the realitl, or quicldityof a thing fixed forever with God. It is argumentsof thosewhu rnaintainthe position, what one nright call also called the "specificface" (al wajh al khA;s),that is, the face of tions concerning Ibn al'Arabi's ..popularizedaahdataltuujfrd''orthe..religionof.AliisHe','' Clod turnecl torvard one individual rather than any other, thereby 'Abd al-Jalil is sitting in rneditation clefiningthe reality' of the individual.'7 Not only hr-rmanbeings, but The treatise beginsas follows: luuinous and one dark' The trvo everything in existencehas a specificface, different from the specific when two forms appearto him, one themselves'The dark forn divine facesturnecl toward other things,since, if God "looked at" two forms greet eachother and then introduce power the whole universe' a power so thirrgsirr exactll'the samerval'. lhel"would be the samething. Here calls itself the governing of own "self" intermixed with the creaturesthat they refer to it as their n'e have a corollary of one of Ibn al-'Arabi's most oft-repeated € form tells him that it is the pow rr axioms: God never discloseshimself in the same manner to two or "soul" (nufs). The lurninous is called "spirit" (rnfu),because individuals.Or, "Self-disclosurenever repeatsitself."18 through which all thir-rgshave life; it "repose" (rayh'l'in) within it all creaturesfind their "rest" (rank) and tire spirit is aimost invari- The Setting In the Sufi discussionof spirit and soul, higher plane' as is clearly the case Althor,rgh'Abd al-Jalil's treatise deals with two major din-rensionsof ably conceivedof as lying on a darkness' The spirit's "luminotts" Sufi teachings-the psychologicaland the metaphysical-the narra- here, since light is higher than clivinename Light and the radiance tive developmentemphasizes psychology. The text reachesa climax appearanceconnects it with the accordingto the Prophet' are "made with zrn integration of diverse dimensionsof human consciousness of the world of the angels,who, to the oppositepole of manifesla and a vision of the onenessof all thinss in God. The manner in which of light." The soul is then connected 34s Williom C. Chittick On Sufi Psychology 149

tio', where light has lost its original intensity and becomethoroughly only those who merit the title "perfect human being" manifest the nrixed rvith darkness.'Abd al-Jalil does not mean to imply here that name God in a mode that correspondsto God as he is in himself. the soulis absolutely dark, but rather relativelydark, as comparedto Other human beings-whom Ibn al-'Arabi refers to as "animal human the spirit. Absolute darkness wourd be absolutely nonexistent and beings" (al-insAn al-hayarudn)-fail to actualize the full potentiality therefore imperceptible in any mode. Moreover, the soul manifests of the human state.Hence they are dominatedby characteristicsthat certain positi'e dimensiclnsof reality, as becomesobvious later in the pertain to one or more of the lesser names embraced by the name text. God. In the case of the "friends of God" (awliyd' allah) and the The two f.rrns then speak about their respectivereligions. The faithful, theselesser names are namesof mercy and gentleness,while soul says that it follows the great lover Iblis, who is the locus of in the caseof the unbelievers,these names project wrath and severity. nrarrifestation(mazhar-) for the divine name Misguider (al_muQill). As the hadith qudst tells us, God's mercy takes precedenceover his The spirit says that it follows him who carried God'sTrus t (amdna) wrath, so mercy is closerthan wrath to God'sessential reality. Hence and becamehis (khalifa), vicegerenL the prophet ,who is the names of mercy and gentlenessdemand nearnessto God and the lrrctrs of manifestation for the nantes Gocl(aildh) and Guide "felicity" (sa'Ada)in the next world, while the names of wrath and (al hadf). severity demanddistance from him and "wretchedness"Ghnqarua). with the mention ,,locus of the term ma4har or of manifestation" The gentle and merciful divine narres bring about the actualizatirin we are alerted to the fact that the text iooks back to Ibn al-,Arabi's of the full human potential along with harmony and equilibriun-t specifictechnical terms a.d his mode of discussingrelationships. The among the ioci of manifestation.In other words, a hurnan being who general idea that the divine names are the roots or realities of the is the object of God's mercy in this sense2zmanifests fully and phenomenatl-rat appear in world and the soul, while the phenomena appropriately all the individual divine names (including the wrathful are the places 'uvherethe namesmanifest their propertiesand effects, names) embracedby the name God. That is why, in this passage,the is of course found i' a wide range of Sufi writings, not only in Ibn spirit does not limit itself to saying tl-ratMuhammad is the locus of al-'Arabi, plainly and it is prefigured in the Koran. But the term manifestationfor the name God, since all human beings share in this rnazharin this rneaningis one that Ibn al-,Arabi claims as his own