,transcriber's note3 ,italic font is    
indicated by underscores4    ,bolded and
 underlined words are indicated by      
equals4      ,the following two         
characters may not display as intended  
on certain    devices3      ,the ,arabic
 letter ayn or ayin is here represented 
by the    character  7,,modifier        
,,letter ,,left ,,half ,,ring74         
,the ,arabic letter hamza is here       
represented by the    character         
7,,modifier ,,letter ,,right ,,half     
,,ring74            ,the ,quest ,series 
,edited by ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mead            
,,the ,,mystics ,,of ,,islam            
,,the ,,quest ,,series      ,edited by  
,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,,mead1    ,,editor ,,of    
#8,,the ,,quest4'      ,crown #hvo4     
#bs4 #f;d4 net each4        ,,first     
,,list ,,of ,,volumes4      ,,psychical 
,,research ,,and ,,survival4 ,by ,james 
,h4 ,hyslop1 ,ph4,d41 ,,ll4,d41         
,secretary of the ,psychical ,research  
,society of ,america4      ,,the ,,quest
 ,,of ,,the ,,holy ,,grail4 ,by ,jessie 

,l4 ,weston1 ,author of #8,the          
,legend of ,sir ,perceval4'             
,,jewish ,,mysticism4 ,by ,j4 ,abelson1 
,m4,a41 ,d4,lit41 ,principal of ,aria   
,college1 ,portsmouth4      ,,buddhist  
,,psychology4 ,by ,c4 ,a4 ,f4 ,rhys     
,davids1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,b4,a41 ,lecturer   
on ,indian ,philosophy1 ,manchester     
,university4      ,,the ,,mystics ,,of  
,,islam4 ,by ,reynold ,a4 ,nicholson1   
,m4,a41 ,litt4,d41 ,,ll4,d41            
,lecturer on ,persian1 ,cambridge       
,university4        ,london3 ,g4 ,,bell 
,,sons ,,ltd4            ,,the          
,,mystics ,,of ,,islam      ,,by        
,,reynold ,a4 ,,nicholson    ,m4,a41    
,litt4,d41 ,hon4 ,,ll4,d4 7,aberdeen7   
,,lecturer ,,on ,,persian ,,in ,,the    
,,university ,,of ,,cambridge           
,,formerly ,,fellow ,,of ,,trinity      
,,college    ,illustration      ,,london
    ,g4 ,,bell ,,and ,,sons ,,ltd4      
#aiad            ,,editor',s ,,note     
,if ,judaism1 ,christianity and ,islam  
have no little in common in spite  of   

their deep dogmatic differences1 the    
spiritual content of that  common       
element can best be appreciated in      
,jewish1 ,christian and  ,islamic       
mysticism1 which bears equal testimony  
to that ever-deepening  experience of   
the soul when the spiritual worshipper1 
whether he be  follower of ,moses or    
,jesus or ,mohammed1 turns              
whole-heartedly to ,god4  ,as the ,quest
 ,series has already supplied for the   
first time those  interested in such    
matters with a simple general           
introduction to ,jewish  mysticism1 so  
it now provides an easy approach to the 
study of ,islamic  mysticism on which in
 ,english there exists no separate      
introduction4  ,but not only have we in 
the following pages all that the general
 reader  requires to be told at first   
about ,sfism2 we have also a large      
amount  of material that will be new    
even to professional ,orientalists4 ,dr4
  ,nicholson sets before us the results 
of twenty years' unremitting  labour1   

and that1 too1 with remarkable          
simplicity and clarity for  such a      
subject2 at the same time he lets the   
mystics mostly speak for  themselves and
 mainly in his own fine versions from   
the original ,arabic  and ,persian4     
,,contents                              
,,page         ,introduction            
#a      ,,chap4      ,i4 ,the ,path     
#bh       ,,ii4 ,illumination and       
,ecstasy      #ej      ,,iii4 ,the      
,gnosis                    #fh          
,,iv4 ,divine ,love                     
#ajb        ,v4 ,saints and ,miracles   
#abj       ,,vi4 ,the ,unitive ,state   
#adh           ,bibliography            
#afi           ,index                   
#agc            ,,the ,,mystics ,,of    
,,islam            ,,introduction       
,the title of this book sufficiently    
explains why it is included in a        
,series #8exemplifying the adventures   
and labours of individual seekers  or   
groups of seekers in quest of reality4' 
,sfism1 the religious  philosophy of    

,islam1 is described in the oldest      
extant definition  as #8the apprehension
 of divine realities1' and ,mohammedan  
mystics  are fond of calling themselves 
,ahl al-,haqq1 #8the followers of the   
,real4'#a ,in attempting to set forth   
their central doctrines from  this point
 of view1 ,i shall draw to some extent  
on materials which  ,i have collected   
during the last twenty years for a      
general history  of ,islamic            
mysticism--a subject so vast and        
many-sided that several  large volumes  
would be required to do it anything like
 justice4 ,here  ,i can only sketch in  
broad outline certain principles1       
methods1 and  characteristic features of
 the inner life as it has been lived by 
,moslems of every class and condition   
from the eighth century of our  era to  
the present day4 ,difficult are the     
paths which they threaded1  dark and    
bewildering the pathless heights beyond2
 but even if we  may not hope to        
accompany the travellers to their       

journey's end1  any information that we 
have gathered concerning their religious
  environment and spiritual history will
 help us to understand the  strange     
experiences of which they write4    #a  
,al-,haqq is the term generally used by 
,sfs when they refer to  ,god4    ,in   
the first place1 therefore1 ,i propose  
to offer a few remarks on the  origin   
and historical development of ,sfism1   
its relation to ,islam1  and its general
 character4 ,not only are these matters 
interesting  to the student of          
comparative religion2 some knowledge of 
them is  indispensable to any serious   
student of ,sfism itself4 ,it may be    
said1  truly enough1 that all mystical  
experiences ultimately meet in a single 
point2 but that point assumes widely    
different aspects according to the      
mystic's religion1 race1 and            
temperament1 while the converging lines 
of approach admit of almost infinite    
variety4 ,though all the great  types of
 mysticism have something in common1    

each is marked by peculiar              
characteristics resulting from the      
circumstances in which it arose and     
flourished4 ,just as the ,christian type
 cannot be understood without  reference
 to ,christianity1 so the ,mohammedan   
type must be viewed in  connexion with  
the outward and inward development of   
,islam4    ,the word #8mystic1' which   
has passed from ,greek religion into    
,european  literature1 is represented in
 ,arabic1 ,persian1 and ,turkish1 the   
three  chief languages of ,islam1 by    
#8,sf4' ,the terms1 however1 are not    
precisely synonymous1 for #8,sf' has a  
specific religious connotation1  and is 
restricted by usage to those mystics who
 profess the ,mohammedan  faith4 ,and   
the ,arabic word1 although in course of 
time it appropriated  the high          
significance of the ,greek--lips sealed 
by holy mysteries1  eyes closed in      
visionary rapture--bore a humbler       
meaning when it  first gained currency  
7about #hjj ,a4,d474 ,until recently its

 derivation  was in dispute4 ,most ,sfs1
 flying in the face of etymology1 have  
derived it from an ,arabic root which   
conveys the notion of #8purity'2  this  
would make #8,sf' mean #8one who is pure
 in heart' or #8one of the  elect4'     
,some ,european scholars identified it  
with  in the sense  of #8theosophist4'  
,but ,nldeke1 in an article written     
twenty years ago1  showed conclusively  
that the name was derived from sf       
7wool71 and  was originally applied to  
those ,moslem ascetics who1 in imitation
 of  ,christian hermits1 clad themselves
 in coarse woollen garb as a sign of    
penitence and renunciation of worldly   
vanities4    ,the earliest ,sfs were1 in
 fact1 ascetics and quietists rather    
than mystics4 ,an overwhelming          
consciousness of sin1 combined with a   
dread--which it is hard for us to       
realise--of ,judgment ,day and the      
torments of ,hell-fire1 so vividly      
painted in the ,koran1 drove them to    
seek salvation in flight from the world4

 ,on the other hand1 the ,koran  warned 
them that salvation depended entirely on
 the inscrutable will of  ,allah1 who   
guides aright the good and leads astray 
the wicked4 ,their  fate was inscribed  
on the eternal tables of ,his           
providence1 nothing  could alter it4    
,only this was sure1 that if they were  
destined to be  saved by fasting and    
praying and pious works--then they would
 be saved4  ,such a belief ends         
naturally in quietism1 complete and     
unquestioning  submission to the divine 
will1 an attitude characteristic of     
,sfism in  its oldest form4 ,the        
mainspring of ,moslem religious life    
during the  eighth century was          
fear--fear of ,god1 fear of ,hell1 fear 
of death1 fear  of sin--but the opposite
 motive had already begun to make its   
influence  felt1 and produced in the    
saintly woman ,rbia at least one        
conspicuous  example of truly mystical  
self-abandonment4    ,so far1 there was 
no great difference between the ,sf and 

the orthodox  ,mohammedan zealot1 except
 that the ,sfs attached extraordinary   
importance to certain ,koranic          
doctrines1 and developed them at the    
expense of others which many ,moslems   
might consider equally essential4  ,it  
must also be allowed that the ascetic   
movement was inspired  by ,christian    
ideals1 and contrasted sharply with the 
active and  pleasure-loving spirit of   
,islam4 ,in a famous sentence the       
,prophet  denounced monkish austerities 
and bade his people devote themselves   
to the holy war against unbelievers2 and
 he gave1 as is well known1  the most   
convincing testimony in favour of       
marriage4 ,although his  condemnation of
 celibacy did not remain without effect1
 the conquest  of ,persia1 ,syria1 and  
,egypt by his successors brought the    
,moslems into  contact with ideas which 
profoundly modified their outlook on    
life and  religion4 ,european readers of
 the ,koran cannot fail to be struck by 
its  author's vacillation and           

inconsistency in dealing with the       
greatest  problems4 ,he himself was not 
aware of these contradictions1 nor were 
they a stumbling-block to his devout    
followers1 whose simple faith  accepted 
the ,koran as the ,word of ,god4 ,but   
the rift was there1 and soon  produced  
far-reaching results4    ,hence arose   
the ,murjites1 who set faith above works
 and emphasised  the divine love and    
goodness2 the ,qadarites who affirmed1  
and the  ,jabarites who denied1 that men
 are responsible for their actions2  the
 ,mutazilites1 who built a theology on  
the basis of reason1  rejecting the     
qualities of ,allah as incompatible with
 ,his unity1  and predestinarianism as  
contrary to ,his justice2 and finally   
the  ,asharites1 the scholastic         
theologians of ,islam1 who formulated   
the  rigid metaphysical and doctrinal   
system that underlies the creed of      
orthodox ,mohammedans at the present    
time4 ,all these speculations1          
influenced as they were by ,greek       

theology and philosophy1 reacted        
powerfully upon ,sfism4 ,early in the   
third century of the ,hegira--the  ninth
 after ,christ--we find manifest signs  
of the new leaven stirring  within it4  
,not that ,sfs ceased to mortify the    
flesh and take pride  in their poverty1 
but they now began to regard asceticism 
as only the  first stage of a long      
journey1 the preliminary training for a 
larger  spiritual life than the mere    
ascetic is able to conceive4 ,the nature
  of the change may be illustrated by   
quoting a few sentences which have  come
 down to us from the mystics of this    
period4            8,love is not to be  
learned from men3 it is one of ,god's   
gifts      and comes of ,his grace40    
8,none refrains from the lusts of this  
world save him in whose      heart there
 is a light that keeps him always busied
 with the next      world40             
8,when the gnostic's spiritual eye is   
opened1 his bodily eye is      shut3 he 
sees nothing but ,god40            8,if 

gnosis were to take visible shape all   
who looked thereon      would die at the
 sight of its beauty and loveliness and 
goodness      and grace1 and every      
brightness would become dark beside the 
splendour thereof40#b                   
8,gnosis is nearer to silence than to   
speech40            8,when the heart    
weeps because it has lost1 the spirit   
laughs      because it has found40      
8,nothing sees ,god and dies1 even as   
nothing sees ,god and lives1            
because ,his life is everlasting3       
whoever sees it is thereby made         
everlasting40            8,o ,god1 ,i   
never listen to the cry of animals or to
 the      quivering of trees or to the  
murmuring of water or to the warbling   
of birds or to the rustling wind or to  
the crashing thunder without            
feeling them to be an evidence of ,thy  
unity and a proof that there      is    
nothing like unto ,thee40            8,o
 my ,god1 ,i invoke ,thee in public as  
lords are invoked1 but in      private  

as loved ones are invoked4 ,publicly ,i 
say1 #8,o my ,god6' but      privately  
,i say1 #8,o my ,beloved6'0    #b       
,compare ,plato1 ,phdrus 7,jowett's     
translation73 8,for sight is the        
keenest of our bodily senses2 though not
 by that is wisdom seen2 her  loveliness
 would have been transporting if there  
had been a visible  image of her40      
,these ideas--,light1 ,knowledge1 and   
,love--form1 as it were1 the keynotes   
of the new ,sfism1 and in the following 
chapters ,i shall endeavour to  show how
 they were developed4 ,ultimately they  
rest upon a pantheistic  faith which    
deposed the ,one transcendent ,god of   
,islam and worshipped  in ,his stead    
,one ,real ,being who dwells and works  
everywhere1 and whose  throne is not    
less1 but more1 in the human heart than 
in the heaven  of heavens4 ,before going
 further1 it will be convenient to      
answer  a question which the reader may 
have asked himself--,whence did the     
,moslems of the ninth century derive    

this doctrine8    ,modern research has  
proved that the origin of ,sfism cannot 
be  traced back to a single definite    
cause1 and has thereby discredited  the 
sweeping generalisations which represent
 it1 for instance1 as a  reaction of the
 ,aryan mind against a conquering       
,semitic religion1 and  as the product1 
essentially1 of ,indian or ,persian     
thought4 ,statements  of this kind1 even
 when they are partially true1 ignore   
the principle  that in order to         
establish an historical connexion       
between ,a and ,b1  it is not enough to 
bring forward evidence of their likeness
 to one  another1 without showing at the
 same time 7#a7 that the actual relation
  of ,b to ,a was such as to render the 
assumed filiation possible1 and  7#b7   
that the possible hypothesis fits in    
with all the ascertained  and relevant  
facts4 ,now1 the theories which ,i have 
mentioned do not  satisfy these         
conditions4 ,if ,sfism was nothing but a
 revolt of the  ,aryan spirit1 how are  

we to explain the undoubted fact that   
some of  the leading pioneers of        
,mohammedan mysticism were natives of   
,syria and  ,egypt1 and ,arabs by race8 
,similarly1 the advocates of a          
,buddhistic  or ,vedntic origin forget  
that the main current of ,indian        
influence  upon ,islamic civilisation   
belongs to a later epoch1 whereas       
,moslem  theology1 philosophy1 and      
science put forth their first luxuriant 
shoots on a soil that was saturated with
 ,hellenistic culture4 ,the truth  is   
that ,sfism is a complex thing1 and     
therefore no simple answer can  be given
 to the question how it originated4 ,we 
shall have gone far1  however1 towards  
answering that question when we have    
distinguished the  various movements and
 forces which moulded ,sfism1 and       
determined what  direction it should    
take in the early stages of its growth4 
,let us first consider the most         
important external1 i4e4 non-,islamic1  
influences4        ,i4 ,,christianity   

,it is obvious that the ascetic and     
quietistic tendencies to which  ,i have 
referred were in harmony with ,christian
 theory and drew  nourishment therefrom4
 ,many ,gospel texts and apocryphal     
sayings of  ,jesus are cited in the     
oldest ,sf biographies1 and the         
,christian  anchorite 7rhib7 often      
appears in the rle of a teacher giving  
instruction and advice to wandering     
,moslem ascetics4 ,we have seen  that   
the woollen dress1 from which the name  
#8,sf' is derived1 is  of ,christian    
origin3 vows of silence1 litanies       
7dhikr71 and other  ascetic practices   
may be traced to the same source4 ,as   
regards the  doctrine of divine love1   
the following extracts speak for        
themselves3            8,jesus passed by
 three men4 ,their bodies were lean and 
their      faces pale4 ,he asked them1  
saying1 #8,what hath brought you to this
      plight8' ,they answered1 #8,fear  
of the ,fire4' ,jesus said1 #8,ye fear  
a thing created1 and it behoves ,god    

that ,he should save those who          
fear4' ,then he left them and passed by 
three others1 whose faces      were     
paler and their bodies leaner1 and asked
 them1 saying1 #8,what      hath brought
 you to this plight8' ,they answered1   
#8,longing for      ,paradise4' ,he     
said1 #8,ye desire a thing created1 and 
it behoves ,god      that ,he should    
give you that which ye hope for4' ,then 
he went on      and passed by three     
others of exceeding paleness and        
leanness1 so      that their faces were 
as mirrors of light1 and he said1       
#8,what hath      brought you to this8' 
,they answered1 #8,our love of ,god4'   
,jesus said1      #8,ye are the nearest 
to ,him1 ye are the nearest to ,him4'0  
,the ,syrian mystic1 ,ahmad ibn         
al-,hawr1 once asked a ,christian       
hermit3            8#8,what is the      
strongest command that ye find in your  
,scriptures8' ,the hermit replied3 #8,we
 find none stronger than this3          
8,love thy ,creator with all thy power  

and might40'0    ,another hermit was    
asked by some ,moslem ascetics3         
8#8,when is a man most persevering in   
devotion8' #8,when love takes           
possession of his heart1' was the reply2
 #8for then he hath no joy      or      
pleasure but in continual devotion4'0   
,the influence of ,christianity through 
its hermits1 monks1 and heretical  sects
 7e4g4 the ,messalians or ,euchit7 was  
twofold3 ascetic and  mystical4         
,oriental ,christian mysticism1 however1
 contained a ,pagan  element3 it had    
long ago absorbed the ideas and adopted 
the language of  ,plotinus and the      
,neoplatonic school4        ,,ii4       
,,neoplatonism    ,aristotle1 not       
,plato1 is the dominant figure in       
,moslem philosophy1  and few            
,mohammedans are familiar with the name 
of ,plotinus1 who was  more commonly    
called #8the ,greek ,master' 7al-,sheykh
 al-,yaunn74 ,but  since the ,arabs     
gained their first knowledge of         
,aristotle from his  ,neoplatonist      

commentators1 the system with which they
 became imbued  was that of ,porphyry   
and ,proclus4 ,thus the so-called       
,theology of  ,aristotle1 of which an   
,arabic version appeared in the ninth   
century1  is actually a manual of       
,neoplatonism4    ,another work of this 
school deserves particular notice3 ,i   
mean the  writings falsely attributed to
 ,dionysius the ,areopagite1 the convert
 of  ,st4 ,paul4 ,the                   
pseudo-,dionysius--he may have been a   
,syrian monk--names  as his teacher a   
certain ,hierotheus1 whom ,frothingham  
has identified  with ,stephen ,bar      
,sudaili1 a prominent ,syrian gnostic   
and a contemporary  of ,jacob of ,sarj  
7#dea-eba ,a4,d474 ,dionysius quotes    
some fragments  of erotic hymns by this 
,stephen1 and a complete work1 the ,book
 of  ,hierotheus on the ,hidden         
,mysteries of the ,divinity1 has come   
down  to us in a unique manuscript which
 is now in the ,british ,museum4 ,the   
,dionysian writings1 turned into ,latin 

by ,john ,scotus ,erigena1 founded      
medieval ,christian mysticism in        
,western ,europe4 ,their influence in   
the ,east was hardly less vital4 ,they  
were translated from ,greek into        
,syriac almost immediately on their     
appearance1 and their doctrine was      
vigorously propagated by commentaries in
 the same tongue4 8,about #hej  ,a4,d4  
,dionysius was known from the ,tigris to
 the ,atlantic40    ,besides literary   
tradition1 there were other channels by 
which the  doctrines of emanation1      
illumination1 gnosis1 and ecstasy were  
transmitted1 but enough has been said to
 convince the reader that  ,greek       
mystical ideas were in the air and      
easily accessible to the  ,moslem       
inhabitants of ,western ,asia and       
,egypt1 where the ,sf theosophy  first  
took shape4 ,one of those who bore the  
chief part in its  development1 ,dhu    
'l-,nn the ,egyptian1 is described as a 
philosopher  and alchemist--in other    
words1 a student of ,hellenistic        

science4 ,when  it is added that much of
 his speculation agrees with what we    
find1 for  example1 in the writings of  
,dionysius1 we are drawn irresistibly to
 the  conclusion 7which1 as ,i have     
pointed out1 is highly probable on      
general  grounds7 that ,neoplatonism    
poured into ,islam a large tincture of  
the  same mystical element in which     
,christianity was already steeped4      
,,iii4 ,,gnosticism#c    #c ,cf4        
,goldziher1 8,neuplatonische und        
gnostische ,elemente im ,hadt10  in     
,zeitschrift fr ,assyriologie1 xxii4    
#cag ff4    ,though little direct       
evidence is available1 the conspicuous  
place  occupied by the theory of gnosis 
in early ,sf speculation suggests       
contact with ,christian ,gnosticism1 and
 it is worth noting that the  parents of
 ,marf al-,karkh1 whose definition of   
,sfism1 as #8the  apprehension of divine
 realities' was quoted on the first page
 of this  ,introduction1 are said to    
have been ,sbians1 i4e4 ,mandans1       

dwelling  in the ,babylonian fenland    
between ,basra and ,wsit4 ,other ,moslem
 saints  had learned #8the mystery of   
the ,great ,name4' ,it was communicated 
to  ,ibrhm ibn ,adham by a man whom he  
met while travelling in the desert1  and
 as soon as he pronounced it he saw the 
prophet ,khadir 7,elias74 ,the  ancient 
,sfs borrowed from the ,manichans the   
term siddq1 which  they apply to their  
own spiritual adepts1 and a later       
school1 returning  to the dualism of    
,mn1 held the view that the diversity of
 phenomena  arises from the admixture of
 light and darkness4            8,the   
ideal of human action is freedom from   
the taint of      darkness2 and the     
freedom of light from darkness means the
      self-consciousness of light as    
light40#d    #d ,shaikh ,muhammad       
,iqbal1 ,the ,development of            
,metaphysics in ,persia  7#aijh71 p4    
#aej4    ,the following version of the  
doctrine of the seventy thousand veils  
as  explained by a modern ,rif dervish  

shows clear traces of ,gnosticism  and  
is so interesting that ,i cannot refrain
 from quoting it here3                  
8,seventy ,thousand ,veils separate     
,allah1 the ,one ,reality1 from      the
 world of matter and of sense4 ,and     
every soul passes before      his birth 
through these seventy thousand4 ,the    
inner half of these      are veils of   
light3 the outer half1 veils of         
darkness4 ,for every      one of the    
veils of light passed through1 in this  
journey towards      birth1 the soul    
puts off a divine quality3 and for every
 one of      the dark veils1 it puts on 
an earthly quality4 ,thus the child is  
born weeping1 for the soul knows its    
separation from ,allah1 the      ,one   
,reality4 ,and when the child cries in  
its sleep1 it is because      the soul  
remembers something of what it has lost4
 ,otherwise1      the passage through   
the veils has brought with it           
forgetfulness      7nisyn73 and for this
 reason man is called insn4 ,he is      

now1 as it were1 in prison in his body1 
separated by these thick      curtains  
from ,allah4            8,but the whole 
purpose of ,sfism1 the ,way of the      
dervish1      is to give him an escape  
from this prison1 an apocalypse of the  
,seventy ,thousand ,veils1 a recovery of
 the original unity with ,the      ,one1
 while still in this body4 ,the body is 
not to be put off2 it      is to be     
refined and made spiritual--a help and  
not a hindrance      to the spirit4 ,it 
is like a metal that has to be refined  
by fire      and transmuted4 ,and the   
sheikh tells the aspirant that he has   
the      secret of this transmutation4  
#8,we shall throw you into the fire of  
,spiritual ,passion1' he says1 #8and you
 will emerge refined4'0#e    #e 8,the   
,way0 of a ,mohammedan ,mystic1 by ,w4  
,h4 ,t4 ,gairdner 7,leipzig1  #aiab71   
pp4 #i f4        ,,iv4 ,,buddhism       
,before the ,mohammedan conquest of     
,india in the eleventh century1 the     
teaching of ,buddha exerted considerable

 influence in ,eastern ,persia  and     
,transoxania4 ,we hear of flourishing   
,buddhist monasteries in ,balkh1  the   
metropolis of ancient ,bactria1 a city  
famous for the number of  ,sfs who      
resided in it4 ,professor ,goldziher has
 called attention  to the significant   
circumstance that the ,sf ascetic1      
,ibrhm ibn  ,adham1 appears in ,moslem  
legend as a prince of ,balkh who        
abandoned  his throne and became a      
wandering dervish--the story of ,buddha 
over  again4 ,the ,sfs learned the use  
of rosaries from ,buddhist monks1 and1  
without entering into details1 it may be
 safely asserted that the  method of    
,sfism1 so far as it is one of ethical  
self-culture1 ascetic  meditation1 and  
intellectual abstraction1 owes a good   
deal to ,buddhism4  ,but the features   
which the two systems have in common    
only accentuate  the fundamental        
difference between them4 ,in spirit they
 are poles  apart4 ,the ,buddhist       
moralises himself1 the ,sf becomes moral

 only  through knowing and loving ,god4 
,the ,sf conception of the passing-away 
7fan7 of individual self  in ,universal 
,being is certainly1 ,i think1 of       
,indian origin4 ,its first  great       
exponent was the ,persian mystic1 ,byazd
 of ,bistm1 who may have  received it   
from his teacher1 ,ab ,al of ,sind      
7,scinde74 ,here are some  of his       
sayings3            8,creatures are     
subject to changing #8states1' but the  
gnostic      has no #8state1' because   
his vestiges are effaced and his essence
      annihilated by the essence of     
another1 and his traces are lost in     
another's traces40            8,thirty  
years the high ,god was my mirror1 now  
,i am my own      mirror10 i4e4         
according to the explanation given by   
his      biographer1 8that which ,i was 
,i am no more1 for #8,i' and #8,god' is 
a      denial of the unity of ,god4     
,since ,i am no more1 the high ,god is  
,his own mirror40            8,i went   
from ,god to ,god1 until they cried from

 me in me1 #8,o      ,thou ,i6'0        
,this1 it will be observed1 is not      
,buddhism1 but the pantheism of the     
,vednta4 ,we cannot identify fan with   
,nirva unconditionally4 ,both  terms    
imply the passing-away of individuality1
 but while ,nirva  is purely negative1  
fan is accompanied by baq1 everlasting  
life in ,god4 ,the rapture of the ,sf   
who has lost himself in  ecstatic       
contemplation of the divine beauty is   
entirely opposed to  the passionless    
intellectual serenity of the ,arahat4 ,i
 emphasise  this contrast because1 in my
 opinion1 the influence of ,buddhism on 
,mohammedan thought has been            
exaggerated4 ,much is attributed to     
,buddhism  that is ,indian rather than  
specifically ,buddhistic3 the fan theory
  of the ,sfs is a case in point4       
,ordinary ,moslems held the followers of
  ,buddha in abhorrence1 regarding them 
as idolaters1 and were not likely  to   
seek personal intercourse with them4 ,on
 the other hand1 for nearly  a thousand 

years before the ,mohammedan conquest1  
,buddhism had been  powerful in ,bactria
 and ,eastern ,persia generally3 it     
must1 therefore1  have affected the     
development of ,sfism in these regions4 
,while fan in its pantheistic form is   
radically different from  ,nirva1 the   
terms coincide so closely in other ways 
that we cannot  regard them as being    
altogether unconnected4 ,fan has an     
ethical  aspect3 it involves the        
extinction of all passions and desires4 
,the passing-away of evil qualities and 
of the evil actions which  they produce 
is said to be brought about by the      
continuance of the  corresponding good  
qualities and actions4 ,compare this    
with the  definition of ,nirva given by 
,professor ,rhys ,davids3               
8,the extinction of that sinful1        
grasping condition of mind      and     
heart1 which would otherwise1 according 
to the great mystery      of ,karma1 be 
the cause of renewed individual         
existence4 ,that      extinction is to  

be brought about by1 and runs parallel  
with1 the      growth of the opposite   
condition of mind and heart2 and it is  
complete when that opposite condition is
 reached40    ,apart from the doctrine  
of ,karma1 which is alien to ,sfism1    
these  definitions of fan 7viewed as a  
moral state7 and ,nirva agree  almost   
word for word4 ,it would be out of place
 to pursue the comparison  further1 but 
,i think we may conclude that the ,sf   
theory of fan  was influenced to some   
extent by ,buddhism as well as by       
,perso-,indian  pantheism4    ,the      
receptivity of ,islam to foreign ideas  
has been recognised by  every unbiassed 
inquirer1 and the history of ,sfism is  
only a single  instance of the general  
rule4 ,but this fact should not lead us 
to  seek in such ideas an explanation of
 the whole question which ,i am  now    
discussing1 or to identify ,sfism itself
 with the extraneous  ingredients which 
it absorbed and assimilated in the      
course of its  development4 ,even if    

,islam had been miraculously shut off   
from contact  with foreign religions and
 philosophies1 some form of mysticism   
would  have arisen within it1 for the   
seeds were already there4 ,of course1 we
  cannot isolate the internal forces    
working in this direction1 since  they  
were subject to the law of spiritual    
gravitation4 ,the powerful  currents of 
thought discharged through the          
,mohammedan world by the  great         
non-,islamic systems above mentioned    
gave a stimulus to various  tendencies  
within ,islam which affected ,sfism     
either positively or  negatively4 ,as we
 have seen1 its oldest type is an       
ascetic revolt  against luxury and      
worldliness2 later on1 the prevailing   
rationalism  and scepticism provoked    
counter-movements towards intuitive     
knowledge  and emotional faith1 and also
 an orthodox reaction which in its turn 
drove many earnest ,moslems into the    
ranks of the mystics4    ,how1 it may be
 asked1 could a religion founded on the 

simple and  austere monotheism of       
,mohammed tolerate these new doctrines1 
much  less make terms with them8 ,it    
would seem impossible to reconcile the  
transcendent personality of ,allah with 
an immanent ,reality which is the  very 
life and soul of the universe4 ,yet     
,islam has accepted ,sfism4 ,the  ,sfs1 
instead of being excommunicated1 are    
securely established in the  ,mohammedan
 church1 and the ,legend of the ,moslem 
,saints records the  wildest excesses of
 ,oriental pantheism4    ,let us return 
for a moment to the ,koran1 that        
infallible touchstone  by which every   
,mohammedan theory and practice must be 
proved4 ,are any  germs of mysticism to 
be found there8 ,the ,koran1 as ,i have 
said1 starts  with the notion of ,allah1
 the ,one1 ,eternal1 and ,almighty ,god1
 far above  human feelings and          
aspirations--the ,lord of ,his slaves1  
not the ,father  of ,his children2 a    
judge meting out stern justice to       
sinners1 and  extending ,his mercy only 

to those who avert ,his wrath by        
repentance1  humility1 and unceasing    
works of devotion2 a ,god of fear rather
 than  of love4 ,this is one side1 and  
certainly the most prominent side1 of   
,mohammed's teaching2 but while he set  
an impassable gulf between the  world   
and ,allah1 his deeper instinct craved a
 direct revelation from  ,god to the    
soul4 ,there are no contradictions in   
the logic of feeling4  ,mohammed1 who   
had in him something of the mystic1 felt
 ,god both as far  and near1 both as    
transcendent and immanent4 ,in the      
latter aspect1  ,allah is the light of  
the heavens and the earth1 a ,being who 
works in  the world and in the soul of  
man4            8,if ,my servants ask   
thee about ,me1 lo1 ,i am near0 7,kor4  
#b4      #ahb72 8,we 7,god7 are nearer  
to him than his own neck-vein0 7#ej4    
#ae72 8,and in the earth are signs to   
those of real faith1 and in             
yourselves4 ,what6 do ye not see80 7#ea4
 #bj-ba74    ,it was a long time ere    

they saw4 ,the ,moslem consciousness1   
haunted by  terrible visions of the     
wrath to come1 slowly and painfully     
awoke to  the significance of those     
liberating ideas4    ,the verses which  
,i have quoted do not stand alone1 and  
however  unfavourable to mysticism the  
,koran as a whole may be1 ,i cannot     
assent  to the view that it supplies no 
basis for a mystical interpretation  of 
,islam4 ,this was worked out in detail  
by the ,sfs1 who dealt with  the ,koran 
in very much the same way as ,philo     
treated the ,pentateuch4  ,but they     
would not have succeeded so thoroughly  
in bringing over the  mass of religious 
,moslems to their side1 unless the      
champions of  orthodoxy had set about   
constructing a system of scholastic     
philosophy  that reduced the divine     
nature to a purely formal1 changeless1  
and  absolute unity1 a bare will devoid 
of all affections and emotions1 a       
tremendous and incalculable power with  
which no human creature could  have any 

communion or personal intercourse       
whatsoever4 ,that is the ,god  of       
,mohammedan theology4 ,that was the     
alternative to ,sfism4 ,therefore1  8all
 thinking1 religious ,moslems are       
mystics10 as ,professor ,d4 ,b4         
,macdonald1 one of our best authorities 
on the subject1 has remarked4  ,and he  
adds3 8,all1 too1 are pantheists1 but   
some do not know it40    ,the relation  
of individual ,sfs to ,islam varies from
 more or less  entire conformity to a   
merely nominal profession of belief in  
,allah  and ,his ,prophet4 ,while the   
,koran and the ,traditions are generally
  acknowledged to be the unalterable    
standard of religious truth1 this       
acknowledgment does not include the     
recognition of any external  authority  
which shall decide what is orthodox and 
what is heretical4  ,creeds and         
catechisms count for nothing in the     
,sf's estimation4 ,why  should he       
concern himself with these when he      
possesses a doctrine  derived           

immediately from ,god8 ,as he reads the 
,koran with studious  meditation and    
rapt attention1 lo1 the hidden          
meanings--infinite1  inexhaustible--of  
the ,holy ,word flash upon his inward   
eye4 ,this is  what the ,sfs call       
istinbt1 a sort of intuitive deduction2 
the  mysterious inflow of divinely      
revealed knowledge into hearts made pure
  by repentance and filled with the     
thought of ,god1 and the outflow of     
that knowledge upon the interpreting    
tongue4 ,naturally1 the doctrines       
elicited by means of istinbt do not     
agree very well either with  ,mohammedan
 theology or with each other1 but the   
discord is easily  explained4           
,theologians1 who interpret the letter1 
cannot be expected to  reach the same   
conclusions as mystics1 who interpret   
the spirit2 and if  both classes differ 
amongst themselves1 that is a merciful  
dispensation  of divine wisdom1 since   
theological controversy serves to       
extinguish  religious error1 while the  

variety of mystical truth corresponds to
 the  manifold degrees and modes of     
mystical experience4    ,in the chapter 
on the gnosis ,i shall enter more fully 
into the attitude  of the ,sfs towards  
positive religion4 ,it is only a        
rough-and-ready  account of the matter  
to say that many of them have been good 
,moslems1  many scarcely ,moslems at    
all1 and a third party1 perhaps the     
largest1  ,moslems after a fashion4     
,during the early ,middle ,ages ,islam  
was a  growing organism1 and gradually  
became transformed under the influence  
of diverse movements1 of which ,sfism   
itself was one4 ,mohammedan  orthodoxy  
in its present shape owes much to       
,ghazl1 and ,ghazl was  a ,sf4 ,through 
his work and example the ,sfistic       
interpretation of  ,islam has in no     
small measure been harmonised with the  
rival claims of  reason and tradition1  
but just because of this he is less     
valuable than  mystics of a purer type  
to the student who wishes to know what  

