Section II.—The open interpretation of their open confessions.
Section III.—Some individuals among them.
Section I.—Of some of their tenets.
These sectaries, like other philosophers, always were, and are, scattered among all nations of the world, and are called in Persian vèzhahderún, “internally pure,” or róuchen-dil, “enlightened minds,” or Yékána-bín, “seers of unity;” in the Hindu language, Rakhísher (Rakshasas) and Tapísher (Tapasis), Gyanisher and Gyáni (Jnánis), or Atma-jnánis. The lord Maulavi Jámi, in his work entitled Resálah-i-vajudíah, “treatise upon existence,”[163] states, that the universal Being is distinct from any intellectual and exterior existence, inasmuch as every individual from among the intellectual and exterior beings belongs to some class of beings; but the universal Being is not subordinate to the condition of any thing; he is absolute and sovereign, and not general, not partial, not special, not common, and not one by (the number of) unity; for, it is neither a substance nor an accident, but by itself one, and not a multiple. These things however are necessary in the sovereign being, according to their degrees and stations,[164] but the real Being, under the condition of no substance whatever, is distinguished by the name martibah-ahadiyat,[165] “degree of unity,” and all names and attributes are (as it were) consumed by this degree, which the Yogis express by the title hakiket al hakáyek,[166] “reality of realities.” But the real Being, under the condition of all things which are necessarily himself, according to generalities and specialities, is called by names and attributes of the divine degree, and this degree is entitled Vahedet-i-mokam,[167] “solitariness of station,” and jamah,[168] “union.” The real Being, under no condition of “a thing” (shí),[169] and under no condition of “nothing” (láshi),[170] is called húvíyat,[171] “essence, absolute being, objectivity,” and it is manifesting itself[172] in all existences, and under the condition of “a thing and nothing,” is the form of the universe.[173]
Some of the sagacious have stated that, in the same manner as the sun is radiant, so the real Being manifests himself at once for in opposition to it is âdem, “non-entity,” and from the superabundance of manifestation the tongue and language (in the effort) to express and to describe, to define and to explain, become dumb. The final explanation of the two words, vojud, “existence,” and âdem, “non-entity” may be, that existence is the negation of non-entity, and non-entity the negation of existence; and the Lord of unity is the grand origin of the multiplicity of names and attributes. The first attribute, which emerged into manifestation by this Lord from within, was intelligence; and in this degree all aâyán sabitah, “fixed realities,”[174] were under intellectual forms, and in this degree the Súfís give to the true highest and absolute Being the name of “All-Wise.” The impulsion of divine wisdom to procure to his fixed ideals the superiority over non-entity is by them entitled irádet,[175] “providence,” and the name of murid, “he who wills,” attached to God. As often as the divine knowledge becomes joined to accomplishment and victory, as having given to the existence of knowledge the superiority over contingencies, in this degree they call this victory kadaret, “might;” and in this degree originated the name of Kadir, “Almighty.” With respect to the seeing of God, as the meaning of knowledge is his presence in face of the existing external figures of contingencies, in this degree, the name of Básír, “the All-Seeing,” offered itself. Likewise, the meditation upon God, by those who, praying, recite his emblematic attributes, is the time of propitiating; and the granting of these prayers is called samíâ, “hearing:” whence proceeded the name samíâ, “hearer.” Further, the will of God, the Highest, becoming concentrated in this state, having joined the letter kaf (k) to the letter nún (n), so as to manifest by action kun faíkun,[176] “Be, and it is:” this state they called kalám, “the word,” and the name of mutkalem, “speaker,” was produced on this account.
The lord Shaikh Muhammed Shosterí,[177] in his treatise Hak al yakín,[178] “the truth of conviction,” has stated, that the action of choice prevails with the self-existent Being over necessity, because choice is presupposed in the nature of might, and provident choice, as well as vicissitudes and excitement, are parts suitable to a purpose, and providence came to succour every one of the necessitous crowd, by procreating remedies against the evils without number which are determined by necessity, in opposition to that necessity whence pure procreation proceeds. When the free agent is straightened in his choice, then choice assumes the nature of necessity. Thus Ibn Mâyín eddin Maibedí[179] relates, in his Favátah, “Prolegomena,” that the Súfis say: The wished for, but never-found Being proceeds from the field of pure non-entity, and the bare negation puts no foot into the station of evidence and habitation of bodily existence, in the same manner as the wished-for but never-found Being never assumes the color of bodily existence; certainly, the real Being also does not take the color of non-entity. The substance of any thing cannot be caused to vanish into non-existence; thus, if thou consumest a stick in the fire, its substance is not annihilated although its form changes, and becomes manifest in the form of ashes. The self-existent Being is an essence which is stable in all conditions, and in the accidents of existence, in the forms and states which undergo changes, the divine procreation of the world is the manifested light of his absolute reality, under the shape of divers combinations which thou beholdest.
“Certainly God made the heaven and earth to shine.”
In the book of the sagacious is found that the beautiful of this world enjoys the advantage of his beauty, when he beholds and considers its reflexion in a looking-glass; on that account, the absolute Being, having been revealed in the mirror of existences and appropriate places, and having seen his beauty in various mirrors, and in every one of them being exhibited under a shape worthy of himself, become manifest in a series of multitudinous appearances.
The Súfis further say: God is pure, conformable to his essence, above all purity and comparison, and in the gradations of names and attributes praised in both ways. Whoever dispenses with the comparison of something which has no equal, does not know that, declaring God to be without an equal, is comparing him with pure beings. The friends of God say that his name is of three kinds, viz.: he is itlák, “absolute,” by his essence, or considered as an unsubstantial (abstract) thing;[180] and they give him the name of zát, “essence,” like that of kadus, “pure, holy;” that is, considered as a substance, he is the Being the meaning of which is not dependent upon the meaning of another; they call him sifet, “excelling in attributes,” and háí, “living;” that is, considered as a substance, he is a Being whose meaning is dependent upon that of another. They name him fâl, “action,” like khálik, “Creator,” which is the general name of God, as well as rahmen, “mercy;” but the great name is at last khafá, “the concealed (mysterious).” A person asked the lord Shaikh Bayezíd Bastámí:[181] “Which is the great name of God?” The Shaikh answered: “Communicate thou to me his least name, that I may give thee in return his greatest:” that is to say, the names of God are all great.
The sagacious say: Every era is the epoch of the fame and dominion of a name, and when this epoch expires, it becomes concealed under the name which it had at the epoch of its flourishing state.[182]