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ABD AL-KARIM AL-JILI: Tawid, Transcendence and Immanence – Dr Nicholas Lo Polito [University of Birmingham] - The Cave and the Inscription

SECTION 1

 (8) It has been reported [by Tradition] about the Prophet - may God bless and grant salvation to him - that he said, “All that is contained in the revealed books is contained in the Qur’an, and all that is contained in the Qur’an is contained in the Fati_a, and all that is contained in the Fati_a is contained in [the formula] In the Name of God the All Compassionate and Most Merciful”.

9) It has also been reported that “all that is contained in [the formula] In the Name of God the All Compassionate and Most Merciful is contained in the [letter] Ba’ and all that is contained in the Ba’ is contained in the dot that is under the Ba’.” Some of the masters (_Arifun) have said that [the formula] In the Name of God [pronounced] by a master is the equivalent of the [word] Be! (Kun) [pronounced] by God.

(10) [The reader] should know that the discussion on [the formula] In the Name of God the All Compassionate and Most Merciful presents many perspectives - such as syntax, morphology, language and the debate within it on the subject of the letters, their forms, their nature, their shape, their composition and their privileges over the rest of the letters found in the Fati_a of the [Sacred] Book, their combination within it and the peculiarities of the letters found in the Ba’; as well as the debate about them concerning their benefits and their secrets. We are not interested in that, but our discussion on this subject will be from the perspective of their true sense and meaning in all that befits the Source of all truth - may He be praised and exalted. The elements of this debate are interdependent because the purpose of these principles is the recognition of God - may He be praised and exalted. Therefore, every time that the flow of His permanent outpouring will be renewed [as] in [the exhaling] of breaths, the Trustworthy Soul will descend onto the heart of the Tablet.

(11) You [should] know that the dot that is under the Ba’ is the beginning of every sura from the Book of God - may He be exalted. Because the letter is made of the dot it is inevitable for each sura to begin with a letter and for each letter to begin with a dot. It follows from this that the dot is the beginning of every sura from the Book of God – may He be exalted. Being the dot as we have indicated, then the relationship between [the dot] and the Ba’ is complete and perfect for the explanation that follows: the Ba’ is at the beginning of all suwar since the Basmala is required in every sura, even the sura [called] “Immunity” Indeed the Ba’ is the first letter in it. Therefore the whole Qur’an is [contained] in every sura of the Book of God - may He be exalted - for the reason previously mentioned that the whole Qur’an is [contained] in the Fati_a, which is [contained] in the Basmala, which is [contained] in the Ba’, which is [contained] in the dot.

In the same way God - may He be praised and exalted - is totally present in everyone: He is irreplaceable and indivisible. Therefore the dot points to the essence of God - may He be exalted - unseen behind the canopy of His treasure, [being that the way] in which He appears to His creation.

(12) Don’t you realize that you can see the dot but you can’t read it at all because of its muteness and its freedom from the restrictions of phonetics? Purest soul of the letters that originate from all [possible vocal] articulations. Imagine dividing [the letter Ba’ into its components] then the “curl” part [of the letter] warns you of what [may] be coming but you will be reading the dot, taking into consideration the joining [of the letter with other letters forming a given word]. Let’s take now the case of the letter Ta’ [_], the one with two dots: if you add to it a dot, you will call it Tha’ [             ] the one with three dots. Then you would have read nothing else but the dot, because the Ba’, the Ta’ with two dots and [the Tha’] with three dots having the same shape cannot be read except in virtue of their dots. If they could be read independently [without the dots], then the shape of each one would differ from that of the other. Instead it is because of the dot that they are distinguishable and nothing else is being read in the letter but the dot. In the same way nothing can be distinguished in creation except God. And as I can distinguish God from creation, I can also distinguish it from God.