,sfism  essentially is4    ,although the
 numerous definitions of ,sfism which   
occur in ,arabic and  ,persian books on 
the subject are historically            
interesting1 their chief  importance    
lies in showing that ,sfism is          
undefinable4 ,jalluddn ,rm  in his      
,masnav tells a story about an elephant 
which some ,hindoos  were exhibiting in 
a dark room4 ,many people gathered to   
see it1 but1  as the place was too dark 
to permit them to see the elephant1 they
  all felt it with their hands1 to gain 
an idea of what it was like4  ,one felt 
its trunk1 and said that the animal     
resembled a water-pipe2  another felt   
its ear1 and said it must be a large    
fan2 another its leg1  and thought it   
must be a pillar2 another felt its back1
 and declared  that the beast must be   
like an immense throne4 ,so it is with  
those who  define ,sfism3 they can only 
attempt to express what they themselves 
have felt1 and there is no conceivable  
formula that will comprise every  shade 

of personal and intimate religious      
feeling4 ,since1 however1 these         
definitions illustrate with convenient  
brevity certain aspects and             
characteristics of ,sfism1 a few        
specimens may be given4                 
8,sfism is this3 that actions should be 
passing over the ,sf      7i4e4 being   
done upon him7 which are known to ,god  
only1 and that      he should always be 
with ,god in a way that is known to ,god
 only40            8,sfism is wholly    
self-discipline40            8,sfism is1
 to possess nothing and to be possessed 
by nothing40            8,sfism is not a
 system composed of rules or sciences   
but a      moral disposition2 i4e4 if it
 were a rule1 it could be made one's    
own by strenuous exertion1 and if it    
were a science1 it could be             
acquired by instruction2 but on the     
contrary it is a disposition1           
according to the saying1 #8,form        
yourselves on the moral nature of       
,god'2 and the moral nature of ,god     

cannot be attained either by      means 
of rules or by means of sciences40      
8,sfism is freedom and generosity and   
absence of      self-constraint40       
8,it is this3 that ,god should make thee
 die to thyself and      should make    
thee live in ,him40            8,to     
behold the imperfection of the          
phenomenal world1 nay1 to      close the
 eye to everything imperfect in         
contemplation of ,him who      is remote
 from all imperfection--that is ,sfism40
            8,sfism is control of the   
faculties and observance of the         
breaths40            8,it is ,sfism to  
put away what thou hast in thy head1 to 
give      what thou hast in thy hand1   
and not to recoil from whatsoever       
befalls thee40    ,the reader will      
perceive that ,sfism is a word uniting  
many divergent  meanings1 and that in   
sketching its main features one is      
obliged  to make a sort of composite    
portrait1 which does not represent any  
particular type exclusively4 ,the ,sfs  

are not a sect1 they have no  dogmatic  
system1 the tarqas or paths by which    
they seek ,god 8are  in number as the   
souls of men0 and vary infinitely1      
though a family  likeness may be traced 
in them all4 ,descriptions of such a    
,protean  phenomenon must differ widely 
from one another1 and the impression    
produced in each case will depend on the
 choice of materials and the  prominence
 given to this or that aspect of the    
many-sided whole4 ,now1  the essence of 
,sfism is best displayed in its extreme 
type1 which  is pantheistic and         
speculative rather than ascetic or      
devotional4  ,this type1 therefore1 ,i  
have purposely placed in the foreground4
 ,the  advantage of limiting the field  
is obvious enough1 but entails some     
loss of proportion4 ,in order to form a 
fair judgment of ,mohammedan  mysticism1
 the following chapters should be       
supplemented by a companion  picture    
drawn especially from those moderate    
types which1 for want of  space1 ,i have

 unduly neglected4            ,,chapter 
,i      ,,the ,,path      ,mystics of   
every race and creed have described the 
progress of the  spiritual life as a    
journey or a pilgrimage4 ,other symbols 
have been  used for the same purpose1   
but this one appears to be almost       
universal  in its range4 ,the ,sf who   
sets out to seek ,god calls himself a   
#8traveller' 7slik72 he advances by slow
 #8stages' 7maqmt7 along  a #8path'     
7tarqat7 to the goal of union with      
,reality 7fan fi  'l-,haqq74 ,should he 
venture to make a map of this interior  
ascent1  it will not correspond exactly 
with any of those made by previous      
explorers4 ,such maps or scales of      
perfection were elaborated by  ,sf      
teachers at an early period1 and the    
unlucky ,moslem habit of  systematising 
has produced an enormous aftercrop4 ,the
 #8path' expounded  by the author of the
 ,kitb al-,luma1 perhaps the oldest     
comprehensive  treatise on ,sfism that  
we now possess1 consists of the         

following seven  #8stages1' each of     
which 7except the first member of the   
series7 is the  result of the #8stages' 
immediately preceding it--7#a7          
,repentance1 7#b7  abstinence1 7#c7     
renunciation1 7#d7 poverty1 7#e7        
patience1 7#f7 trust  in ,god1 7#g7     
satisfaction4 ,the #8stages' constitute 
the ascetic and  ethical discipline of  
the ,sf1 and must be carefully          
distinguished  from the so-called       
#8states' 7ahwl1 plural of hl71 which   
form  a similar psychological chain4    
,the writer whom ,i have just quoted    
enumerates ten #8states'--,meditation1  
nearness to ,god1 love1 fear1 hope1     
longing1 intimacy1 tranquillity1        
contemplation1 and certainty4 ,while    
the #8stages' can be acquired and       
mastered by one's own efforts1 the      
#8states' are spiritual feelings and    
dispositions over which a man has  no   
control3            8,they descend from 
,god into his heart1 without his being  
able      to repel them when they come  

or to retain them when they go40    ,the
 ,sf's #8path' is not finished until he 
has traversed all the  #8stages1' making
 himself perfect in every one of them   
before advancing  to the next1 and has  
also experienced whatever #8states' it  
pleases  ,god to bestow upon him4 ,then1
 and only then1 is he permanently raised
  to the higher planes of consciousness 
which ,sfs call #8the ,gnosis'          
7marifat7 and #8the ,truth' 7haqqat71   
where the #8seeker' 7tlib7  becomes the 
#8knower' or #8gnostic' 7rif71 and      
realises that  knowledge1 knower1 and   
known are ,one4    ,having sketched1 as 
briefly as possible1 the external       
framework of the  method by which the   
,sf approaches his goal1 ,i shall now   
try to give  some account of its inner  
workings4 ,the present chapter deals    
with the  first portion of the threefold
 journey--the ,path1 the ,gnosis1 and   
the  ,truth--by which the quest of      
,reality is often symbolised4           
,sidenote3 ,repentance4    ,the first   

place in every list of #8stages' is     
occupied by repentance  7tawbat74 ,this 
is the ,moslem term for #8conversion1'  
and marks the  beginning of a new life4 
,in the biographies of eminent ,sfs the 
dreams1 visions1 auditions1 and other   
experiences which caused them  to enter 
on the ,path are usually related4       
,trivial as they may seem1  these       
records have a psychological basis1 and1
 if authentic1 would be  worth studying 
in detail4 ,repentance is described as  
the awakening of  the soul from the     
slumber of heedlessness1 so that the    
sinner becomes  aware of his evil ways  
and feels contrition for past           
disobedience4 ,he  is not truly         
penitent1 however1 unless 7#a7 he at    
once abandons the sin  or sins of which 
he is conscious1 and 7#b7 firmly        
resolves that he will  never return to  
these sins in the future4 ,it he should 
fail to keep  his vow1 he must again    
turn to ,god1 whose mercy is infinite4  
,a certain  well-known ,sf repented     

seventy times and fell back into sin    
seventy  times before he made a lasting 
repentance4 ,the convert must also1 as  
far as lies in his power1 satisfy all   
those whom he has injured4 ,many        
examples of such restitution might be   
culled from the ,legend of the  ,moslem 
,saints4    ,according to the high      
mystical theory1 repentance is purely an
 act of  divine grace1 coming from ,god 
to man1 not from man to ,god4 ,some one 
said to ,rbia3            8,i have      
committed many sins2 if ,i turn in      
penitence towards      ,god1 will ,he   
turn in mercy towards me80 8,nay10 she  
replied1 8but if      ,he shall turn    
towards thee1 thou wilt turn towards    
,him40    ,the question whether sins    
ought to be remembered after repentance 
or  forgotten illustrates a fundamental 
point in ,sf ethics3 ,i mean the        
difference between what is taught to    
novices and disciples and what  is held 
as an esoteric doctrine by adepts4 ,any 
,mohammedan director  of souls would    

tell his pupils that to think humbly and
 remorsefully  of one's sins is a       
sovereign remedy against spiritual      
pride1 but he  himself might very well  
believe that real repentance consists in
  forgetting everything except ,god4    
8,the penitent10 says ,hujwr1 8is a     
lover of ,god1 and the lover      of    
,god is in contemplation of ,god3 in    
contemplation it is wrong to            
remember sin1 for recollection of sin is
 a veil between ,god and      the       
contemplative40    ,sin appertains to   
self-existence1 which itself is the     
greatest of all  sins4 ,to forget sin is
 to forget self4    ,this is only one   
application of a principle which1 as ,i 
have said1  runs through the whole      
ethical system of ,sfism and will be    
more fully  explained in a subsequent   
chapter4 ,its dangers are evident1 but  
we must  in fairness allow that the same
 theory of conduct may not be equally   
suitable to those who have made         
themselves perfect in moral discipline  

and to those who are still striving     
after perfection4    ,over the gate of  
repentance it is written3        8,all  
self abandon ye who enter here60        
,sidenote3 ,the ,sheykh4    ,the convert
 now begins what is called by ,christian
 mystics the  ,purgative ,way4 ,if he   
follows the general rule1 he will take a
 director  7,sheykh1 ,pr1 ,murshid71    
i4e4 a holy man of ripe experience and  
profound knowledge1 whose least word is 
absolute law to his disciples4  ,a      
#8seeker' who attempts to traverse the  
#8,path' without assistance  receives   
little sympathy4 ,of such a one it is   
said that #8his guide is  ,satan1' and  
he is likened to a tree that for want of
 the gardener's  care brings forth      
#8none or bitter fruit4' ,speaking of   
the ,sf ,sheykhs1  ,hujwr says3         
8,when a novice joins them1 with the    
purpose of renouncing the      world1   
they subject him to spiritual discipline
 for the space of      three years4 ,if 
he fulfil the requirements of this      

discipline1 well      and good2         
otherwise1 they declare that he cannot  
be admitted to the      #8,path4' ,the  
first year is devoted to service of the 
people1 the      second year to service 
of ,god1 and the third year to watching 
over      his own heart4 ,he can serve  
the people1 only when he places himself 
in the rank of servants and all others  
in the rank of masters1      i4e4 he    
must regard all1 without exception1 as  
being better than      himself1 and must
 deem it his duty to serve all alike4   
,and he can      serve ,god1 only when  
he cuts off all his selfish interests   
relating      either to the present or  
to the future life1 and worships ,god   
for      ,god's sake alone1 inasmuch as 
whoever worships ,god for any thing's   
sake worships himself1 not ,god4 ,and he
 can watch over his heart1      only    
when his thoughts are collected and     
every care is dismissed1      so that in
 communion with ,god he guards his heart
 from the assaults      of heedlessness4

 ,when these qualifications are         
possessed by the      novice1 he may    
wear the muraqqaat 7the patched frock   
worn by      dervishes7 as a true       
mystic1 not merely as an imitator of    
others40    ,shibl was a pupil of the   
famous theosophist ,junayd of ,baghdd4  
,on his  conversion1 he came to ,junayd1
 saying3            8,they tell me that 
you possess the pearl of divine         
knowledge3      either give it me or    
sell it40 ,junayd answered3 8,i cannot  
sell it1      for you have not the price
 thereof2 and if ,i give it you1 you    
will      have gained it cheaply4 ,you  
do not know its value4 ,cast yourself   
headlong1 like me1 into this ocean1 in  
order that you may win the      pearl by
 waiting patiently40    ,shibl asked    
what he must do4            8,go10 said 
,junayd1 8and sell sulphur40    ,at the 
end of a year he said to ,shibl3        
8,this trading makes you well known4    
,become a dervish and occupy            
yourself solely with begging40          

,during a whole year ,shibl wandered    
through the streets of ,baghdd1  begging
 of the passers-by1 but no one heeded   
him4 ,then he returned to  ,junayd1 who 
exclaimed3            8,see now6 ,you   
are nothing in people's eyes4 ,never set
 your      mind on them or take any     
account of them at all4 ,for some time0 
7he continued7 8you were a chamberlain  
and acted as governor of a              
province4 ,go to that country and ask   
pardon of all those whom you      have  
wronged40    ,shibl obeyed and spent    
four years in going from door to door1  
until  he had obtained an acquittance   
from every person except one1 whom he   
failed to trace4 ,on his return1 ,junayd
 said to him3            8,you still    
have some regard to reputation4 ,go and 
be a beggar      for one year more40    
,every day ,shibl used to bring the alms
 that were given him to ,junayd1  who   
bestowed them on the poor and kept      
,shibl without food until the  next     
morning4 ,when a year had passed in this

 way1 ,junayd accepted him  as one of   
his disciples on condition that he      
should perform the duties  of a servant 
to the others4 ,after a year's service1 
,junayd asked him3            8,what    
think you of yourself now80 ,shibl      
replied3 8,i deem      myself the       
meanest of ,god's creatures40 8,now10   
said the master1      8your faith is    
firm40    ,i need not dwell on the      
details of this training--the fasts and 
vigils1  the vows of silence1 the long  
days and nights of solitary meditation1 
all the weapons and tactics1 in short1  
of that battle against one's  self which
 the ,prophet declared to be more       
painful and meritorious  than the ,holy 
,war4 ,on the other hand1 my readers    
will expect me to  describe in a general
 way the characteristic theories and    
practices  for which the #8,path' is a  
convenient designation4 ,these may be   
treated  under the following heads3     
,poverty1 ,mortification1 ,trust in     
,god1  and ,recollection4 ,whereas      

poverty is negative in nature1 involving
  detachment from all that is worldly   
and unreal1 the three remaining  terms  
denote the positive counterpart of that 
process1 namely1 the  ethical discipline
 by which the soul is brought into      
harmonious  relations with ,reality4    
,sidenote3 ,poverty4    ,the fatalistic 
spirit which brooded darkly over the    
childhood of  ,islam--the feeling that  
all human actions are determined by an  
unseen  ,power1 and in themselves are   
worthless and vain--caused renunciation 
to  become the watchword of early       
,moslem asceticism4 ,every true believer
  is bound to abstain from unlawful     
pleasures1 but the ascetic acquires     
merit by abstaining from those which are
 lawful4 ,at first1 renunciation  was   
understood almost exclusively in a      
material sense4 ,to have as few  worldly
 goods as possible seemed the surest    
means of gaining salvation4  ,dwud al-,t
 owned nothing except a mat of rushes1 a
 brick which he  used as a pillow1 and a

 leathern vessel which served him for   
drinking  and washing4 ,a certain man   
dreamed that he saw ,mlik ibn ,dnr and  
,mohammed ibn ,wsi being led into       
,paradise1 and that ,mlik was  admitted 
before his companion4 ,he cried out in  
astonishment1 for he  thought ,mohammed 
ibn ,wsi had a superior claim to the    
honour4 8,yes10  came the answer1 8but  
,mohammed ibn ,wsi possessed two shirts1
 and  ,mlik only one4 ,that is the      
reason why ,mlik is preferred40    ,the 
,sf ideal of poverty goes far beyond    
this4 ,true poverty is not  merely lack 
of wealth1 but lack of desire for       
wealth3 the empty heart  as well as the 
empty hand4 ,the #8poor man' 7faqr7 and 
the #8mendicant'  7dervsh7 are names by 
which the ,mohammedan mystic is proud to
 be  known1 because they imply that he  
is stripped of every thought or wish    
that would divert his mind from ,god4   
8,to be severed entirely from both  the 
present life and the future life1 and to
 want nothing besides the  ,lord of the 

present life and the future life--that  
is to be truly  poor40 ,such a faqr is  
denuded of individual existence1 so that
 he  does not attribute to himself any  
action1 feeling1 or quality4 ,he may    
even be rich1 in the common meaning of  
the word1 though spiritually he  is the 
poorest of the poor2 for1 sometimes1    
,god endows ,his saints with  an outward
 show of wealth and worldliness in order
 to hide them from  the profane4    ,no 
one familiar with the mystical writers  
will need to be informed that  their    
terminology is ambiguous1 and that the  
same word frequently  covers a group1 if
 not a multitude1 of significations     
diverging more  or less widely according
 to the aspect from which it is viewed4 
,hence  the confusion that is apparent  
in ,sf text-books4 ,when #8poverty1' for
  example1 is explained by one          
interpreter as a transcendental theory  
and by another as a practical rule of   
religious life1 the meanings  cannot    
coincide4 ,regarded from the latter     

standpoint1 poverty is only  the        
beginning of ,sfism4 ,faqrs1 ,jm says1  
renounce all worldly  things for the    
sake of pleasing ,god4 ,they are urged  
to this sacrifice  by one of three      
motives3 7a7 ,hope of an easy reckoning 
on the ,day of  ,judgment1 or fear of   
being punished2 7b7 desire of ,paradise2
 7c7  longing for spiritual peace and   
inward composure4 ,thus1 inasmuch as    
they are not disinterested but seek to  
benefit themselves1 they rank  below the
 ,sf1 who has no will of his own and    
depends absolutely on  the will of ,god4
 ,it is the absence of #8self' that     
distinguishes the  ,sf from the faqr4   
,here are some maxims for dervishes3    
8,do not beg unless you are starving4   
,the ,caliph ,omar flogged a      man   
who begged after having satisfied his   
hunger4 ,when compelled to      beg1 do 
not accept more than you need40         
8,be good-natured and uncomplaining and 
thank ,god for your      poverty40      
8,do not flatter the rich for giving1   

nor blame them for      withholding40   
8,dread the loss of poverty more than   
the rich man dreads the      loss of    
wealth40            8,take what is      
voluntarily offered3 it is the daily    
bread which      ,god sends to you3 do  
not refuse ,god's gift40                
8,let no thought of the morrow enter    
your mind1 else you will      incur     
everlasting perdition40            8,do 
not make ,god a springe to catch alms40 
,sidenote3 ,the nafs4    ,the ,sf       
teachers gradually built up a system of 
asceticism and moral  culture which is  
founded on the fact that there is in man
 an element of  evil--the lower or      
appetitive soul4 ,this evil self1 the   
seat of passion  and lust1 is called    
nafs2 it may be considered broadly      
equivalent  to #8the flesh1' and with   
its allies1 the world and the devil1 it 
constitutes the great obstacle to the   
attainment of union with ,god4  ,the    
,prophet said3 8,thy worst enemy is thy 
nafs1 which is between thy  two sides40 

,i do not intend to discuss the various 
opinions as to its  nature1 but the     
proof of its materiality is too curious 
to be omitted4  ,mohammed ibn ,ulyn1 an 
eminent ,sf1 relates that one day       
something  like a young fox came forth  
from his throat1 and ,god caused him to 
know  that it was his nafs4 ,he trod on 
it1 but it grew bigger at every  kick   
that he gave it4 ,he said3              
8,other things are destroyed by pain and
 blows3 why dost thou      increase80   
8,because ,i was created perverse10 it  
replied2 8what is      pain to other    
things is pleasure to me1 and their     
pleasure is my      pain40    ,the nafs 
of ,hallj was seen running behind him in
 the shape of a dog2  and other cases   
are recorded in which it appeared as a  
snake or a mouse4    ,sidenote3         
,mortification4    ,mortification of the
 nafs is the chief work of devotion1 and
 leads1  directly or indirectly1 to the 
contemplative life4 ,all the ,sheykhs   
are  agreed that no disciple who        

neglects this duty will ever learn the  
rudiments of ,sfism4 ,the principle of  
mortification is that the nafs  should  
be weaned from those things to which it 
is accustomed1 that it  should be       
encouraged to resist its passions1 that 
its pride should be  broken1 and that it
 should be brought through suffering and
 tribulation  to recognise the vileness 
of its original nature and the impurity 
of  its actions4 ,concerning the outward
 methods of mortification1 such as      
fasting1 silence1 and solitude1 a great 
deal might be written1 but we  must now 
pass on to the higher ethical discipline
 which completes the  ,path4            
,self-mortification1 as advanced ,sfs   
understand it1 is a moral  transmutation
 of the inner man4 ,when they say1 8,die
 before ye die10  they do not mean to   
assert that the lower self can be       
essentially  destroyed1 but that it can 
and should be purged of its attributes1 
which are wholly evil4 ,these           
attributes--ignorance1 pride1 envy1     

uncharitableness1 etc4--are             
extinguished1 and replaced by the       
opposite  qualities1 when the will is   
surrendered to ,god and when the mind is
  concentrated on ,him4 ,therefore      
#8dying to self' is really #8living in  
,god4' ,the mystical aspects of the     
doctrine thus stated will occupy  a     
considerable part of the following      
chapters2 here we are mainly  interested
 in its ethical import4    ,the ,sf who 
has eradicated self-will is said1 in    
technical language1  to have reached the
 #8stages' of #8acquiescence' or        
#8satisfaction'  7rid7 and #8trust in   
,god' 7tawakkul74            ,a dervish 
fell into the ,tigris4 ,seeing that he  
could not swim1      a man on the bank  
cried out1 8,shall ,i tell some one to  
bring you      ashore80 8,no10 said the 
dervish4 8,then do you wish to be       
drowned80      8,no40 8,what1 then1 do  
you wish80 ,the dervish replied1 8,god's
 will      be done6 ,what have ,i to do 
with wishing80    ,sidenote3 ,trust in  

,god4    #8,trust in ,god1' in its      
extreme form1 involves the renunciation 
of  every personal initiative and       
volition2 total passivity like that  of 
a corpse in the hands of the washer who 
prepares it for burial2  perfect        
indifference towards anything that is   
even remotely connected  with one's     
self4 ,a special class of the ancient   
,sfs took their name  from this         
#8trust1' which they applied1 so far as 
they were able1 to  matters of everyday 
life4 ,for instance1 they would not seek
 food1 work  for hire1 practise any     
trade1 or allow medicine to be given    
them when  they were ill4 ,quietly they 
committed themselves to ,god's care1    
never  doubting that ,he1 to whom belong
 the treasures of earth and heaven1     
would provide for their wants1 and that 
their allotted portion would  come to   
them as surely as it comes to the birds1
 which neither sow nor  reap1 and to the
 fish in the sea1 and to the child in   
the womb4    ,these principles depend   

ultimately on the ,sfistic theory of the
 divine  unity1 as is shown by ,shaqq of
 ,balkh in the following passage3       
8,there are three things which a man is 
bound to practise4      ,whosoever      
neglects any one of them must needs     
neglect them all1 and      whosoever    
cleaves to any one of them must needs   
cleave to them all4      ,strive1       
therefore1 to understand1 and consider  
heedfully4            8,the first is    
this1 that with your mind and your      
tongue and      your actions you declare
 ,god to be ,one2 and that1 having      
declared      ,him to be ,one1 and      
having declared that none benefits you  
or      harms you except ,him1 you      
devote all your actions to ,him alone4  
,if you act a single jot of your actions
 for the sake of another1      your     
thought and speech are corrupt1 since   
your motive in acting      for another's
 sake must be hope or fear2 and when you
 act from      hope or fear of other    
than ,god1 who is the lord and sustainer

 of      all things1 you have taken to  
yourself another god to honour and      
venerate4            8,secondly1 that   
while you speak and act in the sincere  
belief      that there is no ,god except
 ,him1 you should trust ,him more than  
the      world or money or uncle or     
father or mother or any one on the face 
of the earth4            8,thirdly1 when
 you have established these two things1 
namely1      sincere belief in the unity
 of ,god and trust in ,him1 it behoves  
you      to be satisfied with ,him and  
not to be angry on account of anything  
that vexes you4 ,beware of anger6 ,let  
your heart be with ,him always1      let
 it not be withdrawn from ,him for a    
single moment40    ,the #8trusting' ,sf 
has no thought beyond the present hour4 
,on one  occasion ,shaqq asked those who
 sat listening to his discourse3        
8,if ,god causes you to die to-day1     
think ye that ,he will demand      from 
you the prayers of to-morrow80 ,they    
answered3 8,no2 how should      ,he     

demand from us the prayers of a day on  
which we are not alive80      ,shaqq    
said3 8,even as ,he will not demand from
 you the prayers of      to-morrow1 so  
do ye not seek from ,him the provender  
of to-morrow4      ,it may be that ye   
will not live so long40    ,in view of  
the practical consequences of attempting
 to live #8on  trust1' it is not        
surprising to read the advice given to  
those who  would perfectly fulfil the   
doctrine3 8,let them dig a grave and    
bury  themselves40 ,later ,sfs hold that
 active exertion for the purpose of     
obtaining the means of subsistence is   
quite compatible with #8trust1'         
according to the saying of the ,prophet1
 8,trust in ,god and tie the  camel's   
leg40 ,they define tawakkul as an       
habitual state of mind1  which is       
impaired only by self-pleasing thoughts2
 e4g4 it was  accounted a breach of     
#8trust' to think ,paradise a more      
desirable place  than ,hell4    ,what   
type of character is such a theory      

likely to produce8 ,at the  worst1 a    
useless drone and hypocrite preying upon
 his fellow-creatures2  at the best1 a  
harmless dervish who remains unmoved in 
the midst of  sorrow1 meets praise and  
blame with equal indifference1 and      
accepts  insults1 blows1 torture1 and   
death as mere incidents in the eternal  
drama of destiny4 ,this cold morality1  
however1 is not the highest of  which   
,sfism is capable4 ,the highest morality
 springs from nothing but  love1 when   
self-surrender becomes self-devotion4   
,of that ,i shall have  something to say
 in due time4    ,sidenote3             
,recollection4    ,among the positive   
elements in the ,sf discipline there is 
one  that ,moslem mystics unanimously   
regard as the keystone of practical     
religion4 ,i refer to the dhikr1 an     
exercise well known to ,western  readers
 from the careful description given by  
,edward ,lane in his  ,modern           
,egyptians1 and by ,professor ,d4 ,b4   
,macdonald in his recently  published   

,aspects of ,islam4 ,the term           
dhikr--#8recollection'  seems to me the 
most appropriate equivalent in          
,english--signifies  #8mentioning1'     
#8remembering1' or simply #8thinking    
of'2 in the ,koran  the ,faithful are   
commanded to 8remember ,god often10 a   
plain act of  worship without any       
mystical savour4 ,but the ,sfs made a   
practice of  repeating the name of ,god 
or some religious formula1 e4g4 8,glory 
to ,allah0 7subhn ,allah71 8,there is no
 god but ,allah0 7l ilha  illa 'llah71  
accompanying the mechanical intonation  
with an intense  concentration of every 
faculty upon the single word or phrase2 
and they  attach greater value to this  
irregular litany1 which enables them to 
enjoy uninterrupted communion with ,god1
 than to the five services of  prayer   
performed1 at fixed hours of the day and
 night1 by all ,moslems4  ,recollection 
may be either spoken or silent1 but it  
is best1 according  to the usual        
opinion1 that tongue and mind should    

co-operate4 ,sahl ibn  ,abdallah bade   
one of his disciples endeavour to say   
8,allah6 ,allah60  the whole day without
 intermission4 ,when he had acquired the
 habit  of doing so1 ,sahl instructed   
him to repeat the same words during the 
night1 until they came forth from his   
lips even while he was asleep4  8,now10 
said he1 8be silent and occupy yourself 
with recollecting them40  ,at last the  
disciple's whole being was absorbed by  
the thought of  ,allah4 ,one day a log  
fell on his head1 and the words 8,allah1
 ,allah0  were seen written in the blood
 that trickled from the wound4    ,ghazl
 describes the method and effects of    
dhikr in a passage which  ,macdonald has
 summarised as follows3            8,let
 him reduce his heart to a state in     
which the existence of      anything and
 its non-existence are the same to him4 
,then let him      sit alone in some    
corner1 limiting his religious duties to
 what      is absolutely necessary1 and 
not occupying himself either with       

reciting the ,koran or considering its  
meaning or with books of      religious 
traditions or with anything of the sort4
 ,and let him see      to it that       
nothing save ,god most ,high enters his 
mind4 ,then1 as he      sits in         
solitude1 let him not cease saying      
continuously with his      tongue1      
#8,allah1 ,allah1' keeping his thought  
on it4 ,at last he      will reach a    
state when the motion of his tongue will
 cease1 and it      will seem as though 
the word flowed from it4 ,let him       
persevere in      this until all trace  
of motion is removed from his tongue1   
and he      finds his heart persevering 
in the thought4 ,let him still persevere
      until the form of the word1 its   
letters and shape1 is removed from      
his heart1 and there remains the idea   
alone1 as though clinging to      his   
heart1 inseparable from it4 ,so far1 all
 is dependent on his      will and      
choice2 but to bring the mercy of ,god  
does not stand in      his will or      

choice4 ,he has now laid himself bare to
 the breathings      of that mercy1 and 
nothing remains but to await what ,god  
will open      to him1 as ,god has done 
after this manner to prophets and       
saints4      ,if he follows the above   
course1 he may be sure that the light of
      the ,real will shine out in his   
heart4 ,at first unstable1 like a       
flash of lightning1 it turns and        
returns2 though sometimes it hangs      
back4 ,and if it returns1 sometimes it  
abides and sometimes it is              
momentary4 ,and if it abides1 sometimes 
its abiding is long1 and      sometimes 
short40    ,another ,sf puts the gist of
 the matter in a sentence1 thus3        
8,the first stage of dhikr is to forget 
self1 and the last      stage is the    
effacement of the worshipper in the act 
of worship1      without consciousness  
of worship1 and such absorption in the  
object      of worship as precludes     
return to the subject thereof40         
,recollection can be aided in various   

ways4 ,when ,shibl was a novice1  he    
went daily into a cellar1 taking with   
him a bundle of sticks4 ,if  his        
attention flagged1 he would beat himself
 until the sticks broke1  and sometimes 
the whole bundle would be finished      
before evening2 then  he would dash his 
hands and feet against the wall4 ,the   
,indian practice  of inhaling and       
exhaling the breath was known to the    
,sfs of the  ninth century and was much 
used afterwards4 ,among the ,dervish    
,orders  music1 singing1 and dancing are
 favourite means of inducing the state  
of trance called #8passing-away' 7fan71 
which1 as appears from the  definition  
quoted above1 is the climax and raison  
d'tre of the  method4    ,sidenote3     
,meditation4    ,in #8meditation'       
7murqabat7 we recognise a form of       
self-concentration  similar to the      
,buddhistic dhyna and samdhi4 ,this is  
what the  ,prophet meant when he said1  
8,worship ,god as though thou sawest    
,him1  for if thou seest ,him not1 yet  

