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Table of contents | Add to bookbagPage [unnumbered]1 k- ' I"'N b ) I A "Page [unnumbered]UIVERSITY orJ7Page [unnumbered]F, -4; ,, A, I / : f I 1. I;, i I 11 I I aPage [unnumbered]IPage [unnumbered]IPage [unnumbered]Page I"E. J. W. GIBB MEMORIAL" SERIES NEW SERIES, IXPage IIIt

Page IIITHE MAWAQIF AND MUKHATABAT OF MUHAMMAD IBN 'ABDI 'L-JABBAR AL-NIFFARI with otherfragments EDITED FOR THE FIRST TIME, WITH TRANSLATION, COMMENTARY, AND INDICES,BY ARTHUR JOHN ARBERRY, M.A., Assistant Keeper of Oriental Books and Manuscriptsin the India Office Formerly Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge PRINTED BYTHE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE TRUSTEES OF THE "E. J. W. GIBB MEMORIAL"AND PUBLISHED BY MESSRS LUZAC & CO. 46 GREAT RUSSELL STREET, LONDON, W.C. I935Page IVPRINTED IN GREAT BRITAINPage VPARENTIBUS DILECTIS PROFESSORI AMICOQUE

Page VIPage VIITHIS VOLUME IS ONE OF A SERIES PUBLISHED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE "E. J. W. GIBBMEMORIAL" The funds of this Memorial are derived from the Interest accruing froma Sum of money given by the late MRS GIBB of Glasgow, to perpetuate the Memoryof her beloved Son ELIAS JOHN WILKINSON GIBB and to promote those researchesinto the History, Literature, Philosophy and Religion of the Turks, Persians andArabs, to which, from his Youth upwards, until his premature and deeply lamentedDeath in his forty-fifth year, on December 5, I901, his life was devoted. - -a"These are our works, these works our souls display; Behold our works when we

have passed away."Page VIII"E. J. W. GIBB MEMORIAL" ORIGINAL TRUSTEES [JANE GIBB, died November 26, 1904],[E. G. BROWNE, died January 5, I1926], [G. LE STRANGE, died December 24, I933],[H. F. AMEDROZ, died March I7, 1917], A. G. ELLIS, R. A. NICHOLSON, SIR E.DENISON ROSS. ADDITIONAL TRUSTEES [IDA W. E. OGILVY-GREGORY, appointed I905;resigned 1929.] C. A. STOREY, appointed 1926. H. A. R. GIBB, appointed 1926. R.LEVY, appointed I932. CLERK OF THE TRUST W. L. RAYNES, 90 REGENT STREET,CAMBRIDGE. PUBLISHER FOR THE TRUSTEES MESSRS LUZAC & CO., 46 GREAT RUSSELLSTREET, LONDON, W.C.


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Page IX"E. J. W. GIBB MEMORIAL" PUBLICATIONS OLD SERIES. (25 WORKS, 41 PUBLISHEDVOLUMES.) I. Babur-nama (Turki text, fac-simile), ed. Beveridge, I905. Out ofprint. II. History of Tabaristan of Ibn Isfandiyar, abridged transl. Browne,I905, 8s. III. I-5. History of Rasuili dynasty of Yaman by al-Khazraji; I, 2,transl. of Sir James Redhouse; I907-8, 7s. each; 3, Annotations by the same,I908, 5s.; 4, 5, Arabic text ed. Muhammad 'Asal, I908-19I3, 8s. each. IV.Omayyads and 'Abbasids, transl. Margoliouth from the Arabic of G. Zaidan, I907,5s. Out of print. V. Travels of Ibn Jubayr, Arabic text, ed. de Goeje, I907,Ios. Out of print. VI. I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Yaqit's Dict. of learned men(Irshddu-'lArib), Arabic text, ed. Margoliouth, I908-I927; 20S., I2S., Ios.,15s., 15s., 15s., 15s. respectively. VII. I, 5, 6. Tajaribu'l-Umam of Miskawayhi(Arabic text, fac-simile), ed. le Strange and others, 1909-1917, 7s. each vol.VIII. Marzuban-nama (Persian text), ed. Mirza Muhammad, I909, I2s. Out of print.IX. Textes Hourofifis (French and Persian), by Huart and Riza Tevfiq, 1909, los.X. Mu'jam, an old Persian system of prosody, by Shams-iQays, ed. Mirza Muhammad,I909, I s. Out of print. XI. I, 2. Chahar Maqala; I, Persian text, ed. andannotated by Mirza Muhammad, I9Io, I2s. Out of print. 2, English transl. andnotes by Browne, 1921, 15S. XII. Introduction a 1'Histoire des Mongols, byBlochet, I9I0, Ios. Out of print. XIII. Diwan of Hassin b. Thabit (Arabic text),

ed. Hirschfeld, I9IO, 7s. 6d. Out of print. XIV. I, 2. Ta'rikh-i-Guzida ofHamdu'llah Mustawfi; I, Persian text, fac-simile, 1911, I5s. Out of print. 2,Abridged transl. and Indices by Browne and Nicholson, 1914, lOS. XV.Nuqtatu'l-Kaf (History of the Babis) by Mirza Jani (Persian text), ed. Browne,I911, I2s. Out of print.Page XXVI. I, 2, 3. Ta'rikh-i-Jahan-gushay of Juwayni, Persian text, ed. MirzaMuhammad; i, Mongols, I913, I5s. Out of print. 2, Khwarazmshahs, 1917, I5S.; 3,Assassins (in the press). XVII. Kashfu'l-Mahjub (Siufi doctrine), transl.Nicholson, I9II, I5s. Out of print. XVIII. 2 (all hitherto published),Jami'u't-Tawarikh of Rashidu'd-Din Fadlu'llah (Persian text), ed. and annotatedby Blochet, I912, i5s. Out of print. XIX. Kitabu'l-Wulat of al-Kindi (Arabic

text), ed. Guest, 1912, I5s. XX. Kitabu'l-Ansab of as-Sam'ani (Arabic text,fac-simile), 1913, 20S. Out of print. XXI. Diwans of 'Amir b. at-Tufayl and'Abid b. al-Abras (Arabic text and transl. by Sir Charles J. Lyall), 1914, i2s.XXII. Kitabu'l-Luma' (Arabic text), ed. Nicholson, I914, I5S. XXIII. I, 2.Nuzhatu-'l-Quluib of Hamdu'llah Mustawfi; i, Persian text, ed. le Strange, I9I5,8s.; 2, English transl. le Strange, 1918, 8s. XXIV. Shamsu'l-'Ulum of Nashwanal-Himyari, extracts from the Arabic text with German Introduction and Notes by'Azlmu'd-Dln Ahmad, I916, 5s. XXV. Diwans of at-Tufayl b. 'Awf and at-Tirimmahb. Hakim (Arabic text and transl.), ed. Krenkow, 1928, 42s. NEW SERIES I.Fars-nama of Ibnu'l-Balkhi, Persian text, ed. le Strange and Nicholson, 1921,20s. II. Rahatu's-Sudir (History of Saljuqs) of ar-Rawandi, Persian text, ed.Muhammad Iqbal, 192I, 47s. 6d. III. Indexes to Sir C. J. Lyall's edition of the

Mufaddaliyat, compiled by A. A. Bevan, 1924, 42S. IV. Mathnawi-i Ma'nawi ofJalalu'ddin Ruimi. i, Persian text of the First and Second Books, ed. Nicholson,1925, 2os.; 2, Translation of the First and Second Books, 1926, 2os.; 3, Text ofthe Third and Fourth Books, 1929, 30s.; 4, Translation of the Third and FourthBooks, 1930, 25S.; 5, Text of the Fifth and Sixth Books and Indices, 1933, 35S.;6, Translation of the Fifth and Sixth Books, 1934, 25s. V. Turkistan at the time


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of the Mongolian Invasion, by W. Barthold, English transl., revised by theauthor, aided by H. A. R. Gibb, 1927, 25S.Page XIVI. Diwan of Abui Basir Maimin ibn Qais al-A'sha, together with collections ofpieces by other poets who bore the same surname and by al-Musayyab ibn 'Alas,ed. in Arabic by Rudolf Geyer, I928, 42S. VII. Mazandaran and Astarabad, by H.L. Rabino, with Maps, I928, 25s. VIII. Introduction to the Jawami'u'l-Hikayat ofMuhammad 'Awfi, by M. Nizamu'ddin, I929, 42s. IX. Mawaqif and Mukhatabat ofNiffari, edited with Translation, Commentary and Indices, by A. J. Arberry,1935, 25s. IN THE PRESS Hudud al-'Alam, an anonymous Persian treatise ongeography (372/982), translated into English with Commentary by V. Minorsky andIntroduction by W. Barthold. Kitabu'l-Badi' of Ibnu'l-Mu'tazz edited by I.Kratchkovsky. IN PREPARATION A History of Chemistry in Mediaeval Islam, by E. J.Holmyard. WORK SUBSIDISED BY THE TRUSTEES Firdawsu'l-Hikmat of 'Ali ibn Rabbanat-Tabarl, ed. by Muhammad az-Zubayr as-Siddiqi, I928, 20s.Page XIIIPage XIIIPREFACE MY THANKS are first due to my teacher and friend, Professor Nicholson:not only did he most generously invite me to undertake this work, which he hadonce hoped to complete himself, but he also put at my disposal his copy of theIndia Office MS., and read through the whole book with me, making very many most

valuable suggestions. Any merits which the work may possess are to be creditedto him: for its imperfections he is in no way responsible. My debts to otherscholars are acknowledged in the text of the book. Here I would speciallyacknowledge the careful and beautiful printing, and offer my thanks to the twopresses responsible. The work of the Cambridge University Press is well known,and many authors in Europe have had reason to be grateful to its printers andproof-readers. The Egyptian Library Press is the most famous and progressivenative Arabic press in the world: it sets a high standard of accuracy in a fieldwhere inaccuracy is unfortunately only too common, and this has been achieved bythe loyal cooperation of its employees, among whom I would particularly mention

Muhammad Effendi Nadim, whose services I gratefully acknowledge. It has mosthappily fallen to my lot to produce a book by the united labours of these twopresses-surely some small token of the friendship and sympathy which bindtogether England and Egypt, and a hopeful presage of future nearer contact.Finally, I would thank those who have secured for me material comfort: myCollege, which elected me to a Research Fellowship, and sent me to Egypt, withmost happy consequences; the electors to the Wright Studentship; the WorshipfulCompany of Goldsmiths; and the Trustees of the "E. J. W. Gibb Memorial." ARTHURJOHN ARBERRY LONDON 5 November I934Page XIVIPage XVTABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION A. The author of the Mawdqif and Mukhdtabdt (a)

Life (b) Name (c) Writings B. Testimonies (a) Ibn al-'Arabi (b) Sha'raini (c) H.ajji Khalifa (d) Qashani (e) Dhahabi C. Mystical Theology I. (a) waqfah (b)waqif PAGE I I 2 6 8 8 II I3 I3 I4 I4 I4 '5 II. (a) ma'rifah (b) 'drif (c) 'ilm(d) 'dlim III. (a) ru'yah (b) ghaybah IV. (a) siwa (b) ghayr (c) harf (d) kawnV. (a) ma'na (b) ism (c) urzif D. Manuscripts E. Stemma PAGE I6 I7 I7 I8 I8 I920 21 21 22 22 23 24 24 24 26 THE BOOK OF SPIRITUAL STAYINGS (KITAB AL-MA WAQIF)Mawqif of Glory (i) Mawqif of Nearness (2) Mawqif of His Majesty (3) Mawqif of"Thou is the meaning of the whole of phenomenal existence" (4) Mawqif of "My


