الباب الثالث في الصفة مطلقاً
On the Attribute, absolutely (al-Ṣifa muṭlaqan)
editorial & collation note
Two-witness collated, staged 2026-06-03. Bāb 3 of the foundational opening band (al-Ṣifa, the Attribute absolutely). Witness-2 (ibnalarabi.com id=6) clean of navigation chrome; the trailing site-search widget 'al-baḥth fī naṣṣ al-kitāb' EXCLUDED. Structurally a mirror of Bāb 2: as Bāb 2 analyzed the Name 'Allāh' letter by letter, this chapter analyzes its descriptive counterpart 'al-Raḥmān' -- its seven letters read as the seven self-related Names (Life, Knowledge, Power, Will, Hearing, Sight, Speech). Contains a 2-verse nasīb-qaṣīda (§31-32). Several witness OCR garbles where kāf is mis-scanned as an alif-like glyph (kalaḥad→ka-l-Aḥad §8; āma→kamā; āyf→kayf §43; ālāmuhu→kalāmuhu §44; wakn→wa-kāna) are restored to sense, and one clear dittography (the letter-spelling principle with its bāʾ/jīm examples is stated twice in the witness) is collapsed and noted at §40. al-Jīlī closes (§57) with the same self-citation to his al-Kahf wa-l-Raqīm as Bāb 2. No lossy drop of authorial prose.
الصفة ما تبلغك حالة الموصوف: أي ما توصل إلى فهمك معرفة حاله، وتكيّفه عندك، وتجمعه في وهمك، وتوضحه في فكرك، وتقرّبه في عقلك، فتذوق حالة الموصوف بصفته، ولو قسته بك ووزنته في نفسك، فحينئذ إما أن يميل الطبع إليه لوجود الملائم، وإما أن ينفر لذوق المخالف، فافهم.
The attribute (al-ṣifa) is that which conveys to you the state of the described: that is, what brings to your understanding the knowledge of its state, gives it form for you, gathers it in your estimation, clarifies it in your cogitation, and brings it near in your intellect -- so that you taste the state of the described by its attribute, even were you to measure it against yourself and weigh it within yourself. Then either [your] nature inclines toward it, for the presence of the congenial, or it recoils, at the taste of the uncongenial. So understand.
وتأمّله وذقه ليُختم في سمعك بطابع رحمنٍ جمعك، ولا يمنعك هذا القشر، فهو على اللبّ حجاب وعلى الوجه نقاب.
And ponder it and taste it, that it may be sealed in your hearing with the seal of an All-Merciful who gathered you; and let not this husk hinder you -- for it is, over the kernel, a veil, and over the face, a covering.
ثم إن الصفة تابعة للموصوف، أي لا تتصف بصفات غيرك ولا بصفات نفسك ولا بنعتك، ولا تكون منه على شيء إلاَّ إذا علمت أنك عين ذلك الموصوف، وتحققت أنك العليم، فحينئذ العلم تابع لك ضرورة، لا تحتاج فيه إلى زيادة تأكيد، لأن الصفة متعلقة بالموصوف تابعة له، توجد بوجود الموصوف وتُفقد بانعدامه.
Then [know that] the attribute is subordinate to the described -- that is, you are not [truly] qualified by the attributes of another, nor by the attributes of your [own lower] self, nor by your [mere] descriptor; nor are you [established] upon anything of it except when you know that you are the very [reality of] that described, and realize that you are the All-Knowing. Then knowledge is, of necessity, subordinate to you, [and] you need no further confirmation in it -- because the attribute is bound to the described and subordinate to it: it exists by the existence of the described and is lost by its non-existence.
والصفة عند علماء العربية على نوعين: صفة فضائلية، وصفة فاضلية.
And the attribute, with the scholars of Arabic, is of two kinds: an [intrinsic] excellence-attribute (faḍāʾiliyya), and a [transitive] excelling-attribute (fāḍiliyya).