,he sees thee40 ,any one who feels sure 
that ,god is always watching over him   
will devote himself to meditating  on   
,god1 and no evil thoughts or diabolic  
suggestions will find their  way into   
his heart4 ,nr used to meditate so      
intently that not a hair  on his body   
stirred4 ,he declared that he had       
learned this habit from a  cat which was
 observing a mouse-hole1 and that she   
was far more quiet  than he4 ,ab ,sad   
ibn ,abi 'l-,khayr kept his eyes fixed  
on his navel4  ,it is said that the     
,devil is smitten with epilepsy when he 
approaches  a man thus occupied1 just as
 happens to other men when the ,devil   
takes  possession of them4    ,this     
chapter will have served its purpose if 
it has brought before  my readers a     
clear view of the main lines on which   
the preparatory  training of the ,sf is 
conducted4 ,we must now imagine him to  
have  been invested by his ,sheykh with 
the patched frock 7muraqqaat or         
khirqat71 which is an outward sign that 

he has successfully emerged  from the   
discipline of the #8,path1' and is now  
advancing with uncertain  steps towards 
the ,light1 as when toil-worn           
travellers1 having gained  the summit of
 a deep gorge1 suddenly catch glimpses  
of the sun and  cover their eyes4       
,,chapter ,,ii      ,,illumination ,,and
 ,,ecstasy      ,god1 who is described  
in the ,koran as 8the ,light of the     
heavens and the  earth10 cannot be seen 
by the bodily eye4 ,he is visible only  
to the  inward sight of the #8heart4'   
,in the next chapter we shall return to 
this spiritual organ1 but ,i am not     
going to enter into the intricacies  of 
,sf psychology any further than is      
necessary4 ,the #8vision of the  heart' 
7ruyat al-qalb7 is defined as 8the      
heart's beholding by the  light of      
certainty that which is hidden in the   
unseen world40 ,this  is what ,al meant 
when he was asked1 8,do you see ,god80  
and replied3  8,how should we worship   
,one whom we do not see80 ,the light of 

intuitive  certainty 7yaqn7 by which the
 heart sees ,god is a beam of ,god's own
  light cast therein by ,himself2 else  
no vision of ,him were possible4        
8',tis the sun's self that lets the sun 
be seen40    ,according to a mystical   
interpretation of the famous passage in 
the  ,koran where the light of ,allah is
 compared to a candle burning in a      
lantern of transparent glass1 which is  
placed in a niche in the wall1  the     
niche is the true believer's heart2     
therefore his speech is light  and his  
works are light and he moves in light4  
8,he who discourses of  eternity10 said 
,byazd1 8must have within him the lamp  
of eternity40    ,the light which gleams
 in the heart of the illuminated mystic 
endows  him with a supernatural power of
 discernment 7firsat74 ,although the    
,sfs1 like all other ,moslems1          
acknowledge ,mohammed to be the last of 
the prophets 7as1 from a different point
 of view1 he is the ,logos or  first of 
created beings71 they really claim to   

possess a minor form  of inspiration4   
,when ,nr was questioned concerning the 
origin of  mystical firsat1 he answered 
by quoting the ,koranic verse in which  
,god says that ,he breathed ,his spirit 
into ,adam2 but the more orthodox  ,sfs1
 who strenuously combat the doctrine    
that the human spirit is  uncreated and 
eternal1 affirm that firsat is the      
result of knowledge  and insight1       
metaphorically called #8light' or       
#8inspiration1' which ,god  creates and 
bestows upon ,his favourites4 ,the      
,tradition1 8,beware of the  discernment
 of the true believer1 for he sees by   
the light of ,allah10  is exemplified in
 such anecdotes as these3    ,ab        
,abdallah al-,rz said3            8,ibn 
al-,anbr presented me with a woollen    
frock1 and seeing      on the head of   
,shibl a bonnet that would just match   
it1 ,i      conceived the wish that they
 were both mine4 ,when ,shibl rose to   
depart1 he looked at me1 as he was in   
the habit of doing when he      desired 

me to follow him4 ,so ,i followed him to
 his house1 and when      we had gone   
in1 he bade me put off the frock and    
took it from me      and folded it and  
threw his bonnet on the top4 ,then he   
called for a      fire and burnt both   
frock and bonnet40    ,sar al-,saqat    
frequently urged ,junayd to speak in    
public1 but ,junayd  was unwilling to   
consent1 for he doubted whether he was  
worthy of such  an honour4 ,one ,friday 
night he dreamed that the ,prophet      
appeared and  commanded him to speak to 
the people4 ,he awoke and went to ,sar's
 house  before daybreak1 and knocked at 
the door4 ,sar opened the door and      
said3 8,you would not believe me until  
the ,prophet came and told you40        
,sahl ibn ,abdallah was sitting in the  
congregational mosque when a  pigeon1   
overcome by the intense heat1 dropped on
 the floor4 ,sahl  exclaimed3 8,please  
,god1 ,shh al-,kirmn has just died40    
,they wrote it  down1 and it was found  
to be true4    ,when the heart is purged

 of sin and evil thoughts1 the light of 
certainty strikes upon it and makes it a
 shining mirror1 so that the  ,devil    
cannot approach it without being        
observed4 ,hence the saying of  some    
gnostic3 8,if ,i disobey my heart1 ,i   
disobey ,god40 ,it was a man thus       
illuminated to whom the ,prophet said3  
8,consult thy heart1 and thou  wilt hear
 the secret ordinance of ,god proclaimed
 by the heart's inward  knowledge1 which
 is real faith and divinity0--something 
much better  than the learning of       
divines4 ,i need not anticipate here the
 question1  which will be discussed in  
the following chapter1 how far the      
claims  of an infallible conscience are 
reconcilable with external religion  and
 morality4 ,the ,prophet1 too1 prayed   
that ,god would put a light into  his   
ear and into his eye2 and after         
mentioning the different members  of his
 body1 he concluded1 8and make the whole
 of me one light40#f  ,from illumination
 of gradually increasing splendour1 the 

mystic rises  to contemplation of the   
divine attributes1 and ultimately1 when 
his  consciousness is wholly melted     
away1 he becomes transubstantiated      
7tajawhara7 in the radiance of the      
divine essence4 ,this is the  #8station'
 of well-doing 7ihsn7--for 8,god is with
 the well-doers0  7,kor4 #bi4 #fi71 and 
we have ,prophetic authority for the    
statement  that 8well-doing consists in 
worshipping ,god as though thou wert    
seeing  ,him40    #f ,the reader should 
be reminded that most1 if not all1      
mystical  ,traditions ascribed to       
,mohammed were forged and fathered upon 
him by  the ,sfs1 who represent         
themselves as the true interpreters of  
his  esoteric teaching4    ,i will not  
waste the time and abuse the patience of
 my readers  by endeavouring to classify
 and describe these various grades of   
illumination1 which may be depicted     
symbolically but cannot be  explained in
 scientific language4 ,we must allow the
 mystics to  speak for themselves4      

,granted that their teaching is often   
hard to  understand1 it conveys more of 
the truth than we can ever hope to      
obtain from analysis and dissection4    
,here are two passages from the oldest  
,persian treatise on ,sfism1 the  ,kashf
 al-,mahjb of ,hujwr3            8,it is
 related that ,sar al-,saqat said1 #8,o 
,god1 whatever      punishment thou     
mayst inflict upon me1 do not punish me 
with the      humiliation of being      
veiled from ,thee1' because1 if ,i am   
not veiled      from ,thee1 my torment  
and affliction will be lightened by the 
recollection and contemplation of ,thee2
 but if ,i am veiled from      ,thee1   
even ,thy bounty will be deadly to me4  
,there is no punishment      in ,hell   
more painful and hard to bear than that 
of being veiled4 ,if      ,god were     
revealed in ,hell to the people of      
,hell1 sinful believers      would never
 think of ,paradise1 since the sight of 
,god would so      fill them with joy   
that they would not feel bodily pain4   

,and in      ,paradise there is no      
pleasure more perfect than unveiledness4
 ,if      the people there enjoyed all  
the pleasures of that place and other   
pleasures a hundredfold1 but were veiled
 from ,god1 their hearts      would be  
utterly broken4 ,therefore it is the way
 of ,god to let      the hearts of those
 who love ,him have vision of ,him      
always1 in      order that the delight  
thereof may enable them to endure every 
tribulation2 and they say in their      
visions1 #8,we deem all torments        
more desirable than to be veiled from   
,thee4 ,when ,thy beauty is             
revealed to our hearts1 we take no      
thought of affliction4'0                
8,there are really two kinds of         
contemplation4 ,the former is the       
result of perfect faith1 the latter of  
rapturous love1 for in the      rapture 
of love a man attains to such a degree  
that his whole being      is absorbed in
 the thought of his ,beloved and he sees
 nothing else4      ,muhammad ibn ,wsi  

said3 #8,i never saw anything without   
seeing ,god      therein1' i4e4 through 
perfect faith4 ,shibl said3 #8,i never  
saw      anything except ,god1' i4e4 in 
the rapture of love and the fervour     
of contemplation4 ,one mystic sees the  
act with his bodily eye1      and1 as he
 looks1 beholds the ,agent with his     
spiritual eye2 another      is rapt by  
love of the ,agent from all things else1
 so that he sees      only the ,agent4  
,the one method is demonstrative1 the   
other is      ecstatic4 ,in the former  
case1 a manifest proof is derived from  
the      evidences of ,god2 in the      
latter case1 the seer is enraptured and 
transported by desire3 evidences are a  
veil to him1 because he who      knows a
 thing does not care for aught besides1 
and he who loves a      thing does not  
regard aught besides1 but renounces     
contention with      ,god and           
interference with ,him in ,his decrees  
and acts4 ,when the      lover turns his
 eye away from created things1 he will  

inevitably      see the ,creator with   
his heart4 ,god hath said1 #8,tell the  
believers      to close their eyes'     
7,kor4 #bd4 #cj71 i4e4 to close their   
bodily      eyes to lusts and their     
spiritual eyes to created things4 ,he   
who      is most sincere in             
self-mortification is most firmly       
grounded in      contemplation4 ,sahl   
ibn ,abdallah of ,tustar said3 #8,if any
 one shuts      his eye to ,god for a   
single moment1 he will never be rightly 
guided      all his life long1' because 
to regard other than ,god is to be      
handed over to other than ,god1 and one 
who is left at the mercy of      other  
than ,god is lost4 ,therefore the life  
of contemplatives is the      time      
during which they enjoy contemplation2  
time spent in ocular      vision they do
 not reckon as life1 for that to them is
 really      death4 ,thus1 when ,byazd  
was asked how old he was1 he replied1   
#8,four years4' ,they said to him1      
#8,how can that be8' ,he answered1 #8,i 

have been veiled from ,god by this world
 for seventy years1 but ,i      have    
seen ,him during the last four years3   
the period in which one      is veiled  
does not belong to one's life4'0    ,i  
take the following quotation from the   
,mawqif of ,niffar1 an author  with whom
 we shall become better acquainted as we
 proceed3            8,god said to me1  
#8,the least of the sciences of nearness
 is that      you should see in         
everything the effects of beholding ,me1
 and that      this vision should       
prevail over you more than your gnosis  
of ,me4'0    ,explanation by the        
commentator3            8,he means that 
the least of the sciences of nearness   
7proximity to ,god7 is that when you    
look at anything1 sensibly or           
intellectually or otherwise1 you should 
be conscious of beholding      ,god with
 a vision clearer than your vision of   
that thing4 ,there      are diverse     
degrees in this matter4 ,some mystics   
say that they      never see anything   

without seeing ,god before it4 ,others  
say1      #8without seeing ,god after   
it1' or #8with it'2 or they say that    
they      see nothing but ,god4 ,a      
certain ,sf said1 #8,i made the         
pilgrimage      and saw the ,kaba1 but  
not the ,lord of the ,kaba4' ,this is   
the      perception of one who is       
veiled4 ,then he said1 #8,i made the    
pilgrimage again1 and ,i saw both the   
,kaba and the ,lord of the      ,kaba4' 
,this is contemplation of the           
,self-subsistence through which         
everything subsists1 i4e4 he saw the    
,kaba subsisting through the      ,lord 
of the ,kaba4 ,then he said1 #8,i made  
the pilgrimage a third      time1 and ,i
 saw the ,lord of the ,kaba1 but not the
 ,kaba4' ,this      is the #8station' of
 waqfat 7passing-away in the essence74  
,in      the present case the author is 
referring to contemplation of the       
,self-subsistence40    ,so much         
concerning the theory of illumination4  
,but1 as ,mephistopheles  says1 8grau   

ist alle ,theorie02 and though to most  
of us the living  experience is denied1 
we can hear its loudest echoes and feel 
its  warmest afterglow in the poetry    
which it has created4 ,let me translate 
part of a ,persian ode by the           
dervish-poet1 ,bb ,kh of ,shrz1 who     
died in #ajej ,a4,d4        8,in the    
market1 in the cloister--only ,god ,i   
saw4      ,in the valley and on the     
mountain--only ,god ,i saw4      ,him ,i
 have seen beside me oft in tribulation2
      ,in favour and in fortune--only   
,god ,i saw4      ,in prayer and        
fasting1 in praise and contemplation1   
,in the religion of the ,prophet--only  
,god ,i saw4      ,neither soul nor     
body1 accident nor substance1           
,qualities nor causes--only ,god ,i saw4
      ,i oped mine eyes and by the light
 of ,his face around me      ,in all the
 eye discovered--only ,god ,i saw4      
,like a candle ,i was melting in ,his   
fire3      ,amidst the flames           
outflashing--only ,god ,i saw4          

,myself with mine own eyes ,i saw most  
clearly1      ,but when ,i looked with  
,god's eyes--only ,god ,i saw4      ,i  
passed away into nothingness1 ,i        
vanished1      ,and lo1 ,i was the      
,all-living--only ,god ,i saw40    ,the 
whole of ,sfism rests on the belief that
 when the individual self  is lost1 the 
,universal ,self is found1 or1 in       
religious language1  that ecstasy       
affords the only means by which the soul
 can directly  communicate and become   
united with ,god4 ,asceticism1          
purification1 love1  gnosis1            
saintship--all the leading ideas of     
,sfism--are developed from  this        
cardinal principle4    ,among the       
metaphorical terms commonly employed by 
the ,sfs as1 more  or less1 equivalent  
to #8ecstasy' are fan 7passing-away71   
wajd  7feeling71 sam 7hearing71 dhawq   
7taste71 shirb 7drinking71  ghaybat     
7absence from self71 jadhbat            
7attraction71 sukr  7intoxication71 and 
hl 7emotion74 ,it would be tedious and  

not1 ,i  think1 specially instructive to
 examine in detail the definitions  of  
those terms and of many others akin to  
them which occur in ,sf  text-books4 ,we
 are not brought appreciably nearer to  
understanding  the nature of ecstasy    
when it is described as 8a divine       
mystery which  ,god communicates to true
 believers who behold ,him with the eye 
of  certainty10 or as 8a flame which    
moves in the ground of the soul and is  
produced by love-desire40 ,the          
,mohammedan theory of ecstasy1 however1 
can hardly be discussed without         
reference to two of the above-mentioned 
technical expressions1 namely1 fan and  
sam4    ,as ,i have remarked in the     
,introduction 7pp4 #ag-ai71 the term fan
  includes different stages1 aspects1   
and meanings4 ,these may be  summarised 
as follows3    #a4 ,a moral             
transformation of the soul through the  
extinction of all its  passions and     
desires4    #b4 ,a mental abstraction or
 passing-away of the mind from all      

objects of  perception1 thoughts1       
actions1 and feelings through its       
concentration  upon the thought of ,god4
 ,here the thought of ,god signifies    
contemplation of the divine attributes4 
#c4 ,the cessation of all conscious     
thought4 ,the highest stage of  fan is  
reached when even the consciousness of  
having attained  fan disappears4 ,this  
is what the ,sfs call #8the passing-away
  of passing-away' 7fan al-fan74 ,the   
mystic is now rapt in  contemplation of 
the divine essence4    ,the final stage 
of fan1 the complete passing-away from  
self1 forms  the prelude to baq1        
#8continuance' or #8abiding' in ,god1   
and will be  treated with greater       
fullness in ,chapter ,,vi4    ,the first
 stage closely resembles the ,buddhistic
 ,nirva4 ,it is a  #8passing-away' of   
evil qualities and states of mind1 which
 involves the  simultaneous             
#8continuance' of good qualities and    
states of mind4 ,this  is necessarily an
 ecstatic process1 inasmuch as all the  

attributes of  #8self' are evil in      
relation to ,god4 ,no one can make      
himself perfectly  moral1 i4e4 perfectly
 #8selfless4' ,this must be done for    
him1 through  #8a flash of the divine   
beauty' in his heart4    ,while the     
first stage refers to the moral #8self1'
 the second refers  to the percipient   
and intellectual #8self4' ,using the    
classification  generally adopted by    
,christian mystics1 we may regard the   
former as the  consummation of the      
,purgative ,life1 and the latter as the 
goal of the  ,illuminative ,life4 ,the  
third and last stage constitutes the    
highest  level of the ,contemplative    
,life4    ,often1 though not invariably1
 fan is accompanied by loss of          
sensation4 ,sar al-,saqat1 a famous ,sf 
of the third century1  expressed the    
opinion that if a man in this state were
 struck on the  face with a sword1 he   
would not feel the blow4 ,abu 'l-,khayr 
al-,aqta  had a gangrene in his foot4   
,the physicians declared that his foot  

must  be amputated1 but he would not    
allow this to be done4 ,his disciples   
said1 8,cut it off while he is praying1 
for he is then unconscious40 ,the       
physicians acted on their advice1 and   
when ,abu 'l-,khayr finished his        
prayers he found that the amputation had
 taken place4 ,it is difficult  to see  
how any one far advanced in fan could be
 capable of keeping  the religious      
law--a point on which the orthodox      
mystics lay great  emphasis4 ,here the  
doctrine of saintship comes in4 ,god    
takes care to  preserve ,his elect from 
disobedience to ,his commands4 ,we are  
told  that ,byazd1 ,shibl1 and other    
saints were continually in a state  of  
rapture until the hour of prayer        
arrived2 then they returned to          
consciousness1 and after performing     
their prayers became enraptured  again4 
,in theory1 the ecstatic trance is      
involuntary1 although certain           
conditions are recognised as being      
specially favourable to its  occurrence4

 8,it comes to a man through vision of  
the majesty of ,god and  through        
revelation of the divine omnipotence to 
his heart40 ,such1 for  instance1 was   
the case of ,ab ,hamza1 who1 while      
walking in the streets  of ,baghdd and  
meditating on the nearness of ,god1     
suddenly fell into  an ecstasy and went 
on his way1 neither seeing nor hearing1 
until he  recovered his senses and found
 himself in the desert4 ,trances of this
  kind sometimes lasted many weeks4 ,it 
is recorded of ,sahl ibn ,abdallah  that
 he used to remain in ecstasy           
twenty-five days at a time1 eating  no  
food2 yet he would answer questions put 
to him by the doctors of  theology1 and 
even in winter his shirt would be damp  
with sweat4 ,but  the ,sfs soon         
discovered that ecstasy might be induced
 artificially1  not only by             
concentration of thought1 recollection  
7dhikr71 and other  innocent methods of 
autohypnosis1 but also by music1        
singing1 and  dancing4 ,these are       

included in the term sam1 which properly
 means  nothing more than audition4     
,that ,moslems are extraordinarily      
susceptible to the sweet influences of  
sound will not be doubted by any one who
 remembers how1 in the ,arabian         
,nights1 heroes and heroines alike swoon
 upon the slightest provocation         
afforded by a singing-girl touching her 
lute and trilling a few lines  of       
passionate verse4 ,the fiction is true  
to life4 ,when ,sf writers  discuss the 
analogous phenomena of ecstasy1 they    
commonly do so in a  chapter entitled   
#8,concerning the ,sam4' ,under this    
heading ,hujwr1  in the final chapter of
 his ,kashf al-,mahjb1 gives us an      
excellent  summary of his own and other 
,mohammedan theories1 together with     
numerous anecdotes of persons who were  
thrown into ecstasy on hearing a  verse 
of the ,koran or a heavenly voice 7htif7
 or poetry or music4  ,many are said to 
have died from the emotion thus aroused4
 ,i may add by  way of explanation that1

 according to a well-known mystical     
belief1 ,god  has inspired every created
 thing to praise ,him in its own        
language1 so  that all the sounds in the
 universe form1 as it were1 one vast    
choral  hymn by which ,he glorifies     
,himself4 ,consequently those whose     
hearts  ,he has opened and endowed with 
spiritual perception hear ,his voice    
everywhere1 and ecstasy overcomes them  
as they listen to the rhythmic  chant of
 the muezzin1 or the street cry of the  
saqq shouldering his  water-skin1 or1   
perchance1 to the noise of wind or the  
bleating of a  sheep or the piping of a 
bird4    ,pythagoras and ,plato are     
responsible for another theory1 to which
 the  ,sf poets frequently allude1 that 
music awakens in the soul a memory  of  
celestial harmonies heard in a state of 
pre-existence1 before the  soul was     
separated from ,god4 ,thus ,jalluddn    
,rm3        8,the song of the spheres in
 their revolutions      ,is what men    
sing with lute and voice4      ,as we   

all are members of ,adam1      ,we have 
heard these melodies in ,paradise4      
,though earth and water have cast their 
veil upon us1      ,we retain faint     
reminiscences of these heavenly songs2  
,but while we are thus shrouded by gross
 earthly veils1      ,how can the tones 
of the dancing spheres reach us80#g     
#g ,e4 ,h4 ,whinfield1 abridged         
translation of the ,masnav1 p4 #ahb4    
,the formal practice of sam quickly     
spread amongst the ,sfs and  produced an
 acute cleavage of opinion1 some holding
 it to be lawful and  praiseworthy1     
whilst others condemned it as an        
abominable innovation  and incitement to
 vice4 ,hujwr adopts the middle view    
expressed in a  saying of ,dhu 'l-,nn   
the ,egyptian3            8,music is a  
divine influence which stirs the heart  
to seek ,god3      those who listen to  
it spiritually attain unto ,god1 and    
those who      listen to it sensually   
fall into unbelief40    ,he declares1 in
 effect1 that audition is neither good  

nor bad1 and must  be judged by its     
results4            8,when an anchorite 
goes into a tavern1 the tavern becomes  
his      cell1 but when a wine-bibber   
goes into a cell1 that cell becomes     
his tavern40    ,one whose heart is     
absorbed in the thought of ,god cannot  
be corrupted  by hearing musical        
instruments4 ,so with dancing4          
8,when the heart throbs and rapture     
grows intense1 and the      agitation of
 ecstasy is manifested and conventional 
forms are gone1      this is not dancing
 nor bodily indulgence1 but a           
dissolution of the      soul40          
,hujwr1 however1 lays down several      
precautionary rules for those who       
engage in audition1 and he confesses    
that the public concerts given by       
dervishes are extremely demoralising4   
,novices1 he thinks1 should not be      
permitted to attend them4 ,in modern    
times these orgiastic scenes have       
frequently been described by            
eye-witnesses4 ,i will now translate    

from  ,jm's ,lives of the ,saints the   
account of a similar performance which  
took place about seven hundred years    
ago4            8,there was a certain   
dervish1 a negro called ,zang ,bashgird1
      who had attained to such a high   
degree of spirituality that the         
mystic dance could not be started until 
he came out and joined      in it4 ,one 
day1 in the course of the sam1 he was   
seized with      ecstasy1 and rising    
into the air seated himself on a lofty  
arch      which overlooked the dancers4 
,in descending he leaped on to          
,majduddn of ,baghdd1 and encircled with
 his legs the neck of the      ,sheykh1 
who nevertheless continued to spin round
 in the dance1      though he was a very
 frail and slender man1 whereas the     
negro      was tall and heavy4 ,when the
 dance was finished1 ,majduddn said1    
#8,i did not know whether it was a negro
 or a sparrow on my neck4'      ,on     
getting off the ,sheykh's shoulders1 the
 negro bit his cheek      so severely   

that the scar remained visible ever     
after4 ,majduddn      often used to say 
that on the ,day of ,judgment he would  
not boast of      anything except that  
he bore the mark of this negro's teeth  
on his      face40    ,grotesque and    
ignoble features--not to speak of       
grosser  deformities--must appear in any
 faithful delineation of the ecstatic   
life of ,islam4 ,nothing is gained by   
concealing their existence or by        
minimising their importance4 ,if1 as    
,jalluddn ,rm says3        8,men incur  
the reproach of wine and drugs          
,that they may escape for a while from  
self-consciousness1      ,since all know
 this life to be a snare1               
,volitional memory and thought to be a  
hell10    let us acknowledge that the   
transports of spiritual intoxication are
  not always sublime1 and that human    
nature has a trick of avenging  itself  
on those who would cast it off4         
,,chapter ,,iii      ,,the ,,gnosis     
,the ,sfs distinguish three organs of   

spiritual communication3 the  heart     
7qalb71 which knows ,god2 the spirit    
7rh71 which loves ,him2  and the inmost 
ground of the soul 7sirr71 which        
contemplates ,him4 ,it  would take us   
into deep waters if we were to embark   
upon a discussion  of these terms and   
their relation to each other4 ,a few    
words concerning  the first of the three
 will suffice4 ,the qalb1 though        
connected  in some mysterious way with  
the physical heart1 is not a thing of   
flesh and blood4 ,unlike the ,english   
#8heart1' its nature is rather          
intellectual than emotional1 but whereas
 the intellect cannot gain real         
knowledge of ,god1 the qalb is capable  
of knowing the essences of all  things1 
and when illumined by faith and         
knowledge reflects the whole  content of
 the divine mind2 hence the ,prophet    
said1 8,my earth and ,my  heaven contain
 ,me not1 but the heart of ,my faithful 
servant containeth  ,me40 ,this         
revelation1 however1 is a comparatively 

rare experience4  ,normally1 the heart  
is #8veiled1' blackened by sin1         
tarnished by sensual  impressions and   
images1 pulled to and fro between reason
 and passion3  a battlefield on which   
the armies of ,god and the ,devil       
contend for  victory4 ,through one gate1
 the heart receives immediate knowledge 
of ,god2 through another1 it lets in the
 illusions of sense4 8,here a  world and
 there a world10 says ,jalluddn ,rm4 8,i
 am seated on the  threshold40          
,therefore man is potentially lower than
 the brutes and  higher than the angels4
        8,angel and brute man's wondrous
 leaven compose2      ,to these         
inclining1 less than these he grows1    
,but if he means the angel1 more than   
those40    ,less than the brutes1       
because they lack the knowledge that    
would enable  them to rise2 more than   
the angels1 because they are not subject
 to  passion and so cannot fall4    ,how
 shall a man know ,god8 ,not by the     
senses1 for ,he is immaterial2 nor  by  

the intellect1 for ,he is unthinkable4  
,logic never gets beyond the  finite2   
philosophy sees double2 book-learning   
fosters self-conceit and  obscures the  
idea of the ,truth with clouds of empty 
words4 ,jalluddn  ,rm1 addressing the   
scholastic theologian1 asks scornfully3 
8,do you know a name without a thing    
answering to it8      ,have you ever    
plucked a rose from ,r1 ,o1 ,s1 ,e8     
,you name ,his name2 go1 seek the       
reality named by it6      ,look for the 
moon in the sky1 not in the water6      
,if you desire to rise above mere names 
and letters1      ,make yourself free   
from self at one stroke4      ,become   
pure from all attributes of self1       
,that you may see your own bright       
essence1      ,yea1 see in your own     
heart the knowledge of the ,prophet1    
,without book1 without tutor1 without   
preceptor40    ,this knowledge comes by 
illumination1 revelation1 inspiration4  
8,look in your own heart10 says the ,sf1
 8for the kingdom of ,god is  within    

you40 ,he who truly knows himself knows 
,god1 for the heart is a  mirror in     
which every divine quality is reflected4
 ,but just as a steel  mirror when      
coated with rust loses its power of     
reflexion1 so the  inward spiritual     
sense1 which ,sfs call the eye of the   
heart1 is blind  to the celestial glory 
until the dark obstruction of the       
phenomenal  self1 with all its sensual  
contaminations1 has been wholly cleared 
away4 ,the clearance1 if it is to be    
done effectively1 must be the work  of  
,god1 though it demands a certain inward
 co-operation on the part of  man4      
8,whosoever shall strive for ,our sake1 
,we will guide him into ,our  ways0     
7,kor4 #bi4 #fi74 ,action is false and  
vain1 if it is thought to  proceed from 
one's self1 but the enlightened mystic  
regards ,god as the  real agent in every
 act1 and therefore takes no credit for 
his good  works nor desires to be       
recompensed for them4    ,while ordinary
 knowledge is denoted by the term ilm1  

the mystic  knowledge peculiar to the   
,sfs is called marifat or irfn4 ,as ,i  
have indicated in the foregoing         
paragraphs1 marifat is fundamentally    
different from ilm1 and a different word
 must be used to translate  it4 ,we need
 not look far for a suitable equivalent4
 ,the marifat  of the ,sfs is the       
#8gnosis' of ,hellenistic theosophy1    
i4e4 direct  knowledge of ,god based on 
revelation or apocalyptic vision4 ,it is
 not  the result of any mental process1 
but depends entirely on the will and    
favour of ,god1 who bestows it as a gift
 from ,himself upon those whom ,he  has 
created with the capacity for receiving 
it4 ,it is a light of divine  grace that
 flashes into the heart and overwhelms  
every human faculty in  its dazzling    
beams4 8,he who knows ,god is dumb40    
,the relation of gnosis to positive     
religion is discussed in a very         
remarkable treatise on speculative      
mysticism by ,niffar1 an unknown        
wandering dervish who died in ,egypt in 

the latter half of the tenth  century4  
,his work1 consisting of a series of    
revelations in which ,god  addresses the
 writer and instructs him concerning the
 theory of gnosis1  is couched in       
abstruse language and would scarcely be 
intelligible  without the commentary    
which accompanies it2 but its value as  
an  original exposition of advanced     
,sfism will sufficiently appear from    
the excerpts given in this chapter4#h   
#h ,i am now engaged in preparing an    
edition of the ,arabic text1  together  
with an ,english translation and        
commentary4    ,those who seek ,god1    
says ,niffar1 are of three kinds3       
firstly1 the  worshippers to whom ,god  
makes ,himself known by means of bounty1
 i4e4  they worship ,him in the hope of 
winning ,paradise or some spiritual     
recompense such as dreams and miracles2 
secondly1 the philosophers  and         
scholastic theologians1 to whom ,god    
makes ,himself known by means  of glory1
 i4e4 they can never find the glorious  

,god whom they seek1  wherefore they    
assert that ,his essence is unknowable1 
saying1 8,we  know that we know ,him    
not1 and that is our knowledge02        
thirdly1 the  gnostics1 to whom ,god    
makes ,himself known by means of        
ecstasy1 i4e4  they are possessed and   
controlled by a rapture that deprives   
them of  the consciousness of individual
 existence4    ,niffar bids the gnostic 
perform only such acts of worship as are
  in accordance with his vision of ,god1
 though in so doing he will  necessarily
 disobey the religious law which was    
made for the vulgar4  ,his inward       
feeling must decide how far the external
 forms of religion  are good for him4   
8,god said to me1 ,ask ,me and say1 #8,o
 ,lord1 how shall ,i cleave      to     
,thee1 so that when my day 7of judgment7
 comes1 ,thou wilt not      punish me   
nor avert ,thy face from me8' ,then ,i  
will answer thee      and say1 #8,cleave
 in thy outward theory and practice to  
the ,sunna      7the rule of the        

