The Key Concepts of Al-Farghån 'S Commentary On Ibn Al-Fåri 'S Sufi Poem, Al-Tå Iyyat Al-Kubrå

The Key Concepts of al-Farghån¨’s
Commentary on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi

Poem, al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå
Giuseppe Scattolin
1. INTRODUCTION
My first approach to Ibn al-Fåri‰’s great poem al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå

has been carried out on the basis of a semantic analysis of its
language.1 One of the results of such an analysis was to point
out the difference that exists between Ibn al-Fåri‰’s experiential
and poetic language and Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s more theoretical and
philosophical one. Later on, I carried out a detailed analysis of
the first great commentary of the poem, worked out by Sa¡¨d al-
D¨n al-Farghån¨ (d.699/1300), comparing it to my first work in
order to find out to what extent al-Farghån¨ has been faithful to
the linguistic character of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry.2 Recently, I
have also carried out the critical edition of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s D¨wån,
to establish a more reliable text for future researches.3
In the present research, I intend to review some of the most
relevant results of my work on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poems in the light
1. Giuseppe Scattolin, L’esperienza mistica di Ibn al-Fåri‰ attraverso il suo

poema al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå – Un’analisi semantica del poema (Rome: PISAI,
1987, 3 vols.; unpublished); summarized in “L’expérience mystique de Ibn
al-Fåri‰ à travers son Poème al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå”, in MIDEO 19 (1989),
pp. 203–23; and in “The mystical experience of ¡Umar Ibn al-Fåri‰ or the
Realization of Self (Anå, I)” in The Muslim World 82/3–4 (July–October, 1992),
pp. 275–86.
2. Idem, “Al-Farghån¨’s Commentary on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Mystical Poem
al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå” in MIDEO 21 (1993), pp. 331–83, from which most of
the ideas of the present contribution have been taken.
3. The D¨wån of Ibn al-Fåri‰, a critical edition by Giuseppe Scattolin (Cairo:
IFAO, 2004), p. 264 (English introduction 28 pp. + Arabic text 236 pp.).
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Giuseppe Scattolin
of the discussion of his relationship with Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi vi-

sion and language. As a basis for this research, I take al-Farghån¨’s
commentary because it stands at the beginning of a large chain
of commentaries on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poems carried out by Ibn al-
¡Arab¨’s school. Through them Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi vision and
concepts have been largely introduced as tools to explain Ibn
al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry. In this way, Akbarian concepts and terms
have shaped the common understanding of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufism
up to our time, in Sufi and non-Sufi milieux.4
Among these commentaries, a special importance has always
been given to that of al-Farghån¨. This is an important testi-
mony of the way Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poems have been adopted and
explained since the earliest times by Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s disciples. In
fact, al-Farghån¨ says that he took his explanation of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s
Great Tå¤iyya (al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå) directly from his master Íadr
al-D¨n al-Q¬naw¨ (d.673/1274), Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s foremost disciple
and successor. Around the same time, ¡Af¨f al-D¨n al-Tilimsån¨
(d.690/1291), a companion of al-Farghån¨ in al-Q¬naw¨’s school,
also wrote a commentary on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poem, but his com-
mentary has not yet been edited and studied. After these two,
one finds a large number of commentaries on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi
poetry produced by the Akbarian school. Among them, one
has to particularly mention those of ¡Abd al-Razzåq al-Kåshån¨
(d.730/1330), Sharaf al-D¨n Dåw¬d al-Qayßar¨ (d.751/1350) and
¡Abd al-Ghan¨ al-Nåbulus¨ (d.1143/1730). All these authors have
been outstanding masters of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s school, and in their
commentaries they usually resort to Akbarian concepts and terms
in order to explain Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry.
Among them all, al-Farghån¨’s commentary has always en-
joyed special appreciation as a classical reference to Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s
Sufism, in Arabic and non-Arabic Sufi circles, in ancient and
modern times. Sayyid Jalål Ashtiyån¨, a contemporary Persian
scholar, says that: “… [al-Farghån¨’s commentary] has no equal
4. For a general overview of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s school of Sufism see William

C. Chittick, “Ibn al-¡Arab¨ and his School”, Islamic Spirituality, vol. II (Manifes-
tations), World Spirituality: An Encyclopedic History of the Religious Quest,
n. 20 (New York: Crossroad, 1991), pp. 49–79.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 34

Al-Farghån¨’s Commentary on al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå
in the exposition of the Sufi sciences and that many Sufis, in

ancient and recent times, have benefited especially from its Intro-
duction (muqaddima)”.5 In the same vein, William C. Chittick, a
contemporary American scholar, praises al-Farghån¨ as one who:
“… wrote some of the clearest and most detailed early expositions
of his and Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s ideas”.6
In spite of such consensus, one cannot avoid questioning the
validity of al-Farghån¨’s way of interpreting Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi
poetry. Does al-Farghån¨ really convey the original meaning of
Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry, or does he force his own thoughts, basi-
cally taken from Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufism, into Ibn al-Fåri‰’s verses?
Moreover, is such an assimilation of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poetry into Ibn
al-¡Arab¨’s Sufism, though supported by many other commenta-
tors, historically correct and justified? We know that Ibn al-Fåri‰
has, over time, often been included in the condemnation of Ibn
al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi school carried out by some Muslim scholars, such
as Ibn Taymiyya (d.728/1328) and his school. One might ask,
however, whether such a condemnation could be based on a mis-
interpretation of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi vision and language, because
of his Akbarian commentators. Such questioning has become an
ever more central issue in the discussion of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi po-
etry and its meaning, and no convincing answer has been given
either by Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s supporters or opponents. Trying to find
answers to such questioning and keys for a more faithful and
consistent interpretation of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry has been the
purpose of my previous studies on this great Egyptian poet.
In this present paper, I intend to summarize some basic traits
and ideas of al-Farghån¨’s methodology in his commentary of Ibn
al-Fåri‰’s poem, comparing them with the results of my semantic
analysis. I will discuss whether al-Farghån¨’s and, more generally,
Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s school, has interpreted Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry in
line with the true character of his Sufi poetry, or whether, on the
5. Mashåriq al-darår¨ Shar¢ Tå¤iyya Ibn al-Fåri‰; ta¤l¨f Sa¡¨d al-D¨n Ía¡¨d
Farghån¨, translated and commented on by Sayyid Jalål al-D¨n Ashtiyån¨
(Mashhad, Iran: Anjuman-i Falsafah-i wa-¡Irfån-i Islam, 1398/1978): Intro-
duction, pp. 127–30.
6. William C. Chittick, “The Five Presences: from al-Q¬naw¨ to al-Qayßar¨”,
The Muslim World 72/2 (1982), p. 108.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
other hand, their way of interpretation does betray the letter and
the intent of the Egyptian Sufi poet, forcing into his language
foreign concepts and terms, taken from a different Sufi vision,
the Akbarian philosophical sufism.
2. AL-FARGHÅNÔ’S LIFE AND WORK
Al-Farghån¨’s complete name is Sa¡¨d al-D¨n Ab¬ ¡Uthmån

Mu¢ammad b. A¢mad al-Kåsån¨ al-Farghån¨, but he is usually
referred to simply as Sa¡¨d al-D¨n al-Farghån¨. He was born around
629/1231 in the town of Kåsån, in the valley of Farghåna (in
Central Asia, in a region known at that time as Khuråsån) from
which he derived his nisbas “al-Kåsån¨ al-Farghån¨”. He died in
Damascus in the month of Dh¬’l-±ijja 699/August 1300.7
Al-Farghån¨’s life can be divided into two periods.
To begin with, while still a young student in his homeland,
al-Farghån¨ entered one of the earliest and most famous Sufi
orders in the Islamic world, the Suhrawardiyya. This order was
founded by two prominent Sufi masters of the same family:
Ab¬ Naj¨b ¡Abd al-Qådir al-Suhraward¨ (d.563/1168), a disci-
ple of A¢mad al-Ghazål¨ (d.520/1126), the younger brother of
the great Ash¡arite theologian and Sufi, Ab¬ ±åmid al-Ghazål¨
(d.505/1111). Ab¬ Naj¨b is the author of one of the first manuals
on the Sufi life, “The Manners of the Adepts” (Ådåb al-mur¨d¨n). The
order was continued and better organized by Ab¬ Naj¨b’s nephew,
Shihåb al-D¨n Ab¬ ±afß ¡Umar al-Suhraward¨ (d.632/1234), a
most famous Sufi, contemporary to Ibn al-Fåri‰ and author of an
7. Louis Pouzet fixes the place of al-Farghån¨’s death in Damascus, in his

Damas au VIIe/XIIIe siècle. Vie et structure religieuse d’une métropole islamique
(Recherches Nouvelle Série: A – Langue Arabe et Pensée Islamique, tome XV,
Beyrouth: Dar al-Machreq, 1988), p. 219. Pouzet also remarks that many
of Ibn ¡Arab¨’s disciples were buried in Damascus, near the tomb of their
master, in order to come under the influence of his blessing (baraka). Among
them he mentions Badr al-D¨n ±asan b. H¬d (d.699/1300), Íadr al-D¨n al-
Q¬naw¨ (d.673/1274), who wished to be buried near his master Ibn ¡Arab¨,
¡Af¨f al-D¨n Sulaymån al-Tilimsån¨ (d.690/1291), and Mu¢ammad al-Åyk¨
al-Fåris¨ (d.697/1298), ibid., pp. 217–20, 234–35.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 36

important Sufi manual, “The Gifts of the Divine Sciences” (¡Awårif

al-ma¡årif). In the Suhrawardiyya order al-Farghån¨ had his first
Sufi initiation, and took both the cloak of discipleship (khirqat
al-iråda) and the practice of invocation of the Divine Names
(talq¨n al-dhikr). Later on, al-Farghån¨ himself became a master
of a Sufi convent called “The Mill” (al-†å¢¬n), the location of
which is unclear.
The second period of his life started when al-Farghån¨ entered
into the companionship and service (ßu¢ba wa-khidma) of Íadr
al-D¨n al-Q¬naw¨ (d.673/1274), the foremost disciple and suc-
cessor of the Great Sufi Master (al-shaykh al-akbar) Mu¢y¨ al-D¨n
Ibn al-¡Arab¨ (d.638/1240). Íadr al-D¨n al-Q¬naw¨ had founded
in Konya (in Anatolia, present-day Central Turkey), a flourishing
centre of Sufism that attracted many students and scholars from
all over the Islamic world.8
This second period was quite momentous in al-Farghån¨’s
life. Íadr al-D¨n al-Q¬naw¨ introduced him into the “sciences of
Reality” (¡ul¬m al-¢aq¨qa), that is, as he says, into Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s
Sufi vision. In Konya, al-Farghån¨ also listened to al-Q¬naw¨’s
explanations of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå. This was the
starting point for what became his most important work, his
Commentary (shar¢) on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poem.9 Echoing at first
al-Q¬naw¨’s explanations, al-Farghån¨ wrote his Commentary
8. Al-Farghån¨’s trip to Konya is probably connected with the general

movement of peoples from the East to the West that happened in the mid-
dle of the seventh/thirteenth century under the onslaught of the Mongols
advancing toward Baghdad. In 656/1258 Baghdad was conquered and
destroyed by the Mongols led by their chief, H¬låg¬.
9. In a passage reported by al-Farghån¨ in Mashåriq al-darår¨, op. cit.,
pp. 5–6 and 77–8, al-Q¬naw¨ himself explains the story of his commentary
on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poem. He says that he went to Egypt for the first time in
630/1233, when Ibn al-Fåri‰ was still alive, without meeting him. Ten years
later, in 640/1243, he returned to Egypt. This time he met a number of
Sufi masters (shuy¬kh) who urged him to explain Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poems,
which were held in high esteem by everybody. Thus al-Q¬naw¨ agreed to
write a commentary of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s great poem al-Tå¤iyya kubrå. On al-
Q¬naw¨’s advice, al-Farghån¨ wrote his commentary in Persian and presented
it to his master who approved and blessed the work. Later on, al-Farghån¨
reworked his commentary in Arabic. This seems to be the complete story
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Giuseppe Scattolin
in Persian under the title: “Mashåriq al-darår¨ al-zuhar f¨ kashf

¢aqå¤iq na™m al-durar” (The Rising Places of the Brilliant Stars in
Unveiling the Realities of the Knitted Pearls).10 Later on, al-Farghån¨
reworked his Commentary in Arabic under the title: “Muntahå
al-madårik wa-muntahå lubb-i kull-i kåmil-in wa-¡årif-in wa-sålik-
in” (The Utmost Realities Accessible to the Intellects and the Under-
standings of Any Perfect, Knowing and Disciple Sufi).11 The Arabic
version is really a new composition, about one-third larger than
the Persian one. Al-Farghån¨’s Arabic Introduction (muqaddima)
to his Commentary, in which he gives a systematic exposition of
his Sufi vision, has always enjoyed special consideration as one of
the best syntheses of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi thought. This Introduc-
tion is also important in order to understand his commentary on
the poem, because in it al-Farghån¨ explains his Sufi vision and
the basic concepts he uses in his explanation of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi
poetry. For this reason I will offer a substantial summary of it.
of al-Farghån¨’s Persian and Arabic commentaries on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s great

poem al-Tå¤iyya kubrå.
10. The full title is given in Mashåriq, ed. Sayyid Jalål al-D¨n Ashtiyån¨,
op. cit., p. 13.
11. Muntahå al-madårik ([Istanbul]: Maktab al-Íanå¤i¡, 1293/1876). This
is the only existing printed edition. It consists of two volumes of 596 pages:
vol. 1, pp. 1–358, of which pp. 1–107 are the “Introduction” (muqaddima);
and vol. 2, pp. 1–238. The printed edition was done by a certain Mu¢ammad
Shukr¨ al-Òf¨ in 1293/1876 in Maktab al-Íanå¤i¡. The place is not evident
from the text. A.J. Arberry puts it “in the East”, The Poem of the Way (London:
Emerson Walker, 1952), p. 7, while F. Rosenthal and W. Chittick identify it in
Istanbul. The full title of the Commentary is given in Madårik, op. cit., p. 5.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 38