فالفضائلية هي التي تتعلق بذات الإنسان كالحياة، والفاضلية هي التي تتعلق به وبخارجٍ عنه كالكرم وأمثال ذلك.
The excellence-attribute is that which pertains to the very essence of the human, like life; and the excelling-attribute is that which pertains to him and to something external to him, like generosity and the like.
وقال المحققون: أسماء الحق تعالى على قسمين -- يعني الأسماء التي تفيد في نفسها وصفاً، فهي عند النحاة أسماء نعتية:
And the verifiers said: the Names of the Real (exalted is He) are of two divisions -- meaning the names that yield, in themselves, a description (so that, with the grammarians, they are adjectival names):
القسم الأول: هي الذاتية، كالأحد والواحد والفرد والصمد، والعظيم والحيّ والعزيز والكبير والمتعال، وأشباه ذلك.
The first division: the essential [names] (al-dhātiyya) -- such as the One (al-Aḥad), the Unique (al-Wāḥid), the Single (al-Fard), the Eternal-Refuge (al-Ṣamad), the Magnificent (al-ʿAẓīm), the Living (al-Ḥayy), the Mighty (al-ʿAzīz), the Great (al-Kabīr), the Most High (al-Mutaʿāl), and the like of that.
القسم الثاني: هي الصفاتية، كالعلم والقدرة، ولو كانت من الأوصاف النفسية كالمعطي والخلاق، ولو كانت من الأفعالية. وأصل الوصف في الصفات الإلهية اسمه الرحمن، فإنه مقابل لاسم الله في الحيطة والشمول، والفرق بينهما أن الرحمن مع جمعه وعمومه مظهر للوصفية، والله مظهر للاسمية.
The second division: the attributive [names] (al-ṣifātiyya) -- like Knowledge and Power; and [so too] even if they be of the self-related qualities (al-nafsiyya), like the Giver (al-Muʿṭī) and the Creator (al-Khallāq), and even if they be of the act-related (al-fiʿliyya). And the root of description, among the divine attributes, is His name 'the All-Merciful' (al-Raḥmān) -- for it is the counterpart of the name 'Allāh' in encompassment and comprehensiveness; and the difference between the two is that al-Raḥmān, together with its gathering and its generality, is a locus-of-manifestation for descriptivity (al-waṣfiyya), while 'Allāh' is a locus-of-manifestation for nominality (al-ismiyya).
واعلم أن الرحمن علمٌ على ذات المرتبة العلية من الوجود، بشرط الشمول للكمال المستوعب الذي لا نقص فيه، من غير نظر إلى الخلق. واسمه تعالى الله علمٌ على ذات واجب الوجود، لكن بشرط الشمول للكمال الحقّي، والعموم للوصف الخلقي.
And know that 'the All-Merciful' is a proper name (ʿalam) for the Essence of the lofty rank of existence, on condition of [its] comprehensiveness of the all-encompassing perfection in which there is no deficiency, without regard to the creation. And His name (exalted is He) 'Allāh' is a proper name for the Essence of the Necessary-of-Existence, but on condition of [its] comprehensiveness of the Real perfection and [its] generality over the creaturely description.
فالله عام، والرحمن خاص -- أعني اسمه الرحمن مختص بالكمالات الإلهية، واسمه الله شامل للحق والخلق. ومتى تخصّص الرحمن بكمالٍ من الكمالات، انتقل معناه من محله إلى اسمٍ لائقٍ بذلك الكمال، كاسمه الربّ والملك.
