7
" Allah manifests Himself in a special way in every creature. He is the Outwardly Manifest in
every graspable sense, and He is the Inwardly Hidden from every understanding except the
understanding of the one who says that the universe is His form (4) and His He-ness
(huwiyya), and it is the name, the Outwardly Manifest. Since He is, by meaning, the spirit of
whatever is outwardly manifest, He is also the Inwardly Hidden. His relation to whatever is
manifested of the forms of the world is the relation of the governing spirit to the form. The
definition of man, for example, includes both his inward and outward; and it is the same with
every definable thing. Allah is defined in every definition, yet the forms of the universe are
not held back and He is not contained by them. One only knows the limits of each of their
forms according to what is attained by each knower of his form. For that reason, one cannot
know the definition of Allah, for one would only know His definition by knowing the
definition of every form. This is impossible to attain, so the definition of Allah is impossible.
Similarly, whoever connects without disconnection has given limits to Allah and does not
know Him. Whoever combines connection and disconnection in his gnosis, and describes
Allah with both aspects in general - because it is impossible to conceive in detail because we
lack the ability to encompass all the forms which the universe contains - has known Him in
general and not in particular, as he knows himself generally and not in particular. For that
reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, linked knowledge (ma'rifa) of
Allah to knowledge of oneself and said, "Whoever knows himself knows his Lord." Allah
says, "We will show them Our signs on the horizons (what is outside of you) and in
themselves (what is your source) until it is clear to them (the contemplators) that it is the
Truth," (41:53) inasmuch as you are His form and He is your spirit. You are to Him as your
body-form is to you, and He is to you as the spirit which governs the body. "
― Ibn Arabi , The Bezels of Wisdom
13
" When they searched for Musa (after he had killed the Copt), he left in flight, fearful
outwardly and in the meaning, it was love of deliverance for movement is always by love, but
the onlooker is veiled from it by other causes, which are not the movement. This is because
the root is the movement of the universe from non-existence which was immobile in
existence. That is why it is said that the matter is movement from immobility. The movement
which is the existence of the universe is the movement of love. The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, quoting Allah, "I was a hidden treasure, therefore I
wanted (lit. loved) to be known. "
― Ibn Arabi , The Bezels of Wisdom
14
" Then the matter is as we have confirmed. So know that you are imagination and that which
you perceive and of which you say, "It is not me" is also imagination. All of existence is
imagination within imagination. True existence is Allah, the Real, in particular in respect to
essence and source, not in respect to His Names, because the Names have two meanings. One
meaning is His source which is the same as the "Named", and the other meaning is what it
indicates and that by which the Name is separate from this other Name, and so distinct. The
Ever-Forgiving is separate from the Manifest and the Hidden, and the First is distinct from
the Last. Thus it is clear to you that each Name is the same as the other Name, and yet it is
not the other Name. Inasmuch as the Name is the same, it is the Real, and inasmuch as it is
not it, it is the imaginary Real which we discussed. "
― Ibn Arabi , The Bezels of Wisdom
17
" As for the subjection which was the privilege of Sulayman, peace be upon him, and by which
he was distinguished fom others, and the kingdom which Allah gave him which none after
him would have, it is from his command when He said, "We gave him the fiercely blowing
wind, speeding at his command." (21:81) It was not subjection in itself, for Allah said in
respect of each of us without exception, "He has made everything in the heavens and
everything on the earth subservient to you." (45:13) He also mentioned the subjection of the
winds, stars and other things, (17) but that is not by our command. It is from the command of
Allah. If you reflect with your intellect, Sulayman was privileged by this command neither by
mental concentration nor by aspiration (himma) rather, it was by nothing more than the
command itself. We said that because we recognise that the physical bodies of the world can
be affected by the himma of the self when someone is in the station of concentration. We
have seen such things happen in this Path. Sulayman only had to articulate the command in
whatever he wished to subject without either concentration or himma. "
― Ibn Arabi , The Bezels of Wisdom
18
" When Allah gives something to someone, and He gives it to him by a request which arises
from a divine command, He does not take him to account for it in the Next Abode. When
Allah gives something to someone, and He gives it by a request which is not by a divine
command, the business in it is up to Allah. If He wishes, He will take him to account for it,
and if He wishes, He will not take him to account for it. I hope for knowledge from Allah in
particular for which He will not call one to account, for He commanded the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, to seek increase of knowledge, and it is the same
command which is addressed to the Prophet¹s community. Allah said, "You have an excellent
model in the Messenger of Allah," (33:21) and what greater model is there than this model
who is a source of solace (20) to the one who possesses understanding from Allah? "
― Ibn Arabi , The Bezels of Wisdom
19
" We subjected the mountains to glorify with him in the evening and sunrise, and also the
birds, flocking together, all of them turned to him." Then Allah combined the kingdom and
speech and prophethood in Da'ud when He says, "We made his kingdom strong, and gave
him wisdom and decisive speech." (1) Allah clearly and openly appointed Da'ud Khalif. This
was Da'ud, peace be upon him. His freedom of action in the kingdom with this subjection
was by a mighty command which was not completed in him alone. Allah also gave it to
Sulayman who shared in it as He says, "And We gave knowledge to Da'ud and Sulayman
who said, 'Praise be to Allah who has favoured us.'" (27:15) He says, "We gave Sulayman
understanding of it. We gave each of them judgement and knowledge."(21:79) "
― Ibn Arabi , The Bezels of Wisdom
20
" If the Prophets, peace be upon him, thanked Allah for what He had bestowed on them and
given to them, that was not from the command of Allah. They undertook that freely from
themselves, as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stood
thanking Allah until his feet were swollen, when Allah had forgiven Him his wrong actions,
past and present. When people commented what he did, he said, "Am I not a thankful slave?"
Allah said that Nuh was a thankful slave. (4) So the thankful among the slaves are few. "
― Ibn Arabi , The Bezels of Wisdom