particular characteristic, though clearly not in the same mode or coinage and that typically occursin discussionsof his ideas.2o degree.The spirit adds that the Prophet is also the locus of manifes- A "locus of rnanifestation"for a divine name is a placewhere the tation for the name Guide, the function of which is to spread God's nanre displays outwardly its properties (al.tkdm),traces (dthAr), or salvific mercy arnongthe creatures and to open them up to ultimate (hhawAg;). specificcharacteristics Each name has innumerableloci of felicity. manifestatiou, and an individual entity may act as the locus of The oppositeof the Guide is the Misguider, a divine name that is rnanifestation for rnany different names.Thus the human being, for found in some of the traditional lists of the ninety-ninenames and is example,is made in "the form of God,"which is to say that he is the irnpliedby severalpassages in the Koran where God is the subjectof locus of manifestationfor the specificname God. By the same token, the verb "to misguide."The Koran attributes this name specificallyttr a human being manifeststhe specificcharacteristics of every divine Satan in one verse (28:15). That the soui or self is connected to nanre, since God itself is the "all-comprehensivename" (al-ism al- satanic forces is suggestedby a number of Koranic verses and made jAmi'), which embracesthe properties of all the names. more explicit in the hadith literature.23In short everv human being Although all human beingsmanifest the name God-it is this, and has a tendencythat is opposedto guidanceand rejects the trutl-r,and this alone,according to Ibn al-'Arabi which makes them humanrr- this is referred to as nafs-soul, self, or ego.2n ffi ffi t;r ffi On Sufi PsYchotogY 150 William C. Chittick ffi, tr theotherlose.Rather,theoppositionbetweetrthetwosidesprepares The fundamental tendenciesor inclinationsof the inner dimension and con- h a stretching and expansion of comprehension being are summarized in the well-known distinction, the way for of the human $: have to manifest the same sciousness.Opposite positions r-recessarily basedon Koranic terminology, among three types of"nafs, represent' is not to answer t God comprehendsall things' The task of human consciousness:the soul "commanding Reality,since ing three main stages $ between two yes's' yes or no, but to discover the right relationshi'p to evil" (arnmiira bi'lsii'), the soul "blaming" (lawndma) itself for But has no reality' quite the contrary' (m7tmn'inna) I This doesnot imply that error its o',vr-rshortcomings, and the soul "at peace" with from one's { much from the position itself as of ignorance, error arises not so God. At the first stage,the soui dwells in the darkness position' It is a mistake I when one claims the truth of the forgetfr-riness.and misguidance,while in the third stage the soul has standpoint I toaffirmatruthrelatec]toonelevelwhenoneisstarrdinginanotlrer been transrnr:ted into the light of knowledge, remembrance, and fron.t t fronr the mixing of leveis'and deliverance betweenthe oppos' level.Error derives gr.ridance.Tl-re middle stage representsa struggle of consciousnessthat 1 only come through a transmutation ing forces tl-ratare frecluently,as in 'Abd al-Jalil's treatise,ascribed error can l place' situatesevery level in its proper respectivell' to "spirit" and "soul." These are guidance and mis' i f guidance,kr"rorn'ledge and igttorance,remembrance and forgetfulness, I The Debate light and darkness. i 'Abd description of the spirit and soul reaffirms Themainpartofthetext,detailingthecontentsofthedebate In short, al Jalil's i for the topics coveredand betweenspirit and soul, is interestingboth the well known opposition between the ascending,luminous, and it reflects I of the arguments' At the same time human being, and the descending,dark, and the intrinsic content angelic tenclettcl'of the controversiesover many 'Abd al Jalil's of long-standillg satanic tendency. We are prepared for a replay of the struggle are still issuesin Suiism' Some of these issues gnidance rnisguidance,the prophetsand the satans.But important doctrinal between and orleoften meetsconflicting relevantin the contemporaryscene' where we are :rlso dealing here with Ibn al-'Arabi's intellectualuniverse, a But in the to those rnaintainedby spirit ancl soul' by some of the technical positionssimilar fact that is annout-tceclat the beginning representedb-v tht' suul contemporary "New Age," the standpoint terminology and confinnedby many passagesin the text itself, where perspective gained the upper hand' while the spirit's and wherehe himself seemsto have Ibp al-'Arabi'sternts are cotistantlyemployed it reaffirms the necessity appearsto be increasinglyttnpopular' since is quotedtwice. the unclerstar-rding practice of the Law as the sine qua nln for SirrceIbn al-'Arabi and utrthdatal-nujitd lie in the background,it is of the affirmation of UnitY' natural that both the Prophet and the Satan-the leadersof the two and soul*-are representedas ioci of Thesoulisdepictedasarathercleverancicraftyfellow,skillftrlirr