So 'Allāh' is general, and 'al-Raḥmān' is particular -- I mean, His name 'al-Raḥmān' is particular to the divine perfections, while His name 'Allāh' comprehends [both] the Real and the creation. And whenever 'al-Raḥmān' becomes specified by [some] one perfection of the perfections, its meaning passes from its [own] locus to a name befitting that perfection -- like His name 'the Lord' (al-Rabb) and 'the Sovereign' (al-Malik),
وأمثال ذلك، فإن كلاً من هذه الأسماء ينحصر معناه على ما يعطيه وصفه من المرتبة، بخلاف اسمه الرحمن، فإن مفهوم معناه ذو الكمال المستوعب لجميع الكمالات، فهو صفة جامعة لجميع الصفات الإلهية.
and the like of that; for each of these names has its meaning confined to what its description yields of [its particular] rank -- unlike His name 'al-Raḥmān,' whose conceived meaning is possessed of the perfection that encompasses all the perfections; so it is an attribute that gathers all the divine attributes.
واعلم أن الصفة عند المحقق هي التي لا تُدرك وليس لها غاية، بخلاف الذات، فإنه يُدركها ويعلم أنها ذات الله تعالى، ولكن لا يُدرك ما لصفاتها من مقتضيات الكمال، فهو على بيّنة من ذات الله ولكن على غير بيّنة من الصفات.
And know that the attribute, with the verifier, is that which is not grasped and has no end -- unlike the Essence, for he [does] grasp it and knows that it is the Essence of God (exalted is He); but he does not grasp what its attributes [entail] of the requisites of perfection. So he is upon a clear proof of the Essence of God, but upon no clear proof of the Attributes.
مثاله أن العبد إذا ترقّى من المرتبة الكونية إلى المرتبة القدسية، وكُشف له عنه، علم أن ذات الله تعالى هي عين ذاته، فقد أدرك الذات وعلمها. وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: "من عرف نفسه فقد عرف ربّه". وبقي عليه أن يعلم ما لهذه الذات من الصفات.
Its example: when the servant ascends from the cosmic rank to the holy rank, and it is unveiled to him concerning Him, he knows that the Essence of God (exalted is He) is the very [reality of] his [own] essence -- so he has grasped the Essence and known it. And he (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: 'Whoever knows himself has known his Lord.' And there remains for him [yet] to know what attributes belong to this Essence.
كما هو لها بحقّ حقيقة، مما اتصفت الذات الإلهية بأوصافها، ولا سبيل إلى درك غاية الصفة البتة. مثاله في الصفة العلمية: إذا حصّلها العبد الإلهي، فإنه لا يُدرك منها على التفصيل إلاَّ القدر الذي ينزل على قلبه.
-- as [those attributes truly] belong to it, by the truth of [its] reality, of what the divine Essence is qualified by, of its qualities; and there is no way, ever, to apprehend the end of the attribute. Its example, in the attribute of knowledge: when the divine servant attains it, he grasps of it, in detail, only the measure that descends upon his heart.
فأدرك من الصفة العلمية مثلاً كم في الوجود رجلاً، وبقي عليه أن يعلم أسماءهم كلاً على حدته، فإن علم بقي عليه أوصافهم، ثم ذواتهم، ثم أنفاسهم، ثم حالاتهم، إلى ما لا يتناهى.
So he grasps, of the attribute of knowledge, for example, how many men are in existence; and there remains for him to know their names, each one separately; and if he knows [those], there remain for him their qualities, then their essences, then their breaths, then their states -- unto what has no end.
وكذلك باقي الصفات، كل واحدة بهذه المثابة، وهذا لا سبيل إلى استيعابه مفصّلاً، ولكن على سبيل الإجمال، فإنه يحصل من حيث الذات لدركه ذاته، فلا يفوته شيء من ذلك. فإذن ما المُدرَكة إلاَّ الذات، وما غير المُدرَكة إلاَّ الصفات.
And likewise the rest of the attributes, each one in this same standing; and there is no way to encompass this in detail, but [only] by way of summary -- for it is attained, from the side of the Essence, by his apprehending his [own] essence, so that nothing of that escapes him. So, then, the grasped is nothing but the Essence, and the ungrasped is nothing but the Attributes.
لأن عدم التناهي هو من صفات الذات لا من الذات، فالذات مُدرَكة معلومة محقّقة، والصفات مجهولة غير متناهية.
because non-finitude is of the attributes of the Essence, not of the Essence [itself]; so the Essence is grasped, known, [and] realized, while the Attributes are unknown, unending.
