Henry Corbin Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth

Spiritual Body and Celestial
Earth
From Mazdean
lran
to Shi'ite Iran
Henry
Cr;rbin
TRANSLATED
BY NANCY PEARSON
With a ncr*. Prclude to thc
Seeonrj Edition bv thc Author
HENRY CORBIN
Spiritual Body
and
Celestial Earth
From Mazdean Iran to Shi
'
ite Iran
Translated from the French by
NANCY PEARSON
BOLLI NGEN SERI ES XCI : 2
PRI NCETON UNI VERSI TY PRESS
Copyright 1 977 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press,
Princeton, New Jersey
All Right Reserved
THI S IS PART TWO OF THE NI NETY-FIRST IN A SERIES OF WORKS
SPONSORED BY
BOLLI NGEN FOUNDATION
Published i n French as
Terre celeste et corps de resurrection:
de l'lran NZdeen l'lran shiite
( Collection "La Barque du Soleil" ) ,
Buchet-Chatel, Paris, 1960.
Part One was originally published in French ( in slightly
diferent form) in Eranos-Jahrbuch XXII ( 1953) by
Rhein-Verlag, Zurich.
The translation of the prelude
to the second edition is
reprinted courtesy of
Editions Buche-Chastel.
Fifh printing, with Prelude to the Second Edition, 1989
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will
be found on the last printed page of this book
Printed in the United States of America
by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
CONTENTS
Prelude to the Second Edition
Prologue
Publisher's Note
Note on Illustrations
PART ONE
SPIRITUAL BODY AND CELESTAL EARTH
vii
xxi
xxxi
Chapter I. The Mazdean Imago Terrae
3
I. "The Earth Is an Angel" 3
2. Te Earth of the Seven Keshvars 1 7
3. Visionary Geography 24
4. Geosophy and the Feminine Angels of the Earth 36
Chapter II. Te Mystical Earth of Hurqalyi 5 1
I. Progre&sio harmonica: Fiima, Daughter of the Prophet,
and the Celestial Earth
5 1
2 . The "Eighth Climate"
73
3. Hirqalya, Earth of Visions
84
4. Hurqalyi, Earth of Resurrection
90
PART TWO
SELECTIONS FROM TRADITIONAL TEXTS
Introduction: The Text and Their Authors 109
I. Shihibuddln Yabyl Suhrawardl ( d. 587 I 1 191 )
Hurqalyi, the World of Autonomous Images and
Imaginative Perception 1 1 8
II. Mu)ylddln ibn 'Arabi (d. 638/1240)
The Earth Which Was Created from What
Remained of the Clay of Adam
135
III. Di'id Qayarl ( d. 751/1350)
Mundus Archetypu& 144
IV. 'Abd al-Karlm Jill ( d. 805/1403 ) 148
I. Al-A'rif, the Earth of the Watchers 1 51
2. The Journey of the Stranger and the Conversation
with Khir 153
v
Contents
V. Shamsuddln Mulammad Lahlj l ( d. 869/1465 )
Jabalqa and Jabarfa 1 60
VI. adruddln Mulammad Shirazi ( Mulla !adra)
( d. 1050/1 640 )
Spissitudo Spiritualis 1 64
VII. 'Abd al-Razzaq Lihlj l ( d. 1072/1 662 )
Oriental Theosophists and Peripatetic Philosophers 1 71
VIII. Mulsin Fay Kashanl ( d. 109 1 /1680 )
A World in Which Spirits Are Corporealized and in
Which Bodies Are Spiritualized 1 7 6
IX. The Shaikhl School : Shaikh Almad Alsa"
( d. 1241 /1 826 )
1 . Physiology of the Resurection Body 1 80
2. On the Esoteric Meaning of the Tomb 1 89
3. The Heavens and Element of Hurqalya 1 9 1
4. Alchemy and the Resurrection Body 197
5. The Active Imagination and the Resurrection Body
2 1 0
X. Shaikh lajj Mulammad Karim Khan Kirmanr, Second
Successor of Shaikh Almad Alsa'l ( d. 1288/1 870 )
1 . In What Sense the Body of the Faithful Believer is
the Earth of His Paradise 222
2. A World in Ascent, Not in Evolution 236
XI. Shaikh Abu'l-Qasim Khan Ibrahim I ( Sarkar
A
gha) ,
Fifth Successor of Shaikh Almad Alsa'l
( b. 1 314/1 896 )
The Celestial Earth of Hurqalya and the Shl'ite Faith 240
Notes
271
List of Works Cited 333
Index 343
TOWARDS A CHART OF THE IMAGINAL
Prelude to the Second Edition of
CORPS SPIRITUEL ET TERRE CtLESTE
de /'Iran Mazdeen a /'Iran Shfite
HENRY CORBIN
It is a long time-and we shall say this again below-since west
ern philosophy, let us call it "ofcial philosophy," drawn along in
the wake of the positive sciences, has admitted only two sources
of Knowledge (Connaire). There is sense perception which gives
the data we call empirical. And there are the concepts of under
standing (entendement), the world of the laws governing these
empirical data. Certainly, Phenomenology has modifed and over
taken this simplifcatory epistemology (goseologe). Yet the fact
remains that between the sense perceptions and the intuitions or
categories of the intellect there has remained a void. That which
ought to have taken its place between the two, and which in other
times and places did occupy this intermediate space, that is to say
the Active Imagnation, has been left to the poets. The very thing
that a rational and reasonable.scientifc philosophy cannot envis
age is that this Active Imagination in man (one ought to say
rather "agent imagination" in the way that medieval philosophy
spoke of "intellectus agens") should have its own noetic or cogni
tive function, that is to say it gives us access to a region and a
reality of Being which without that function remains closed and
forbidden to us. For such a science it was understood that the
Imagination secretes nothing but the imaginary, that is, the un
real, the mythic, the marvellous, the fctive, etc.
On this account there remains no hope of recovering the reality
sui generis of a suprasensible world which is neither the empirical
world of the senses nor the abstract world of the intellect. It has
furthermore for a long time now seemed to us radically impossible
to rediscover the actual reality-we would say the reality in act
proper to the "Angelic World," a reality prescribed in Being it
self, not in any way a myth dependent on socio-political or socio
economic infrastructures. It is impossible to penetrate, in the way
VII
in which one penetrates into a real world, into the universe of the
Zoroastrian angelology of which the frst chapter of this book de
scribes certain aspects. We would say as much of the angeloph
anies of the Bible. For a long period I have been sarching, like a
young philosopher, for the key to this world as a real world,
which is neither the sensible world nor the world of abstract con
cepts. It was in Iran itself that I had to fnd it, in the two ages of
the spiritual world of Iran. This is why the two parts of this book
are strictly binding on one another and interdependent. A con
trast due essentially to the fact that their epistemology, foreign to
this dualism, gives room, as for the necessary mediating power,
for this agent Imagination which is imagnatrice. It is a cognitive
power in its own right. Its mediating faculty is to make us able to
know without any reservation that region of Being which, with
out this mediation, would remain forbidden ground, and whose
disappearance brings on a catastrophe of the Spirit, where we
have by no means yet taken the measure of all the consequences.
It is essentially a median and mediating power, in the same way
that the universe to which it is regulated and to which it gives
access, is a median and mediating universe, an intermediate world
between the sensible and the intellectual (intelligble), an inter
mediate world without which articulation between sensible and
Intellectual (intelligble) is defnitely blocked. And then pseudo
dilemmas pullulate in the shadows, every escape or resolution
closed to them.
Neither the active nor the agent Imagination is thus in any
sense an organ for the secretion of the imaginary, the unreal, the
mythic, or the fctive. For this reason we absolutely had to fnd a
trm to diferentiate radically the intermediate world of the Imag
ination, such as we fnd it presented to the minds of our Iranian
metaphysicians, from the merely imaginary. The Latin language
came to our assistance, and the expression mundus imaginalis is
the literal equivalent of the Arabic 'a/am al-mithdl, al-'alam al
mithdli, in French the "monde imaginal," a key-term over which
we hesitated at the time of the frst edition of this book. (The
Latin terms have the advantage of fxing the thematic forms and
Kllarding them from hazardous or arbitrary translations. We shall
lnukc plcntiful UHr of them here.) In h rar as it hus not hccn
viii
named and specifed, a world cannot rise into Being and Knowl
edge (Connaitre). This key-term, munus imagnalis, commands
the complete network of notions appropriate to the precise level
of Being and Knowldge which it connotes: imaginative percep
tion, imaginative knowledge, imaginative consciousness. While
we encounter in other philosophies or systems a distrust of the
Image, a degradation of all that properly belongs to the Imagina
tion, the mundus imagnalis is its exaltation, because it is the link
in whose absence the schema of the worlds is put out of joint.
