Light upon Light Seeking Paths of Clarity in Ibn al-Arabi’s Ringstones of Wisdom

Zaki Mustafa Arain

March 31, 2014

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree

St. John’s College – Santa Fe, NM

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1. Introduction

In the Chapter on Adam of The Ringstones of Wisdom, Ibn al-Arabi sets God’s

first creative act as a self-disclosure. While expanding on this act, he repeatedly uses the

image of the mirror to further our understanding of creation and our purpose. In fact, Ibn

al-Arabi writes that, “He is your mirror for your vision of yourself, and you are His

mirror for His vision of His Names – which are none other than Himself – and the

manifestation of their determinations” (26) 1

, puzzlingly suggesting that self-disclosure is

not limited to God. Later on, Ibn al-Arabi shares with us a Divine Saying which quickly

presents itself as the central theme of Ringstones. Considered to be the words of God

spoken to Muhammad outside of Qur’anic Revelation, God expresses the basis of

creation and more generally the primary movement of Being when He said, “I was a

hidden treasure and I loved to be known; so I created the world and made Myself known

to them.” Self-disclosure as the creative act is explicit in this Saying, but questions arise

when this is taken together with the repeated and unique instances of the mirror symbol.

If self-disclosure is the activity of God, why can man take part in it? God being

Al-ʿAlīm2, The Omniscient, surely His self-disclosure encompasses far more knowledge

than man’s, so what are the limits of man’s knowledge of himself and God? There are

moments when the image of the mirror is used to show us that we are a mirror for God,

but there are also examples of Ibn al-Arabi using the mirror to explain that God is a

mirror for us. The mirror is repeatedly used to describe some relationship between God

1 Ibn al-Arabi, Muhyiddin Muhammad. The Ringstones of Wisdom: Fusus al-hikam.

Trans. Caner K. Dagli. Chicago: Great Books of the Islamic World, 2004. [all subsequent

citations of this text will reference page number, unless otherwise noted] 2 I have included the 99 Names of Allah, printed at the end of this essay. These are ways

that Allah named Himself throughout the Qur’an, and encompass a wide range of

qualities that the reader might find interesting.

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and man, and I will explore the role knowledge plays in this relationship. Understanding

God’s knowledge of Himself both through Himself and also through man, first by

looking closely at creation and then moving onto a treatment of the immutable identities

and His Divine Names and finally examining the role of man in the symbol of the mirror

should provide us not only with a picture of Ibn al-Arabi’s tremendously complex

thought, but also a measure of insight into the relationship between man and God.

However, before beginning this large task, it is important to note that Ibn al-

Arabi’s teachings are based upon a set of principles common to all Sufis, principles laid

out in the Qur’an and the Hadith. Whenever Ibn al-Arabi expounds on a subject, he does

it from the standpoint of a devout servant of Islam which is evident by his constant

commentary on Qur’anic verses and references to the life of the Prophet Muhammad.

With this in mind, the way in which one approaches The Ringstones of Wisdom becomes

a question. Should one take him at face-value and seek to understand only what he

writes? Or should we strive to understand his words according to the perspective he was

writing from? It is true that he once wrote, “I follow the religion of Love: whatever way

Love's camels take, that is my religion and my faith”3, but it is essential to note that he

never once renounced Islam, and though he is now considered the preeminent Sufi, he

referred to himself simply as Muslim.

What can one make of this? The Ringstones is an extremely difficult book to

wring understanding from, and yet it is strangely amenable in that it seems to be able to

hold up to the reader what that reader desires to glean from it. It is similar to many Holy

3 "The Tarjuman Al-Ashwaq: Translation and Commentary: Poem XI." The Tarjuman Al-

Ashwaq: Translation and Commentary: XI. Trans. Reynold A. Nicholson. Web.

<http://sacred-texts.com/isl/taa/taa14.htm>.

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Books in this way: violent readers find violence; compassionate readers find peace, and

so on. It is because of this very compliance that one is terrified. While reading, it

becomes frustratingly clear that in order to truly get at the core of Ibn al-Arabi’s text we

must first eliminate our prejudices, desires, and opinions – in short, we must find a way

to eliminate ourselves. Is such a thing possible?