,prophet71 and cleave in thy inward     
feeling to the      gnosis which ,i have
 given thee2 and know that when ,i make 
,myself      known to thee1 ,i will not 
accept from thee anything of the ,sunna 
but what ,my gnosis brings to thee1     
because thou art one of those to        
whom ,i speak3 thou hearest ,me and     
knowest that thou hearest ,me1 and      
thou seest that ,i am the source of all 
things4'0    ,the commentator observes  
that the ,sunna1 being general in scope1
 makes  no distinction between          
individuals1 e4g4 seekers of ,paradise  
and  seekers of ,god1 but that in       
reality it contains exactly what each   
person requires4 ,the portion specially 
appropriate in every case is  discerned 
either by means of gnosis1 which ,god   
communicates to the  heart1 or by means 
of guidance imparted by a spiritual     
director4            8,and ,he said to  
me1 #8,my exoteric revelation does not  
support ,my      esoteric revelation4'0 
,this means that the gnostic need not be

 dismayed if his inner  experience      
conflicts with the religious law4 ,the  
contradiction is only  apparent4        
,religion addresses itself to the common
 herd of men who  are veiled by their   
minds1 by logic1 tradition1 and so on2  
whereas  gnosis belongs to the elect1   
whose bodies and spirits are bathed in  
the  eternal ,light4 ,religion sees     
things from the aspect of plurality1 but
  gnosis regards the all-embracing      
,unity4 ,hence the same act is good in  
religion1 but evil in gnosis--a truth   
which is briefly stated thus3           
8,the good deeds of the pious are the   
ill deeds of the      favourites of     
,god40    ,although works of devotion   
are not incompatible with gnosis1 no one
  who connects them in the slightest    
degree with himself is a gnostic4  ,this
 is the theme of the following allegory4
 ,niffar seldom writes so  lucidly as he
 does here1 yet ,i fancy that few of my 
readers will find  the explanations     
printed within square brackets          

altogether superfluous4        ,,the    
,,revelation ,,of ,,the ,,sea           
8,god bade me behold the ,sea1 and ,i   
saw the ships sinking and      the      
planks floating2 then the planks too    
were submerged40            ,the ,sea   
denotes the spiritual experiences       
through which the      mystic passes in 
his journey to ,god4 ,the point at issue
 is this3      whether he should prefer 
the religious law or disinterested      
love4 ,here he is warned not to rely on 
his good works1 which are      no better
 than sinking ships and will never bring
 him safely to      port4 ,no2 if he    
would attain to ,god1 he must rely on   
,god alone4 ,if      he does not rely   
entirely on ,god1 but lets himself trust
 ever so      little in anything else1  
he is still clinging to a plank4 ,though
      his trust in ,god is greater than 
before1 it is not yet complete4         
8,and ,he said to me1 #8,those who      
voyage are not saved4'0            ,the 
voyager uses the ship as a means of     

crossing the sea3      therefore he     
relies1 not on the ,first ,cause1 but on
 secondary      causes4            8,and
 ,he said to me1 #8,those who instead of
 voyaging cast      themselves into the 
,sea take a risk4'0            ,to      
abandon all secondary causes is like    
plunging in the sea4      ,the mystic   
who makes this venture is in jeopardy1  
for two reasons3      he may regard     
himself1 not ,god1 as initiating and    
carrying out      the action of         
abandonment1--and one who renounces a   
thing through      #8self' is in worse  
case than if he had not renounced       
it1--or he may      abandon secondary   
causes 7good works1 hope of ,paradise1  
etc471 not      for ,god's sake1 but    
from sheer indifference and lack of     
spiritual      feeling4            8,and
 ,he said to me1 #8,those who voyage and
 take no risk shall      perish4'0      
,notwithstanding the dangers referred   
to1 he must make ,god his      sole     
object or fail4            8,and ,he    

said to me1 #8,in taking the risk there 
is a part of      salvation4'0          
,only a part of salvation1 because      
perfect selflessness has      not yet   
been attained4 ,the whole of salvation  
consists in the      effacement of all  
secondary causes1 all phenomena1 through
 the      rapture which results from    
vision of ,god4 ,but this is gnosis1 and
      the present revelation is         
addressed to mystics of a lower grade4  
,the gnostic takes no risk1 for he has  
nothing to lose4            8,and the   
wave came and lifted those beneath it   
and overran the      shore40            
,those beneath the wave are they who    
voyage in ships and      consequently   
suffer shipwreck4 ,their reliance on    
secondary causes      casts them ashore1
 i4e4 brings them back to the world of  
phenomena whereby they are veiled from  
,god4            8,and ,he said to me1  
#8,the surface of the ,sea is a gleam   
that      cannot be reached4'0          
,any one who depends on external rites  

of worship to lead him      to ,god is  
following a will-o'-the-wisp4           
8,and its bottom is a darkness          
impenetrable40            ,to discard   
positive religion1 root and branch1 is  
to wander in      a pathless maze4      
8,and between the two are fishes which  
are to be feared40            ,he refers
 to the middle way between pure         
exotericism and pure      esotericism4  
,the #8fishes' are its perils and       
obstacles4            8,do not voyage on
 the ,sea1 lest ,i cause thee to be     
veiled by      the vehicle40            
,the #8vehicle' signifies the #8ship1'  
i4e4 reliance on      something other   
than ,god4            8,and do not cast 
thyself into the ,sea1 lest ,i cause    
thee to be      veiled by thy casting   
thyself40            ,whoever regards   
any act as his own act and attributes it
 to      himself is far from ,god4      
8,and ,he said to me1 #8,in the ,sea are
 boundaries3 which of them      will    
bear thee on8'0            ,the         

#8boundaries' are the various degrees of
 spiritual      experience4 ,the mystic 
ought not to rely on any of these1 for  
they      are all imperfect4            
8,and ,he said to me1 #8,if thou givest 
thyself to the ,sea and      sinkest    
therein1 thou wilt fall a prey to one of
 its beasts4'0            ,if the mystic
 either relies on secondary causes or   
abandons      them by his own act1 he   
will go astray4            8,and ,he    
said to me1 #8,i deceive thee if ,i     
direct thee to aught      save          
,myself4'0            ,if the mystic's  
inward voice bids him turn to anything  
except      ,god1 it deceives him4      
8,and ,he said to me1 #8,if thou        
perishest for the sake of other         
than ,me1 thou wilt belong to that for  
which thou hast perished4'              
8,and ,he said to me1 #8,this world     
belongs to him whom ,i have      turned 
away from it and from whom ,i have      
turned it away2 and the      next world 
belongs to him towards whom ,i have     

brought it and whom ,i      have brought
 towards ,myself4'0            ,he means
 to say that everlasting joy is the     
portion of those      whose hearts are  
turned away from this world and who have
 no      worldly possessions4 ,they     
really enjoy this world1 because it     
cannot separate them from ,god4         
,similarly1 the true owners of the      
next world are those who do not seek it1
 inasmuch as it is not the      real    
object of their desire1 but contemplate 
,god alone4      ,the gnostic descries  
the element of reality in positive      
religion1 but  his gnosis is not derived
 from religion or from any sort of human
  knowledge3 it is properly concerned   
with the divine attributes1 and ,god    
,himself reveals the knowledge of these 
to ,his saints who contemplate  ,him4   
,dhu 'l-,nn of ,egypt1 whose mystical   
speculations mark him out as  the father
 of ,moslem theosophy1 said that        
gnostics are not themselves1  and do not
 subsist through themselves1 but so far 

as they subsist1 they  subsist through  
,god4            8,they move as ,god    
causes them to move1 and their words are
 the      words of ,god which roll upon 
their tongues1 and their sight is the   
sight of ,god which has entered their   
eyes40    ,the gnostic contemplates the 
attributes of ,god1 not ,his essence1   
for  even in gnosis a small trace of    
duality remains3 this disappears only   
in fan al-fan1 the total passing-away in
 the undifferentiated  ,godhead4 ,the   
cardinal attribute of ,god is unity1 and
 the divine unity  is the first and last
 principle of gnosis4#i    #i ,according
 to some mystics1 the gnosis of unity   
constitutes a higher  stage which is    
called #8the ,truth' 7haqqat74 ,see     
above1 p4 #bi4    ,both ,moslem and ,sf 
declare that ,god is ,one1 but the      
statement bears  a different meaning in 
each instance4 ,the ,moslem means that  
,god is  unique in ,his essence1        
qualities1 and acts2 that ,he is        
absolutely  unlike all other beings4    

,the ,sf means that ,god is the ,one    
,real  ,being which underlies all       
phenomena4 ,this principle is carried to
 its  extreme consequences1 as we shall 
see4 ,if nothing except ,god exists1    
then the whole universe1 including man1 
is essentially one with ,god1  whether  
it is regarded as an emanation which    
proceeds from ,him1 without  impairing  
,his unity1 like sunbeams from the sun1 
or whether it is  conceived as a mirror 
in which the divine attributes are      
reflected4 ,but  surely a ,god who is   
all in all can have no reason for thus  
revealing  ,himself3 why should the ,one
 pass over into the ,many8 ,the ,sfs    
answer--a philosopher would say that    
they evade the difficulty--by  quoting  
the famous ,tradition3 8,i was a hidden 
treasure and ,i desired  to be known2   
therefore ,i created the creation in    
order that ,i might be  known40 ,in     
other words1 ,god is the eternal        
,beauty1 and it lies in the  nature of  
beauty to desire love4 ,the mystic poets

 have described the  self-manifestation 
of the ,one with a profusion of splendid
 imagery4  ,jm says1 for example3       
8,from all eternity the ,beloved        
unveiled ,his beauty in the solitude    
of the unseen2      ,he held up the     
mirror to ,his own face1 ,he displayed  
,his loveliness          to ,himself4   
,he was both the spectator and the      
spectacle2 no eye but ,his had          
surveyed the ,universe4      ,all was   
,one1 there was no duality1 no pretence 
of #8mine' or #8thine4'      ,the vast  
orb of ,heaven1 with its myriad         
incomings and outgoings1          was   
concealed in a single point4      ,the  
,creation lay cradled in the sleep of   
non-existence1 like a child          ere
 it has breathed4      ,the eye of the  
,beloved1 seeing what was not1 regarded 
nonentity          as existent4         
,although ,he beheld ,his attributes and
 qualities as a perfect whole           
in ,his own essence1      ,yet ,he      
desired that they should be displayed to

 ,him in another          mirror1       
,and that each one of ,his eternal      
attributes should become manifest       
accordingly in a diverse form4          
,therefore ,he created the verdant      
fields of ,time and ,space and the      
life-giving garden of the world1        
,that every branch and leaf and fruit   
might show forth ,his various           
perfections4      ,the cypress gave a   
hint of ,his comely stature1 the rose   
gave tidings          of ,his beauteous 
countenance4      ,wherever ,beauty     
peeped out1 ,love appeared beside it2   
wherever ,beauty          shone in a    
rosy cheek1 ,love lit his torch from    
that flame4      ,wherever ,beauty dwelt
 in dark tresses1 ,love came and found a
 heart          entangled in their      
coils4      ,beauty and ,love are as    
body and soul2 ,beauty is the mine and  
,love          the precious stone4      
,they have always been together from the
 very first2 never have they            
travelled but in each other's company40 

,in another work ,jm sets forth the     
relation of ,god to the world more      
philosophically1 as follows3            
8,the unique ,substance1 viewed as      
,absolute and void of      all          
phenomena1 all limitations and all      
multiplicity1 is the      ,real         
7al-,haqq74 ,on the other hand1 viewed  
in ,his aspect of      multiplicity and 
plurality1 under which ,he displays     
,himself when      clothed with         
phenomena1 ,he is the whole created     
universe4 ,therefore      the universe  
is the outward visible expression of the
 ,real1 and      the ,real is the inner 
unseen reality of the universe4 ,the    
universe      before it was evolved to  
outward view was identical with the     
,real2      and the ,real after this    
evolution is identical with the         
universe40    ,phenomena1 as such1 are  
not-being and only derive a contingent  
existence from the qualities of         
,absolute ,being by which they are      
irradiated4 ,the sensible world         

resembles the fiery circle made by a    
single spark whirling round rapidly4    
,man is the crown and final cause of the
 universe4 ,though last in the  order of
 creation he is first in the process of 
divine thought1 for  the essential part 
of him is the primal ,intelligence or   
universal  ,reason which emanates       
immediately from the ,godhead4 ,this    
corresponds  to the ,logos--the         
animating principle of all things--and  
is identified  with the ,prophet        
,mohammed4 ,an interesting parallel     
might be drawn  here between the        
,christian and ,sf doctrines4 ,the same 
expressions  are applied to the founder 
of ,islam which are used by ,st4 ,john1 
,st4  ,paul1 and later mystical         
theologians concerning ,christ4 ,thus1  
,mohammed  is called the ,light of ,god1
 he is said to have existed before the  
creation of the world1 he is adored as  
the source of all life1 actual  and     
possible1 he is the ,perfect ,man in    
whom all the divine attributes  are     

manifested1 and a ,sf tradition ascribes
 to him the saying 8,he  that hath seen 
me hath seen ,allah40 ,in the ,moslem   
scheme1 however1  the ,logos doctrine   
occupies a subordinate place1 as it     
obviously must  when the whole duty of  
man is believed to consist in realising 
the  unity of ,god4 ,the most           
distinctive feature of ,oriental as     
opposed to  ,european mysticism is its  
profound consciousness of an            
omnipresent1  all-pervading unity in    
which every vestige of individuality is 
swallowed up4 ,not to become like ,god  
or personally to participate  in the    
divine nature is the ,sf's aim1 but to  
escape from the bondage  of his unreal  
selfhood and thereby to be reunited with
 the ,one infinite  ,being4             
,according to ,jm1 ,unification consists
 in making the heart  single--that is1  
in purifying and divesting it of        
attachment to aught  except ,god1 both  
in respect of desire and will and also  
as regards  knowledge and gnosis4 ,the  

mystic's desire and will should be      
severed  from all things which are      
desired and willed2 all objects of      
knowledge  and understanding should be  
removed from his intellectual vision4   
,his thoughts should be directed solely 
towards ,god1 he should not be          
conscious of anything besides4    ,so   
long as he is a captive in the snare of 
passion and lust1 it is hard  for him to
 maintain this relation to ,god1 but    
when the subtle influence  of that      
attraction becomes manifest in him1     
expelling preoccupation  with objects of
 sense and cognition from his inward    
being1 delight in  that divine communion
 prevails over bodily pleasures and     
spiritual  joys2 the painful task of    
self-mortification is ended1 and the    
sweetness of contemplation enravishes   
his soul4    ,when the sincere aspirant 
perceives in himself the beginning of   
this  attraction1 which is delight in   
the recollection of ,god1 let him fix   
his whole mind on fostering and         

strengthening it1 let him keep himself  
aloof from whatsoever is incompatible   
with it1 and deem that even  though he  
were to devote an eternity to           
cultivating that communion1 he  would   
have done nothing and would not have    
discharged his duty as he  ought4       
8,love thrilled the chord of love in my 
soul's lute1      ,and changed me all to
 love from head to foot4      ',twas but
 a moment's touch1 yet shall ,time ever 
,to me the debt of thanksgiving impute40
    ,it is an axiom of the ,sfs that    
what is not in a man he cannot  know4   
,the gnostic--,man par excellence--could
 not know ,god and all  the mysteries of
 the universe1 unless he found them in  
himself4 ,he is  the microcosm1 #8a copy
 made in the image of ,god1' #8the eye  
of the  world whereby ,god sees ,his own
 works4' ,in knowing himself as he      
really  is1 he knows ,god1 and he knows 
himself through ,god1 who is nearer to  
everything than its knowledge of itself4
 ,knowledge of ,god precedes1 and  is   

the cause of1 self-knowledge4           
,gnosis1 then1 is unification1          
realisation of the fact that the        
appearance of #8otherness' beside       
,oneness is a false and deluding dream4 
,gnosis lays this spectre1 which haunts 
unenlightened men all their  lives2     
which rises1 like a wall of utter       
darkness1 between them and  ,god4       
,gnosis proclaims that #8,i' is a figure
 of speech1 and that one  cannot truly  
refer any will1 feeling1 thought1 or    
action to one's self4    ,niffar heard  
the divine voice saying to him3         
8,when thou regardest thyself as        
existent and dost not regard ,me      as
 the ,cause of thy existence1 ,i veil   
,my face and thine own face      appears
 to thee4 ,therefore consider what is   
displayed to thee1 and      what is     
hidden from thee60            ,if a man 
regards himself as existing through     
,god1 that which      is of ,god in him 
predominates over the phenomenal element
 and      makes it pass away1 so that he

 sees nothing but ,god4 ,if1 on the     
contrary1 he regards himself as having  
an independent existence1      his      
unreal egoism is displayed to him and   
the reality of ,god      becomes hidden 
from him4            8,regard neither   
,my displaying nor that which is        
displayed1 else      thou wilt laugh and
 weep2 and when thou laughest and       
weepest1 thou      art thine1 not       
,mine40            ,he who regards the  
act of divine revelation is guilty of   
polytheism1 since revelation involves   
both a revealing subject and      a     
revealed object2 and he who regards the 
revealed object which      is part of   
the created universe1 regards something 
other than      ,god4 ,laughter         
signifies joy for what you have gained1 
and weeping      denotes grief for what 
you have lost4 ,both are selfish        
actions4 ,the      gnostic neither      
laughs nor weeps4            8,if thou  
dost not put behind thee all that ,i    
have displayed and      am displaying1  

thou wilt not prosper2 and unless thou  
prosper1 thou      wilt not become      
concentrated upon ,me40                 
,prosperity is true belief in ,god1     
which requires complete      abstraction
 from created things4    ,logically1    
these doctrines annul every moral and   
religious law4 ,in the  gnostic's vision
 there are no divine rewards and        
punishments1 no human  standards of     
right and wrong4 ,for him1 the written  
word of ,god has  been abrogated by a   
direct and intimate revelation4         
8,i do not say10 exclaimed ,abu         
'l-,hasan ,khurqn1 8that ,paradise      
and ,hell are non-existent1 but ,i say  
that they are nothing to me1            
because ,god created them both1 and     
there is no room for any created        
object in the place where ,i am40       
,from this standpoint all types of      
religion are equal1 and ,islam is no    
better than idolatry4 ,it does not      
matter what creed a man professes or    
what rites he performs4        8,the    

true mosque in a pure and holy heart    
,is builded3 there let all men worship  
,god2      ,for there ,he dwells1 not in
 a mosque of stone40    ,amidst all the 
variety of creeds and worshippers the   
gnostic sees but  one real object of    
worship4            8,those who adore   
,god in the sun0 7says ,ibn al-,arab7   
8behold      the sun1 and those who     
adore ,him in living things see a living
      thing1 and those who adore ,him in
 lifeless things see a lifeless         
thing1 and those who adore ,him as a    
,being unique and unparalleled      see 
that which has no like4 ,do not attach  
yourself0 7he continues7      8to any   
particular creed exclusively1 so that   
you disbelieve in all      the rest2    
otherwise1 you will lose much good1 nay1
 you will fail      to recognise the    
real truth of the matter4 ,god1 the     
omnipresent      and omnipotent1 is not 
limited by any one creed1 for ,he says  
7,kor4      #b4 #aji71 #8,wheresoever ye
 turn1 there is the face of ,allah4'    

,every      one praises what he         
believes2 his god is his own creature1  
and in      praising it he praises      
himself4 ,consequently he blames the    
beliefs      of others1 which he would  
not do if he were just1 but his dislike 
is based on ignorance4 ,if he knew      
,junayd's saying1 #8,the water takes    
its colour from the vessel containing   
it1' he would not interfere      with   
other men's beliefs1 but would perceive 
,god in every form of      belief40     
,and ,hafiz sings1 more in the spirit of
 the freethinker1 perhaps1 than  of the 
mystic3        8,love is where the glory
 falls      ,of ,thy face--on convent   
walls      ,or on tavern floors1 the    
same      ,unextinguishable flame4      
,where the turbaned anchorite           
,chanteth ,allah day and night1         
,church bells ring the call to prayer   
,and the ,cross of ,christ is there40   
,sfism may join hands with              
freethought--it has often done so--but  
hardly ever with sectarianism4 ,this    

explains why the vast majority of  ,sfs 
have been1 at least nominally1 attached 
to the catholic body of  the ,moslem    
community4 ,abdallah ,ansr declared that
 of two thousand  ,sf ,sheykhs with whom
 he was acquainted only two were        
,shites4 ,a  certain man who was a      
descendant of the ,caliph ,al1 and a    
fanatical  ,shite1 tells the following  
story3            8,for five years10 he 
said1 8my father sent me daily to a     
spiritual director4 ,i learned one      
useful lesson from him3 he told      me 
that ,i should never know anything at   
all about ,sfism until      ,i got      
completely rid of the pride which ,i    
felt on account of my      lineage40    
,superficial observers have described   
,bbism as an offshoot of  ,sfism1 but   
the dogmatism of the one is naturally   
opposed to the  broad eclecticism of the
 other4 ,in proportion as the ,sf gains 
more  knowledge of ,god1 his religious  
prejudices are diminished4 ,sheykh ,abd 
al-,rahm ibn al-,sabbgh1 who at first   

disliked living in ,upper ,egypt1  with 
its large ,jewish and ,christian        
population1 said in his old age  that he
 would as readily embrace a ,jew or     
,christian as one of his own  faith4    
,while the innumerable forms of creed   
and ritual may be regarded as  having a 
certain relative value in so far as the 
inward feeling which  inspires them is  
ever one and the same1 from another     
aspect they seem  to be veils of the    
,truth1 barriers which the zealous      
,unitarian must  strive to abolish and  
destroy4        8,this world and that   
world are the egg1 and the bird within  
it      ,is in darkness and             
broken-winged and scorned and despised4 
,regard unbelief and faith as the white 
and the yolk in this egg1      ,between 
them1 joining and dividing1 a barrier   
which they shall          not pass4     
,when ,he hath graciously fostered the  
egg under ,his wing1      ,infidelity   
and religion disappear3 the bird of     
,unity spreads          its pinions40   

,the great ,persian mystic1 ,ab ,sad ibn
 ,abi 'l-,khayr1 speaking in  the name  
of the ,calendars or wandering          
dervishes1 expresses their  iconoclastic
 principles with astonishing boldness3  
8,not until every mosque beneath the sun
      ,lies ruined1 will our holy work  
be done2      ,and never will true      
,musalmn appear      ,till faith and    
infidelity are one40    ,such open      
declarations of war against the         
,mohammedan religion are  exceptional4  
,notwithstanding the breadth and depth  
of the gulf between  full-blown ,sfism  
and orthodox ,islam1 many1 if not most1 
,sfs have  paid homage to the ,prophet  
and have observed the outward forms of  
devotion which are incumbent on all     
,moslems4 ,they have invested these     
rites and ceremonies with a new meaning2
 they have allegorised them1  but they  
have not abandoned them4 ,take the      
pilgrimage1 for example4  ,in the eyes  
of the genuine ,sf it is null and void  
unless each of  the successive religious

 acts which it involves is accompanied  
by  corresponding #8movements of the    
heart4'    ,a man who had just returned 
from the pilgrimage came to ,junayd4    
,junayd  said3            8,from the    
hour when you first journeyed from your 
home have you      also been journeying 
away from all sins80 ,he said 8,no40    
8,then10      said ,junayd1 8you have   
made no journey4 ,at every stage where  
you      halted for the night did you   
traverse a station on the way to        
,god80 8,no10 he replied4 8,then10 said 
,junayd1 8you have not trodden      the 
road1 stage by stage4 ,when you put on  
the pilgrim's garb at      the proper   
place1 did you discard the qualities of 
human nature      as you cast off your  
clothes80 8,no40 8,then you have not put
 on      the pilgrim's garb4 ,when you  
stood at ,araft1 did you stand one      
moment in contemplation of ,god80 8,no40
 8,then you have not stood at           
,araft4 ,when you went to ,muzdalifa and
 achieved your desire1 did      you     

renounce all sensual desires80 8,no40   
8,then you have not gone      to        
,muzdalifa4 ,when you circumambulated   
the ,kaba1 did you behold      the      
immaterial beauty of ,god in the abode  
of purification80 8,no40      8,then you
 have not circumambulated the ,kaba4    
,when you ran between      ,saf and     
,marwa1 did you attain to purity 7saf7  
and virtue      7muruwwat780 8,no40     
8,then you have not run4 ,when you came 
to ,min1      did all your wishes 7mun7 
cease80 8,no40 8,then you have not yet  
visited ,min4 ,when you reached the     
slaughter-place and offered             
sacrifice1 did you sacrifice the objects
 of worldly desire80 8,no40      8,then 
you have not sacrificed4 ,when you threw
 the pebbles1 did you      throw away   
whatever sensual thoughts were          
accompanying you80 8,no40      8,then   
you have not yet thrown the pebbles1 and
 you have not yet      performed the    
pilgrimage40    ,this anecdote contrasts
 the outer religious law of theology    

with the  inner spiritual truth of      
mysticism1 and shows that they should   
not be  divorced from each other4       
8,the ,law without the ,truth10 says    
,hujwr1 8is ostentation1 and      the   
,truth without the ,law is hypocrisy4   
,their mutual relation may      be      
compared to that of body and spirit3    
when the spirit departs      from the   
body1 the living body becomes a corpse1 
and the spirit      vanishes like wind4 
,the ,moslem profession of faith        
includes both3      the words1 #8,there 
is no god but ,allah1' are the ,truth1  
and the      words1 #8,mohammed is the  
apostle of ,allah1' are the ,law2 any   
one who      denies the ,truth is an    
infidel1 and any one who rejects the    
,law is      a heretic40    ,middle     
ways1 though proverbially safe1 are     
difficult to walk in2 and  only by a    
tour de force can the ,koran be brought 
into line with the  esoteric doctrine   
which the ,sfs derive from it4          
,undoubtedly they  have done a great    

work for ,islam4 ,they have deepened and
 enriched the  lives of millions by     
ruthlessly stripping off the husk of    
religion  and insisting that its kernel 
must be sought1 not in any formal act1  
but in cultivation of spiritual feelings
 and in purification of the  inward man4
 ,this was a legitimate and most        
fruitful development of the  ,prophet's 
teaching4 ,but the ,prophet was a strict
 monotheist1 while  the ,sfs1 whatever  
they may pretend or imagine1 are        
theosophists1  pantheists1 or monists4  
,when they speak and write as believers 
in  the dogmas of positive religion1    
they use language which cannot be       
reconciled with such a theory of unity  
as we are now examining4  ,affuddn      
al-,tilimsn1 from whose commentary on   
,niffar ,i have given  some extracts in 
this chapter1 said roundly that the     
whole ,koran is  polytheism--a perfectly
 just statement from the monistic point 
of view1  though few ,sfs have dared to 
be so explicit4    ,the mystic          

,unitarians admit the appearance of     
contradiction1 but deny  its reality4   
8,the ,law and the ,truth0 7they might  
say7 8are the same  thing in different  
aspects4 ,the ,law is for you1 the      
,truth for us4 ,in  addressing you we   
speak according to the measure of your  
understanding1  since what is meat for  
gnostics is poison to the uninitiated1  
and the  highest mysteries ought to be  
jealously guarded from profane ears4 ,it
  is only human reason that sees the    
single as double1 and balances the  ,law
 against the ,truth4 ,pass away from the
 world of opposites and become  one with
 ,god1 who has no opposite40    ,the    
gnostic recognises that the ,law is     
valid and necessary in the  moral       
sphere4 ,while good and evil remain1 the
 ,law stands over both1  commanding and 
forbidding1 rewarding and punishing4 ,he
 knows1 on the  other hand1 that only   
,god really exists and acts3 therefore1 
if evil  really exists1 it must be      
divine1 and if evil things are really   

done1  ,god must be the doer of them4   
,the conclusion is false because the    
hypothesis is false4 ,evil has no real  
existence2 it is not-being1 which  is   
the privation and absence of being1 just
 as darkness is the absence  of light4  
8,once10 said ,nr1 8,i beheld the       
,light1 and ,i fixed my gaze  upon it   
until ,i became the ,light40 ,no wonder 
that such illuminated  souls1 supremely 
indifferent to the shadow-shows of      
religion and  morality in a phantom     
world1 are ready to cry with ,jalluddn3 
8,the man of ,god is made wise by the   
,truth1      ,the man of ,god is not    
learned from book4      ,the man of ,god
 is beyond infidelity and faith1        
,to the man of ,god right and wrong are 
alike40    ,it must be borne in mind    
that this is a theory of perfection1 and
  that those whom it exalts above the   
,law are saints1 spiritual guides1  and 
profound theosophists who enjoy the     
special favour of ,god and  presumably  
do not need to be restrained1 coerced1  

or punished4 ,in  practice1 of course1  
it leads in many instances to           
antinomianism and  libertinism1 as among
 the ,bektshs and other orders of the   
so-called  #8lawless' dervishes4 ,the   
same theories produced the same results 
in  ,europe during the ,middle ,ages1   
and the impartial historian cannot      
ignore the corruptions to which a purely
 subjective mysticism is  liable2 but on
 the present occasion we are concerned  
with the rose  itself1 not with its     
cankers4    ,not all ,sfs are gnostics2 
and1 as ,i have mentioned before1 those 
who  are not yet ripe for the gnosis    
receive from their gnostic teachers the 
ethical instruction suitable to their   
needs4 ,jalluddn ,rm1 in his  collection
 of lyrical poems entitled ,the ,dvn of 
,shamsi ,tabrz1  gives free rein to a   
pantheistic enthusiasm which sees all   
things under  the form of eternity4     
8,i have put duality away1 ,i have seen 
that the two worlds are one2      ,one  
,i seek1 ,one ,i know1 ,one ,i see1 ,one

 ,i call4      ,i am intoxicated with   
,love's cup1 the two worlds have passed 
out          of my ken2      ,i have no 
business save carouse and revelry40     
,but in his ,masnav--a work so famous   
and venerated that it has  been styled  
#8,the ,koran of ,persia'--we find him  
in a more sober mood  expounding the ,sf
 doctrines and justifying the ways of   
,god to man4  ,here1 though he is a     
convinced optimist and agrees with      
,ghazl that  this is the best of all    
possible worlds1 he does not airily     
dismiss  the problem of evil as         
something outside reality1 but          
endeavours to  show that evil1 or what  
seems evil to us1 is part of the divine 
order  and harmony4 ,i will quote some  
passages of his argument and leave my   
readers to judge how far it is          
successful or1 at any rate1 suggestive4 
,the ,sfs1 it will be remembered1       
conceive the universe as a projected    
and reflected image of ,god4 ,the divine
 light1 streaming forth in a  series of 

emanations1 falls at last upon the      
darkness of not-being1  every atom of   
which reflects some attribute of ,deity4
 ,for instance1  the beautiful          
attributes of love and mercy are        
reflected in the form  of heaven and the
 angels1 while the terrible attributes  
of wrath  and vengeance are reflected in
 the form of hell and the devils4 ,man  
reflects all the attributes1 the        
terrible as well as the beautiful3 he   
is an epitome of heaven and hell4 ,omar 
,khayym alludes to this theory  when he 
says3        8,hell is a spark from our 
fruitless pain1      ,heaven a breath   
from our time of joy0    --a couplet    
which ,fitz,gerald moulded into the     
magnificent stanza3        8,heav'n but 
the ,vision of fulfilled ,desire1       
,and ,hell the ,shadow from a ,soul on  
fire1        ,cast on the ,darkness into
 which ,ourselves      ,so late emerged 
from1 shall so soon expire40            
,jalluddn1 therefore1 does in a sense   
make ,god the author of evil1  but at   

the same time he makes evil             
intrinsically good in relation to       
,god--for it is the reflexion of certain
 divine attributes which in  themselves 
are absolutely good4 ,so far as evil is 
really evil1 it  springs from not-being4
 ,the poet assigns a different value to 
this  term in its relation to ,god and  
in its relation to man4 ,in respect of  
,god not-being is nothing1 for ,god is  
real ,being1 but in man it is the       
principle of evil which constitutes half
 of human nature4 ,in the one  case it  
is a pure negation1 in the other it is  
positively and actively  pernicious4 ,we
 need not quarrel with the poet for     
coming to grief in  his logic4 ,there   
are some occasions when intense moral   
feeling is worth  any amount of accurate
 thinking4    ,it is evident that the   
doctrine of divine unity implies        
predestination4  ,where ,god is and     
naught beside ,him1 there can be no     
other agent than  ,he1 no act but ,his4 
8,thou didst not throw1 when thou       

threwest1 but ,god  threw0 7,kor4 #h4   
#ag74 ,compulsion is felt only by those 
who do not  love4 ,to know ,god is to   
love ,him2 and the gnostic may answer1  
like the  dervish who was asked how he  
fared3        8,i fare as one by whose  
majestic will      ,the world revolves1 
floods rise and rivers flow1      ,stars
 in their courses move2 yea1 death and  
life      ,hang on his nod and fly to   
the ends of earth1      ,his ministers  
of mourning or of joy40    ,this is the 
,truth2 but for the benefit of such as  
cannot bear it1  ,jalluddn vindicates   
the justice of ,god by asserting that   
men have  the power to choose how they  
will act1 although their freedom is     
subordinate to the divine will4         
,approaching the question1 8,why does   
,god  ordain and create evil80 he points
 out that things are known through      
their opposites1 and that the existence 
of evil is necessary for the            
manifestation of good4                  
8,not-being and defect1 wherever seen1  

