Ajamī Mysteries of Sitt

'Ajam Mysteries of Sitt 'Ajam Bint al-Nafs A Feminine Hermeneutic of an Heiress of Ibn 'Arab by Fatima Az-Zahra' Ahma !an"hiSitt 'Ajam# a Sufi $oman li%in" in the thirteenth century# tells us in her $or& that she ha a %ision in $hich Muhy al-n Ibn 'Arab a''eare to her# as&in" her to $rite a commentary on one of his earliest $or&s# Mashhid al-asrr al-qudsiyya wa matli' al-anwr al-ilhiyya (The Witnessing of the Holy Mysteries and the Rising of the Diine !ights)* +his is reminiscent of Ibn Arab's o$n meetin"s $ith 'ro'hets# saints an s'iritual masters in the Ima"inal ,orl# in $hich he ha con%ersations iscussin" certain Sufi themes $ith masters such as al-Hall-j (*.//)# Ab0 Mayan (*11.2)# 3hu'l-N0n al-Misr (*241)# Sahl al-+ustar (*2.4)# etc*516 She states7I closely e8amine his name an his bio"ra'hy# for a $ay to ra$ from him the efinition 5for my state6# but I foun that the similarity bet$een us is in recei%in" the %ery same 9htim "ifts9# that leas to attraction (jadh")* +his# es'ite not ha%in" the same state of istinction# nor follo$in" thesame 'ath# nor ha%in" the same life: similarity is 5only6 that of character an of 5i%ine6 besto$al# $hich is the 'ri%ile"e of the saints (awliy')* +hus# his luminous form coul not but be $itness to the &no$le"e of union that e8ists bet$een us*5/6+he Mashhid is consiere to be one of the earliest of Ibn 'Arab's $or&s# $ritten lon" before his other major $or&s7 #us$s al-hi%am (The Ringstones of Wisdom) an al-#ut$ht al-Ma%%iyya (The Me&&an Reelations)* +he Mashhid# li&e his other $or&s# may also be %ie$e as a collection of meta'horical allusions# ins'ire by Ibn 'Arab's mystical e8'eriences* In an alle"orical style# reminiscent of al-Niffar's Mawqif# Ibn 'Arab's Mashhid eals $ith a series of 9stations of $itnessin"9 an fourteen 9'laces of $itnessin"9# each re'resentin" an intimate ialo"ue bet$een the 3i%ine an the human subject* In this te8t# 'arao8 is use to blur the istinction bet$een the $orshi''er an the $orshi''e# the ser%ant an the Master* Ibn Sa$a&n (* A3 1/;2)# Ibn 'Arab's isci'le an intimate frien# $as the first to $rite a commentary on Ibn 'Arab's Mashhid#5a'0f al-Min-$ (*14/1)*5;6Sitt 'Ajam's manuscri't# 'harh al-Mashhid# is about three hunre 'a"es lon"* It oes not incluea clear reference as to $hen e8actly it $as $ritten* ,hat $e &no$ is $hat she tells us in her commentary# that $hen Ibn 'Arab a''eare to her in a %ision he tol her that the mystery of the Mashhid ha not yet been unloc&e# an con%eye to her that he consiere her to be the only one ca'able of unloc&in" its mystery*5?6In aition to her commentary on Ibn 'Arab's Mashhid# Sitt 'Ajam a''ears to ha%e authore t$o more $or&s* +he first is (ashf al-%un$) (*neiling the Treasures)# $hich is mentione in @sman Aahia's catalo"ue of Ibn 'Arab's $or&s# $here he corrects the confusion of attributin" the $or& to Ibn 'Arab himself*546 +he manuscri't of (ashf al-%un$) is ju8ta'ose to"ether $ith 'harh al-Mashhid+ Sitt 'Ajam's thir $or& is (it" al-(hatm (The ,oo% of the 'eal)# $hich she refers to in her commentary but $hich has so far not been foun*For se%eral centuries# scholars $ho came after Ibn 'Arab continue to e8'lore an inter'ret his Sufi conce'ts an $orl-%ie$* His scholarshi' has ha a tremenous influence on these later Sufis $ho loo&e u'on him as al-'hay%h al-a%"ar# an his ieas irectly or inirectly influence their $ritin"s* +hou"h Ibn 'Arab i not establish a s'ecific Sufi orer# he ha many s'iritual isci'les $ho 9consciously roote their 