As we are largely uneducated with respect to this text, and since I am certainly

incapable of eliminating myself, what options are left to us in approaching this text?

Having found that an untainted reading is beyond our reach, perhaps the only option

available is to read Ringstones with ourselves firmly in hand. That is, we must recognize

what prejudices we are projecting onto the text in order to safeguard against self-

deception. I recognize a certain prejudice outright: I desire to read Ibn al-Arabi from a

strictly Islamic perspective. And this prejudice actually seems justified, because Ibn al-

Arabi made the decision to write Ringstones as a Muslim. The book, according to Ibn al-

Arabi, was revealed to him in a dream by Muhammad. More convincing than that,

however, is the recognition that this prejudice is perhaps the closest a layman can come to

approaching the book’s initial meaning, for how far can one’s reading go if one doesn’t

understand the most basic allusions to Islam? With this prejudice in mind, and knowing

no other way to reach Ibn al-Arabi’s true meaning, we might finally be able to read The

Ringstones of Wisdom closely and safely.

There is one more curiosity concerning the text that should be covered before

moving on, namely the organization. There are 27 chapters in this book, each with a title

that begins with “Ringstone of the Wisdom” followed by some quality, such as

“Breathing” or “Heart”, and completed with “the Word” of a Prophet. Frankly, each

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chapter title oozes with mystery and mysticism, and upon my first read-through I admired

them, hoping to one day unlock the meaning behind them. There are some moments in

the text where the relationship between the chapter’s title and its content is quite clear,

but there are others which are quite unintelligible. In the interest of keeping ourselves

from possible misunderstandings, it is valuable to try to find some measure of comfort

with these titles before moving on. Islamically, the Prophets were direct signs from

heaven, sent by God to bring them closer to Him, but by way of these same Prophets.

“Every community is sent a messenger [Apostle]”4 and these Prophets of God possess

within themselves a unique and unrestricted relationship to God, while outwardly their

relationship with God is according to the community they were sent to. In Islam this is

known by the fact that God sent a Book or Scroll to every nation according to their needs.

Islam, according to the Qur’an, is the final religion that God intends to reveal to

humanity, and is seen as the ultimate and perfected religion. The historical presence of

Allah is central to Islam, because the belief in God’s Holy Books is one of the seven

essential beliefs a Muslim must hold to. So if a Prophet was sent to every people from the

beginning of time, why do the religions seem so different? And how can we understand

the relationship of the Prophets to God? Muslims believe that God’s messages and

messengers were wholly dependent upon the disposition of the community they were sent

to. And in line with that, they must follow their role as Prophet externally, while

internally maintaining a more complete knowledge of God.

This is spoken of extensively in Ibn al-Arabi’s chapter on Seth, when he

differentiates between Sainthood and Prophethood, the former dictating an inner

4 Qu’ran 10:47

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relationship with God and the latter, external; he writes that “Every Prophet, from Adam

until the last Prophet, receives only from the niche of the Seal of the Prophets, even

though his clay’s existence may come later in time.” (29) Muhammad is known as the

Seal of the Prophets, and to every Muslim the use of the word “Seal” suggested an ending

or completion, but here Ibn al-Arabi’s use suggests a seal one might find on a ring, a

stone that might have many edges or bezels. He also points out that the Seal of the

Prophet’s reality “is existent, which is spoken of in his words, may God bless him and

grant him peace, ‘I was a prophet when Adam was between water and clay.’” (29)

Altogether, it means that each Prophet was only a Prophet according to what they

received from the niche of the Seal of the Prophets, and likewise a saint according to the

Seal of the Saints.

The Prophets, in receiving from the Seal of the Prophets, are receiving from

Muhammad who is the Perfect Man, who manifests the totality of God’s Names. “He

was, upon him be peace, the best proof of his Lord, for he was given the all-

comprehensive words, which are those things named by the names of Adam.” (277) A

Prophet receiving from the Seal would receive the Names particular to their task and

manifest them and this particular manifestation would be considered “the Wisdom” of

each Prophet.