وكثير من أهل الله حُجبوا بهذه المسألة، فإنهم لما كشف الله لهم عن ذاته أنه هم، طلبوا إدراك صفاته فلم يجدوها من أنفسهم فأنكروه، فلم يجيبوه إذ ناداهم، ولم يعبدوه إذ قال لموساهم: {إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي} [طه: 14].
And many of the people of God were veiled by this question; for when God unveiled to them, concerning His Essence, that it is they, they sought the grasping of His attributes and did not find them from themselves, so they denied Him -- and so did not answer Him when He called them, and did not worship Him when He said to their Moses: 'Truly I am God; there is no god but I, so worship Me' (20:14, Ṭā Hā).
وقالوا له: لستَ إلاَّ المخلوق. لأنهم ما اعتقدوا في الحق أن تُدرك ذاته وتُجهل صفاته، وكان التجلي على خلاف المعتقد فحصل الإنكار.
And they said to it [the theophany]: 'You are nothing but the creature' -- because they did not believe, concerning the Real, that His Essence could be grasped while His attributes [remained] unknown; and the self-disclosure was contrary to [their] belief, so denial resulted.
وظنوا أن الصفات تُدرك في الذات شهوداً كما تُدرك الذات، ولم يعلموا أن هذا ممتنع حتى في المخلوق.
And they supposed that the attributes are grasped in the Essence by [direct] witnessing, as the Essence is grasped; and they did not know that this is impossible -- even in the creature.
لأنك إنما ترى وتعاين منك ذاتك.
Because you [yourself] only see and behold, of yourself, your [own] essence.
وأما ما فيك من صفة الشجاعة والسخاوة والعلم، فإنه لا يُدرك بشهود، بل يبرز منك شيئاً فشيئاً على قدرٍ معلوم، فإذا برزت الصفة وشوهد منها هذا الأثر، حُكم لك بهذا. وإلا فتلك الصفات جميعها منطوية فيك، غير مُدرَكة ولا مشهودة، لكن العقل ينسبها إليك بطريق العادة، وجرياً على القانون المفهوم.
But what is in you of the attribute of courage, generosity, and knowledge is not grasped by [direct] witnessing; rather, it comes forth from you, little by little, in a known measure. So when the attribute comes forth and this trace of it is witnessed, [the attribute] is adjudged to you. Otherwise, those attributes are all folded up within you, neither grasped nor witnessed -- but the intellect ascribes them to you by way of habit, [running] upon the understood rule.
واعلم أن إدراك الذات العلية هو أن تعلم بطريق الكشف الإلهي أنك إياه وهو إياك، وأن لا اتحاد ولا حلول، وأن العبد عبد والربّ ربّ، ولا يصير العبد ربّاً ولا الربّ عبداً. فإذا عرفت هذا القدر بطريق الذوق والكشف الإلهي الذي هو فوق العلم والعيان، ولا يكون ذلك إلاَّ بعد السحق والمحق الذاتي.
And know that the grasping of the lofty Essence is that you know, by way of divine unveiling, that you are He and He is you -- and [yet] that there is no union (lā ittiḥād) and no indwelling (lā ḥulūl); and that the servant is servant and the Lord is Lord, and the servant does not become Lord, nor the Lord servant. So [strive] until you know this measure by way of [direct] tasting and the divine unveiling that is above [discursive] knowledge and [even] direct vision -- and that does not come to be except after the essential crushing (al-saḥq) and effacing (al-maḥq).
