38:0 In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.

This is an exalted name, the incapacity to perceive which has been acknowledged by the recognitions. It is a majestic name, in desiring to comprehend which the knowledges have become veiled in shame. It is a generous name, in face of the expanse of whose munificence all needs are paltry. It is an all-merciful name, in the clashing waves of whose mercy the drops of His servants’ slips come to nothing.^{1LI 5:245.}

In the name of Him through whose solicitude is our existence and through whose guidance is our prostration. In the name of Him through whose friendship is our wholesomeness and through whose kind favor is our deliverance. In the name of Him through whose blessings is our life and through whose mercy is our salvation. He is the Lord who has no end, whose threshold cannot be passed, whose beautiful doing allows for no danger in disobedience, whose solicitude allows for no trace of sin. No one is more merciful and more generous toward the disobedient and the indigent.

O Lord, You who in Your divinity are one and in Your unity are without peer! In Your Essence and attributes You are separate from creation, qualified by elevation, united with magnificence, the basis of all seeing, the refuge of every beggar. You are God for all—whose friend are You?

You are in my eyes—will You not show Your face to me?

You are in my heart—will You not gaze upon me?

38:1 Ṣād

The word ṣād is the key to His name Self-Sufficient [ṣamad]. The Self-Sufficient is He who is hallowed beyond encompassment by the knowledge of the created thing and incomparable with comprehension by the recognitions.

He is saying, “I am the Self-Sufficient and have no need for anyone. I am the One and have no associate. I am the Compeller, and no one has the color of union with Me. I am the Owner of the kingdom, and no matter what I do, no one has the gall to protest or a way to fight.”

Abu’l-Ḥasan Kharaqānī said, “He cut up the hearts of the sincerely truthful and turned their livers to water through waiting, but He gave Himself to no one.”^{1These two paragraphs are taken from RA 574.}

Whence do water and dust become privy to talk of union with that which has no beginning and no end? What access do the attributes of the newly arrived things have to eternity? How can that which was not, then was, then was not, perceive the majestic presence of the Possessor of Majesty? That chevalier said it beautifully:

“They opened a door to the garden of union with You

so that people would fall into coveting You.

They plundered so many of the spirits of the great ones,

but not one put his foot at the top of Your street.”^{2The poem is not found in Sanāʾī’s printed divan.}

It has been said that the Real is the Self-Sufficient, and the meaning of the name is that the servants should lift up their needs to Him, consign their occupations to Him, and entrust themselves to Him; and He, in His unneediness, will look upon the needs of everyone and be sufficient for their every occupation.

When the tawḥīd-voicing, faithful servant has this belief, He will take as his shelter nothing but His threshold and will not disgrace himself at the door of any poor and paltry thing. “A created thing seeking aid from a created thing is like a prisoner seeking aid from a prisoner.”

It has come in the traditions that tomorrow a man of this community will be brought forward, and many sashes of unbelief will be removed from his waist—I mean sashes of the heart, not outward sashes, for anyone who attaches his heart to a creature has bound a sash around his heart.

O chevalier! There is no mount quicker than the mount of Muḥammad the Arab, and no playing field vaster than his playing field. Heaven and earth were made from the dust beneath his feet, God’s spirit was made to sit like a chamberlain at the edge of his carpet, and the Holy Spirit carried the banner of his sultanate on its shoulders. Despite all the greatness, status, and rank that were his, it was said to him, “O Muḥammad, beat the drum of your own incapacity! Say: ‘I do not own benefit for myself, or harm’ [7:188]. Say, ‘There is nothing in the hands of Muḥammad. The benefit and loss of the servants is only by the decree of the divine predetermination.’ Thus will it be known to the friends that the drink of tawḥīd cannot be mixed with mortal nature.”

“If anyone was worshiping Muḥammad, surely Muḥammad is dead. If anyone was worshiping God, surely He is the Living who does not die.”^{3The saying is by Abū Bakr (see under 3:79 and 3:144). It and the preceding three paragraphs are taken from RA 497.}

It has also been said that Ṣād is an oath sworn by the limpidness [ṣafāʾ] of the friends’ love: How exalted is the individual and how great the servant by the limpidness of whose love the Exalted Lord swears an oath! This is the broken-hearted and indigence-colored soul before whose indigence all the wealthy of the world are one speck. All the obedient acts of the obedient and all the beautiful deeds of the proximate are ransom to one instant of the burning of his indigence. He has no water on his liver and no utensils in his house; all he has is a burnt heart. His work in this world has not been taken care of, but how will that harm him? For the throne of his good fortune is placed in the garden of proximity, and the majesty of the Unity swears an oath by the limpidness of his love: “Ṣād!”

ʿAbdallāh Bustī was one of the great shaykhs. At the beginning of his desire when he was accepted by this talk, he held many title deeds against the people, but he gave them all back and absolved them of all liability. Then the thought of Mecca occurred to him. He consulted with his pir and asked for counsel. The desirer must have a pir, for it is impossible to walk on the road without a pir. The pir must be such that if the desirer should go ten times a day to the tavern, the pir should have no fear but should go after him and bring him out and be tender to him.