religicils representeclby spirit and changeits position when it the intricaciesof debateand not a[raidto rnanifestation for the clivinenames. The discussioncannot take an somewhat so' The spirit is much more stable and of the is opportuneto clo exclusively dualistic and oppositional form in the manner that it rnanifests'At reflectingthe far-seeingprophetic wisdon-r legalistic and polemical approach characteristicof both jurispru- stolid, theoutsetthesoulmentionslblisasitsguide,sothespiritfeels dence ancl . Rather, what follows will have to show that replies by it of lblis's shortcomings'The soul names can be duty bound to warn opposition amoltg the loci that manifest the divine of the spiritr'ral path recourse to the esoteric knowlerlge harnronized and nrade compiementary through Unity, or in Other having (Tartqa),whichtranscendstheShariahmentionedbythespirit,andbv rvurds,through the fact that the name God is the coincidenceof all opposites(jam' al'adddd). claiming-inthemannerofthewell-knownSufidefensesofSatan'o The point of the debateis not so rnuchthat oneside should win and thatlbliswastheloverofGodparexcellencewhosesecretpactu,itb M

trp 352 Wiiliam C. Chittick ;ff,itlr On Sufi Psychology 353 his Belovedwould not allow him to bow to anyoneelse. T soul's positions. The soul is a locus of manifestation for a divine f'he soul appeals ,$ to a privileged, esoteric knowledge in several name, the Misguider, and this name has its rights. The Misguider more passages I in the ensuingdebate, most of which focuseson the cannot be negated,but must be harmonizedwith the higher names nature of one.ess (zr-taltda) s and that of Being or existence (nujfrd), from which it derives.Aithough "God's mercy precedesHis wrath," thotrghthe famous ,rii expressionwahdat ar-u,ujfid is nevermentioned. I' and therefore, by analogy, "God's guidance precedes His tnisgui- brief, the soul $ wants to clairn an absoluteoneness that obliterates dance,"both wrath and misguidanceare divine attributes that have a clistinctionswithi. !t tuujfid and at the same time to maintain its owrr positive,if limited,role to play in the total constellationof existence. privilegedide.tity lt' with utujfid.Thereby it wants to show that distinc_ The beginningof the processwhereby 'Abd al-Jalil will harrnonize tions among things are sheer illusion,so the Shariah is a veil that t the positionsof soul and spirit is announcedat the end of the debate misleadsthe str-rpid. Thosewho are truly enlighteneclfollow their own proper,when the spirit realizesthat its words have had no discernible inner light, which is God himself. effect on the soul. Hence the spirit proposesthat they take their The spirit protests that this appealto absoluteoneness is in fact an disputeto a third party to decidebetween them. appeal to o'e of tuujfi,d'smany levers, thereby distorting uujild,s reality. It is contraclictoryto affirm the absoluteoneness of God's The Mystery's Judgment Esse'ce and the, tci deny the relative lnanyress of his attributes. The third party to whom tire spirit and soul have recourse is the Both have to be aflirrned,and then it will be seen that the divine "mystery,"the more inward dimensionof the human reality that Ibn attributes dernandthe reality-relative of course-of the cosrros. al-'Arabi identifieswith the "specific face" or immutable entity. In The Sliariah's necessity f.llorvs from the relative reality of the this context, however, 'Abd al Jalil does not have in Ibn al- cc)sntosand the real distinctionsamong the levels. 'Arabi's definitionof the mystery,but rather the seven-parthierarchy h'r the first part of the treatise the sour makes a rather good case of the human being which by this period had becomea commonplace for ar irclividualistic type of spiritr-ralityshorn from traditional in Sufi writings-body, soul,spirit, heart, mystery',hidden (kfutff),and supports. hr the secondpart, where the soul has taken another tack, most hidden(akhf?). the arguments attempt rrainly to claim the independenceof the The mystery enters the discr-rssionby addressingfirst the soul atid material worid from any {irst principle. In both cases,the practical then the spirit. It criticizes the soul for ruining the world of obedience result of the soul's argument is to declare the Law irrelevant and and bringing Adam out from the Garden, but it praises the soul's propheticguidance uselessif not positivelyharmfr-rl. grasp of the station of onenessand its description of God's self- l3y the e'd of the debate,it is not cor-'pletelyclear who has rnon. disclosure(tajallt) in all things. Then the mystery says, certainly anyonewho inclinestowarci the religiousuniverse of u'ill has becomemanifest to you in the read the text as givi.g to the spirit, si.ce all the soul's it is clear to me that oneness arguments 'ictory station of nature. That is why your love is cornpletelyfixed uporl have beenneatly answeredfrom within the perspectiveof the the world of form. You love absorption in sensorypassions and Shariahi. generalancl Ibn al-'Arabi'sschool in particular.But immersionin the illr-rsorypleasures that darken the rnirror cif thc' much what the soul has said would be quite convincing to 'f those heart and bring about punishnientand disasterin the next world. who incline toward a Snfi esotericismcut off from the Shariah ar-rd If an appropriate love for form were to become established alien to scholasticphilosophizing. within you, you would undertake good acts and works, since Although'Abd al-Jalilmeans to supp'rt the spirit'sarguments over forms in the next world will last forever, while the forms of this lhe srul, he also wants to ack.owledge the relative validitv of the plane are obviouslyperishing and have no sttbsistence'You mttst 3t4 William C. Chittich On Sufi Psychologt ltt