وعلامة هذا الكشف أن يفنى أولاً عن نفسه بظهور ربّه، ثم يفنى. وأما كون ما لهويتك من العلم والقدرة والسمع والبصر والعظمة والقهر والكبرياء وأمثال ذلك، فإن ما هو من مدارك الصفات يُدرك منه كلٌّ من الذاتيين على قدر قوة عزمه وعلوّ همته ودخول علمه، فقل ما شئت:
And the mark of this unveiling is that he is annihilated, first, from his [own] self by the appearing of his Lord, then is [further] annihilated [from his very annihilation]. As for what belongs to your ipseity of knowledge, power, hearing, sight, grandeur, subjugation, pride, and the like -- that which is of the [graspable] apprehensions of the attributes, each of the people of the Essence grasps of it according to the strength of his resolve, the loftiness of his aspiration, and the penetration of his knowledge. So say what you wish:
إن قلت: إن الذات لا تُدرك، فباعتبار أنها عين الصفات، وإلى هذا المعنى أشار بقوله: {لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ} [الأنعام: 103]، لأن الأبصار من الصفات، فمن لم يُدرك الصفة لم يُدرك الذات.
If you say that the Essence is not grasped, [then it is] by the consideration that it is the very [reality of] the Attributes; and to this meaning He pointed by His saying: 'Sights do not grasp Him' (6:103, al-Anʿām) -- because sights are of the attributes, so whoever does not grasp the attribute does not grasp the Essence.
وإن قلت: إنها تُدرك، فباعتبار ما قد سبق.
And if you say that it [the Essence] is grasped, [then it is] by the consideration of what has [already] preceded.
وهذه مسألة خفيت على كثيرين من أهل الله تعالى، فلم يتحدّث عليها أحدٌ قبلي، فليُتأمّل فيها، فهي من نوادر الوقت. وهذا مجلى من كُشف له عنه ذاق لذّة اتصاف الله بأوصافه.
And this is a question that was hidden from many of the people of God (exalted is He); no one spoke upon it before me, so let it be pondered, for it is among the rarities of the age. And this is a disclosure-site [such] that whoever has it unveiled to him tastes the sweetness of God's being-qualified by His qualities.
فإذا ترقّى فيه بلغ إلى معرفة كيفية الاتصاف بأوصافه، وفيه التناهي والدخول، فافهم.
So when he ascends in it, he reaches the knowledge of the manner of [the Essence's] being-qualified by His qualities -- and in it are [both] the reaching-of-an-end and the entering. So understand.
على أنه لا يفهمه إلاَّ المتهيّئون للكمال، المقرّبون من ذي الجلال والإكرام. وكم دون هذا المقام من أسمرَ وحسام.
Yet none understand it but those prepared for perfection, the ones brought near to the Possessor of Majesty and Munificence. And how many [a barrier], short of this station, of a tawny [spear] and a sword!
أُولِعَ قلبي من زَرودَ بمائه ....... ويا وَلَهي كم مات ثمَّةَ والِعُ
My heart was made to love, of Zarūd, its water; / and O my distraction -- how many a doting lover died there!
ولي طمعٌ بين الأجارعِ عهدُه ....... قديمٌ وكم خابت هناك المطامعُ
And I have a longing, among the sandy tracts, whose covenant / is ancient -- and how many longings were disappointed there!
هذا قد مضى، ولنا في هذا المعنى كلامٌ آخر، وهو مضادٌّ للمعنى الأول في ظاهر اللفظ، وإلاَّ فلا تضادّ، لأن متضادات الحقائق جميعها كلها متحدة المعنى في الحقيقة.
This has passed; and we have, in this meaning, another discourse, which is contrary to the first meaning in the outward [sense] of the expression -- otherwise there is no contradiction, because the contraries of the realities, all of them entirely, are united in meaning in [their] reality.
وذلك أن الصفات من حيث الإطلاق هي معانٍ معلومة، والذات هي أمرٌ مجهول، فالمعاني المعلومة أولى بالإدراك من الأمر المجهول.
And that is because the attributes, from the standpoint of [their] absoluteness, are known meanings, while the Essence is an unknown matter; so the known meanings are worthier of grasping than the unknown matter.
فإذاً قد صحّ عدم الإدراك فيها -- أعني في الصفات -- فلا سبيل إلى إدراك الذات بوجه من الوجوه، فعلى الحقيقة لا صفاته مُدرَكة ولا ذاته.