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time has come" (5) Mawqif of the Sea (6) Mawqif of Compassionateness (7) Mawqifof Staying (8) Mawqif of Culture (9) Mawqif of Consolation (Io) Mawqif of theGnosis of Gnoses ( i) Mawqif of Works (I2) Mawqif of Reminding (13) Mawqif ofCommand (I4) Mawqif of Mystical Perception (I5) PAGE 27 Mawqif of Death (I6) 28Mawqif of Power (I7) 29 Mawqif of Acknowledgement (I8) Mawqif of Comfort (I9) 29Mawqif of His Archetypal House (20) 30 Mawqif of that which appears 31 (21)Mawqif of "Shut not thine 32 eyes" (22) 33 Mawqif of "And I shall loose 38 thebelt" (23) 38 Mawqif of "Do not leave my name" (24) 39 Mawqif of "I am the goalof 43 my dear friends" (25) 45 Mawqif of "I had almost not 47 punished him" (26)Mawqif of "I have dear 50 friends" (27) PAGE 52 52 54 55 55 57 58 59 60 61 62 63

Page XVIxvi CONTENTS THE BOOK OF SPIRITUAL STAYINGS (cont.) PAGE Mawqif of "What artthou doing with petitioning" (28) Mawqif of the Veil of Vision (29) Mawqif of"Call upon Me but do not petition Me" (30) Mawqif of "Revealing and veiling aremade equal" (31) Mawqif of Insight (32) Mawqif of the Fair Pardon (33) Mawqif ofthe Ineffable (34) Mawqif of'" Listen to the compact of thy friendship " (35)Mawqif Beyond the Stayings (36) Mawqif of Indication (37) Gnosis of His Reality(38) Mawqif of a Sea (39) Mawqif of " Lo, Thou makest to go" (40) Mawqif of theLearning and the Turning of the Eye (41) Mawqif of a Light (42) Mawqif before

Him (43) Mawqif of "Who art thou and who am I" (44) Mawqif of Greatness (45)Mawqif of Straying (46) Mawqif of the Veil (47) Mawqif of Raiment (48) Mawqif ofOneness (49) Mawqif of Choice (50) Mawqif of the Compact (51) Mawqif with Him(52) Mawqif of the Ranks (53) 64 Mawqif of Tranquillity (54) Mawqif before Him(55) 65 Mawqif of Stablishment and Power (56) 66 Mawqif of the Hearts of theGnostics (57) 66 Mawqif of His Vision (58) 67 Mawqif of the Truth of Gnosis (59)68 Mawqif of His Compact (60) 69 Mawqif of the Conduct of the Saints (6I) 70Mawqif of Night (62) Mawqif of the Presence72 chamber of Eloquent Sanc75 tity(63) 77 Mawqif of Revealing and Per77 plexity (64) Mawqif of Servanthood (65) 78Mawqif of "Stay" (66) Mawqif of the Presence-cham78 ber and of Letter (67) 79

Mawqif of Admonition (68) 79 Mawqif of Pardon and Generosity (69) 80 Mawqif ofPower (70) 80 Mawqif of His Advance (7I) 8I Mawqif of Fair Pardon (72) 82 Mawqifof the Creeping of the 83 Skins (73) 85 Mawqif of Facial Worship (74) 86 Mawqifof the Choosing (75) 87 Mawqif of Resignation (76) 89 Mawqif of Protection (77)PAGE 90 9I 92 96 97 I00 IOI 102 I03 I04 I04 I05 Io8 1O9 III II6 1"7 II"7 120 121I24 124 I27 127 I29 THE BOOK OF SPIRITUAL ADDRESSES (KITAB AL-MUKHATABAT)Address (I) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) PAGE I3I 133 I34 I35 I36 I37 I38 (8) (9)(lo) (II) (I2) (I3) (14) PAGE '39 I40 I40 I4I 142 I43 '45Page XVIICONTENTS xvii.o. XVll THE BOOK OF SPIRITUAL ADDRESSES (cont.) PAGE PAGE Address(I 5) I46 (36) I63 (i6) i47 (37) I64 (I7) I48 (38) I65 (i8) I49 (39) i66 (9) 150

(40) I67 (20) I52 (4I) i67 (2I) I53 (42) i68 (22) I53 (43) I69 (23) 154 44) 70(24) I55 (45) 170 (25) I56 (46) I7I (26) I57 (47) I7I (27) 158 (48) 172 (28) I58(49) I72 (29) I59 (5~) I73 (30) I59 (51) 173 (3I) i6o (52) 174 (32) i6o (53) I75(33) i6I (54) I76 (34) I61 (55) I76 (35) I63 (56) I77 Address, Gospel andAnnouncement (Mukhdtabah wa-Bishdrah wa-fdhdn) I79 Mawqif of Perception (Mawqifal-Idrdk) I84 Commentary I86 Index A. Technical terms used by Niffari 255 IndexB 271 I. Names of Persons, Books, Places, etc. 271 II. Arabic words occurring in


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the English Part 274Page XVIIIIPage 1INTRODUCTION A. THE AUTHOR OF THE MAWAQIF AND MUKHATABAT (a) LIFE M UHAMMAD ibn'Abdi 'l-Jabbar ibn al-Hasan al-Niffari1 is a sufficiently obscure figure in thehistory of Islamic Mysticism. He appears to have flourished in the first half ofthe fourth century of the Hijra2, and according to Hajji Khalifa died in theyear 3543. This date for his obiit receives some confirmation from statementsoccurring in the Gotha and Cairo MSS. of his literary remains, assigning variousportions of the writings to the years 352 and 353: but it is equally invalidatedby the mention of the years 359, 360, and 361, in connection with other parts4.Until further evidence is forthcoming, it is impossible to pass any finaljudgement on Hajji Khalifa's statement. Of Niffari's life little is known, andthat little is derived entirely from statements made by his commentator 'Afifal-Din alTilimsani (d. 690). These statements are here quoted in full: thefoliation is that of the India Office MS. (I) f. 72 b. "And this is one of theindications in favour of the assertion, that the man who composed the Mawdqifwas the son of Shaykh Al-Niffari, and not the Shaykh himself. Indeed, the Shaykh

never composed any book; but he used to write down these revelations on scrapsof paper, which were handed down after him. He was a wanderer in deserts, anddwelt in no land, neither made himself known to any man. It is mentioned that hedied in one of the villages of Egypt: but God knows best the truth of his case."(2) f. I Ib. "Moreover, this is consequent upon the tradition, that the personwho set in order these Mawdqif and published their arrangement was the son ofthe Shaykh's daughter, and that it was not the Shaykh himself who set them inorder. If the Shaykh had set them in order, they would have been better arrangedthan this." (3) f. I49b. "And this points to the fact, that the composer of

these Mawdqif was not this Al-Niffari, but one of his companions, or, accordingto another account, the son of his daughter." The question of the redaction ofthe Mawdqif will be dealt with later: here it is sufficient to draw attention tothe proba1 The Gotha MS. gives him the additional nisbah al-'Iraqf; the CairoMS. calls him al-Basrf, but this is probably a mistake for al-Niffarf. 2Sha'ranf Tab. Kub. I, 270. 3 Kashf al-Zunuin, ed. FlUgel, VI, 235, no. 13355. 4Vid. p. 25. AM IPage 22 INTRODUCTION bility that Niffari was a mystic of a fairly common type-carelesson his own account, careless even of the future destiny of his divinerevelations, a wanderer and a free-lance, "nullius addictus jurare in verba

magistri," but, above all, a sincere, strenuous thinker with a clear convictionof the genuineness of his own experience. (b) NAME Muhammad ibn 'Abdi 'l-Jabbaribn al-Hasan: so far all the authorities agree. It is concerning the nisbah thatdisagreement has arisen: and that due, as seems most probable, to a copyist'serror copied and recopied, and finally believed. These then are the variationsof the form of the author's nisbah: Niffari, Nuffazi, Nafzi. An examination ofthe title-page of the Gotha MS. discloses the probability that the diacriticalpoint there occurring on the final letter of the nisbah-stem was originallyintended for nothing more than decoration: it is considerably smaller and


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fainter than, for example, the diacritical point on the preceding letter. It ispossible to regard this titlepage as the parent of later blunders. The copyistof B fell a victim in inscribing his title: he and T's scribe even continued theerror in the text, but only on one occasion. I Q also read Nafzi: the remainingMSS., L M, have no title-page, and uniformly write Niffari in the text. Muhyi'1-Din ibn al-'Arabi mentions the author's name four times in his Futzuhatal-Makkiyya, and always in the form Niffari. His lead is followed among Arabicauthors by Sha'rani, Hafjji Khalifa, Qashani, Dhahabi, and Zabidi: alone, so faras I am aware, the author of the Berlin MS. 3218 speaks of Nafzi1, and he nodoubt for the same reason as the copyists of B I Q T. Among Western scholars,Brockelmann2 set the lead by deciding in favour of the form Niffari: although hementions the form Nafzi as a possible alternative. Margoliouth3, who consultedthe Oxford MSS., followed his example: and Nicholson4 raised no objection.Massignon5, however, revived the form Nafzi: this ancient controversy musttherefore be settled once and for all. The nisbah Niffari undoubtedly refers tothe village of Niffar in 'Iraq: this is the plain statement of the geographerYaqut6 and the lexicographer Zabidi7, the latter on this point drawing on hissource Ibn Ya'quib. Of this village Yaqut writes as follows: 1 Vid. W. Ahlwardt,Verz. der arab. Handschr. in, I66. 2 Gesch. der arab. Literatur, I, 20o. 3 Early

Development of Mohammedanism, I86-98. 4 Mystics of Islam, passim. 5 Essai, 298.6 Mu'jam al-Bulddn, ed. Wustenfeld, III, 798. 7 Tdj al-'Arus, s.v. nfr: cf.Suyttf, Lubb al-Lubdb, ed. Veth, 264.Page 3INTRODUCTION 3 " Niffar is a district or village on the river Nars1 in theprovince of Fars. So says Al-Khatib2: and if he means that it belonged ancientlyto the land of Fars, that is possible: but as for the present day, it is in theneighbourhood of Babil in the land of Al-Kuifah. Abu Mundhir says: It is calledNiffar, because Nimrod the son of Kan'an, Lord of the Eagles, desiring to mountup to heaven, and not being able to do so, his eagles fell with him upon Niffar,and the mountains started (nafarat) before him that were in that place. And

certain of them fell into Fars, fearing God: for they supposed them to besomething that had fallen there from heaven. Hence the words of Almighty God,'Though your craft was that the mountains should pass away before him3.' Abi'l-Sa'd al-Sam'ani4 says: Niffar is one of the provinces of Al-Basrah. Thestatement of Walid ibn Hishim al-Fakhadhmi al-A'jami is not true, for he says:My father informed me, on the authority of my grandfather, that Niffar is thecity of Babil, and Taysifin is the old city of Al-Mada'in, and Al-Ubullah is oneof the provinces of Al-Hind. Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Hamadhani relates that Niffarwas one of the provinces of Kaskar, and then became included in the provinces ofAl-Basrah. The truth is, that it is one of the provinces of Al-Kuifah: and to it

are referred the genealogies of a number of distinguished secretaries and otherpersons. 'Ubaydullah ibn al-Hurr says: The men of Tamim did meet our cavalry,and they exchanged hearty thrusts at Niffar, And blows that shook the head fromits foundations; then thou mightest see none save either fallen or in flight."Other important Arabic authorities mention Niffar in the following places:Tabaif, Annals, I, 747-9, 3423-4; II, 929. Ibn al-Athfr, Kdmil, ed. Tornberg, I,244; III, 307; iv, 332. Bakrf, Lexicon Geogr. ed. Wustenfeld, 597. Besides thisevidence, we may now add the testimony of G's colophon, which gratuitously


