Mujaddid’s Final Ontology

Irshad Alam

March 2012

Introduction

The final ontology of the Great Mujaddid Ahmad Sirhindiis explained in this article. It is based on the Mujaddid’sfinal maktub or epistle on the nature of existence thathe wrote in the very last days of his life. It describes ascience of existence that may be called the “seven-descentdualism” that is compared and contrasted Ibn Arabi’sfive-descent or tanazzulat-i khamsa system of monism.

What is unique about this article is that it describesand analyzes the final ontology of the Mujaddid. In con-trast, all other articles and books that I have reviewed sofar describe earlier sciences that he repudiated later. Atfirst, the Mujaddid experienced the same knowledge thatIbn Arabi experienced the five descent system wahdatu ‘l-wujud. Then he ascended to higher stations and he expe-rienced a science where the creation is the shadow of Godi.e. shadow-prototype dualism or zilliyat people usuallyconsider this zilliyat to be what the Mujaddid proposed.However, the Mujaddid progressed still further in his sufijourney and experienced a new science that is radicallydifferent than zilliyat but at the same time draws muchcloser to the Ibn Arabi system while still quite differentfrom it. I have named this the “seven-descent dualism”.

In its face, this seven-descent dualism differs from IbnArabi in three points. First, two descents occur initiallybefore the five descents of Ibn Arabi. Second, The Mu-jaddid proposes that God created existence in His sec-

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ond descent whereas Ibn Arabi proposed that God is ex-istence Himself. Third, the Mujaddid proposes that allthe descents are contingent, created and newly-originatedwhereas Ibn Arabi proposes that the first two descentstake place in the mind of God and thus on the level ofGod and eternal. Someone may call these differences mi-nor.

However, in its implication, the Mujaddid’s system isradically different from Ibn Arabi’s one Ibn Arabi sys-tem results in ittihad or unificationism while the Mujad-didi system results in dualism. The commentators of IbnArabi have vociferously denied it but that is its logicalconclusion. In the Ibn Arabi system, the essences or re-alities of contingent things or the fixed entities exist inthe mind of God but to him the attributes are intrinsicparts of the person (dhat) of God, and so the fixed enti-ties that reside in the mind of God must be divine as well.In contrast, all descents take place in the contingent levelin the Mujaddidi system and so those essences are contin-gent. Secondly, Ibn Arabi proposes that God is identicalto existence and so the existence of the contingent thingsis divine. In contrast, the Mujaddid proposes that Godexists by His person (dhat) and all existence of the con-tingent things is created and contingent. Therefore, thecontingent things are divine the Ibn Arabi system withrespect to both their existence and essence; while in theyMujaddidi system, they are all contingent.

Many people may ask here, “Didn’t the Mujaddid pro-pose wahdatu ‘l-shuhud in opposition to Ibn Arabi’s wah-datu ‘l-wujud instead‘” The answer it that the contextof the theory of wahdatu ‘l-shuhud is different it is notat all a theory of ontology; instead it is a theory of thesufi aspirants subjective unveilings (kashf ). What is be-ing described in this article is the Mujaddid’s theories ofontology.

Now let’s go through the maktub, analyze it and learn

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from this great master. This is an annotated translationof maktub 3.122 i.e. Maktubat-i Imam-i Rabbani, vol-ume III, maktub 122. It was written to Mawlana HasanDihlawi on the Muhammadan reality, Ibn Arabi and thenature of existence

Note on the transliteration:

A simpler transliteration system has been used where alldiacritical marks have been omitted except the marks for‘ayn and hamza’.

Indexing with the original text:

The translations in this article has been indexed to theoriginal text, which is the book Maktubat-I Imam-I Rab-bani, (Quetta, Pakistan: Maktaba’-I Ahmadiya Mujad-didiya, 1999). The page numbers that appear in this ar-ticle refer to the page numbers in that book from whichit has been translated.

About the author:

Irshad Alam is a sufi disciple of his teacher GrandshaykhMuhammad Mamunur Rashid of Bangladesh/Cambodia.His teacher has also granted him ijazat to teach thistariqa. He lives in both Berkeley, California studying,translating and writing on the Great Mujaddid AhmadSirhindi and teaching the Mujaddidi sufi tariqa. He’s theauthor of the book Faith Practice Piety which is a criticaltranslation from the Maktubat-i Imam-i Rabbani.

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The MuhammadanReality

p. 127 of the Maktubat-i Imam-i Rabbani , Volume III,maktub 122, edited by Nur Ahmad Amritsari

In the name of Allah the All-Merciful and the Com-passionate. All praise is for Allah and peace towards Hischosen servants. BismiLlahi ‘l-Rahmani ‘l-Rahim! Al-hamuliLlahi wa salamu ‘ala ‘ibadihi ‘llazina ‘stafa!

The Muhammadan reality is the most exalted of thecreation.

The Muhammadan reality (haqiqat-i muham-madi) (may the most excellent salutation andthe most complete peace be on it, ‘alaihi minal-salawatu afdalha wa min al-taslimatu ak-malha) is the first manifestation (zuhur). It isthe reality of all realities (haqiqat al-haqa’iq)all other realities are like its shadows (kal-zilal), be it the reality of the honorable prophetsor be it the reality of the magnificent angels(salam). It is the prototype of all realities(asl-i haqa’iq). The Prophet (salam) said,In the beginning, what Allah created was mylight! Awwalu ma khalaqa ‘Llahu nuri! [Ha-dith: Suyuti] He (salam) also said, Allah cre-ated me from His light and the believers from

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my light. Khuliqtu min nuri ‘Llahi wa ‘l-mu’minunamin nuri. [Hadith: Abdul Haqq Dihlawi, quotedin the Madarij al-Nubuwa].Therefore, neces-sarily, that [Muhammadan] reality is the in-termediate (waste) in-between all other reali-ties and Haqq .

And none may find what he seeks without theintermediation of [the Muhammadan reality](salam). Because he [Prophet Muhammad]is the prophet of the prophets and his ar-rival was a mercy to the worlds (salam). It isfor this reason that the major (ulu ‘l-‘azam)prophets although they were prophets them-selves (ba-wujud-i asalat) desired to becomehis followers and hoped to be included in hiscommunity (salam), as the Prophet (salam)has narrated it [in the hadith].

The word haqiqat has been consistently translated as“reality”. Now haqiqat may have several meanings ac-cording to the context. However, in this maktub, haqiqatusually refers to the “essence” or “quiddity” of a thing.In the context of God, haqiqat means the true nature ortrue identity of God, which the Great Mujaddid is teach-ing us.

Exclusive to the Muhammadan Com-munity

Only the members of the Muhammadan community mayrealize the exalted perfection of reaching the Muham-madan reality and unifying with it.