The “Ringstone” in each chapter title denotes that each chapter is a part of a

whole. A ringstone is simply that, a stone set into a ring which is used to place an imprint

in wax or something similar. It seems to be true that each Prophet possesses a different

and unique ringstone, with a shape and size particular to that Prophet’s Wisdom. Wisdom

being seated in the heart, it then follows that the Ringstone of each Wisdom is the heart

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of the Prophet. With every chapter title pointing out the differences in the Prophet’s, it

seems as though it would be best to understand each passage from The Ringstones of

Wisdom according to its chapter heading. But would such a reading coincide with Ibn al-

Arabi’s Islamic perspective?

God is the Light of the heavens and earth. His Light is like

this: there is a niche, and in it a lamp, the lamp inside a

glass, a glass like a glittering star, fuelled from a blessed

olive tree from neither east nor west, whose oil almost

gives no light even when no fire touches is – light upon

light – God guides whoever He will to His Light.5

Ibn al-Arabi seemed to have this verse in mind when he said that the Seal of the

Prophets possesses a “niche”. By way of concatenation, God’s Light passes through the

niche of the Seal of the Prophets and then is refracted to each Prophet. Though the Light

is different in form, its essence remains constant. So when a Prophet’s Wisdom is spoken

of, it is both different and the same as every other Prophet’s. Furthermore, since the heart

is the location of the Ringstone of Wisdom, and since it is also where the wisdom of

Sainthood is received, a Wisdom might be particular to a Prophet but never exclusive

save for Muhammad who possesses all the Names. And finally, by deciding to approach

this text with an eye towards Islam, it is always best to assume an ultimate Unity, for the

Qur’an says, “Say, ‘He is God the One, God the Eternal. He begot no one nor was He

begotten. No one is comparable to Him.”6

With these considerations – heavy as they are – in mind, we are now ready to

assess and analyze the initial question of knowledge. We must begin our work, like Ibn

al-Arabi, at the beginning and do our best to wrestle a cohesive and coherent account of

5 Qu’ran, 24:35

6 Qu’ran 112: 1-4

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the relationship between God and Man with respect to knowledge from this dizzying and

slippery text.

2. Creation

“I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known; so I created the world and made

Myself known to them.” While the meaning of this Divine Tradition (hadith qudsi) might

seem apparent, it is in fact quite complex. The Ringstones begin with the Real willing “in

virtue of His Beautiful Names, which are innumerable, to see their identities… to see His

Identity – in a comprehensive being that comprises the whole affair insofar as it is

possessed of existence and His Mystery is manifest to Himself through it” (3). Already

Ibn al-Arabi presents us with a puzzle, not allowing us to understand God as simply

possessing one Identity (‘ayn) or many, but rather that God has both one and many

Identities. Although it is unclear what His singular Identity is, he makes it explicit that

God’s innumerable identities correspond to His Names. We can understand from Ibn al-

Arabi’s opening sentence that existence, from the beginning, is conceived as a theater of

manifestation for His infinite Names, the “comprehensive being” containing the totality

and singularity of His Identity.

Considering the “comprehensive being”, all we know is that it exists so that God

may know Himself entirely, and as a result it must manifest all of His innumerable

Names. However, Ibn al-Arabi writes, “God had existentiated the entire world as a body

made ready, in which there was no spirit, and so it was like an unpolished mirror.” (4) Is

the “comprehensive being” the same as the “unpolished mirror”? If that were so, then the

unpolished mirror would contain all of God’s Names, and all their combinations. Yet

how could that be when God deprived it of His Spirit? Being incomplete, the unpolished

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mirror must be something else entirely. Knowing that the “comprehensive being” must

reflect both God’s singular Identity as well as His innumerable identities, it seems that

the unpolished mirror reflects only His infinite Names and lacks the capacity to reflect

His singular Identity. Polish must be added to complete and perfect His reflection, and

that polish is man.