,are mirrors of the beauty of all that  
is4      ,the bone-setter1 where should 
he try his skill      ,but on the       
patient lying with broken leg8          
,were no base copper in the crucible1   
,how could the alchemist his craft      
display80    ,moreover1 the divine      
omnipotence would not be completely     
realised if  evil had remained          
uncreated4        8,he is the source of 
evil1 as thou sayest1      ,yet evil    
hurts ,him not4 ,to make that evil      
,denotes in ,him perfection4 ,hear from 
me      ,a parable4 ,the heavenly       
,artist paints      ,beautiful shapes   
and ugly3 in one picture      ,the      
loveliest women in the land of ,egypt   
,gazing on youthful ,joseph amorously2  
,and lo1 another scene by the same hand1
      ,hell-fire and ,ibls with his     
hideous crew3      ,both master-works1  
created for good ends1      ,to show    
,his perfect wisdom and confound        
,the sceptics who deny ,his mastery4    
,could ,he not evil make1 ,he would lack

 skill2      ,therefore ,he fashions    
infidel alike      ,and ,moslem true1   
that both may witness bear      ,to     
,him1 and worship ,one ,almighty ,lord40
    ,in reply to the objection that a   
,god who creates evil must ,himself be  
evil1 ,jalluddn1 pursuing the analogy   
drawn from ,art1 remarks that  ugliness 
in the picture is no evidence of        
ugliness in the painter4    ,again1     
without evil it would be impossible to  
win the proved virtue  which is the     
reward of self-conquest4 ,bread must be 
broken before  it can serve as food1 and
 grapes will not yield wine till they   
are  crushed4 ,many men are led through 
tribulation to happiness4 ,as evil      
ebbs1 good flows4 ,finally1 much evil is
 only apparent4 ,what seems a  curse to 
one may be a blessing to another2 nay1  
evil itself is turned  to good for the  
righteous4 ,jalluddn will not admit that
 anything is  absolutely bad4           
8,fools buy false coins because they are
 like the true4      ,if in the world no

 genuine minted coin      ,were current1
 how would forgers pass the false8      
,falsehood were nothing unless truth    
were there1      ,to make it specious4  
',tis the love of right      ,lures men 
to wrong4 ,let poison but be mixed      
,with sugar1 they will cram it into     
their mouths4      ,oh1 cry not that all
 creeds are vain6 ,some scent      ,of  
truth they have1 else they would not    
beguile4      ,say not1 #8,how utterly  
fantastical6'      ,no fancy in the     
world is all untrue4      ,amongst the  
crowd of dervishes hides one1      ,one 
true fakr4 ,search well and thou wilt   
find60    ,surely this is a noteworthy  
doctrine4 ,jalluddn died only a few     
years  after the birth of ,dante1 but   
the ,christian poet falls far below the 
level of charity and tolerance reached  
by his ,moslem contemporary4    ,how is 
it possible to discern the soul of      
goodness in things evil8 ,by  means of  
love1 says ,jalluddn1 and the knowledge 
which love alone can  give1 according to

 the word of ,god in the holy           
,tradition3            8,my servant     
draws nigh unto ,me1 and ,i love him2   
and when ,i love      him1 ,i am his    
ear1 so that he hears by ,me1 and his   
eye1 so that he      sees by ,me1 and   
his tongue1 so that he speaks by ,me1   
and his hand1      so that he takes by  
,me40    ,although it will be convenient
 to treat of mystical love in a separate
  chapter1 the reader must not fancy    
that a new subject is opening before    
him4 ,gnosis and love are spiritually   
identical2 they teach the same  truths  
in different language4                  
,,chapter ,,iv      ,,divine ,,love     
,any one acquainted1 however slightly1  
with the mystical poetry of ,islam  must
 have remarked that the aspiration of   
the soul towards ,god is  expressed1 as 
a rule1 in almost the same terms which  
might be used by  an ,oriental ,anacreon
 or ,herrick4 ,the resemblance1 indeed1 
is often so  close that1 unless we have 
some clue to the poet's intention1 we   

are  left in doubt as to his meaning4   
,in some cases1 perhaps1 the ambiguity  
serves an artistic purpose1 as in the   
odes of ,hafiz1 but even when  the poet 
is not deliberately keeping his readers 
suspended between  earth and heaven1 it 
is quite easy to mistake a mystical hymn
 for a  drinking-song or a serenade4    
,ibn al-,arab1 the greatest theosophist 
whom the ,arabs have produced1 found    
himself obliged to write a  commentary  
on some of his poems in order to refute 
the scandalous  charge that they were   
designed to celebrate the charms of his 
mistress4  ,here are a few lines3       
8,oh1 her beauty--the tender maid6 ,its 
brilliance gives light like             
lamps to one travelling in the dark4    
,she is a pearl hidden in a shell of    
hair as black as jet1      ,a pearl for 
which ,thought dives and remains        
unceasingly in the          deeps of    
that ocean4      ,he who looks upon her 
deems her to be a gazelle of the        
sand-hills1          because of her     

shapely neck and the loveliness of her  
gestures40    ,it has been said that the
 ,sfs invented this figurative style as 
a  mask for mysteries which they desired
 to keep secret4 ,that desire  was      
natural in those who proudly claimed to 
possess an esoteric  doctrine known only
 to themselves2 moreover1 a plain       
statement of  what they believed might  
have endangered their liberties1 if not 
their lives4 ,but1 apart from any such  
motives1 the ,sfs adopt the  symbolic   
style because there is no other possible
 way of interpreting  mystical          
experience4 ,so little does knowledge of
 the infinite revealed  in ecstatic     
vision need an artificial disguise that 
it cannot be  communicated at all except
 through types and emblems drawn from   
the  sensible world1 which1 imperfect as
 they are1 may suggest and shadow  forth
 a deeper meaning than appears on the   
surface4 8,gnostics10 says  ,ibn        
al-,arab1 8cannot impart their feelings 
to other men2 they can  only indicate   

them symbolically to those who have     
begun to experience  the like40 ,what   
kind of symbolism each mystic will      
prefer depends  on his temperament and  
character4 ,if he be a religious artist1
 a  spiritual poet1 his ideas of reality
 are likely to clothe themselves        
instinctively in forms of beauty and    
glowing images of human love4  ,to him  
the rosy cheek of the beloved represents
 the divine essence  manifested through 
its attributes2 her dark curls signify  
the ,one  veiled by the ,many2 when he  
says1 8,drink wine that it may set you  
free  from yourself10 he means1 8,lose  
your phenomenal self in the rapture of  
divine contemplation40 ,i might fill    
pages with further examples4    ,this   
erotic and bacchanalian symbolism is    
not1 of course1 peculiar  to the        
mystical poetry of ,islam1 but nowhere  
else is it displayed so  opulently and  
in such perfection4 ,it has often been  
misunderstood by  ,european critics1 one
 of whom even now can describe the      

ecstasies  of the ,sfs as 8inspired     
partly by wine and strongly tinged with 
sensuality40 ,as regards the whole body 
of ,sfs1 the charge is  altogether      
false4 ,no intelligent and unprejudiced 
student of their  writings could have   
made it1 and we ought to have been      
informed on what  sort of evidence it is
 based4 ,there are black sheep in every 
flock1 and  amongst the ,sfs we find    
many hypocrites1 debauchees1 and        
drunkards  who bring discredit on the   
pure brethren4 ,but it is just as unfair
 to  judge ,sfism in general by the     
excesses of these impostors as it would 
be to condemn all ,christian mysticism  
on the ground that certain sects  and   
individuals are immoral4        8,god is
 the ,sq#aj and the ,wine3      ,he     
knows what manner of love is mine10     
said ,jalluddn4 ,ibn al-,arab declares  
that no religion is more  sublime than a
 religion of love and longing for ,god4 
,love is the  essence of all creeds3 the
 true mystic welcomes it whatever guise 

it  may assume4    #aj ,cupbearer4      
8,my heart has become capable of every  
form3 it is a pasture for               
gazelles and a convent for ,christian   
monks1      ,and a temple for idols1 and
 the pilgrim's ,kaba1 and the tables    
of the ,tora and the book of the ,koran4
      ,i follow the religion of ,love1  
whichever way his camels take4 ,my      
religion and my faith is the true       
religion4      ,we have a pattern in    
,bishr1 the lover of ,hind and her      
sister1 and          in ,qays and ,lubn1
 and in ,mayya and ,ghayln40            
,commenting on the last verse1 the poet 
writes3            8,love1 qu love1 is  
one and the same reality to those ,arab 
lovers and to me2 but the objects of our
 love are different1      for they loved
 a phenomenon1 whereas ,i love the      
,real4 ,they are      a pattern to us1  
because ,god only afflicted them with   
love for      human beings in order that
 ,he might show1 by means of them1 the  
falseness of those who pretend to love  

,him1 and yet feel no such              
transport and rapture in loving ,him as 
deprived those enamoured men      of    
their reason1 and made them unconscious 
of themselves40    ,most of the great   
medieval ,sfs lived saintly lives1      
dreaming of ,god1  intoxicated with     
,god4 ,when they tried to tell their    
dreams1 being men1  they used the       
language of men4 ,if they were also     
literary artists1  they naturally wrote 
in the style of their own day and       
generation4 ,in  mystical poetry the    
,arabs yield the palm to the ,persians4 
,any one who  would read the secret of  
,sfism1 no longer encumbered with       
theological  articles nor obscured by   
metaphysical subtleties--let him turn to
  ,attr1 ,jalluddn ,rm1 and ,jm1 whose  
works are partially accessible  in      
,english and other ,european languages4 
,to translate these wonderful  hymns is 
to break their melody and bring their   
soaring passion down to  earth1 but not 
even a prose translation can quite      

conceal the love of  ,truth and the     
vision of ,beauty which inspired them4  
,listen again to  ,jalluddn3        8,he
 comes1 a moon whose like the sky ne'er 
saw1 awake or dreaming1        ,crowned 
with eternal flame no flood can lay4    
,lo1 from the flagon of ,thy love1 ,o   
,lord1 my soul is swimming1        ,and 
ruined all my body's house of clay4     
,when first the ,giver of the grape my  
lonely heart befriended1        ,wine   
fired my bosom and my veins filled up1  
,but when ,his image all mine eye       
possessed1 a voice descended1           
#8,well done1 ,o sovereign ,wine and    
peerless ,cup6'0    ,the love thus      
symbolised is the emotional element in  
religion1 the  rapture of the seer1 the 
courage of the martyr1 the faith of the 
saint1 the only basis of moral          
perfection and spiritual knowledge4     
,practically1 it is self-renunciation   
and self-sacrifice1 the giving up  of   
all possessions--wealth1 honour1 will1  
life1 and whatever else men  value--for 

the ,beloved's sake without any thought 
of reward4 ,i have  already referred to 
love as the supreme principle in ,sf    
ethics1 and  now let me give some       
illustrations4            8,love10 says 
,jalluddn1 8is the remedy of our pride  
and      self-conceit1 the physician of 
all our infirmities4 ,only he whose     
garment is rent by love becomes entirely
 unselfish40    ,nr1 ,raqqm1 and other  
,sfs were accused of heresy and         
sentenced to  death4            8,when  
the executioner approached ,raqqm1 ,nr  
rose and offered      himself in his    
friend's place with the utmost          
cheerfulness and      submission4 ,all  
the spectators were astounded4 ,the     
executioner      said1 #8,young man1 the
 sword is not a thing that people are so
 eager      to meet2 and your turn has  
not yet arrived4' ,nr answered1 #8,my   
religion is founded on unselfishness4   
,life is the most precious      thing in
 the world3 ,i wish to sacrifice for my 
brethren's sake the      few moments    

which remain4'0    ,on another occasion 
,nr was overheard praying as follows3   
8,o ,lord1 in ,thy eternal knowledge and
 power and will ,thou dost      punish  
the people of ,hell whom ,thou hast     
created2 and if it be ,thy              
inexorable will to make ,hell full of   
mankind1 ,thou art able to fill      it 
with me alone1 and to send them to      
,paradise40    ,in proportion as the ,sf
 loves ,god1 he sees ,god in all ,his   
creatures1  and goes forth to them in   
acts of charity4 ,pious works are naught
  without love4        8,cheer one sad  
heart3 thy loving deed will be          
,more than a thousand temples raised by 
thee4      ,one freeman whom thy        
kindness hath enslaved      ,outweighs  
by far a thousand slaves set free40     
,the ,moslem ,legend of the ,saints     
abounds in tales of pity shown to       
animals 7including the despised dog71   
birds1 and even insects4 ,it is  related
 that ,byazd purchased some cardamom    
seed at ,hamadhn1 and  before departing 

put into his gaberdine a small quantity 
which was left  over4 ,on reaching      
,bistm and recollecting what he had     
done1 he took out  the seed and found   
that it contained a number of ants4     
,saying1 8,i have  carried the poor     
creatures away from their home10 he     
immediately set  off and journeyed back 
to ,hamadhn--a distance of several      
hundred miles4    ,this universal       
charity is one of the fruits of         
pantheism4 ,the ascetic  view of the    
world which prevailed amongst the early 
,sfs1 and their  vivid consciousness of 
,god as a transcendent ,personality     
rather than  as an immanent ,spirit1    
caused them to crush their human        
affections  relentlessly4 ,here is a    
short story from the life of ,fudayl ibn
 ,iyd4  ,it would be touching if it were
 not so edifying4            8,one day  
he had in his lap a child four years    
old1 and chanced      to give it a kiss1
 as is the way of fathers4 ,the child   
said1      #8,father1 do you love me8'  

#8,yes1' said ,fudayl4 #8,do you love   
,god8'      #8,yes4' #8,how many hearts 
have you8' #8,one4' #8,then1' asked the 
child1      #8how can you love two with 
one heart8' ,fudayl perceived that the  
child's words were a divine admonition4 
,in his zeal for ,god he      began to  
beat his head and repented of his love  
for the child1 and      gave his heart  
wholly to ,god40    ,the higher ,sf     
mysticism1 as represented by ,jalluddn  
,rm1 teaches  that the phenomenal is a  
bridge to the ,real4        8,whether it
 be of this world or of that1      ,thy 
love will lead thee yonder at the last40
    ,and ,jm says1 in a passage which   
has been translated by ,professor       
,browne3        8,even from earthly love
 thy face avert not1      ,since to the 
,real it may serve to raise thee4       
,ere ,a1 ,b1 ,c are rightly apprehended1
      ,how canst thou con the pages of  
thy ,koran8      ,a sage 7so heard ,i71 
unto whom a student      ,came craving  
counsel on the course before him1       

,said1 #8,if thy steps be strangers to  
love's pathways1      ,depart1 learn    
love1 and then return before me6        
,for1 shouldst thou fear to drink wine  
from ,form's flagon1      ,thou canst   
not drain the draught of the ,ideal4    
,but yet beware6 ,be not by ,form       
belated3      ,strive rather with all   
speed the bridge to traverse4      ,if  
to the bourne thou fain wouldst bear thy
 baggage1      ,upon the bridge let not 
thy footsteps linger4'0    ,emerson sums
 up the meaning of this where he says3  
8,beholding in many souls the traits of 
the divine beauty1 and      separating  
in each soul that which is divine from  
the taint which      it has contracted  
in the world1 the lover ascends to the  
highest      beauty1 to the love and    
knowledge of the ,divinity1 by steps on 
this      ladder of created souls40     
8,man's love of ,god10 says ,hujwr1 8is 
a quality which      manifests itself1  
in the heart of the pious believer1 in  
the form      of veneration and         

magnification1 so that he seeks to      
satisfy his      ,beloved and becomes   
impatient and restless in his desire for
      vision of ,him1 and cannot rest   
with any one except ,him1 and grows     
familiar with the recollection of ,him1 
and abjures the recollection      of    
everything besides4 ,repose becomes     
unlawful to him1 and rest      flees    
from him4 ,he is cut off from all habits
 and associations1 and      renounces   
sensual passion1 and turns towards the  
court of love1      and submits to the  
law of love1 and knows ,god by ,his     
attributes of      perfection40         
,inevitably such a man will love his    
fellow-men4 ,whatever cruelty they      
inflict upon him1 he will perceive only 
the chastening hand of ,god1  8whose    
bitters are very sweets to the soul40   
,byazd said that when  ,god loves a man1
 ,he endows him with three qualities in 
token thereof3  a bounty like that of   
the sea1 a sympathy like that of the    
sun1 and  a humility like that of the   

earth4 ,no suffering can be too great1  
no  devotion too high1 for the piercing 
insight and burning faith of a true     
lover4    ,ibn al-,arab claims that     
,islam is peculiarly the religion of    
love1  inasmuch as the ,prophet         
,mohammed is called ,god's beloved      
7,habb71  but though some traces of this
 doctrine occur in the ,koran1 its main 
impulse was unquestionably derived from 
,christianity4 ,while the oldest  ,sf   
literature1 which is written in ,arabic 
and unfortunately has come  down to us  
in a fragmentary state1 is still        
dominated by the ,koranic  insistence on
 fear of ,allah1 it also bears          
conspicuous marks of the  opposing      
,christian tradition4 ,as in            
,christianity1 through ,dionysius  and  
other writers of the ,neoplatonic       
school1 so in ,islam1 and probably      
under the same influence1 the devotional
 and mystical love of ,god soon         
developed into ecstasy and enthusiasm   
which finds in the sensuous  imagery of 

human love the most suggestive medium   
for its expression4  ,dr4 ,inge observes
 that the ,sfs 8appear1 like true       
,asiatics1 to  have attempted to give a 
sacramental and symbolic character to   
the  indulgence of their passions40 ,i  
need not again point out that such a    
view of genuine ,sfism is both          
superficial and incorrect4    ,love1    
like gnosis1 is in its essence a divine 
gift1 not anything that  can be         
acquired4 8,if the whole world wished to
 attract love1 they could  not2 and if  
they made the utmost efforts to repel   
it1 they could not40  ,those who love   
,god are those whom ,god loves4 8,i     
fancied that ,i loved  ,him10 said      
,byazd1 8but on consideration ,i saw    
that ,his love preceded  mine40 ,junayd 
defined love as the substitution of the 
qualities of the  ,beloved for the      
qualities of the lover4 ,in other words1
 love signifies  the passing-away of the
 individual self2 it is an              
uncontrollable  rapture1 a ,god-sent    

grace which must be sought by ardent    
prayer and  aspiration4        8,o ,thou
 in whose bat well-curved my heart like 
a ball is laid1      ,nor ever a        
hairbreadth swerved from ,thy bidding   
nor disobeyed1      ,i have washed mine 
outward clean1 the water ,i drew and    
poured2      ,mine inward is ,thy       
demesne--do ,thou keep it stainless1    
,lord60    ,jalluddn teaches that man's 
love is really the effect of ,god's love
  by means of an apologue4 ,one night a 
certain devotee was praying aloud1  when
 ,satan appeared to him and said3       
8,how long wilt thou cry1 #8,o ,allah'8 
,be quiet1 for thou wilt get      no    
answer40 ,the devotee hung his head in  
silence4 ,after a little      while he  
had a vision of the prophet ,khadir1 who
 said to him1 8,ah1      why hast thou  
ceased to call on ,god80 8,because the  
answer #8,here am      ,i' came not10 he
 replied4 ,khadir said1 8,god hath      
ordered me to go      to thee and say   
this3        8#8,was it not ,i that     

summoned thee to service8      ,did not 
,i make thee busy with ,my name8        
,thy calling 8,allah60 was ,my 8,here am
 ,i10      ,thy yearning pain ,my       
messenger to thee4      ,of all those   
tears and cries and supplications       
,i was the magnet1 and ,i gave them     
wings4'0    ,divine love is beyond      
description1 yet its signs are manifest4
 ,sar  al-,saqat questioned ,junayd     
concerning the nature of love4          
8,some say10 he answered1 8that it is a 
state of concord1 and      some say that
 it is altruism1 and some say that it is
 so-and-so40      ,sar took hold of the 
skin on his forearm and pulled it1 but  
it      would not stretch2 then he said1
 8,i swear by the glory of ,god1 were   
,i to say that this skin hath shrivelled
 on this bone for love of      ,him1 ,i 
should be telling the truth40 ,thereupon
 he fainted away1 and      his face     
became like a shining moon4    ,love1   
#8the astrolabe of heavenly mysteries1' 
inspires all religion  worthy of the    

name1 and brings with it1 not reasoned  
belief1 but  the intense conviction     
arising from immediate intuition4 ,this 
inner  light is its own evidence2 he who
 sees it has real knowledge1 and        
nothing can increase or diminish his    
certainty4 ,hence the ,sfs never  weary 
of exposing the futility of a faith     
which supports itself on  intellectual  
proofs1 external authority1             
self-interest1 or self-regard  of any   
kind4 ,the barren dialectic of the      
theologian2 the canting  righteousness  
of the ,pharisee rooted in forms and    
ceremonies2 the  less crude but equally 
undisinterested worship of which the    
motive  is desire to gain everlasting   
happiness in the life hereafter2 the    
relatively pure devotion of the mystic  
who1 although he loves ,god1 yet  thinks
 of himself as loving1 and whose heart  
is not wholly emptied of                
#8otherness'--all these are #8veils' to 
be removed4    ,a few sayings by those  
who know will be more instructive than  

further  explanation4            8,o    
,god6 whatever share of this world ,thou
 hast allotted to me1      bestow it on 
,thine enemies2 and whatever share of   
the next world      ,thou hast allotted 
to me1 bestow it on ,thy friends4 ,thou 
art enough      for me40    7,rbia47    
8,o ,god6 if ,i worship ,thee in fear of
 ,hell1 burn me in ,hell2 and      if ,i
 worship ,thee in hope of ,paradise1    
exclude me from ,paradise2      but if  
,i worship ,thee for ,thine own sake1   
withhold not ,thine      everlasting    
beauty60    7,rbia47                    
8,notwithstanding that the lovers of    
,god are separated from ,him      by    
their love1 they have the essential     
thing1 for whether they      sleep or   
wake1 they seek and are sought1 and are 
not occupied with      their own seeking
 and loving1 but are enraptured in      
contemplation      of the ,beloved4 ,it 
is a crime in the lover to regard his   
love1 and      an outrage in love to    
look at one's own seeking while one is  

face      to face with the ,sought40    
7,byazd47            8,his love entered 
and removed all besides ,him and left no
      trace of anything else1 so that it
 remained single even as ,he is         
single40    7,byazd47            8,to   
feel at one with ,god for a moment is   
better than all      men's acts of      
worship from the beginning to the end of
 the      world40    7,shibl47          
8,fear of the ,fire1 in comparison with 
fear of being parted      from the      
,beloved1 is like a drop of water cast  
into the mightiest      ocean40    7,dhu
 'l-,nn47        8,unless ,i have the   
face of my heart towards ,thee1      ,i 
deem prayer unworthy to be reckoned as  
prayer4      ,if ,i turn my face to the 
,kaba1 'tis for love of ,thine2         
,otherwise ,i am quit both of prayer and
 ,kaba40                                
7,jalluddn ,rm47    ,love1 again1 is the
 divine instinct of the soul impelling  
it to realise  its nature and destiny4  
,the soul is the first-born of ,god3    

before the  creation of the universe it 
lived and moved and had its being in    
,him1  and during its earthly           
manifestation it is a stranger in exile1
 ever  pining to return to its home4    
8,this is ,love3 to fly heavenward1     
,to rend1 every instant1 a hundred      
veils2      ,the first moment1 to       
renounce life2      ,the last step1 to  
fare without feet2      ,to regard this 
world as invisible1      ,not to see    
what appears to one's self40    ,all the
 love-romances and allegories of ,sf    
poetry--the tales of ,layl  and ,majnn1 
,ysuf 7,joseph7 and ,zulaykh1 ,salmn and
 ,absl1 the ,moth  and the ,candle1 the 
,nightingale and the ,rose--are         
shadow-pictures  of the soul's          
passionate longing to be reunited with  
,god4 ,it is  impossible1 in the brief  
space at my command1 to give the reader 
more  than a passing glimpse of the     
treasures which the exuberant fancy of  
the ,east has heaped together in every  
room of this enchanted palace4  ,the    

soul is likened to a moaning dove that  
has lost her mate2 to a reed  torn from 
its bed and made into a flute whose     
plaintive music fills the  eye with     
tears2 to a falcon summoned by the      
fowler's whistle to perch  again upon   
his wrist2 to snow melting in the sun   
and mounting as vapour  to the sky2 to a
 frenzied camel swiftly plunging through
 the desert  by night2 to a caged       
parrot1 a fish on dry land1 a pawn that 
seeks to  become a king4    ,these      
figures imply that ,god is conceived as 
transcendent1 and that the  soul cannot 
reach ,him without taking what ,plotinus
 in a splendid phrase  calls 8the flight
 of the ,alone to the ,alone40 ,jalluddn
 says3        8,the motion of every atom
 is towards its origin2      ,a man     
comes to be the thing on which he is    
bent4      ,by the attraction of        
fondness and yearning1 the soul and the 
heart      ,assume the qualities of the 
,beloved1 who is the ,soul of souls40   
#8,a man comes to be the thing on which 

he is bent'3 what1 then1 does the  ,sf  
become8 ,eckhart in one of his sermons  
quotes the saying of ,st4  ,augustine   
that ,man is what he loves1 and adds    
this comment3            8,if he loves a
 stone1 he is a stone2 if he loves a    
man1 he is      a man2 if he loves      
,god--,i dare not say more1 for if ,i   
said that he      would then be ,god1 ye
 might stone me40    ,the ,moslem       
mystics enjoyed greater freedom of      
speech than their  ,christian brethren  
who owed allegiance to the medieval     
,catholic ,church1  and if they went too
 far the plea of ecstasy was generally  
accepted as  a sufficient excuse4       
,whether they emphasise the outward or  
the inward  aspect of unification1 the  
transcendence or the immanence of ,god1 
their  expressions are bold and         
uncompromising4 ,thus ,ab ,sad3         
8,in my heart ,thou dwellest--else with 
blood ,i'll drench it2      ,in mine eye
 ,thou glowest--else with tears ,i'll   
quench it4      ,only to be one with    

,thee my soul desireth--      ,else from
 out my body1 by hook or crook1 ,i'll   
wrench it60    ,jalluddn ,rm proclaims  
that the soul's love of ,god is ,god's  
love of  the soul1 and that in loving   
the soul ,god loves ,himself1 for ,he   
draws  home to ,himself that which in   
its essence is divine4    8,our copper10
 says the poet1 8has been transmuted by 
this rare  alchemy10 meaning that the   
base alloy of self has been purified and
  spiritualised4 ,in another ode he     
says3        8,o my soul1 ,i searched   
from end to end3 ,i saw in thee naught  
save          the ,beloved2      ,call  
me not infidel1 ,o my soul1 if ,i say   
that thou thyself art ,he40    ,and yet 
more plainly3        8,ye who in search 
of ,god1 of ,god1 pursue1      ,ye need 
not search for ,god is you1 is you6     
,why seek ye something that was missing 
ne'er8      ,save you none is1 but you  
are--where1 oh1 where80    ,where is the
 lover when the ,beloved has displayed  
,himself8 ,nowhere and  everywhere3 his 

individuality has passed away from him4 
,in the bridal  chamber of ,unity ,god  
celebrates the mystical marriage of the 
soul4            ,,chapter ,v           
,,saints ,,and ,,miracles      ,let us  
suppose that the average ,moslem could  
read ,english1 and that  we placed in   
his hands one of those admirable volumes
 published by  the ,society for         
,psychical ,research4 ,in order to      
sympathise with his  feelings on such an
 occasion1 we have only to imagine what 
our own  would be if a scientific friend
 invited us to study a treatise setting 
forth the evidence in favour of         
telegraphy and recording well-attested  
instances of telegraphic communication4 
,the ,moslem would probably see  in the 
telegraph some kind of spirit--an afreet
 or jinn4 ,telepathy  and similar occult
 phenomena he takes for granted as      
self-evident  facts4 ,it would never    
occur to him to investigate them4 ,there
 is  something in the constitution of   
his mind that makes it impervious to    

the idea that the supernatural may be   
subject to law4 ,he believes1  because  
he cannot help believing1 in the reality
 of an unseen world  which #8lies about 
us1' not in our infancy alone1 but      
always and  everywhere2 a world from    
which we are in no wise excluded1       
accessible  and in some measure revealed
 to all1 though free and open           
intercourse  with it is a privilege     
enjoyed by few4 ,many are called but few
 chosen4        8,spirits every night   
from the body's snare      ,thou freest1
 and makest the tablets clean4#aa       
,spirits are set free every night from  
this cage1      ,independent1 neither   
ruled nor ruling4      ,at night        
prisoners forget their prison1      ,at 
night kings forget their power3      ,no
 sorrow1 no brooding over gain and loss1
      ,no thought of this person or that
 person4      ,this is the state of the 
gnostic1 even when he is awake2         
,god hath said1 #8,thou wouldst deem    
them awake while they slept4'#ab        

,he is asleep1 day and night1 to the    
affairs of the world1      ,like a pen  
in the controlling hand of the ,lord40  
#aa ,by erasing all the sensuous        
impressions which form a veil between   
the soul and the world of reality4      
#ab ,kor4 #ah4 #ag4    ,the ,sfs have   
always declared and believed themselves 
to be ,god's  chosen people4 ,the ,koran
 refers in several places to ,his elect4
  ,according to the author of the ,kitb 
al-,luma1 this title belongs1  firstly1 
to the prophets1 elect in virtue of     
their sinlessness1  their inspiration1  
and their apostolic mission2 and        
secondly1 to  certain ,moslems1 elect in
 virtue of their sincere devotion and   
self-mortification and firm attachment  
to the eternal realities3  in a word1   
the saints4 ,while the ,sfs are the     
elect of the ,moslem  community1 the    
saints are the elect of the ,sfs4       
,the ,mohammedan saint is commonly known
 as a wal 7plural1 awliy74  ,this word  
is used in various senses derived from  

its root-meaning  of #8nearness'2 e4g4  
next of kin1 patron1 protector1 friend4 
,it is  applied in the ,koran to ,god as
 the protector of the ,faithful1 to     
angels  or idols who are supposed to    
protect their worshippers1 and to men   
who  are regarded as being specially    
under divine protection4 ,mohammed twits
  the ,jews with professing to be protgs
 of ,god 7awliy lillh74                 
,notwithstanding its somewhat equivocal 
associations1 the term was  taken over  
by the ,sfs and became the ordinary     
designation of persons  whose holiness  
brings them near to ,god1 and who       
receive from ,him1 as  tokens of ,his   
peculiar favour1 miraculous gifts       
7karmt1 72  they are ,his friends1 on   
whom 8no fear shall come and they shall 
not  grieve02#ac any injury done to them
 is an act of hostility against ,him4   
#ac ,kor4 #aj4 #fc4    ,the inspiration 
of the ,islamic saints1 though verbally 
distinguished  from that of the prophets
 and inferior in degree1 is of the same 

kind4  ,in consequence of their intimate
 relation to ,god1 the veil shrouding   
the supernatural1 or1 as a ,moslem would
 say1 the unseen world1 from  their     
perceptions is withdrawn at intervals1  
and in their fits of  ecstasy they rise 
to the prophetic level4 ,neither deep   
learning in  divinity1 nor devotion to  
good works1 nor asceticism1 nor moral   
purity  makes the ,mohammedan a saint2  
he may have all or none of these things1
  but the only indispensable            
qualification is that ecstasy and       
rapture  which is the outward sign of   
#8passing-away' from the phenomenal     
self4  ,any one thus enraptured 7majdhb7
 is a wal1#ad and when such  persons are
 recognised through their power of      
working miracles1 they  are venerated as
 saints not only after death but also   
during their  lives4 ,often1 however1   
they live and die in obscurity4 ,hujwr  
tells  us that amongst the saints 8there
 are four thousand who are concealed    
and do not know one another and are not 

aware of the excellence of  their state1
 being in all circumstances hidden from 
themselves and from  mankind40    #ad   
,waliyyat1 if the saint is a woman4     
,the saints form an invisible hierarchy1
 on which the order of the  world is    
thought to depend4 ,its supreme head is 
entitled the ,qutb  7,axis74 ,he is the 
most eminent ,sf of his age1 and        
presides over the  meetings regularly   
held by this august parliament1 whose   
members are  not hampered in their      
attendance by the inconvenient fictions 
of  time and space1 but come together   
from all parts of the earth in the      
twinkling of an eye1 traversing seas and
 mountains and deserts as  easily as    
common mortals step across a road4      
,below the ,qutb stand  various classes 
and grades of sanctity4 ,hujwr          
enumerates them1 in  ascending series1  
as follows3 three hundred ,akhyr        
7,good71 forty  ,abdl 7,substitutes71   
seven ,abrr 7,pious71 four ,awtd        
7,supports71  and three ,nuqab          