Question: What perfection is there that de-pends on being his [Prophet Muhammad’s]

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(salam) follower‘ And what [perfection is that,]which the prophets (salam) could not attainalthough they possessed the treasure of prophet-hood (salam)‘

Answer: That perfection is “arrival” and uni-fication (wusul va ittihad) with that reality ofthe realities, [which is the Muhammadan re-ality]. And [you may reach it and unify withit] only if you are [Prophet Muhammad’s] fol-lower and heir (tab‘iyyat va wirathat). Actu-ally, [reaching and unifying with it] dependson divine bounty (fadl). And [possessing] that[divine bounty] is the lot of those members ofhis [the Muhammadan] community who arethe ”elite of the elite” (akhs-i khwass). Anduntil one becomes a member of his [Muham-madan] community, one cannot attain thattreasure [of reaching and unifying with theMuhammadan reality]. And the veil of inter-mediation [between the gnostic and the Muham-madan reality] will remain that [veil may beeliminated only] by unifiying (ittihad) [withthe Muhammadan reality and to accomplishthat, the gnotic must be a member of theMuhammadan community]. It is due to thisreason that God has said [addressing to theMuslims], You are the best of all religious com-munities! Kuntum khayra ummatin! (3:110)

He [Prophet Muhammad] (salam) is superior(afdal) to each one of the other honorableprophets and each one of the magnificent an-gels. Likewise, he is also superior to all ofthem added together (salam). It is just asthe prototype is superior than every one ofits shadows even if that shadow [is a super-

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shadow] which contains thousands of shadows[super-imposed on one another]. Whateverenergy (fayd) that that shadow attains fromGod is through the intermediation (bi-tuwastiva tufail-i) of that [prototype, which is theMuhammadan reality]. I have explained inmy own writings that the point above (nuqta-i fawqa) is superior to (fadl) all the pointsbelow (bar nuqtaha-i tahta) that are like theshadows of [the point above.] The point aboveis like the prototype [itself] and all the pointsbelow are like the shadows [of that prototype].And for the gnostic, if he crosses that pointabove, it would be is a far more triumphantachievement than if he would cross all thepoints below.

Elite Followers of Prophet Muhammadand to the Prophets‘

The prophets are still superior to the elite of the eliteof the Muhammadan community, even those who havereached and unified with the Muhammadan reality.

Question: Does this clarification prove thatthe elites (khwass) of this [Muhammadan] com-munity [who have realized “arrival” and con-junction (wusul va ittisal), with the Muham-madan reality] are superior (fadl) to the prophets(salam)‘

p. 128

Answer: Nothing of that sort established. Itis only established that the elite (khwass) ofthis community has a share in that treasure,[which is “arrival” and conjunction with the

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Muhammadan reality] while the [other] prophetsdo not [have that share. Still, the other prophetsare indeed superior as they] are adorned andmade superior (ikhtisas) by numerous otherperfections [apart from the “arrival” and con-junction with the Muhammadan reality] (salam).[It is an accepted Muslim belief that] even forthe elite of the elite of this [Muhammadan]community who attains the maximum progress,his head does not reach the feet of the lowliestprophet. So where is the possibility of equal-ity or superiority [of the elect of the Muham-madan community to or over the other prophets]‘

God has said, Verily Our word has placed ourservants the prophets before [others]. (Wa laqadsabaqat kalimatuna li-‘ibadina ‘l-mursalin.) (37:171)And if an individual among the followers (um-mat“‘), as an “uninvited servant” and as a fol-lower accompanying his own prophet (tufailva tab‘iyat) reaches a station above a prophetthen he reaches there as a servant and a fol-lower. Everyone knows that a servant willhave no other relationship with the peers ofhis master except servanthood. All the time,the servant will be a tufayli, an uninvited ser-vant accompanying his master who is the hon-ored guest.

The Muhammadan Reality is Love

The Mujaddid’s final unveiling was that the Muhammadanreality is love.

After travelling through the levels of the shad-ows (ti maratib-i zilal), what was unveiled

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to me finally is this, The Muhammadan re-ality (salam) that is the reality of all reali-ties is the entification and the manifestationof “love” (ta‘ayyun va zuhur-i hubbi). [Thatlove] is the origin of the manifestations andthe source of the act of creation of the createdthings (mabda’I zuhurat va mansha’I khalq-imakhluqat). A well-known “sacred hadith”,[a hadith where God speaks in the first per-son,] says, I was a hidden treasure. ThenI desired “knowing (u‘rafa)”. So I createdthe creation for “knowing”. Kuntu kanzammakhfiyan. Fa-ahbabtu an u‘rafa. Fa-khalaqtu‘l-khalqa li-u‘rafa. [hadith: origin unknown][This hadith proves that] the first thing thatappeared from that hidden place is “love (hubb).”It [that divine love] is the cause of the creationof the created things (khalq-i khala’iq). Ifthis “love” were not there, the [created things]would not have been brought into existence(ijad). Instead, the cosmos would have beenfirmly fixed and entrenched (rasikh va mus-taqarr) within nonexistence. The mystery ofthe “sacred hadith,” Without you, I would nothave created the heavens. Law laka lama kha-laqtu ‘l-aflaka. [hadith: origin unknown] in-deed lies here. And the reality of the “sacredhadith”, Without you, I would not have man-ifested my lordliness. Law laka lama azhartu‘l-rububiyyata [hadith: origin unknown] shouldbe sought here.

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The First Entification: Love

The Mujaddid’s final inspired knowledge is that the firstentification is the “entification into love” (ta‘ayyun-i hubbi),which is the Muhammadan reality and this idea differswith the idea of Ibn Arabi, for whom the first entifica-tion is the entification into undifferentiated ideas. Eventhe Mujaddid had a different unveiling before. At thattime, he used to belive that the first entification was the“entification into existence” (ta‘ayyun-i wujudi). How-ever, as the Mujaddid progressed in his path towardsGod-realization, he realized truer knowledge.

Question: Ibn al-‘Arabi, the author of theFutuhat-i Makkiya, has said that the first en-tification (ta‘ayyun-i awwal), which is the Muham-madan reality, is the entification into undif-ferentiated ideas (lit., hadrat-i ijmal-i ‘ilm).[In contrast, previously] in your own writings,you had said that the first entification is the“entification into existence” (ta‘ayyun-i wu-judi). And you had decided that its center,which is its part that is the most noble and thefirst in time (ashraf va asbaq) is the Muham-madan reality. And you had pointed at theentification into undifferentiated ideas (lit., ta‘ayyun-i hadrat-i ijmal) as the shadow of this entifica-tion into existence (ta‘ayyun-i wujudi). [Now,you have reversed yourself and] you have writ-ten here that the first entification is the en-tification into love and that is the Muham-madan reality. Could you please rationalizethese mutually contradictory claims‘

Note: These terms all mean the entification into un-differentiated ideas and have been translated as such.