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assigns the additional nisbah Al-'Iraql to our author. As if this were notsufficient, we read the following interesting statement in Tilimsani'sCommentary on Mawqif 40 (India Office MS. f. 97 b): " Then He informs him thatnow he is departing from His presence-huwa dhd tansarif -and the expression huwadhd is characteristic of 'Iraq." Indeed, it is small wonder that a native of'Iraq should write in 1 Cf. Abd 'l-Fida, Geogr. ed. Schier, i64. 2 PresumablyKhatfb of Baghdad (d. 1071 A.D.): vid. Nicholson, L.H. 355. 3 Qur. 14. 47. 4 D.562, author of the Kitdb al-Ansdb, publ. in the Gibb Memorial Series. 1-2Page 44 INTRODUCTION the 'Iraqi dialect', however divinely inspired his writings mayhave been. Finally, there is the evidence of Oriens Christianus, which gives thefollowing information concerning Naphar (i.e. Niffar) at In, 1177-8: ECCLESIANAPHARAE Naphara vel Naphar, Nafar aut Niphar, et Niphar, urbs episcopalis estprovinciae Catholici, sed ubinam sita fuerit assequi facile non est. Napharae etNili episcopum eundem aliquando fuisse reperio, Nili item et Naamaniae etBadraiae. Atqui Badraia, quae Syriace DairCuni, Arabice Dor-Kena dicitur,oppidum fuit Seleuciae proximum, ubi Catholici olim sepeliebantur, ut fertAssemanus, to. 2, p. 394. Naamania quoque urbecula est inter Bagdadum et Vaseth:ex quo manifestum fit Napharum et Nilum in eadem regione extitisse. EPISCOPINAPHARAE I Maraname A Mario II Catholico sexagesimo Maraname episcopus Naphar et

Nil ordinatus est anno 990. to. 2, Bibl. Or. p. 443. Annis Io67 et I075 quibusSebarjesus Zanbur et Ebedjesus Aredi filius Catholici designati sunt; eorumordinationibus aderat Maraname episcopus Naphar. Vix credidero illum eundem essequi a Mari II ordinatus dicitur. II Marius III Sergius Ordinatione Ebedjesu IIICatholici sexagesimo septimi aderat Marius episcopus Napharae et Nil. Quodefuncto idem Catholicus Ebedjesus Sergium episcopum Nili et Naamaniae creavit.Concerning Nil, Yaquit writes thus: "Nil is the name of a number of places,among them a district in the province of Al-Kuifah, near the quarter of theBanui Mazyad. It is pierced by a large canal flowing from the Euphrates, whichwas dug by Al-HIajjij ibn Yuisuf, who called it Nil Misr." Now the name Nil ismentioned twice in G2: in each place it is to state that a certain portion of

the author's compositions was 1 I do not know how true this statement may be.The late Prof. A. A. Bevan informed me that he did not remember seeing it statedby any grammarian that huwa dhd was peculiar to 'Iriq. But in any case,Tilimsani's statement points a finger towards Niffar. 2 A. 23 fin., A. 29 fin.Vid. pp. 249, 250.Page 5INTRODUCTION 5 written there. This is confirmatory evidence of a very highorder1. In modern times Niffar has been rediscovered. An expedition sent out bythe University of Pennsylvania succeeded in making important excavations on thesite traditionally assigned to the place, and a report of the work was publishedin I897 by J. P. Peters2. An excellent description of the present state of

Niffar is given3, and the following passage4 is important as bearing on thesubject under discussion: "The abundant Jewish remains from Nippur during theParthian, Sassanian and early Arabic period show what a role they played at thatplace. Of the Christians we found no certain traces, but Arabic historians,quoted by Rawlinson, declare that Nippur was a Christian Bishopric as late asthe twelfth century A.D.5" The important identification Niffer-Nippur was madelong ago by G. Rawlinson, who writes thus6: "In the modern Niffer we mayrecognise the Talmudical Nopher, and the Assyrian Nipur, which is Nifru(=Nimrod) with a mere metathesis of the two final letters. The fame of Nimrod


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has always been rife in the country of his domination. Arab writers record anumber of remarkable traditions, in which he plays a conspicuous part: and thereis little doubt but that it is in honour of his apotheosis that theconstellation of Orion bears in Arabian astronomy the title of El Jabbar7, or'the giant."' Attempts at further identification have not been so happy. G.Rawlinson8 wished to find in Niffar the Greek city of Bible mentioned byPtolemy9: but this is a hazardous conjecture. He also identified it with theCalneh10 of Genesis x. io: this conclusion is now universally discredited1. H.Rawlinson12 says that Niffar is the same as Afar or Avar of the Babylonians. 1Interestingphotographs of the modern Nil-or rather the ruins now extantthere-are printed in Massignon's Mission en Mesopotamie. 2 J. P. Peters, Nippur(publ. New York, 2 vols.). 3 Esp. ii, 245-65. 4 ii, 263-4. 5 A furtherdescription of modem Niffar will be found in A. H. Layard's Discoveries in theruins of Nineveh and Babylon, 25o-6. 6 Five Great Monarchies, 154. 7 It is acoincidence that NiffarI's father should have borne the name 'Abdu 'l-Jabbar.Vid. H. Rawlinson, Early History of Babylonia, I5. 8 His edition of Herodotus,i, 356. 9 v, I9=Muller's edition, i, ii, I020. The MS. has BiX71, which Mulleremends to Bl3\Xvq: the town is mentioned in a list of places in Babylonia, andits position given as 79~ 45' by 34~. No further references to such a place havebeen discovered in writers of antiquity or the Middle Ages, and Muller concludesthat its identity is a complete enigma. Fraenkel (in Pauly-Wissowa

Real-Encyclopddie, s.v. Bible) describes the town as "Ort in Babylonie,"referring to the passage in Ptolemy quoted above. That seems as far as it ispossible to go. 10 Bampton Lectures for I859, 371. 11 Cf. T. G. Pinches' articlein Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, and T. K. C. in Cheyne and Black'sEncyclopaedia Biblica. 12 Op. cit. 25, n. I.Page 66 INTRODUCTI ON It remains then to conclude that Niffar is the same as theimportant Babylonian city Nippur' which, fallen upon evil times, and ruled bysuccessive masters, gradually degenerated until, whether from simple sterility,or as a result of natural catastrophe, it disappeared entirely from theknowledge of men, to be restored after many centuries by adventurers from thefar side of the Atlantic Ocean. So intimately connected, and yet infinitely

scattered, are the destinies of men and empires. This then is Niffar: and ourauthor-if it may now be conceded that he was a native of the place, or in someway connected with it-must have been assisted, perhaps even stimulated, in hisgodward meditations, by a consideration of the strange history of the place, itsformer glory and present desolation; the plains of it filled with the noiselesstramp of ghostly armies, its ruined temples the stage of unremembered dances andunavailing sacrifices, its silent streets no longer troubled by the shouts ofmarketeers and the bustle of busy citizens. And at night, in the desert, whenthe stars hung low, and the bright belt of Orion recalled legends of that giantwho overreached ambition, this lonely wanderer, whose writings like his asheshave fallen upon unfrequented ways, found strength and consolation in the vision

of the one true God Whose love and service atone for every lovely perishablething that this uncertain world possesses. To the memory of his piety and hissincerity we, who live when he has a thousand years been dead, after searchingin the libraries of Europe and Africa, now dedicate this edition and tentativetranslation of his writings. (c) WRITINGS According to the commentatorTilimsaini, whose statements on this point have already been given in full,Niffari was not himself responsible for the setting in order of the Mawdqif.This assertion is repeated three times in the course of the commentary: andalthough on each occasion it is made to explain the view of the commentator,


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that passages there occurring are out of their proper context, its repetition issurely some evidence of the genuineness of the statement. Indeed, even if nosuch statement had occurred, we should still have been driven to the conclusionthat the work as we have it is not entirely Niffari's, but that its literaryform at any rate points to the influence of a later hand2. It was notinfrequently the practice for followers of noted Shaykhs to edit their masters'writings after their death. Whether it was the son or the grandson of Niffariwho was responsible in the present instance, it is impossible to determine 1 Cf.also A. H. Sayce, Babylonians and Assyrians, 3, 4, z36; G. le Strange, Lands ofthe Eastern Caliphate, 72, 73, 8o (for Nfl); Cambridge Ancient History, I, Xii,with bibliography. 2, Prof. Massignon pointed out to me that the idea ofseventy-seven stations was unknown in the fourth century.Page 7INTRODUCTION 7 without further evidence: but it is important always to rememberthat Niffari himself did not trouble to make a collection of his own writings1.In addition to the Mawdqif, we possess other writings ascribed to Niffari. Ofthese, the largest and most important part are the Mukhdtabdt, which occur inthree MSS. only, G Q M. These consist of a series of revelations very similar insubstance to the Mawdqif, but introduced by the phrase "O my servant," insteadof the phrase "And He said to me." Of their genuineness little doubt can beentertained: for Niffari himself appears to refer to them at Mawqif 63. I and

Mawqif 66. I. The importance of this additional material cannot be overrated. Ifthe Mawdqif bear clear traces of literary workmanship and redaction, theMukhdtabdt have the unmistakable appearance of authority and primitiveness. Noattempt has been made to put them in order: although in M titles have beengiven, e.g. Mukhdtabat al-Awliyd, which are reminiscent of the Mawdqif. G Q Malso contain an interpolation in the text of the Mawdqif immediately afterMawqif 36, entitled Mukhdtabah waBishdrah wa-fdhan al-Waqt2. That this isgenuine seems on the face of things improbable: it is of Mahdi significance, andalthough harmonising in content and style with two other passages in the text ofthe Mawdqif3, it is easier to suppose that all three are additions by another

hand, rather than the authentic composition of Niffari. This supposition isstrengthened by the fact that the two passages in the Mawdqif, where they occur,disturb the literary arrangement in an unwarrantable manner. Niffari was notinterested in Mahdi pretensions: his kingdom was of the next world, not ofthis4. G M further introduce, after Mawqif 75, an additional Mawqif not found inthe other MSS., the Mawqif al-Idrdk. There seems no reason to doubt itsauthenticity, for it contains nothing that is foreign to Niffari. This has beenprinted, together with the interpolation mentioned in the last paragraph, at theend of the Arabic text. There remains to be discussed the title of the book. The

meaning of the term mawqif is discussed later: but it is interesting to notesome unimportant variations in the name of the treatise. The MSS. call it simplyKitdb al-Mawdqif, with the exception of M, which has the title Kitdb al-Mawdqifma'a 'l-.Haqq 'ald 'l-Tasawwuf. Arabic authorities generally use the shorttitle, except that Ibn al-'Arabi in one place calls the work Kitdb alMawdqif wa'l-Qawl. It is better to follow the example set by 1 The attention of the readeris called to the numerous places in the Commentary where passages out of context