3. AL-FARGHÅNÔ’S MUQADDIMA12
3.1. The Transcendent Mystery (al-ghayb) and its

Self-Manifestations (tajalliyåt)13
Al-Farghån¨’s Introduction is centred on the general Akbarian
idea that the transcendent Mystery (al-ghayb) of the Divine Es-
sence (al-dhåt) manifests or unfolds itself in a series of self-mani-
festations (tajalliyåt), known as its names (asmå¤) and attributes
(ßifåt). Such an idea is at the core of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi thought.
In fact, al-Farghån¨ starts his reflection quoting a well-known
hadith, classified among the Divine hadiths (¢ad¨th quds¨), start-
ing with the words “kuntu kanz-an …”. The same hadith is also
at the centre of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi reflection; it says:
I was a hidden treasure, I loved to be known, so I created the world

in order to become known.14
Through it some important Sufi concepts are introduced:

(a) The “hidden treasure”: this term is meant to designate the
unseen, Divine Mystery (ghayb) in its absolute, transcendent
hiddenness (khafå¤) and self-sufficiency (ghinå), as al-Farghån¨
explains:
Know – may God help you with the true understanding – that
in this Divine hadith by the hidden treasure (al-kanz al-khåf¨) is
meant the unfathomable Mystery (kunh al-ghayb) and the abso-
lute transcendence of the Essence (i†låq al-dhåt al-aqdas) and the
inward eternal Ipseity (bå†in al-huwiyyat al-azaliyya).15
12. In the historical sources al-Farghån¨’s famous “Introduction” is some-

times called D¨båja, a term that means “ornament” and was often used to
indicate the introduction to literary works.
13. Madårik I, pp. 5–45.
14. This hadith is reported in various wordings, but it is not mentioned
in the official collections of hadith; we refer here to Arendt J. Wensinck,
Concordance et indices de la tradition musulmane (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1936–69),
7 vols.; in al-Farghån¨’s text it reads: “Kuntu kanz-an makhfiyy-an, fa-a¢babtu
¡an u¡rafa, fa-khalaqtu l-khalqa li-u¡rafa”, Madårik I, p. 5.
15. Madårik I, p. 5.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
(b) “I loved”: love (¢ubb) is shown to be the original movement

and the first eternal impulse that drove the Divine Mystery out
of hiddenness towards its self-disclosure or self-manifestation
(tajall¨, ™uh¬r). It is out of love that the non-manifest and the
unseen Mystery became manifest and visible. Love, therefore,
is indicated as the ultimate cause of creation.
(c) “To be known”: the true knowledge (ma¡rifa) of the Mystery
can only be reached through its own self-manifestation, and
in no other way. Consequently, only the Sufi knowledge must
be considered to be true knowledge, because it is the know-
ledge of God through God himself.
(d) “I created the world”: the created world or the universe (khalq)
is seen as the manifestation of the Hidden Treasure, i.e. of the
Divine Mystery. As such, the created world has no independ-
ent being in itself and no possible meaning outside its rela-
tion to God: it is absolutely dependent on God’s continuous
creative act.
Starting from such a premise, al-Farghån¨ expounds the process
of self-manifestation of the Mystery. The unfathomable Mystery
is seen as manifesting itself through a number of aspects or lev-
els, called self-manifestations (tajalliyåt) or self-determinations
(ta¡ayyunåt). The Mystery, coming out of its eternal hiddenness
and darkness (™ulma), reveals itself first of all in its transcendent
and absolute Oneness (wa¢da).16 This Oneness, however, is not to
be thought of as a static identity, but rather as a dynamic and dia-
lectical process. In fact, Oneness is the principle of self-identity
of the Mystery and, at the same time, the source of its countless,
possible self-manifestations or self-determinations. Therefore,
such an original Oneness (wa¢da) must be considered under two
basic aspects: the first called the Absolute Unity (al-a¢adiyya), and
the second called the Related Unity (al-wå¢idiyya).
16. Al-Farghån¨ uses in his text a number of theological concepts

such as Essence (dhåt), Oneness (wa¢da), qualities and attributes (ßifåt), and
others. These terms are not mere rational concepts, but they carry clear Sufi
overtones, basically inspired by Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s vision.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 40

3.1.1. THE ABSOLUTE UNITY (AL-A±ADIYYA)

This term is a derivative of a¢ad, a Quranic qualification of God
as One. In al-Farghån¨’s vocabulary it designates the transcendent
and absolute Oneness of God in himself, with no relation to any
kind of multiplicity or determination. The Absolute Unity is re-
lated only to the Absolute Mystery (ghayb) and, therefore, it takes
the Mystery’s colour which is, as al-Farghån¨ says, the colour of
darkness (™ulma) that no eye can penetrate or violate.
3.1.2. THE RELATED UNITY (AL-WÅ±IDIYYA)

This term is a derivative of wå¢id, another Quranic qualifica-
tion of God as One. The Related Unity denotes, in al-Farghån¨’s
thought, the Oneness not in its absoluteness, as Absolute Unity,
but as related to multiplicity, i.e. to the infinite, possible aspects
that can derive from it.17
Both aspects of Oneness (wa¢da), the Absolute Unity and the
Related Unity, are qualified as being all-comprehensive (jåmi¡)
or having the characteristic of all-comprehensiveness (jam¡iyya),
because they are inclusive of all the subsequent manifestations
of the Essence. For this reason, al-Farghån¨ compares the level of
the Oneness to the seed which, though one and simple, contains
and includes in itself its subsequent development, such as the
tree and the fruits.18
Consequently, the two aspects of Oneness, the Absolute Unity
and the Related Unity, are strictly correlated and their qualifica-
tions are in perfect correspondence: what is hidden and general
in the first becomes manifest and specific in the second, as shown
in the following pattern, in which some of the main qualifica-
tions of each aspect of Oneness are shown.
It should be pointed out that these same qualifications of the
two aspects of Oneness are also used throughout the Introduction
17. For this reason I prefer to translate them, following Chittick’s trans-
lation, as Absolute Unity and Related Unity, instead of Exclusive Unity and
Inclusive Unity, as found in other translations.
18. This particular usage of the terms (jåmi¡, jam¡iyya) in al-Farghån¨’s
vocabulary is of great value for a comparison with Ibn-Fåri‰’s vocabulary. In
fact, in my semantic study, I have pointed to the centrality of the term jam¡
(universal, all-comprehensive union) in Ibn-Fåri‰’s poem.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
a¢adiyya wå¢idiyya
(the main qualifications of each aspect of Oneness)
a. jåmi¡ all-comprehensive a. muta¡ayyin determined
jam¡ all- ta¡ayyun determination

comprehensiveness
b. bå†in inward b. ™åhir outward

non-manifest manifest
bu†¬n inwardness ™uh¬r outwardness
non-manifestation manifestation
c. mujmal total c. mufaßßal particularized

undifferentiated differentiated
ijmål totality tafß¨l particularization
undifferentiation differentiation
d. mundaraj included d. mumayyaz distinct

implicit explicit
indiråj inclusiveness tamy¨z distinction
implicitness explicitness
in a broader meaning to indicate the constant relationship

existing between the different levels of the unfolding process
of self-manifestation of the Essence. What appears implicit,
comprehensive and general at a higher level, will appear explicit,
determined, specific at the successive, lower one; and this, in
turn, will be implicit, comprehensive and general in relation to
the next one, and so on.19
19. Such an unfolding pattern of thought surely bears the imprint of

the Neoplatonic conception of Being, in which the One manifests itself
through an unfolding process of emanations from the One to the Many.
As is known, Neoplatonic philosophy had long been adopted by Muslim
philosophers and had a great influence on Islamic thought in general, and
on that of Ibn al-¡Arab¨ in particular. This latter was the main inspiration for
al-Farghån¨’s Sufi vision.
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3.2. Love (ma¢abba): the Cause of Self-manifestation

(tajalliyåt) of the Absolute Mystery or Essence20
Al-Farghån¨ underlines that the Absolute Mystery or Essence is in

itself by definition absolutely Self-sufficient (ghan¨), and, as such,
it has no need of manifesting itself. One cannot say that there is
an inner “necessity” of manifestation on the part of the Divine
Essence or the Absolute Mystery. In fact, God in the Quranic
revelation is said to be the “Ghan¨ (i.e. absolutely Independent
or Self-sufficient) from all the worlds” (Q. 3: 97). Thus, says al-
Farghån¨, the Divine Essence, before any manifestation, was, as it
were, in balance between two possibilities: either remaining con-
stantly in its state of hiddenness (khafå¤) and non-manifestation
(lå-™uh¬r), which is in itself more innate to its character, or going
forth in a movement of self-disclosure (tajall¨) and manifestation
(™uh¬r). What then was the cause that broke such a balance and
pushed, or drove, as it were, the Divine Essence out from its state
of hiddenness and non-manifestation to that of self-disclosure
and manifestation?
In al-Farghån¨’s vision two main factors moved the Essence
out, as it were, of itself in a movement of self-manifestation.
3.2.1. THE “INNER SPEECH” (AL-±ADÔTH MA¡A NAFSI-HA)

The Essence is described by al-Farghån¨ as being from eternity
“in an inner dialogue within itself” (muta¢additha ma¡a nafsi-hå
f¨ nafsi-hå). Al-Farghån¨ does not explain at length such a con-
cept. He does, however, recognize that in the Essence there is the
presence of an “Inner Speech or Word” (¢ad¨th), as an interior
movement of “speaking from itself to itself”. From such an Inner
Speech the process of manifestation originates.
3.2.2. THE “ORIGINAL LOVE” (AL-MA±ABBA AL-AÍLIYYA)

However, more powerful than speech was love, the “Original
Love” (al-ma¢abba al-aßliyya), as al-Farghån¨ calls it. Flowing from
unfathomable depths, it was love that drove the Essence out, as
it were, of Itself, toward its self-manifestation or, as al-Farghån¨
20. Madårik I, pp. 10–11; 16–17; 45–46.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 43

Giuseppe Scattolin
says, it was love that broke the balance and made the Essence’s
inclination toward manifestation (™uh¬r) prevail over its intrinsic
inclination toward non-manifestation (lå-™uh¬r). This concept
occurs many a time throughout al-Farghån¨’s Introduction and
is always referred to the above quoted hadith kuntu kanz-an …,
in which it is said that: “I loved to be known” (a¢bab-tu an u¡raf),
“therefore I created the world …”. Thus, love is, in al-Farghån¨’s
vision, the inner power lying at the origin of the movement of
self-manifestation of the Essence, driving it toward its full mani-
festation, in all its possible aspects. He says:
The influence (athar) of Speech (¢ad¨th) and Love (ma¢abba) and the
essential inclination (al-mayl al-dhåt¨) made the order of manifesta-
tion (¢ukm al-™uh¬r) prevail over the order of non-manifestation
(¢ukm lå-™uh¬r), thus [that influence] decided the antecedence of
that [¢ukm al-™uh¬r] over this [¢ukm lå-™uh¬r]. Consequently, the
transcendent Essence (al-dhåt al-aqdas) manifested itself to itself
(tajallat ¡alå nafsi-ha), because of that influence and that prevalence
and that antecedence. Thus, it [the Essence] became manifest to it-
self in itself (™aharat li-nafsi-ha f¨ nafsi-ha), I mean, in that very First
Determination (al-ta¡ayyun al-awwal) and that very First Receptivity
(al-qåbiliyyat al-¬lå); so the Essence perceived (wajadat, lit. found,
became present to) itself in this First Self-disclosure (tajall¨) and
Manifestation (™uh¬r) and according to its order.21
Thus the Original Love, coming from the depths of the Ab-
solute Mystery, was the original impulse that drove it towards
the completion of the process of manifestation (kamål al-™uh¬r).
Consequently, all the following stages of manifestation must be
seen as effects of that Original Love. Such a process is compared
by al-Farghån¨ to the flowing of the breath (nafas) in the act of
breathing. The different sounds and words are but articulations
of the same breath. In a similar way, all the aspects (i¡tibåråt)
and the qualities (ßifåt) that will appear at the Second Level as
distinct (mutamayyaza) and differentiated (mutaghåyara), are al-
ready present, though not distinct and not differentiated in this
First Level, which is the origin of them all.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 44

This creative breath, by which everything comes into exist-

ence, is called the “breath of the All-merciful” (nafas al-Ra¢mån),
and it is breathed from the Original Love (al-ma¢abba al-aßliyya)
and the Essential Mercy (al-ra¢ma al-dhåtiyya) of the Essence, i.e.
from the depths of the transcendent Mystery.
3.3. The Designations of the Two First Self-manifestations

of the Essence: al-a¢adiyya and al-wå¢idiyya 22
3.3.1. THE DESIGNATIONS OF THE FIRST SELF-MANIFESTATION

(AL-TAJALLÔ AL-AWWAL)
The First Manifestation of the Divine Essence is designated in

al-Farghån¨’s text by many names that have become part of his
technical vocabulary and constantly recur throughout his com-
mentary. Here we mention the most important ones.
The first group

This comprises general designations which are correlated and
opposite to the corresponding ones of the Second Manifesta-
tion; they are:
(a) The First Manifestation (al-tajall¨ al-awwal)
(b) The First Determination (al-ta¡ayyun al-awwal)
(c) The First Level (al-martabat al-¬lå)
(d) The First Consideration or Aspect (al-i¡tibår al-awwal)
(e) The Level of Absolute Unity (martabat al-a¢adiyya)
The second group