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They are: hadrat-i ijmal-i ‘ilm and ta‘ayyun-i hadrat-iijmal.

Ibn Arabi: FiveDescents

Mujaddid’s earlierview: Six Descents

Mujaddid’s fi-nal view: SevenDescents

The first entifica-tion:entification intoundifferentiatedideas(ta‘ayyun-i ‘ilm-ijumali).second entifica-tion: entificationinto differentiatedideas and that isthe Muhammadanreality

The first entifica-tion:entificationinto existence(ta‘ayyun-i wu-judi).Muhammadan re-ality: It is cen-ter of the first en-tification which isits part that is themost noble and thefirst in time (ashrafva asbaq)The second entifi-cation:entification intoundifferentiatedideas (ta‘ayyun-i‘ilm-i jumali).

The first entifica-tion:entification intolove (ta‘ayyun-ihubbi) and that isthe Muhammadanreality.The second entifi-cation: entificationinto existence(ta‘ayyun-i wu-judi).The third entifi-cation: entifica-tion into undiffer-entiated ideas(ta‘ayyun-i ‘ilm-ijumali).

Table 1: Descents: Ibn Arabi Five, Mujaddid Six, Mu-jaddid Seven

Answer: Many times, shadow of a thing showsitself as the prototype of that thing and at-tracts the wayfarer to it. Therefore, those twoentifications are the first entifications whichappears to the gnostic during the time of as-cent as the prototype entification (ba-asl-i ta‘ayyun),

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which [truly] is the entification into love (ta‘ayyun-i hubbi).

Those “two entifications” refer to what what Ibn Arabiand the Mujaddid had mistakenly identified as the firstentification.

Firstly, Ibn Arabi identified the entification into un-differentiated ideas as the first entification. And the Mu-jaddid initially concurred with him.

Secondly, the Mujaddid, after he had a measure ofspiritual ascent, reached a level higher than Ibn Arabiand there he saw that the first entification is the entifi-cation into existence (ta‘ayyun-i wujudi). And its center,which is its part that is the most noble and the first intime (ashraf va asbaq), is the Muhammadan reality. Andwhat Ibn Arabi had identified the entification into un-differentiated ideas (lit., ta‘ayyun-i hadrat-i ijmal) is theshadow of this entification into existence (ta‘ayyun-i wu-judi).

The last unveiling of the Mujaddid revealed that bothhe and Ibn Arabi were wrong both times. That entifica-tion into undifferentiated ideas was actually the shadowwhich presented itself as the prototype entification. Andthe true prototype entification or the very first entifica-tion is the entification into love, ta‘ayyun-i hubbi.

The Second Entification: Existence

The Mujaddid clarifies that the entification into existenceis the second entification.

Question: How can you say that the entifica-tion into existence (ta‘ayyun-i wujudi) is theshadow of the entification into love (ta‘ayyun-i hubbi)‘ When existence comes before loveand love is a branch of existence‘

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p. 129

Answer: I have proven in my own writingsthat the Haqq exists by His own person [i.e.He exists by Himself], not [that He exists]by [His attribute of] existence. Likewise, the“eight [essential] attributes” exist by the per-son of the Necessary, not by [His attribute of]existence. It is because both wujud, existenceand wujub, necessaryness do not at all havean opportunity (gunja’ish) [to exist] there onthat level [of non-entification] as they both aremerely ”crossing-overs” (i‘tibarat).

Note: “Crossing-overs (i‘tibarat)” are fine ideas in themind of God crossing over from nonexistence to existence.And those crossing-overs, i‘tibarat, emerged later duringthe first entification, ta‘ayyun-i awwal. The Mujaddid ex-plained elsewhere in the Maktubat and also in his mono-graph Ma‘arif-i Ladunniya that the first ideas that wereentified were the crossing-overs or i‘tibarat. The modes(shan, pl. shu’un) were entified on the next level. Andthe attributes, which have actual external existence, ap-peared on the next level of entification after that.

The Mujaddid expounds that the crossing-over of loveis the first creation. And the second is the crossing-overof existence. And these two first creations led to thecreation of the cosmos.

To bring the cosmos into existence (ijad), thecrossing-over that has been made first is love(i‘tibar-i hubb). [What has been made] nextis the crossing-over of existence (i‘tibar-i wu-jud), which is the preamble to the bringing[the cosmos] into existence.

Refuting Ibn Arabi, the Mujaddid proposes that Goddoes not need to create the cosmos.

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Without these two crossing-overs, the crossing-over of love and the crossing-over of wujud,the Person does not need (istighna’ ) the cos-mos or to bring the cosmos into existence. Asthe Koran says, Verily Allah does not needthe cosmos. Inna ‘Llaha laghaniyyun ‘ani ‘l-‘alamiyana. (2:96)

Ibn Arabi proposed that God needs to create the cos-mos to actualize Himself. The Mujaddid refutes him.God first created the crossing-overs of love and existence.That led Him to create the creation. God does not at allneed to create the cosmos.

The Rest of the Entifications

The Mujaddid proposes that the third entification is theentification into undifferentiated ideas. According to IbnArabi, this was the first entification. However, the Mu-jaddid final unveilings show that undifferentiated ideascome after love and existence.

You may not observe any attribute there [onthose levels i.e. the levels of entifications intolove, existence and undifferentiated ideas] asthe attributes have not yet been entified [onthose levels. The attributes are entified onlyin the next level that is the level of entificationinto differentiated ideas.]

[Even then] this “entification into undifferen-tiated ideas (ta‘ayyun-i ‘ilm-i jumali)” youmay call it the “shadow” of those two [pre-vious] entifications [that are the entificationinto love and the entification into existence]if you

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Consider those two entifications as “crossing-overs” (i‘tibar) of the person of God.

And consider this entification [i.e. the entifi-cation into undifferentiated ideas, ta‘ayyun-i‘ilmi jumali ] as an attribute. [And we knowthat an attribute] is a shadow (zill) of theperson of God.

The Mujaddid has always accepted the Ibn Arabi en-tification scheme from the entification into undifferen-tiated ideas upto the entification into bodies. So theyfollow.

Descents: Ibn Arabi versus the Mujad-did

The first difference between the Ibn Arab scheme and theMujaddidi scheme on the descents (tanazzulat) or entifi-cations (ta‘ayyunat) is that the Mujaddid adds two moreentifications to the top. They are love and existence.

The second difference is on the nature of existence.According to Ibn Arabi, God is existence Himself. Incontrast, the Mujaddid says that existence is a creationof God. And the crossing-over of existence is the secondcreation, right after the crossing-over of love.