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are noted. 2 In Q, Mawqif al-Bishdrah, thus making the passage an integral partof the Mawdqif. 5. 8; 23. 7. The commentary of M has an ingenious esotericinterpretation of these passages: but can we accept it?Page 88 INTRODUCTION the majority of our authorities, and entitle the work Kitdbal-Mawdqif. B. TESTIMONIES (a) IBN AL-'ARABf Niffari is mentioned or referred tofive times in the Futuhzdt al-Makkiyya, viz.': I. I, 505: The explanation of theterm an as dividing between two waqts is, that it is the meaning whichdistinguishes between the condition of any two names whose association isincomprehensible, the condition of each appearing without association in itsproper place. This, I think, is the limit of the wdqif: for as the mystic in hisjourney is transferred from one station in which he has experienced confirmationand presence, to another station for the same purpose, he pauses (yaqif) betweenthe two stations, and during this pause (waqfah) emerges from the condition ofthe two stations, learning in this pause the practices (dddb) proper to thestation to which he is being transferred. When this has been duly made clear tohim, he enters into the condition of the station to which he has beentransferred. Al-Niffari (Muhammad ibn 'Abdi 'l-Jabbair) has explained this inhis book entitled Al-Mawdqif wa 'l-Qawl, which is a noble work comprising the

sciences of the stations. He mentions in the foreword of the mawqif the name ofthe mawqif to which he is being transferred, and says, for example, of histransference to the station of knowledge-which is one of the mawdqif-" Mawqif ofKnowledge ": then he continues, "He stayed me in the Staying (mawqif) ofKnowledge, and said to me, 0 my servant, do not obey knowledge, for I have notcreated thee to indicate other than Me2," and so on, until he concludes all thathe has learned in this mawqif. When he has finished, he is transferred toknowledge, having already learned how to behave before God in the station ofknowledge. This then is the meaning of the an between the two prayers. 2. I,771: As for those that interpret the term mard as meaning mayl, this is anabsolute use of the term mard: and this is the view of Muhammad ibn 'Abdi

'1-Jabbair al-Niffari, the author of the Mawdqif, a man of God3. 3. II, 187: Thewdqifiyya are the people of the mawdqif, such as Muhammad ibn 'Abdi 'l-Jabbairal-Niffari, and Abui Yazid al-Bistaimi: these held that it (sc. repentance) isan affair concealed inwardly, whose effects are sensible outwardly4. 4. II, 805:Know then, that between every manzil, mundzalah, maqdm, and hdl, there is abuffer state (barzakh) in which the 1 The references here given are to the Cairoedition of I293 A.H. 2 Apparently a misquotation of M. 35. I. 8 Cf. A. 52. I. 4Cf. M. 68. 5, 9.Page 9INTRODUCTION 9 mystic pauses (yaqif). It is this which is referred to by the

author of the Mawdqif, Muhammad ibn 'Abdi 'l-Jabbar al-Niffari, in his bookcalled the Mawdqif. In this book he writes, " God (alHaqq)1 stayed me insuch-and-such a Staying," and here follows the name of the manzil or mundzalahor maqdm or hdl to which he is being transferred: except when he says, " Hestayed me in the Staying beyond the Stayings2," for this is the mawqif which isnot named by that to which he is being transferred, that which comes after itnot being related to that which comes first. This occurs, when God wishes totransfer him from hadl to maqdm, or from maqdm to manzil, or from manzil tomundzalah, or from mundzalah to maqdm. The purpose served by these mawdqif is,that when God desires to transfer the mystic from one thing to another, He stays


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him between the two, and provides him with certain practices (dddb) proper tothe state to which he is being transferred, teaching him how to conduct himselfas befits what is about to befall him. For God has practices proper to everymanzil, maqdm, hdl, and mundzalah: the mystic must at such times observe thedivine practices, or be expelled. In these practices he continues according tothe manifestation which God desires, through His revelation in the matter, orthrough Presence, making agnostic or gnostic as the case may be: and so he dealswith God according to the practices appropriate to Him. In this way soundinstruction has come down through God's revelation in times of confusion,revelation contrary to the forms of dogmatic beliefs, though preserving thedogmatic beliefs themselves. At the present day, however, nobody ever thinks ofaccepting or welcoming such revelation: but all declare, when the "I am yourLord" comes to them, "We take refuge from thee in God." In this station, then,the gnostic has gnosis of God, and is moreover aware-as he has beeninstructed-that God wills not that He should be known at such a moment by anywhose gnosis is limited to a special form of service. Indeed it is a commonpractice with the gnostic, that he should agree with the others in denying (theDivine Presence): but he does not utter, as do the others, "We take refuge," forhe has gnosis of God. These others, when God says to them at this moment, insuch a condition of regard " Was there a sign between you and Him, by which yeknew Him?" at once assent: and God then changes Himself for them into that sign,

in spite of the contrariety of the different signs. When therefore they see Himin the form in which they worship Him, they confess Him. Now the gnostic agreeswith them in confessing God, not only as a divine practice, but also as 1 Thisexpression is not, of course, used by Niffarf, but is here inserted by Ibnal-'Arabi to explain what is the subject of the verb. 2 M. 36.Page 1010 INTRODUCTION a reality: and he acknowledges God after the fashion of theorthodox. This then is the purpose of the science of mawdqif: and, as we havealready observed, between every manzil and maqdm there is a mawqif. This doesnot, however, apply to any pair of manzil, hadrah, maqdm, hdl, or mundzalah:there is no mawqif between them. The reason for this is, that these latter are a

single matter: although the mystic's hdl is changed in it, and he imagines thathe is being transferred to another manzil or hadrah, and is bewildered at notseeing God staying him; the change occurs, but he does not know whether thisparticular change is symptomatic of his transference to a manzil or from amanzil. Now if at such a time he is acquainted with the matter, he recognisesit: otherwise, if he has no master, his confusion continues. For it is peculiarto this matter, that God does not stay the mystic as He has in the past, or willin the future. The mystic then fears about his misbehaviour in the hdl which isbeing changed in him, wondering whether he should treat God according to hisprevious practices, or whether there are other practices appropriate to him.This is the case with those mystics to whom God grants waqfah. When however Goddoes not cause him to pause in one of these mawdqif, and grants him no division

between the condition to which he is being transferred, and that from which thetransference is taking place, then the transferences occur for him in the verymanzil in which he happens to be. There is then only one disposition (amr) forthe man who enjoys this experience, in which his transferences may take place:this is the had of AlMundhiri, the author of the Maqdmdt, and on this he basedhis book called the Maqdmdt. In this he joins the hda to a hundred maqdmdt in asingle maqdm, that of love. Such a man experiences neither pause norbewilderment: and such a man incidentally misses a great deal of Divine Science,and is ignorant of the Divine Qualities proper to the condition to which he is


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transferred, neither does he know the relation between himself and God withreference to this stage (manzil). His science is summary, extending no furtherthan the first condition of entering these spiritual realms (ha.dardt): whereasthe science of the wdqif is discriminative. Nevertheless he is forgiven hisomission in the matter of practices, when they do not proceed from him and areindeed unknown in him: this does not affect his hdl, but on the contrary hecontinues in a perfectly normal fashion, without however being brought into themundzalah of the wdqif. He is unaware of what he has missed: he is known to thewdqif, but he does not know the wdqifl. Now as for this manzil with which we aredealing, it contains a mawqif which is unknown: or rather, the experiencer ofthe 1 Cf. M. 8. 32, 68.Page 11INTRODUCTION II mawdqif is puzzled by it, because the relation between what heis granted by this special mawqif and this manzil is remote from that whichprecedes and succeeds the manzil. However, he descends into it; despite hisbewilderment, yet owing to the mawqif which occurs in this waqfah when therelation between manzil and waqfah is removed, he experiences the return of therelation between waqfah and ndzil, and learns the practices proper to thishadrah, in spite of the removal of the relation: and he thanks God accordingly.The man who experiences these mawdqif is exhausted, but he has a great store ofknowledge: whereas he who has no mawqif takes his rest on the way, and is notexhausted. Consequently, when two such men meet, and he who has no mawqif seesthe condition of him who has, it frequently happens that he disapproves of the

fatigue that he perceives in him, and imagines that he is above the other inrank. He reprimands him for his condition, and does not follow him in it, butsays, " The Path is easier than that upon which thou art." So he plays theshaykh towards him, not knowing anything of the mawdqif. But as for him whoexperiences the mawdqif, he is not ignorant of the other, and does not disagreewith the unpleasant treatment which he receives, but endures it in him, and doesnot acquaint him with his condition, nor does he show him what he is missing ofthe Path. For he knows that God has desired him and his like for this, and heaccepts what the other says: and the utmost that he replies to him is, "0 mybrother, grant me my condition, as I have granted thee thine," and so he leaveshim. This then on which I have enlightened thee is among the most profitablematerial of this Path, for it is full of bewilderment and confusion: do thou

therefore understand it. 5. II, 827: In this passage Ibn al-'Arabi refers to theSahib al-Mawdqif on the subject of the mystic saying, "He said to me and I saidto Him," when there is no visible companion to address, but only God1. (b)SHA'RA NI Al-Tabaqdt al-Kubrd, I, 175 (Cairo edition, I343/1925): Muhammad ibn'Abdi '1-Jabbar al-Niffari belonged to the fourth century: nevertheless we havementioned him here, since there is no obligation for us to mention the shaykhsin chronological order. He has discoursed nobly on the Way of the Sufis, and heis the author (sahib) of the Mawdqif. Shaykh Muhyi '1-Din ibn al-'Arabi andothers have related concerning him. He was a champion (imam) excelling in allthe sciences. Among his discourses in the Mawdqif God says: "How should they notgrieve, the hearts of the gnostics? For they see Me beholding practice, and

saying to the evil,' Be a form, 1 Cf. M. 67. 65, 68, 8I; 76. 2, 3.Page 12I2 INTRODUCTION whereby thou mayest meet thy practiser,' and to the good, 'Be aform, whereby thou mayest meet thy practiserl."' And he used to say: "The heartsof the gnostics depart into the sciences through the onslaughts of perception:that is their infidelity2, and that is what God forbids3 them to do4." And heused to say, as though it were God Himself speaking: "When the gnostic isconnected with gnosis, and claims that he is connected with Me, he flees fromgnosis, even as he flees from agnosia5." And he used to say, as though it were


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God Himself speaking to the hearts of the gnostics: "Give ear, and be silent:not that ye may know. For if ye claim union with Me, ye are in a veil throughmaking claim: and the measure of your gnosis is proportionate to the measure ofyour penitence. For your eyes behold time-moments, but your hearts beholdeternity. If ye cannot be beyond values, be beyond thoughts6." And he used tosay: " Gather wisdom from the mouths of those that are heedless of it, even asye gather it from the mouths of those that are intent upon it. Verily ye shallsee God alone in the wisdom of the heedless, not in the wisdom of the intent7."And he used to say: "The reality of gnosis is, that thou shouldst witness theThrone and its bearers, and every possessor of gnosis that is about it, sayingwith the realities of his faith, There is naught like unto Him. And it (sc. theThrone) is in a veil before its Lord: and if its veil were raised, the knowerwould be utterly consumed in the twinkling of an eye, or less8." And he used tosay: " Do not leave thy station, or everything will be confused with thee. Thystation is the vision of God: when thou abidest in His vision, thou seesteternity without an expression. For eternity contains no expression, for it isone of the qualities of God: but when eternity uttered praises, God created ofits praising night and day9." And he used to say: "When thou choosest out abrother, be with him in what he exposes, but not in what he conceals. For thislatter is truly his 1 M. 57 9. 2 Sha'ranf reads kufr for kibr. 3 So Sha'ranf,reading yanhd-hd 'lldh for anhd-hd. 4 M. 57. I. 6 M. 57. I, with considerablevariation. 6 A jumble of M. 57. I2, 13, i6, 20. 7 M. 57. 28. The verbs are hereput in the plural, and for tard-ni wahdi is given tarauna 'lldha wahda-hu. 8 Avery inaccurate version of M. 59. 2. 9 M. 60. I, 3, 4: very inaccurate.