So then, [since] the absence of grasping has been established in them -- I mean, in the attributes -- there is no way to the grasping of the Essence in any respect; so, in reality, neither His attributes are grasped nor His Essence.
واعلم أن اسمه الرحمن على وزن فعلان، وهو يكون في اللغة لقوّة اتصاف المتصف به وظهوره عليه، ولذا وسعت رحمته كل شيء، حتى مآل أمر أهل النار إلى الرحمة.
And know that His name 'al-Raḥmān' is on the pattern 'faʿlān,' which is [used], in the language, for the strength of the being-qualified of the one qualified by it, and its appearing upon him; and for this His mercy 'embraced everything,' so that the ultimate end of the affair of the people of the Fire [comes] to mercy.
واعلم أن هذا الاسم تحته جميع الأسماء الإلهية النفسية، وهي سبعة: الحياة والعلم والقدرة والإرادة والسمع والبصر والكلام.
And know that beneath this Name [al-Raḥmān] are all the self-related divine Names; and they are seven: Life, Knowledge, Power, Will, Hearing, Sight, and Speech.
فأحرفه سبعة:
So its letters are seven [alif, lām, rāʾ, ḥāʾ, mīm, alif, nūn]:
الألف وهي الحياة: ألا ترى إلى سريان حياة الله في جميع الأشياء، فكانت قائمة به، وإذا الألف سار بنفسه في جميع الأحرف، حتى أنه ما ثَمَّ حرفٌ إلاَّ والألف سارٍ فيه.
The alif -- and it is Life: do you not see the flowing of the life of God in all things, so that they are subsistent by Him? And likewise the alif courses, by itself, in all the letters -- so that there is no letter but that the alif courses in it.
وأما لفظاً، فإن الحرف إذا بسطته وجدت الألف من بسائطه أو من بسائط بسائطه، ولا سبيل إلى أن تفقده. فالباء مثلاً إذا بسطته قلت: باء، فظهرت الألف. والجيم ألفٌ معوجّة الطرفين، وإذا بسطته قلت: جيم، ياء، ميم، والياء توجد فيها الألف، والميم كذلك، وجميع الأحرف على هذا المثال.
And as for [the level of] pronunciation: when you spell out the letter, you find the alif among its constituents, or among the constituents of its constituents -- and there is no way for you to lose it. The bāʾ, for example, when you spell it out, you say 'bāʾ,' so the alif appears. And the jīm is an alif bent at its two ends; and when you spell it out, you say 'jīm, yāʾ, mīm,' and the yāʾ -- the alif is found in it, and the mīm likewise; and all the letters [are] upon this pattern.
فكان حرف الألف مظهر الحياة الرحمانية السارية في الموجودات.
So the letter alif is the locus-of-manifestation of the All-Merciful life flowing in the existents.
واللام مظهر العلم، فمحلّ قائمة اللام علمُه بنفسه، ومحلّ تعريفه علمُه بالمخلوقات.
And the lām is the locus-of-manifestation of Knowledge: so the locus of the upright [stroke] of the lām is His knowledge of Himself, and the locus of its [definite-article] determination is His knowledge of the creatures.
والراء مظهر القدرة المُبرِزة من كون العدم إلى ظهور الوجود، فترى ما كان يُعلم، وتُواجِد ما كان يُعدَم. والحاء مظهر الإرادة، ومحلها غيب الغيب؛ ألا ترى إلى حرف الحاء كيف هو من آخر الحلق إلى ما يلي الصدر، والإرادة كذلك مجهولة في نفس الله، فلا يُعلم ولا يُدرى ماذا يريد فيقضي به، فالإرادة غيبٌ محض.