When ʿAbdallāh Bustī spoke of his thought about going to Mecca, the pir said, “That’s good, but be careful not to feel secure from your own soul.” ʿAbdallāh wrote this advice on his heart and set out on foot. He went from his house as far as Kufah, and then his soul wanted lawful fish. He made a pact with his soul that, if he should fulfill this desire, the soul would have no other wish until he reached Mecca.

In Kufah there was a donkey mill, and a man was sitting there. He said to him, “How much do you pay for this animal?” He said so much. ʿAbdallāh said, “Be a good man and let this animal out for a day and tie me in its place.” He gave himself for the wage of one silver dirham and went into the donkey mill and did the work of an animal. He took the dirham, bought bread and fish, and ate. Then he said to his soul, “For every wish you have, you must work one day in a donkey mill so that you may have the wish.”

O chevalier! You must put all the tools of your ability to work so that incapacity appears. When incapacity appears, all work will itself turn its face to you, for “The incapacity to perceive is perception.”^{4These four paragraphs are from RA 492-93.}

The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Alas the Friend who keeps on stirring up the dust of trial! Water is pouring from the springhead of my eyes. He is a fire who burns the spirit and heart, a teacher who teaches nothing but trial and iniquity. His hands are always bloody from killing lovers, for His room is not inside the street of well-being. Wherever He takes up residence, He wants the spirit as repast. Safety becomes lost in trial, detachment in preoccupation.”

38:35 He said, “My Lord, forgive me and give me a kingdom such as no one after me will have.”

Solomon did not seek the outward kingdom. Rather, he desired only to be king over his own soul, for the king in truth is he who is king over his own soul. Whoever is king over his own soul will not follow his caprice.^{1LI 5:256.}

Solomon said, “Lord God, just as You put the world’s creatures under my hand, so also put this soul under my hand so that I will not be obedient to it and will not go after its caprice. Obeying the soul and obeying the Real are opposites, and opposites do not come together.” That chevalier said it beautifully:

“With two kiblahs you can’t walk straight on the road of tawḥīd—

either the Friend’s approval, or your own caprice.” [DS 488]

Muṣṭafā always used to say, “O God, do not entrust us to our souls for the blink of an eye, or less than that.” All sorts of trial reached Joseph the Truthful from the well, the prison, and so on, but he never began to lament as he did from the commanding soul, when it was said, “Surely the soul commands to ugliness, except as my Lord has mercy” [12:53]. When Joseph said, “Receive me as a submitter” [12:101], he said so in fear of the commanding soul, not in fear of Satan. For, although Satan is the adversary, he wants disobedience from the person of faith, not unbelief. It is the soul that wants unbelief, so it strives for it and calls him to all sorts of caprice and innovation, trying to pull him into unbelief.

In the Qur’an, the Lord of the Worlds mentions two things without saying what they are. He mentions the soul, but He does not say what it is. He mentions this world, but He does not say what it is. The ulama of the religion explain this world with these words: “What blocks you from your Patron—that is your ‘this world.’” Whatever holds you back from God is this world. If you do not have tonight’s bread but you admire yourself, your self-admiration is this world. If you possess the kingdom of the East and the West and are occupied with God, that is not this world, but rather the afterworld.

As for the soul, it is what Muṣṭafā said: “Your worst enemy is your soul between your two sides.” The soul wants caprice, and the heart wants trial. The soul is Satan’s gazing place, the heart the All-Merciful’s gazing place. The soul is the devil’s tavern, the heart the storehouse of recognition. He placed the storehouse of recognition next to the enemy, but He kept it under His own guard and preserved it from the enemy.

He brought forth Moses and the Children of Israel and preserved them such that no one’s skirt became wet. He put Abraham into the fire but it did not burn one thread of his robe. In the same way, He placed the heart, which is the storehouse of recognition, next to the soul. Then He guarded and favored it so that the enemy could not touch it.

It has been narrated that ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Qays was one of the most excellent of worshipers. He made obligatory upon himself one thousand cycles of prayer every day. He would stand in prayer at the rising of the sun and keep on standing until late afternoon. Then he would turn away, his legs and feet swollen. He would say, “O soul, you were created either to worship or to command to ugliness. By God, I will not do any deed with you in which a bed takes a share of you.”

In his words, “such as no one after me may have,” he did not begrudge it to the prophets but to no one among the kings after me. He asked for a kingdom so as to rule over the people and make them be equitable one to another in order to put into effect the rightful due of God. He did not ask for it because of inclining toward this world. This is like the words of Joseph: “Set me over the storehouses of the earth” [12:55].^{2This paragraph is derived from LI 5:256.}

38:71 When thy Lord said to the angels, “I am creating a mortal of clay.”