Our authors tell us again and again that there are three worlds:
I. The p're intellectual world ('dlam 'aqli), denoted in their the
osophy as Jabanlt or world of pure cherubic Intelligences. 2. The
imagnal world ('dlam.ithdli) known also in their theosophy as
Malakut, the world of the Soul and of souls. 3. The sensible world
('dlam hissi) which is the "domain" (molk) of material things. Cor
relatively the Forms of Being and Knowledge respectively proper
to these three worlds are denoted technically as: 1. The Intellec
tual Forms (sowar 'aqliya). 2. The Imaginal Forms (sowar mith
dliya). 3. The Sensible Forms (sowar hissiya), those which fall
under sense perception. The French vocabulary to be found
throughout this book is thu of a rigorous precision and "sticks"
closely to the Arabic technical terms as also used constantly in
Persian.
As for the function of the mundus imagnalis and the Imaginal
Forms, it is defned by their median and mediating situation be
tween the intellectual and sensible worlds. On the one hand it
immaterialises the Sensible Forms, on the other it "imaginalises"
the Intellectual Forms to which it gives shape and dimension.
The Imaginal world creates symbols on the one hand from the
Sensible Forms, on the other from the Intellectual Forms. It is this
median situation which imposes on the imaginative faculty a dis
cipline which would be unthinkable where it had been degraded
into "fantasy," secreting only the imaginary, the unreal, and ca
pable of every kind of extravagance. Here there is the same total
diference already recognised and clearly remarked by Paracelsus
between the imainatio vera (Imagination in the true sense) and
"Phmua.y."
In ordfr that th forwr Hhould not degenerate into the latter,
I X
precisely this discipline, which is inconceivable if the imaginative
power, the active Imagination, is exiled from the scheme of Being
and Knowledge, is required. Such a discipline would not be ca
pable of involving the interest of an imagination reduced to the
role of folie du logs or inspired fool, but it is inherent in a median
and mediating faculty whose ambiguity consists of its being able
to put itself at the service of that Intellect whose supreme degree
our philosophers denote as the intellectus sanctus faql qodi), il
luminated by the intelligentia agens ('aql fa"al) who is the Angel
of the Holy Spirit. The seriousness of the role of the Imagination
is stressed by our philosophers when they state that it can be "the
Tree of Blessedness" or on the contrary "the Accursed Tree" of
which the Quran speaks, that which means Angel or Demon in
power. The imaginary can be innocuous; the imaginal never can
be so.
One takes the decisive step in the metaphysic of the imaginal
and the Imagination when one admits with Molla Sadra Shirazi
that the imaginative power is a purely spiritual faculty indepen
dent of the physical organism and consequently surviving it. We
shall see in the course of the texts translated here that it is the
formative power of the subtle body or imaginal body (ism
mithdli), indeed this subtle body itself, forever inseparable from
the soul, that is from the moi-esprit, from the spiritual individul
ity. It is thus as well to forget all that the Peripatetic philosophers
or others have been able to say about it, when they speak of it as
being like a bodily faculty and perishing with the organic body
whose ordinance it follows.
The immateriality of the imaginative power was already fully
afrmed by Ibn 'Arabi when he diferentiated between the abso
lute imaginal Forms, that is to say such as subsist in the Malakut,
and the "captive" imaginal Forms, that is, those immanent in the
imaginative consciousness of man in this world. The former are
in the world of the Soul (are) or Malakut, epiphanies or theoph
anies, that is to say, imaginal manifestations of the pure Intellec
tual Forms of the J abarut. The latter are in their turn manifesta
tions of the imaginal Forms of the Malakut or world of the Soul to
man's imaginative consciousness. It is therefore perfectly exact
here to speak of nwtuphysical lmuges. Now thtst cannot be re-
X
ceived unless by a spiritual organ. The solidarity and interdepen
dence between the active Imagination defned as a spiritual fac
ulty and the necessity of the mundus imagnalis as an intermediate
world respond to the need of a conception which considers the
worlds and the forms of Being as so many theophanies (tajalliyat
ilahiya).
We thus fnd ourselves in the presence of a number of philoso
phers who refuse indiferently a philosophy or a theology which
lacks the element of theophany. Sohravardi and all the Ishraqui
yun who follow him have always considered the "Perfect Sage" as
bing the Sage who gathers to himself equally the highest philo
sophical knowledge and the mystical experience modelled on the
visionary experience of the Prophet, the night of the Miraj. Now
the organ of visions, of whatever degree they may be, whether in
the case of the philosophers or of the prophets, is neither the in
tellect nor the feshly eyes, but the fre of that imagnatio vera of
which the Burning Bush is for Sohravardi the type. In the sensi
ble form it is then the Imaginal Form itself which is from the very
frst and at one and the same time the perceived form and the
organ of visionary perception. The Theophanic Forms are in their
essence Imaginal Forms.
This is to say that the mundus imagnalis is the place, and con
sequently the world, where not only the visions of the prophets,
the visions of the mystics, the visionary events which each human
soul traverses at the time of his exitus from this world, the events
of the lesser Resurrection and of the Greater Resurrection "take
place" and have their "place," but also the gestes of the mystical
epics, the symbolic acts of all the rituals of initiation, liturgies in
general with all their symbols, the "composition of the ground"
in various methods of prayer (oraison), the spiritual fliations
whose authenticity is not within the competence of documents
and archives, and equally the esoteric procssus of the Alchemical
Work, in connection with which the First Imam of the Shi'ites
was able to say "Alchemy is the sister of Prophecy." Finally the
"Biogaphies of Archangels" are by their nature imaginal history,
since everything in them happens in the Malakut. Thus, if one
deprives all this of its proper place which is the mundus imagn
a/is, and of its proper organ of perception which is the uctive
xi
Imagination, nothing of it has a "place" any more, and conse
quently no longer "takes place." It is no longer anything but
imaginary and fctive.
With the loss of the imagnatio vera and of the mundus imagn
alis nihilism and agnosticism begin. This is why we said a few
lines above that we ought to forget here all that the Aristotelians
and similar philosophers have said of the Imagination when they
treat it as a bodily faculty. It is just this that makes the eforts of
certain among the Jewish and Islamic philosophers to construct a
philosophic theory of Prophecy pathetic. In truth, they do not ex
tricate themselves fom the difculty. Either the prophet is assim
ilated to the philosopher or the philosopher does not know what
to make of Prophecy. On the other hand the conjunction is ef
fected without difculty by those of our philosophers who were
persuaded that their cnfreres, starting with the ancient Greek
Sages as well as those of ancient Persia, derived their higher
knowledge from the Niche aux /umieres of Prophecy (Mishkdt a/
nobowwat). It is precisely here that Philosopher and Prophet
unite in one single vocation.
Te Prophet is not a diviner of future events but the spokesman
of the invisible and of the Invisible Ones, and it is this that gives
its sense to a "prophetic philosophy" (hikmat nabawiya). A pro
phetic philosophy is thus a "narrative philosophy," absolved of the
dilemma which obsesses those who ask: is it myth or is it history?
In other words: is it real or is it unreal? Is it fction or is it true? A
prophetic philosophy is a liberation fom this pseudo-dilemma.
The events which it describes are neither myth nor history in the
ordinary sense of the words. It is the history of the Malakut
what we shall call imagnal historyin the same way as the coun
tries and the places of this history constitute an imagnal geogra
phy, that of the "celestial earh."
Access to this imagnal history is opened up for us by that her
meneutic par excellence which is denoted by the word ta'wi,
which literally means to "reconduct something to its source," to
its archetype, to its true reality. Twelve-ImAm Shi'ites as well as
Ismaili Shf'ites have excelled in this ar, since ta'wi is at once the
province and the incentive of their esotericism as the "seventh
day" completing the Hix clay1 of tlw Cration. To the straight-
xu
forward exoteric reader what appears to be the true sense is the
literal reading. What one proposes to him as the spiritual sense
appears to him as the metaphoric sense, as "allegory" which he
confuses with "symbol." For the esoteric it is the opposite: the so
called literal sense is only a metaphor (majdz). The true sense
(haqiqat) is the event which this metaphor conceals.
Just as for the Kabbalists, true events are the eternal relations
between the ten Sephiroth, concealed beneath the accounts of the
exterior happenings related by the Bible, so for the Shi'ite esoter
ics two-thirds of the Quran are to be read in their hidden and tre
sense (haqiqat) as narration of the drama which is played out be
tween the Holy Imams and their antagonists from before the cre
ation of this world. Tis is not allegory: it consists of true events.
Hegel said that philosophy consists in turning the world inside
out. Lt us say rather that this world is here and now inside out.
The ta'wi and the prophetic philosophy consist in putting it right
side out once more.
As the name of Hegel has just been uttered, now is the right mo
ment in our preface to give the actual meaning of our leitmotifs
for western philosophy. When the mystical theosophists repre
sented in this book experience and afrm the necessity of the in
termediate world, of an intermediary between the sensory and the
intellectual, their position is exactly that of Jacob Boehme. Be
tween the intellectual and the sensible, or expressed more pre
cisely still, between the transcendent and hidden Deity, the Det
abscndita, and the world of man, Boehme places an irrmediary
which he calls the sacred Element, a "spiritual correity" which
represents the Dwelling, the Divine Presence, for our world. This
Dwelling is Wisdom itself, Sophia. This Presence is the Shekhina
of the Kabbalists. It is the imagnal locus of an entirely spiritual
incarnation, for all eternity anterior to that Incarnation which ex
oteric religion places in history, that history which for Shi'ites,
theosophists and Ismailis is nothing but the metaphor of the True
Reality.