turn your attention toward the high level in order to reach the tion"." Idivine] self-disclosurethat is beyond the outside and inside The mystery then turns to the spirit and praisesit for its obedience worlds. In that self-disclosure,no name or descriptionremains, and its attentivenessto the good that can be gainedin the next world. no expressionor allusion. But it warns the spirit that it also is not yet free of love for form. The The mystery then compares the soul to a frog in a puddle of filthy dangerremains that it will be so entrancedby the garden that it will rvater who thinks that it lives in the ocean.what the frog needsis for forget the face of the Gardener.The mystery criticizes the spirit for a stream of pure water to pass over the puddle and take it to the perceivingthe station of onenessfrom the standpointof the rational ocean.Although the soul's perceptionof onenessis true enough,no faculty ('aqt) andfor not abandoningitself to love.The soul'sempha- two peopleperceive the Essencein the sameway, and hencethere are sisupon self-identificationwith the Real is a valid one,and iL can ortly cliverselevels of consciousness.In explaining this the mystery refers be experiencedthrough love. 'Abd al-Jalil thensummarizes the rest of to the basic degrees of uujfid through which God reveals himself, the mystery's advice to the soul and spirit: what in another context might be called the "Five Divine presences" The mystery made clear that the entity of the servant has lwo along with the level of Non-entification(lA tu'ayyun)standing beyond sides, one the side of nondelimitation liilaq) and the other the them:'o side of delimitation ltaqytd). Servanthood l'ubftdiyyal and lord o srul, although it is irnpossibleto seethe Essencewithout the ship lrubabiyyal must both be taken into account,since botl-rare veil of the attributes,there is much diversity in the veils.The veil establishedin the servant'sentity. The soul had taken lordship of the world of tl-revisible is the densestof ail veirs.Then there into account and had desired to embrace immediate joy ar-rd is the veil of images lmithAll. Within both these veils the pleasures,while the spirit had taken servanthoodinto account Beloved wears the clothing of form, which is the most tremen- and had chosenthe ease of obediencein Order to grasp endless dous veil- After this, the veil of subtlety remains in the world of and everlasting deferred ease.Although both were flying in the Spirits. The' there is a veil of subtlety in the worrd of Meanings world of tawl|ttel,out of caprice lkawa) the soul-vulturer,'n'ould it't n'hich is the reality ancl imniutable entity of the traveler and the end have stayed n'ith the bones,while the spirit-nigl-rtingale which is called the "snraller isthmus fbarzakh)."Ail the gnostics would have inclined away frorn the rose garden of the Beioved' seethe Real in this veil. Greaterthan this is the veil of "the most s face toward the garden'sfrr-rit. subtleof the most subtle" in the Presenceof the First Entification ,Abd of the situation depends upon various and the Muharnrradan Reality. This is called the "greater isth- al-Jalil's assessment tciuchedon during mus." Our Prophetsees the Essenceof the Real in this veil, which teachingsof Ibn al-'Arabi's school that have been Since is the thinnest of veils. Some of the most erect of the friends of the debate and are here harmonizedand put into relationship. G.d who follow that leader of the prophetsobserve a flashthere the meaning of the passageis far from self-evident,it calls for a fer"' by tagging along with him. Finally there is the level of the words of explanation: DisengageclEssence, to which no one has access. The inner human realitl' has two basic dimensions,here syn,bolized In concluclingthis addressto the soul,the mystery focuseson the soul's by the terms spirit and soul. In one dimension,which standsopposite particr-rlarproblem, which is the affirmation of selfhoodor "soulhood" God's transcendence-or, in Ibn al 'Arabi's language,his incompa- power (nrfsdnitva). The only'u'ay to achievethe vision of the inward levels rability (tanztk), independengs(ghind), and ovet'whelming of onenessis to negate one's selfhood,c-rr to undergo "annihiration" (qakr)-human beingsare servantsovercome by poverty, incapacity' (fand'). "There is no remedy except becoming lost and obliterated: and weakness.They possessnothing with which to affirm their riwrt They btrl' nothing there but a thing's nonexistenceancl annihila- reality and are totally dependentfor their existenceand attributes 356 William C. Chittick On Sufi Psychology )57