In this, then, we see that man plays a unique role of manifesting God’s singular

Identity, and so creation can be a complete reflection of God. And this is stated when Ibn

al-Arabi writes, “The situation required that the mirror of the world be clear, and Adam

was the very clearness of this mirror and the spirit of this form” (5), where Adam

represents the archetype of man. But is man a manifestation of His totality, encompassing

and reconciling the singular and the innumerable, or is man’s role simply to manifest the

singular Identity of God? Since Ibn al-Arabi did write that men “…are His mirror for His

vision of His Names – which are none other than Himself” (26), it seems that man is not

just the mirror polish but the mirror itself.

God is Al-ʿAlīm, The Omniscient, and as a result possesses absolute knowledge of

Himself through Himself, and also possesses qualified knowledge of Himself through

that which qualifies. Ibn al-Arabi states that God is “manifest to Himself in a form

accorded by the locus seen” (3) and that God “is Manifest to Himself in the forms of the

world, and thus is existence perfected. And so the motion of the world is that of the love

for perfection, so understand.” (262) It is to be understood that God manifests His Names

in every possible configuration, in the interest of perfection and completion. Furthermore,

the desire for the qualified knowledge, which necessitated the world’s creation, is

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obtained by God’s observing His reflection in the innumerable and unique mirrors of

mankind.

God elevates man above all creation by virtue of man encompassing God’s

totality, and because it is through man that God witnesses Himself. “He is Man, who

comes to be and is beginningless, who is perpetual and endless in his makeup, who is the

separative and unitive Word, and who is the subsisting of the world through his

existence.”(6) Ibn al-Arabi underlines the fact that man is God’s medium, but also points

out the subtle polarizing character of man. God’s statement of “I was a hidden

treasure…” is tremendously important at this juncture. When “I” is uttered it necessitates

self-awareness, a reflection of Himself to Himself that was made possible by the creation

of man, through whom He sees Himself. As was said before, God knows Himself

absolutely but not in a qualified sense. So where He was previously Absolute, He then

became qualified as well as a result of the first “I”. His Divine Names unfolded from

nonexistence to existence, through the theater of manifestation man provided, but the

Names have relevance only within the context of creation.

What does it mean that God is Ar-Rahīm, The Merciful, if there is no object of

His Mercy? He is Al-Malik, The Sovereign, but that is meaningless without a kingdom.

He is Al-Wāhid, The One, but His Oneness demands multiplicity in order to be complete.

It is man’s role to be the polarizing factor in God’s self-disclosure, to be that which

manifests all the relational qualities of God – His Names – and in the manifestation unify

the polarized factors. “All of the Names, which are divine forms, are manifested in this

makeup of man, and the function of encompassment and synthesis is achieved through

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his existence.” (6) Man, then, in encompassing the innumerable relational qualities of

God, embraces his own opposing nature as unifier and separator.

3. Immutable Identities

Now, as mentioned above, it is by virtue of His Omniscience that God manifests

His Names in man. Every possible configuration of Names is manifest in creation and

man is determined by these possibilities. Ibn al-Arabi speaks of these possibilities as none

other than immutable identities (‘ayn-i-thabita), placing a special emphasis on their role

in God’s knowledge. For it is in His mode of Knowledge – in the presence called

Knowledge – that the immutable identities are created as individuated forms of His

Names.

Of the knowledge of God, we say that it is eternal, and of

the knowledge of man we say that it comes to be. So

contemplate what is brought about the act of placing this

determination in relation with this intelligible reality, and

contemplate as well the connection between intelligibles

and concrete existents. For just as knowledge determines

what subsists through it, such that one calls it “knower”, so

too does the possessor of the quality determine knowledge

as coming to be in the case of what comes to be and eternal

in the case of the eternal. Each one is determining and

determined. (10)

Immutable identities do not have existence as such. In so far as God contemplates

Himself absolutely He knows His singular Identity, but the very act of knowing places

this in the presence of God’s knowledge which demands a qualified and determined

knowledge, which in turn gives rise to the innumerable immutable identities. These forms

of God’s qualities remain in the presence of God’s knowledge, immutable (thabita –

fixed, established) in eternity and not qualified by existence. The immutable identities

must remain immutable; otherwise they would be variable and would create a state of

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relativity, which is completely contrary to God’s unique Absoluteness. They are the

forms of infinite, immutable, fixed possibilities of Qualities, and have no existence other

than their status as fixed possibilities. The immutable identities also represent the

possibilities of God’s knowledge, as each immutable identity is a possible combination of

Qualities.