This comprises some designations that have a particular relevance
as Sufi or philosophical concepts; they are:
(a) The Reality of Realities (¢aq¨qat al-¢aqå¤iq). The First Mani-
festation is called the Reality of Realities, because it is the
most universal and inward aspect of all realities, Divine and
created. These latter are only partial aspects or manifestations
of that Reality which includes everything with its pervasive
presence (siråya).
22. Madårik I, pp. 10–11; 16–17; 45–46.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 45

Giuseppe Scattolin
(b) The First and Supreme Isthmus (al-barzakh al-awwal wa-

al-akbar). An isthmus is by definition a link that joins and
separates, at the same time, two realities. In the process of
manifestation every level is mediated by a link that unites it
to and separates it from the next one. Consequently, there are
as many isthmuses as there are levels of manifestation. How-
ever, only the First Manifestation is called the “The supreme
all-comprehensive Isthmus of all the other isthmuses and
their origin” (al-barzakh al-akbar al-jåmi¡ li-jam¨¡ al-baråzikh
wa-aßlu-hå), because it implicitly contains all that will be ex-
plicitly manifested in the following stages.23 Consequently,
the First Manifestation is the universal mediator between the
Mystery and all its manifestations.
(c) The Station of the “Nearest” (maqåm adnå). This designation
is taken from the Quranic verse (Q. 53: 9), in which the carrier
of the revelation is described as coming near to Mu¢ammad
at “the distance of the two extremes of the bow (qåb qaw-
sayni) or nearer (aw adnå)”. In the Sufi terminology these
two expressions came to indicate the two highest degrees of
nearness to God. The station of the “nearest” (aw adnå) indi-
cates in al-Farghån¨’s vision the highest possible proximity to
the Divine Essence. Such a lofty stage can only be attributed
to the Prophet Mu¢ammad, because he alone reached the
highest level of nearness, i.e. the Absolute Unity (a¢adiyya)
of the First Manifestation. All other prophets and saints can
reach only the station of “the distance of the two extremes
of the bow” (qåb qawsayni), corresponding to the level of the
Related Unity (wå¢idiyya) or the Second Manifestation, in
which multiplicity becomes explicit.
(d) The Eternal Reality of Mu¢ammad (al-¢aq¨qat al-a¢madiyyat
al-thåbita). Al-Farghån¨ explains this designation saying that
the Prophet Mu¢ammad was characterized by the utmost
degree of justice (¡adåla) and balance (i¡tidål) because he
was not dominated by a particular Divine Name, but he was
the mediating point (nuq†a was†iyya) among all the Divine
Names. For such reason Mu¢ammad’s Reality is the supreme
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 46

Isthmus (al-barzakh al-akbar) and his Light (n¬r) is the very

First Manifestation, as he is reported saying in a hadith: “The
first thing God created was my Light.”24 This Light existed
from all eternity in the Divine Essence, but became visibly
manifested only in the most pious (taq¨) and pure (naq¨) heart
(qalb) of Mu¢ammad, which is, therefore, the visible image
(ß¬ra) of the First Manifestation and its Eternal Light. Because
of such a pre-eminence, only the Prophet Mu¢ammad enjoys
the station of the “nearest” (aw adnå), i.e. of the absolute
vicinity to the Divine Essence at the level of the Absolute
Unity (a¢adiyya).
The term wuj¬d as perception–existence

Having established the distinction of the two first fundamental
aspects of manifestation, al-Farghån¨ applies to them some gen-
eral qualities of the Essence, namely, its perfection (kamål), its sci-
ence (¡ilm) and its perception–existence (wuj¬d). These qualities
take different connotations as to whether they are considered at
the level of Absolute Unity (a¢adiyya) or at that of Related Unity
(wå¢idiyya). Among them the term perception–existence (wuj¬d)
deserves a special mention for the importance it acquires both
in al-Farghån¨’s and Ibn al-Fåri‰’s vocabularies.25
(a) At the First Level of Manifestation or Absolute Unity
(a¢adiyya) wuj¬d means the Essence finding or perceiving
only itself in its absolute Oneness without multiplicity, it is:
24. This hadith is quoted in Madårik I, p. 13, but not found in the official
collections of hadith; cf. Wensinck, Concordance, op. cit.
25. The term wuj¬d comes from the root w-j-d that has many connota-
tions in Arabic, ranging from an original one “to find, to come across some-
thing”, to a second one “to feel and perceive the presence of something”,
and to a third one “to be found, to exist”, from which the general philo-
sophical idea of “being”, “existence” is derived. This last designation has
become common in Islamic philosophy to translate as the idea of “being”
in general. However, in the Sufi language (and precisely in Ibn al-Fari‰’s)
the two first meanings often continue to be prevalent. In al-Farghån¨’s text
all three meanings are present, thus I have translated the term wuj¬d and
its derivatives mostly as the “finding perception of something”, though the
meaning of “existence” is present too. Limiting its translation to only one
of its meanings can lead to a misunderstanding of the text.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
… the finding perception (wijdån) of the Essence of itself in itself,

in which all aspects (i¡tibåråt) of the Related Unity (wå¢idiyya)
are included. This perception (wijdån) is a total, undifferentiated
(mujmal) act in which all its specifications and differentiations
(tafß¨l) are included (mundaraj), and which by its nature refuses
any multiplicity (kathra) and differentiation (mughåyara), any
otherness (ghayriyya) and distinction (tamayyuz).26
(b) At the Second Level of Manifestation or Related Unity

(wå¢idiyya) wuj¬d becomes the finding perception of all the
determinations of the Essence, implicit in the First Level.
At this level wuj¬d must be considered under two different
aspects:
(i) At the level of the Real (¢aqq). Here the perception (wuj¬d)
is referred to the Real (¢aqq) and means the Essence’s per-
ception of its determinations before any exterior manifes-
tation of them in the created world. In this perception the
Divine Names become manifest and present, and since
they are all manifestations of the same Essence, the Divine
Names are essentially one and have all the same content,
that is the same Essence. Nonetheless, they differ from
one another inasmuch as each one of them designates
the same Essence according to a specific determination
or aspect, which is expressed in a particular designation
or name.
(ii) At the level of the created world (khalq). Here wuj¬d
means the perception of the manifestations of the Di-
vine Names in the created world (khalq), qualified as the
“visible, manifested existence” (al-wuj¬d al-¡iyån¨). This
world (khalq) is further differentiated into several degrees
or levels of existents, which are called the levels of the
universe (marå†ib al-kawn). In the created world the act
of perception is linked to the specific level of each cre-
ated being, which is determined and limited so that it
can directly perceive (yajidu) only the beings belong-
ing to its own level: e.g. the spirits (arwå¢) can directly
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 48

perceive only the spirits, the images–archetypes (mithål)

the images–archetypes, and the corporal bodies (ajsåd)
the corporal bodies. Since all these created beings only
exist through the act of creation or the creative act (¨jåd
– khalq), therefore:
… the Creator (khåliq) and the Giver of existence (m¬jid) – be

He exalted and praised – gives to the worldly realities (¢aqå¤iq
kawniyya) their faculty of perception (wijdån) with its own
correspondent determination (ta¡ayyun).27
Therefore, each created being perceives the things that are present
at the level of its determination (ta¡ayyun).
3.3.2. THE DESIGNATIONS OF THE SECOND SELF-MANIFESTATION

(AL-TAJALLÔ AL-THÅNÔ)
The two levels of manifestation, namely that of Absolute Unity

(al-a¢adiyya) and that of Related Unity (al-wa¢idiyya), come from
the same transcendent Oneness (wa¢da) of the Essence and are,
therefore, necessarily closely correlated so that it is impossible
to describe one without making reference to the other. What
is hidden and implicit at the First Level becomes manifest and
explicit at the Second Level. This is the general rule (¢ukm) link-
ing them both together. Here a more specific description of the
Second Manifestation is provided.
Also the designations of the Second Manifestation, mentioned
in al-Farghån¨’s Introduction, can be divided into two general
groups.
First group
This comprises some general designations that are correlated and
opposite to the corresponding ones of the First Manifestation;
they are:
(a) The Second Manifestation: (al-tajall¨ al-thån¨)
(b) The Second Determination: (al-ta¡ayyun al-thån¨)
(c) The Second Level: (al-martabat, al-rutbat al-thåniya)
(d) The Level of the Related Unity: (martabat al-wå¢idiyya)
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Giuseppe Scattolin
Second group
This comprises a number of designations related to some particu-
lar Sufi or philosophical conceptions, such as:
(a) The level of Divinity (martabat al-ul¬ha), because at this
level the name God (Allåh) is manifested.
(b) The world of meanings or ideas (¡ålam al-ma¡ån¨), because
at this level the ideas and meanings of all realities, general
and particular, are present in the Divine knowledge.
(c) The presence of the Cloud (al-¢a‰rat al-¡amå¤iyya, from
¡amå¤, i.e. Cloud), because the Second Manifestation is the
linking isthmus (barzakh) between Oneness and multiplicity.
(d) The Perfect Human Reality (al-¢aq¨qat al-insåniyyat al-
kamåliyya), because the Second Manifestation is the perfect
realization of the human essence, conceived as the most uni-
versal and comprehensive reality, including and encompass-
ing all the other realities.
(e) The station of “the distance of the two extremes of the bow”
(qåb qawsayni), because the Second Manifestation is the
station of the prophets and the saints next to the station
of Mu¢ammad, designated as the station of the “nearest”
(aw adnå).
The Divine Names (al-asmå¤ al-ilåhiyya)28

At the level of the Second Manifestation multiplicity in all its
aspects becomes manifest in two basic orders: the uncreated order
of the Divine Names (al-kathra al-asmå¤iyya), and the created
order of the created entities of the universe (al-a¡yån al-kawniyya).
Al-Farghån¨ dedicates many pages to the description and clas-
sification of the multiplicity of the Divine Names. The Divine
Names are ordered in a hierarchy that goes from the most general
to the most specific ones. Only a brief mention of them will be
given here. The Divine Names are grouped as follows:
(a) God (Allåh) and the All-Merciful (al-Ra¢mån). These two
names are the most comprehensive of all the Divine Names
and stand in reciprocal relation as the inward aspect (bå†in,
28. Madårik I, pp. 18–19; 25–45.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 50

Allåh) to the outward aspect (™åhir, al-Ra¢mån). God (Allåh)

cannot be directly known, but by its own manifestation in
the act of creation, brought about by “the breath of the All-
Merciful (nafas al-Ra¢mån)”.
(b) The Negative Names (asmå¤ salbiyya). These names empha-
size God’s transcendence or incomparability (tanz¨h) with
respect to the creation, denying that in Him can be any kind
of similarity with the created qualities (tashb¨h). These names
are called “the keys of the Divine Mystery” (mafåt¨¢ al-ghayb),
because they are, as it were, the keys protecting the Treasure
of the transcendent and inaccessible Divine Essence in its
absolute Mystery. These negative Names are seven:
• al-azal¨ the Beginningless, Eternal
• al-ghan¨ the Self-sufficient, Independent
• al-fard the Singular, Unparalleled
• al-witr the Solitary, Unaccompanied
• al-qudd¬s the All-Holy, Transcendent
• al-salåm the Peace, Peaceful
• al-subb¬¢ the most Exalted and Glorified
(c) The affirmative Names (al-asmå¤ al-thub¬tiyya). These are
positive statements on the Divine Essence. Drawing from the
previous Sufi tradition, al-Farghån¨ classifies a large number
of Divine Names, though they are in reality without end be-
cause the Divine Essence has no limit. However, among them
“the seven fundamental names” (al-asmå¤ al-aßliyya al-sab¡a)
have always been given special consideration in the Islamic
theology. These Names are derived from “the seven, most
general and fundamental realities present in God” (al-¢aqå¤iq
al-sab¡at al-kulliyyat al-aßliyya), and from them all the other
Divine Names derive. To each of these realities corresponds
a Divine Name, as shown in the following:
• life (¢ayå) from which comes the name the Living (al-¢ayy)
• will (iråda) from which comes the name the Willing (al-
mur¨d)
• knowledge (¡ilm) from which comes the name the Knower
(al-¡al¨m)
• speech (qawl, kalåm) from which comes the name the
Speaker (al-qå’il, al-mutakallim)
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Giuseppe Scattolin
• power (qudra) from which comes the name the All-

powerful (al-qådir)
• generosity (j¬d) from which comes the name the Generous
(al-jawåd)
• justice (iqså†, ¡adl) from which comes the name the Just
(al-muqsi†, al-¡ådil)
These names are called the “the seven Leaders or Chiefs”
(al-a¤immat al-sab¡a) because all the other Divine Names are
derived from and ordered under them, especially the ninety-
nine well-known Names (al-asmå¤ al-tis¡a wa-l-tis¡¬n), com-
mon to the Islamic piety.
At the end of this description, al-Farghån¨ stresses once
more the essential unity that links together the multiplicity of
Divine Names. All these Names are summarized and encom-
passed in the Mu¢ammadan Reality, called the presence of
the Cloud (al-¢a‰rat al-¡amå¤iyya) because it joins the Divine
and the created realities, and the Reality of Realities (¢aq¨qat
al-¢aqå¤iq) because it encompasses all other realities.
3.4. The Levels of the Universe (maråtib al-kawn)
After the description of the First and Second Manifestations, al-