Either way it is the idea of Theophany which is dominant,
muking itself evident by its own nature and of necessity between
thr intrllrctual and the sensible, and what is denoted as Sophia,
xiii
Prelude to the Second Editon
as the "Soul of the World," is at the same time the imagnal locus
and the organ of this Theophany. It is at once the necessary me
diatrix, the Deus revelatus, between pure Divinity, for ever con
cealed, beyond our reach, and man's world. This is what we have
in another place called the "paradox of monotheism" and it is a
constant theme in all those doctrines in the "religions of the book"
which are in one way or another related to the Kabbala. Equally
in Jewish mysticism the Hassidim have established a triple difer
entiation: there is the unknowable God, there is the place of the
emanation of the Glory, which is the "countenance on high" and
which even the Angels do not know; lastly there is the manifested
Glory, the "countenance beneath," the only one we can contem
plate. This "countenance beneath" is the Angel Metatron as
"Angel of the Countenance" who is equally the Presence, the
Sophia, the Soul of the World.
Now every kind of dualism which has in one way or another
come out of Cartesianism or which is closely related to it has re
jected the necessity of just this spiritual mediating entity. Our
western philosophy has been the theatre of what we may call the
"battle for the Soul of the World." On the one hand, like "stainless
knights" protecting this Soul, the Cambridge Platonists (Henry
More, Ralph Cudworth); Jacob Boehme and his school with all
those related to them; the "Boehmian" Newton; the Christian
Kabbalists like F. C. Oetinger in whom currents of thought com
ing from Boehme and Swedenborg intersect. On the other, they
fnd their antagonists: Descartes, Fr. Mersenne, Malebranche,
Bayle, indubitably also Leibniz and Christian Wolf, and the list
extends on down to our own days. Is it a matter of a battle that
has fnally been lost, the world having lost its soul, a defeat whose
consequences weigh upon our modem visions of the world with
out compensation? If there has been a defeat, a defeat is still not a
refutation. We know a certain number of young philosophers
alive today who are deeply concerned with the wish to turn the
scales once more in this struggle. This is why we spoke above of
the actuality of the themes of this book; an actuality which ranges
our "Piatonists of Persia" at the side of the Cumhridge Platonists.
The neceDsity for the mundus imaguali.v, rxprritnced and af
firnwcl by our l!hrfquiyfn, is pred!cl
y
thr nrrrNNity lc1r thut me-
XIV
diation of which Jacob Boehme and his followers have just re
minded us. More exactly still: this mundus imaginalis, world of
Hurqalya, world of Malakut or world of Soul, is the "Celestial
Earth" and the "Celestial Corporeity." Just as the Sophia is oth
erwise the imaginal place of the Divine Presence in our world, so
the celestial Earth, present to the secret nostalgia in men's hearts,
is typifed in the Shi'ite gnosis by the person of Fatima the Re
splendent, the daughter of the Prophet. Fatima is the Sophia of
the Shi'ite theosophy and cosmogony.
We will now introduce here the Shi'ite concept of the First Em
anation (frst theophany) of that Principle which is beyond every
Name and every Attribute. This First Emanation is typifed by
the primordial Muhammadic Light (Nur mohammedi), consti
tuted by certain fgures of light, that is to say, the respective meta
physical entities known as the Fourteen Immaculate Ones. The
eternal succession of their births brings with it the birth of the
worlds. Their Pleroma is the Dwelling, the necessary mediation
between the transcendent God, concealed and inaccessible, and
the world of men. The Fourteen Immaculate Ones are collectively
"the Angel of the Countenance." A metaphysical narrative will
show us in the course of this book, how the eternal person of
Fatima-Sophia constitutes the Sophianity of the pleroma of the
Fourteen Immaculate Ones, and how by the cosmogonic virtue of
this pleroma, the Sophianity becomes the Presence in our world.
Our authors coined a term to express this: fatimiya, an abstract
noun which literally translated gives something like "ttimianite"
but which the term Sophianity expresses more directly still once
we have recognised in the eternal mediating person of Fatima the
Resplendent, Her who is elsewhere known as Sophia.
And the ancient Mazdean texts propose to us all the more of
the Sophianity. Of the six Archangels who surround Ohrmazd,
the God of Pure Light, fom whom they emanate and whose
name itself means "Lord Wisdom" (Ahura Mazda in the Avesta),
three are masculine and three feminine. The frst of these feminine
Archangels bears in the A vesta the name Spenta Armaiti (in
Pahlavi, that is in Middle Persian, Spandarmat; in Modern Per
sian, Sfundarmoz). The texts will show us the remarkable prece
chnl inhrrcnt lttre. She is the "Daughter of Ohrmazd." She is
XV
indeed the Sophia of Mazdaism and the typifcation of Celestial
Earh. Spandarmat-Sophia is the "Mistress of the Dwelling." She
is the Dwelling itself, as feminine Archangel of the Earth which
is Earth of Light. Building on her name in Pahlavi, the abstract
term spandrmatih has been formed which we cannot translate
better than by the very term "Sophianity." 'is term denotes a
cerain mode of being prescribed for the Zoroastrian faithful.
There is also an appeal, a striking correspondence, between the
terms fdtmiya and spandrmati
h
, which both denote a "Sophi
anity" typifed on the one hand in the person of the feminine
Archangel holy Armaiti and on the other in that of Fatima-So
phia. To assume this Sophianity is for the human being to accede
here and now to the Celestial Earth, to the world of HfrqalyA,
world of "celestial corporeity," which is that of the subtle Bodies
of Light. Presented thus in a few lines, the intention of the sub
title of the book, "From Mazdean to Shi'ite Iran," will no doubt
appear to the reader in more precise contours.
Obviously, the passage from one manifestation of Sophianity to
another does not involve the material fliation of any historic
causality because here plainly both manifestations are acts of the
Malakft which occur in the imagnal world. We prefer to speak
here of the epochs of a spiritual world rather than of constants or
of recurring factors of the Iranian consciousness. Now the succes
sion of the epochs of a spiritual world does not consist of a history
which one can perceive and demonstrate in the way in which doc
uments permit us to speak of the campaigns of Julius Caesar or of
Napoleon. The epochs of the spiritual world are totally diferent
from the epochs of the exterior world of geology or of sociopoliti
cal history. The epochs of a spiritual world make up a history sui
generis, which is in its very essence imagnal history. We are deal
ing here with a "history" of the same nature as that which is wit
nessed when our Shi'ite philosophers identify their Twelfh Imam
now with the Saoshyant or Zoroastrian eschatological Saviour,
now with the Paraclete announced in St. John's Gospel. We have
already said that this history is neither myth nor history as under
stood in current parlance, but that it does not involve any the less
a history of
r
eal events, or a reality proper to these events, a reality
1ituatrd at a lfvel other than that of tlw txtrrior rvents of the ra-
XVI
Prelud to the Secod Edition
terial world, which esoteric hermeneutic considers as being the
metaphor of true events.
These true events together with the links which unite them one
to another come to pass in the subtle world of the Soul, the world
of Malakut, mundus imaginalis. Others have spoken of the
"Chronicle of Akasha" (this term denoting the subtle world).
What we have in view here postulates simply the term "imaginal
history." Every philosophy which loses the sense of the imaginal
world closes to itself aU access to the events of which it is the locus,
and comes to be the prey of pseudo-dilemmas.
We therefore need a vocabulary other than that of history in the
empirical sense of this word in order to deal with the "Chronicles
of Malakut," just as Boehme needed a terinology diferent from
that of the Peripatetic philosophers and expressed himself in the
vocabulary of alchemy. To describe the link between the two ages
respectively of Sophianity and of Celestial Earth, we have had re
course here to a musical terminology, and we tum to the sound
efect produced on the organ by the playing of the progressio har
monica.
Penetration into the world of Hurqalya, into the Angelic
World, thus becomes an aspect of the experience which the pro
gressio harmonic oters to our hearing. And as we utter these
words we again perceive certain consonances with "actuality" in
the sense in which we spoke before of the actuality of the "battle
for the soul of the world." Several imporant recent publications
testify to the actuality of the Angelic World for and in the work of
a number of philosophers in every age. The search for traces of
this world even involves the feelings, not only by reason of the
sarcasms which a defant ignornce throws at it, but also because
of all that this research is in duty bound to bring back painfuUy
into the light. For it involves the whole of a forgotten tradition
(indeed, deformed and altered out of recognition), whose multi
farious texts alone can at once nourish research and lead to a com
plete renewal of angelology. Thus it has been our wish to present
a few of these texts here.