As a result of God’s desire for qualified knowledge of Himself, and because that

knowledge can only come to be through granting existence to the immutable identities,

the manifestation of the immutable identities is a process of coming to be. God places,

then, in the “unpolished mirror” of creation His Most Holy Effusion, and breathes spirit

into the world manifesting His Names according to their determinations. Like light

through a stained-glass window, His Self is manifested according the immutable

identities. And as the immutable identities come to be, or “unfold”, His knowledge of

Himself is perfected by the inclusion of the eternal and temporal. It is not only His

knowledge that is perfected, for Ibn al-Arabi writes that

He is Manifest to Himself in the forms of the world, and

thus is existence perfected. And so the motion of the world

is that of the love for perfection, so understand. Do you not

see how He relieved the divine Names of the absence of

their effects’ manifestation in the identity called the world?

Indeed, ease is loved by Him, and He only attains to it

through formal existence, both exalted and lowly. (262)

The relief that God provides His Names is curious, as it highlights the agency

involved in creation. The above quotation would have us believe that God acted upon His

Names and as a result His Names manifested, which brings to mind a verse Rumi relates

in his Spiritual Verses: “We were not: there was no demand on our part; yet Thy Grace

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heard our silent prayer and called us into existence.”7 However, as mentioned in the

Word of Salih, that “the Real most high acknowledges that the bringing into being

belongs to the thing itself and not to the Real.”(120) It is in this way that the immutable

identities come into being, as the Command of “Be!” initiated the actualization of His

“hidden” aspect into Existence. This process of His Holiest Emanations (His Command

of “Be!”) and His Holy Emanation, or His Breath, establishes the portion of

manifestation each of His Names can lay claim to as well as allowing them to determine

the immutable identities. His Breath is a complicated phenomenon, as it is through His

Breath that the Divine Names first determine themselves, and those Names determine

mankind through the immutable identities. This is evident when Ibn al-Arabi writes,

“That by whose existentiation He first granted release for lordship – through His Breath,

which is attributed to the All-Merciful – was the world, which is required by lordship in

its reality as well as by all of the divine Names.” (126)

4. Divine Names

It is important to remember that the Names are, in a certain sense, distinct from

God as Allah and al-Haqq (The Real). In fact, these are quite subtle and delicate

distinctions. He is, according to Ibn al-Arabi, “the Majestic and the Beautiful, the Hidden

and the Manifest, the First and the Last. These are none other than Himself,” (32), but the

transitive property does not seem to apply to the Divine Names.

God, because He was a “hidden treasure”, possesses an unknowable and

unnamable aspect that is completely beyond our understanding. This is clear when we

7 Rumi, Jalal Al-Din. Spiritual Verses: Masnavi-ye Ma'navi. Trans. Alan Williams.

London: Penguin, 2006. Line 640. Print.

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understand that the knowledge available to man is limited to knowing God in His Divine

presence. But man is encouraged to look for knowledge of God through knowledge of

Himself, as is evident by Muhammad’s Saying, “Whosoever knoweth himself knoweth

His Lord.” (39) And the knowledge one can gain from that is limited to what The Real

(al-Haqq) grants: “…God’s knowledge of him, in all of his states, is what he is in his

identity’s state of immutability prior to its existence, and he knows that the Real grants

him nothing but what the knowledge of his identity grants Him, which is what he is in his

state of immutability.”(23) Yet from this unknowable aspect, God manifested Himself to

Himself through Himself. So does this mean complete self-knowledge is impossible and

as a result our knowledge of God is as well?