And the rāʾ is the locus-of-manifestation of Power, which brings forth from the state of non-existence to the appearing of existence: so you see what [formerly] was [only] known, and find present what [formerly] was non-existent. And the ḥāʾ is the locus-of-manifestation of Will, and its locus is the unseen of the unseen (ghayb al-ghayb); do you not see the letter ḥāʾ -- how it is [articulated] from the depth of the throat to what adjoins the chest? -- and the Will is likewise unknown in the Self of God: it is not known, nor [can it] be perceived, what He wills, [that] He may decree it; so the Will is pure unseen.
والميم مظهر السمع، ألا تراه شفوياً من ظاهر الفم، إذ لا يُسمع إلاَّ ما يُقال، وما قيل فهو ظاهر، سواء كان القول لفظياً أو حالياً. فدائرة رأس الميم -- المشابهة لها الهوية -- محل سماعه كلامه، لأن الدائرة يعود آخرها إلى المحل الذي ابتدأت منه، وكلامه فمنه ابتدأ وإليه يعود.
And the mīm is the locus-of-manifestation of Hearing: do you not see it [to be] labial, from the outward of the mouth? -- since nothing is heard except what is uttered, and what is uttered is outward, whether the utterance be verbal or [by] state. So the loop at the head of the mīm -- to which the Ipseity is likened -- is the locus of His hearing of His [own] speech; because the circle returns, its end, to the place from which it began; and His speech -- from Him it began, and to Him it returns.
وأما تعريفُه الميمَ فمحل سماعه لكلام الموجودات، حالياً كان أو مقالياً.
And as for the determination of the mīm, it is the locus of His hearing of the speech of the existents -- whether [their speech] be by [their] state or by [their] utterance.
وأما الألف التي بين الميم والنون فمظهر البصر، وله من الأعداد الواحد، وهو إشارة إلى أن الحق سبحانه وتعالى لا يُرى إلاَّ بذاته.
And as for the alif that is between the mīm and the nūn, it is the locus-of-manifestation of Sight; and to it, of numbers, [belongs] the One -- and that is an indication that the Real (glory be to Him, exalted is He) is not seen except by His [own] Essence.
وكان الألف مسقطاً في الكتابة، مثبتاً في اللفظ، فسقوطه إشارة إلى أن الحق سبحانه وتعالى لا يرى المخلوقات إلاَّ من نفسه، فليست بغيرٍ له. وإثباته في اللفظ إشارة إلى تمييز الحق بذاته في ذاته عن المخلوقات، وتقدّسه وتعاليه عن أوصافهم وما هم عليه من الذلّة والنقص.
And the alif [here] is dropped in the writing, fixed in the pronunciation: so its dropping is an indication that the Real (glory be to Him, exalted is He) does not see the creatures except from Himself -- so they are not 'other' than Him; and its being fixed in pronunciation is an indication of the distinction of the Real, by His Essence, in His Essence, from the creatures, and His being hallowed and exalted above their qualities and the lowliness and deficiency they are upon.
وأما النون فهو مظهر لكلامه سبحانه وتعالى، قال الله تعالى: {ن وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ} [القلم: 1] -- وكناية عن اللوح المحفوظ، فهو كتاب الله الذي قال فيه: {مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِن شَيْءٍ} [الأنعام: 38] -- وكتابه كلامه.
And as for the nūn, it is a locus-of-manifestation for His speech (glory be to Him, exalted is He). God (exalted is He) said: 'Nūn. By the Pen and what they inscribe' (68:1, al-Qalam) -- and [it is] a metonym for the Preserved Tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ), which is the Book of God concerning which He said: 'We have neglected nothing in the Book' (6:38, al-Anʿām) -- and His Book is His speech.
واعلم أن النون عبارة عن انتقاش صور المخلوقات بأحوالها وأوصافها كما هي عليه جملةً واحدة، وذلك الانتقاش هو عبارة عن كلمة الله تعالى، فهي تكون على حسب ما جرى به القلم في اللوح، الذي هو "كن" لها، فهو تحت حيطة "كن"، مظهرٌ لكلمة الحضرة، لأن كل ما يصدر من لفظة "كن" فهو تحت حيطة اللوح المحفوظ.