The third difference is on the nature of the two en-tifications into ideas. According to Ibn Arabi, these twoentifications the entification into undifferentiated ideasand the entification into differentiated ideas take placein the mind of God and so those ideas are divine. In con-trast, those two entifications are created, contingent andnewly originated.

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Ibn Arabi’s Five De-scents

Mujaddid’s Seven De-scents

Sequence Names Sequence Names

1 love (hubb)

2 existence (wujud)

1 undifferentiatedideas

3 undifferentiatedideas (‘ilm-ijumali)

2 differentiatedideas

4 differentiatedideas (‘ilm-itafsili)

3 spirits 5 spirits (ruh)

4 images 6 images (mithal)

5 bodies 7 bodies (jasad)

Table 2: Sequences and Names: Entifications for IbnArabi versus Mujaddid

Inter-relationship Between Prophet Muham-mad and Prophet Abraham

The Mujaddid now teaches us on the intimate inter-relationshipbetween the Prophet Abraham and Prophet Muhammad.

You should know that when you “keenly”(be-daqqat) observe the first entification or the en-tification into love, by divine grace, you maylearn that the center (markaz ) of that [first]entification is love or the Muhammadan real-ity.

And the circumference of that entification islike a circle in the form of an image (surat-imithal). And that circumference is like theshadow of that very center, and it is calledfriendship (khullat) or the Abrahamic reality.

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Ibn Arabi the Mujaddid

1 number of the de-scents (tanazzulat)

five descents seven descentswith two descentsadded on top“love” is the firstdescent and “ex-istence” is thesecond descent,the five Ibn Arabidescents follow

2 God versus exis-tence

God is existenceHimself

Existence is God’screation and Hecreated it in thesecond descent

3 level with respectto Necessarynessand contingentness

first two descents(undifferentiatedideas and differen-tiated ideas) takeplace in the mindof God and so areon the level of theNecessary, andeternal (wujubiva qadim). andthe other threeare contingentand newly origi-nated (mumkin vahadith)

all descentsare contingent,created andnewly originated(mumkin, makhluqva qadim)

Table 3: Descents: Ibn Arabi versus the Mujaddid

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Therefore, love is the prototype. And friend-ship is indeed [love’s] reflection.

This center and this circumference togetheris a circle and it is the first entification. Thepart [of the circle] which is the most noble andthe first in time (ashraf va asbaq) is the centerand it is love.

In the gaze of unveiling (nazar-i kashfi), it[the center of that circle] appears to be the en-tification into love. Through reasoning, [youmay reach the same conclusion because] thatpart [center of the circle] is the prototype andthat part predominates.

[With respect to the circumference, we know]that the circumference of that circle is likethe shadow of its center and the [circumfer-ence] grows out of that center. [With respectto the center, we also know] that the center is[the circle’s] prototype and its source (man-sha’ ). [Therefore, we may conclude that] thecircumference may be considered the secondentification [in some way].

However, the gaze of unveiling (nazar-i kashfi)does not show two entifications. Instead, it isone single entification that comprises love andfriendship (hubb va khullat). And [that singleall-including entification] is the center and thecircumference of a single circle. In the gaze ofunveiling, the second entification is the entifi-cation into existence (ta‘ayyun-i wujudi) andthat is like the shadow of the first entifica-tion as it has been described earlier. So thecenter is the prototype of the circumference(asl-i muhit). Then to attain the objective[of reaching the prototype], the circumference

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must employ the intermediation of the center.The [center] is the prototype and the undiffer-entiation (asl va ijmal) of the circle. There-fore, one may reach the destination (wusul be-matlub) only by the path that is via the center(az rah-i markaz ).

This clarification should clarify that the belovedof Allah [Prophet Muhammad] and the friendof Allah [Prophet Abraham], they are bothinter-related and unified (munasabat va itti-had). Here the shadow employs the prototypeas the intermediary to reach its destination(wusul-i zill-i matlub). Then it follows thatHazrat the friend of Allah [Prophet Abraham]would request the intermediation of Hazratthe beloved of Allah [Prophet Muhammad]and would desire to enter his community asit has been narrated in the hadith.

Prophet Muhammad and the AbrahamicCommunity

p. 130+

We know that Prophet Muhammad is ranked higherthan Prophet Abraham. However, according to the salawatthat we recite in salat-prayers, God has asked our prophetto follow Prophet Abraham. And in that salawat thatGod taught him, our prophet has been seeking blessingsfrom God “according to the measure that God has blessedAbraham.” Why‘

Question: When their inter-relationship is likethis [that Prophet Muhammad is in a far moreexalted rank than Prophet Abraham] then whywas the beloved of Allah [Prophet Muham-

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mad] instructed to follow the Abrahamic com-munity‘ What is its meaning‘ And in salawat[during Prayer] the Prophet had been suppli-cating, “according to the measure that youhave given peace and blessings to Abraham”.Why‘

In answer, the Mujaddid explains this quandary.

Answer: The reality of a thing [here the Muham-madan reality], the more exalted it is andcloser it is to God who is incomparable, thegrosser is the locus of manifestation of thatreality in the world of the elements [here thehuman form of the Prophet Muhammad. Andthat reality, here the Muhammadan reality]is also more enwrapped (mutalabbis) in thequalities of human nature (bashariyat). There-fore, it is difficult for this locus of manifesta-tion [Prophet Muhammad when he lives inhis physical form] to ascend (‘uruj ) to that[Muhammadan] reality.

In the initial segment of our journey, first wemake ascent (‘uruj ) upwards. For the Muham-madan seeker of God, he ascends upwards tothe Muhammadan realitiy at first. The Muham-madan reality is the closest to God and themost exalted after Him. Since we know thatthe more exalted is the reality, the grosseris its worldly form. And since the Muham-madan reality is the most exalted, the humanform of the prophet is form that is most en-wrapped in human nature. Consequently, thedistance between his reality and his humanform is the greatest greater than any other

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prophet. And consequently, it is most difficultfor him to ascend to his own reality.

The Abrahamic community is a wide boule-vard (shah-i rah) for “arriving” on the Abra-hamic reality. And that [Abrahamic reality]lies next to the Muhammadan reality, as ithas been said before. And Hazrat Abrahamhas already reached there [that Abrahamicreality, travelling] through that [Abrahamic]path. Therefore, [Hazrat Muhammad] has beeninstructed to reach the reality of the realities[the Muhammadan reality], by following that[Abrahamic] community [or by travelling onthat Abrahmic path].

Therefore, to make his ascent easier, Allahinstructed Prophet Muhammad to follow theAbrahamic community. Since that way, hecould easily reach the Abrahamic reality first.And then he could move over to the Muham-madan reality, which lies next to it.

The Mujaddid wonders why has the Prophet asked usto recite the Abrahamic benediction (salawat-i ibrahimi)in our prayers (salat).