We do not pretend that mental habits that have been engrained
for gemrations lessen the difculty of access for our contemporar
ir! intn thi! world which for them is like a world long since lost.
xvii
All the more signifcant then has been the welcome given to a
recent study which treats the "life after life" and presents the man
ifold testimonies of their actual experiences by people who, even
though they had not crossed it never to retur, had none the less
really found themselves on the "threshold," for their deaths had
already been clinically confrmed.2 There is no reason to be sur
prised that such a book should meet with a moving approval from
some, testifying to a nostalgia which nothing has ever succeeded
in snufng out in the human heart. Equally there is no reason for
surprise if the same book has been received with scepticism. Cer
tainly, many traditional texts were quoted in connection with the
testimonies reported in this book. But how many people knew
them? In fact, some of these testimonies cannot be entertained let
alone understood except on the condition of having at one's im
mediate disposal an ontology of the mundus imagnalis and a me
taphysic of the active Imagination as an organ inherent in the soul
and regulated in its own right to the W(rld of "subtle corporeity."
We have made here an attempt at just this. Many more will be
needed, necessitating rigorous study and exorcising every "fan
tasy" which could spoil the legitimacy of imaginative understand
ing.
In this connection, we wish to give a caution. We have come to
see for ourself, with pleasure though not unmixed with some anx
iety, that the word "imaginal" as used specifcally in our re
searches has been spreading and even gaining ground. We wish
to make the following statement. If this term is used to apply to
anything other than the mundus imagnalis and the imaginal
Fors as they are located in the schema of the worlds which ne
cessitate them and legitimise them, there is a great danger that
the term will be degraded and its meaning be lost. By the same
token we would remind the reader that the schema in which the
imaginal world is by its essence the intermediate world, and the
articulation between the intellectual and the sensible, in which
the active Imagination as imagnatio vera is an organ of under
standing mediating between intellect and sense and as legitimate
as these latter and that world itself. If one transfers its usage out
side this precisely defned schema one sets out on a false trail and
strays far from the intention which our Iranian phiiOphers have
XVIII
induced us to restore in our use of this word. It is superfuous to
add-the reader will already have understood this-that the mun
dus imagnalis has nothing to do with what the fashion of our time
calls ''the civilisation of the image."
We concede that access to the world of Hurqalya, to the An
gelic World, undoubtedly continues to b
e
difcult. More than
once since the publication of the frst edition we have heard read
ers regretting the special difculty of the frst chapter-that on
the angelology of the Avesta. We would like to suggest here
and this could apply to the whole of the book-that a single read
ing cannot be sufcient.
One does not penetrate into the Angelic World by housebreak
ing, one does not move around mentally in the world of HOrqalya
by the assistance of a formal logic or of a dialectic which leads
fom one concept to the next by deduction. Passage from one ima
ginal Form to another does not obey any conceptual dialectic. The
fgures of the God-Angels of the Avesta, for example, overlapping
one with another as they often do, can only be grasped by gener
ating in oneself, on the indications of the texts, a minimum of
menial vision. What then does this involve? One should resort
here to the exemplary practice which Ibn 'Arabi himself has led
us to design as the ''theophanic method of discourse" (oraison).
It could be that this itself is nothing other than a form or an
appeal of the progressio harmonica. But is it not frequent in the
Bible for the Prophets to demand the assistance of a harp-player
in order to open the eyes of their inner vision?
Translated by Peter Russell
Notes
I. Zaqum. Quran, xvii,60; xxxvii,62-68; xliv,43-46; lvi,52.(N. orTr.)
2. Dr. Raymond Mooy, Lie after Lie, London, Corgi, 1977.
XIX
PROLOGUE
lt may be that the wer|d wh|ch eur authers here descr|be |n
symbe||c|anguageasthee|ghthc||matew|||beseenbyWest-
erapeep|easthe|estcent|neat.8heu|dsemee|thembesearch-
|ag|er|t,the8p|r|tua|Masterswhemthepresentbeekseekste
|aterpret w||| perhaps serve as the|r gu|des.
The spat|a| d|stances btween humans are be|ng mete and
merere1uced |neurday,at|east ||measured|nterms e|t|me,
cencurrent|y we hear ta|k e| an acce|erat|en e| h|stery. On
the ether hand, the real un|versesthese by wh|ch and |er
wh|chmen||ve andd|e,wh|chcanneverbeteducedteemp|r|ca|
databecausethe|rsecretrea||tyex|stsbe|erea||eurprejectsan1
predeterm|nesthem~theseun|verses, |tweu|dseem,havenever
been se |ar |rem be|ng ab|e te cemmun|cate w|th each ether,
|rem be|ngpnetrab|e by ene anethet. It may be that the rst
aad|astreasen|erth|s|mpenetrab|||ty|stebeseught|nthe|ess
e|theinterorld, |nthevan|shedcensc|eusaesse|th|sassemb|y
e|ua|verseswh|cheutauthersca||thewer|de|Borqa|ya.
Bew1eesthecu|turedmane|tedayrepresentteh|mse||the
sp|r|tua||tye|Is|amWhatp|cture can he|erm e|the sp|r|tua|
wer|1e|lranenthetwepe|ese|wh|ch,be|ereanda|tetIs|am,
we w||| try here te app|y eur atteat|en Peep|e are geaera||y
abserbe1|ape||t|ca|etsa|e|eg|ca|cens|detat|ensand|eses|ght
e| the esseat|a|. We ask quest|ens w|theut even ascerta|n|ng
whatmean|ag, ||any,theyhave|etthemanaddressedand,|er
the same reasen, the sense ernen-sense e| h|s answets |et eut-
se|ves.
It |s a great and |erm|dab|e adventure te bethe guest e| a
cu|ture te the pe|at e|cemmun|cat|ng |n |ts |angage and par-
tlc|pat|ag|a|tspreb|ems.Buthewherema|nsenthesherew|||
never |eretaste the secretse|the h|gh seas. Hew can heknew,
|erexamp|e,what|tm|ghtbtereadtheOur'anasaB|b|e ( ||ke
tbat Blb|e |rem wh|ch the Our'an part|a||y stems ) ua|ess, ||ke
t|ese whese 8|b|e |t |s, he perce|ves tbe spiritual meaning that
XXI
Prologue
theyperce|ve|n|t,aa1astheyperce|ve|t|athetrad|t|easwh|ch
ua|e|d |t. But hew caa we keep cemaay w|th the o|is aad
8p|r|tua| Masters e
j
ls|am || we eurse|ves have |ergettea the
|aaguage e| symbe|s, || we are b||ad aad dea| te the spiritual
meaning e| the aac|eat wr|t|ags, wh||e, ea the ether haad, we
take such pr|1e |a shew|ag hew |averab|y they cempare w|th
etherh|ster|ca| er archee|eg|ca| 1ecumeats?
Ameag ether symptems |ad|cat|ve e| a |est ceat|aeat, we
sheu|d aete the uausua| |as|steace w|th wh|ch certa|a ceatem-
perary thee|eg|aas have takea the |mmena||ty e| the seu| as
eppesed te the resurrect|ea e| the dead, as theugh |t were a
great tr|umph te abaa1eathe ph||esephers, the |mpea|teat P|a-
tea|sts, te the|rva|apreteas|eas,wh||e theythemse|ves,as per-
|ectrea||sts,staadreadytecea1eaetheceacess|easaecessary|a
er1er te keep upw|th the t|mes. Per |atruththere has beea
agreatdestruct|eae|hepes|atheWest,aadthere|saete|||ag
where th|s w||| ead. lts mest a|arm|ag symptem |s the p|eus
agaest|c|sm that |s para|yz|agexce||eat m|a1s aad |asp|r|ag |a
themapaa|cterrerbe|ereeveryth|agw|ththesuspectaremae|
gaes|s.
Let us be c|ear abeuteaeth|ag. the 1||emma we have ]ust
meat|eaed|sutter|y aa1]ust|ab|y |ere|ga te the theughts aa1
theth|akersassemb|e1here|ath|sbeek.There|saequest|eae|
1emeastrat|agsemeth|agsuch as the |mmerta||tye| the seu|
erresurrect|eae|the1ead,aa1abevea||aette semeeaewhe|s
deay|ag them er re]ect|ag the |dea. I| |t |s true that rat|eaa|
demeastrat|ea |a||stesupperte|therthethes|serthe aat|thes|s,
|t|s|era|ua1ameata|reaseathatemerges|remeurtextsthem-
se|ves. Ne|ther the re]ect|ea aer the hepe that cha||eages |t |s
a matter e| theeret|ca| pree|. lt has te 1e w|th the ]u1gmeat
wh|cheacheaebears|ah|mse||e|h|mse||aadthaakstewh|ch
he takes eatheeat|rerespeas|b|||ty |er h|mse||. Th|s |s why |t
weu|1be|aeect|vetetryte|mpese|mmena||tyerresurrect|ea
eaaayeaewhedeesaetwaat|t~themerese|athatthereceu|1
be ae resurrect|ea e| be1|esw|theut a resurrect|ea e| seu|s,
that|s,w|theut hav|agevercemethe per|| e|thesecea11eath,
se c|ear|y d|scerae1 by the mest aac|eat Bemetlsm, sad wh|ch
XXII
Prologue
pestu|ates the descent te Be|| . Per |t |s |rem the seu| |tse||,
|remthece|est|a| Earth e| the seu|,thatthesp|r|tua| esh|s
censt|tuted~the suprasensery an1 at the same t|me per|ect|y
cencrete caro spiritualis. Adead seu| ,|nthe sense that a seu|
cand|e, ceu|dnet be |ts substance. Th|scennect|en w||| be the
centra| theught e| the texts and e| the authers stu1|e1 |n th|s
bek.