Page 13INTRODUCTION I3 secret apart from thee: if he refers to it, do thou refer to it;and if he speaks it clearly, do thou speak clearly of itl." And he used to say,as though it were God Himself speaking: " My name and my names are mydepositaries with thee: do not expel them, or I will depart from thy heart, andwhen I depart from thy heart, that heart will worship other than Me, and will beagnostic of Me after being gnostic, and deny Me after confession. So make nomention of my name, or of what is known2 of my name, and do not state3concerning him that knows my name, or of the fact that thou hast seen one thatis acquainted with4 my name: and if any relater relates to thee concerning myname, hear him, but do not thou inform him5." And he used to say: "The sign of

the sin which angers God is, that it repays the sinner with a yearning afterthis world: and whoso yearns after it, has opened a gate to disbelief in God,because acts of disobedience are the courier6 of disbelief; and whoso entersthat gate, lays hold of disbelief in proportion as he enters it7." God knowsbest. We have mentioned an excellent summary of his doctrine in our Mukhtasaral-Mawdqif: and God knows best. (c) HAJJI KHALfFA Kashf al-Zunun (ed. Fliigel),VI, 235, no. I3355: The Mawdqif on Sufism, of Al-Niffari, that is, ShaykhMuhammad ibn 'Abdi 'l-Jabbar ibn al-Hasan al-Niffari the Sufi, died in the year354; and a Commentary thereon by Al-Tilimsina ('Afif al-Din Sulayman ibn 'Aliibn 'Abdillah al-Adib) the Sufi, died in the year 690. The commentary runs withthe text, and commences with the words, "Praise belongs to God, the Lord of theWorlds," beginning with the commentary on Mawqif al-Ghurr8. (d) QASHANI Latd'ifal-A'ldm fi Ishdrdt Ahl al-Ilhdm, s.v. mawqif: Mawqif is the end of every

station: it is a condition of study and instruction, as I have shown here. It isalso the station of waqfah, which is the arrest between each pair of stations,for the purpose of consolidating in the mystic what remains in him of theamending of the station in which elevation occurred to him, and also for thepurpose of instructing him as to what he needs on entering the station to whichthe elevation takes place. Mawdqif is the plural of mawqif, which is the placeof waqfah, as I have shown. These mawdqif are comprised in the book calledAl-Mawdqif al-Niffariyya, attributed to Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdi 1 M. 60. 7,with minor variants. 2 ma'lim for 'ulum. 3 tuhaddith for bi-hadith. 4 ya'rif for


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ya'lam. 5 M. 60. T, 9, 10, (varied). 6 The text gives barid: perhaps we shouldread tuzayyid. 7 M. 72. 23, with many variants. 8 A mistake for 'izz.Page 14I4 INTRODUCTION 'l-Jabbair al-Niffari, which contains the consolidation of theremnants of the stations through pause (wuquf) between each pair of stations.For this reason, he entitled each section with these words: "He stayed me, andsaid to me." (e) DHAHABf Mushtabih (quoted in De Goeje, Catalogue of LeydenOriental Manuscripts, v, I, n. I): Al-Niffari, Muhammad ibn 'Abdi 'l-Jabbar, theman of the mawdqif and the pretensions and the heterodoxy. C. MYSTICAL THEOLOGYI. The most characteristic of Niffari's doctrines is the doctrine of waqfah.Mention has already been made' of the interpretation assigned to this technicalterm by Ibn al-'Arabi: but by far the most satisfactory account of it is to bederived from an examination of the passages in which Niffari himself attempts toexplain what is meant by waqfah. The whole of Mawqif 8 is of course the locusclassicus on the subject, and the attention of the reader is particularlyrequested for that mawqif, for it contains the very essence of Niffari'steaching. (a) WAQFAH Waqfah is the source of 'ilm: the wdqif derives his 'ilmfrom himself, whereas all other men derive it from external things2. Waqfah hasintelligence of every 'ilm, but no 'ilm has intelligence of it3. Waqfah is thespirit (rzuh) of ma'rifah, just as ma'rifah is the spirit of life4. So again, it

is the prop of ma'rifah, just as ma'rifah is the prop of 'ilm5. In waqfah,ma'rifah is consumed, even as in ma'rifah, 'ilm is consumed6. Waqfah is beyondfarness and nearness, ma'rifah is in nearness, and 'ilm is in farness: waqfah isGod's presence, ma'rifah is God's speech, and 'ilm is God's veil7. So we have:waqfah > ma'rifah > 'ilm. Waqfah is the gate of vision (ru'yah), and sets freefrom the slavery of this world and the next8. It is the light (nuir) of God,with which darkness does not dwell. It is the destroying hand of God, destroyingeverything upon which it comes, and consuming everything that desires it9: it isalso the wind (rth) of God, and whoever is borne by it, reaches God10.Nevertheless, it does not guide to God, nor ma'rifah to it, nor 'ilm to

ma'rifah: for it is the neighbourhood of God, and God is other than theneighbourhoodl. If anything were worthy of God, it would be waqfah, 1 Above, pp.8ff. 2 M. 8. 6. 3 M. 8. i8. 4 M. 8. 42. 6 M. 8. 59, cf. M. 8. 75. 6 M. 8.70. 7M. 8. 82, 92. 8 M. 8. 27, 2i. 9 M. 8. 79, 55. 10 M. 8. 63. 11 M. 8. 65, 57.Page 15INTRODUCTION 15 and if anything related of God, it would be waqfahl. Waqfaheffaces the thoughts (khawdtir) by its luminousness, and by it the values(aqddr) are made known. It is the fire of otherness (siwd), it is the fire ofphenomenal existence (kawn): it is an emergence from unreality (harf), and it isa fire consuming ma'rifah, because it shows ma'rifah to be an otherness2. Waqfah

banishes all other than itself, just as 'ilm banishes ignorance (jahl)3. Whereasma'rifah sees God and itself also, waqfah sees only God4. Ma'rifah is the limitof the utterable, but waqfah is beyond the utterable5. If the mystic emergesfrom waqfah, which is his station relative to God, he will be ravished byexistentialised things6. Waqfah is indeed impossible, so long as othernesspossesses any attraction: but it makes known the proper limit of otherness, sothat the mystic departs from otherness7. (b) wAQIF The wdqif is not approved bythe theologians ('ulamd'), nor does he approve of them. The 'drif has doubts ofthe wdqif, and does not properly estimate his value: but the wdqif has no doubts


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of the 'arif8. The wdqif alone combines 'ilm and hukm: he sees 'ilm, and isneither moved by beauty nor affrighted by fear9. Every wdqif is 'arif, but notevery 'arif is wdqif. The wdqif belongs to God, the 'arif belongs to hisma'rifah: the heart of the wdqif is in the hands of God, the heart of the 'arifis in the hands of his ma'rifah10. The 'drif possesses a heart, but the wdqifpossesses a Master11. When affliction (bald) descends, it overpasses the wdqif,but descends upon the ma'rifah of the 'drif and the 'ilm of the 'adim12. The'dlim is in slavery, the 'arif has contracted for his freedom, the wdqif isfree: the wdqif is single, but the 'drif is double; the 'arif knows and isknown, but the wdqif knows and is not known13. The 'dlim sees his 'ilm, but doesnot see ma'rifah; the 'arif sees his ma'rifah, but does not see God; the wdqifsees God, and does not see other than God. The 'dlim tells of his 'ilm, the'arif of his ma'rifah, the wdqif of God. The 'dlim tells of command andprohibition, and in these his 'ilm consists; the 'drif tells of God's necessaryattributes, and in this his ma'rifah consists; the wdqif tells of God, and inGod his waqfah consists14. The wdqif sees what the 'drif sees and has in hisma'rifah, the 'drif sees what the 'dlim sees and has in his 'ilm. When a man iswdqif in God, God gives him 'ilm, ma'rifah, and hukm, and he has a greaterintimacy with them than their 1 M. 8. 6i. 2 M. 8. 8, 10, I03; M. 8. 3; M. 37.19. 3 M. 8. 50. 4 M. 8. 104. 6 M. 8.95 6 A. 17. 6; M. 36. 21. 7 M. 8. 4, 5. 8 M.8. 32, 73, 58. 9 M. 8. 31, 37, 39. 10 M. 8. 43, 44, 97. 1 M. 8. 98. 12 M. 8.53.