In salawat during salat-prayer, that master(sarwar) [Hazrat Muhammad] has suggestedus to pray for divine blessings in accordanceto the measure that God has blessed Abra-ham but [he instructed us to do so] only afterhe had attained the treasure of “arriving” onthe [Muhammadan] reality (husul-i dawlat-iwusul-i haqiqat).

Prophet Muhammad had suggested us to praythat way so that we can also traverse on the

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Abrahamic path, reach the Abrahamic real-ity and then move over easily to the Muham-madan reality. It is so because if we try toreach the Muhammadan reality directy, it wouldbe harder than us employing the inter-mediationof the Abrahamic reality.

Also, Prophet Muhammad following ProphetAbraham that does not have to mean thatour prophet is inferior to Prophet Abraham.

On the other hand, we can also say that if asuperior person is instructed to follow a in-ferior person then in this instruction to fol-low, he does not have to have a shortcom-ing. Just as Allah has instructed the Prophet(salam) [referring to the companions], Con-sult with them in matters. Wa shawirhum fi‘l-amri (3:159) Along with the order to con-sult with the companions comes the order tofollow them. Or else what is the benefit ofconsultation‘

The Reality of AbuBakr and Israphel

The Mujaddid explains the realities of Hazrat AbuBakrand Hazrat Israphel.

The reality of Hazrat [AbuBakr] the cham-pion of truth is the divine name that is hislord (rabb). That is his origin of entification(mabda’-i ta‘ayyun). And that is directly (bi-tawassut) the shadow of the Muhammadanreality (zill-i haqiqat-i muhammadi) with noth-ing else in-between them.

[The reality of Hazrat Abu Bakr is the directshadow. And as such, it is the direct] follower

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and heir of [the Muhammadan reality withnothing else in-between them. As a result,]whatever that is there in that [Muhammadan]reality, all of it is in that [direct] shadow [whichis the reality of Hazrat AbuBakr].

It is for this reason that [Abu Bakr] is themost perfect (akmal) and most excellent (af-dal) heir (warith) in this [Muhammadan] com-munity. The Prophet (salam) said, WhateverAllah had poured into my breast, I poured thatall into the breast of Abu Bakr. Ma sabba‘Llahu shay’an fi sadri illa wa qad sayabtuhufi sadri Abi Bakr-in. [hadith: origin unknown]

Also it has been revealed that the reality ofIsraphel is that same Muhammadan reality.However, they do not have a prototype-shadowinter-relationship as [in the case of the inter-relationship between the reality of Hazrat AbuBakrand the Muhammadan reality]. There the re-ality of Hazrat [AbuBakr] the champion oftruth is the shadow of that [Muhammadan]reality.

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In contrast, in this case, both [the Muham-madan reality and the reality of Israphel] areprototypes and none of them is the other’sshadow. However, there are differences be-tween their universals and particulars (kul-liyat va juz’iyat).

That master [Prophet Muhammad] is the ab-solute leader (kull). That is why that reality[which is the leader] has been named in hisname [as the Muhammadan reality]. The re-alities of all the other angels have grown out

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of that reality of Israphel.

Gnostic Progressing Above His OwnReality

The Mujaddid discusses if a gnostic may progress abovehis own reality.

Question: The gnostic’s own essence or realityis the divine name that is the lord of thatgnostic. [Having ascended there in his ascent,]may the gnostic then progress above it‘

Answer: The journey towards Allah (sayr ila‘Llah) is completed (tamami) when [the gnos-tic] “arrives on” (wusul) [his own] reality aftertravelling (tayy) through the levels of wayfar-ing (suluk). [And it is completed] in two man-ners.

First Manner

The first manner is “arrival” (wusul) [not ontothe actual divine name or reality, but instead]onto a shadow among the shadows of thatname while that shadow is [falsely] display-ing itself as the reality. [And that reality is]displaying itself as the [actual] reality in [thegnostic’s] own locus of manifestation in the di-vine [names] (dar mazahir-i wujubiya-i khod).As a result,] it [falsely] appears that it [that“shadow” of that divine name] is the realityitself.

Such confusion appears in many places on thisroad it is a treacherous valley for the way-farer (salik). Only by the sheer grace of God,

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the wayfarer may be rescued from this val-ley. [Still, it is certain that] one may progressabove this shadow that looks like reality (zill-ihaqiqat noma) actually it does happen.

Second Manner

[The second manner is] if he “arrives on” (wusul)[that reality which is not merely a shadowbut prototypally is] his own reality. In thatcase, he may not progress beyond it withoutthe inter-mediation and emulation (bi-tufailva tab‘iyat) of someone else [whose reality ison a higher level,] since that reality is thehighest point (nihayat) [to which] his own pre-paredness (isti‘dad) [would allow him to go].However, if through someone else’s inter-mediation,he is brought to someone else’s reality (that isabove his own reality) then he may progress[above his own reality to that higher reality].

It is said that this journey is a “journey byforce” (sayr-i qasri) where one [progresses notby his own power but by employing someoneelse’s power. And he] progresses to a pointthat is beyond what is natural for him or forwhich he is prepared (tab‘I va isti‘dadi). Asmall part from this has already been narratedin the preceding section*, in the clarificationof arriving on the Muhammadan reality.

Progress Above the Muhammadan Re-ality

Now the Mujaddid confirms that none may progress abovethe Muhammadan reality, which is the apogee of perfec-

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tion.

Question: The Muhammadan reality is thereality of the realities (haqiqat al-haqa’iq). Noreality from the realities of the contingent things(haqiqat-i mumkinat) is above the Muham-madan reality. Then how can one progressabove it‘ However, you have written in yourwritings that, ”progress above the Muham-madan reality has been attained.” What doyou mean by that‘

Answer: No! None may [progress above theMuhammadan reality] because the level of la-ta‘ayyun, non-entification lies above it. Noentified thing (muta‘ayyan) may “arrive” [onthat level of non-entification] and be annexedto it (wusul va ilhaqq).

[Now some people like Ibn Arabi do claimthat the gnostic may indeed progress abovethe Muhammadan reality and reach the levelof non-entification, and they rationalize it by]saying that their “arrival” and annexation (wusulva ilhaqq) [to the level of non-entification] are”without how” (bi-takayyuf ). [However, speak-ing that way is] not speaking correctly (mujarrad-i tafawwuh) [as it is meaningless talk]. Theyfind peace from [such meaningless talk] be-cause they are yet to realize a correct under-standing of that inter-relationship [betweenthe Necessary who is non-entified and the con-tingent things which are entified]. However,when Ibn Arabi and his followers would un-derstand it correctly, they would realize thatthey definitely cannot “arrive on” or annex[to that level of non-entification, la-ta‘ayyun.]