7,overseers74            8,all these    
know one another and cannot act save by 
mutual      consent4 ,it is the task of 
the ,awtd to go round the whole world   
every night1 and if there should be any 
place on which their eyes      have not 
fallen1 next day some flaw will appear  
in that place1      and they must then  
inform the ,qutb in order that he may   
direct      his attention to the weak   
spot and that by his blessing the       
imperfection may be remedied40    ,we   
are studying in this book the mystical  
life of the individual  ,moslem1 and it 
is necessary to keep the subject within 
the narrowest  bounds4 ,otherwise1 ,i   
should have liked to dwell on the       
external and  historical organisation of
 ,sfism as a school for saints1 and to  
describe the process of evolution       
through which the wal privately         
conversing with a small circle of       
friends became1 first1 a teacher  and   
spiritual guide gathering disciples     
around him during his  lifetime1 and    

finally the head of a perpetual         
religious order which  bore his name4   
,the earliest of these great            
fraternities date from  the twelfth     
century4 ,in addition to their own      
members--the so-called                  
#8dervishes'--each order has a large    
number of lay brethren attached  to it1 
so that their influence pervades all    
ranks of ,moslem society4  ,they are    
8independent and self-developing4 ,there
 is rivalry between  them2 but no one   
rules over the other4 ,in faith and     
practice each goes  its own way1 limited
 only by the universal conscience of    
,islam4 ,thus  strange doctrines and    
grave moral defects easily develop      
unheeded1  but freedom is saved40#ae ,of
 course1 the typical wal is incapable   
of founding an order1 but ,islam has    
produced no less frequently  than       
,christendom men who combine intense    
spiritual illumination  with creative   
energy and aptitude for affairs on a    
grand scale4 ,the  ,mohammedan notion of

 the saint as a person possessed by ,god
 allows a  very wide application of the 
term3 in popular usage it extends from  
the  greatest ,sf theosophists1 like    
,jalluddn ,rm and ,ibn al-,arab1  down  
to those who have gained sanctity only  
by losing sanity--victims  of epilepsy  
and hysteria1 half-witted idiots and    
harmless lunatics4    #ae ,d4 ,b4       
,macdonald1 ,the ,religious ,life and   
,attitude in ,islam1 p4  #afd4    ,both 
,qushayr#af and ,hujwr discuss the      
question whether a saint can  be        
conscious of his saintship1 and answer  
it in the affirmative4 ,their  opponents
 argue that consciousness of saintship  
involves assurance of  salvation1 which 
is impossible1 since no one can know    
with certainty  that he shall be among  
the saved on the ,day of ,judgment4 ,in 
reply it  was urged that ,god may       
miraculously assure the saint of his    
predestined  salvation1 while           
maintaining him in a state of spiritual 
soundness and  preserving him from      

disobedience4 ,the saint is not         
immaculate1 as the  prophets are1 but   
the divine protection which he enjoys is
 a guarantee  that he will not persevere
 in evil courses1 though he may         
temporarily  be led astray4 ,according  
to the view generally held1 saintship   
depends  on faith1 not on conduct1 so   
that no sin except infidelity can cause 
it to be forfeited4 ,this perilous      
theory1 which opens the door to         
antinomianism1 was mitigated by the     
emphasis laid on fulfilment of the      
religious law4 ,the following anecdote  
of ,byazd al-,bistm shows the  official 
attitude of all the leading ,sfs who are
 cited as authorities  in the ,moslem   
text-books4    #af ,author of a famous  
work designed to close the breach       
between  ,sfism and ,islam4 ,he died in 
#ajgd ,a4,d4            8,i was told 7he
 said7 that a saint of ,god was living  
in      such-and-such a town1 and ,i set
 out to visit him4 ,when ,i entered     
the mosque1 he came forth from his      

chamber and spat on the floor4      ,i  
turned back without saluting him1 saying
 to myself1 #8,a saint      must keep   
the religious law in order that ,god may
 keep him in his      spiritual state4  
,had this man been a saint1 his respect 
for the law      would have prevented   
him from spitting on the floor1 or ,god 
would      have saved him from marring  
the grace vouchsafed to him4'0    ,many 
wals1 however1 regard the law as a curb 
that is indeed  necessary so long as one
 remains in the disciplinary stage1 but 
may be  discarded by the saint4 ,such a 
person1 they declare1 stands on a higher
  plane than ordinary men1 and is not to
 be condemned for actions which         
outwardly seem irreligious4 ,while the  
older ,sfs insist that a wal  who breaks
 the law is thereby shown to be an      
impostor1 the popular  belief in the    
saints and the rapid growth of          
saint-worship tended to  aggrandise the 
wal at the expense of the law1 and to   
foster the  conviction that a divinely  

gifted man can do no wrong1 or at least 
that  his actions must not be judged by 
appearances4 ,the classical instance  of
 this jus divinum vested in the friends 
of ,god is the story of  ,moses and     
,khadir1 which is related in the ,koran 
7#ah4 #fd-hj74 ,khadir  or ,khizr--the  
,koran does not mention him by name--is 
a mysterious  sage endowed with         
immortality1 who is said to enter into  
conversation  with wandering ,sfs and   
impart to them his ,god-given knowledge4
 ,moses  desired to accompany him on a  
journey that he might profit by his     
teaching1 and ,khadir consented1 only   
stipulating that ,moses should ask  no  
questions of him4            8,so they  
both went on1 till they embarked in a   
boat and he      7,khadir7 staved it in4
 #8,what6' cried ,moses1 #8hast thou    
staved it in      that thou mayst drown 
its crew8 ,verily1 a strange thing hast 
thou      done4'            8,he said1  
#8,did not ,i tell thee that thou       
couldst no way have      patience with  

me8'            8,then they went on     
until they met a youth1 and he slew him4
      ,said ,moses1 #8,hast thou slain  
him who is free from guilt of blood8    
,surely now thou hast wrought an        
unheard-of thing6'0    ,after ,moses had
 broken his promise of silence for the  
third time1  ,khadir resolved to leave  
him4            8,but first10 he said1  
8,i will tell thee the meaning of that  
with which thou couldst not have        
patience4 ,as to the boat1 it           
belonged to poor men1 toilers on the    
sea1 and ,i was minded to      damage   
it1 for in their rear was a king who    
seized on every boat      by force4 ,and
 as to the youth1 his parents were      
believers1 and ,i      feared lest he   
should trouble them by error and        
unbelief40    ,the ,sfs are fond of     
quoting this unimpeachable testimony    
that the  wal is above human criticism1 
and that his hand1 as ,jalluddn         
asserts1 is even as the hand of ,god4   
,most ,moslems admit the claim to be    

valid in so far as they shrink from     
applying conventional standards of      
morality to holy men4 ,i have explained 
its metaphysical justification  in an   
earlier chapter4    ,a miracle performed
 by a saint is termed karmt1 i4e4 a     
#8favour'  which ,god bestows upon him1 
whereas a miracle performed by a prophet
 is  called mujizat1 i4e4 an act which  
cannot be imitated by any one4  ,the    
distinction originated in controversy1  
and was used to answer those  who held  
the miraculous powers of the saints to  
be a grave encroachment  on the         
prerogative of the ,prophet4 ,sf        
apologists1 while confessing  that both 
kinds of miracle are substantially the  
same1 take pains to  differentiate the  
characteristics of each2 they declare1  
moreover1 that  the saints are the      
,prophet's witnesses1 and that all their
 miracles  7like #8a drop trickling from
 a full skin of honey'7 are in reality  
derived from him4 ,this is the orthodox 
view and is supported by those          

,mohammedan mystics who acknowledge the 
,law as well as the ,truth1  though in  
some cases it may have amounted to      
little more than a pious  opinion4 ,we  
have often noticed the difficulty in    
which the ,sfs find  themselves when    
they try to make a logical compromise   
with ,islam4 ,but  the word #8logic' is 
very misleading in this connexion4 ,the 
beginning  of wisdom1 for ,european     
students of ,oriental religion1 lies in 
the  discovery that incongruous         
beliefs--,i mean1 of course1 beliefs    
which  our minds cannot harmonise--dwell
 peacefully together in the ,oriental   
brain2 that their owner is quite        
unconscious of their incongruity2 and   
that1 as a rule1 he is absolutely       
sincere4 ,contradictions which seem     
glaring to us do not trouble him at all4
    ,the thaumaturgic element in ancient
 ,sfism was not so important as it      
afterwards became in the fully developed
 saint-worship associated with  the     
,dervish ,orders4 8,a saint would be    

none the less a saint10 says  ,qushayr1 
8if no miracles were wrought by him in  
this world40 ,in early  ,mohammedan ,vit
 ,sanctorum it is not uncommon to meet  
with sayings to  the effect that        
miraculous powers are comparatively of  
small account4  ,it was finely said by  
,sahl ibn ,abdallah that the greatest   
miracle  is the substitution of a good  
quality for a bad one2 and the ,kitb    
al-,luma gives many examples of holy men
 who disliked miracles and  regarded    
them as a temptation4 8,during my       
novitiate10 said ,byazd1  8,god used to 
bring before me wonders and miracles1   
but ,i paid no  heed to them2 and when  
,he saw that ,i did so1 ,he gave me the 
means of  attaining to knowledge of     
,himself40 ,junayd observed that        
reliance on  miracles is one of the     
#8veils' which hinder the elect from    
penetrating  to the inmost shrine of the
 ,truth4 ,this was too high doctrine for
 the  great mass of ,moslems1 and in the
 end the vulgar idea of saintship       

triumphed over the mystical and         
theosophical conception4 ,all such      
warnings and scruples were swept aside  
by the same irresistible  instinct which
 rendered vain the solemn asseverations 
of ,mohammed that  there was nothing    
supernatural about him1 and which       
transformed the  human ,prophet of      
history into an omnipotent hierophant   
and magician4  ,the popular demand for  
miracles far exceeded the supply1 but   
where the  wals failed1 a vivid and     
credulous imagination came to their     
rescue  and represented them1 not as    
they were1 but as they ought to be4     
,year  by year the ,legend of the       
,saints grew more glorious and wonderful
  as it continued to draw fresh tribute 
from the unfathomable ocean of          
,oriental romance4 ,the pretensions made
 by the wals1 or on their  behalf1      
steadily increased1 and the stories told
 of them were ever  becoming more       
fantastic and extravagant4 ,i will      
devote the remainder  of this chapter to

 a sketch of the wal as he appears in   
the vast  medieval literature on the    
subject4    ,the ,moslem saint does not 
say that he has wrought a miracle2 he   
says1  8a miracle was granted or        
manifested to me40 ,according to one    
view1  he may be fully conscious at the 
time1 but many ,sfs hold that such      
#8manifestation' cannot take place      
except in ecstasy1 when the saint is    
entirely under divine control4 ,his own 
personality is then in abeyance1  and   
those who interfere with him oppose the 
,almighty ,power which  speaks with his 
lips and smites with his hand4 ,jalluddn
 7who uses  incidentally the rather     
double-edged analogy of a man possessed 
by a  peri#ag7 relates the following    
anecdote concerning ,byazd of ,bistm1  a
 celebrated ,persian saint who several  
times declared in ecstatic  frenzy that 
he was no other than ,god4    #ag ,one  
of the spirits called collectively      
,jinn4    ,after coming to himself on   
one of these occasions and learning what

  blasphemous language he had uttered1  
,byazd ordered his disciples to  stab   
him with their knives if he should      
offend again4 ,let me quote the  sequel1
 from ,mr4 ,whinfield's abridged        
translation of the ,masnav 7p4  #aif73  
8,the torrent of madness bore away his  
reason      ,and he spoke more impiously
 than before3      #8,within my vesture 
is naught but ,god1      ,whether you   
seek ,him on earth or in heaven4'       
,his disciples all became mad with      
horror1      ,and struck with their     
knives at his holy body4      ,each one 
who aimed at the body of the ,sheykh--  
,his stroke was reversed and wounded the
 striker4      ,no stroke took effect on
 that man of spiritual gifts1      ,but 
the disciples were wounded and drowned  
in blood40    ,here is the poet's       
conclusion3        8,ah6 you who smite  
with your sword him beside himself1     
,you smite yourself therewith4 ,beware6 
,for he that is beside himself is       
annihilated and safe2      ,yea1 he     

dwells in security for ever4      ,his  
form is vanished1 he is a mere mirror2  
,nothing is seen in him but the         
reflexion of another4      ,if you spit 
at it1 you spit at your own face1       
,and if you hit that mirror1 you hit    
yourself4      ,if you see an ugly face 
in it1 'tis your own1      ,and if you  
see a ,jesus there1 you are its mother  
,mary4      ,he is neither this nor     
that--he is void of form2      ',tis    
your own form which is reflected back to
 you40    ,the life of ,abu 'l-,hasan   
,khurqn1 another ,persian ,sf who died  
in  #ajcc ,a4,d41 gives us a complete   
picture of the ,oriental pantheist1  and
 exhibits the mingled arrogance and     
sublimity of the character as  clearly  
as could be desired4 ,since the original
 text covers fifty  pages1 ,i can       
translate only a small portion of it    
here4            8,once the ,sheykh     
said1 #8,this night a great many persons
 7he      mentioned the exact number7   
have been wounded by brigands in        

such-and-such a desert4' ,on making     
inquiry1 they found that his            
statement was perfectly true4 ,strange  
to relate1 on the same night      his   
son's head was cut off and laid upon the
 threshold of his      house1 yet he    
knew nothing of it4 ,his wife1 who      
disbelieved in him1      cried1 #8,what 
think you of a man who can tell things  
which happen      many leagues away1 but
 does not know that his own son's head  
has      been cut off and is lying at   
his very door8' #8,yes1' the ,sheykh    
answered1 #8when ,i saw that1 the veil  
had been lifted1 but when my      son   
was killed1 it had been let down        
again4'0            8,one day ,abu      
'l-,hasan ,khurqn clenched his fist and 
extended      the little finger and     
said1 #8,here is the qibla1#ah if any   
one      desires to become a ,sf4'      
,these words were reported to the ,grand
      ,sheykh1 who1 deeming the         
co-existence of two qiblas an insult to 
the divine ,unity1 exclaimed1 #8,since a

 second qibla has appeared1      ,i will
 cancel the former one4' ,after that1 no
 pilgrims were able to      reach       
,mecca4 ,some perished on the way1      
others fell into the hands      of      
robbers1 or were prevented by various   
causes from accomplishing      their    
journey4 ,next year a certain dervish   
said to the ,grand      ,sheykh1 #8,what
 sense is there in keeping the folk away
 from the      ,house of ,god8'         
,thereupon the ,grand ,sheykh made a    
sign1 and the road      became open once
 more4 ,the dervish asked1 #8,whose     
fault is it that      all these people  
have perished8' ,the ,grand ,sheykh     
replied1 #8,when      elephants jostle  
each other1 who cares if a few wretched 
birds are      crushed to death8'0      
#ah ,the qibla is the point to which    
,moslems turn their faces when  praying1
 i4e4 the ,kaba4            8,some      
persons who were setting forth on a     
journey begged      ,khurqn to teach    
them a prayer that would keep them safe 

from the      perils of the road4 ,he   
said1 #8,if any misfortune should befall
 you1      mention my name4' ,this      
answer was not agreeable to them2 they  
set      off1 however1 and while        
travelling were attacked by brigands4   
,one      of the party mentioned the    
saint's name and immediately became     
invisible1 to the great astonishment of 
the brigands1 who could      not find   
either his camel or his bales of        
merchandise2 the others      lost all   
their clothes and goods4 ,on returning  
home1 they asked the      ,sheykh to    
explain the mystery4 #8,we all invoked  
,god1' they said1      #8and without    
success2 but the one man who invoked you
 vanished from      before the eyes of  
the robbers4' #8,you invoke ,god        
formally1' said      the ,sheykh1       
#8whereas ,i invoke ,him really4 ,hence1
 if you invoke me      and ,i then      
invoke ,god on your behalf1 your prayers
 are granted2 but      it is useless for
 you to invoke ,god formally and by     

rote4'0            8,one night1 while he
 was praying1 he heard a voice cry1     
#8,ha6      ,abu 'l-,hasan6 ,dost thou  
wish ,me to tell the people what ,i know
 of      thee1 that they may stone thee 
to death8' #8,o ,lord ,god1' he replied1
      #8dost ,thou wish me to tell the  
people what ,i know of ,thy mercy and   
what ,i perceive of ,thy grace1 that    
none of them may ever again bow      to 
,thee in prayer8' ,the voice answered1  
#8,keep thy secret1 and ,i      will    
keep ,mine4'0            8,he said1 #8,o
 ,god1 do not send to me the ,angel of  
,death1 for ,i      will not give up my 
soul to him4 ,how should ,i restore it  
to him1      from whom ,i did not       
receive it8 ,i received my soul from    
,thee1 and ,i      will not give it up  
to any one but ,thee4'0            8,he 
said1 #8,after ,i shall have passed     
away1 the ,angel of ,death      will    
come to one of my descendants and set   
about taking his soul1      and will    
deal hardly with him4 ,then will ,i     

raise my hands from the      tomb and   
shed the grace of ,god upon his lips4'0 
8,he said1 #8,if ,i bade the empyrean   
move1 it would obey1 and if      ,i told
 the sun to stop1 it would cease from   
rolling on its course4'0            8,he
 said1 #8,i am not a devotee nor an     
ascetic nor a theologian      nor a ,sf4
 ,o ,god1 ,thou art ,one1 and through   
,thy ,oneness ,i am ,one4'0             
8,he said1 #8,the skull of my head is   
the empyrean1 and my feet      are under
 the earth1 and my two hands are ,east  
and ,west4'0            8,he said1 #8,if
 any one does not believe that ,i shall 
stand up at      the ,resurrection and  
that he shall not enter ,paradise until 
,i lead      him forward1 let him not   
come here to salute me4'0               
8,he said1 #8,since ,god brought me     
forth from myself1 ,paradise      is in 
quest of me and ,hell is in fear of me2 
and if ,paradise and      ,hell were to 
pass by this place where ,i am1 both    
would become      annihilated in me1    

together with all the people whom they  
contain4'0            8,he said1 #8,i   
was lying on my back1 asleep4 ,from a   
corner of      the ,throne of ,god      
something trickled into my mouth1 and ,i
 felt a      sweetness in my inward     
being4'0            8,he said1 #8,if a  
few drops of that which is under the    
skin of      a saint should come forth  
between his lips1 all the creatures of  
heaven and earth would fall into        
panic4'0            8,he said1          
#8,through prayer the saints are able to
 stop the fish      from swimming in the
 sea and to make the earth tremble1 so  
that      people think it is an         
earthquake4'0            8,he said1     
#8,if the love of ,god in the hearts of 
,his friends were      made manifest1 it
 would fill the world with flood and    
fire4'0            8,he said1 #8,he that
 lives with ,god hath seen all things   
visible1      and heard all things      
audible1 and done all that is to be     
done1 and      known all that is to be  

known4'0            8,he said1 #8,all   
things are contained in me1 but there is
 no room      for myself in me4'0       
8,he said1 #8,miracles are only the     
first of the thousand stages      of the
 ,way to ,god4'0            8,he said1  
#8,do not seek until thou art sought1   
for when thou      findest that which   
thou seekest1 it will resemble thee4'0  
8,he said1 #8,thou must daily die a     
thousand deaths and come to      life   
again1 that thou mayst win the life     
immortal4'0            8,he said1       
#8,when thou givest to ,god thy         
nothingness1 ,he gives to      thee ,his
 ,all4'0    ,it would be an almost      
endless task to enumerate and exemplify 
the  different classes of miracles which
 are related in the lives of the        
,mohammedan saints--for instance1       
walking on water1 flying in the air     
7with or without a passenger71          
rain-making1 appearing in various       
places at the same time1 healing by the 
breath1 bringing the dead to  life1     

knowledge and prediction of future      
events1 thought-reading1  telekinesis1  
paralysing or beheading an obnoxious    
person by a word or  gesture1 conversing
 with animals or plants1 turning earth  
into gold or  precious stones1 producing
 food and drink1 etc4 ,to the ,moslem1  
who has  no sense of natural law1 all   
these #8violations of custom1' as he    
calls  them1 seem equally credible4 ,we1
 on the other hand1 feel ourselves      
obliged to distinguish phenomena which  
we regard as irrational and  impossible 
from those for which we can find some   
sort of #8natural'  explanation4 ,modern
 theories of psychical influence1       
faith-healing1  telepathy1 veridical    
hallucination1 hypnotic suggestion and  
the like1  have thrown open to us a wide
 avenue of approach to this dark        
continent  in the ,eastern mind4 ,i will
 not1 however1 pursue the subject far at
  present1 full of interest as it is4   
,in the higher ,sf teaching the         
miraculous powers of the saints play a  

more or less insignificant  part1 and   
the excessive importance which they     
assume in the organised  mysticism of   
the ,dervish ,orders is one of the      
clearest marks of its  degeneracy4      
,the following passage1 which ,i have   
slightly modified1 gives a fair  summary
 of the hypnotic process through which a
 dervish attains to  union with ,god3   
8,the disciple must1 mystically1 always 
bear his ,murshid      7spiritual       
director7 in mind1 and become mentally  
absorbed in      him through a constant 
meditation and contemplation of him4    
,the      teacher must be his shield    
against all evil thoughts4 ,the spirit  
of the teacher follows him in all his   
efforts1 and accompanies him            
wherever he may be1 quite as a guardian 
spirit4 ,to such a degree is      this  
carried that he sees the master in all  
men and in all things1      just as a   
willing subject is under the influence  
of the magnetiser4      ,this condition 
is called #8self-annihilation' in the   

,murshid or      ,sheykh4 ,the latter   
finds1 in his own visionary dreams1 the 
degree      which the disciple has      
reached1 and whether or not his spirit  
has      become bound to his own4       
8,at this stage the ,sheykh passes him  
over to the spiritual      influence of 
the long-deceased ,pr or original       
founder of the      ,order1 and he sees 
the latter only by the spiritual aid of 
the      ,sheykh4 ,this is called       
#8self-annihilation' in the ,pr4 ,he now
      becomes so much a part of the ,pr 
as to possess all his spiritual         
powers4            8,the third grade    
leads him1 also through the spiritual   
aid of      the ,sheykh1 up to the      
,prophet himself1 whom he now sees in   
all      things4 ,this state is called  
#8self-annihilation' in the ,prophet4   
8,the fourth degree leads him even to   
,god4 ,he becomes united      with the  
,deity and sees ,him in all things40#ai 
#ai ,j4 ,p4 ,brown1 ,the ,dervishes1 or 
,oriental ,spiritualism 7#ahfh71 p4     

#bih4    ,an excellent concrete         
illustration of the process here        
described will  be found in the         
well-known case of ,tawakkul ,beg1 who  
passed through all  these experiences   
under the control of ,moll-,shh4 ,his   
account is too  long to quote in full2  
moreover1 it has recently been          
translated by  ,professor ,d4 ,b4       
,macdonald in his ,religious ,life and  
,attitude in ,islam  7pp4 #aig ff474 ,i 
copy from this version one paragraph    
describing the  first of the four stages
 mentioned above4            8,thereupon
 he made me sit before him1 my senses   
being as      though intoxicated1 and   
ordered me to reproduce my own image    
within myself2 and1 after having        
bandaged my eyes1 he asked me to        
concentrate all my mental faculties on  
my heart4 ,i obeyed1 and in      an     
instant1 by the divine favour and by the
 spiritual assistance of      the       
,sheykh1 my heart opened4 ,i saw1 then1 
that there was something      like an   

overturned cup within me4 ,this having  
been set upright1 a      sensation of   
unbounded happiness filled my being4 ,i 
said to the      master1 #8,this cell   
where ,i am seated before you--,i see a 
faithful      reproduction of it within 
me1 and it appears to me as though      
another ,tawakkul ,beg were seated      
before another ,moll-,shh4' ,he         
replied1 #8,very good6 the first        
apparition which appears to thee is     
the image of the master4' ,he then      
ordered me to uncover my eyes2      and 
,i saw him1 with the physical organ of  
vision1 seated before me4      ,he then 
made me bind my eyes again1 and ,i      
perceived him with my      spiritual    
sight1 seated similarly before me4 ,full
 of astonishment1      ,i cried out1    
#8,o ,master6 whether ,i look with my   
physical organs or      with my         
spiritual sight1 always it is you that  
,i see6'0    ,here is a case of         
autohypnotism1 witnessed and recorded by
 the poet  ,jm3            8,mawln      

,saduddn of ,kshghar1 after a little    
concentration of      thought           
7tawajjuh71 used to exhibit signs of    
unconsciousness4 ,any      one ignorant 
of this circumstance would have fancied 
that he was      falling asleep4 ,when  
,i first entered into companionship with
 him1      ,i happened one day to be    
seated before him in the congregational 
mosque4 ,according to his custom1 he    
fell into a trance4 ,i supposed         
that he was going to sleep1 and ,i said 
to him1 #8,if you desire to      rest   
for a short time1 you will not seem to  
me to be far off4'      ,he smiled and  
said1 #8,apparently you do not believe  
that this is      something different   
from sleep4'0    ,the following anecdote
 presents greater difficulties3         
8,mawln ,nizmuddn ,khmsh relates that   
one day his master1      ,aluddn ,attr1 
started to visit the tomb of the        
celebrated      saint ,mohammed ibn ,al 
,hakm1 at ,tirmidh4 #8,i did not        
accompany      him1' said ,nizmuddn1    

#8but stayed at home1 and by            
concentrating      my mind 7tawajjuh7 ,i
 succeeded in bringing the spirituality 
of      the saint before me1 so that    
when the master arrived at the tomb     
he found it empty4 ,he must have known  
the cause1 for on his return      he set
 to work in order to bring me under his 
control4 ,i1 too1      concentrated my  
mind1 but ,i found myself like a dove   
and the master      like a hawk flying  
in chase of me4 ,wherever ,i turned1 he 
was always      close behind4 ,at last1 
despairing of escape1 ,i took refuge    
with the      spirituality of the       
,prophet 7on whom be peace7 and became  
effaced      in its infinite radiance4  
,the master could not exercise any      
further      control4 ,he fell ill in   
consequence of his chagrin1 and no one  
except myself knew the reason4'0        
,aluddn's son1 ,khwja ,hasan ,attr1     
possessed such powers of  #8control'    
that he could at will throw any one into
 the state of  trance and cause them to 

experience the #8passing-away' 7fan7 to 
which some mystics attain only on rare  
occasions and after prolonged           
self-mortification4 ,it is related that 
the disciples and visitors who  were    
admitted to the honour of kissing his   
hand always fell unconscious  to the    
ground4    ,certain saints are believed 
to have the power of assuming whatever  
shape they please4 ,one of the most     
famous was ,ab ,abdallah of ,mosul1     
better known by the name of ,qadb       
al-,bn4 ,one day the ,cadi of ,mosul1   
who regarded him as a detestable        
heretic1 saw him in a street of the     
town1 approaching from the opposite     
direction4 ,he resolved to seize  him   
and lay a charge against him before the 
governor1 in order that  he might be    
punished4 ,all at once he perceived that
 ,qadb al-,bn had  taken the form of a  
,kurd2 and as the saint advanced towards
 him1  his appearance changed again1    
this time into an ,arab of the desert4  
,finally1 on coming still nearer1 he    

assumed the guise and dress of  a doctor
 of theology1 and cried1 8,o ,cadi6     
which ,qadb al-,bn will  you hale before
 the governor and punish80 ,the ,cadi   
repented of his  hostility and became   
one of the saint's disciples4    ,in    
conclusion1 let me give two alleged     
instances of #8the obedience of         
inanimate objects1' i4e4 telekinesis3   
8,whilst ,dhu 'l-,nn was conversing on  
this topic with some      friends1 he   
said1 #8,here is a sofa4 ,it will move  
round the room1 if      ,i tell it to do
 so4' ,no sooner had he uttered the word
 #8move' than      the sofa made a      
circuit of the room and returned to its 
place4 ,one      of the spectators1 a   
young man1 burst into tears and gave up 
the      ghost4 ,they laid him on that  
sofa and washed him for burial40        
8,avicenna paid a visit to ,abu         
'l-,hasan ,khurqn and immediately       
plunged into a long and abstruse        
discussion4 ,after a time the           
saint1 who was an illiterate person1    

felt tired1 so he got up and      said1 
#8,excuse me2 ,i must go and mend the   
garden wall'2 and off he      went1     
taking a hatchet with him4 ,as soon as  
he had climbed on to      the top of the
 wall1 the hatchet dropped from his     
hand4 ,avicenna      ran to pick it up1 
but before he reached it the hatchet    
rose of      itself and came back into  
the saint's hand4 ,avicenna lost all his
      self-command1 and the enthusiastic
 belief in ,sfism which then took       
possession of him continued until1 at a 
later period of his life1      he       
abandoned mysticism for philosophy40    
,i am well aware that in this chapter   
scanty justice has been done to  a great
 subject4 ,the historian of ,sfism must 
acknowledge1 however  deeply he may     
deplore1 the fundamental position       
occupied by the  doctrine of saintship  
and the tremendous influence which it   
has exerted  in its practical           
results--grovelling submission to the   
authority of  an ecstatic class of men1 

dependence on their favour1 pilgrimage  
to  their shrines1 adoration of their   
relics1 devotion of every mental and    
spiritual faculty to their service4 ,it 
may be dangerous to worship ,god  by    
one's own inner light1 but it is far    
more deadly to seek ,him by the  inner  
light of another4 ,vicarious holiness   
has no compensations4 ,this  truth is   
expressed by the mystical writers in    
many an eloquent passage1  but ,i will  
content myself with quoting a few lines 
from the life of  ,aluddn ,attr1 the    
same saint who1 as we have seen1 vainly 
tried  to hypnotise his pupil in revenge
 for a disrespectful trick which the    
latter had played on him4 ,his          
biographer relates that he said1 8,it is
  more right and worthy to dwell beside 
,god than to dwell beside ,god's        
creatures10 and that the following verse
 was often on his blessed  tongue3      
8,how long will you worship at the tombs
 of holy men8      ,busy yourself with  
the works of holy men1 and you are      

saved60            78tu t kay gr-i      
mardn-r parast          bi-gird-i kr-i  
mardn gard u rast407                    
,,chapter ,,vi      ,,the ,,unitive     
,,state        8,the story admits of    
being told up to this point1      ,but  
what follows is hidden1 and             
inexpressible in words4      ,if you    
should speak and try a hundred ways to  
express it1      ',tis useless2 the     
mystery becomes no clearer4      ,you   
can ride on saddle and horse to the     
sea-coast1      ,but then you must use a
 horse of wood 7i4e4 a boat74      ,a   
horse of wood is useless on dry land1   
,it is the special vehicle of voyagers  
by sea4      ,silence is this horse of  
wood1      ,silence is the guide and    
support of men at sea40#bj    #bj ,the  
,masnav of ,jalluddn ,rm4 ,abridged     
translation by ,e4 ,h4  ,whinfield1 p4  
#cbf4      ,no one can approach the     
subject of this chapter--the state of   
the  mystic who has reached his         
journey's end--without feeling that all 

symbolical descriptions of union with   
,god and theories concerning its  nature
 are little better than leaps in the    
dark4 ,how shall we form any  conception
 of that which is declared to be        
ineffable by those who have  actually   
experienced it8 ,i can only reply that  
the same difficulty  confronts us in    
dealing with all mystical phenomena1    
though it appears  less formidable at   
lower levels1 and that the poet's       
counsel of silence  has not prevented   
him from interpreting the deepest       
mysteries of ,sfism  with unrivalled    
insight and power4    ,whatever terms   
may be used to describe it1 the unitive 
state is the  culmination of the        
simplifying process by which the soul is
 gradually  isolated from all that is   
foreign to itself1 from all that is not 
,god4  ,unlike ,nirva1 which is merely  
the cessation of individuality1 fan1    
the passing-away of the ,sf from his    
phenomenal existence1 involves  baq1 the
 continuance of his real existence4 ,he 