13 M. 8. 66, 67, 68. 14 M. 8. 76, 87, 88.Page 16I0 INTRODUCTION proper possessors1. The 'drif sees the limit of his 'ilm, butthe wdqif is beyond every limit: the 'adrif has God's pronouncements, but thewdqif has God's face2. The wdqif rests in nothing until he reaches God: herecoils from everything, and nothing accords with him3. If his heart were inotherness, he would not be wdqif, and if otherness were in his heart, he wouldnot be persistent (dd'im): for only the wdqif is dd'im, and only the dd'im iswdqif4. The wdqif knows not the contingent (majdz), and therefore there is noveil between him and God5. He that is wdqif before God sees the ma'drif to beidols, and the 'ulum divining-arrows6. The body of the wdqif dies, but his souldoes not die7. The wdqif alone sees a reality, and he only approaches to thema'rifah of God: for God will never be known with complete ma'rifah8. The wdqif

almost overpasses the condition of humanity (bashariyyah), and with himtemporality (hadathdn) is no longer familiar: he transcends the quality ofphenomenal existence (kawn); it has no power over him, for neither he rests init, nor it in him9. He alone, if anything, is separated from limitation, for heis beyond every limit. He is unaffected by change, and unmoved by desires: inhim everything may be found, but he will not be found in anything. He is nearerto God than any other thing10. II. We are now in a position to review Niffari'sjudgements on ma'rifah and 'ilm, together with his descriptions of the 'adrifand the 'dlim. (a) MA'RIFAH The sum of ma'rifah is the preservation of thespiritual state (hdl) of the mystic, and everything that concentrates uponma'rifah belongs to ma'rifah1l. Ma'rifah is the tongue of singleness: when itspeaks, it destroys all beside it, and when it is silent, it destroys what makes

itself known12. The door of God is 'ilm, but ma'rifah is the doorkeeper13. 'Ilmis a pillar only to be supported by ma'rifah, and ma'rifah is a pillar only tobe supported by contemplation (mushdhadah). So long as ma'rifah remains, thoughtremains: the first part of mushdhadah banishes thought, while its last partbanishes ma'rifah14. Ma'rifah is a fire consuming love, but is itself consumedby the fire of waqfah, which shows ma'rifah to be an otherness15. When themystic sees God, he sees 'ilm and ma'rifah to be in banishment from God: if hetransports them on his way to God, worldly considerations will I M. 8. 9I; M.5I. io. 2 M. 8. 83, io6. 3 M. 8. 30, 17. 5 M. I8.6. 6M. 64- I4. 7 M. 8. 47.


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8M.8.8, 23; A. 7. I3. 9 M. 8. 24, 12, 99, IOI. 10 M. 8. 85, 83, 93, 5i, 89. M.9. 4,6. 12 M. 9. Ix. 13 M. I5. I3. 14 M. 53. I3, II, I4. 15 M. 37. i8, I9.Page 17INTRODUCTION I7 occur to him, and if his path lies in them, they will imprisonhim1. Ma'rifah is the affliction of all creatures, and in jahl is theirsalvation: every man is harmed by his ma'rifah, except him who is wdqif in Godthrough his ma'rifah. Ma'rifah in which there is no jahl is ma'rifah in whichthere is no ma'rifah: but ma'rifah in which there is no jahl never manifests,just as jahl in which there is no ma'rifah never manifests2. When God revealshis ma'rifah to any heart, He annihilates in it all ma'drif: when ma'rifah ispresent, there is no need3. The first thing that ma'rifah takes from the 'drifis his disputation (kaldm): for the sign of ma'rifah is, that one should not askGod concerning Himself or his ma'rifah, nor have desire for any ma'rifah, norconcern oneself, after ma'rifah, with the ma'rifah of other than God4. Any manwho attempts to retain ma'rifah of otherness with ma'rifah of God, becomesthereby a denier (munkir) of God, for ma'drif that are connected with othernessare agnosia (nakarah) in comparison with ma'arif that are not connected withotherness5. Ma'rifah attained through a medium (wdsitah) is made void by themedium6. (b) 'ARIF The 'drif is not fit for God: for his secret thoughts havebuilt castles in his ma'rifah, and he is like a king who does not like toabandon his kingdom7. Waqfah is God's compact with every 'drif: if he knowsthis, he emerges from ma'rifah into waqfah; otherwise, his ma'rifah iscompounded with his own limitations. The ma'rifah of him who is not wdqif does

not attain, just as the 'ilm of him who is not 'drif does not profit9. The 'drifseeks proofs through God, whereas the 'dlim seeks proofs of God10. The sin ofthe 'drif is only in the state of his ma'rifah: unless he persists, he ismunkir, and unless he aids God, he is munkir". Ma'rifah is the speech of God,and the authority of the 'arif is his speech, whereas the authority of the wdqifis his silence, and that of the 'dlim, his 'ilm12. The heart of the 'drif seeseternity, his eyes see the time-moments: his spirit (rzuh) is not like otherspirits, and his body (jism) is not like other bodies13. (c) 'ILM 'Ilm is theveil of God14, for it is the veil of ru'yah15. It is God's proof for everyintellect, and in it intellect stands steadfast: but if it is circumscribed, itis not 'ilml6. It is the door of God: but 1 A. 52. I2; A. I6. 7. 2 M. 37. I, xI;

M. 36. 27; M. 37. 2. 3 M. 32. ii;M.. 10. 4 M. 57. 2, 3;A. 4. 4 6 A. 12. ii; M.37- I5. 6 A. 56. i6. 7 M. 63.3- 8M.8. 78. 9 M. 8. 75. 10 M. I3. II. 11 M. IS.24, 26; M. 51. 20. 12 M. 8. 92, 94. 13M.57. 7;M 3.7. 14 M. 8.92;M.64.4;A. I4.9;A. 47 x. 15 M. 29. I. 16 M. 13. I2; M. I2. i6. AM 2Page 18I8 INTRODUCTION it separates from God, when it calls the mystic forth with allits conditions at the time of prayer1. It is more harmful thanjahl to the manwho sees God, for it and all it contains are in absence, not vision2. 'Ilm hasno penetration of God3, and does not attain to God: its light illuminates themystic concerning itself, not concerning God4. So long as 'ilm remains, thoughtand danger remain5: for it is contained in harf, and it is the mine of harf,while name (ism) is the mine of 'ilm6. 'Ilm is only a medium (wdsitah), and must

be cast away, together with ma'rifah, on the path to God, for 'ilm causes man toslip, and ma'rifah converts him to nakarah, if he abides in them7. The master ofru'yah is ruined by 'ilm, like honey by vinegar8. The 'ilm in which the mysticsees God is the path unto God, whereas the 'ilm in which he does not see God isa veil, and there is no path between it and God. When the mystic sees God, hesees 'ilm and ma'rifah to be in banishment from God, and if he sees God not, heis not profited by his 'ilm9. Whoso abides not injahl, abides not in 'ilm: and


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unless a man is veiled byjahl from 'ilm, he will never see Godl~. The 'lum arewords (kalimdt) of God: their limit is reward, and in them God has a house, fromwhich He converses with those who possess 'ilml. (d) 'ALIM The 'dlim seeksproofs of God, but every proof merely points to himself, not to God12. Unlessthe 'dlim ceases, he is jdhil, and until he ceases, the jdhil will not cease13.There are three kinds of 'ulamd: one has his guidance in his heart, one in hishearing, and one in his learning. The 'ulamd guide to the obedience of God, notto the vision (ru'yah) of God14. III. Two terms which are frequently contrastedby Niffari are vision (ru'yah) and absence (ghaybah): here are collectedtogether the most important passages in which Niffari refers to these states.(a) RU'YAH The gate of ru'yah is waqfah, and if the wdqif emerges from thevision of God, he is consumed15. The recollection (dhikr) of God during Hisvision is an outrage: how much more the recollection of God together with thevision of other than God, or the vision 1 M. I5. 13; M. 24. 3 2 M. 25. I; M. 29.I9. A. 23. 5; cf. A. 4 3; A. 56. 25. 4 M. 37 34; A. 47. 6. 5 M. 53. Ii; M. 67.29. 6 M. 54. i2; M. 55. 5, 23; M. 67. 26; A. I7. I3. M. 77. 2; A. i6. 7; A. I9.x6. 8 A. 30. 3; cf. A. 47. 4; A. 48. 5. A. 47 I; 5;A. 52; A56. 5. 10 M. 36. I4;M. 52. 3. 11 M. II. 15; M. 17. 9; M. 64. I5. 12 M. I3. II. 13 M. 15. 26; A. 55.9. 14 M. X5. 39; A. 47. 7. 16 M. 8. 27, 90.Page 19INTRODUCTION i9 of other than God itself1. The mystic will not stay in God'svision, until he issues from specification (harf) and the thing specified

(mahrzf), and sees the veil of God as a vision, and the vision of God as aveil2. The station of the mystic is vision, and unless he stays in vision, everyphenomenal thing will snatch him away: for the vision of God severs the bondbetween the mystic and things, while the absence of God renews the bond. Thevision of God stablishes the heart and effaces existence, and in vision theidentity of subject and object is complete3. Vision is the gate of presence(hadrah): in vision, God establishes names, and effaces them in presence4. Whena man sees God, he is enriched with riches that have no opposite5. Vision is thescience of perpetuating, and he that follows it, prevails over oppositeness, forin vision there is no opposite6. In vision there is neither speech nor silence,

neither brightening nor shadow7. Vision consists in seeing God in everything,absence in seeing God in nothing8. Vision belongs to the elect, absence to thecommon: absence is this world and the next, vision is neither this world nor thenext9. It is unlawful to petition God during vision, except for the power ofsaying to a thing "Be," and it is10. For if a man rests in vision but thetwinkling of an eye, then God has caused him to traverse everything that He hasmanifested, and given him power over it". The vision of this world is apreparation for the vision of the world to come, and whoso sees not God in thisworld, will not see Him in the world to come.12 (b) GHAYBAH Absence is thefoundation of what was between God and the mystic in the mystic's manifestation,and it consists in not seeing God in anything, or in regarding God as

stablishing the manifestation, so that one regards both God and themanifestation.13 There is no consolation for God's absence, for if allphenomenal existence comes to console the mystic for God's absence, and themystic listens to it and so obeys it, he will not see God14. He that petitionsGod during absence, is as one that has no ma'rifah of God: it is indeed lawfulto petition God during absence, but only to preserve the mystic in His vision15.Everything prevails over the mystic in absence, and during absence 'ilm containseverything, and yet it profits its possessor nothing16. 1 M. 23. 6; M. 29. i6;


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A. 30. II. 2 M. 33. 9; M. 55. 29, 30. 3 M. 60. 3; A. 2. i; M. 60. 5; A. 25. ii;A. 27. 15; A. 32. 4; A. 4. I3; A. 47. 9. 4 A. 37. 9, IO. 5 M. 23. 4. 6 A. 30.i9; A. 34. 26, cf. M. I3. 8; M. 19. 7; A. 26. 3. 7 A. 30. i6, cf. M. 28. xo; A.35. 3. 8 A. 26. 5. 9 M. 30. 3, 2. 10 M. 28. 7; M. 30. 6; A. 12. 9; M. 28. 5. "M. I2. 7; A. 46. 8. 12 A. I4. 5, 4. 13 M. 66. 6; A. 26. 5; A. 24. I4. 14 M. io.6, 5. 15 M. 23. 2; M. 28. 7. 5. 16 A. 45. x; A. 48. 5; A. 56. 5. 2-2Page 2020 INTRODUCTION Absence and the carnal soul (nafs) are like a pair of gallopinghorses, and when absence is in construction, vision is in destruction'. God'sabsence which does not promise vision is a veil, for absence is a veil which isnot uncovered. It is the prison of the believer, for it is this world and thenext: in this world, it is God's threat, in the next world it is veiling, and itremains so long as there remains a demanding on the part of God and the mystic2.Finally, absence is the homeland of recollection, for it is the pasturagewherein the mystic may recollect God as God desires: and if in absence themystic departs from the recollection of God, everything will overwhelm him, andGod will not come to his assistance3. IV. \Niffari frequently discusses thenature of otherness which he equates with unreality, and variously terms siwda,ghayr, harf (pl. huruf), and kawn. The following collation of passages takenfrom his text will serve to illustrate his mystical doctrine on this matter. (a)siwA If the mystic possesses not God, he is possessed by other than God, and as

long as otherness possesses any attraction for him, he does not experiencewaqfah4. To unite otherness and ma'rifah is to destroy ma'rifah and to establishotherness: but if the mystic recollects God once, He will thereby efface therecollection of otherness for all times5. By mortification the mystic mustbanish all experience of otherness, for such experience does not dwell besideGod, being derived from otherness6. The mystic must free his house of otherness,covering his face and his heart until otherness goes forth, when there will bethe laughter of bliss7. If otherness follows the mystic, it is well: otherwise,the mystic follows otherness8. If the concentration (jam') of the mystic isthrough otherness, then that concentration is in reality separation (farq)9. The

mystic is the slave of otherness, so long as he sees any trace of it1O. Whoso isbound by God's faith, and then addresses other than God, is an infidel". Kawn isotherness: all other is a harf, and all harf is other12. God's true servant ishe that is free from other than God, and God's confidant is he that restores toGod all other than God: while God inscribes that man His companion who does notrespond to the invitation of other than God'3. In the vision of God, allotherness is a sin: when God is not seen, then all otherness is a 1 A. 31. 4; A.37. 5. 2 A. 24. z6; A. 25. 3; M. 30. i, 2; A. 27. 8, 9; A. 28. 7. 3 M. 29. i6;A. io. i6; A. 4. 5. 4 M. 8. I, 4. 5 M. 9. Io; M. Io. 3* 6 M. I7. 2, I, 6. 7 M.20. 2, 5, 9 8 M. 23.5. 9 M. 33- 4 -10 M. 36. 35. " M. 38. 2. 12 M. 39. i; M. 55.