Farghån¨ dedicates the second and third part of his Introduction
to the description of the created beings. Thus the first part of his
Introduction can be considered al-Farghån¨’s ontology, while the
following parts can be regarded as his angelology, cosmology
and anthropology. They are, on the whole, quite similar to the
corresponding vision of Ibn al-¡Arab¨. I will give here a very brief
summary of this part of al-Farghån¨’s Introduction, pointing out
only the main terms concerning our research.29
The sum of the created beings constitutes the created world
(al-khalq) or the universe (al-kawn), which is the created level of
the Second Manifestation, and therefore a mirror of its uncre-
ated level, that of the Divine Names. All created beings come
into existence through the creative word “be!” (kun), mentioned
in the Quran (Q. 16: 40, parallel texts). Thus, all created beings,
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 52

each at his particular level, are effects (åthår) and manifestations

(ma™åhir) of the Divine Names. Consequently, these created lev-
els are arranged in a hierarchy that corresponds to that of the
Divine Names, following the general rule (¢ukm) of manifesta-
tion that the lower levels are the unfolding manifestations and
specifications of the higher ones.
The created world (khalq) or universe (kawn) is composed, in
al-Farghån¨’s view, by three general levels in which all the created
beings are ordered, as follows:
3.4.1. THE LEVEL OF SPIRITS (MARTABAT AL-ARWÅ±)

The level of Spirits (martabat al-arwå¢) is the invisible universe,
also called the world of the Dominion (¡ålam al-malak¬t) and of
the presence of Power (¢a‰rat al-jabar¬t). At this level, many reali-
ties are found, such as the Angels (malå¤ika) or the Spirits (arwå¢),
from which this level takes its name. The Spirits are charged with
special functions in the government of the universe. The level
of Spirits too has an internal hierarchy, reflecting the process of
unfolding from Unity (wa¢da) and comprehensiveness (ijmål) to
multiplicity (kathra) and specification (tafß¨l).
3.4.2. THE LEVEL OF THE IMAGES (MARTABAT AL-MITHÅL) AND

THE LEVEL OF THE CORPOREAL BODIES (MARTABAT AL-AJSÅM)
Under the world of Spirits two other worlds come: that of the
Corporeal Bodies (martabat al-ajsåm), perceived by the sense per-
ception (¢iss), and that of the Images or the Archetypes (martabat
al-mithål) extending in between the Spirits and the Corporeal
Bodies. The description of the worlds of Images and the Cor-
poreal Bodies constitutes al-Farghån¨’s cosmology, crowned by
the appearance of the human being. The two worlds, that of the
Spirits and that of the Corporeal Bodies, being the manifesta-
tions of the Divine Names are also arranged in a correspondingly
hierarchical order.
We cannot enter here into al-Farghån¨’s complicated angelology
and cosmology. One has only to remark that, on the whole, al-
Farghån¨’s angelology and cosmology are basically built on Ibn
al-¡Arab¨’s concepts and vision. In such a vision, there is a strict
correspondence between the order of the Divine Names and the
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Giuseppe Scattolin
elements of the universe, visible or invisible. These latter are, in

fact, effects or manifestations of the first. In such a way, Ibn al-
¡Arab¨’s Sufi vision achieves an impressive unitarian and coherent
vision of Being at all its levels.
3.5. Adam and the Human Reality (al-¢aq¨qat

al-insåniyya); Mu¢ammad and the Mu¢ammadan
Reality (al-¢aq¨qat al-mu¢ammadiyya)30
3.5.1. THE HUMAN REALITY (AL-±AQÔQAT AL-INSÅNIYYA)

Al-Farghån¨ concludes the description of the created world
mentioning the formation of the human being with Adam, the
prototype of humankind (al-insån), also called the human re-
ality (al-¢aq¨qat al-insåniyya) or human constitution (al-mizåj
al-insån¨). The human being has a special place in the created
universe because, though the last in the order of manifestation,
it is actually the first in order of intention, being the goal and
purpose of all creation. In fact, because of its composite constitu-
tion (mizåj murakkab), the human being is comprehensive (jåmi¡)
of all the orders of Being, and is a summary of all previous levels
of the manifestation of the Divine Essence. Thus, humans pos-
sess some particular characteristics that are unique with respect
to all other beings. These characteristics can be summarized in
the following way:
Image of God (ß¬rat Allåh)

“God created Adam in his own image”, says a hadith often
quoted by Sufis, echoing a well-known Biblical topic.31 In al-
Farghån¨’s thought, this hadith means that Adam is the image
of the Second Manifestation (al-tajall¨ al-thån¨), also called the
visible manifestation of the Breath of the All-Merciful (al-tajall¨
al-nafasi al-rahmån¨ al-™åhir¨). For this reason he is comprehen-
sive of all Divine Names (asmå¤) and Qualities (ßifåt), in their
interior and exterior manifestations. Adam is the visible image
(ß¬ra ma¢s¬sa) into which the Divine Spirit (r¬¢ ilåh¨) has been
31. This hadith is important in the Sufi vision; it is reported in the official
collections, see Wensinck, Concordance, III, p. 438b.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 54

breathed (manf¬kh) without intermediary (bilå wiså†a). For this

reason, in him the created and uncreated aspects or levels of
Being are united as in a sublime balance.
Vicegerent of God (khal¨fat Allåh)

In accordance with the Quranic revelation and the Sufi tradi-
tion, al-Farghån¨ extols the position of the human being above
all the other orders of being. The Quranic revelation calls Adam
the vicegerent of God (khal¨fa, Q. 2: 30) attributing to him the
knowledge of all the Names (Q. 2: 31). In al-Farghån¨’s view these
two qualifications mean that the human being is comprehensive
(jåmi¡) of all the Divine Names and Perfections (jam¨¡ al-asmå¤
wa-l-kamålåt al-ilåhiyya). In him two images merge: the image of
God (ß¬rat al-¢aqq) and the image of the cosmos (ß¬rat al-khalq).
Because of his composition (tark¨b), the human being is char-
acterized by the qualities of all-comprehensiveness (jam¡iyya),
universality (kulliya) and perfection (kamål). Thus, the human
being is raised not only to a rank higher than any other being
of the visible universe, but also far above the Angels, the pure
Spirits. These are, in fact, limited to a definite order of Being,
the spiritual one, while the human being is the comprehensive
synthesis (jåmi¡) of all the Divine qualities found in all orders
of Being. It was for this reason that God ordered the Angels to
prostrate themselves before Adam (Q. 2: 30–34ss.). All of them
obeyed, recognizing the superior status of Adam, except Ibl¨s
who rebelled against God’s order. For this reason, only to Adam,
the prototype of the human being, did God attribute the highest
degree of relationship with Himself, as al-Farghån¨ says when
commenting on this Quranic verse:
… by such a perfect receptivity (qåbiliyya) I made him my vicegerent

(khal¨fa), in My perfect knowledge of Myself, and in My perfect
vision of Myself (istijlå¤-¨ dhåt-¨) by himself in himself and in all
things, in My love for Myself (ma¢abbat-¨ dhåt-¨), both absolute
and conditioned, in the manifestation of Myself to Myself (™uh¬r-¨
li-nafs-¨) in the Perfection (kamål) of My Essence and Names, both
in general and in particular…32
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Giuseppe Scattolin
The human being is the mirror that reflects the perfection of

the Divine Reality and its Names to the point that another hadith
can say: “Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord (man ¡arafa
nafsa-hu ¡arafa rabba-hu)”.33 This hadith points to the hidden sub-
limity of the human reality, present in every human being. How-
ever, above all orders of beings, human and not, the reality of the
prophet Mu¢ammad ranks in a special and unique place, known
as the Mu¢ammadan Reality (al-¢aq¨qat al-mu¢ammadiyya). This
is a central concept of al-Farghån¨’s Sufi vision, repeated time and
again throughout his Introduction and Commentary.
3.5.2. THE MU±AMMADAN REALITY (AL-±AQÔQAT AL-MU±AMMADIYYA)34

The human reality finds, in al-Farghån¨’s vision, its fullest expres-
sion and its highest realization in the Mu¢ammadan Reality (al-
¢aq¨qat al-mu¢ammadiyya). The human reality in Adam is said to
be the image of the Second Manifestation, while the human real-
ity in Mu¢ammad is said to be the image of the Divine Essence in
its First Self-manifestation, as the First Isthmus (barzakh) and the
all-encompassing (jåmi¡) Absolute Unity of the Essence (a¢adiyya
dhåtiyya). Consequently, the relationship between Adam, and
thus all other human beings, and Mu¢ammad corresponds to
the relationship between the Second and the First Manifestation.
As al-Farghån¨ explains:
Adam was in his reality comprehensive (jåmi¡) of all the [Divine]
Names and qualities, the Divine and created realities that are in-
cluded in the Second Manifestation or Isthmus. Mu¢ammad, on
the contrary, was, in his reality and image, comprehensive (jåmi¡)
of all that is comprehended in the First Isthmus, that is the Keys
[of the Mystery] (mafå†¨¢ [al-ghayb]) and the absolute One (al-wå¢id
al-a¢ad), in the real, all-comprehensive unity (al-jam¡iyya al-
¢aq¨qiyya al-a¢adiyya), where there is no prevalence of one order
[of qualities] over another.35
To sum up, Adam, and in him every perfect prophet and saint,
is the image of the Second Level of manifestation, i.e. that of the
33. This hadith also is important in the Sufi vision, but it is not mentioned
in the official collections of hadith.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 56

Related Unity (al-wå¢idiyya), while Mu¢ammad is the image of

the First Level of manifestation, i.e. that of the Absolute Unity
(al-a¢adiyya). For this reason Mu¢ammad’s rank is far above all
beings: after the supreme Mystery itself, he has the highest rank
in the whole of Being.
In fact, it is in him, Mu¢ammad, that the Perfection of Self-
vision (kamål al-istijlå¤) is realized, which is the return (ruj¬¡,
marja¡) of the process of manifestation to its origin, i.e. a return
from multiplicity to unity, from a descendent movement (nuz¬l)
to an ascendant movement (¡ur¬j). In fact, the transcendent Mys-
tery, not only manifests itself in the process of self-manifestation
or self-disclosure (zuh¬r, tajall¨, jalå¤), but it returns to itself in
an act of self-vision or self-realization (istijlå¤), in which all its
manifestations are reunified.
In this way, in the Human being, the circle of Being is con-
cluded: multiplicity and unity are no longer seen as opposite
states, but as inclusive of one another. In al-Farghån¨’s view, such
an act of self-vision is indicated in the Quranic verse: “Unto Him
every thing will return” (Q. 11: 123). Thus the process of return
must go through the same stages as the process of manifestation,
so that to each level or degree of manifestation, called jalå¤, cor-
responds a level or degree of self-vision or self-realization, called
istijlå¤. In particular, the process of return reflects the two main
levels of manifestation: that of the Absolute Unity of the First
Manifestation (al-tajall¨ al-awwal) and that of the Related Unity
of the Second Manifestation (al-tajall¨ al-thån¨).
The Self-vision (al-istijlå¤) at the level of Absolute Unity (a¢adiyya)

The self-vision or self-realization (istijlå¤) at the level of the First
Manifestation (al-tajall¨ al-awwal) is called the Perfection of the
Essence (al-kamål al-dhåt¨), because it is the realization of its
Absolute Unity, as al-Farghån¨ explains:
The perfection of the Essence (al-kamål al-dhåt¨) implies also the

perfect self-vision (istijlå¤) of the transcendent, absolute One Es-
sence (al-dhåt al-aqdas al-wå¢id al-a¢ad), that is its manifestation of
itself to itself through the Absolute Unity, comprehensive (a¢adiyya
jam¡iyyat) of all forms and aspects of its Related Unity (wå¢idiyya),
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 57

Giuseppe Scattolin
and through the return of them all unto Himself, because of His
own word: “Unto Him every thing will be returned” (Q. 11: 123).36
The vision of the all-comprehensive Unity (al-a¢adiyya al-

jam¡iyya) of the Essence (dhåt) can only be realized through the
form of a human being (ma™har insån¨) that enjoys the highest
degree of balance (¡adåla) and proportion (sawå¤iyya). Such a
perfection has been actualized exclusively in the most perfect
human constitution, the constitution of Mu¢ammad (al-mizåj
al-a¢mad¨) whose pure and pious heart encompassed the Real.
Thus, because of his eminent perfection, Mu¢ammad enjoyed
the highest qualifications: he is the Perfect Vicegerent (al-khal¨fat
al-kåmil), the Reality of Realities (¢aq¨qat al-¢aqå¤iq), the First
Isthmus (al-barzakh al-awwal), the First Manifestation (al-tajall¨
al-awwal), the Inwardness of Being (bå†in al-wuj¬d) and the Eter-
nal Light of Mu¢ammad (al-n¬r al-a¢mad¨).37 No wonder that
Mu¢ammad’s birth in such a vision is extolled by al-Farghån¨
as the most important cosmic and historical event in the whole
universe.
Because of his perfect balance, Mu¢ammad also received the
supreme scale (al-m¨zån) of every reality, which is the Quran
(al-Qur¤ån): the most perfect, all-comprehensive and universal
word (al-qawl al-akmal¨ al-jam¡¨ al-kull¨). In fact, the Divine Eter-
nal Word is manifested, according to a Sufi tradition, in three
general forms: the first is the universe, called the Book of [God’s]
Acts (al-kitåb al-fi¡l¨); the second is the written text of the Quran,
the book of knowledge and wisdom, called the Book of Words
(al-kitåb al-qawl¨); the third is the visible form of Mu¢ammad
(al-ma™har al-a¢mad¨), which is the most unified and all-com-
prehensive form (al-ma™har al-a¢ad¨ al-jåm¡¨) to the point
that his wife ¡Å¤isha could say of him: “His behaviour was the
Quran”.38

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 58

The Self-vision (al-istijlå¤) at the level of Related Unity

(wå¢idiyya)39
The self-vision (al-istijlå¤) at the level of the Second Manifestation
(al-tajall¨ al-thån¨) is called the Perfection of Names (al-kamål al-
asmå¤¨) and encompasses the multiplicity of the Divine Names
and qualities. This means the reunification of all the different
aspects in a unified vision, realized after the display of their dif-
ferentiation. Such a self-vision can only take place in a human
constitution:
[The self-vision] … is the disclosure of the Second Manifestation

(al-tajall¨ al-thån¨) to itself but through that human form (al-ma™har
al-insån¨), its heart, hearing and sight, in a vision (shuh¬d) that is
differentiated (mufaßßal) in its comprehensiveness (mujmal) in it
(human heart) and in his sight and in his hearing, and from it a
vision (shuh¬d) that is comprehensive (mujmal) in its differentia-
tion (mufaßßal).40
Through such a self-vision, all the created effects (åthår) are

brought back to their source and cause, the Divine Names. These,
in turn, are unified in the seven fundamental Names. This proc-
ess of return happens in the human form because of its unique
characteristics of comprehensiveness (jam¡iyya) and inclusiveness
(ishtimåliyya) of all the Divine Qualities.
Historically, such a process has taken place in the missions
of the prophets (anbiyå¤), the messengers (rusul) and the saints-
friends (of God) (awliyå¤), who are the highest degrees of human
perfection, after the Mu¢ammadan Reality. Here, al-Farghån¨
introduces a classical topic of Sufism, that of the hierarchy of
saints, or friends (of God), and the difference between prophecy
(nubuwwa) and friendship-sainthood (walåya). Saints are the
manifestations of Divine Names and consequently they are ar-
ranged in a similar hierarchical order. Before Mu¢ammad, a saint
could either be a messenger (ras¬l), if he had a Divine law (shar¡)
to enforce, or simply a prophet (nab¨), if he had no Divine law
to enforce. However, after Mu¢ammad, there will be no new
39. Madårik I, pp. 81–2; 84–90.