who dies to self  lives in ,god1 and    
fan1 the consummation of this death1    
marks the  attainment of baq1 or union  
with the divine life4 ,deification1 in  
short1 is the ,moslem mystic's ultima   
,thule4    ,in the early part of the    
tenth century ,husayn ibn ,mansr1 known 
to  fame as al-,hallj 7the wool-carder71
 was barbarously done to death  at      
,baghdd4 ,his execution seems to have   
been dictated by political  motives1 but
 with these we are not concerned4       
,amongst the crowd  assembled round the 
scaffold1 a few1 perhaps1 believed him  
to be what  he said he was2 the rest    
witnessed with exultation or stern      
approval  the punishment of a           
blasphemous heretic4 ,he had uttered in 
two words  a sentence which ,islam has1 
on the whole1 forgiven but has never    
forgotten3 8,ana 'l-,haqq0--8,i am      
,god40    ,the recently published       
researches of ,m4 ,louis ,massignon#ba  
make it  possible1 for the first time1  
to indicate the meaning which ,hallj    

himself attached to this celebrated     
formula1 and to assert definitely  that 
it does not agree with the more orthodox
 interpretations offered  at a later    
epoch by ,sfs belonging to various      
schools4 ,according to  ,hallj1 man is  
essentially divine4 ,god created ,adam  
in ,his own image4  ,he projected from  
,himself that image of ,his eternal     
love1 that ,he might  behold ,himself as
 in a mirror4 ,hence ,he bade the angels
 worship ,adam  7,kor4 #b4 #cb71 in     
whom1 as in ,jesus1 ,he became          
incarnate4    #ba ,kitb al-,tawsn       
7,paris1 #aiac74 ,see especially pp4    
#abi-ada4        8,glory to ,him who    
revealed in ,his humanity 7i4e4 in      
,adam7          the secret of ,his      
radiant divinity1      ,and then        
appeared to ,his creatures visibly in   
the shape of one          who ate and   
drank 7,jesus740    ,since the          
#8humanity' 7nst7 of ,god comprises the 
whole bodily and  spiritual nature of   
man1 the #8divinity' 7lht7 of ,god      

cannot unite  with that nature except by
 means of an incarnation or1 to adopt   
the  term employed by ,massignon1 an    
infusion 7hull7 of the divine ,spirit1  
such as takes place when the human      
spirit enters the body4#bb ,thus  ,hallj
 says in one of his poems3        8,thy 
,spirit is mingled in my spirit even as 
wine is mingled with          pure      
water4      ,when anything touches      
,thee1 it touches me4 ,lo1 in every case
          ,thou art ,i60    ,and again3 
8,i am ,he whom ,i love1 and ,he whom ,i
 love is ,i3      ,we are two spirits   
dwelling in one body4      ,if thou     
seest me1 thou seest ,him1      ,and if 
thou seest ,him1 thou seest us both40   
#bb ,massignon appears to be right in   
identifying the ,divine ,spirit  with   
the ,active ,reason 7intellectus agens71
 which1 according to  ,alexander of     
,aphrodisias1 is not a part or faculty  
of our soul1 but  comes to us from      
without4 ,see ,inge1 ,christian         
,mysticism1 pp4 #cfj1  #cfa4 ,the       

doctrine of ,hallj may be compared with 
that of ,tauler1  ,ruysbroeck1 and      
others concerning the birth of ,god in  
the soul4    ,this doctrine of personal 
deification1 in the peculiar form which 
was  impressed upon it by ,hallj1 is    
obviously akin to the central doctrine  
of ,christianity1 and therefore1 from   
the ,moslem standpoint1 a heresy of  the
 worst kind4 ,it survived unadulterated 
only amongst his immediate  followers4  
,the ,hulls1 i4e4 those who believe in  
incarnation1 are  repudiated by ,sfs in 
general quite as vehemently as by       
orthodox  ,moslems4 ,but while the      
former have unhesitatingly condemned the
  doctrine of hull1 they have also done 
their best to clear ,hallj  from the    
suspicion of having taught it4 ,three   
main lines of defence are  followed3    
7#a7 ,hallj did not sin against the     
,truth1 but he was justly  punished in  
so far as he committed a grave offence  
against the ,law4 ,he  8betrayed the    
secret of his ,lord0 by proclaiming to  

all and sundry the  supreme mystery     
which ought to be reserved for the      
elect4 7#b7 ,hallj  spoke under the     
intoxicating influence of ecstasy4 ,he  
imagined himself  to be united with the 
divine essence1 when in fact he was only
 united  with one of the divine         
attributes4 7#c7 ,hallj meant to declare
 that  there is no essential difference 
or separation between ,god and ,his     
creatures1 inasmuch as the divine unity 
includes all being4 ,a man who  has     
entirely passed away from his phenomenal
 self exists qu his real  self1 which is
 ,god4        8,in that glory is no     
#8,i' or #8,we' or #8,thou4'      #8,i1'
 #8,we1' #8,thou1' and #8,he' are all   
one thing40    ,it was not ,hallj who   
cried 8,ana 'l-,haqq10 but ,god         
,himself1 speaking1  as it were1 by the 
mouth of the selfless ,hallj1 just as   
,he spoke to  ,moses through the medium 
of the burning bush 7,kor4 #bj4 #h-ad74 
,the last explanation1 which converts   
,ana 'l-,haqq into an impersonal        

monistic axiom1 is accepted by most ,sfs
 as representing the true  ,halljian    
teaching4 ,in a magnificent ode         
,jalluddn ,rm describes how  the ,one   
,light shines in myriad forms through   
the whole universe1 and  how the ,one   
,essence1 remaining ever the same1      
clothes itself from age  to age in the  
prophets and saints who are its         
witnesses to mankind4        8,every    
moment the robber ,beauty rises in a    
different shape1          ravishes the  
soul1 and disappears4      ,every       
instant that ,loved ,one assumes a new  
garment1 now of eld1          now of    
youth4      ,now ,he plunged into the   
heart of the substance of the potter's  
clay--the ,spirit plunged1 like a diver4
      ,anon ,he rose from the depths of 
mud that is moulded and baked1          
then ,he appeared in the world4      ,he
 became ,noah1 and at ,his prayer the   
world was flooded while ,he             
went into the ,ark4      ,he became     
,abraham and appeared in the midst of   

the fire1 which          turned to roses
 for ,his sake4      ,for a while ,he   
was roaming on the earth to pleasure    
,himself1      ,then ,he became ,jesus  
and ascended to the dome of ,heaven and 
began          to glorify ,god4      ,in
 brief1 it was ,he that was coming and  
going in every generation          thou 
hast seen1      ,until at last ,he      
appeared in the form of an ,arab and    
gained the          empire of the world4
      ,what is it that is transferred8  
,what is transmigration in reality8     
,the lovely winner of hearts            
,became a sword and appeared in the hand
 of ,al and became the          ,slayer 
of the time4      ,no6 no6 for 'twas    
even ,he that was crying in human shape1
          #8,ana 'l-,haqq4'      ,that  
one who mounted the scaffold was not    
,mansr1#bc though the          foolish  
imagined it4      ,rm hath not spoken   
and will not speak words of infidelity3 
do not disbelieve him6      ,whosoever  
shows disbelief is an infidel and one of

 those who          have been doomed to 
,hell40    #bc ,hallj is often called   
,mansr1 which is properly the name of   
his  father4    ,although in ,western   
and ,central ,asia--where the ,persian  
kings were  regarded by their subjects  
as gods1 and where the doctrines of     
incarnation1 anthropomorphism1 and      
metempsychosis are indigenous--the  idea
 of the ,god-man was neither so         
unfamiliar nor unnatural as to  shock   
the public conscience very profoundly1  
,hallj had formulated  that idea in such
 a way that no mysticism calling itself 
,mohammedan  could tolerate1 much less  
adopt it4 ,to assert that the divine and
 human  natures may be interfused and   
commingled1#bd would have been to deny  
the principle of unity on which ,islam  
is based4 ,the subsequent history  of   
,sfism shows how deification was        
identified with unification4 ,the       
antithesis--,god1 ,man--melted away in  
the pantheistic theory which has  been  
explained above4#be ,there is no real   

existence apart from ,god4  ,man is an  
emanation or a reflexion or a mode of   
,absolute ,being4 ,what  he thinks of as
 individuality is in truth not-being2 it
 cannot be  separated or united1 for it 
does not exist4 ,man is ,god1 yet with  
a difference4 ,according to ,ibn        
al-,arab1#bf the eternal and the        
phenomenal are two complementary aspects
 of the ,one1 each of which is          
necessary to the other4 ,the creatures  
are the external manifestation  of the  
,creator1 and ,man is ,god's            
consciousness 7sirr7 as revealed in     
creation4 ,but since ,man1 owing to the 
limitations of his mind1 cannot  think  
all objects of thought simultaneously1  
and therefore expresses  only a part of 
the divine consciousness1 he is not     
entitled to say  ,ana 'l-,haqq1 8,i am  
,god40 ,he is a reality1 but not the    
,reality4  ,we shall see that other     
,sfs--,jalluddn ,rm1 for example--in    
their  ecstatic moments1 at any rate1   
ignore this rather subtle distinction4  

#bd ,hull was not understood in this    
sense by ,hallj 7,massignon1  op4 cit41 
p4 #aii71 though the verses quoted on p4
 #aea readily suggest  such an          
interpretation4 ,hallj1 ,i think1 would 
have agreed with ,eckhart  7who said1   
8,the word ,i am none can truly speak   
but ,god alone07 that  the personality  
in which the ,eternal is immanent has   
itself a part in  eternity 7,inge1      
,christian ,mysticism1 p4 #adi1 note74  
#be ,see pp4 #gi ff4    #bf ,massignon1 
op4 cit41 p4 #ahc4    ,the statement    
that in realising the nonentity of his  
individual  self the ,sf realises his   
essential oneness with ,god1 sums up the
  ,mohammedan theory of deification in  
terms with which my readers are  now    
familiar4 ,i will endeavour to show what
 more precise meaning may  be assigned  
to it1 partly in my own words and partly
 by means of  illustrative extracts from
 various authors4    ,several aspects of
 fan have already been distinguished4#bg
  ,the highest of these--the            

passing-away in the divine essence--is  
fully described by ,niffar1 who employs 
instead of fan and fn  7self-naughted7  
the terms waqfat1 signifying cessation  
from search1  and wqif1 i4e4 one who    
desists from seeking and passes away in 
the  ,object ,sought4 ,here are some of 
the chief points that occur in the text 
and commentary4    #bg ,see pp4 #fj1    
#fa4    ,waqfat is luminous3 it expels  
the dark thoughts of #8otherness1' just 
as light banishes darkness2 it changes  
the phenomenal values of all  existent  
things into their real and eternal      
values4    ,hence the wqif transcends   
time and place4 8,he enters every house 
and  it contains him not2 he drinks from
 every well but is not satisfied2  then 
he reaches ,me1 and ,i am his home1 and 
his abode is with ,me0--that  is to say1
 he comprehends all the divine          
attributes and embraces all  mystical   
experiences4 ,he is not satisfied with  
the names 7attributes71  but seeks the  
,named4 ,he contemplates the essence of 

,god and finds it  identical with his   
own4 ,he does not pray4 ,prayer is from 
man to ,god1  but in waqfat there is    
nothing but ,god4    ,the wqif leaves   
not a rack behind him1 nor any heir     
except ,god4 ,when  even the phenomenon 
of waqfat has disappeared from his      
consciousness1  he becomes the very     
,light4 ,then his praise of ,god        
proceeds from ,god1  and his knowledge  
is ,god's knowledge1 who beholds        
,himself alone as ,he  was in the       
beginning4    ,we need not expect to    
discover how this essentialisation1     
substitution1 or transmutation is       
effected4 ,it is the grand paradox of   
,sfism--the ,magnum ,opus wrought       
somehow in created man by a ,being      
whose nature is eternally devoid of the 
least taint of creatureliness4  ,as ,i  
have remarked above1 the change1 however
 it may be conceived1 does  not involve 
infusion of the divine essence 7hull7 or
 identification  of the divine and human
 natures 7ittihd74 ,both these doctrines

 are  generally condemned4 ,ab ,nasr    
al-,sarrj criticises them in two        
passages  of his ,kitb al-,luma1 as     
follows3            8,some mystics of   
,baghdd have erred in their doctrine    
that      when they pass away from their
 qualities they enter into the          
qualities of ,god4 ,this leads to       
incarnation 7hull7 or to the            
,christian belief concerning ,jesus4    
,the doctrine in question has      been 
attributed to some of the ancients1 but 
its true meaning is      this1 that when
 a man goes forth from his own qualities
 and enters      into the qualities of  
,god1 he goes forth from his own will   
and      enters into the will of ,god1  
knowing that his will is given to him   
by ,god and that by virtue of this gift 
he is severed from regarding            
himself1 so that he becomes entirely    
devoted to ,god2 and this is      one of
 the stages of ,unitarians4 ,those who  
have erred in this      doctrine have   
failed to observe that the qualities of 

,god are not      ,god4 ,to make ,god   
identical with ,his qualities is to be  
guilty of      infidelity1 because ,god 
does not descend into the heart1 but    
that      which descends into the heart 
is faith in ,god and belief in ,his     
unity and reverence for the thought of  
,him40    ,in the second passage he     
makes use of a similar argument in order
 to  refute the doctrine of ittihd4     
8,some have abstained from food and     
drink1 fancying that      when a man's  
body is weakened it is possible that he 
may lose      his humanity and be       
invested with the attributes of         
divinity4      ,the ignorant persons who
 hold this erroneous doctrine cannot    
distinguish between humanity and the    
inborn qualities of humanity4           
,humanity does not depart from man any  
more than blackness departs      from   
that which is black or whiteness from   
that which is white1      but the inborn
 qualities of humanity are changed and  
transmuted      by the all-powerful     

radiance that is shed upon them from the
      divine ,realities4 ,the attributes
 of humanity are not the essence      of
 humanity4 ,those who inculcate the     
doctrine of fan mean the                
passing-away of regarding one's own     
actions and works of devotion           
through the continuance of regarding    
,god as the doer of these      actions  
on behalf of ,his servant40    ,hujwr   
characterises as absurd the belief that 
passing-away 7fan7  signifies loss of   
essence and destruction of corporeal    
substance1 and  that #8abiding' 7baq7   
indicates the indwelling of ,god in man4
 ,real  passing-away from anything1 he  
says1 implies consciousness of its      
imperfection and absence of desire for  
it4 ,whoever passes away from his  own  
perishable will abides in the           
everlasting will of ,god1 but human     
attributes cannot become divine         
attributes or vice versa4               
8,the power of fire transforms to its   
own quality anything that      falls    

into it1 and surely the power of ,god's 
will is greater than      that of fire2 
yet fire affects only the quality of    
iron without      changing its          
substance1 for iron can never become    
fire40    ,in another part of his work  
,hujwr defines #8union' 7jam7 as        
concentration of thought upon the       
desired object4 ,thus ,majnn1 the       
,orlando ,furioso of ,islam1            
concentrated his thoughts on ,layl1 so  
that  he saw only her in the whole      
world1 and all created things assumed   
the  form of ,layl in his eyes4 ,some   
one came to the cell of ,byazd and      
asked1 8,is ,byazd here80 ,he answered1 
8,is any one here but ,god80 ,the       
principle in all such cases1 ,hujwr     
adds1 is the same1 namely3              
8,that ,god divides the one substance of
 ,his love and bestows a      particle  
thereof1 as a peculiar gift1 upon every 
one of ,his friends      in proportion  
to their enravishment with ,him2 then he
 lets down      upon that particle the  

shrouds of fleshliness and human nature 
and temperament and spirit1 in order    
that by its powerful working      it may
 transmute to its own quality all the   
particles that are      attached to it1 
until the lover's clay is wholly        
converted into      love and all his    
acts and looks become so many properties
 of love4      ,this state is named     
#8union' alike by those who regard the  
inward      sense and the outward       
expression40    ,then he quotes these   
verses of ,hallj3        8,thy will be  
done1 ,o my ,lord and ,master6      ,thy
 will be done1 ,o my purpose and        
meaning6      ,o essence of my being1 ,o
 goal of my desire1      ,o my speech   
and my hints and my gestures6      ,o   
all of my all1 ,o my hearing and my     
sight1      ,o my whole and my element  
and my particles60    ,the enraptured   
,sf who has passed beyond the illusion  
of subject  and object and broken       
through to the ,oneness can either deny 
that he  is anything or affirm that he  

is all things4 ,as an example of #8the  
negative way1' take the opening lines of
 an ode by ,jalluddn which ,i  have     
rendered into verse1 imitating the      
metrical form of the ,persian as        
closely as the genius of our language   
will permit3        8,lo1 for ,i to     
myself am unknown1 now in ,god's name   
what must ,i do8      ,i adore not the  
,cross nor the ,crescent1 ,i am not a   
,giaour nor a ,jew4      ,east nor      
,west1 land nor sea is my home1 ,i have 
kin nor with angel          nor gnome1  
,i am wrought not of fire nor of foam1  
,i am shaped not of dust          nor of
 dew4      ,i was born not in ,china    
afar1 not in ,saqsn and not in ,bulghr2 
,not in ,india1 where five rivers are1  
nor ,irq nor ,khorsn ,i grew4      ,not 
in this world nor that world ,i dwell1  
not in ,paradise1 neither          in   
,hell2      ,not from ,eden and ,rizwn  
,i fell1 not from ,adam my lineage ,i   
drew4      ,in a place beyond uttermost 
,place1 in a tract without shadow       

of trace1      ,soul and body           
transcending ,i live in the soul of my  
,loved ,one anew60    ,the following    
poem1 also by ,jalluddn1 expresses the  
positive aspect  of the cosmic          
consciousness3        8,if there be any 
lover in the world1 ,o ,moslems1 'tis   
,i4      ,if there be any believer1     
infidel1 or ,christian hermit1 'tis ,i4 
,the wine-dregs1 the cupbearer1 the     
minstrel1 the harp1 and          the    
music1      ,the beloved1 the candle1   
the drink and the joy of the            
drunken--'tis ,i4      ,the             
two-and-seventy creeds and sects in the 
world      ,do not really exist3 ,i     
swear by ,god that every creed and      
sect--'tis ,i4      ,earth and air and  
water and fire--knowest thou what they  
are8      ,earth and air and water and  
fire1 nay1 body and soul too--'tis ,i4  
,truth and falsehood1 good and evil1    
ease and difficulty from first          
to last1      ,knowledge and learning   
and asceticism and piety and faith--'tis

 ,i4      ,the fire of ,hell1 be        
assured1 with its flaming limbos1       
,yes1 and ,paradise and ,eden and the   
,houris--'tis ,i4      ,this earth and  
heaven with all that they hold1         
,angels1 ,peris1 ,genies1 and           
,mankind--'tis ,i40    ,what ,jalluddn  
utters in a moment of ecstatic vision   
,henry ,more  describes as a past       
experience3            8,how lovely0 7he
 says71 8how magnificent a state is the 
soul      of man in1 when the life of   
,god inactuating her shoots her along   
with ,himself through heaven and earth2 
makes her unite with1 and      after a  
sort feel herself animate1 the whole    
world4 ,he that is here      looks upon 
all things as ,one1 and on himself1 if  
he can then mind      himself1 as a part
 of the ,whole40    ,for some ,sfs1     
absorption in the ecstasy of fan is the 
end of their  pilgrimage4 ,thenceforth  
no relation exists between them and the 
world4  ,nothing of themselves is left  
in them2 as individuals1 they are dead4 

,immersed in ,unity1 they know neither  
law nor religion nor any form  of       
phenomenal being4 ,but those            
,god-intoxicated devotees who never     
return to sobriety have fallen short of 
the highest perfection4 ,the  full      
circle of deification must comprehend   
both the inward and outward  aspects of 
,deity--the ,one and the ,many1 the     
,truth and the ,law4 ,it is  not enough 
to escape from all that is creaturely1  
without entering into  the eternal life 
of ,god the ,creator as manifested in   
,his works4 ,to  abide in ,god 7baq7    
after having passed-away from selfhood  
7fan7  is the mark of the ,perfect ,man1
 who not only journeys to ,god1 i4e4    
passes from plurality to unity1 but in  
and with ,god1 i4e4  continuing in the  
unitive state1 he returns with ,god to  
the phenomenal  world from which he set 
out1 and manifests unity in plurality4  
,in this  descent        8,he makes the 
,law his upper garment      ,and the    
mystic ,path his inner garment10    for 

he brings down and displays the ,truth  
to mankind while fulfilling  the duties 
of the religious law4 ,of him it may be 
said1 in the words of  a great          
,christian mystic3            8,he goes 
towards ,god by inward love1 in eternal 
work1 and he      goes in ,god by his   
fruitive inclination1 in eternal rest4  
,and      he dwells in ,god2 and yet he 
goes out towards created things in a    
spirit of love towards all things1 in   
the virtues and in works of             
righteousness4 ,and this is the most    
exalted summit of the inner             
life40#bh    #bh ,ruysbroeck1 quoted in 
,e4 ,underhill's ,introduction to       
,mysticism1  p4 #ebb4    ,affuddn       
,tilimsn1 in his commentary on ,niffar1 
describes four  mystical journeys3      
,the first begins with gnosis and ends  
with complete passing-away  7fan74      
,the second begins at the moment when   
passing-away is succeeded by  #8abiding'
 7baq74    ,he who has attained to this 
station journeys in the ,real1 by the   

,real1  to the ,real1 and he then is a  
reality 7haqq74#bi ,thus travelling     
onward1 he arrives at the station of the
 ,qutb1#cj which is the  station of     
,perfect ,manhood4 ,he becomes the      
centre of the spiritual  universe1 so   
that every point and limit reached by   
individual human  beings is equally     
distant from his station1 whether they  
be near or  far2 since all stations     
revolve round his1 and in relation to   
the  ,qutb there is no difference       
between nearness and farness4 ,to one   
who  has gained this supreme position1  
knowledge and gnosis and passing-away   
are as rivers of his ocean1 whereby he  
replenishes whomsoever he will4  ,he has
 the right to guide others to ,god1 and 
seeks permission to do so  from none but
 himself4 ,before the gate of           
,apostleship was closed1#ca  he would   
have deserved the title of ,apostle1 but
 in our day his due  title is ,director 
of ,souls1 and he is a blessing to those
 who invoke  his aid1 because he        

comprehends the innate capacities of all
 mankind  and1 like a camel-driver1     
speeds every one to his home4    #bi    
,see p4 #aee above4    #cj ,see p4 #abc4
    #ca ,i4e4 before the time of        
,mohammed1 who is the ,seal of the      
,prophets4    ,in the third journey this
 ,perfect ,man turns his attention to   
,god's  creatures1 either as an ,apostle
 or as a ,spiritual ,director 7,sheykh71
  and reveals himself to those who would
 fain be released from their  faculties1
 to each according to his degree3 to the
 adherent of positive  religion as a    
theologian2 to the contemplative1 who   
has not yet enjoyed  full contemplation1
 as a gnostic2 to the gnostic as one who
 has  entirely passed-away from         
individuality 7wqif72 to the wqif as a  
,qutb4 ,he is the horizon of every      
mystical station and transcends the     
furthest range of experience known to   
each grade of seekers4    ,the fourth   
journey is usually associated with      
physical death4 ,the  ,prophet was      

referring to it when he cried on his    
deathbed1 8,i choose  the highest       
companions40 ,in this journey1 to judge 
from the obscure  verses in which       
,affuddn describes it1 the ,perfect     
,man1 having been  invested with all the
 divine attributes1 becomes1 so to      
speak1 the  mirror which displays ,god  
to ,himself4        8,when my ,beloved  
appears1      ,with what eye do ,i see  
,him8      ,with ,his eye1 not with     
mine1      ,for none sees ,him except   
,himself40                              
7,ibn al-,arab47    ,the light in the   
soul1 the eye by which it sees1 and the 
object of its  vision1 all are ,one4    
,we have followed the ,sf in his quest  
of ,reality to a point where  language  
fails4 ,his progress will seldom be so  
smooth and unbroken as  it appears in   
these pages4 ,the proverbial headache   
after intoxication  supplies a parallel 
to the periods of intense aridity and   
acute  suffering that sometimes fill the
 interval between lower and higher      

states of ecstasy4 ,descriptions of this
 experience--the ,dark ,night of  the   
,soul1 as it is called by ,christian    
authors--may be found in almost  any    
biography of ,mohammedan saints4 ,thus  
,jm relates in his ,nafaht  al-,uns that
 a certain dervish1 a disciple of the   
famous ,shihbuddn  ,suhraward1          
8,was endowed with a great ecstasy in   
the contemplation of ,unity      and in 
the station of passing-away 7fan74 ,one 
day he began to      weep and lament4   
,on being asked by the ,sheykh          
,shihbuddn what      ailed him1 he      
answered1 #8,lo1 ,i am debarred by      
plurality from the      vision of       
,unity4 ,i am rejected1 and my former   
state--,i cannot find      it6' ,the    
,sheykh remarked that this was the      
prelude to the station      of          
#8abiding' 7baq71 and that his present  
state was higher and      more sublime  
than the one which he was in before40   
,does personality survive in the        
ultimate union with ,god8 ,if           

personality  means a conscious existence
 distinct1 though not separate1 from    
,god1  the majority of advanced ,moslem 
mystics say 8,no60 ,as the rain-drop    
absorbed in the ocean is not annihilated
 but ceases to exist  individually1 so  
the disembodied soul becomes            
indistinguishable from  the universal   
,deity4 ,it is true that when ,sf       
writers translate  mystical union into  
terms of love and marriage1 they do not1
 indeed  they cannot1 expunge the notion
 of personality1 but such metaphorical  
phrases are not necessarily inconsistent
 with a pantheism which  excludes all   
difference4 ,to be united1 here and now1
 with the  ,world-,soul is the utmost   
imaginable bliss for souls that love    
each  other on earth4        8,happy the
 moment when we are seated in the       
,palace1 thou and ,i1      ,with two    
forms and with two figures but with one 
soul1 thou and ,i4      ,the colours of 
the grove and the voice of the birds    
will bestow          immortality        

,at the time when we come into the      
garden1 thou and ,i4      ,the stars of 
heaven will come to gaze upon us2       
,we shall show them the ,moon itself1   
thou and ,i4      ,thou and ,i1         
individuals no more1 shall be mingled in
 ecstasy1      ,joyful and secure from  
foolish babble1 thou and ,i4      ,all  
the bright-plumed birds of heaven will  
devour their hearts          with envy  
,in the place where we shall laugh in   
such a fashion1 thou and ,i4      ,this 
is the greatest wonder1 that thou and   
,i1 sitting here in the          same   
nook1      ,are at this moment both in  
,irq and ,khorsn1 thou and ,i40         
7,jalluddn ,rm47    ,strange as it may  
seem to our ,western egoism1 the        
prospect of sharing  in the general1    
impersonal immortality of the human soul
 kindles in the  ,sf an enthusiasm as   
deep and triumphant as that of the most 
ardent  believer in a personal life     
continuing beyond the grave4 ,jalluddn1 
after describing the evolution of man in

 the material world and  anticipating   
his further growth in the spiritual     
universe1 utters a  heartfelt           
prayer--for what8--for self-annihilation
 in the ocean of the  ,godhead4         
8,i died as mineral and became a plant1 
,i died as plant and rose to animal1    
,i died as animal and ,i was man4       
,why should ,i fear8 ,when was ,i less  
by dying8      ,yet once more ,i shall  
die as man1 to soar      ,with angels   
blest2 but even from angelhood      ,i  
must pass on3 all except ,god doth      
perish4      ,when ,i have sacrificed my
 angel soul1      ,i shall become what  
no mind e'er conceived4      ,oh1 let me
 not exist6 for ,non-existence          
,proclaims in organ tones1 #8,to ,him we
 shall return4'0                        
,,bibliography        ,a4 ,,general     
,tholuck1 ,f4 ,a4 ,g41 ,ssufismus sive  
,theosophia ,persarum pantheistica      
7,berlin1 #ahba74          ,in ,latin4  
,out of date in some respects1 but still
 worth reading4    ,palmer1 ,e4 ,h41    

,oriental ,mysticism 7,cambridge1       
#ahfg74          ,a treatise on ,persian
 theosophy1 based on a work by ,nasaf4  
,von ,kremer1 ,a41 ,geschichte der      
herrschenden ,ideen des ,islams         
7,leipzig1 #ahfh71 pp4 #eb-aba4         
,a brilliant sketch of the origin and   
development of ,sfism4    ,goldziher1   
,i41 ,vorlesungen ber den ,islam        
7,heidelberg1 #aiaj71 pp4      #aci-bjj4
          ,an account of ,sf asceticism 
and mysticism by the greatest           
living authority on ,islam4             
,goldziher1 ,i41 ,muhammedanische       
,studien 7,halle1 #ahhh-ij71 ,part ii41 
pp4 #bgg-cgh4          ,gives full      
details concerning the worship of       
,moslem saints4    ,macdonald1 ,d4 ,b41 
,the ,religious ,life and ,attitude in  
,islam 7,chicago1      #aiji74          
,a valuable introduction to the study of
 the moderate type of      ,sfism       
represented by ,ghazl4 ,the chapters on 
psychology are      particularly        
helpful4    ,iqbal1 ,shaikh ,muhammad1  

,the ,development of ,metaphysics in    
,persia      7,london1 #aijh71 pp4 #if  
ff4    ,gibb1 ,e4 ,j4 ,w41 ,history of  
,turkish ,poetry 7,london1 #aijj-aiji71 
vol4      i4 pp4 #ae-fi4                
,outlines of ,persian philosophic       
mysticism4    ,browne1 ,e4 ,g41         
,literary ,history of ,persia 7,london1 
#aijb71 vol4 i4 pp4      #daf-ddd4      
,brown1 ,j4 ,p41 ,the ,dervishes1 or    
,oriental ,spiritualism 7,london1       
#ahfh74          ,unscientific1 but     
contains much interesting material4     
,depont1 ,o41 and ,coppolani1 ,x41 ,les 
,confrries religieuses musulmanes       
7,algiers1 #ahig74          ,a standard 
work on the ,dervish ,orders4        ,b4
 ,,translations    ,hujwr1 ,kashf       
al-,mahjb1 translated by ,r4 ,a4        
,nicholson 7,london1      #aiaa74       
,the oldest ,persian treatise on ,sfism4
    ,attr1 ,le ,manticu 'ttair ou le    
,langage des ,oiseaux1 translated1 with 
an essay on the philosophical and       
religious poetry of ,persia1 by         

,garcin de ,tassy 7,paris1 #ahfd74      
,jalluddn ,rm1 ,masnav1 abridged        
translation by ,e4 ,h4 ,whinfield1      
#bnd ed4 7,london1 #ahih74      ,masnav1
 ,book i41 translated by ,sir ,james    
,redhouse 7,london1 #ahha74             
,masnav1 ,book ii41 translated with     
commentary by ,c4 ,e4 ,wilson           
7,london1 #aiaj74      ,selected ,odes  
from the ,dvni ,shamsi ,tabrz1 ,persian 
text with      ,english translation1    
introduction1 and notes by ,r4 ,a4      
,nicholson      7,cambridge1 #ahih74    
,mahmd ,shabistar1 ,gulshani ,rz1       
,persian text with ,english             
translation1 introduction1 and notes by 
,e4 ,h4 ,whinfield 7,london1            
#ahhj74          ,a versified exposition
 of the chief ,sf doctrines4 ,it should 
be      read by every one who is        
seriously interested in the subject4    
,jm1 ,lawih1 ,persian text with         
translation by ,e4 ,h4 ,whinfield and   
,mrz ,muhammad ,kazvn 7,london1 #aijf74 
,a prose treatise on ,sf theosophy4     