7. 13 M. 64. 9; A. 8. 6; A. 24. 6.Page 21INTRODUCTION 21 virtue'. Whoso possesses abundance through other than God, isimpoverished by the very thing through which he possesses abundance2. (b) GHAYRIf the mystic sees other (ghayr) than God, he does not see God, for all other isthe way of other3. If the mystic is acquainted by God with otherness, he is themost ignorant of the ignorant, for in reality there is naught other than God4.To see other than God is to serve it: but that portion of the mystic which has


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ma'rifah of God is not fit for other than God5. Work performed for God onaccount of God is indeed done unto God: but work performed for God on account ofother than God is done unto other than God6. If God departs from the heart, theheart will worship other than God: but the friend of God is not contained byother than God, for God has not desired him for other than Himself7. If themystic's call is answered by God, God makes him deaf towards the call of allother than Him so long as he continues: but if the mystic chooses other thanGod, then God will be absent8. (c) H.ARF Letter is the treasury of God, andwhoso enters it, has borne God's trust: letter is God's fire, His value, Hisdecree, and the treasury of His secret9. Every rational thing which appears ischosen by God and composed by His letters: for God joined every pair of letterswith one of His qualities, and so brought into existence the existences throughthe qualities joining them together10. Those that are with God do not understanda letter which addresses them, for they have been made to witness that it isthrough letter that God shows His abidingness, and they know that letter is ameans and an instrument'l. The letter, through which the letters come intoexistence, is not equal to the praiseworthy qualities of God, and cannot coexistwith His station: for if all speech were concentrated into a single letter, andthat letter connected with God, it would not attain to the praise of God, norendure the vision of His nearness'2. God only sent the mystic into letter, thathe might seek one letter from another, as fire is sought from fire'3. If the

mystic emerges from letter, he will escape from the magic: and this emergencefrom letter involves emergence from names, things named, all phenomena, and soleads to perfect communion; for the mystic does not stay in the vision of God,until he emerges from harf and 1 A. 34. 0o. 2 A. 40. 2. 3 M. 5. 2; M. 26. Io. 4M. 39. I; M. 41. 2. 5 M. 45. 5; M. 48. 2I. 6 M. 5I. 6. 7 M. 60. 9; M. 6I. I; A.Ix. 6. 8 A. 36. I4; A. 43. 2. 9 A. 23. 6; A. 53. I. 10 M. 32. 4; M. 63. 9. 1 M.67. 20. 12 M. 51. 24; A. 4. 2. 1a A. 53- 4.Page 2222 INTRODUCTION mahrufl. Letter is a veil2: 'ilm is a letter, and ma'rifah is aletter, and unless the mystic sets the letter behind him, he will not prosper,for doubt dwells in letter, and "howness " dwells in letter, and letter is thepass of Iblis3. Letter knows not God, and God only addresses letter with thetongue of letter4: the letter cannot inform of itself, how then can it tell of

God, Who made it and informs of it5? Letter is a guide to 'ilm, but it does notenter into jahl: 'ilm is contained in letter, and to it letter must be cast inthe progress towards God6. The friend of God is not contained by letter: and ifthe letter is established for the mystic, he does not belong to God, while ifthe letter opposes him, he does not belong to God7. Letter does not reachPresence (hadrah), and the people of presence transcend letter and banish it:those that depart from letter are the people of presence, and those that havedeparted from themselves have departed from letter8. God is nearer than theletter, though it should speak, and He is farther than the letter, though itshould be silent: for he is the Lord of harf and mahrzuf9. Names are the lightof letter, and the thing named is the light of names10. (d) KAWN Kawn is astaying, and every part of kawn is a staying: kawn is otherness, and if themystic complies with it, God will punish him, and will not accept what he

brings". Whoso clings to kawn, to him kawn occurs: but when the mystic standswith God, he transcends kawniyyah, for the vision of God effaces kawn12. Waqfahis indeed the fire of kawn, for the mystic, by virtue of not resting in kawn,transcends the quality of kawn13. The whole of kawn is not wide enough tocontain the gifts of God: kawn has not achieved the understanding of its ownproduction (takwin), and never will attain it14. When the mystic takes kawn tobe his path, God will not provision him from it, for the provision never comesfrom the path15. Kawn is as it were the ball, and 'ilm the arena'6. "Thou "-thatis, the idea of a second person-is the meaning of the whole of kawn17. V.


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Lastly, it will be useful to collect together the passages which throw light onNiffari's characteristic doctrine of Meaning (ma'nd), Name (ism), and Letters(hurzf): for while the isolated sentences are often incomprehensible, whencollected and compared they exhibit a definite and interesting mysticalphilosophy. 1 A. i6. 5; M. I8. 4; M. 33. 9; M. I8. 3. 2 M. 55. 2; M. 64. 2; M.67. i; A. I7. I5. 8 M. 55. 5, 6, 7, I, io, I I; M. 67. 28. 4 M. 67. Io; M. 55.3; M. 67. ii. 5 M. 34. 8, 9. 6 M. 67. 26, 25; M. 54. x2; A. I7. 14. 7 M. 6i. i;A. i5. I. 8 M. 67. 49, 51, 58, 59. 9 A. 17. I, 2. 10 A. I9. 3; cf. M. 13. 13. nM. 36. i, 2; M. 39- i. 12 M. 36. 7; A. I9. 8; A. 4. I3. 13 M. 8. 103, IOI, 99.14 M. Io. 4; M. 7. 7. 15 M. II. 4. 16 A. 32. I. 17 M. 4. 8.Page 23INTRODUCTION 23 (a) MA'NA " Thou " is the meaning of the whole of phenomenalexistence. Thy meaning is more powerful than the heaven and the earth: itperceives without glancing, and hears without hearing; it dwells not in houses,and eats not of fruits, is not covered by the night, and does not pasture in theday. It is not compassed by the intellects, nor are causes connected with it:this is the meaning which God has created, and God is beyond it1. God desires tomanifest His creation, and to show forth in it what He wills: He will thereforeshow it forth as inviting to itself and veiling from Him, as being present inits ma'nawiyyah and absent from His staying: for God has manifested everything,and appointed order therein as a veil from its ma'nawiyyah, and imposed limitupon it as a veil from His desire concerning it. Every spiritualised ma'nawiyyah

is only spiritualised in order that it may activate, and every quiddifiedquiddity is only quiddified in order that it may be created. The companion ofeverything is its condition's ruler, and the condition of everything amounts toits ma'nawiyyah, and the ma'nawiyyah of everything speaks of the thing, and thespeech of everything is its veil when it speaks2. Phenomena are the conditioningof a quality which has been detached from a quality, the quality remaining as aquality, and the conditioning a conditioning. The world may be considered asexisting on two levels: on the upper level are the spirits and lights, on thelower level the bodies and darknesses. Totality belongs to the lower level, butwhen associated with man, it belongs to the higher level. The aniyyah and thehuwiyyah belong to the totality: God's Huwiyyah manifested the manifests through

ma'nawiyyah, and in them the worlds of abiding; then It manifested to theabiding, and it perished, and there remained the single ma'nawiyyah. Thema'nawiyyah belongs to the higher level, and man's place is between thespiritual and the abiding3. Everything has a tree: the tree of letters is names;depart from names, and thou wilt depart from meanings, and so be fit for thema'rifah of God4. For if thou departest from thy meaning thou departest from thyname, and if thou departest from thy name thou fallest into God's name. Allother is imprisoned in its meaning, and its meaning is imprisoned in its name:so, when thou departest from thy name and thy meaning, there no more remains tothee any approach for him who is imprisoned in his name and meaninge. Everything

has an adherent name: and every name has names: the names separate from thename, and the name separates from the meaning6. God has joined every 1 M. 4. 8;M. 67. 30-6. 2 M. 56, 4; A. I2. i3; M. ii. ii; M. 37. 28. M. 49. 4-7, 12. 4 M.13. i3, 14 -5 M. 55. 54, 55. 6 M. I8. I4.Page 2424 INTRODUCTION pair of letters with one of His qualities, and the existenceshave been brought into existence through the qualities joining them together:the ineffable quality acts upon the joining, and through it the meanings arestablished, and to meanings are compounded names1. (b) ISM Letter is contained


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in names, names are contained in name, name is contained in essence: names arethe light of letter, and the thing named is the light of names2. Knowledge andthe thing known are in name, and condition and the thing conditioned are inknowledge. Name is the mine of knowledge, and knowledge is the mine ofeverything: name destroys knowledge, knowledge destroys the thing known, and thething named destroys name3. Unto God are the names: He imposed them, and throughHimself He imposed them. His name and His names are His depositaries with man:let him not expel them, or He will depart from his heart4. Wherever God has setHis name, there let the mystic set his: for when God gives him one of His names,and his heart addresses Him, by means of it, then God will cause him toexperience Him, not himself, and he addresses God by means of that part of himwhich God addresses5. When a man sees God and does not see His name, then he mayassign himself to God's service, for he is His servant; when he sees God, andsees His name, God prevails; when he sees God's name and does not see God, hisaction is not fit for God, and he is not God's servant. He must conceal God fromHis name, otherwise he will see it and not see God: but if he does not see God,he must not leave His name6. Surrender to God thy name, and set not between Godand thee any name or knowledge: for thy knowledge is thy veil, and thy names are

thy veil7. When God expels thee from names, then He announces to thee Hisauthority: and name owns no authority apart from Him8. (C) HURTF For Niffari'sdoctrine concerning hurzufy see p. 21 s.v. harf. D. MANUSCRIPTS In preparingthis edition of the Mawdqif and Mukhdtabdt, I have collated the following MSS.:B = MS. Marsh i66 of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. A clear, well-written MS.,slightly illuminated, containing the Mawdqif 1M. 63. 9. 2M. 54. i2;A. I9. 3. 3A. 17. 12, 13. 4A. 17. 7; M. 60. 8. S M. 51. II; M. 63. 5. 6 M. 20. x8, 19, 20;M. 31. 5; M. 24. I. 7 M. 14. X0, 14; cf. M. 6o. I3; M. 64. i8; M. 65. 8; A. 27.7. 8 M. 22. io; M. 64. I2.Page 25INTRODUCTION 25 with the commentary of Tilimsani, completed in 694 A.H., of 220folios. G= MS. Gotha 880. An excellent MS. containing by far the best tradition.