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 59

Giuseppe Scattolin
prophet or messenger, because there will be no new religious law.

This is a basic doctrine of Islam. Consequently, now the saint-
friends take their sainthood from the heritage of Mu¢ammad
(al-irth al-mu¢ammad¨) and are also arranged in a hierarchical
order as vicegerents (khulafå¤) and poles (aq†åb) of the community
of Mu¢ammad (al-umma al-mu¢ammadiyya). They are the guides
(shuy¬kh) that lead the faithful to the way of perfection.
In the end, al-Farghån¨ touches upon the important topic of
the “Seal of Friendship-Sainthood” (khåtam al-walåya), a con-
cept that had a very crucial place in Sufism, especially in Ibn
al-¡Arab¨’s writing.41 The “Seal of the Friendship” is a saint who
encompasses all forms of friendship or sainthood. Moreover,
through the “Seal” all beings will reach their final return to God,
because in him the Mu¢ammadan heritage will be fully realized.
However, al-Farghån¨ does not go into details and he does not
open the question about the identity of the “Seal of Friendship”,
as Ibn al-¡Arab¨, as well as other Sufis before and after him, have
done.
3.6. The Six Universal Levels (al-marå†ib al-kulliyya):

an Outline of al-Farghån¨’s Vision of Reality
Having expounded in detail the complicated text of al-Farghån¨’s

Introduction, a synthesis is now needed to have a clearer picture
of his Sufi vision. Luckily, al-Farghån¨ himself provides quite a
good summary of his general vision of Reality at the beginning of
his Introduction.42 He says that Reality is divided into six orders
or levels, called the universal levels (al-maråtib al-kulliyya), or
presences (¢a‰aråt), or worlds (¡awålim). These levels represent
the different aspects of the self-manifestation of the one tran-
scendent Essence and are, therefore, also called places (ma¢åll)
or loci of its manifestation (majål¨-ma™åhir). These six levels are
arranged in three basic orders: two levels are considered as per-
taining to the uncreated Real (¢aqq), while three levels are con-
sidered as pertaining to the created world (khalq). The sixth level

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 60

is the one that encompasses all the other levels: this is the Perfect
Man (insån kåmil). Thus, al-Farghån¨’s vision can be outlined in
the following pattern:
The Transcendent Mystery (al-ghayb) or the Divine Essence
(dhåt) manifests itself:
(a) At the Real, eternal, uncreated level (al-¢aqq) as Absolute
Oneness (wa¢da) which includes:
1. The Absolute Unity (al-a¢adiyya): with no relation to
multiplicity
2. The Related Unity (al-wå¢idiyya): with the display of the
Divine Names.
(b) At the created level (al-khalq), as part of the Related Unity
(al-wå¢idiyya) there are:
3. The Level of Spirits (martabat al-arwå¢)
4. The Level of Images–Archetypes (martabat al-mithål)
5. The Level of Corporeal Bodies (martabat al-ajsåm).
(c) At an all-comprehensive level (al-jåmi¡), which is the sum-
mary of the whole process of manifestation, there is:
6. The Level of the Perfect Man (martabat al-insån al-kåmil).
These six levels are the manifestation of the same Divine Essence
and can be summarized as follows:
I. At the beginning There was the unveiled and unseen tran-

scendent Mystery (ghayb) or the Divine Essence (dhåt), with no
manifestation (™uh¬r) or created existence (kawn¨), as the hadith
says: “God was, and nothing was with him.”43
II. The transcendent Divine Mystery This manifests itself first in

its transcendent Oneness (wa¢da), which includes the two levels
of the Absolute Unity (al-a¢adiyya) of the First Manifestation (al-
tajall¨ al-awwal), excluding any kind of multiplicity, and the level
of the Related Unity (al-wå¢idiyya) of the Second Manifestation
43. This hadith, important for Sufis, is reported by al-Bukhår¨ and Ibn
±anbal, see Wensinck, Concordance I, p. 806b. Some Sufi reports add “...
and He is now as He was”, cf. al-±ikma, n. 34 of Ibn ¡A†å¤ Allåh al-Sakandar¨
(d.709/1309).
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 61

Giuseppe Scattolin
(al-tajall¨ al-thån¨), in which the multiplicity of Divine Names are

present and manifest in the Divine, eternal knowledge (¡ilm).
III. From the Second Manifestation From this, or from the

Divine Names comes the created universe (kawn – khalq), which
is divided in three levels:
(a) The level of the non-composite, simple beings (martabat al-
mawj¬dåt al-bas¨†a), which is the Level of the Spirits (martabat
al-arwå¢).
(b) The level of the composite beings (martabat al-mawj¬dåt al-
murakkaba), divided into two other levels:
• The level of the subtle beings (al-mawj¬dåt al-la†¨fa), so
called because they cannot be divided; this is the level of
the Images–Archetypes (martabat al-mithål).
• The level of the dense beings (al-mawj¬dåt al-kath¨fa), so
called because they can be divided into parts. This level
is the level of the Sense Perception (martabat al-¢iss) or
the world of the Visible (¡ålam al-shahåda) or the level of
the Corporeal Bodies (mar†abat al-ajsåm).
IV. At the end of the process of manifestation At this point

there comes a sixth level, which is the all-comprehensive (jåmi¡
li-l-jam¨¡) level, and the synthesis of all five previous levels of
the uncreated and created beings. This is the level of the Perfect
Human Being (al-insån al-kåmil), which is the perfect mirror of
the transcendent Mystery. The Perfect Human Being is realized
in two basic forms: the first is Adam, that is, the human being
in general, and the second is the Mu¢ammadan Reality, real-
ized in the person of the prophet Mu¢ammad, in whom alone
the highest degree of Unity is realized, because he alone is the
Perfect Human Being.
3.7. Al-Farghån¨ and Ibn ¡Arab¨’s School
For a better understanding of al-Farghån¨’s Sufi vision it is useful

to compare it with that of his two great masters, Ibn al-¡Arab¨
and Íadr al-D¨n al-Q¬naw¨, pointing to the aspects of similarity
and dissimilarity existing among them.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 62

3.7.1. AL-FARGHÅNÔ AND IBN AL-¡ARABÔ44

Al-Farghån¨ is surely to a large extent indebted to al-shaykh al-
akbar (the Great Spiritual Master), Mu¢y¨ al-D¨n Ibn al-¡Arab¨.
There are quite a number of points of similarity between them,
such as the centrality of the above-mentioned hadith kuntu kanz-
an makhfiyy-an, on which the whole process of self-manifesta-
tion is based. Such a process goes forth from the Divine Essence
to the hierarchical order of the Divine Names, to the created
world, divided into the three levels (marå†ib al-kawn), the Spirits
(arwå¢), the Images–Archetypes (mithål) and the Corporeal Bodies
(ajsåd); and in the end, to the idea of the Perfect Man (al-insån
al-kåmil) and that of the Mu¢ammadan Reality (al-¢aq¨qat al-
mu¢ammadiyya) in which the idea of the “Seal of Friendship-
Sainthood” (khåtam al-walåya) is included.
Nevertheless, some dissimilarities can be noticed between al-
Farghån¨ and his great master, Ibn al-¡Arab¨.
The distinction between the Absolute Unity (al-a¢adiyya) and

the Related Unity (al-wa¢dåniyya)
Al-Farghån¨ is credited with having provided a clearer description
of the Second Manifestation of the Essence, the Related Unity,
fixing its name as wå¢idiyya, instead of wa¢dåniyya as Ibn al-
¡Arab¨ names it. In this instance, al-Farghån¨’s terminology seems
to be on the whole more consistent than that of Ibn al-¡Arab¨,
who is not always a systematic exposer of his own thought.
The idea of effusion (al-fay‰)

The term al-fay‰ plays a central role in Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s vision of
the process of manifestation of the Essence. He speaks of two
levels of effusion. The first, called the Most Holy Effusion (al-fay‰
al-aqdas) or the Unseen Theophany (al-tajall¨ al-ghayb¨), occurs
44. For a synthesis of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s thought we refer to William Chittick’s

studies on Ibn al-¡Arab¨, in particular, The Sufi Path of Knowledge. Ibn al-
¡Arab¨’s Metaphysics of Imagination (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1989); idem,
“Ibn al-¡Arab¨ and his School”, op. cit., in particular pp. 72–9; idem, Imaginal
Worlds: Ibn al-¡Arab¨ and the Problem of Religious Diversity (Albany, NY: SUNY,
1994); idem, The Self-Disclosure of God. Principles of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Cosmology
(Albany, NY: SUNY, 1998).
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Giuseppe Scattolin
inwardly, at the level of the Divine science, in which the Divine

Names are manifested and the Eternal Ideas of all possible entities
are present. The second, the Holy Effusion (al-fay‰ al-muqaddas)
or the Visible Effusion (al-fay‰ al-shahåd¨), occurs outwardly, at
the different levels of existence of the created beings (mawj¬dåt)
ranked in three levels of created existence. Although the same
concepts are found in al-Farghån¨’s vision, the very term effusion
(fay‰) does not play any important role in his vocabulary and
thought, being almost absent from his vocabulary. Al-Farghån¨
prefers to use other terms such as self-disclosure or self-mani-
festation (tajall¨, ™uh¬r), which are also present in Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s
vocabulary.
The ideas of the imagination (al-khayål) and

the isthmus (al-barzakh)
In Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi vision the faculty of imagination (khayål)
plays a very important role, being the isthmus linking different
levels of Reality. William Chittick considers it a central concept in
Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi vision, particularly in linking the spiritual with
corporeal worlds. On the contrary, in al-Farghån¨’s vocabulary
the very term imagination is hardly mentioned. Also the concept
of isthmus plays a manifold role in Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s vision, being
applied to many realities. Yet again, on the contrary, al-Farghån¨
reserves the term isthmus for some specific realities: the First and
Second Manifestation, called in his text the First and Second
Isthmus (al-barzakhiyya al-¬lå wa-l-thåniya), the all-comprehen-
sive reality of the Perfect Human Being (al-insån al-kåmil) and the
Mu¢ammadan Reality (al-¢aq¨qat al-mu¢ammadiyya). This last is
also called the all-comprehensive isthmus (al-barzakh al-jåmi¡).
The term isthmus is not applied to other realities.45
45. For more about the differences between the two Sufis, see Chittick,
“The Five Presences”, pp. 109–16; idem, “Introduction” to Fakhruddin ¡Iraqi,
Divine Flashes, translated and introduced by William C. Chittick and Peter
Lamborn Wilson (Classics of Western Spirituality, New York: Paulist Press,
1982), pp. 3–32; idem, “Ibn al-¡Arab¨ and his School”, pp. 60–8; The Sufi
Path, pp. 12–30, 112–43.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 64

3.7.2. AL-FARGHÅNÔ AND AL-QÒNAWÔ

Íadr al-D¨n al-Q¬naw¨ was Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s most prominent dis-
ciple and an outstanding leader of a Sufi school. He is credited
with having reshaped in his lectures Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s ontology in
a more systematic way.46 As has been said above, Íadr al-D¨n al-
Q¬naw¨ was al-Farghån¨’s spiritual master and the direct inspirer
of his commentary. All this can account for the many similarities
found in their Sufi vision. However, here also there can be found
some points of difference between them.
The idea of the Related Unity (al-wå¢idiyya)

Also, in comparison with al-Q¬naw¨ al-Farghån¨ went further
in defining the name and functions of the Related Unity, as the
Second Manifestation of the Essence. This level is clearly distinct
from the Absolute Unity (a¢adiyya), though both are included in
the First Level of Manifestation, the Oneness (wa¢dat).47
Al-Q¬naw¨’s idea of the Five Presences (al-¢a‰aråt al-khamsa)