Differentiation of God’s Names occurs when God Breathed His Holy Emanation

into creation. The Names differentiate themselves from The Absolute Divine aspect of

God and from one another. Such differentiation happens because of the Qualities inherent

in the Names, and for each Name there is a portion of manifestation apportioned to them.

For example, Ibn al-Arabi writes that “the Real shows Mercy but is not shown Mercy.

Mercy has no determination over Him,” (125) which demonstrates that the Real

possesses a larger portion of manifestation and determines the “subordinate” Names.

Allah is the Name which establishes His Divinity and the relationship between the

Creator and created, necessary and contingent, Lord and servant. Allah, however, is a

name with certain limits. By its very nature, it has a mutual dependency upon that which

worships it as divine, in much the same way that “Lord” designates a particular

dependence upon a servant; one is not possible without the other. Al-Haqq, however, is

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not beholden in such a manner, and in this way the Real takes possession of a portion of

manifestation unavailable to Allah.

The innumerable Names determine the immutable identities in every combination

possible. As stated earlier, the immutable identities must exist in every possible

combination because it is through them that God manifests Himself and His creation.

Since His Knowledge is always seeking perfection, the immutable identities must possess

the totality of God’s qualified knowledge of Himself. For in the Divine Presence “nothing

is repeated at all, due to its scope.” (31)

5. Mirrors

In the Word of Seth, Ibn al-Arabi says of the mirror, “It is similar to what one

finds in a visible mirror: when you see a form in it you do not see it, although you know

that only there do you see forms – or your own form. Now, God has manifested this as a

similitude, employing it to represent the self-disclosure of the Essence, so that the object

of self-disclosure will know that he does not see Him” (25). This underlines the idea that

knowledge is subject to the thing known, and that the Essence can only disclose itself –

and know itself – to the degree determined by the preparedness of the object. In fact Ibn

al-Arabi expands on this theme when he says, of God, “Whosoever qualifies Him denies

Him in what is other than that by which he qualifies Him, yet drawing nearer to Him

through that by which he qualifies Him when He discloses Himself.” (128)

For example, if we qualified God by claiming He only presents Himself to us in

the form of the sun, we would be denying Him utterly for “God most high has turned our

attention, concerning our knowledge of Him, to contemplating the created, and has said

that He will show us His signs within it. He has shown Himself to us through us.” (11)

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However, if the sun were out we would praise God for His brightness, and likewise

mourn His absence at night. In such a way we would draw nearer to Him, despite our

qualified understanding. The Folk of the Known, however, deny God nothing and so

witness Him in all His forms, acting as perfectly polished mirrors without the blemish of

wrong opinion or ignorance. “From himself he knows himself, and his self is not other

than the Selfhood of the Real.” (131)

The mirror of creation is necessary in order for God to know Himself completely,

His knowledge encompassing His Absoluteness and His relativity. His infinite Names

manifesting in the world, in every combination, give rise to this knowledge. This is why

man was brought into existence, to provide a mirror to God of Himself, a possible

reflection determined in non-existence by the immutable identities. The Image of God,

that is the innumerable Names, is manifest completely in man, the “comprehensive

being” being a vessel for the particular and infinite combinations of his Qualities.

…concerning [the world’s] manifestation in His Image, and

in order for you to acquire knowledge, God most high has

turned our attention, concerning our knowledge of Him, to

contemplating the created, and has said that He will show

us His signs within it. He has shown Himself to us through

us. We describe Him by no quality without ourselves being

that quality, although this is not the case for that necessity

which is unique to the Essence. When we know Him

through ourselves and from ourselves, we attribute

everything to Him that we attribute to ourselves, and to this

point the divine sayings have come down to us on the

tongues of the interpreters. He described Himself to us

through us. (11)

Every creation is a unique emanation of His Image, consisting of His Qualities,

although a created being’s qualities differ from God’s with respect to necessity and

contingency. God is One and is Absolute so creation, being many and determined, is

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intrinsically limited in the extent to which it can manifest God’s Names. Creation is

contingent upon His Being, and although creation is necessary insofar as each particular

creation contributes to God’s infinite knowledge of Himself, that necessity is itself

dependent upon that which necessitates it. Thus, as God is self-sufficient and creation is

needful of Him, creation is limited in itself as determinations of the Essence.