These texts tegether |erm a pregess|en |rem ene atave te

the ethere|thelran|ansp|r|tua|ua|verse, repeat|ngand amp||-
|y|ngthesametheme. Bereexact|y|aythed|mcu|tye|thetask
tewh|chwe|e|tca||ed, because, unt|| new,very||tt|ehasbeen
wr|tten |n an attempt te epen up a v|ew e| the un|ty e| th|s
un|verse and te shew hew |ts cempenent parts are cennecte1.
P|rst e| a||, we had te eut||ne a phenemene|egy e| Mazdean
censc|eusnesser,mereexact|y,e|Maz1eanange|e|egy,w|ththe
prsena|P|guresand archetypesthatare|tsh|erephan|es. Then,
by means e| the theme stud|e1 here, we had te c|ear the way
|ead|ng|remMazdeanlrante ls|am|c lran.
P|na||y, |n the secend part e| the beek, |n a||ew|ng certa|n
authers, whese names and werks have rema|ne1 unt|| new a|-
mestteta||yunknewn|ntheWest,tespeak|erthemse|ves, eur
|ntent|enwasteshewhewcerta|npreb|emsceu|dbesharedan1
a cemmenterm|ne|egyestab||shed.W|theutsuch part|c|pat|en,
we ceu|d nethepe|ermucheven |rem exchanges undertaken
w|ththebestw||||nthewer|1.Thepagesthathave bentrans-
| ated here, beth |rem Pers|an and Arab|c, are extracts |rem
e|even authers, whetegetherceverthe per|ed|remthe twe||th
century upte the present day. The|r names are we|| knewn |n
lran, butwhatcanb sa|d|ereurknew|edgee| man, e|homo
sapiens, se|engasweknewneth|nge|the|nv|s|b|ereg|ensthat
bave been exp|ered nere|theexp|erersthemse|ves?
Nerma||y, the werk e| d|us|en weu|d b preceded by a
pre||m|aarystudye|the mater|a|, but un|ertunate|y, |n v|ew e|
thersr|tye|werks|nth|se|d,theph||esepher<r|enta||stw||||n
|sct be beund |ersemet|me te cemete take these twe tasks en
b|mse||. That is why |t |s |mpess|b|e te censtruct an |nvest| ga-
tion of thi1 nnture without furni1hing whtarecemmen|yca||e1
""iii
Prologue
netesandwh|ch are,|n|act,thecemmentat|es w|theutwh|ch
thewhe|estructureweu|drema|nhaag|ng|nthe a|t. Neverthe-
|ess,wew|shedtewr|teabeekthatweu|dbee|genera||nterest
~that |s, te the prepared seeker, whe w||| nd |n |t many
themes te study|n depth, as we|| as te h|mwhe |ne|ghteeath-
century France was ca||ed the hennte hemme, the epen-
m|nded mantewhemthe sche|ar ewes cens|derat|ea,the mere
se |n that h|s k|nd |s perhaps deemed, ew|ngte centemperary
cend|t|ens,ted|sappeat.
Inwhat|e||ewstherew|||be acenstantrecurrencee|certa|a
temsthatteenereadeteranetherw|||beaseurcee||rr|tat|en,
they may b assured that the|r |rr|tat|en |s shared. Bewever,
th|s|tr|tat|enhasne|engerany|eundat|en||wetaketheterms
|n quest|en w|ththe genu|ne s|mp||c|tye|the texts |rem wh|ch
they ate ttans|ated. The werd theesephy, |et examp|e, |s a
trans|at|en e|the Arab|c Mkma ilahiya and the Pers|an khu3a-
dani, wh|ch themse|ves are the exact equ|va|ent e| the Greek
theosophia. The tems eseter|c|sm and |n|t|at|en de aet
|mp|yanyexc|us|vec|a|mteteachbysemese||-|nst|tutedauther-
|ty. They re|er, respect|ve|y,t h|dden, suprasensetyth|ngs, te
the d|scret|en wh|ch the werdsthemse|ves suggest |n regard te
these whe, net understand|ng, scern them, andte the sp|r|tua|
b|rththatcausesthe percept|ene|these h|ddenth|ngs teepea.
Tesetems mayhavebeenabused,butwesha||b rem|nded
e|the|rr|ght|u|use|nthecentexte|what|e||ews.
As|etthewerdImam,mean|ngsp|r|tua|gu|de,th|swerd
dem|nates the |erm e| Is|am wh|ch w||| espec|a||y cencern us
hete, name|y, 8hr|sm ( a|se ca||ed Imamism) and, abeve a|| ,
8hi'|te Iran. I| |t|s a|readytrue tesaythatcu|t|vated peep|e |n
the West usua||y have en|y an apprex|mate |dea e| ls|am|c
thee|eg|nmnera| ,when|tcemeste8hr|sm, |t|stebe|eared
mat we are speak|ng e| te"a incognita. 8eme pages |n the
ptesentbeek (Ch. II, i I) , aswe||asthetrans|atedtexts,may
suggest what censt|tutes |ts essence. But we ceu|d net |ac|u1e
hereaneut||nee|theh|sterye|8hr|smerexp|a|nhewaa1why
|t became the |erm e|lran|an ls|am.
XXIV
Prologue
Actua||y,Itaa|aa Is|am be||esthe ep|a|ea accet1|agtewh|ch
Is|am|steee|tea|1eat|e1w|thaaetha|cceacept,w|ththepast
h|stety e| a tace. Is|am |s pt|mat||y a te||g|eus ceacept. Pet
ceatut|es, aa1 |tem h|s yeuth up, the Itaa|aa has kaewa h|s
aat|eaa|ep|cpeemceata|ae1|atheBeeke|K|agsbyP|t1awst.
Be |s awate that thete wete gteat k|ags aa1 evea a ptephet,
Zatathustta-Zeteastet,be|eteIs|am. Yet the 8hr|te lmame|egy
pte|esse1 by Itaa tepteseats the supteme hemage that caa be
pa|dtetheAtab|cPtephetaadtethemembetse|h|sBeusehe|1.
Thequest|ea|seaeae|thete|taceaete|aat|eabute|te||g|eus
v|s|ea.Aga|a,that|swhyweweu|1have||ke1testtess ( butcaa-
aat1e se hete ) hewthe te|at|eash| betweea 8hr|sm aa1 the
pt|ac|pa|pheaemeaeae|sp|t|tua|Is|am, kaewa ua1ettheaame
e|asm, |s tegatde1|aItaa.Iaaaycase,sumce|ttesaythat
the cea1|t|eas e| the 1|a|egue betweea Cht|st|aa|ty aad ls|am
chaage cemp|ete|y as seea as the |atet|autet tepteseats aet
|ega||st|c Is|am but th|s sp|t|tua| Is|am, whethet |t be that e|
asmete|8hr|te gaes|s.
Evea se, the 1|mcu|t|es e| appteach tema|a ceas|1etab|e. A
Westetaetusua||ytakesthetetmsmuslim aa1mu'min assyaea-
ymeus. They ate, hewevet, by ae meaas syaeaymeus |eta
8hi|te . eaecaabea muslim aa1 pte|essIs|amw|theut yet ( aet
|etthatteaseaa|eae ) be|agamu'min, that|s,attueb||evet,aa
a1ept e| the he|y lmams aa1 the|t 1att|ae. Oa h|s s|1e, the
mu'min w||| ad|t hat1 te ua1etstaad |mmed|ate|ythe teaseas
|et aa1 |mpett e| te||g|eus tetm|ae|egy cutteat |a the West,
whete we speak, |et exam|e, e| the 1|mcu|t|es e| b||e|'~
us| ag the phtase, a|mest a|ways, w|th a cea|ess|eaa| ceaaeta-
tlea. Tbls |s because the 1|mcu|t|es |a quest|ea 1epead en
a certa|a ceacept e| ph||esephy aa1 thee|egy that has acctued
durl ag severa| ceatut|es aa1, u|t|mate|y, ea aa eppes|t|ea that
|s aet experleace1 at a|| |a a m|||eu whete such tetms as arf
aad irfin ate |a cutteat use. The |attet caa b ttaas|ate1 te-
spect|ve|y as myst|ca| theesephy aad myst|ca| gaes|s, but
tbese tecbalca| equ|va|eats de aet exact|y ptesetve the |am|||at
sbad: of meaalag la Araolc e| these wet1s, wh|ch ceaaete a
XXV
Prologue
spec|c type e|sp|r|tua| kaew|e1ge. But 1ees net the very |act
that we have ae a1equate term|ne|egy revea| that we are 1ea|-
|agw|thsemeth|agwh|ch,|erus,|saetcurrent?