Contains the Mawdqif and Mukhatabdt together with the fragments, but withoutcommentary. Completed in 58I A.H., of 132 folios. At present its numeration isin slight disorder. The MS. is, according to the statement of the copyist, acopy of the autograph of Niffari himself: it preserves what is evidently a veryold tradition as to the date and division of the various parts of the writings,vid. my commentary on M. 31 init., M. 32 fin., M. 38 init., M. 52 init., M. 54init., M. 67 init., M. 68 init., M. 76 init., A. i init., A. 23 fin., A. 25init., A. 29 fin. I=MS. India Office London 597. With this I was firstacquainted through a copy made from it by Professor Nicholson. Contains theMawdqif and Tilimsani's commentary, and completed in 1087 A.H., of 156 folios. L= MS. Leiden Warner 638. This MS. is not mentioned in Brockelmann's list, and my

attention was called to it by the kindness of Dr C. van Arendonk, who describesit as follows: "The MS. is clear and well-wxritten in bold nashki: it has I92folios and i i lines on a page and the text surface is 8 x 15 cm. It isvocalised up to f. 73 and has marginal commentaries up to f. 84. There is nodate, but the MS. is here (Leiden) since the middle of the seventeenth century."The commentary is mainly that of Tilimsani, but there are also fragments of acommentary by one 'Abdu '1-Karim al-Suzi. M= MS. Marsh 554 of the BodleianLibrary. Written in a small neat hand, of 175 folios, containing the Mawdqif and


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the Mukhatabdt with a short anonymous commentary, which there is some reason toattribute to Ibn al-'Arabi, vid. my commentary on M. 7. 4. The MS. is undated,and is mainly of the same tradition as G. Q=MS. Timur Pasha (Cairo RoyalLibrary) Tasawwuf II. Contains the Mawdqif and Mukhatabdt, and some fragments. Aconsiderable part of the Mawdqif has been lost. Completed in 1116 A.H. Only itsreadings for the Mukhdtabdt have been incorporated into this edition, as itsauthority for the Mawdqif is of negligible weight. T= MS. Thurston 4 of theBodleian Library. A parchment MS. of the same tradition as B and I, undated, ofII5 folios.Page 2626 INTRODUCTION E. STEMMA (Fragmentary Niffari) (Redactor) I (X) (Y) I I -----^.F ---I (Z? = Ibn al-'A.) G (Tilimsani) L I Q BI M Q B I TPage 27THE BOOK OF THE SPIRITUAL STAYINGS MAWQIF OF GLORY (i) He stayed me in Glory,and said to me: i. None has possession of it save Me, and it is proper to nonesave Me. I am the Glorious, Whose neighbourhood is insupportable and Whosecontinuance is not sought. I manifested the Manifest, and am more manifest thanit; its nearness does not attain to Me, and its existence is not guided unto Me:and I concealed the Inwardly, and am more concealed than it; no indication of itapplies to Me, and no path of it leads aright unto Me. 2. I am nearer to eachthing than its gnosis of itself: but its gnosis of itself does not pass beyond

itself to Me, and it does not know Me, so long as its self is the object of itsgnosis. 3. But for me, the eyes would not have seen the visible things proper tothem and the ears would not have heard the audible things proper to them. 4. IfI had uttered the Word of Glory, it would have swept away the perceptions as ifwith scythes, and obliterated the gnoses like the sand, on the day when the windsweeps over it. 5. If the Voice of Glory had spoken, the voices of everyqualification would have been silent, and the attainments of every attributewould have returned to nothingness. 6. Where is he that makes My gnoses a meansof coming to Me? If I had shown him the tongue of sovereignty, his gnosis wouldhave been changed to agnosia, and he would have been shaken, as the heavens areshaken on the day of their shaking. 7. If I do not cause thee to witness my

Glory in that which I cause thee to witness, then I have set thee in abasementin it. 8. The party of the people of heaven and earth are in the abasement ofcircumscription. But I have servants, whom heaven cannot contain with all itstiers, and whose hearts the sides of earth cannot support. I have caused theeyes of their hearts to witness my Glory's lights, which fall not on anythingbut they destroy it. Their hearts behold nothing in the heavens, that theyshould affirm it, and they have no place of return in the earth, that theyshould dwell in it. 9. Take that which thou needest to concentrate thee upon Me,or I will restore thee unto thy need and separate thee from Me. IO. When Mygnosis is present, there is no need: while My gnosis is coming, take what thouneedest.Page 28

28 KITAB AL-MAWAQIF I I. My self-revelation which I have shown forth cannotsupport My self-revelation which I have not shown forth. 12. I am notself-revelation, and I am not knowledge: I am not like self-revelation, and I amnot like knowledge. MAWQIF OF NEARNESS (2) He stayed me in Nearness, and said tome: I. Nothing is nearer to Me than any other thing, and nothing is farther fromMe than any other thing, except inasfar as I establish it in nearness andfarness. 2. Farness is made known by nearness, and nearness is made known by


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spiritual experience: I am He whom nearness does not seek, and Whom spiritualexperience does not attain. 3. The least of the sciences of my nearness is, thatthou shouldst see the effects of my regard in everything, and that it shouldprevail in thee over thy gnosis of it. 4. The nearness which thou knowest is,compared with the nearness I know, like thy gnosis compared with my gnosis. 5.My farness thou knowest not, and my nearness thou knowest not, nor myqualification knowest thou as I know it. 6. I am the Near, but not as one thingis near to another: and I am the Far, but not as one thing is far from another.7. Thy nearness is not thy farness, and thy farness is not thy nearness: I amthe Near and the Far, with a nearness which is farness, and a farness which isnearness. 8. The nearness which thou knowest is distance, and the farness whichthou knowest is distance: I am the Near and the Far without distance. 9. I amnearer to the tongue than its speech when it speaks. Whoso contemplates Me doesnot recollect, and whoso recollects Me does not contemplate. Io. As for therecollecting contemplative, if what he contemplates is not a reality, he isveiled by what he recollects. I. Not every recollector is a contemplative: butevery contemplative is a recollector. 12. I revealed Myself unto thee, and thouknewest Me not: that is farness. Thy heart saw Me, and saw Me not: that isfarness. 13. Thou findest Me and findest Me not: that is farness. Thoudescribest Me, and dost not apprehend Me by My description: that is farness.Thou hearest my address as though it were from thy heart, whereas it is from Me:that is farness. Thou seest thyself, and I am nearer to thee than thy vision of

thyself: that is farness.Page 29BOOK OF SPIRITUAL STAYINGS 29 MAWQIF OF HIS MAJESTY (3) He stayed me in HisMajesty, and said unto me: i. I am the Manifest, Whose manifestation does notreveal Him: and I am the Inwardly, to the knowledge of Whom the inward facultiesdo not attain. 2. I began, and created Separation, and nothing was of Me, nor Iof it: then I returned, and created Union, in which the separated things wereunited, and the distinct things composed. 3. Not every servant knows mylanguage, that it should address him; and not every servant understands myinterpretation, that it should converse with him. 4. If I united the power ofevery thing in a single thing, and comprised the gnosis of every thing in asingle thing, and established the faculty of every thing in a single thing, it

would not endure my self-revelation owing to its self-effacement, and it wouldnot support my continuance on account of its loss of personal experience. 5. Thelights rise from the light of my manifestation, and sink into the light of mymanifestation: the darknesses rise from the failure to seek Me, and depart intothe failure to seek Me. 6. Majesty is glory, and glory is nearness, and nearnessis the loss of the knowledge of the knowers. 7. The spirits of the gnostics arenot like spirits, and their bodies are not like bodies. 8. My friends who staybefore Me are of three kinds. One stays in devotion, and I reveal Myself to himthrough generosity; one stays in knowledge, and I reveal Myself to him throughglory; one stays in gnosis, and I reveal Myself to him through overwhelming. 9.Generosity speaks through the fair promise, glory through the establishing of

power, overwhelming through the tongue of nearness. IM. Those that stay throughMe stay in every staying, and go forth from every staying. MAWQIF OF "THOU ISTHE MEANING OF THE WHOLE OF PHENOMENAL EXISTENCE" (4) He stayed me, and said tome: i. Thou art enduring and established. Do not regard thy enduring, for by thyregarding thou comest to thyself. 2. Consider that which establishes thee, andthat which is established by Me, and thou shalt be saved: for thou wilt see Meand thyself, and when I am in a thing, I prevail. 3. So long as thou regardestthyself as an enduring or asPage 30


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30 KITAB AL-MAWAQIF enduring, and dost not see Me in thy vision as theestablisher, I veil my face, and there is revealed unto thee thy face. Then ddthou consider what is shown to thee, and what is concealed from thee. 4. Do notconsider the act of showing, nor the thing that is shown, that thou shouldstlaugh and weep: for when thou laughest and weepest, thou belongest to thyself,not to Me. 5. If thou settest not behind thy back everything which I have shownand am showing, thou wilt not prosper; and if thou dost not prosper, thou wiltnot be concentrated upon Me. 6. Be between Me and that which has been shown andis being shown, and set not between Me and thee either a state of being shown oran act of showing. 7. The statements in which the word " thou " occurs are ofgeneral application. 8. "Thou" is the meaning of the whole of phenomenalexistence. 9. I desire to inform thee concerning Myself without any trace ofother than Myself. iO. He is not mine who sees Me and himself through his ownmaking to see: he only is mine who sees Me and himself through my making him tosee. i i. He is not a case for clemency, who sees Me and himself: is there notin him an unperceived polytheism? I2. Non-perception is a revelation incomparison with seeing Me and oneself, but it is a veil in comparison withreality. I3. Reality is the quality of the Real, and I am the Real. I4. This ismy mode of expression, and thou art writing: how would it be, if thou wert notwriting? MAWQIF OF "MY TIME HAS COME" (5) He stayed me, and said to me: i. Ifthou seest Me not, thou existest not through Me. 2. If thou seest other than Me,thou seest Me not. 3. My indications in a thing annihilate in it the real

reality, and establish it as belonging to God, not as existing through itself.4. There is that in thee which neither suffers itself to change, nor is changed.5. Silence for Me thy silent part, and the articulate part will speak perforce.6. The effect of my regard is in every thing: and if thou addressest itaccording to thy own language, thou wilt convert it. 7. Set my recollectionbehind thy back, or thou wilt return to other than Me, and nothing will stopthee from so doing. 8. My time has come, and it is high time that I should showforth my face and reveal my splendours, and that my light shouldPage 31BOOK OF SPIRITUAL STAYINGS 31 be joined with sensible forms and

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