Al-Q¬naw¨ summarized the whole realm of the manifestations of
the Essence in “Five Divine Presences” (¢a‰aråt), called also levels
(marå†ib) or worlds (¡awålim). This number was adopted by many
of his followers.48 In al-Q¬naw¨’s vision the five presences are:
(a) The Divine knowledge (al-¡ilm)
(b) The world of the Spirits (arwå¢)
(c) The world of the Images–Archetypes (mithål)
(d) The world of the Corporeal Bodies (ajsåd)
(e) The Perfect Man (al-insån al-kåmil)
46. W.C. Chittick, “Íadr al-D¨n al-Q¬naw¨ on the Oneness of Being” in
International Philosophical Quarterly 21 (1981), 171–84; idem, “Ibn al-¡Arab¨
and his School”, pp. 54–7.
47. William Chittick remarks that: “The whole discussion of the First and
Second Entifications, the various names by which each may be called, and
the distinction between the two in the views of different Sufis is exceedingly
complex. Al-Q¬naw¨ himself does not discuss these points systematically in
his works, but he does allude to them”, in Divine Flashes, “Introduction”,
p. 30, n. 15.
48. Idem, “Íadr al-D¨n al-Q¬naw¨ on the Oneness of Being” pp. 173–5;
idem, Divine Flashes, “Introduction”, pp. 12–17, and p. 31, n. 31; idem, “The
Five Divine Presences”, pp. 112–18.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
As shown above, al-Farghån¨ provides a more articulated pattern

of the Presences, also called levels or worlds, fixing their number
at six, instead of five.
From all this, one can assume that Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s thought has
been conveyed to his disciples not in a closed system of fixed con-
cepts and terms, but in a somehow open pattern that underwent
an amount of reshaping by them. Al-Farghån¨ also contributed
to the development of Akbarian thought in an important way
which has been recognized by many Sufi scholars.
3.8. Al-Farghån¨’s Sufi Path: the Levels of Self-disclosures

(tajalliyåt) and the Return (al-ruj¬¡) to the Essence49
3.8.1. THE JOURNEY (SULÒK) OF RETURN

In the last part of his Introduction, al-Farghån¨ describes the
path of return (ruj¬¡) of the human being, and in it of the whole
created universe, to its First Origin. He starts by remarking that
the human constitution (mizåj insån¨), being the result of a long
process of manifestation and the outcome of so many and differ-
ent factors, is always in a fragile balance. In humans, the forces
of the animal and vegetative nature can obscure the spiritual
spirit (r¬¢ r¬¢ån¨) and the unified heart (qalb wa¢dån¨), except for
some elected characters such as Mu¢ammad, the prophets and
the saints. Because of his constitutional weakness, the human
being is always in need of a radical self-reform (ißlå¢ al-nafs), to
be achieved through strenuous struggles (mujåhadåt) and strict
discipline (riyå‰åt). By entering this path of reform, the human
person becomes a spiritual traveller (sålik) in need both of a law
(shar¡), which shows him the path to follow, and of the direction
of an experienced guide (shaykh murshid). This guide will be like
a doctor (†ab¨b) who will cure (¡ilåj) the spiritual traveller from
all his spiritual diseases and weaknesses.50 In his description of
this process of reform, al-Farghån¨ expounds the traditional Sufi
teaching on the spiritual journey (sul¬k) to perfection, a journey
49. Madårik I, pp. 86–107.

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 66

that goes through a number of spiritual stations (maqåmåt) and

states (a¢wål).51
The whole spiritual journey is seen by al-Farghån¨ as a
progression through three fundamental stages, already fixed by
the Sufi tradition. These are: the station of Islam (maqåm al-
islåm), based on the observance of the law; the station of faith
(maqåm al-¨mån), based on the practice of asceticism (zuhd); the
station of perfect goodness (maqåm al-i¢sån), based on a vision
leading to the very essence of taw¢¨d (al-mushåhada al-jådhiba
ilå ¡ayn al-taw¢¨d).52
3.8.2. A RETURN THROUGH FOUR STAGES OF

SELF-DISCLOSURES (TAJALLIYÅT)53
The journey of return to the Real is the reverse of the process of

manifestation. If the manifestation was a movement of descent
(nuz¬l) from Oneness to the multiplicity, the return, correspond-
ingly, must be a movement of ascent (ßu¡¬d, ¡ur¬j) from the mul-
tiplicity to Oneness. In the description of this process of return,
al-Farghån¨ introduces some concepts and terms, which correspond
to those used in the first part of his exposition and which con-
stantly recur throughout his commentary. He speaks of four stages
of self-disclosures, which constitute the movement of return.54
The Level of the Outward Self-disclosure (martabat al-tajall¨

al-™åhir¨)
This self-disclosure happens at the level of the created beings,
which are effects (åthår) of the creative act. At this level each
being is always a veil (¢ijåb) that hinders the vision of the other
beings. The spiritual traveller (sålik) lives in a continuously
changing state, called by the Sufis “the station of variegation

52. Madårik I, pp. 93–100. The three stages of islåm, ¨mån and i¢sån are
taken from the hadith Jibr¨l, a very important hadith for Sufi teaching, men-
tioned in many official collections; see Wensinck, Concordance I, p. 476b.
53. To highlight the particular usage of the term tajalliyåt in this part of
the Introduction I translate it here as ‘self-disclosure’, not as ‘self-manifesta-
tion’, as done before.
54. Madårik I, pp. 95–105.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
or inconsistency” (maqåm talw¨n), until, in a flash of intuition,

he realizes the unity of all the manifest beings and discovers
the all-comprehensiveness of the Divine Name of the Outward
(al-™åhir), in which all beings are included as loci of its manifes-
tation (ma™åhir). Now his vision becomes fixed in the One who
acts in all things. This is what is al-Farghån¨ calls “the contempla-
tion of the unified Divine action of God” (mushåhada fi¤l Allåh
al-wa¢dån¨), which encompasses and permeates everything. This
is called also the self-disclosure of God’s action (al-tajall¨ al-fi¡l¨).
Now the love of the traveller, which in the state of inconsistency
was scattered after many images and loci of beauty (ma™åhir al-
¢usn), finds its unity in the contemplation of everything in the
unity of the Divine creative act. The spiritual lover also realizes
that God is the only real Beloved (al-ma¢b¬b al-¢aq¨q¨) in every
image of beauty that captures his love. In al-Farghån¨’s view, this
stage is the starting point of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poem. In fact, at the
beginning of his Tå¤iyya, Ibn al-Fåri‰ describes the face of his
Beloved as a cup (ka¤s) from which he drinks the wine of love.
Al-Farghån¨ interprets the cup as the locus of manifestation of
the Divine beauty (ma™har al-¢usn) and the wine as the Divine
love (qawhå al-ma¢abba) which is poured out into the heart of
the traveller through the contemplation of the one Divine act
displayed in the multitude of beings.
The Level of the Inward Self-Disclosure (martabat al-tajall¨

al-bå†in¨)
This self-disclosure is also called the Presence of the Divine
Knowledge, because in it all beings are present in their knowable
images (ßuwar ¡ilmiyya) and in their universal names (al-asmå¤
al-kulliyya). The Divine Names are the source of the true know-
ledge of all things and they all are unified in the Name of Inward
(bå†in). In the Divine knowledge all the sciences of the Unseen
(al-¡ul¬m al-ghaybiyya) and all the Divine secrets (al-asrår al-il-
åhiyya) are included. In this way, the multiplicity of the exterior
world is brought to unity and the traveller passes from the state
of inconsistency to the state of stability (tamk¨n) in the unity of
the Divine Names. Nevertheless, the traveller continues to live in
a state of conflict, because the two aspects of reality, the outward
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 68

and the inward, are seen as contradictory, each of them being

a veil for the other, and in the same way each Divine Name is a
veil for the other Names. True stability can be only reached in a
superior synthesis.
The Level of the All-comprehensive Self-disclosure (martabat

al-tajall¨ al-jam¡¨)
This self-disclosure is called the Presence of the perfect All-com-
prehensiveness (¢a‰ra jam¡ al-jam¡) and “the distance of the two
extremes of the bow” (qåb al-qawsayni). At this level the limit
and the opposition of the two previous orders, outward and in-
ward (™åhir¨, ba†in¨), are overcome, the one being no longer a veil
for the other. The outward and inward aspects are now unified
and brought back to their original unity, which is the Related
Unity (al-wå¢idiyya) of the Second Determination and the Second
Isthmus (al-ta¡ayyun al-thån¨ wa-l-barzakhiyya al-thåniya). Only
a perfect (kåmil), all-comprehensive (shåmil al-jam¡iyya) heart
(qalb), which has reached the utmost degree of annihilation or
passing away from self (fanå¤), can reach this stage of unity. At
this point, the annihilation becomes “the annihilation from the
awareness of annihilation” (fanå¤ ¡an shuh¬d al-fanå¤), in which
the traveller does not keep any trace of self-awareness. Now the
traveller reaches the utmost degree of stability, which is called
“stability in inconsistency” (al-tamk¨n f¨-l-talw¨n), because there
is no longer opposition between the unity of the inward and
the multiplicity of the outward aspects of reality. In the pres-
ence of the perfect all-comprehensiveness (¢a‰ra jam¡ al-jam¡)
the synthesis (jam¡) of the opposite aspects of being is realized,
as al-Farghån¨ says:
… the end comes back to the beginning to accomplish the circle

(då¤ira) of manifestation … so that it must be evident to all as
knowledge (¡ilm), vision (¡ayn) and absolute certainty (¢aqq wa-
¢aq¨qa) that everything (al-amr) belongs to God. From Him it has
its beginning and unto Him it finds its end: “Everything in fact
will go back to Him” (Q. 11: 123). He is the First and the Last, the
Outward and the Inward, the Knower of everything.55
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Giuseppe Scattolin
This stage of return corresponds to the Second Manifestation

(al-tajall¨ al-thån¨) or of the Related Unity (wå¢idiyya) in the
movement of descent. Prophets and saints can only reach this
degree, but above it lies the highest perfection of unity, reserved
only for Mu¢ammad.
The Level of the All-comprehensive Unity (martabat al-a¢adiyya

al-jam¡iyya)
This level is also called the perfect, all-comprehensive self-
disclosure of the Essence (al-tajall¨ al-dhåt¨ al-jam¡¨ al-kamål¨) or
the awareness of all-comprehensiveness (ßa¢w al-jam¡); it cor-
responds to the level of Absolute Unity (a¢adiyya) of the First
Manifestation (al-tajall¨ al-awwal). It is also designated as the
Mu¢ammadan Station (al-maqåm al-mu¢ammad¨), because it is
exclusive to the prophet Mu¢ammad, and is also designated as
the station of the “nearest” (aw adnå), because it is the nearest
level to the Divine Essence or the absolute Mystery. In it the
two movements of Manifestation (tajall¨ – jalå¤) and Self-vision
(istijlå¤) reach their utmost degree of realization. Beyond this level
lies only the unfathomable abyss of the transcendent Essence and
the ocean of the absolute Mystery. This supreme stage of unity
is realized only in the most perfect human being, Mu¢ammad,
because in him:
… was born a most pious, pure, unified (a¢ad¨) and all-comprehen-

sive (jam¡¨) heart, that of Mu¢ammad (qalb a¢mad¨), which is the
image of the very First Original Isthmus (ß¬rat al-barzakhiyya al-¬lå
al-aßliyya), in it the very First Manifestation (al-tajall¨ al-awwal)
is manifested, which is the All-comprehensive Unity (al-a¢adiyya
al-jam¡iyya) of all the Names, the general and the particular, the
original and the derived, those of the Essence and those of its
Qualities.56
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 70

3.9. The stages of the Tå¤iyyat according to

al-Farghån¨’s Introduction57
At the end of his Introduction al-Farghån¨ gives a synthesis of

the main stages of the spiritual journey which, in his view, are
described in Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Tå¤iyya. Al-Farghån¨ is not always clear
in his description, but one can follow his thinking when compar-
ing what he says about Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi stages with what he had
said above about the four self-disclosures of return. Al-Farghån¨
reads these four stages commenting on one of the most common
hadiths in Sufi tradition, the ¢ad¨th “kuntu sam¡a-hu…”.58
3.9.1. THE STAGE OF LOVE (AL-MA±ABBA)

In al-Farghån¨’s view, Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poem is in the main a descrip-
tion of love in all its stages (a†wår). Love is the first spiritual stage
of the traveller (sålik) who realizes the first part of the hadith that
says: “There is nothing dearer to me, which my servant can do
to draw near to me, than his accomplishing the religious duties
(farå¤i‰) I have imposed on him. And if my servant continues
to draw near to me by voluntary acts of devotion (nawåfil), I

58. The full text of the hadith is: “Whoever treats a friend-protégé (wal¨)
of mine as an enemy, I will declare war on him. And there is nothing dearer
to me, my servant can do to draw near to me, than his accomplishing the
religious duties (farå¤i‰) I have imposed on him. And if my servant continues
to draw near to me by voluntary acts of devotion (nawåfil), I shall love him
(a¢babtu-hu); and when I love him, I shall be his ear (kuntu sam¡a-hu) with
which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps,
and his foot with which he walks. If he asks me (anything), I will give it to
him; and if he seeks protection from me, I will give it to him. And never do I
hesitate in doing anything as (in taking) the soul of a faithful believer of mine
(i.e., to make him die): since he hates death, and I hate to harm him, [how-
ever, he has no escape from it (= death)]”, see Ibn ¡Arab¨, Mishkåt al-anwår,
hadith 91 (translated as Divine Sayings [Oxford: Anqa, 2005], p. 88 English
and p. 51 Arabic) and Wensinck, Concordance I, p. 408a (al-Bukhår¨, riqåq
38); the text translated here is taken from W.A. Graham, Divine Word and
Prophetic Word in Early Islam (The Hague, Paris: Mouton, 1977), pp. 173–4.
There are some variants in the reports of this hadith, see also the translation
and comment in W.C. Chittick, The Sufi Path, p. 325.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
shall love him (a¢babtu-hu) …” This stage corresponds to the

outward self-disclosure (al-tajall¨ al-™åhir¨) described in the proc-
ess of return.59
3.9.2. THE STAGE OF UNITY (AL-TAW±ÔD)