'ers'ecti%e in their o$n unerstanin" of his theoretical frame$or& *** (an) referre to their s'ecific $ay as '%erification'# an calle themsel%es 'the %erifiers'+95B6 Ho$e%er# the A%"ari school $as not structure in an institutionalize fashion li&e other Sufi orers* Members of this school i not ahere to a s'ecific set of octrines# or follo$ thesame set of Sufi rules* As Cames Morris obser%es# uniformity $as not hel amon" the follo$ers of Ibn 'Arab*+he real 'hiloso'hic an theolo"ical unity an i%ersity of these $riters ha%e not be"un to be e8'lore in moern research *** none of the $riters are mere 9commentators9 of Ibn 'Arab *** As $ith 9Aristotelianism9 or 9Dlatonism9 in ,estern thou"ht# Ibn 'Arab's $ritin"s $ere only the startin" 'oint of the most i%erse e%elo'ments in $hich reference to subseEuent inter'reters Euic&ly became at least as im'ortant as the stuy of the 'hay%h himself*526+hus# one may ar"ue that the am'le literature of commentaries# incluin" that by Sitt 'Ajam# also in%ol%es a creati%e 'rocess of inter'retation an reinter'retation of the ori"inal te8t* Ho$e%er# I $oul li&e to ar"ue that# in contrast to male Sufi commentators# such as Ibn Sa$a&n# Sar al-nal-F0na$ (*1/B;) an his isci'les# $ho $rite in a rather systematic conce'tual meta'hysical lan"ua"e# Sitt 'Ajam's commentary ma&es e8'ert use of Sufi meta'hysical conce'ts inters'erse $ith 'ersonal e8'eriences* +hus# $hat ma&es the stuy of Sitt 'Ajam's commentary fascinatin" is this artful combination of abstract meta'hysical analysis an scri'tural allusions $ith 'ersonal anecotes an accounts of her o$n s'iritual milieu an e8'eriences* Her style of $ritin" ta&es off $ith a theolo"ical be"innin"# 'rocees to a cosmolo"ical elaboration# then turns into an increasin"ly 'ersonal mystical un%eilin"*+he a%ailability of Sitt 'Ajam's manuscri't# 'harh al-Mashhid# offers us the rare 'ossibility to e8amine $omen's contribution to the Sufi conce'tual traition* +he common %ie$ in Sufi scholarshi' ac&no$le"es $omen mainly as transmitters of the mystical e8'erience# but not as contributors to its conce'tual %ocabulary* +he Sufi ha"io"ra'hical traition oes ac&no$le"e the fact that $omen ha%e 'ursue the Sufi 'ath# an that some of them $ere 'ioneers in e8'lorin" some of its e8'eriential imensions7 >-bi'a al-'Aa$iyya (*2G1)# for instance# has been reco"nizeas an im'ortant aherent of the e8'eriential 'ath of 93i%ine !o%e9* Furthermore# $omen Sufis a''ear as teachers in the Sufi literature# a fact ac&no$le"e by Ibn 'Arab himself# $hose $or&s ientify numerous shay%hasas his teachers* Also# the role of female $orshi''ers in con%eyin" $ise Sufi sayin"s is eEually ac&no$le"e by the Sufi traition* Ho$e%er# in the fiel of formulatin" an analyzin" the conce'tual horizons of the mystical e8'erience# the role of $omen Sufis still remains unreco"nize* >&ia Hornell in -arly 'ufi Women (the recent translation of Abu 'Ab al->ahman al-Sulami's ha"io"ra'hical $or Dhi%r an-niswa al-muta'a""idt as-s$fiyyt)# attem'ts to re%eal a 9%eile traition9 of female Sufi "nostics* She notes that 9Sulami 5an ele%enth-century scholar6 selom 'ortrays his subjects as miracle-$or&ers* 5>ather6 he oes attem't to emonstrate that Sufi $omen 'ossess le%els of intellect ('aql) an $isom (hi%ma) that are eEui%alent to those of Sufi men*95.6 Hornell sho$s that Sulami I unli&e the reain"s of Ibn al-Ca$zi an others# $ho use to 'ortray Sufi $omen merely as ascetics an aherents of i%ine lo%e I 9o$n'lays lo%e-mysticism in fa%or of less emotional themes *** Sulami's 'ortrait of >-bi'a 'ro%ies a more 'masculine'# an hence more balance ima"e of this major Sufi teacher*951G6 Hom'arin" the t$o 'ortraits of >-bi'a by Sulami an Ibn al-Ca$zi# Hornell sho$s the follo$in"7Sulami's >abi'a is Euite ifferent from the hi"hly-strun" an emotional recluse 'ortraye by Ibn al-Ca$zi* >ather# she is a rational an isci'line teacher $ho emonstrates her mastery of im'ortantmystical states# such as truthfulness (sidq)# self-criticism (muhsa"a)# s'iritual into8ication (su%r)#lo%e for Jo (maha""a)# an "nosis (ma'rifa)* Althou"h >abi'a has often been ientifie as the founer of Sufi lo%e-mysticism# this is not a 'articularly im'ortant as'ect of her teachin" for Sulami* Instea# he concentrates on her intellectual abilities# etailin" the s'iritual a%ice she "i%es to Muslim scholars# her moral lessons to the jurist Sufyan ath-+ha$ri# an her re'utation as a s'ecialist in fiqh al-'i"dt#the juris'ruence of reli"ious 'ractice* For Sulami# >abi'a is more of a thin&er than a lo%er*5116+herefore# Sitt 'Ajam's commentary of al-Mashhid becomes an im'ortant $or& to stuy for those scholars intereste in the contribution of $omen to the history of Sufi ieas* Her commentary on al-Mashhid offers us the o''ortunity to aress the Euestion $hether a $oman's inter'retation 'ro%ies a ifferent reain" from that mae by male Sufi scholars* It is noticeable that $hereas Ibn Sa$a&n restricts his commentary to Ibn 'Arab's o$n e8'lanations# Sitt 'Ajam seems to e'en more on her o$n e8'eriential &no$le"e in inter'retin" al-Mashhid* In other $ors# one coul ar"ue that Sitt 'Ajam's commentary coul be consiere as a s'ecifically 9feminine hermeneutics9*Sitt 'Ajam's biographical background+he historical information that is a%ailable on Sitt 'Ajam is rather scarce* Her full name is Sitt 'Ajambint al-Nafs ibn Ab al-F-sim ibn +uraz al-Ba"h-iyya* Ho$e%er# es'ite the scarcity of bio"ra'hical information# $e are able to "lean some information about her eucational an s'iritual bac&"roun from her commentary on the Mashhid+ In the final cha'ter# she reiterates theim'ortance of irect intuition as o''ose to acEuire &no$le"e in the s'iritual 'ath7I am an unlettere common $oman $ho is e'ri%e of all the sciences e8ce't for the &no$le"e ofAlmi"hty Allah* An I ha%e not "aine this &no$le"e of Allah by learnin"# nor from reain" boo&s#nor from a &no$er ('rif)+ But it is a "ift from the Almi"hty Allah $hich le me out of i"norance to &no$le"e *** 5an e8'erience6 other inter'reters may lac&* An since I am of Arab ori"in# I offer this &no$le"e com'lete $ith its meanin"s in a $or& to be $itnesse by both the 'reecessors from the 'rifn an the successors from the 'ulam'+51/6From the abo%e statement# $e can infer that Sitt 'Ajam $as an unlettere $oman* Ho$e%er# thou"h the $or umm is usually translate in moern usa"e as illiterate or unlettere# it is use inthe Fur'an in a ifferent sense* It is use se%eral times in the Fur'an to refer to the Dro'het himself as 9al-na" al-umm9 (B71?BI?2)* It is also use in the Fur'an in the 'lural to refer to the community to $hich the Dro'het $as sent (4/7/)* =tymolo"ically# accorin" to !isn al-'Ara" the $or 9umm9is eri%e from the root umm# $hich means mother* So# in a sense the $or umm may si"nify# as Hho&ie$icz 'oints out# the 'erson 9$ho is as $hen his mother "a%e birth to him9*51-z to a retreat(%halwa)# to stay there for a $hile to 'ractise in%ocation* It is sai that Kubr- stri''e al->-z# throu"h his mystical 'o$ers# of the &no$le"e that the latter ha acEuire from