upon the R.eal(al'hass). This dimension is manifestedmore crearly in itself and doesnot see its own dark nature,but rather the luminosity the lower levels of the human being,that is, in the soul and the bodv. that allows it to exist and be itself. Ignorant of its own darkness,it which displayrelatively little of the divine light. lays claim to a light that doesnot belongto it. In contrast the spirit trnanother respect,human beingsmanifest nothing but God. They possessesthe iuminosity of 1

while the soul representsthe human self inasmuchas it seesitself as chief disciple $adr al-Din Q0nawi expands on it in some detail, a-q central and affirms its own right to exist. The spirit rises beyond does Q0nawi's disciple Sa'id al-Din Farghdni." The connectiorl itself and affirms the other, while the soul sinks within itself and between the heart (qalb) and fluctuation (taqallub)is an important affirn-isitself. element of Ibn al-'Arabi's teachings,but of course it has a long point At this i.r the text 'Abd ar-Jarironce again acknowledgesthe history in Islamic thought, being referred to in a number of hadiths, soul'srights to its nrodeof manifestingthe Real,while admittinghis including mention of God as "He who makes hearts fluctuate" lirlited ,,I knowledgeof the true situation:"o friend,"he says, do not (muqallib al-qulftb)." knorv point which of view God will take into accounttomorrow." ln Next 'Abd al-Jalil says, "When the mystery found worthiness for t.itherlr'ords, he does not know if God will treat the human being as the gatheringof all meaningsin the heart, it pulledthe heart to itself :r lorcl or a servant on the Day of Resurrection.Hclwever, clne should and joined it with itself." Oncethe heart is born,the mystery seesthat exercise caution in one'sdealings with Gcld,and thereforeone should the heart hasthe power to gatherwithin itselfall meanings(ma'ani). observe the instructionsbrought by the prophets.The creatureshould This point, so briefly stated here, is based on a rather complex actualize his servanthoodhere and wait to becomea lord in the next exposition of the nature of the heart found in Ibn al-'Arabi's works- rvorld. In short, he maintains that human beings perceivethe Real in tr'r'o afore-mentionedincomparability It stril

his self-disclosure to irnagination through the sensory forms of the from itself. cosmos. The spirit's self-effacementis connectedwith reasonand incompa- At the beginning, in other words, the mystery had perceived the rability because grasps the spirit that "Nothing is like Him" and that hidden and most hidden lights beyond itself, just as it had perceived all positive qualities belongto God; henceit seesthat it is nothing in a light within itself and saw the spirit and soul as below itself. Hence itself. In contrast, the soul'sself-affirmation is connectedto imagina- it would seem that "mystery" signifies a middle point of hulnan tion and the visionof similarity,since it seesGod manifestinghimself consciousness,suspended halfway between the darkness of the body within itself; hence grasps it that everything it possessesis similar to and the infinite Light of God.Once the two iowest levels of conscious- God and that all the divine attributes belong to it. ness,soul and spirit, join together and becomethe heart, the mystery In short, by speakingof the heart's worthiness for "gathering all is able to integrate them into itself. Now it can become integrated meanings,"'Abd al-Jalilmeans to say that the heart haciintegrated into the higher levels, the hidden and most hidden. It is able to and harmonized points the of view of spirit and soul by combining accomplish this becauseit has been strengthenedthrough the tu.'o nondelimitation with delimitationand incomparabilitywith similar- powers representedby the spirit and soul within the heart. "Through it1,. Hence the mystery saw that the heart's level of consciousness joining with the all-comprehensiveheart, a strengthening appeared involvesawareness of all meanings,not simply thosethat pertainto within the mystery." one standpoint or the other. The mystery undersLoodthat the heart The spirit and soul, as dirnensionsof the heart, now become the was worthy for knowing the levei of inwardness and integration means for a two-fold experienceof both the hidden and the most representeclby itself, so it drerv the heart to itself and becameunited hiddenlights. The spirit's attribute is self-effacementbefore the One, rvith it. since it tends toward annihilation UanA') in the Real. But the soul's Rut this is n't the end of the story. Beyond the mystery, in the attribute is self-affirmation,since it tendsto seethe divine light as its tvpical classification of the degreesof human consciousness,lie the own and to perceive itself as subsisting (baqA') through the divine "hidclen"(hhafi) and the "most hidden" (akhfd). All differentiation attributes. "Through the light pertaining to the spirit, the rnystery must be elirr-rinatedbefore the vision of absolr-rteUnitv. dissolvedinto the hiddenlight, and through the strength of the I-tress pertaining to the soul it becameidentified with that hidden light." In Final Union other words, the luminosity of the heart's spirit-nature allows the 'Abd al-Jalil provides ..hidden" norv an explanationfor the two terms mystery to becomeeffaced and annihilatedirt that even greater light and "most hidden." They representthe innermost climensionsof the called the "hidden." But the soul-naturedemands self-affirmatiot-t, so hr:man being that can be discernedwhen the microcosm and macro- in the midst of dissoiutionthe mystery finds itself and seesthat it is cosm possessing are viewed as a number of levels.From this point of now identical with the hidden light. view, perceives the mystery the nondelimited light of the Real Next 'Abd al-Jalil offers an explanation for the "words of ecstasl"' manifest both within itself and beyond itself. (skathiyy0.t)of the Sufis. For now the mystery, like Halldj and "Here I. the beginning,whe' the light of Nonderimitation had shone Bdyazid, speaks from the viewpoint of "I am the Real": it upon the mystery, it had found a flash of that light evident in becamea stream joined to the oceanand called out, 'Glory be to me, itself; it had seena kind of "hidde." light outside itself, and a how tremendousis my rank!"' At the same time, this invisiblecore of kind of "most hidden" light that its understandingand imagina- the human reality experiencesthe "fluctuation" of the heart, so its tion could in no way reach but that it knew to be further awav gaze shifts from the point of view of the soul to that of the spirit, t62 William C. Chittick On Suf Psychologlt t63 frorn that of affirming itself to that of negating itself before the As a result of this vision, 'Abd al-Jalil loses consciousness. source of light. Here I had passedaway from myself and become selfless.When When the mystery's gaze fell upon the infinity of the Ocean,it I became slightly aware, the sound of "and within the n-rost said, "My God, though I said, 'Glory be to me, how tremendous hidden am I" kept or-rfalling into my ear from my own tongr"te. is rny rankl,' now I repent. I cut off the belt of unbeliefand say, Out of the terror of this businessI awoke. I said, "There is no 'There is no god but Gr-id,'so that through the blessingof these power and no strength except in God, the High, the Tremen- words I may be obliterated in the most hidden light." dous." Once again the mystery experiencesannihilation, but the selfhoodof This prophetic formula expressesonce again the trtte reaiity of the the soul reassertsitself, and identity with the most hidden is estab- servant-his nothingnessbefore God. lished."It lifted its head within the world of annihilationand began Finally, 'Abd al-Jalil offers a comment that sitr,ratesthe vu'hole' to say through the strengthof the I-nessof the soul,'I am the most episode firmly within the imaginal universe described by Ibn al hiclden,'and it threw up the waves of claiming to be the ocean." 'Arabi. He tells us that everythingthat he had witnessedhad beettthe At each level--hidden and rnost hidden-a dual experience has imaginal embodiment of unseenrealities.tt occurred.Only after self-affirrnationwithin the most hiddenlight can I understoodthat all of this had been I; all of these were the all trace of dr-ralitybe erased so that the ultirnate union may be forms of my own knowledge.These discussions had beenmy owl-) experienced.Bey

that the hierarchy "in general use among the gnostics" is nature (la6'), soul, Notes heart, spirit, mystery, the hidden (khnft), and the most hidden QkhfA).ln discirss- 1. See his article, "An Analysis of Wahdat al-wuj0d: Toward a Metaphilosophy ing the general view of the later tradition in the subcontinent, Mir Valiuddin of Oriental Philosophies," in Izutsu, Creation and the Timeless Order of Things distinguishes self (nafs),heart, sirr, and spirit as the main levels (Conternflatiue (Ashlancl,Oregon: White Cloud Press, 1994). Disciplinesin Strfism ILondon: East-West Publications, l9B0]). 'lDc 2. Izutstr,Crention, p.7. 15. On various aspects of the heart in Ibn al-'Arabi's thought, cf Chittick, i;. AIigarh. Habibganj 21 '1165FArsi folto 2a. Sufi Path of Knouledge: Ibn al-'Arabt's Metaphysics of Imagination (Albanv: 4. ,4 Histott' o.f Su,ftsmitt India (New Delhi: Munshirarn Manoharlal, 1978-1983), SUNY Press,1989), index. Also S. al-IJakim, al'Mujam. al';frfi (Beirut: I)andara' vol. II, pp.289-90. Rizr,'ialso refers to one 'Abd al-Jalil Ilahabadi as a famous 1981),pp.916-20. Chishti shaykh, rvithout any further elaboration (vol. II, p.97). 