As a result of love comes the stage of unity, in which complete
unity between the servant and his Lord is realized, following the
same hadith that says: “… and when I love him, I shall be his
ear (kuntu sam¡a-hu) with which he hears, his sight with which
he sees, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which
he walks etc.”. This stage corresponds to the first stage of the
inward self-disclosure (al-tajall¨ al-bå†in¨) described in the proc-
ess of return.
3.9.3. THE STAGE OF TRUE KNOWLEDGE (AL-MA¡RIFA)

From love and unity comes knowledge, which is achieved by the
Lord Himself. It is through the knowledge of the Lord that the
servant knows in complete self-annihilation, as the same hadith
says: “… by Me he hears, by Me he sees and thinks …” This stage
corresponds to the second stage of the inward self-disclosure (al-
tajall¨ al-bå†in¨) described in the process of return.
3.9.4. THE STAGE OF PERFECT REALIZATION (AL-KAMÅL WA-L-TA±QÔQ)

At this stage all contradictions are overcome in a universal com-
prehension, this stage has in fact the character of the all-compre-
hensiveness (jam¡) of all levels. This stage is proper to the perfect
(kummal) saints and the friends-vicegerents (awliyå¤ wa-khulafå¤)
of God. This stage corresponds to the all-comprehensive self-
disclosure (al-tajall¨ al-jam¡¨) described in the process of return.
3.9.5. THE MU±AMMADAN PRESENCE (AL-±AÎRAT AL-MU±AMMADIYYA)

This is the highest and the most perfect stage (martabat al-
akmaliyya) of return to unity, that is the Absolute Unity (al-
59. In the same context al-Farghån¨ distinguishes the three degrees of

ma¢abba: that at the level of acts (fi¡liyya), that at the level of qualities
(ßifåtiyya) and that at the level of the Essence (dhåtiyya). These three degrees
are matched by al-Farghån¨ to the four self-disclosures of return.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 72

a¢adiyya), beyond which there is nothing but the absolute

Mystery of the transcendent Essence. This stage is exclusive to
the Prophet Mu¢ammad, the Mu¢ammadan Presence (al-¢a‰rat
al-mu¢ammadiyya) that nobody else can reach. This stage is the
highest level of unity, qualified as the level of the All-compre-
hensive Unity (martabat al-a¢adiyyat al-jam¡iyya).
It was in this highest stage that, in al-Farghån¨’s view, Ibn al-
Fåri‰ composed his poem. Al-Farghån¨ says:
… but he [Ibn al-Fåri‰] has described those stages in general in a

language (lisån) derived from the station of Mu¢ammad (maqåm
mu¢ammad¨) which permeates (siråya) by the All-comprehensive-
ness of his Unity (a¢adiyya jam¡iyyati-hi) every order and every
being.60
Al-Farghån¨ continues by saying that Ibn al-Fåri‰’s language

is a “speaking on behalf” (¢ikåya ¡an) and the “translation of”
(tarjumåniyya) the station of Mu¢ammad (maqåm mu¢ammad¨).
Such a statement implies that Ibn al-Fåri‰ translated into words
the experience of the highest level of spiritual realization, which,
as al-Farghån¨ repeats many times, is in itself the exclusive privi-
lege of the Prophet Mu¢ammad.
In my research I reached a conclusion similar to that of al-
Farghån¨. I pointed out that at the end of his poem Ibn al-Fåri‰
claims to have reached the highest stage of proximity, indicated
as the Eternal Light of Mu¢ammad (cf. vv. 751–2). However, I
have emphasized that I reached such a conclusion through a
systematic linguistic analysis of the poem, and not by projecting
into it foreign ideas taken from other sources. One may notice
in fact, that a lot of concepts, designations and terms used by
al-Farghån¨ in his commentary on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poems, are bor-
rowed from Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi vision and vocabulary, and they
remain, in my view, quite foreign to Ibn al-Fåri‰’s vocabulary.
In conclusion, one must again emphasize that al-Farghån¨’s
Introduction remains a very important work, not only because
it is a clear summary of his Sufi thought and that of his great
master Ibn al-¡Arab¨. Moreover, al-Farghån¨ highlights in it a
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Giuseppe Scattolin
number of Sufi concepts and terms he uses in his interpreta-

tion of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poem. One cannot possibly understand his
Commentary without a good acquaintance with the vocabulary
of his Introduction. For this reason I thought it useful to offer a
detailed account of it.
4. SOME REMARKS ON AL-FARGHÅNÔ’S

COMMENTARY (SHAR±)
4.1. A General View

Al-Farghån¨’s Introduction (vol. I, pp. 1–107) is the starting point
of his large Commentary which extends over 489 pages (vol. I,
pp. 107–358; vol. II, pp. 1–238). Al-Farghån¨ does not mention
the source of the poem text he uses. In my critical edition of
Ibn al-Fåri‰’s D¨wån, I have pointed to some affinities existing
between his text and a group of texts that are linked in different
ways with the tradition of Konya, related in the end to Íadr al-
D¨n al-Q¬naw¨’s Sufi school.61 Besides, the actual printed text of
the poem and its commentary are full of printing mistakes, and
there is a need for a more accurate and critical edition of such
an important work. On the whole, one has to acknowledge that
al-Farghån¨ provides a remarkable explanation of every verse at
the linguistic and at the Sufi level. He sometimes extends his
explanations into a discussion of Sufi topics.
Al-Farghån¨ does not explicitly mention the sources of his
thought, but these can be easily guessed from the names of some
forty Sufis he mentions here and there in his text. Among them
a special place is given to those whom al-Farghån¨ himself calls
“our master and guide” (shaykhu-nå wa-sayyidu-nå), always men-
tioned with distinguished titles. They are:
• Íadr al-D¨n Mu¢ammad Ibn Is¢åq al-Q¬naw¨ (d.673/1274),
called “Our master (sayyidu-nå), the perfect spiritual guide (al-
shaykh al-kåmil), who has realized Reality (mu¢aqqiq)” (vol.
I: v. 69, p. 174; vol. II: v. 556, p. 104; v. 614, p.137).
61. The D¨wån of Ibn al-Fåri‰, op. cit. (English text), p. 18.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 74

• Mu¢y¨ al-D¨n Ibn al-¡Arab¨ (d.638/1240), called “The most

perfect spiritual guide (al-shaykh al-kåmil al-mukammal al-
akmal)” (vol. I: v. 69, p. 174; v. 191, p. 253; vol. II: v. 501,
p. 219).
• Mu¢ammad Ibn al-Sakandån¨ al-Baghdåd¨, called “Our spir-
itual guide and master (shaykhu-nå wa-sayyidu-nå)” (vol. I: v.
189, p. 152).
• Naj¨b al-D¨n ¡Al¨ Ibn Buzghush al-Sh¨råz¨, called “My spiritual
guide and model (shaykh-¨ wa-qudwat-¨)” (vol. I: v. 240, p. 28;
vol. II: v. 560, p. 109).
• Shihåb al-D¨n ¡Umar al-Suhraward¨ (d.632/1235), called “The
head of all spiritual guides, the Junayd of his time (shaykh al-
shuy¬kh, Junayd waqti-hi)” (vol. II: v. 598, p. 130; v. 723, p. 202).
4.2. Al-Farghån¨’s Partition of the Tå¤iyya
Al-Farghån¨ does not provide a clear partition of the Tå¤iyya, but

from the titles of some sections one can have a general picture of
it. This is based on the four journeys (asfår) the spiritual traveller
goes through. These four journeys are matched to the four self-
disclosures (tajalliyåt) of the process of return.
Such a division of the poem seems to me quite artificial and
based on a vision prefixed without inquiring first about the in-
ternal structure of it. Nevertheless, al-Farghån¨’s commentary
provides a lot of useful insights into his Sufi vision and into the
cultural world of his time, which was still quite close to Ibn al-
Fåri‰. In our linguistic analysis of the poem we have divided the
poem into ten major parts.62
4.3. Al-Farghån¨’s Method of Interpreting al-Tå¤iyya al-kubrå
Al-Farghån¨ interprets Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry according to his

own vision expounded in his Introduction. In it one finds the
key concepts of his interpretation of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s great poem, al-
Tå¤iyya al-kubrå. The whole Reality or Being is seen by al-Farghån¨
as the manifestation of the unfathomable Mystery through two
62. G. Scattolin, L’esperienza mistica, vol. I, pp. 55–163.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
basic movements, one coming from and the other going back
to it:
(a) The first is the movement from the One to the Multiple, or
from Oneness to multiplicity. This movement is called the
self-manifestation (™uh¬r, tajall¨) of the Divine Essence (al-
dhåt) in its attributes (ßifåt) and acts (af¡ål), and goes through
six levels of self-manifestation.
(b) The second is the movement from the Multiple to the One,
or from multiplicity to Oneness. This movement is called
return (ruj¬¡) and self-vision (istijlå¤), and goes through the
four stages of self-disclosures (tajalliyåt).
On such a basic pattern of thought al-Farghån¨ builds his whole
commentary and understanding of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s language and
vision. Such an ontological pattern is based essentially on the
Neoplatonic philosophy largely adopted by Muslim philosophers
and Sufi thinkers like Ibn ¡Arab¨. It seems that al-Farghån¨ takes
for granted that Ibn al-Fåri‰ has the same ontological vision and,
on this presumption, he projects into the Faridian verses the
Akbarian philosophy. Such a method is surely questionable.
4.4. On al-Farghån¨’s Method
One can easily point out that in Ibn al-Fåri‰’s actual text there is
very little of all that complicated ontological, cosmological and
anthropological Sufi vision and elaborated terminology that is
expounded in al-Farghån¨’s Introduction. Ibn al-Fåri‰’s pattern
of thought seems to be on the whole rather simpler, based on
lived experience rather than on theoretical speculation, though
he does not ignore a number of Sufi technical terms. Thus one
can point to a number of clear dissimilarities and similarities
between Ibn al-Fåri‰’s text and al-Farghån¨’s commentary that
should be taken into consideration.
4.4.1. DISSIMILARITIES
Ibn al-Fåri‰ explicitly mentions only three basic stages of his
mystical journey. I could assess this on the basis of an accurate
semantic analysis of the poem. The three stages are expressly
named by the poet himself, as:
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(a) The stage of division (called al-farq), in which the poet ex-
periences the separation from his Beloved. At this stage the
erotic language is prevalent.
(b) The stage of absolute unity and identity (called al-itti¢åd),
in which the poet experiences the absolute unity with his
Beloved ending in self-identity, expressed in the formulas: “I
am She (anå iyyå-hå)”, “She is I” (hiya iyyå-ya), “I am My-self”
(anå iyyå-ya).63
(c) The stage of universal union (called al-jam¡) in which the
poet experiences the universal union, i.e. the merging of his
own “Self” (anå) into the whole universe, in which the One
and the Many are united.
Ibn al-Fåri‰ ignores all the complicated divisions and sub-divi-
sions found in al-Farghån¨’s commentary and its philosophical
vocabulary. In particular, the important technical expression,
namely “The Level of the All-comprehensive Unity” (martabat
al-a¢adiyya al-jam¡iyya), a term which is at the centre of al-
Farghån¨’s Sufi vision and continuously repeated in his commen-
tary, representing in his view the highest stage of unity, never
occurs as such in Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poetical vocabulary. The nearest
concept to it could be that of the Mu¢ammadan Light (al-n¬r
al-mu¢ammad¨), which is alluded to at the end of the poem (vv.
751–2) and with which the poet clearly identifies himself. This
notion is parallel to other Sufi concepts such as that of the Perfect
Man (al-insån al-kåmil) and of the Mu¢ammadan Reality (al-
¢aq¨qat al-mu¢ammadiyya), mentioned at length by al-Farghån¨,
but never mentioned as such by Ibn al-Fåri‰ in his text. In my
analysis, I have shown that Ibn al-Fåri‰ hints at such a lofty real-
ity only in two instances and only with two designations: al-qu†b
(the Pole) in vv. 500–1, and the muf¨‰ al-jam¡ (the bestower of
union) in v. 751 (which corresponds to the muf¨‰ al-asrår, i.e. the
bestower of spiritual powers, explicitly said of Mu¢ammad in v.
625). I have also pointed out that Ibn al-Fåri‰ clearly identifies
himself with such a supreme Reality, but without providing any
definition or explanation of such designations.64 It seems that
63. It is interesting to note that the term itti¢åd, which surely is a key
term in the Tå¤iyya, never appears as such in al-Farghån¨’s vocabulary.
64. G. Scattolin, L’esperienza mistica, vol. II, pp. 407–24.
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Giuseppe Scattolin
the poet took for granted that such terms were quite familiar
to the Sufi circles he was addressing. In fact, the term “pole”
(qu†b) had a long history before Ibn al-Fåri‰, and has been used
since al-±ak¨m al-Tirmidh¨ (d.285/898) to designate the highest
degree of sainthood (walåya), having its source in the so-called
Mu¢ammadan Reality (al-¢aq¨qat al-mu¢ammadiyya). This was
thought of as the “Islamic Logos”, that is the first manifestation
of the Divine Essence, the eternal principle and goal of the whole
creation, and the sum of all the Divine Qualities.65 But Ibn al-
Fåri‰’s language proves to be, on the whole, quite alien to such
a complicated terminology.
In conclusion one can say that, compared with Ibn al-Fåri‰’s
poetical language, al-Farghån¨’s philosophical vocabulary appears
to be quite artificial, and in many instances misleading and for-
eign to it, lacking the inspiration of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poetry. In my
semantic analysis, I have pointed out that even some technical
terms, such as wuj¬‰ (existence), r¬¢ (spirit), nafs (soul), dhåt
(essence), which I called “pivotal terms” in the Faridian vocabu-
lary, do not have the philosophical overtones they have in Ibn
¡Arab¨’s vocabulary.
4.4.2. SIMILARITIES
However, in spite of all these differences between the two Sufis’
visions and vocabulary, one finds also some similarities. Both
visions are rooted in a common Sufi background and herit-
age, coming down from a long Sufi tradition and centred, in
the end, on the concept of the Perfect Man. At the conclusion
of my research, it appeared to me that the very notion of Per-
fect Man (al-insån al-kåmil) must have had the deepest influ-
ence in shaping Ibn al-Fåri‰’s mystical vision. Such a notion
had already found full development in the Sufi literature by the
sixth–seventh/twelfth–thirteenth centuries, and reached in Ibn
¡Arab¨’s philosophy its most systematic exposition. The Perfect
Man was seen as the ultimate goal of the Sufi path. It was thought
of as the perfect image of God, the mirror of his Divine quali-
ties, the supreme synthesis between the Divine Essence and its
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 78