Aa1 th|s, ameagether th|ags, |s what met|vates the use e|
thetermeseter|c|smoecause, |a th|s perspect|ve,the pe|em|cs
betweea Westera oe||evers aa1 uabe||evers are seen te have
taken p|ace ea a p|aae e| kaew|e1ge aoeve wh|cb ne|ther s|1e
wasab|eter|se. Perexamp|e, therehaveoeeaargumeatsaoeut
them|rac|es1escr|oe1|atheNewTestameat.Oaes|1eackaew|-
e1ges, the ether re]ects the pess|o|||ty e| a oreach e| aatura|
|aws.Be||e| aa1uaoe||e| beceme |ecke1 |n the 1||emma~h|s-
tery ermyh? The ea|yway eut |ste rea||ze that the rst aad
geatest m|rac|e |s the |rrupt|ea e| aaether wer|1 |ate eur
knew|e1ge, aa |rrupt|ea that rea1sthe |aor|c e| eur categer|es
an1 the|r aecess|t|es, e| eur ev|1eaces aa1 the|r nerms. But |t
sheu|1beua1erstee1thattheetherwer|1|aquest|ea|seaethat
caanet oeperce|ve1oytheergane|er1|aarykaew|e1ge, that|t
can oe ae|ther prevea aer1|spute1 oymeaas e| er1|aary argu-
mentat|ea, that |t |s a wer|1 se 1|ereat that |t caa ae|ther oe
seea aer perce|ve1 except oy the ergaa e| Borqa|yaa per-
cept|en.
Th|s ether wer|1, w|th the me1e e|kaew|e1ge |t |mp||es, |s
the eae wh|ch, as we sha|| see, has oeen me1|tate1 upea
t|re|ess|y threugheut the ceatur|es as the wer|1 e| Borqa|ya.
It|stheEarthe|v|s|eas,theEarthwh|chcea|erseav|s|eaary
appercept|easthe|rtruth, thewer|1threughwh|chresurrect|ea
cemestepass.Th|s|swhatw|||oere-echee1oya||eurauthers.
Ia1ee1, th|s |s the wer|1 |n wh|ch rea| sp|r|tua| eveats take
p|ace,rea| ,hewever,aet|athe seasethatthephys|ca|wer|1|s
rea| ,neryet|nthe sease thateveatschreae|eg|ca||yrecer1e1te
makeh|stery arerea| ,oecauseheretheeveattraascea1severy
h|ster|ca| mater|a||zat|ea.
It|saaexteraa|wer|1,aa1yet|t|saetthephys|ca|wer|1.
lt |s a wer|1 that teaches us that |t |s pess|o|e teemerge |rem
measurab|e space w|theut emerg|ag |rem exteat, aa1 that we
mustaoaa1enhemegeaeeuschrene|eg|ca|t|me |aer1erteeater
thatqua||tat|vet|me wb|cb |sthe h|sterye|tbe seu| . P|aa||y, it
XXVI
Prologue
|sthewer|d|nwh|chweperce|vethespiritual sense e|thewr|t-
ten werd ande| be|ngs~that |s, the|r suprasensery d|mens|en,
thatmean|ngwh|chmeste|ten seemsteusanarb|traryextrape-
|at|en,bcausewecen|use|tw|tha||egery.Wecanaetpnetrate
the Earth e| Burqa|ya by rat|ena| abstract|en aer yet by em-
p|r|ca| mater|a||zat|en, |t |sthep|acewheresp|r|tand bedy are
ene, the p|acewheresp|r|t, tak|agen a bedy, becemesthe caro
spiritualis, sp|r|tua| cerpere|ty. Everyth|ngsuggested here by
eur authers gos, perhaps, very much aga|ast the current e|
centempraryth|nk|ngandmaywe||beeat|re|ym|sundersteed.
Wem|ghtndthe|rbrethers|nseu| ,hewever,amengthesewhe
have been ca||ed the PretestantSpirituales, such as 8chwenck-
|e|d,Bxhme,theBer|eburgc|rc|e,Oet|ager,andethers,whese
||nehasbencent|nuedtethepresentday.
But there |s a |urther pe|nt te make c|ear |t was net eur
|ntent|enhere,|nstudy|ngthetwecemp|ementaryaspects,Maz-
dean Iran and 8hr|te lran ( mere exact|y, up te the 8ha|khr
scha| ),tetreatth|stheme|remah|ster|ca|pe|ate|v|ew.We
sha|| denemetehere than |nd|cate |t as a pess|b|||ty,s|nce we
hep|aterte make |tthe sub]ecte|the |u||erstudy|tca||s |et.
l| we tty te cens|det what |s suggested te us |n the e||ew|ng
extracts|nthe||ghte|euraccustemedh|ster|ca|d|mens|en,we
sha|
j
, w|th the best|ntent|ens |n the wer|d, b beund te |a|s||y
the perspect|ve. Fer eur h|stet|ca| , eve|ut|enary, and ||near
v|ewe|nt |s the tesu|t e| a ene-d|mens|ena| menta| sttucture,
wh|chsetves|er detetm|n|ngcauses|nhetent|nth|s|eve|a|ene,
wh|ch ex|a|nsth|ngsbyteduc|ngthema||teth|s same |eve| , |t
|s ||m|ted te a hemegeneeus t|me and space |n wh|ch |t p|aces
events.
Ourauthers see th|ngs|rema d|erent pe|nt e|v|ew. They
pestu|ate severa| p|anes e| pre]ect|en. The passage e| t|me |s
v|ewed as a cyc|e, be|ngs and eveats themse|ves qua||tat|ve|y
s|tuate the|tt|me andspace.Th|s be|ngse,wesheu|dpaypat-
t|cu|arattent|entestructures andheme|eg|ese|stmctun,what
has te emerge |s the |aw e| the|t isomorphism. In cempat|sen,
d|scuss|easceaductedenthe|eve|e|puteh|ster|c|smarea|mest
always irri tating aadster||e,|er|nvar|ab|yenecemesupaga|nst
xxvi i
Prologue
a pess|b|e ceuaterexp|aaat|ea. Per examp|e, the quest|ea |s
semet|mes ra|se1 as te whether8hr|sm |s er |s aet aa lraa|aa
pheaemeaea. There |s | aaaycase a 8hr|smw|tha spec|ca||y
lraa|aa structure. We are aet ceacerae1 te |abe| eb]ects |a a
shewcase er te |1eat||y phetegraphs, but te search |er a me1e
e| ua1erstaa1|ag that we have 1escr|bec as a progressio har
monica. Aay mus|c|aa, aay Gesta|t|st, w||| |mme1|ate|y grasp
whatwe meaa.
Perexamp|e, |aMaz1a|smthere|sthe var e|Y|ma,thehy
perbereaapara1|se,aa1|ausmaa18hr|smthere|stheEartb
e| Borqa|ya, a|se |a the ce|est|a| Par Nerth. la Maz1a|sm
there are traces e| a myst|ca| phys|e|egy aa1 the same, vast|y
amp||e1,|a8ha|kh|sm. Beth|aMaz1a|smaa1|a8uhrawar1i's
theesephy there are Aage|s e| the Earth, 8peata Arma|t| aad
aeaa, P|gures respect|ve|y represeat|ag the eteraa| 8eph|a, |a
8hi'|te gaes|swe a1Pat|ma, perseae|L|ght,aughter e|the
Prephet,whe|sa|seaP|gurerepreseat|ag8eph|aaa1thesupra-
ce|est|a| Earth. la Maz1a|sm there |sthe 8aeshyaat, er 8av|er-
teeme,surreua1e1byh|scempaa|eas,wh||e|a8hr|smthere|s
the h|11ea Imam, surreua1e1 by a myst|ca| be1y e| ka|ghts,
wheseparousia w||| hera|1thecemp|et|eae|eurAeon. Th|sse-
queacee|themes|sa|rea1yaaeut||aee|thecurve1escr|be1by
thepresentbeek.Bewever,th|ssheu|1aetbetakeatemeaathat
the eae vers|ea aa1 the ether are pure|y aa1 s|mp|y |1eat|ca| .
Thetems areaet|1eat|ca|,butthere |s aaaaa|egye|re|at|ea-
sh|ps. BecausetheP|guresexemp|||ythe same archetypes,the|r
|1eat|ty||es|athe|uact|eatheyassume|athem|1ste|heme|e-
geuswhe|es.
Te pass |rem eae ectave te a h|gher ectave |s aet the same
aste pass |remeae1ate |at|meteaaether,but|sa pregress|ea
te a he|ght er p|tch that |s qua||tat|ve|y 1|ereat. A|| the e|e-
meats are chaage1, yet the |em e| the me|edy |s the same.
8emeth|ag|athe aature e|harmea|cpercept|ea|sneede1|aer-
derteperce|ve awer|de|maayd|meas|ens.
Aph||esepher,te whemwe were exp|a|a|agtheceacept aa1
|uact|ea e| the wer|1 e| Borqa|ya accer1|ag te eur authers,
remarked P|aa||y, thea, a|| phenemeae|egye|thesp|r|ttakes
xxvi i i
Prologue
p|ace|nBarqa|yaltseemscetta|n|ythat|tmustbesemeth|ng
||ke that. But we sheu|d st||| add ene mere remark as a ru|e,
whend|scuss|ngpastevents,wexthem|nthed|mens|ene|the
past andareunab|eteagteeenthe|tnatuteetthe|rs|gn|cance.