,ysuf and ,zulaikha1 translated into    
verse by ,r4 ,t4 ,h4 ,griffith          
7,london1 #ahhb74          ,one of the  
most famous mystical love-romances in   
,persian      literature4    ,ibn       
al-,arab1 ,tarjumn al-,ashwq1 a         
collection of mystical odes4            
,arabic text with translation and       
commentary by ,r4 ,a4 ,nicholson        
7,london1 #aiaa74            ,,index    
7,titles of books1 as well as ,arabic   
and ,persian technical terms1 are       
printed in italics47        ,abdl1 #abd4
      ,abdallah ,ansr1 #hi4      ,abd   
al-,rahm ibn al-,sabbgh1 #hi4           
,abraham1 #aec4      ,abrr1 #abd4       
,absl1 #aaf4      ,ab ,abdallah of      
,mosul1 #add4      ,ab ,abdallah al-,rz1
 #ea4      ,ab ,al of ,sind1 #ag4       
,ab ,hamza1 #fb4      ,abu 'l-,hasan    
,khurqn1 #hg1 #acc ff41 #ade4      ,abu 
'l-,khayr al-,aqta1 #fa4      ,ab ,nasr 
al-,sarrj1 #aeg4      ,ab ,sad ibn ,abi 
'l-,khayr1 #di1 #ij1 #aah4      ,adam1  
#fd1 #aej1 #afa4      ,affuddn          

al-,tilimsn1 #ic1 #afd1 #afe4 ,see      
,niffar4      ,ahl al-,haqq1 #a4        
,ahmad ibn al-,hawr1 #aa4      ahwl1    
#bi4      ,akhyr1 #abd4      ,aluddn    
,attr1 #adc1 #add1 #adf4      ,alexander
 of ,aphrodisias1 #aea4      ,al-,haqq4 
,see ,haqq4      ,al1 the ,caliph1 #ej1 
#hi1 #aec4      ,ana 'l-,haqq1 #aej ff4 
,arabian ,nights1 the1 #fc4      ,araft1
 #ia4      rif1 #bi4      ,aristotle1   
#ab4      ,asceticism1 #d1 #e1 #f1 #aj1 
#bh ff41 #aji4      ,asharites1 the1 #f4
      ,attr1 ,farduddn1 #ajf4           
,audition1 #fc ff4 ,see sam4            
,augustine1 ,st41 #aah4      ,avicenna1 
#ade1 #adf4      awliy1 #abb4           
,awtd1 #abd4        ,bb ,kh1 #eh4       
,bbism1 #hi4      ,bactria1 #af1 #ah4   
,baghdd1 #adi1 #aeg4      ,balkh1 #af4  
baq1 #ah1 #fa1 #adi1 #aei1 #afc1 #afd1  
#afg4      ,basra1 #ad4      ,byazd of  
,bistm1 #ag1 #ea1 #eg1 #fb1 #ajh1 #aaa1 
#aab1 #aae1 #abf1 #aca1 #acb1           
#aei4      ,bektshs1 the1 #ie4          
,bishr1 #aje4      ,breath1 practice of 

inhaling and exhaling the1 #dh4         
,brown1 ,j4 ,p41 #ada4      ,browne1    
,professor ,e4 ,g41 #aaj4      ,buddha1 
#af1 #ag4      ,buddhism1 #af ff41 #dh4 
,see ,nirva4      ,bulghr1 #afa4        
,calendars1 the1 #ij4      ,celibacy1   
condemned by ,mohammed1 #e4      ,china1
 #afa4      ,christ1 #hb1 #hh4 ,see     
,jesus4      ,christianity1 #d1 #e1 #aj 
f41 #hb1 #aaa1 #aab1 #aea1 #aeg4        
,contemplation1 #ah1 #ca1 #cb1 #ec1 #ed 
ff41 #fh4        ,dancing1 #fc1 #fe1    
#ff4      ,dante1 #ajj4      ,dark      
,night of the ,soul1 the1 #aff4         
,davids1 ,professor ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys1 #ai4 
,dwud al-,t1 #cf4      ,deification1    
#adi ff41 #afc4      dervsh1 #cg4       
,dervish ,orders1 the1 #dh1 #ie1 #abe1  
#acj1 #adj ff4      ,dervishes1 maxims  
for1 #ch1 #ci4      ,devil1 the1 #di1   
#ec1 #fi4 ,see ,ibls and ,satan4        
dhawq1 #ei4      dhikr1 #aj1 #de ff41   
#fc4      ,dhu 'l-,nn the ,egyptian1    
#ac1 #fe1 #gi1 #aaf1 #ade4              
,dionysius the ,areopagite1 #ab f41     

#aab4      ,directors1 spiritual1 #ca1  
#cb ff41 #hi1 #adj ff41 #afe4      ,dvn 
of ,shamsi ,tabrz1 #ie4        ,eckhart1
 #aah1 #aed4      ,ecstasy1 #ei ff41    
#aah1 #acb1 #acc1 #aff4 ,see fan4       
,eden1 #afa4      ,elias1 #ad4          
,emanation1 the theory of1 #hj1 #if4    
,emerson1 #aaj4      ,euchit1 the1 #aa4 
,evil1 the unreality of1 #id4           
,evil1 part of the divine order1 #if ff4
      ,evolution1 of ,man1 #afh4        
fan1 #ag ff41 #bh1 #dh1 #ei1 #fj ff41   
#add1 #adi1 #aee ff41 #afd1 #afe1 #aff4 
fan al-fan1 #fa1 #gi4      fn1 #aee4    
faqr1 #cg1 #ch4      firsat1 #ea4       
,fitz,gerald1 ,edward1 #ig4             
,frothingham1 ,a4 ,l41 #ab4      ,fudayl
 ibn ,iyd1 #aji4        ,gairdner1 ,w4  
,h4 ,t41 #af4      ghaybat1 #ei4        
,ghayln1 #aje4      ,ghazl1 #bd1 #df1   
#if4      ,gnosis1 the1 #g1 #ad1 #bi1   
#cj1 #fh ff41 #aba1 #afd4               
,gnosticism1 #ad ff4      ,goldziher1   
,professor ,i41 #ad1 #af4      ,gospel1 
the1 #aj4        ,hafiz1 #hh1 #ajb4     

hl1 #bi1 #ei4      ,hallj1 #dj1 #adi    
ff41 #afj4      ,hamadhn1 #ajh1 #aji4   
haqqat1 #bi1 #gi4 ,see ,truth1 the4     
,haqq  ,god1 #a1 #ha4 ,see ,ana         
'l-,haqq4      haqq1 #afd4      ,hasan  
,attr1 ,khwja1 #add4      htif1 #fc4    
,heart1 the1 a spiritual organ1 #ej1 #fh
 ff4      ,heaven and ,hell1 subjective1
 #ig1 #afb4      ,hierotheus1 #ab4      
,hind1 #aje4      ,hujwr1 #ca1 #cb1 #ed1
 #fc1 #fe1 #ib1 #aaj1 #abc1 #abd1 #abf1 
#aei1 #afj4      hull1 #aej1 #aea1 #aed1
 #aeg4      ,hulls1 the1 #aea4          
,husayn ibn ,mansr1 #adi4 ,see ,hallj4  
,hypnotism1 #aci ff4        ,ibls1 #ii4 
,see ,devil1 the4      ,ibn al-,anbr1   
#ea4      ,ibn al-,arab1 #hg1 #ajb1     
#ajc1 #aje1 #aaa1 #abe1 #aee1 #aff4     
,ibrhm ibn ,adham1 #ad1 #af4      ihsn1 
#ec4      ,illumination1 #g1 #ej ff41   
#gj4      ilm1 #ga4      ,immortality1  
impersonal1 #afg1 #afh4                 
,incarnation1 #aej1 #aea1 #aeg4 ,see    
hull4      ,india1 #af1 #afa4           
,inge1 ,dr4 ,w4 ,r41 #aab1 #aea1 #aed4  

,iqbal1 ,shaikh ,muhammad1 #ae4         
,irq1 #afa1 #afh4      ,islam1 relation 
of ,sfism to1 #ai ff41 #ga ff41 #hf ff41
 #aei1 #afj4      istinbt1 #bc1 #bd4    
ittihd1 #aeg1 #aeh4        ,jabarites1  
the1 #f4      ,jacob of ,sarj1 #ab4     
jadhbat1 #ei4      ,jalluddn ,rm1 #be1  
#fd1 #fg1 #fi1 #ie ff41 #aje1 #ajf1     
#ajg1 #aji1 #aac1          #aaf1 #aag1  
#aah1 #aai1 #abe1 #abi1 #acb1 #adh1     
#aeb1 #aee1 #afa1 #afb1 #afh4      jam1 
#aei4      ,jm1 #ch1 #ff1 #hj1 #ha1 #hc1
 #ajf1 #aaj1 #adb1 #aff4      ,jesus1   
#aj1 #acc1 #aej1 #aec1 #aeg4 ,see       
,christ4      ,jews1 the1 #abb4         
,jinn1 the1 #acb4      ,john1 ,st41 #hb4
      ,john ,scotus ,erigena1 #ab4      
,joseph1 #ii1 #aaf4      ,journeys1     
mystical1 #afc1 #afd4 ,see ,path1 the4  
,junayd of ,baghdd1 #cd1 #ce1 #eb1 #hh1 
#ia1 #aab1 #aac1 #aca4        ,kaba1    
the1 #eh1 #ia1 #ib1 #aje1 #aaf1 #acd4   
karmt1 #abb1 #abi4      ,karma1 the     
doctrine of1 #ai4      ,kashf al-,mahjb1
 #ed1 #fc4 ,see ,hujwr4      ,khadir1   

#ad1 #aac1 #abg ff4      khirqat1 #di4  
,khizr1 #abg4 ,see ,khadir4             
,khorsn1 #afa1 #afh4      ,khurqn4 ,see 
,abu 'l-,hasan ,khurqn4      ,kitb      
al-,luma1 #bh1 #aba1 #acj4      ,kitb   
al-,tawsn1 #aej4      ,knowledge of     
,god4 ,see ,gnosis1 the4                
,knowledge1 religious opposed to        
mystical1 #ga4      ,koran1 the1 #d1 #e1
 #ba1 #bb1 #bc1 #df1 #ej1 #fc1 #ic1     
#aje1 #aaa1 #aba1 #abb1          #abg4  
,koran1 the1 quotations from1 #bb1 #de1 
#ej1 #ea1 #ec1 #ef1 #gj1 #hh1 #ih1      
#aba1 #abb1 #abh1 #abi1 #aej1 #aeb4     
,koran1 germs of mysticism in the1 #ba  
f4        lht1 #aej4      ,lane1        
,edward1 #de4      ,law1 the religious1 
#fb1 #hf1 #ib ff41 #abf1 #abg1 #aeb1    
#afc4      ,layl1 #aaf1 #aei4           
,legend of the ,moslem ,saints1 the1    
#ba1 #ca1 #ajh1 #aca4      ,lives of the
 ,saints1 by ,jm1 #ff4 ,see ,nafaht     
al-,uns4      ,logos1 the1 #ea1 #hb1    
#hc4      ,love1 divine1 #f1 #h1 #aj1   
#de1 #ee1 #hj1 #ha1 #hd1 #hh1 #aja1 #ajb

 ff41 #aea1          #afj4      ,lubn1  
#aje4        ,macdonald1 ,professor ,d4 
,b41 #bc1 #de1 #df1 #abe1 #ada4         
majdhb1 #abc4      ,majduddn of ,baghdd1
 #ff4      ,majnn1 #aaf1 #aei4          
,mlik ibn ,dnr1 #cf1 #cg4      ,man1 the
 final cause of the universe1 #hb4      
,man1 higher than the angels1 #fi4      
,man1 the microcosm1 #hd1 #he1 #ig4     
,man1 the ,perfect1 #hc1 #afc1 #afd1    
#afe4      ,mandans1 the1 #ad4      ,mn1
 #ad4      ,manichans1 the1 #ad4        
,mansr1 #aec4 ,see ,hallj4      maqmt1  
#bh4      marifat1 #bi1 #ga4 ,see       
,gnosis1 the4      ,marf al-,karkh1 #ad4
      ,marwa1 #ib4      ,mary1 #acc4    
,masnav1 the1 #be1 #fd1 #if1 #acb1 #adh4
 ,see ,jalluddn ,rm4      ,massignon1   
,l41 #aej1 #aea1 #aed1 #aee4            
,mawqif1 the1 #eg4 ,see ,niffar4        
,mayya1 #aje4      ,mecca1 #acd4        
,meditation1 #dh f4                     
,mephistopheles1 #eh4      ,messalians1 
the1 #aa4      ,min1 #ib4               
,miracles1 #abb1 #abc1 #abi ff41 #ach1  

#aci ff4      ,mohammed1 the ,prophet1  
#e1 #bj1 #ba1 #ce1 #ci1 #dd1 #di1 #ea1  
#eb1 #ec1 #fh1          #gj1 #gc1 #hb1  
#ij1 #ic1 #aaa1 #abi1 #aca1 #ada1 #add1 
#afd1 #afe4 ,see          ,traditions of
 the ,prophet4      ,mohammed ibn ,al   
,hakm1 #adc4      ,mohammed ibn ,ulyn1  
#ci4      ,mohammed ibn ,wsi1 #cf1 #cg1 
#ee4      ,moll-,shh1 #ada1 #adb4       
,more1 ,henry1 #afb4                    
,mortification1 #cf1 #dj f4      ,moses1
 #abg ff41 #aeb4      mujizat1 #abi4    
murqabat1 #dh4      muraqqaat1 #cc1 #di4
      ,murjites1 the1 #e4      murshid1 
#cb1 #adj4      ,music1 #dh1 #fc ff4    
,mutazilites1 the1 #f4      ,muzdalifa1 
#ia4        ,nafaht al-,uns1 #aff4 ,see 
,lives of the ,saints4      nafs1 #ci1  
#dj4      ,name1 the ,great1 #ad4       
nst1 #aej4      ,neoplatonism1 #ab f41  
#aab4      ,niffar1 #eg1 #ga1 #gb1 #gd1 
#he1 #ic1 #aee1 #afd4      ,nirva1 #ah  
ff41 #fa1 #adi4      ,nizmuddn ,khmsh1  
,mawln1 #adc4      ,noah1 #aec4         
,nldeke1 ,th41 #c4      ,not-being1 the 

principle of evil1 #id1 #ig4            
,nuqab1 #abd4      ,nr1 #di1 #ea1 #id1  
#ajg1 #ajh4        ,omar1 the ,caliph1  
#ch4      ,omar ,khayym1 #ig4           
,pantheism1 #h1 #ah1 #ba1 #bc1 #gi ff41 
#aji1 #acc ff41 #adh ff4 ,see ,unity1   
the divine4      ,path1 the1 #bh ff41   
#afc4      ,paul1 ,st41 #ab1 #hb4       
,pentateuch1 the1 #bb4                  
,personality1 survival of1 #afg4        
,phenomena1 the nature of1 #hb4         
,phenomena1 a bridge to ,reality1 #aji  
f4      ,philo1 #bb4      ,pilgrimage1  
allegorical interpretation of the1 #ia4 
pr1 #cb1 #adj4      ,plato1 #g1 #ab1    
#fd4      ,plotinus1 #aa1 #ab1 #aag4    
,porphyry1 #ab4      ,poverty1 #cf ff4  
,predestination1 #d1 #f1 #cf1 #ih4      
,pre-existence of the soul1 #ae1 #fd1   
#aaf4      ,proclus1 #ab4      ,prophet1
 the4 ,see ,mohammed1 the ,prophet4     
,prophets1 the1 #aba1 #abb1 #abf1 #abi1 
#afd4      ,purgative ,way1 the1 #cb4   
,pythagoras1 #fd4        ,qadarites1    
the1 #f4      ,qadb al-,bn1 #add4       

qalb1 #ej1 #fh4      ,qays1 #aje4       
qibla1 #acd4      ,quietism1 #d4 ,see   
,trust in ,god4      ,qushayr1 #abf1    
#acj4      ,qutb1 #abc1 #abd1 #afd1     
#afe4        ,rbia1 #d1 #ca1 #aae4      
rhib1 #aj4      ,raqqm1 #ajg4           
,reason1 the ,active1 #aea4             
,recollection1 #cf1 #de4 ,see dhikr4    
,religion1 all types of1 are equal1 #hg4
      ,religion1 positive1 its relation 
to mysticism1 #bd1 #ga ff4 ,see         
,islam1 relation of ,sfism to4          
,repentance1 #cj ff4      rid1 #da4     
,rizwn1 #afa4      ,rosaries1 used by   
,sfs1 #ag4      rh1 #fh4      ,rm1 #aec4
 ,see ,jalluddn ,rm4      ,ruysbroeck1  
#aea1 #afd4        ,sbians1 the1 #ad4   
,saduddn of ,kshghar1 ,mawln1 #adb4     
,saf1 #ib4      ,sahl ibn ,abdallah of  
,tustar1 #df1 #eb1 #ef1 #fc1 #acj4      
,saints1 the ,moslem1 #abj ff4          
,saintship1 the doctrine of1 #fb1 #abj  
ff4      ,salmn1 #aaf4      slik1 #bh4  
sam1 #ei1 #fj1 #fc ff4      ,saqsn1     
#afa4      ,sar al-,saqat1 #eb1 #ed1    

#fa1 #aac4      ,satan1 #cb1 #aac4 ,see 
,devil1 the4      ,sea1 the ,revelation 
of the1 by ,niffar1 #gd4                
,self-annihilation1 #adj1 #ada1 #afh4   
,see fan4      ,shh al-,kirmn1 #eb4     
,shaqq of ,balkh1 #db1 #dc1 #dd4        
,sheykh1 the1 #cb ff41 #di1 #adj1 #ada4 
,see ,directors1 spiritual4      ,shibl1
 #cd1 #ce1 #dh1 #eb1 #ee1 #fb1 #aaf4    
,shihbuddn ,suhraward1 #aff4            
,shites1 the1 #hi4      shirb1 #ei4     
siddq1 #ad4      ,sin1 #cj ff4          
,singing1 #fc ff4      sirr1 #fh1 #aee4 
,soul1 the lower or appetitive4 ,see    
nafs4      ,spirit1 the divine1 #aej1   
#aea4      ,spirit1 the human1 #ea1 #fh4
      ,stages1 mystical1 #bh f41 #da4   
,states1 mystical1 #bi4      ,stephen   
,bar ,sudaili1 #ab4      ,sf1 meaning   
and derivation of1 #c4      ,sfism1     
definitions of1 #a1 #ad1 #be ff4        
,sfism1 the oldest form of1 #d f4       
,sfism1 the origin of1 #h ff4           
,sfism1 its relation to ,islam1 #ai ff41
 #ga ff41 #hf ff41 #aei1 #afj4          

sukr1 #ei4      ,sunna1 the1 #gc4       
,symbolism1 mystical1 #bh1 #ajb ff41    
#aaf1 #aag4        tlib1 #bi4           
tarqat1 #bg1 #bh4      ,tauler1 #aea4   
tawajjuh1 #adb1 #adc4      tawakkul1    
#da4      ,tawakkul ,beg1 #ada1 #adb4   
,telekinesis1 #ade4      ,telepathy1    
#abj4 ,see firsat4      ,theology of    
,aristotle1 the so-called1 #ab4         
,tirmidh1 #adc4      ,tora1 the1 #aje4  
,traditions of the ,prophet1 #bc1 #ci1  
#dd1 #di1 #ea1 #ec1 #ed1 #fh1 #hj1 #hc1 
#ajj4      ,transoxania1 #af4           
,trust in ,god1 #cf1 #da ff4            
,truth1 the1 #bi1 #cj1 #gi1 #ib ff41    
#aeb1 #afc4        ,underhill1 ,e41     
#afd4      ,union with ,god1 #ci1 #aei1 
#afj4 ,see ,unitive ,state1 the1 and    
fan4      ,unitive ,state1 the1 #adh ff4
      ,unity1 the divine1 ,sfistic      
theory of1 #db1 #gi ff41 #ih1 #aeb1     
#aed1 #aee4        ,vednta1 the1 #ah4   
,veils1 the seventy thousand1 doctrine  
of1 #ae f4      ,vision1 spiritual1 #ej4
        wajd1 #ei4      wal1 #abb1 #abc4

 ,see ,saints1 the ,moslem4             
waliyyat1 #abc4      waqfat1 #eh1 #aef4 
wqif1 #aef1 #afe4      ,wsit1 #ad4      
,whinfield1 ,e4 ,h41 #fd1 #acb1 #adh4   
yaqn1 #ej4      ,ysuf1 #aaf4 ,see       
,joseph4        ,zang ,bashgird1 #ff4   
,zulaykh1 #aaf4        ,printed by      
,morrison  ,gibb ,limited1 ,edinburgh   
,,the    ,,quest ,,series      ,edited  
by ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,,mead1      ,president  
of the ,quest ,society4      ,crown     
#hvo4   #bs4 #f;d4 net each volume4     
,,now ,,ready4    ,psychical ,research4 
,by ,james ,h4 ,hyslop1 ,ph4,d41        
,,ll4,d41 ,secretary of      the        
,psychical ,research ,society of        
,america4    ,the ,quest of the ,holy   
,grail4 ,by ,jessie ,l4 ,weston1 ,author
 of #8,the      ,legend of ,sir         
,perceval1' #8,sir ,gawain at the ,grail
 ,castle1' etc4    ,jewish ,mysticism4  
,by ,j4 ,abelson1 ,lit4,d41 ,principal  
of ,aria ,college1      ,portsmouth4    
,mystics of ,islam4 ,by ,reynold ,a4    
,nicholson1 ,m4,a41 ,litt4,d41 ,lecturer

 on      ,persian1 ,cambridge           
,university4        ,,ready ,,spring1   
#aiad4    ,buddhist ,psychology4 ,by    
,mrs4 ,rhys ,davids1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,b4,a41 
,lecturer on      ,indian ,philosophy1  
,manchester ,university4        ,,in    
,,preparation4    ,the ,ethical and     
,social ,significance of ,personality4  
,by ,william ,brown1      ,m4,a41       
,d4,sc41 ,lecturer on ,psychology1      
,king's ,college4    ,catholic          
,mysticism4 ,by ,baron ,friedrich ,von  
,hgel1 ,author of #8,the      ,mystical 
,element of ,religion4'    ,the         
,interpretation of ,nature from         
,aristotle to ,bergson4 ,by ,j4 ,arthur 
,thomson1 ,m4,a41 ,regius ,professor of 
,natural ,history1 ,aberdeen            
,university4    ,ruysbroeck4 ,by ,evelyn
 ,underhill1 ,author of #8,mysticism'   
and #8,the      ,mystic ,way1' etc4     
,demy #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 net4             
,,quests    ,,old ,,and ,,new      ,by  
,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,,mead      ,,editor ,,of   
#8,,the ,,quest ,,series'      ,,author 

,,of #8,,thrice-,,greatest ,,hermes1'   
#8,,fragments    ,,of ,a ,,faith        
,,forgotten1' ,,etc4 ,,etc4             
,,contents    ,the ,way of the ,spirit  
in ,ancient ,china4    ,the ,doctrine of
 the ,true ,man in ,ancient ,chinese    
,mystical ,philosophy4    ,spiritual    
,reality in ,progressive ,buddhism4     
,the ,ideal ,life in ,progressive       
,buddhism4    ,some ,features of        
,buddhist ,psychology4    ,the ,doctrine
 of ,reincarnation ,ethically           
,considered4    ,some ,mystical         
,experiments on the ,frontiers of ,early
 ,christendom4    ,the ,meaning of      
,gnosis in the ,higher ,forms of        
,hellenistic ,religion4    #8,the ,book 
of the ,hidden ,mysteries1' by          
,hierotheos4    ,the ,rising ,psychic   
,tide4    ,vaihinger's ,philosophy of   
the #8,as ,if4'    ,bergson's           
,intuitionism4    ,eucken's ,activism4  
,,the ,,missing ,,goddess1    ,,and     
,,other ,,legends      ,,by    ,,minnie 
,b4 ,,theobald4      ,crown #hvo4   #cs4

 net4    ,these allegorical stories1    
written by a musician1 form a distinct  
contribution to the literature of       
experimental psychology4 ,the  authoress
 claims that they were actually written 
in a state of  exaltation induced by    
long and intense concentration on       
musical  exercises4 ,fresh in style1    
graphic and original in character1 they 
deal with those problems in this world  
and the next which are of vital         
interest to all1 and will make special  
appeal to students of the  psychology of
 different phases of consciousness4     
,,ralph ,,waldo ,,trine',s    ,,new     
,,book      ,,the ,,new ,,alinement     
,,of ,,life      ,post #hvo4   #cs4     
#f;d4 net4    ,the author's main object 
in this new volume is to sift out the   
fundamental truths of real              
,christianity4 ,he separates them from  
the  many half-truths and errors which  
nowadays so often overlay them4 ,it     
will appeal to all thoughtful readers1  
expressing as it does the very  ideas so

 many of us have tried to express4 ,like
 all ,mr4 ,trine's books1  it will      
inspire to better living and better     
thinking1 and shows what  a little      
wholesome philosophy will do toward the 
attainment of true  happiness4          
,,other ,,books ,,by ,,ralph ,,waldo    
,,trine4      ,mr4 ,,trine',s ,,greatest
 ,,work3    ,,in ,,tune with ,,the      
,,infinite    ,,or1 ,,the ,,fulness ,,of
 ,,peace1 ,,power1 ,,and ,,plenty4      
,post #hvo4  #cdjth ,thousand4  #cs4    
#f;d4 net4      ,,also ,a ,,pocket      
,,edition4--,printed on ,japon paper1   
with a portrait of ,mr4      ,trine1 and
 specially designed binding and         
end-papers4 #cs4 #f;d4 net4             
#8,nothing ,i have ever read so lifts my
 soul up to the ,divine1 so  amazes me1 
creating new and better thoughts1       
greater aspirations  and a determination
 to live up to its teachings4 ,it is so 
grand1 so  elevating1 yet so            
plain4'--,mrs4 ,j4 ,a4 ,j4    #8,that   
book will carry blessings to multitudes4

 ,i congratulate the  author on putting 
so profound a theme in so simple a way  
that the  people can get it4'--,rev4 ,w4
 ,h4 ,m4      ,what all the ,world's    
,a-,seeking2 or1 ,the ,vital ,law of    
,true ,life1 ,true      ,greatness1     
,power and ,happiness4 #heth ,thousand4 
,post #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4      net4        
,this ,mystical ,life of ,ours4 ,a ,book
 of ,suggestive ,thoughts for each week 
throughout the year4 ,selected from the 
,works of ,r4 ,w4 ,trine4 #bbnd         
,thousand4 ,post #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 net4  
,the ,land of ,living ,men4 #bjth       
,thousand4 ,post #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 net4  
,dealing with political and social      
subjects1 and the individual's          
relationship towards the state and the  
nation4    ,the ,wayfarer on the ,open  
,road4 ,some ,thoughts and a little     
,creed of      ,wholesome ,living4 #ceth
 ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo4 #as4 net4      
,the ,winning of the ,best4 #gth        
,thousand4 ,daintily bound4 #bs4 net4   
,prettily bound in ,white ,covers4  #as4

 each net4    ,the ,greatest ,thing ever
 ,known4 #aajth ,thousand4    ,every    
,living ,creature4 #fjth ,thousand4     
,character-,building3 ,thought ,power4  
#hjth ,thousand4        ,,london3 ,g4   
,,bell ,,and ,,sons ,,ltd4              
,bohn's ,popular ,library      ,fcap4   
#hvo4 ,with designed title-page1        
binding1  and end-papers4   #as4 net    
each      ,vols4 #a-fj ,now ,ready4     
#a4 ,,swift 7,jonathan74 ,,gulliver',s  
,,travels4      #b-d4 ,,motley 7,j4     
,l474 ,,rise ,,of ,,the ,,dutch         
,,republic4 #c vols4      #e-f4         
,,emerson 7,r4 ,w474 ,,works4 ,a new    
edition in #e volumes4            ,vol4 
,i4 ,essays 7#ast and #bnd ,series71 and
 ,representative ,men4            ,vol4 
,,ii4 ,english ,texts1 ,nature1 and     
,conduct of ,life4      #g-h4 ,,burton  
7,sir ,richard74 ,,pilgrimage ,,to      
,,almadinah ,,and            ,,meccah4  
#b vols4        #i4 ,,lamb 7,charles74  
,,essays4 ,including the ,essays        
of ,elia1 ,last ,essays of ,elia1 and   

,eliana4       #aj4 ,,hooper 7,george74 
,,waterloo3 ,,the ,,downfall ,,of ,,the 
,,first ,,napoleon4       #aa4          
,,fielding 7,henry74 ,,joseph ,,andrews4
    #ab-ac4 ,,cervantes4 ,,don          
,,quixote4 #b vols4       #ad4          
,,calverley 7,c4 ,s474 ,,the ,,idylls   
,,of ,,theocritus1 with            the  
,,eclogues ,,of ,,virgil4 ,english      
,verse ,translation4       #ae4 ,,burney
 7,fanny74 ,,evelina4       #af4        
,,coleridge 7,s4 ,t474 ,,aids ,,to      
,,reflection4    #ag-ah4 ,,goethe4      
,,poetry ,,and ,,truth ,,from ,,my ,,own
 ,,life4 #b vols4       #ai4 ,,ebers    
7,george74 ,,an ,,egyptian ,,princess4  
#bj4 ,,young 7,arthur74 ,,travels ,,in  
,,france1 during the            years   
#aghg1 #aghh1 and #aghi4    #ba-bb4     
,,burney 7,fanny74 ,,the ,,early ,,diary
 ,,of ,,frances ,,burney 7,madame       
,d',arblay71 #agfh-aggh4 #b vols4       
#bc-be4 ,,carlyle4 ,,history ,,of ,,the 
,,french ,,revolution4 ,with            
,introduction            and ,notes1 by 

,j4 ,holland ,rose1 ,litt4,d4 #c vols4  
#bf-bg4 ,,emerson 7,r4 ,w474 ,,works4   
,vol4 ,,iii4 ,society and               
,solitude--,letters and ,social         
,aims--,addresses4 ,vol4 ,,iv4          
,miscellaneous ,pieces4    #bh-bi4      
,,fielding 7,henry74 ,,tom ,,jones4 #b  
vols4       #cj4 ,,jameson 7,mrs474     
,,shakespeare',s ,,heroines4       #ca4 
,,marcus ,,aurelius ,,antoninus1 ,,the  
,,thoughts ,,of4       #cb4 ,,mignet4   
,,history ,,of ,,the ,,french           
,,revolution1 from            #aghi to  
#ahad4    #cc-ce4 ,,montaigne4 ,,essays4
 #c vols4    #cf-ch4 ,,ranke4 ,,history 
,,of ,,the ,,popes4 #c vols4       #ci4 
,,trollope 7,anthony74 ,,the ,,warden4  
,with an            ,introduction by    
,frederic ,harrison4       #dj4 ----    
,,barchester ,,towers4       #da4 ----  
,,dr4 ,,thorne4       #db4 ----         
,,framley ,,parsonage4    #dc-dd4 ----  
,,small ,,house ,,at ,,allington4 #b    
vols4    #de-df4 ---- ,,the ,,last      
,,chronicle ,,of ,,barset4 #b vols4     

#dg4 ,,emerson 7,r4 ,w474 ,,works4 ,a   
new edition4 ,vol4 ,v4                  
,poems4    #dh-di4 ,,the ,,arabian      
,,nights' ,,entertainments4 ,vols4      
,i4-,,ii4       #ej4 ,,plotinus1        
,,select ,,works ,,of4       #ea4       
,,macaulay4 ,,essays ,,from ,,the       
8,,encyclop,,dia                        
,,britannica40 ,edited by ,r4 ,h4       
,gretton1 ,m4,a4       #eb4 ,,hooper    
7,g474 ,,the ,,campaign ,,of ,,sedan3   
,the ,downfall            of the ,second
 ,empire1 ,august-,september1 #ahgj4    
,new edition4       #ec4 ,,blake4       
,,poetical ,,works4       #ed4          
,,vaughan4 ,,poetical ,,works4          
#ee4 ,,goethe4 ,,faust4    #ef-eg4      
,,trelawney4 ,,adventures ,,of ,a       
,,younger ,,son4 #b vols4       #eh4    
,,poushkin4 ,,prose ,,tales4 ,the       
,captain's                              
,daughter--,doubrovsky--,the ,queen of  
,spades--,an ,amateur ,peasant          
,girl--,the ,shot--,the ,snowstorm--,the
 ,postmaster--,the ,coffin              

,maker--,kirdjali--,the ,egyptian       
,nights--,peter the ,great's            
,negro4 ,translated by ,t4 ,keane4      
#ei-fj4 ,,manzoni4 ,,the ,,betrothed4 #b
 vols4      ,other volumes will be      
published at regular intervals4         
,transcriber's ,notes      ,the         
following changes have been made to the 
text as printed3    #a4 ,footnotes have 
been placed immediately below the       
paragraph within  which they occur1 and 
marked numerically4    #b4 ,a period has
 been removed following the subheading  
,gnosticism  7,page #ad71 for           
consistency with other subheadings4     
#c4 strenously 7,page #ea7 has been     
corrected to strenuously4    #d4 ,the   
missing word ,i has been inserted in the
 passage the next  world belongs to him 
towards whom ,i have brought it 7,page  
#gh74    #e4 ,the name printed as ,fitz 
,gerald 7,page #ig7 has been rendered as
  ,fitz,gerald 7the usual form for this 
writer74    #f4 ,a single close-quote   
mark has been inserted after vouchsafed 

to  him 7,page #abg74    #g4 karmat     
7,page #abi7 has been changed to karmt4 
#h4 ,the line beginning ,then he quotes 
7,page #afj7 has had its  indentation   
reduced1 as it is part of the main text 
and not 7as  printed7 part of the       
preceding quotation4    #i4 ,index3 ,the
 character  has been added in the words 
,abu 'l-,khayr  al-,aqta1 ,aluddn1      
mujizat1 ,mutazilites1 and ,rbia4       
#aj4 ,apparent inconsistencies in       
whether hyphens occur in the word pairs 
well known1 passed away1 and above      
mentioned are judged to be due  to      
differences in sense1 and no amendments 
have been made4