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Some people, possibly including Ibn Arabi andhis school, claimed that a gnostic may in-deed progress above the Muhammadan real-ity. And he may reach and annex to the levelof non-entification. However, they rationalizeit by saying that the nature of such “arrival”and annexation is “without how”. The Mu-jaddid comments that those people are mis-guided and talking nonsense.

When I had written, ”progress above the Muham-madan reality has been attained;” what I meantby that reality was [actually] the shadow ofthat reality.” [What I should have said is thatprogress above the shadow of Muhammadanreality has been attained.] And it [what Imeant by the term “Muhammadan reality”there, at the lower level of my sufi enlighten-ment, actually] meant the entification into un-differentiated ideas [lit., ijmal-i hadrat-i ‘ilm]or oneness-crossing-over (wahdat), [which inthe Mujaddidi scheme is the third entificationwhile the Muhammadan reality is the first en-tification.]

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At that time, I confused the shadow [of theMuhammadan reality, which in this case wasthe entification into undifferentiated ideas] withthe prototype. When I was freed from all theshadows by sheer divine grace [and reached ahigher level of knowledge], I learned that onemay not progress above the “reality of the re-alities” (haqiqatu ‘l-haqa’iq). Even that, it isabsolutely impossible because if one raises hisfeet and steps out, he leaves the contingentdomain and drives his feet into the Necessary

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domain, and that is impossible both by theintellect and by the laws of nature. (‘aqli vashar‘i)

Question: This verification demonstrates that[Hazrat Muhammad] the “seal of the messen-gers” did not progress above the Muhammadanreality. Is it true‘

Answer: That Hazrat [Prophet Muhammad]had a highly exalted and glorified rank. Stillhe was always a contingent thing. And hewould never leave the contingent domain orwould realize union (paywast) with the Nec-essary that would have meant that he wouldtransform himself into God (uluhiyat). How-ever, Allah Almighty is beyond having a peerand partner.

What the Christians say of their prophetDo not say that [of my prophet!]

Da‘ ma adda‘at-hu ‘l-nasara Fi nabi-him

Realization of the Muhammadan Real-ity

This section discusses the difference between the prophetand his elite followers in realizing the Muhamnmadan re-ality. It refers to what happens when a Muslim sufi tra-verses the loftiest stations in his ascent (‘uruj ). In hisjourney, the sufi advances to higher and higher stations.A few of these sufis ascend to the highest station andreaches and unifies with the Muhammadan reality, whichis reserved for the followers of Prophet Muhammad. Eventhe prophets may not reach that Muhammadan reality

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as they are not members of the Muhammadan commu-nity. Does that mean that those God-realzed Muslimsare higher than even the prophets‘

Question: From the preceding verification, itis clear that other [Muslims] (as accompaniedservants and heirs of their master Muham-mad) may also reach the reality of the reali-ties. And may establish some kind of annexa-tion and unification (ilhaqii va ittihadii) withthat [Muhammadan reality] and then shareits elite perfections. And [the elite of theelite in the Muhammadan community annexand unify with] it [the Muhammadan reality]so well that the veil [between them and theMuhammadan reality] is lifted and the inter-mediation is eliminated and [instead they re-ceive good directly from the Muhammadanreality. And as a result,] they reach the high-est level of perfection.

If it is so then what is the difference betweenthe [elite] followers [of Prophet Muhammad,who reach that ultimate level of perfection]and the leader [who is their master Muham-mad himself], or between the honored guest(asli) and the accompanied servant (tufayli)in this perfection‘ And what is the superiorityof the leader and the honored guest over thefollower and accompanied servant‘

Answer: Others who reach and annex to (wusulva ilhaqq) that [Muhammadan] reality do soin the manner that a servant joins his masteror the accompanied servant reaches the hon-ored guest. Even if he who reaches is the eliteof the elite those are few or he is a prophet

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(salam), even then he is still an accompaniedservant (tufayli) who eats [the master’s] left-overs. How can he be equal to the master‘And before the master, what grandeur andgreatness can he have?

Note: Prophets may not reach the Muhammadan re-ality as they are not followers of the Prophet Muhammad.Here, the Mujaddid brought the example of the prophetsonly to illustrate his reasoning.

An “accompanied servant” sits with the mas-ter who is the guest and eats with the mas-ter, still he is an ”accompanied servant.” Ifthat servant arrives at magnificent mansionsalong with the master, eats the left-overs ofsumptuous meals made for the master or re-ceives respect; still then he receives them dueto the greatness of the master and the exalted-ness of following him. It is said that the mas-ter obtains more respect because the servantsaccompany him, although he already has re-spect accorded to him.

Leader and Follower Being Peers

[Question:] Listen! The Prophet said, He whoestablishes a good tradition (sunnat), he willreceive its wage and the wages of all who willpractice that. Man sanna sunnatan hasanatanfa-lahu ajruha wa ajru man ‘amila-biha [ha-dith: Muslim] Therefore, the more followersdoes the leader have on the beautiful paththat he has instituted, the more compensa-tion does he receive. So how can the leaderand the follower be peers‘ What equality canyou think for them‘

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p. 133

[Answer:] Listen! Listen! A group of peo-ple may be on a single station and they mayshare the same treasure. Still, they will betreated differently but none will know aboutthe other. In paradise, the pious wives of theProphet will live with him in the same loca-tion. They will eat the same food and drinkthe same drinks. However, they will not betreated the same way as the Prophet. Norwould they have the same enjoyment (iltid-hadhi) and mastery that he has (salam) Al-though they will share everything with theProphet, the bounties (afdaliyat) that theywill receive will not be the same as the boun-ties that the Prophet will receive.

If they would share everything with the Prophetthen they would also be superior to everyoneelse, like the Prophet is. Here the term “su-periority (afdaliyat)” refers to the amount ofrewards before Allah.

All Entifications Are Contingent

The Mujaddid explains that all these entifications, includ-ing this entification into love, are contingent. His opinioncontradicts Ibn Arabi, who had proposed that the firstand the second entifications are on the level of the Nec-essary.