manifestations, the comprehensive union of the opposites, the

source, the model and purpose of all creation. In my analysis
of the qualities of anå in the stage of jam¡, which is the highest
state of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s spiritual travel, I have pointed out many
traits that are similar to those found in the idea of the Perfect
Man in the contemporary Sufi literature. But at the same time,
I have underlined the difference existing between Ibn al-Fåri‰’s
poetical and Ibn ¡Arab¨’s philosophical vocabulary. One cannot
consider, as has often been done in the past, Ibn al-Fåri‰ sim-
ply as a disciple of Ibn al-¡Arab¨, putting into poetry the latter’s
philosophical speculations. It appeared to me that Ibn al-Fåri‰
had his own particular and original Sufi experience and language,
and should first be understood in his own terms.
In my view, both Sufi shaykhs, Ibn al-¡Arab¨ and Ibn al-Fåri‰,
must have drawn independently from a common background
of ideas and terms, already well developed by their time in the
Sufi circles. Yet each of them has edited such ideas in accordance
with his particular personal experience (tajriba) and taste (dhawq).
While Ibn ¡Arab¨ and his school elaborated them in a systematic
and philosophical way, Ibn al-Fåri‰ expressed them in a more
experiential and poetical language. A direct dependence of Ibn
al-Fåri‰ on Ibn ¡Arab¨ seems improbable not only on historical
grounds, as already established by some modern scholars, but
also on the basis of the linguistic evidence, as my study intends
to prove. In this way, one can account in a more reasonable way
for both the similarities and dissimilarities existing between the
two Sufis, doing justice, at the same time, to the peculiarities
of each of them. On this basis, one can also account for the
particular interest Ibn ¡Arab¨’s school, starting with al-Q¬naw¨
and al-Farghån¨, always showed toward Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poems. The
two Sufis’ experiences must have appeared quite similar, and the
popularity of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s poems could have been considered by
Ibn ¡Arab¨’s school a very suitable means to propagate Akbarian
ideas in Sufi circles.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 79

Giuseppe Scattolin
4.5. The Experience of anå (I, Myself),

the Core of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi Experience66
At the end of my semantic analysis of the poem, it appeared to

me that the experience of anå (I, Myself) must be considered the
core of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi experience. In fact, the term anå ap-
pears to be the focus word of the whole poem, both at statistical
and semantic levels. In such a vision, the poet’s mystical travel
takes the form of a transforming process of his own anå from
the state of separation (farq) and limitation, to a new perception
of his identity in the stage of unity-identity (itti¢åd), up to the
highest awareness of his transcendent dimensions in the stage
of the universal, all-comprehensive union (jam¡). This is, in my
view, the basic pattern of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s mystical experience. Ibn
al-Fåri‰ has surely been influenced by the contemporary idea of
the Perfect Man (al-insån al-kåmil), though he himself does not
explicitly use such an expression. Thus the sources of his mystical
experience should be found in a personal and deep assimilation
of the contents of the concept of the Perfect Man. Through such a
realization the poet came to the full awareness of having attained
his most profound aspiration, the source of all mystical experi-
ence, i.e. the union with the Absolute. Having gone through all
the stages of love, which leads the Sufi to the complete annihi-
lation of his personal qualities (fanå¤) to reach the permanence
in the qualities of the Beloved (baqå¤), the poet arrived at a new
awareness. He found that his empirical anå, at the beginning of
the path still in a stage of multiplicity and duality, has passed
away in a pure transparency of the true, unique anå: the absolute
One. At this point, the poet experiences such an absolute anå as
the unique Centre of all qualities and movements in the whole
universe. In this absolute anå he has now completely merged so
that no traces are left of his previous, empirical anå. Now, in a
new transparent and transcendent awareness, the poet realizes
that whatever he says or does is done by that One and absolute
Subject, the only Centre of all, the only One who can say, in Re-
ality, anå (I, Myself). Having attained the Source of everything,
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 80

he finds that he is in everything and everything is in him, from

him and to him.
This is, in my view, the final stage of Ibn al-Fåri‰’s mystical
path, and from there he tries to convey to his readers something
of his lofty experience. His language is full of paradoxes, but this
is, in his view, the unique way of communicating an experience
which is in itself beyond words.
5. CONCLUDING REMARKS
At the end of the present exposition of al-Farghån¨’s Commen-

tary, some general remarks can be made.
1. First of all, I hope to have achieved my main purpose of offer-

ing a faithful exposition of al-Farghån¨’s thought as he expressed
it in his Commentary, known to be quite a difficult text. In spite
of such “obscurity”, al-Farghån¨’s Introduction has been held in
great esteem and has had a profound influence on the history of
Sufism. It has been praised as one of the clearest expositions of
Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s thought. Besides, al-Farghån¨’s Commentary comes
at the head of a long chain of commentaries on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s
poems, mainly produced by Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s school, which remain
a precious legacy in Sufi literature. Although I have expressed a
number of critiques on al-Farghån¨’s way of interpreting Ibn al-
Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry, I would not suggest that his work is without
value. Al-Farghån¨’s Commentary represents a possible and legiti-
mate “reading” of the Faridian text in the light of the Akbarian
Sufi vision, without, however, pretending to express the “original
Faridian mind”. It is quite well known in hermeneutical sciences
that a text continues to have “its own life” after the death of its
composer and beyond his own purposes. Such was the case of
Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Sufi poetry in the Akbarian reading of it.
2. Al-Farghån¨’s commentary is in itself a very important Sufi

work. It is one of the best testimonies of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s school of
thought, known as the school of Sufi monism (wa¢dat al-wuj¬d).
This expression (wa¢dat al-wuj¬d) does actually explicitly recur
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 81

Giuseppe Scattolin
in al-Farghån¨’s text, linked, however, with other concepts such

as self-manifestation or self-disclosure (™uh¬r, tajall¨), which give
it some important nuances. For some scholars, however, such
a type of Sufism does away with the basic distinction between
creatures and the transcendence and uniqueness of God, which
is the fundamental dogma of Islam. On such a basis, Ibn al-
¡Arab¨’s school was sharply and vigorously condemned by many
representatives of Islamic orthodox Sunnism. Also Ibn al-Fåri‰, as
understood in the light of the Akbarian school, has often been as-
similated to it and to its condemnation. It seems to me, however,
that al-Farghån¨ does not speak of an absolute, pure monism, as
it is usually understood in Western thought. Al-Farghån¨, and
with him also the Akbarian school, is very careful in introducing
into such a concept some subtle, but important, distinctions and
considerations. This question should be reconsidered anew.
Moreover, as one of the best expressions of Akbarian thought,
al-Farghån¨’s work has a great value for world spiritualities. It
is well known that Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Sufism represents a very im-
portant link among many mystical experiences in the East and
the West. The Japanese scholar Toshihiko Izutsu sees that Ibn
al-¡Arab¨’s Sufi thought represents: “… an archetype of philo-
sophical thought which has been expressed in different ways by
the great philosophers of Eastern tradition”.67 Similarly, we can
hope that al-Farghån¨’s synthesis of Akbarian thought will help
with a better understanding of it.
3. But now, after all, a new approach to Ibn al-Fårid’s Sufi poetry
is surely needed, going beyond what has been done in the past.
We now possess better tools for research and criticism, and I
have dedicated some of my efforts to this end, going from the
linguistic analysis of Ibn al-Fårid’s language to a critical edition
of his text. Others, such as Thomas Emil Homerin, have delved
67. Toshihiko Izutsu, Unicité de l’existence et création perpétuelle en mys-

tique islamique (Paris: Les Deux Océans, 1980), p. 51; see also his bulky, A
Comparative Study of the Key Philosophical Concepts in Sufism and Taoism
(Tokyo: Keio Institute, 1966–7), 2 vols.; and Helmutt Ritter, Das Meer der
Seele (Leiden: Brill, 1955), IV, pp. 601–11.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 82

more into the historical field.68 All such work should now pro-
duce a new and, one hopes, truer picture of Ibn al-Fårid’s Sufi
spiritual world, adding something new to our knowledge of the
history of Sufism.
In the end, however, one should always be aware that when
dealing with a mystical experience one has to cross over into
the world of silence, the mystical silence, since a true experi-
ence of the Absolute can never be really and totally expressed
in human words. Human words and linguistic expressions are
perceived by mystics as just traces of, and pointers to, a Reality
always transcending all human understanding and expression.
For this reason, I concluded my first research on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s
Sufi experience with the reminder that:
Ultimately, however, in spite of all effort, one has to acknowledge

that the Sufi poet took with him the secret of his mystical expe-
rience as he returned through the silence of death towards the
mysterious sources of his mystical journey: that “Sea of love and
friendship” and that “bounteous and unlimited Ocean”, in which
he found his true, real ‘Self’ (anå). He left us his poems to be read
simply as traces (åthår) of a path to follow (The Order of the Way,
this is in fact the meaning of one of the first titles of the poem)
towards that transcendent and ultimate Reality in which he found
his utmost fulfillment.69
In the end, we are simply called to follow his path towards that
Reality.
68. Thomas Emil Homerin, From Arab Poet to Muslim Saint: Ibn al-Fåri‰,
His Verse and His Shrine (Columbia, USA: University of South Carolina Press,
1994; 2nd edn, Cairo and New York: The American University in Cairo
Press, 2001).
69. The D¨wån of Ibn al-Fåri‰, p. 11.
JMIAS 39, 2006, page 83

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The Key Concepts of al-Farghån¨’s

Commentary on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s Suﬁ

My ﬁrst approach to Ibn al-Fåri‰’s great poem al-Tå¤iyyat al-Kubrå

1. Giuseppe Scattolin, L’esperienza mistica di Ibn al-Fåri‰ attraverso il suo

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 33

of the discussion of his relationship with Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s Suﬁ vi-

4. For a general overview of Ibn al-¡Arab¨’s school of Suﬁsm see William

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 34

in the exposition of the Suﬁ sciences and that many Suﬁs, in

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 35

2. AL-FARGHÅNÔ’S LIFE AND WORK

Al-Farghån¨’s complete name is Sa¡¨d al-D¨n Ab¬ ¡Uthmån

7. Louis Pouzet ﬁxes the place of al-Farghån¨’s death in Damascus, in his

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 36

important Suﬁ manual, “The Gifts of the Divine Sciences” (¡Awårif

8. Al-Farghån¨’s trip to Konya is probably connected with the general

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 37

in Persian under the title: “Mashåriq al-darår¨ al-zuhar f¨ kashf

of al-Farghån¨’s Persian and Arabic commentaries on Ibn al-Fåri‰’s great

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 38

3.1. The Transcendent Mystery (al-ghayb) and its

I was a hidden treasure, I loved to be known, so I created the world

Through it some important Suﬁ concepts are introduced:

12. In the historical sources al-Farghån¨’s famous “Introduction” is some-

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 39

(b) “I loved”: love (¢ubb) is shown to be the original movement

16. Al-Farghån¨ uses in his text a number of theological concepts

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 40

3.1.1. THE ABSOLUTE UNITY (AL-A±ADIYYA)

3.1.2. THE RELATED UNITY (AL-WÅ±IDIYYA)

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 41

a. jåmi¡ all-comprehensive a. muta¡ayyin determined

jam¡ all- ta¡ayyun determination

b. bå†in inward b. ™åhir outward

c. mujmal total c. mufaßßal particularized

d. mundaraj included d. mumayyaz distinct

in a broader meaning to indicate the constant relationship

19. Such an unfolding pattern of thought surely bears the imprint of

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 42

3.2. Love (ma¢abba): the Cause of Self-manifestation

Al-Farghån¨ underlines that the Absolute Mystery or Essence is in

3.2.1. THE “INNER SPEECH” (AL-±ADÔTH MA¡A NAFSI-HA)

3.2.2. THE “ORIGINAL LOVE” (AL-MA±ABBA AL-AÍLIYYA)

20. Madårik I, pp. 10–11; 16–17; 45–46.

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 43

21. Madårik I, p. 10.

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 44

This creative breath, by which everything comes into exist-

3.3. The Designations of the Two First Self-manifestations

3.3.1. THE DESIGNATIONS OF THE FIRST SELF-MANIFESTATION

The First Manifestation of the Divine Essence is designated in

The ﬁrst group

The second group

22. Madårik I, pp. 10–11; 16–17; 45–46.

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 45

(b) The First and Supreme Isthmus (al-barzakh al-awwal wa-

23. Madårik I, p. 13.

JMIAS 39, 2006, page 46