The dot however in some letters is more distinguishable than in others. In fact it appears in some as an addition: it appears to complete such letters, such in the case of the dotted letters - indeed it completes them. In some [however] it seems to be like their essence, as it is the case with the Alif [] and the un-dotted letters. Because the Alif is made up of the dot, and for this reason it is superior to the Ba’, given that the dot is manifested in its essence, while in the Ba’ it appears as a completion expressed as the merger [of two elements]. Because the dot is like the banner of the letter, united to the letter. This unity however also reveals [their] difference, this being the separation that you see between the letter and the dot. Whereas the Alif has a collocation of its own. Therefore the Alif is visible by itself in every letter. For example you can say that the Ba’ is an outstretched Alif, and the Jim [_] is an Alif crooked at both ends,

(13) and the Dal [_] is an Alif bent in the middle. In the composition of each letter the Alif has the same role that the dot has, inasmuch as every letter is made of the dot. To each letter the dot is like a simple atom and the letter like a body made of [atoms]. And the role of the Alif with its shape is the same as that of the dot. Thus they make up the letters.

As we mentioned before, the Ba’ is an outstretched Alif. Likewise, the world in its entirety was created out of the Muhammadan reality (Al-_aqiqa al-mu_ammadiyya). It can be inferred from this, according to what Jabir reports in the Hadith, that God - may He be exalted - created the Prophet’s soul - may God bless and grant salvation to him and his family - from His own being and created the world in its entirety from the soul of Muhammad - may God bless and grant salvation to him. Therefore Muhammad – may God bless and grant salvation to him - is, among the things created in His name, the outward expression of divine manifestations.

(14) Don’t you see that he - may God bless and grant salvation to him - travelled by night with his body up to the Throne - the abode of the All Compassionate?

For the Alif and the rest of the un-dotted letters that are just like it, the dot appears in them in its essence. As for [the dot’s] outward manifestations in the Alif, they are  expressed in its sum: since the dot has no dimension except for one degree, therefore if two dots are joined together they form an Alif, and the Alif seeks one dimension, namely length.

Because there are three dimensions: length, width and depth or thickness. The rest of the letters are made of more than one dimension. Such as in the case of the Jim, for indeed in its head there is length and in its root thickness. Or in the case of the Kaf [ ]for indeed in its head there is length and in the middle between the head and its first root there is width and in the partition between the two roots there is thickness. Therefore it has three dimensions. Every letter necessarily has two or three dimensions. Except for the Alif. The Alif therefore is closer to the dot because the dot has no dimension. The relation of the Alif to the [other] un-dotted letters is like the relation of Muhammad - may God bless and grant salvation to him - to the [other] prophets and possessors of perfect kindness. For this reason the Alif has received priority over all other letters.

(15) Think and ponder. From among the letters some will have the dot on top while [the letter] is underneath. This is the condition by which you do not see anything without [having seen] God before.

From among the letters others will have the dot underneath. This is the condition by which you can’t see anything without [seeing] God beyond.

From among the letters still others will have the dot in the middle; such is the case with the white dot in the heart of the [letters] Mim [_], Waw [_] and similar [letters]. This is the place where you do not see anything except God within it. This is the reason why it is rendered hollow: because it is a spine in whose stomach there is something other than itself. Therefore, the circle of the head of the Mim is the place where you cannot see anything, while its white dot is where you can only see God. The Alif is instead the place where “those who pledge their allegiance to you indeed (Innama) pledge their allegiance to God”.

It is said about the meaning of innama that it has the same value of ma illa, and its interpretation is that those who pledge their allegiance to you, do not pledge their allegiance except to God. It is well known that Muhammad - may God bless and grant salvation to him - received pledges of allegiance, and God bore witness to Himself that those pledges were actually made to no other than God. As if saying that you were not Muhammad when you received pledges of allegiance, but indeed, you were God concealed, because truly they were making their pledges to God. And this is what vicariousness means. Don’t you see how appropriate it is for the Messenger of God – may God bless and grant salvation to him - or the envoy of the king to say to whomever is taking his place, “Indeed you have taken the place of the king”. Likewise the king will tell those to whom he has dispatched his envoy, “Don’t assume that he is just so and so; indeed he is me”, thus emphasizing with them obedience to himself.