boo&s* >ealizin" that he $as losin" his har-earne &no$le"e# of $hich he $as so 'rou# al->-z shoute for his release# an his s'iritual e8'erience ene there*5146 +his anecotaletour symbolizes the state of 9ummiyya9 or 9s'iritual illiteracy9* In Sufi ha"io"ra'hy# there are many e8am'les of unlettere Sufi saints# such as 'Ab al-'Azz al-3abb-"h (*1B1B)# the Moroccan saint Ab0 Aa'z- (*11BB)# $ho only &ne$ the #tiha an the last three Suras of the Fur'an* Inee#t$o of the "reatest Sufis# Ibn 'Arab an Ab0 Aaz al-Bist-m (*2B;)# are &no$n to ha%e ha unlettere masters* Ab0 al-'Abb-s al-'Lryab# $ho $as the first master of Ibn 'Arab# an $hom thelatter lo%e %ery much# $as a farmer $ho coul neither rea nor $rite* Nonetheless# it $as throu"h him that Ibn 'Arab came to meet al-Khir (the immortal s'iritual fi"ure mentione in the Fur'an an $hom Sufis $ith no shay%hs consier as their "uie an claim to ha%e been initiate into the 'ath# that is# in%este $ith the %hirqa# by him)*51B6 Ab0 'Al al-Sin# $ho initiate Ab0 Aaz al-Bist-m# learnt the basic rules of rituals from Ab0 Aaz himself later in his life* Al-Sha'r-n (*1?4?) also s'ea&s of t$o Sufis# Ibr-hm al-Matbul an 'Al al-Kha$$-s# $ho $ere umms an commoners# but coul inter'ret obscure %erses $ith such ori"inality that learne e8e"etes $ere baffle*5126+hus# in orer to be a rece'tacle of i%ine li"hts an secrets# one shoul be in a 9state of infancy9*51.6 +o hear Him# man must thus return to 5this6 state of infancy* +his state of infancy is basically a state of unifferentiate an simultaneous sin"ularity or sim'le8ity* It transcens the 'erce'tion of o''osites# $hich is create by lan"ua"e acEuisition* It is the 're-%erbal mental state# $hich is basically Silence $ho is the *mm al-(ita" from $hich the (ita" or the lo"os emanates*5/G6 +he Dro'het# al-na" al-umm# as he is calle in the Fur'an# $as as it $ere a 9%ir"inal rece'tacle of the >e%elation9* Maryam# mother of Cesus# $as also escribe in the Fur'an as the one $ho &e't her 9%ir"inity9 intact# an hence $as able to recei%e an e%en concei%e the i%ine $or or 9lo"os9* +he le"acy of Maryam is her %ir"inity* An her %ir"inity# corres'onin" to the Dro'het's ummyya# is thesymbol of this 9state of infancy9* Hence# the ummyya of Sitt 'Ajam# if unerstoo in this sense# may be 'ercei%e as a 'ositi%e attribute of her s'iritual &no$le"e an unerstanin"*+he abo%e lines by Sitt 'Ajam also tell us that she $as of Arab ori"in# an re"are herself as an unlettere commoner# lac&in" the &no$le"e of acEuire sciences# e8ce't for the e8'eriential &no$le"e of Allah* I belie%e that her stress on her Arab ori"in is not only to 'ro%e her comman of the Arabic lan"ua"e# $hich $oul Eualify her to unerstan an to author a commentary on Ibn 'Arab's Mashhid: but it also echoes Ibn 'Arab's o$n stress of his Arab linea"e (nasa") as he oftenasserts that he is al-t' al-htim*5/16 In his ta"aqt# al-Sha'r-n $rites that accorin" to a 'hdhil shay&h# 9+he lan"ua"e of the senses is 'ajam (obscure)# $hile the lan"ua"e of the heart is 'ara" (clear)9*5//6 In li"ht of this# $e can unerstan Sitt 'Ajam's stress on her Arab ori"in*In aition# thou"h an unlettere $oman# Sitt 'Ajam emonstrates in her $or& that she $as e8ce'tionally &no$le"eable in her fiel* 3es'ite $hat she says# $e can infer from her $or& that she must ha%e recei%e soli oral instruction in the reli"ious sciences base on the Fur'an an Sunna* From her commentary# $e can also infer that she $as familiar $ith the teachin"s of earlier Sufi masters# such as al-Niffar (*.4?)5/