16. Cf. for example, al-Qflnawi Tafurfr al-bayAnft taqir shu'ab al'tmdz (lstapbrrl 5. Institute of islarnic Studies,ms. no. 2139. mss. Carullah l00ll4,2054/9; Fatih 1394/2,2630/l; Fevzullah 2163/13; IIalet 6. For inforntation on other relevant Indiarr Sufi texts, seeChittick "Notes on Ibn Efendi ilavesi,66l6;gehid Ali Paqa 1340/2,I3BZl7;Topkapi E. H. 546/3).Detailed al,'Arabi's Influence in India," Muslim World 72 (1992),pp.218-11. elaborations of these teachings can be found in both the Persian and Arabic 7. Luckrrou,, Nadwat al-'UlamA' Maj. 31/2; a second manuscript, of which I do versions of Sa'id al-Din Farghani's recension of al-Qonawi's lectures on Ibr.r not have a copy. is found in Aligarh (Subhanullah297.7/16 l4l). al-FArid's Nazm al'sulfik: Mash|riq al'dardrf (ed. S. J. AshtiyAni' I\{ashhad: U. .TAmiquotes the passagetwice (cf. Narld a.l.nugfrgft shurh n.aqshal-fusfis, ed. W. Anjuman-i Isl6mi-yi I{ikmat wa Falsafa-yi irAn, 1398/1978)and Muntnha'l- C. Chittick lTehran: Imperial Iranian Acaderny of Philosophy,l977l, pp.28 and maddik (Cairo: 1293/ 1876). 201).One passageof R:iil1wa nafs seemsto be paraphrasedfrom JAmi'sLawd'ih. 17. On the specificface, cf. Ibn al-'Arabi, aLFuffil.tdtal'makkiyya, I46. 12; II 1104. 9. Baydn al-fttn1 bayn al-sadr ua'l.qalb wa'l.fu'dd wa'l"lubb, ed. N. Heer (Cairo: 21, 434.17,647. 15; III 32. 13, 30. 31, 385. 17; also Chittick, The Self Disclosureo,f DAr al-liryA'al'Kutub al-'Arabiyya, l95B);translated idern,"A Sufi Psychological God (Albany: SUNY Press, 1997),chapter 4. Treatise," Moslem \L'orld 51,(1961), pp.25 36, 83 91, 163 72,244-58. 18. Cf. Chittick, Sufi Path of Knouledge, especially chapter 6. 10. See, frir example, the section of al-GhazAli's lftyA' 'uhim al-dtn (Book ll, 19. In fact, this sl6gan is highly misleading if it is taken to represent the position Section 1) on the "',r.'onclersof the heart." Al-GhazAli rewrote this passage in of Ibn al-'Arabi and his more sophisticated followers, just as it is rnisleadingto ['ersian at therbeginn ing of.Ktrni;td'yi sa'ddat , an extremely influential work in the attribute the expression t4)ahdatal-uuujlid itself to Ibn al''Arabi. Professor Izutstt sr.rbcontinent('Llnrviin 1, Fasl I et seq.; ed. A. ArAm fTehran: Markazi 1379/ provides us with brilliant analyses of horv waL1datttl-wujlid was understood by 1gasl,pp. 9 ff ). certain of lbn al-'Arabi's followers G-g. Creation,chapter 3), but he tells us ""'hen 11. MiShAllal.ltidilu. ed. JalAl al-Din HumA'i (Tehran: Majlis, 1325/1946),Bab 3 that the concept goes back to Ibn 'Arabi (p.66), he fails to point out the rather (pp.80 ff.). tortuous route. See Chittick, " and uahdat al-wujl2d," in The Heritage of 12. For a det:riled discussionof some of the nuanced terminology employed in Rumi, ed. A. Banani and G. Sabagh (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Islanric psychology, see Sachiko Murata, The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebookon 1994),pp.70-111. Octtrler Relaliottshi.psin Islamic Thottght (Albany: SUNY Press, 1992),chapters 20. For a detailed explanation of the role of the divine names in Ibn al-'Arabi's 8 10. teachings, cf. Chittick, Suf Path of Knowledge, Chapters 2-4. For the tenn 13. The Man tf Light in Iraninn Suf.sm (Boulder& London: Shambhala, 1978), maqhar, see ibid., pp. 89-91. pp.109 10, l21 25. For other relevant Kubrawi texts, cf. H. Landolt, "Deux 21. Cf. Chittick, Sufi Path of Knowledge,p.276. optrsculesde SenrnAnisLrr le nroi th6ophanique," in S. FI. Nasr (ed.), Mdlanges 22. This is the specific,"compassionate mercy" ("the mercy of obligation")' not offertsd Henry Corhin /Tehran: N'lcGill University Institute of , the general,"merciful mercy" ("the mercy of gratuitous gift"). See Izutsu, SttJisnt 1977), pp '279 319; Lanclolt, Nuruddin Isfarayini: Le Rdudlateur des Mlstdres and Taoism, pp. 121ff. (Lagrasse:Verdier, 1986),pp.54 66 et passim; H. Algar (trans.), The Path of 23. See P. Awn, Satan's Tragedj' and Redemption: Iblis in St6 PsYchologl' God's lJottdsm.en;t'rom Origin lo Return: A Suf Com\endium by Najm al Dtn (Leiden:E. J. Brill, 1983),pp.60-69. RAzi (Delnar, N. Y.: Caravan, 1982),esp. pp. 134-35. 24. For a wide selection of texts from the great Sufi Romi on the nafs and its 14. The idea that a human being is composed of several levels, whether three, negative qualities, see Chittick, The Sufi. Path of Lgue: The Sf>iritual Teachings four, seven. or sorne other number, is deeply rooted in Sufi thought, and is of Rumi (Albany: SUNY Press, 1983),pp. 33-35 and index, Llnder "ego". therefore a commonplace in the texts. A well-known Iranian scholar (JalAl al-Din 25. Cf. Awn, Satan's Tragedy, Part III. Hurrd'i, in a footnote to liis edition of KAshAni'sMisbdh al hiddya,p.82) remarks 26. See Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism, pp. 11ff.; Chittick, "The trive Divine Pres' William C. Chittick ences:Fronr al'Q0nawito al-Qaygari,"The Muslim World72 (1982),pp. 107128; also Chittick and P. L. Wilson, Fakhruddin lraqi: Diuine Flashes(New York: Paulist Press, 1982),introduction. 