Outauthers suggestthat||thepastwetetea||ywhatwebe||eve
|ttebe,that|s,cemp|etedandc|esed,|tweu|dnetbthegreunds
e|such vehementd|scuss|ens. Theysuggestthata||euracts of
understanding ate se many tecemmencements, re-iterations e|
events st||| uncenc|uded. Each ene e| us, w|||y-n|||y, |s the
|n|t|atere|events |n Botqa|ya, whethet they abett |n |tshe||
et bear |ru|t |n |ts parad|se. W||e we be||eve that we are
|ak|ng at what |s past and unchangeab|e, we are |n |act cen-
summat|ng eur ewn |uture. Out authers w||| shew us hew a
whe|e reg|en |n Borqa|ya |s peep|ed, post mortem, by eur |m-
perat|vesand w|shes that |ste say, by thatwh|chd|rectseur
actse|un1erstand|ngaswe||aseurbehav|er.It|e||ewsthatthe
whe|ee|theundet|y|ngmetaphys|cs|sthate|anunceas|ngte-
currence e| the Cteat|en ( tajaddud) ; net a metaphys|cs e| the
ens andtheesse, bute|theesto, e|being |nthe|mpetat|ve.But
the event |s put, et put aga|n, |n the |mpetat|ve en|y because
|t|s|tse||theiterative |erme|being bywh|ch|t|sta|sedtethe
tea||tye|anevent.Pethaps,then,wesha||g||mpsethe|u||grav-
|tye|a sp|r|tua| event ande|the sp|t|tua| sense e|evenu pet-
ce|ved |n Batqa|ya, when at |ast censc|eusness red|scevets the
G|vet e| what |s g|ven. Evetyth|ng|s sttange, sayeut authets,
whenenesets|eetenthatEatthwhetetheImpess|b|e|s|n|act
accemp||shed. Pet a|| eut menta| censttuct|ens, a|| eut |mpeta-
t|ves,a||eutw|shes,eventhe|evewh|ch|sthemestcensubstan-
t|a| w|th eur be|ng~a|| that weu|d be neth|ng but metaphor
w|theut the |nterwet|d e| Hotqa|ya, the wet|d |n wh|ch eut
sybe|sare,setespeak,tuen||teta||y.
MatchI60
XXI X
Publisher's Note
The system e| traas||terat|ea |a th|s ve|ume cea|erms te the
sty|ee|theL|brarye|Ceagresscata|egue, aa1 1|ers|remthat
use1|atheethertweve|umesbyBearyCerb|apub||she1|ath|s
serres.
XXX
NOTE ON ILLUSTRATIONS
The des|gne|the Frent|sp|ece |srepreduced|rema s||k text||e
|n the ce||ect|en e| the C|eve|and Museum e| Ar, purchased
|rem the J. H. Wade Fund. lt a|se appears |n a beek by
Gasten W|et ent|t|ed Soeries persanes ( Mme|res de |'lnst|tut
d'Egypte, Ve| . 52, Ca|re, 1 947, P| . Xl and pp. 55-63 ) . The
er|g|na| gure en s||k was d|scevered |n 1 925, tegether w|th
many ether extraerd|nary p|eces, when certa|n graves acc|den-
ta||ycamete ||ght|ntheh|||s ad]e|n|ngthesanctuarye|8habr-
Baeu,net|ar|rem Ray ( theRhagese|theBeeke|Teb|as ) , a
|ewm||estetheseuthe|Teheran.
lt can b |n|erred |rem the p|ace e| the d|scevery that th|s
was a prec|eusmater|a|eeredby|r|en
|
serre|at|ves|erwrap-
p|ngthe bedye|a deceasedpersen (c|. Issa Behnam, |nRevue
de Ia Faculte des Lettres de l'Universite de Teheran, Octeber
1956 ) . lt|ssa|dtedate|remthe|thcentury ( e|eventhcentury
c. E. ) and was |eund |n a state e| per|ect preservat|en. lcene-
graph|ca||y, |t |s |nterest|ng as a met|| |a the 8asan|d sty|e en
mater|a| dat|ng |rem the great ls|am|c per|ed. The s|te e| the
d|scevery makes |t even mere |nterest|ng, |er, accerd|ng te
lran|antrad|t|en,the pr|ncess 8hahr-Baao, daughtere|the | ast
8asan|d ru|er, Yazdgard lll, became the w||e e| Busayn |bn
'Air, theTh|rdlmame|the8hr|tes,andherewendanexpres-
s|en, |cenegraph|c and tepegraph|c, e| th|s ua|en e| Mazdean
lranaad8hr|telran.
Beyenddeubtthedes|gnrepresentsthethemee|theascentte
Beaven a yeut
j
, w|th a reya| heade|ha|rasa ha|e,|scarr|ed
e |ntespaceby a great,|antast|c b|rdthathe|dsh|menc|esed
|n |ts breast. Certa|n sty||zed deta||s suggest that th|s b|rd b
|dent|ed, aet mere|y as a twe-headed eag|e, but as the 'anqi'
( tbepbeealx ) ersrmurgbwh|ch,a|ready|ntbeAvestaas|nthe
| ster Persi an mysti cal ep|cs, assumes se many symbe||c |unc-
tlaas,even bcemi agtbeemo|em e|the Be|y8p|r|t. ltweu|dbe
uele!! to mul ti pl y examples ohed en euter ana|eg|es ( wh|ch
XXXI
Note on Illustrations
weu|d|eadus|arae|d,eventetheabduct|ene|Gaaymede,|er
|astance i. But |t |s e| d|rect |aterest te draw atteat|ea te aa
ep|sede|nthehere|cep|c e|Iran, name|y, the abduct|eae|Za| ,
seae|8am,whewasnurturedand reared bythe b|rd 8tmurgh.
8uhrawardt deve|eped at great |ength |n ene e| h|s myst|ca|
remancesthesp|r|tua|mean|nge|th|sep|sede.And|nth|ssease
|tcemes na||y |nte |u|| accerd w|th the /adith wh|ch, w|theut
|unherre|ereace, caa best |eaduste med|tat|en eathe symbe|-
|sm e| th|s |mage. The /adith |a quest|en a||udes te the green
Bird whesebreasteersshe|ter,|ntheetherwer|d,tethesp|r|ts
e|thew|tnessese|truth.As|nterpretedby8|maaai,eaee|the
lran|annf masters,th|s|sana||us|entethe|ermat|enaadthe
b|rthe|the resurrect|en bedy.Thusthe h|erat|c mevemeat e|
be|ag taken up te Beaven, wh|ch the Iran|an art|st has repre-
seatedhere, revea|s the mean|nge| what W|et se r|ght|y ca||s
|ts tr|umphant grav|ty.
Wesheu|dnetem|tpe|nt|ngeutthatexact|ythesamemet||,
w|tha||the|eaturesjust||y|agre|erencetethe/adith |nterpreted
by8|mnaai,gures amengthepa|nt|ngsadern|ngthece|||age|
the Pa|at|ne chae| at Pa|erme ( c|. Uge Menneret de V|||ard,
Le Pitture musulmane a softo della Cappella Palatina in Pa
lermo, pp. 47-48 and gs. 52-55, 245 ) . Whether er aet the
Pa|erme pa|aters came |rem Fanm|d Egypt, |t |s kaewa that
they were |asp|red by themes er|g|nat|ng |er the mest part |a
lran, ande|ten,as |nthe presentcase, d|d nemerethan repre-
ducethem.
Thep|ate|ac|ngpage 32 |s|rema Pers|ananthe|egy,a maau-
scr|ptdated8h|razA. D. 1398 |ntheTurkve Is|amMuzes| , Is-
tanbu|, and |s repreduced |rem Bas|| Gray, Persian Painting
( Geneva 8k|ra, 1956 ) by perm|ss|en e| the pub||sher. lt |s
d|scussedenp. 3 1 .
XXXII
I THE MAZDEAN IMAGO TERRAE
1 . "The Earth Is an Anger
Ina beek ent|t|ed On the Question of the Soul, G. T. Fechner
te||shewenaspr|ngmern|ng,wh||eatransgur|ng||ghtcasta
ha|e everthe|acee|theearth,he was strucknet mere|y bythe
esthet|c |dea, but by the v|s|en and cencrete ev|dence that the
Earth|sanAnge|,suchagergeeus|yrea|Ange|,se||keaewer|
But, he added w|th me|anche|y, newadays an exper|ence ||ke
th|s |s d|sm|ssed as imaginary. It |s taken |er granted that the
earth|saspher|ca|bedy,as|ergett|ngteknewmereabeutwhat
|t |s, th|s |s just a matter e| research |n the m|nera|eg|ca|
ce||ect|ens.