From here to this surah’s end is the story of Adam and Iblis. A great deal has been said about the two, which I summarize here:

In terms of outwardness, a slip appeared from Adam and an act of disobedience from Iblis. It was said to Adam, “Do not eat the wheat,” and he ate it. It was said to Iblis, “Prostrate yourself,” and he did not do so. The capital of rejection and of acceptance, however, did not arise from their acts. It arose from the flow of the Pen and the decrees of Eternity. The Pen wrote felicity for Adam as a consequence of the eternal will. A support was found for that in his makeup, and his sin was consigned to that by way of excuse: He forgot, and We found in him no resoluteness [20:115].

In the case of Iblis, the Pen had written rejection and expulsion by the decree of the eternal will, so an ambuscade was made from his own makeup and his sin was consigned to himself: He refused and claimed to be great; he was one of the unbelievers [2:34]. A collar was made for the sake of cursing and, by the decree of beginningless rejection, it was fastened to the neck of his days. Thus, whenever a gem appeared from the crucible of his deeds, it turned out to be a discard from the hand of the assayer of knowledge. His deeds were discards and his worship became the cause of the curse. His obedience became the motivation for being driven out, and concerning the reality of his work, this expression was given: “No one stands up to the decree and no one contends with the Beginningless.”

Which lover of Yours do I not copy

and which night for You do I not weep?

Though the Adamite does not please You,

he has given You permission to shed his blood.^{1Up to this point, this passage is drawn from RA 459-60.}

In the world of acceptance Adam was like Iblis in the world of rejection. Wherever there are greetings and felicitations, they are turned toward Adam, and wherever there are cursing and expulsion, they are turned toward Iblis. The forelock of that cursed one is fastened to the hem of the resurrection not because of any bestowal of eminence. Rather, the divine goal is that whenever a child’s fingers should pick up a stone, he should throw the stone of cursing at his head: “A curse upon Iblis.”^{2This paragraph is inspired by RA 81, but the discussion there is about Muḥammad and Iblis, not Adam and Iblis.}

The pure ones of the empire and those given proximity to the Threshold were addressed by the All-Compelling Presence: “I have written the edict of dismissal and stamped the signet of rejection for one of you.” All of them turned into sorrow and burning.

Gabriel went before ʿAzāzīl, who today is called Iblis, and said, “If such a state appears, place your hand on my head.” He was saying, “Write this work for me.” He was giving an assurance to all of them and saying, “Let your hearts be at ease, for I will stand up for you.”

Then the permit came from the Exalted Threshold: “Prostrate yourselves before Adam!” [2:34]. That accursed one pulled back the reins of chieftainship, for he had the arrogance of I am better in his head:

38:76 I am better than he: Thou hast created me of fire and Thou hast created him of clay.

Iblis came forth with chieftainship and said that he was better than he. He reasoned but he went by the road of error in his reasoning. O accursed one! How do you say that fire is better than dust? Do you not know that fire is the cause of separation and dust the cause of union? Fire is the means of cutting off and dust the means of joining. Adam was of dust, so he joined, such that it was said about him, “Then his Lord chose him” [20:122]. Iblis was of fire, so he cut off, such that it was said to him, “Upon thee shall be My curse until the Day of Doom” [38:78].

When dust becomes wet, it accepts imprints. When fire shoots up, it burns all the imprints. Thus the imprint of Iblis’s recognition was burnt away, and the imprint of recognition flamed up in the heart of Adam and the Adamites. Those—He wrote faith in their hearts [58:22].

A dervish, who was pain-stricken, disorderly, and having lost his head and feet, went to see Abū Yazīd Basṭāmī. He came like a traveler, and because of his ecstasy said, “O Bāyazīd, what would it matter if there was none of this impudent dust?”

Abū Yazīd let go of himself and shouted at the dervish: “Were there no dust, the breast would have no burning! Were there no dust, the religion would have no sorrow and joy! Were there no dust, the fire of passion would not flame up! Were there no dust, who would smell the scent of beginningless love? Were there no dust, who would be the familiar of the Endless?

“O dervish, Iblis’s curse is a trace of the perfection of the majesty of dust. Seraphiel’s trumpet was prepared for the sake of the yearning of dust. The questioning by Nakīr and Munkar is passion’s deputy in the breast of dust. Riḍwān with all the serving boys and servants is but dust under the feet of dust. Beginningless welcome is a gift and robe for dust. The request from the Unseen was prepared in the name of dust. The lordly attributes are the hairdresser of the beauty of dust. The divine love is the food of the secret cores of dust. The attributes of Eternity are the supplies and provisions for the road of dust. The pure, incomparable Essence is witnessed by the hearts of dust.”^{1The words ascribed here to Abū Yazīd are abbreviated from RA 292-93, where Abū Yazīd is not mentioned.}

Before you asked I asked for you,

all the world I adorned for you.

Thousands in the city are in love with Me—

live in joy, I rose up for you.