The Names give rise to immutable identities, which are intelligible though possess

no concrete existence. These are the unique combinations of Names which are God’s

object of knowledge, “Know that universal entities, though not possessing existence in

themselves, are still known and intelligible in the mind” (8). The infinite Qualities of God

cannot possess existence in themselves because they require a theater of manifestation, a

surface on which they can project themselves. Ibn al-Arabi continues by saying that

“there is a determination of concrete existents which stems from this universal reality as a

function of what the realities of these individual existents require” (9). The “requirement”

put upon the “individual existents” is that of God’s desire to know Himself completely.

More specifically this could mean that As-Salam, the Peace, might require a specific

manifestation, or even a specific combination with other Names. “Indeed, ease is loved

by Him,” (262) and in this way God is manifest in all possible ways. The immutable

identities unfold themselves, from the eternal non-existence to the temporal concrete

existence which is the created world.

For example, the immutable identity that corresponds to oneself and determines

one’s states throughout life is constantly unfurling with each of God’s Breaths. On the

one hand, it was determined in non-existence outside of time according to God’s desire to

know Himself in every possible way. On the other hand, one determined one’s own

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immutable identity, for Ibn al-Arabi writes that “Nothing is granted by God to contingent

things except what is granted by their essences in their states. They have a form in every

state, and their forms differ due to the diversity of their states. Therefore the self-

disclosure differs, due to the diversity of their states.” (90) God, here, is manifesting

Himself according to what one demands of Him, the demand itself being determined by

the self-disclosure received. For instance, when one wishes to maintain an awareness of

oneself, their state asks for the manifestation of Al-ʿAlīm and receives it, but they wished

for knowledge because their immutable identity produced that state in them, all according

to what man determined for himself in eternity. Again, Rumi’s verse is helpful here

because his account seems to be aligned with this perspective. Special attention should be

paid to the phrase “our silent prayer”, because that heavily suggests that man did play a

large role in determining the immutable identities that dictate our lives.

Perhaps now we are equipped to untangle the quotation considered at the

beginning of this endeavor which stated that “He is your mirror for your vision of

yourself, and you are His mirror for His vision of His Names – which are none other than

Himself – and the manifestation of their determinations.” (26) By choosing to disclose

Himself to Himself through the world, His Knowledge demanded that self-reflection is

essential. That is, in the interest of perfecting His Knowledge, God must present Himself

to Himself in a qualified and relative way, that includes man presenting himself to

himself in a qualified way as well. For man’s knowledge of himself contributes directly

towards God’s Knowledge, because man’s self-disclosure is in fact the manifestations of

God’s Names to those very same Names. It is this way that man and God reflect each

other, in knowledge and movement. However, the highest form of knowledge seems to

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involve polishing the mirror of every man’s heart. Polishing one’s mirror entails perfect

submission, seeking visions of God in everything, and denying Him nothing. Such a

pursuit requires and achieves an annihilation of one’s self, in favor of the Divine Self.

Such annihilation is likened to a reunion, by Rumi, and when the specter of the self looms

once again the taste of Him lingers.

How can I understand the things around me

when my companion’s light is not around me?

But Love demands that these words shall be spoken;

how can a mirror be without reflection?

Do you know why your mirror tells of nothing?

The rust has not been taken from its surface.

Reflect upon this story, my dear friends;

its meaning is the essence of our state.8

Bibliography

8 Rumi: Lines 32-35

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Ibn al-Arabi, Muhyiddin Muhammad. The Ringstones of Wisdom: Fusus al-hikam. Trans.

Caner K. Dagli. Chicago: Great Books of the Islamic World, 2004

Rumi, Jalal Al-Din. Spiritual Verses: Masnavi-ye Ma'navi. Trans. Alan Williams.

London: Penguin, 2006. Line 640. Print.