4 27. On the importance of annihilation for establishing a true perspective on the riature r.rf things, see Izutsu, Creation and the Timeless Order, pp. 11-20 and passim. Unity of Ontologyand trpistenoology 28. On this clairn as a characteristic of Iblis in Sufi psychology,cf. Awn, Satan's Philosop I'ragedy,1: 31. in QaySarI's b) 29. Ibn al-'Arabi points out that any "claim" (da'u,d or iddi'h) contradicts the Akiro Matsumoto fundamental ontological poverty nf creaturesand therefore displaysignorance of tlre trtre situation (cf. Chittick, Sufi Path of Knowledge,p.752 and index under "clainr"). See also Awn, Satau's Tragedy, pp.90-96; and R0mi, as quoted in Chittick, Sufi Path of Loue, pp.191-93. 130.In Chapter 56, "Fi ma'rifat al-insAn nafsahu wa mukAshafat al-sOfiyya min dhalik" (Beirut: DAr al-KitAb al-'Arabi, 1966, p. 450). These passages are anrplified on in Persian by 'lzz al-Din KdshAni in Misbdh al-hidAya, pp.97 ff. English translations of both Suhrawardi's and KAsh6ni'sdiscussions are found in Mr-rrata, Tuo of Islam, chapter 70. 3L Cf. for exarnple Tal.trtr al-baykn taqrir shu'ab al-tmdz; FarghAni discusses fi This paperaims at clarifying the logicalrelationship of the theory o the iclerairr the. introcluction to his Muntaha'l-maddrik.For details, see Murata, l-ao of ,/s/az, chapter 10. "the unity of being" (wafudahal-ruujnd) with two key Sufi corlcepts :l'2. Cf . Clhittick, Sufi Path o.f Knoutledge, pp. 106ff. namely "prophethood" (nubwruah)and "closenessto God" () i33.N{ufryi al-Din PAdishAhQAdiri, MiftAk al haqd'iq .ft al-daqd'iq (t{yde- Both concepts of "prophethood" and "closenessto God" have Qu rabad: Matba'-i SarkAr-i A9afiyya. 129T. p.57 r'anic origin, but they were elaboratedand enrichedas the Sufi theor' 3.1 Ibn al-'Arabi and his followers frequently quote this verse as asserting the worke( point of vierv of the overwhelming authority of God's Unity, u'hich erases all on world understandingdeveloped. These two conceptshave clifferencearrd otherness.Cf. Chittick, Su.fiPath of l(nouledge, p.314 (note 6). as mainstaysin the philosophicconstruction of the "Unity of Being ll5. In Ibn al 'Arabi's perspective,human beings perceive only through the veil of ever since Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240)established its foundation' god (see imagination, so they never worship anyone but the of their own beliefs In the school of the Unity of Being, God is the unique,eternal an( lztrtsu, Sufism und Taoism, pp.83 ff.; Chittick, Sufi Path of Knowledge, chapter 19; nothing has real existenceexcept God. If any iclem,Imaginal Worlds lAlbany: SUNY Press,1994], chapter 9). absolute being, and thing is said to have existence,it has it in a metaphorical sensean( not in a real sense.In addition, the world is understoodas a mattifes tation of God, the absolutebeing. So, the philosophyof the Unity o Being is a theory for a holistic understandingbetween the eternal ant the finite. Yet in the tradition of Ash'arite theology (which is the donrinan theological school in the Sunnite world), the eternal-finiterelation ship is usually explained from the viewpoint of a personal relation ship between God and his creatures.In this school,the creatiott ant destruction of things are explained by rnaking use of the concept o "preponderation" (tarjtb), which meansthat God shifts the cerltre o ISIAMIC PHILOSOPFIY CONSCIOUSNE,SSAND RE,ALITY THE,OLOGY AI\D SCIE,NCE, Studiesin Memory0f Toshihikol

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H. DAIBER and D. PINGREE EDITEDtsY

Sayyid al-Din Ashtiyanr,Hideichi Matsubara, VOLUME XXXVIII Jalal Takashi Iwami. Akiro Matsumoto

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BRILL LEIDEN.BOSTON . KOLN 2000 This book is printcd on acid-frcc papcr 'I'his book is publishedurrdcr.thc auspiccs ol: Uncsco,Palis. Kcio Univcrsity,fokyo.

This book is publishcdr'irh thc G'anr-in-Aid lor publicatiorrof scicntilicRcscarch Contents Rcsultol tlrc lr,linisrryo[ liducation,Scicncc, Sports and Culturc,Japan.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-publication Data

r=caliry: studics in rncrnory 9.":.io_":n:r.. 1d of Toshihiko Izursu / cdited by Sar"v,rd,Jalalal-Din Ashtiyani...[et al.]. p cm. - (, thcologv and scicncc, ISSN 0l69_8729 v. 38) Foreword(Shinya Makino) ix Includcs bibliographical rclcrenccs and irrdc_x. Preface(Seyled Hossein Nasr) xi ISBN 9004115862 l._Philosophy,Islamic. 2. Su{ism.3. Izutsu,Toshihiko, lgl4-1993 I. Ashtiyanr,Jalil al-Din. II. Izutsu,Toshihiko, l9l4- III. Scrics. Perspective on History and Global Society B74l C57 1999 I. IBI'.07-dc2l 99_046290 f . islamic Resurgence CIP Wilfred Cantwell Smith 1 2. Al-Waqidi, the Orientalists and Apologetics Die Deutsche Bibliothek - ClP-Einheitsaufnahme CkarlesJ. Adams r1 Consciousness and reality : studiesin mcmory of Toshihiko Izutsu / 3. The QuranicCommentaries of MullS Sadra SayydJalal al-Din Ashtiyani.,.- Lciden ; Boston; Koln : Brill, 1999 45 (lslarnrcphilosophy, rhcology and sciencc ; Vol. 3g) ISBN90-0+ r ts86 2 4. The Meaning and Experience of Happinessin Islam Syed Muhammad Naqwib Al-Attas ,9 CopyrightO 1998by lwarrarni publishers Shorcn, Maysari, the Oldest Medical Compenditttr l;ilsrpublrshrd l99B by IwanarniShorcn, publisher.s, 'l'oky

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