Question: This entification into love i.e. thefirst entification or the Muhammadan reality(salam) is it contingent or is it Necessary(mumkin ya wajib)‘ Is it newly originated oris it eternal (hadith ya qadim)‘ Ibn al-‘Arabi,

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who wrote the Fusus, called the first entifica-tion [by both these additional names] Muham-madan reality and oneness-crossing-over, wah-dat. Likewise, he called the second entifica-tion one-and-allness, wahidiyyat. He estab-lished the fixed entities (a‘yan-i thabita) orthe essences or realities of the contingent things(haqa’iq-i mumkinat) on that level [of one-and-allness]. He called both of these entifica-tions ”entifications of the Necessary (ta‘ayyun-i wujubi)” and considers them to be eternal(qadim). And he considers the three other de-scents or entifications the spiritual (ruhi), theimaginal (mithali) and the bodily (jasadi) tobe contingent entifications (ta‘ayyun-i imkani).What are your comments on this matter‘

level of descent or entifica-tion

nature of entification

wahdat, wahidiyat entifications of the Nec-essary (ta‘ayyun-i wujubi),eternal (qadim)

entifications into spirits,entification into images, en-tification into bodies

contingent entifications(ta‘ayyun-i imkani), cre-ated, newly originated

Table 4: Ibn Arabi: Nature of the Entifications

Answer: To me, nothing [of the Necessarydomain] is related to entification or entifiedthings (ta‘ayyuni va muta‘ayyuni). What en-tification is there that makes the nonentifiedthing (la-ta‘ayyuni) [that is God] into an en-tified thing (muta‘ayyuni) [a created thing]‘Such talk comes from “taste” (dhawq) of Ibn

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al-‘Arabi and his followers [who were havingintoxicated sufi mystic experiences] (qaf, mayAllah sanctify their secrets). If such a talk hasoccurred in my writings then it should also beconsidered as a saying [that has come from anintoxicated sufi experience like “tastings”].

The Mujaddid now comments on the first two entifi-cations of the Ibn Arabi system. Ibn Arabi calls them en-tifications of the Necessary, ta‘ayyun-i wujubi. They arewahdat, oneness-crossing-over which is the first entifica-tion and wahidiyyat, one-and-allness which is the secondentification. While Ibn Arabi considers them entifica-tions of the Necessary and eternal, the Mujaddid consid-ers them to be contingent entifications which are createdand newly-originated.

At all times, we should know that that those[two] entifications are [actually] contingent en-tifications (ta‘ayyun-i imkani). And they arecreated and newly originated (makhluq va ha-dith). The Prophet said, In the beginning,what Allah created was my light. Awwalu makhalaqa ‘Llahu nuri! [hadith: Suyuti ] In otherhadith reports, the time of the creation of thatlight is also given e.g. Two thousand years be-fore the creation of the heavens. Qabla khalqa‘l-samawati b’alfi ‘am! [hadith: origin un-known] etc. And all that is created and waspreviously within nonexistence is contingentand newly originated. The [Muhammadan]reality is the reality which is in the forefrontof all the realities. When that is created andcontingent (makhluq va mumkin) then all otherrealities are also created, contingent and newlyoriginated (makhluq, mumkin, hadith).

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The Mujaddid now contrasts his idea with Ibn Arabiwho believes that the Muhammadan reality is in the mindof God (i.e. on the Necessary level) and eternal.

The Muhammadan reality (also called the re-alities of the contingent things or the fixed en-tities) how does the Shaykh (qaf, may his se-crets be sanctified) rule it to be the Necessaryand considers it to be eternal (wujub, qadim)‘It goes against the saying of the prophet (salam).Every subdivision of a contingent thing is con-tingent. Both in its form and in its essence(sura, haqiqa), it is contingent. How will theentification of the Necessary (ta‘ayyun-i wu-jubi) become the essence of the contingentthing (haqiqat-i mumkin)‘ The essence of thecontingent things should also be contingent.Contingent things do not have any mutualityor relationship (ishtaraki va intisabi) with theNecessary, except that the contingent thingsare the creation of the Necessary and the Nec-essary is their creator.

Ibn Arabi’s Error

The Mujaddid politely rebukes Ibn Arabi for confusingbetween the Necessary and the contingent things.

p. 134+

The Shaykh [Ibn Arabi] has not made any dis-tinction between the Necessary and the con-tingent things and he himself has said thatthere is no distinction between them. [Nowif he continues in that same line of reasoning

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Ibn Arabi the Mujaddid

name Level Name level

1 Love, hubbis the centeris Muham-madanreality andthe cir-cumferenceof thatreality isfriendship,khullaLove isentifiedwhen thecrossing-over of lovecrosses overfrom non-entificationinto entifi-cation

contingent

2 existence,and exis-tence isentifiedwhen thecrossing-over ofexistencecrosses overfrom non-entificationinto entifi-cation

contingent

1 undifferentiatedideas,Muham-madanreality,oneness-crossing-over orwahdat,all thecrossing-overs(i‘tibarat)are entifiedon thislevel cross-ing overfrom non-entificationinto entifi-cation

Necessary,becausethey arecontents inthe mindof God, orinseparablepart of Hisattribute ofknowledge.And toIbn Arabi,all divineattributes(includingthe realattributesthat includeknowledge)have noexistenceaprt fromthe personof God. Sothese ideasare insepa-rable partsof God.

3 undifferentiatedideas, therest of thecrossing-overs(i‘tibarat)are entifiedcross-ing overfrom non-entificationinto entifi-cation

contingent

2 differentiatedideas,one-and-allness orwahidiyat

Necessary 4 differentiatedideas

contingent

3 spirits contingent 5 Spirits contingent

4 images contingent 6 Images contingent

5 bodies contingent 7 Bodies contingent

Table 5: Entifications with their Levels: Ibn Arabi versusthe Mujaddid

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Entification IbnArabi

Mujaddid

1 entification into undifferenti-ated ideas (ta‘ayyun-i ‘ilm-i jumali) or oneness-crossing-over (wahdat)

Necessary-level,wujubi

contingent-level,imkani

2 entification into differentiatedideas (ta‘ayyun-i tafsil-i ‘ilm)or one-and-allness (wahidiyat)

3 entification into spirits(ta‘ayyun-i ruhi)

contingent-level,imkani

4 entification into images(ta‘ayyun-i mithali)

5 entification into bodies(ta‘ayyun-i jasadi)

Table 6: Levels of the Five Entifications: Ibn Arabi versusthe Mujaddid

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and] if he says that the Necessary is contin-gent and the contingent things are Necessarythen he should have no fear. If God excuseshim then it is His extreme generosity and for-giveness!

Our Lord! Do not condemn us if we forget or err!Rabbana! La-tu’akhizna in nasina aw akhta’na! (2:286 )

Mujaddid’s Final Ontology: Dualism

Now the Great Mujaddid comments on his final onto-logical theory which is ‘abdiyat. Now this maktub waswritten right at the end of his life and so it denotes hisfinal views. These ontological throries were derived notfrom his study of the Koran and hadith but instead fromhis experiential sufi knowledge. Initially, he had the sameexperience as Ibn Arabi and was a follower of the wah-datu ‘l-wujud doctrine. However, his experiential knowl-edge evolved further and then he proposed a new doctrinecalled zilliyat, which says the the cosmos is the “shadow”(zill) of God. This should be noted that this zilliyat orshadowism is not the final “inspired science” of the Mu-jaddid as he did not remain confined to this station.