A., Abdel Haleem M. The Qurʼan. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.

"The Tarjuman Al-Ashwaq: Translation and Commentary: Poem XI." The Tarjuman Al-

Ashwaq: Translation and Commentary: XI. Trans. Reynold A. Nicholson. Web.

<http://sacred-texts.com/isl/taa/taa14.htm>.

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99 Names of God

Allah The Greatest Name

Ar-Rahman The All-Merciful

Ar-Rahim The All-Beneficent

Al-Malik The Absolute Ruler

Al-Quddus The Pure One

As-Salam The Source of Peace

Al-Mu’min The Inspirer of Faith

Al-Muhaymin The Guardian

Al-’Aziz The Victorious

Al-Jabbar The Compeller

Al-Mutakabbir The Greatest

Al-Khaliq The Creator

Al-Bari’ The Maker of Order

Al-Musawwir The Shaper of

Beauty

Al-Ghaffar The Forgiving

Al-Qahhar The Subduer

Al-Wahhab The Giver of All

Ar-Razzaq The Sustainer

Al-Fattah The Opener

Al-’Alim The Knower of All

Al-Qabid The Constrictor

Al-Basit The Reliever

Al-Khafid The Abaser

Ar-Rafi’ The Exalter

Al-Mu’izz The Bestower of

Honors

Al-Mudhill The Humiliator

As-Sami The Hearer of All

Al-Basir The Seer of All

Al-Hakam The Judge

Al-’Adl The Just

Al-Latif The Subtle One

Al-Khabir The All-Aware

Al-Halim The Forebearing

Al-’Azim The Magnificent

Al-Ghafur The Forgiver and

Hider of Faults

Ash-Shakur The Rewarder of

Thankfulness

Al-’Ali The Highest

Al-Kabir The Greatest

Al-Hafiz The Preserver

Al-Muqit The Nourisher

Al-Hasib The Accounter

Al-Jalil The Mighty

Al-Karim The Generous

Ar-Raqib The Watchful One

Al-Mujib The Responder to

Prayer

Al-Wasi’ The All-

Comprehending

Al-Hakim The Perfectly Wise

Al-Wadud The Loving One

Al-Majíd The Majestic One

Al-Ba’ith The Resurrector

Ash-Shahid The Witness

Al-Haqq The Truth

Al-Wakil The Trustee

Al-Qawi The Possessor of All

Strength

Al-Matin The Forceful One

Al-Wáli The Governor

Al-Hamid The Praised One

Al-Muhsi The Appraiser

Al-Mubdi The Originator

Al-Mu’id The Restorer

Al-Muhyi The Giver of Life

Al-Mumit The Taker of Life

Al-Hayy The Ever Living One

Al-Qayyum The Self-Existing

One

Al-Wajid The Finder

Al-Májid The Glorious

Al-Wahid The One

Al-Ahad The Unity

As-Samad The Absolute

Al-Qadir The All Powerful

Al-Muqtadir The Creator of All

Power

Al-Muqaddim The Expediter

Al-Mu’akhkhir The Delayer

Al-Awwal The First

Al-Akhir The Last

Az-Zahir The Manifest One

Al-Batin The Hidden One

Al-Walí The Protecting

Friend

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Al-Muta’ali The Supreme One

Al-Barr The Doer of Good

At-Tawwab The Guide to

Repentance

Al-Muntaqim The Avenger

Al-Afu The Forgiver

Ar-Ra’uf The Clement

Malik al-Mulk The Owner of All

Dhul-Jalali

Wal-Ikram The Lord of Majesty

and Bounty

Al-Muqsit The Equitable One

Al-Jami The Gatherer

Al-Ghani The Rich One

Al-Mughni The Enricher

Al-Mani’ The Preventer of

Harm

Ad-Darr The Creator of The

Harmful

An-Nafi The Creator of Good

An-Nur The Light

Al-Hadi The Guide

Al-Badi The Originator

Al-Baqi The Everlasting One

Al-Warith The Inheritor of All

Ar-Rashid The Righteous

Teacher

As-Sabur The Patient One