And know that the nūn is an expression for the inscription of the forms of the creatures -- with their states and their qualities, just as they are -- [all] in a single sum; and that inscription is an expression for the Word of God (exalted is He). So it comes to be according to what the Pen has run with in the Tablet, which is the 'Be!' (kun) for it; so it is under the encompassment of 'Be!', a locus-of-manifestation for the Word of the Presence -- because everything that issues from the utterance 'Be!' is under the encompassment of the Preserved Tablet.
فلهذا قلنا: إن النون مظهر كلام الله تعالى.
And for this we said: the nūn is the locus-of-manifestation of the speech of God (exalted is He).
واعلم أن النقطة التي فوق النون هي إشارة إلى ذات الله تعالى الظاهرة بصورة المخلوقات، فأول ما يظهر من المخلوقات ذاتُه، ثم يظهر المخلوق، لأن نون ذاته أعلى وأظهر من نون المخلوق.
And know that the dot that is above the nūn is an indication of the Essence of God (exalted is He) appearing in the form of the creatures: so the first of the creatures to appear is His Essence, then the creature appears -- because the nūn of His Essence is higher and more manifest than the nūn of the creature.
وقد قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "الصدقة أول ما تقع في يد الرحمن، ثم تقع في يد السائل".
And the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: 'The charity -- the first [thing], it falls into the hand of the All-Merciful, then it falls into the hand of the beggar.'
وكيف الحال، وقد قال الصدّيق الأكبر رضي الله عنه: "ما رأيتُ شيئاً إلاَّ ورأيتُ الله قبله".
And how [could it be otherwise], when the greatest Veracious One (al-Ṣiddīq al-Akbar) [Abū Bakr] (may God be pleased with him) said: 'I never saw a thing without seeing God before it'?
فإذا علمت أن النقطة إشارة إلى ذات الله تعالى، فاعلم أن دائرة النون إشارة إلى المخلوقات.
So when you know that the dot is an indication of the Essence of God (exalted is He), [then] know that the loop of the nūn is an indication of the creatures.
وقد تحدّثنا في اسم الرحمن بأبسط من هذا الكلام في كتابنا المسمى بـ[الكهف والرقيم في شرح بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم]، فمن أراد معرفة ذلك فليطالع هنالك. فانظر إلى هذا الاسم الكريم وما حواه من الأسرار التي تحتار فيها الأفكار.
And we have spoken of the name 'al-Raḥmān' in a plainer [manner] than this discourse, in our book named al-Kahf wa-l-Raqīm fī sharḥ Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm; so whoever wishes the knowledge of that, let him peruse [it] there. So look at this noble Name and what it contains of the secrets in which the thoughts are bewildered.
ولو تحدّثنا في أسرار حروف هذا الاسم وكمية أعداده مع بسائطه، وما تحت كل حرفٍ منه من الاختراعات والانفعالات في الأكوان، لأظهرنا عجائب وغرائب يحار الفهم فيها من أين يأخذها.
And if we were to speak of the secrets of the letters of this Name, and the quantity of its numbers together with its constituent-spellings, and what is beneath each letter of it of the inventions and the passive-receivings in the beings, we would bring forth marvels and wonders [such that] the understanding would be bewildered as to whence to take them.
وما تركناه ضِنّةً به ولا بخلاً، ولكن قصدنا الاختصار في هذا الكتاب، لئلا يملّ قارئه وكاتبه فيفوته ما أردناه له من الانتفاع. وقد أودعنا هذا الكتاب من الأسرار ما هو أعظم من ذلك، والله المستعان وعليه التُّكلان. اهـ.
And we did not leave it out of [jealous] withholding, nor of stinginess; but we aimed at brevity in this book, lest its reader and its scribe weary, and there escape him the benefit we intended for him. And we have deposited in this book, of the secrets, what is greater than that. And God is the One whose help is sought, and upon Him is [our] reliance. [End.]