Instead the Mujaddid even progressed further in hiswayfaring, finally reaching the sublime station of ‘abdiyator slaveism, where no sufi before him has reached. Therehe realized that zilliyat is not the final station, there isanother station beyond that. He found there that noth-ing is worthy enough to be the shadow of the Creator.Instead, everything is the “slave” of God. And finally,he realized that God is beyond all that can be imagined.And man is only an insignificant slave of God. This is‘abdiyat, or “slaveism”.

Now a disciple of the Mujaddid asked him to clarifyhis stance on zilliyat.

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Question: In your own writings [that you wrotebefore explaining your ontology of shadow-ism or zilliyat,] you [the Mujaddid] had estab-lished a prototype-shadow inter-relationshipbetween the Necessary and the contingent things.And you had said that the contingent thingsare the shadow (zill) of the Necessary. Andyou had also written that the Necessary, sinceit is the prototype [of the shadow that is theiressence] (bi-‘itibar-i asalat), is the essence orreality (haqiqat) of the contingent things. Andthe contingent things are His shadow. Andyou had revealed an entire science (ma‘rifat)[called zilliyat ] based on that premise. If theShaykh [Ibn Arabi] said that the Necessaryis the reality of the contingent things in thisline, why can’t he [say so‘] Why should he stillbe censured‘

Note: Previously, at an earlier level of enlightenment,the Mujaddid had proposed the ontological doctrine of zil-liyat. There he had proposed that the contingent thingsare shadows of the Necessary. With respect to existence,the contingent things had shadow existence. And withrespect to the quiddities, their quiddities were nonexis-tences onto which a ray from the divine attributes hasfallen. Therefore, both with respect to their existencesand their quiddities, the contingent things were shadowsof God.1 When people talk about the buzzword wahdatul-shuhud, it is often zilliyat to which that they refer.

In answer, the Mujaddid says that all the sufi sciencesthat say the creation is the shadow of God or in someother way related to God are false sciences originatingfrom intoxication, sukr. Those false sciences include even

1These ideas are described in detail in maktub 2.1

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zilliyat, which even the Mujaddid experienced and prop-agated before.

Answer: This kind of science that establishesinter-relationship between the Necessary andthe contingent things has no proof in the sharia.All that science is science originating from in-toxication. (sukriya) It [the proposition ofIbn Arabi that the Necessary is the realityof the contingent things or the earlier propo-sition of the Mujaddid that the contingentthings are the shadows of the Necessary, zil-liyat ] is from their inability [inability of IbnArabi and his followers, and even the Mujad-did in both of his earlier states of wahdatu ‘l-wujud and zilliyat ] to reach the reality of thatinter-relationship [between the Necessary andcontingent things].

What powers do the contingent things possess‘That they can be the shadows of the Neces-sary‘

Mumkin cheh budKe zill-i wajib ba shod

The Mujaddid explains why God may not have ashadow. It’s because He is truly incomparable, far abovehaving the attribute of “possessing a shadow.” He argues,“When Prophet Muhammad did not have a shadow, howcan his God have a shadow‘”

Why will the Necessary have a shadow‘ Whenshadow is the false (mawhum) engendering(tuliyad) of things similar [to the original, inthis case the original being God.] Also it [theshadow] brings the news that there is a defectthe prototype lacks perfect subtleness. When

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Muhammad the prophet of Allah did not havea shadow due to the subtleness of his bodythen how can the God of Muhammad have ashadow‘

Note: According to the traditions, Prophet Muham-mad did not have a shadow.

The Mujaddid describes the ultimate reality of Godvis-a-vis the creation. And that is transcendence, in-comparability or beyondness. God and His eight real at-tributes are what really exist from eternity. Everythingelse came to be later

The person of God exists in the outside byHis person (bi ‘l-dhat) with independence (is-tiqlal) and with the eight [real] attributes thatis the reality (haqiqat) of God. Except forthat, all that [exists] there has come to exis-tence [later in created time, and] He broughtthem into existence (ijad). And [therefore, allthat God brought into existence later,] theyare contingent things, created things and newlyoriginated things (mumkin, makhluq va ha-dith).

Previously in his verification of zilliyat, the Mujaddidproposed that all the attributes exist in the outside withshadow existence. Now the Sunni creed says that all thedivine attributes are inseparable part of the Person asthey are “neither He nor other than He, la hua wa laghayruhu”, and so it seems that the Mujaddid’s opinioncontradicts the Sunni creed. However, there is really nosuch contradiction. The Mujaddid argues, “How can youseparate the prototype from its shadow‘” And since youcan’t, the shadow of God is indeed “neither He nor otherthan He.”

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However, it seems that he is radically changing hisideas and proposing that only the eight real attributeshave external existence and are eternal (qadim), and therest of the attributes have an existence that has no re-lationship with divine existence, and they are created byGod in time i.e. newly-originated (hadith). This maybe considered a modification to the Ibn Arabi idea thatno attribute exists externally and instead all are merelyrelationships that God has with the cosmos. However, Ican say that with certainty only after further study, afterI have analyzed his other maktubs on the nature of theattributes.

The Mujaddid now repudiates zilliyat, shadowism thathe experienced and taught earlier.

The shadow of the Creator (khaliq) Himself isnot in any created thing. And except for therelationship of being created by God (makhluqiyyat),nothing has any other relationship with itsCreator. However, there are such relation-ships as described in the sharia [e.g. slave-hood, needyness etc.]

So why did God give the Mujaddid the experiencezilliyat, when it was not the experience of the ultimatetruth‘ Was there a benefit in it‘ The Mujaddid feels thatperhaps there was a benefit it led him step-by-step tothe ultimate truth.

Knowing the cosmos as a shadow helps thewayfarer (salik) on this road in many ways.It drags him to the prototype [that is God.]

Finally the Mujaddid experiences the knowledge ofthe highest level ‘abdiyat where he realizes that God istruly transcendant.

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And when through the perfection (kamal) indivine grace, (‘inayat) he travels through waysta-tions that take him through the shadows (manazil-i zilal) and finally he arrives at the prototype(asl) [what seems to be God] then throughsheer divine bounty (fadl), he realizes thateven this prototype [what seems to be God]has the same property (hukm) of the shadowand is not worthy (shayan) of being the ”ob-ject that is being sought” (matlub) [which isGod] as it is branded (muttasim) by the mark(dagh) of contingentness. Yes! There is nofinal knowledge about God because He’s be-yond the range of human cognition. He isunknowable. And the ”object that is beingsought” (matlub) [God] is beyond the range ofperception, “arrival” and conjunction. (idrakva wasl va ittisal).

Our Lord! Give us mercy {rahma} from Youand dispose of our affair for us in the rightway! Rabbana! Atina milladunka rahmatanwa hayyu’lana min amrina rashadan (18:10)

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