Th|s br|e| |yr|ca| cen|ess|en prempts us te reect en twe

pe|nts. In the rst p|ace, we have te remember that Fechner
h|mse||wreteaZend-Avesta, wh|ch|sh|smest|mpertantph||e-
seph|ca| werk, |n |t he d|sp|ays threugheut the reseurces e|
ana|eg|ca| reasen|ng, ceunter perhaps te the demands e| str|ct
ph||esephy,butman||est|ng|nth|swayh|sapt|tude|erperce|v-
|ng symbe|s. A|theugh the beek, w|th the except|en e| |ts t|t|e,
has neth|ng |n cemmen w|th the sacred beek e| Zereastr|an
Mazda|sm,|t|sneverthe|essa|actthatthecognitio matutina by
wh|ch theEarth|srevea|edte eurph||esepheras anAnge|''|s
cemp|ete|y|naccerdw|ththedectr|neandpract|cee|theAvesta,
|a wh|ch, |er examp|e, we read the |e||ew|ng ( |n the r|tua| e|
the twenty-e|ghth daye| the menth ) We are ce|ebrat|ngth|s
||turgy |nhenere|theEarthwh|ch|sanAnge| .-
There rems|ns, e|ceurse,acerta|n |ack e|prec|s|en |nFech-
I. Mazdean Imago Terrae
aer's v|s|ea. Be seems te have |deat|ed the |ace e| the earth,
ha|eedbythe spr|ag||ght, w|th the actua| emgy e|the Aage| ,
when |n |act the te||ur|c g|ery |s the ||turg|ca| creat|ea, the
h|erurge|that Earth Aage|whese |eatures areperce|vedas a
g|er|ed humaa |mage. But such exact percept|ea presuppeses
the per|ect exerc|se e|th|s |acu|ty, the degradat|en aad neg|ect
e|wh|ch|sexact|ywhatPechaerdep|eres.Aadth|s|sthesecead
pe|atteremember.The|actthatthepercept|eae|theEarth as
aa Aage| caa be c|assed as |mag|aary, as uarea| , s|ga|es aad
|ad|catesthatth|swaye|perce|v|agaadmed|tat|agtheEarth|s,
ea the ceatrary, ||aked w|th a psyche-sp|r|tua| structure wh|ch
we have te red|scever |a erder te br|ag eut the va|ue e| the
meaase|kaew|edge|teers.
Esseat|a||yth|smedee|percept|ea|mp||esan|ate||ectua||ac-
u|ty that |saet ||m|ted tethe se|eusee| ceaceptua| abstract|ea
aer te the seasery percept|ea e| phys|ca| data. That |s why
Pechaer's avewa| , te the very extent that |t |s a va||d rem|ader
e| the Mazdeaa aage|e|egy, ca||s en us te ||ak tegether twe
equa||y |aseparab|e quest|eas . that e| the Mazdean percept|ea
e|theEarth,as|tar|ses|atheperspect|vee|anaage|e|egy, aad
cerre|at|ve|y, that e| the mede e| appreheas|en e| be|ngs aad
th|ags wh|ch|tpresuppeses aadwh|chd|ers eat|re|y|remthe
ea|yeaeacknew|edgedbyeurpes|t|vesc|eace aad,|nc|deata||y,
byeurgeegraphy.
Teceme|acete|acew|ththeEarthnetasaceng|emerat|en
e|phys|ca||acts but|nthe persene||tsAnge||s anesseat|a||y
psych|ceventwh|chcaatakep|acene|thet|nthewer|de||m-
persena|abstractceaceptsaereathep|aaee|meresensetydata.
The Eanh has te be perce|ved aetbythe senses, butthreugh
a pr|merd|a| Image aad, |aasmuch as th|s Image carr|es the
|eatures e| a perseaa| gute, |t w||| preve te symbe||ze w|th
the veryImage e||tse||wh|ch the seu| cart|es |a |ts |aaemest
depths. Thepercept|ene|theEarthAage|w|||cemeabeut|aae
|atermed|ate ua|verse wh|ch |s ne|thet that e| the Esseeces e|
ph||esephy aer that e| the seasery data en wh|ch the werk e|
pes|t|ve sc|eace |s based, but wh|ch |s a ue|verse e| archetyoe-
lmages, exper|eaced as se many erseaa| presences. Ia recao
4
1 . "The Earth Is an Anger'
tur|ngthe |ntent|ens en wh|ch the censt|tut|en e| th|s un|verse
depnd, |n wh|ch the Earth |s represented, med|tated, and en-
ceuntered|nthepersene||tsAnge|,wedlsceverthat|t|smuch
|essamattere|answer|ngquest|enscencern|ngessences ( what
|s |t i than quest|ens cencern|ng persen ( whe |s |t er te
whem dees |t cerrespend i , |er examp|e, who |s the Earth
who are the waters, the p|ants, the meunta|ns er, to whom de
theycerrependTheanswertethesequest|enscausesanlmam
te appear and th|s lmage |nvar|ab|ycerrespendstethe presence
e| certaln state. Th|s |s why we have te recapture here the
phenemenene|theEanhasanange|ephanyermenta|appar|t|en
e| |ts Ange| |n the |undamenta| ange|e|egy e| Mazda|sm as a
whe|e,|n that wh|ch g|ves |tscesme|egyand |tsphys|csastruc-
turesuchthatthey|nc|udeananswertethequest|en,whe
Te |eresta|| any m|sunderstand|ng and make c|ear the |u||
s|gnlcance e|the um ange|e|egy, wh|ch we requ|re |n erder
te th|nkthe Mazdean h|erephany e|the Earth, wehave a|sete
remember th|s. Ange|e|egy |s ene e|the character|st|c |eatures
e| Zereastr|an Mazda|sm, |er wh|ch reasen |t can ne|ther be
reduced te an abstract andmene||th|c type e|menethe|sm, ner
|nva||datedbywhatpeep|ehavetr|edte|nterpretasa returnte
theancleatgeds,eraresterat|ene|pre-Zereastr|anpe|ythe|sm.
A sp|rltua| merphe|egy, the a|m e| wh|ch |s te restere and te
va|er|zeeect|ve|y||ved devet|en,demandsthatwecemprehend
thecanenlca|Avestaasawhe|e,erat|eastthatparte||twh|ch
hasreached us, name|y,the r|tua| wh|ch preserves |n|ts center
the Psa|ms (Githi) e| Zarathustra, and |s cemp|eted by the
cemmentarlesandtrad|t|ens|nm|dd|elran|an (Pah|av| i and|n
Perslan. Bere aga|n, when the be||ever |s rec|t|ng h|s B|b|e er
wbea tbe |lturgy |s be|ngce|ebrated,the ebject|ensjust|ed by
blsterlca| strat|cat|ens weu|d appear te b w|de e| the mark.
|na|wayswaatlngteknewwhereth|ngsceme|remenewan-
ders aoat aa||y lnvala pursu|te|a success|en e|hypetheses.
If, on tbe etber hand, we ask eurse|ves, te what dees th|s
| rnd1 t hr Houl , ea belngqaestlened, canat|east g|ve us |rre|u-
t nhlr rvidr.ntc of what it wished. Tbe seu| cannet beexp|alned,
it IN t hr Ncml itNrl f whi ch iH t he pri nci ple e| every exo|aaatlen
and the key te |t. Th|s |s why, |er maay ceatur|es, Maz1eaa
p|ety has recegn|ze1 the equ|va|ent e| |ts Y azatas ( the A1er-
ab|eOnes i |nthegurese|Aage|san1Archaage|s ( frishtagan
|nPers|an ) . O|ceurse,the|reate|eg|ca|status|squ|te 1|ereat
|rem that e| the b|b||ca| er Uuran|c aage|s, they are ae|ther
servaats ner messeagers, but rather gures heme|egeus te the
Dii-Angeli e| Prec|us. Oath|s pe|at I am ceav|ace1 that Nee-
p|aten|sm ( wh|ch|thas|eagbeea|ash|enab|ete1|sparage i was
|nn|te|yc|esertelraa|anaage|e|egy,aadteabetterua1erstaa1-
|ng e| the theurg|ca| aa1 1em|urg|ca| re|e e| |ts heaven|y ea-
t|t|es than the ph||seph|ca| |mprev|sat|eas |n wh|ch re|| g|eus
h|ster|ans are aptte |n1u|ge whenthey are shert e|categer|es.
Wehave an exact trad|t|ente |e||ew||we w|sh te ua1erstaa1,
|erexamp|e,whattheAnge|se|theEarthprec|a|mteMaz1eaa
p|ety.
Bere |t |s abse|ute|y aecessary that we reca|| the geaera|
schemae|Maz1eaacesme|egy,that|s,the geaera|schemathat
|sthestructuree|theheavea|yp|eremae|||ght. Un|ertuaate|y,
wecanen|yrestate |there|abrea1eut||ne.TheMaz1eaav|s|ea
d|v|1esth|nkab|eteta||ty|atean|na|teheight e|L|ght|awh|ch
there dwe||s, |er a|| etera|ty, Ohrmaz1 ( the Avestaa Ahura
Maz1a i , the Ler1 W|s1em, aa1 aa ua|athemab|e abyss e|
arkaess that cencea|s the Aatagea|st, the Ceuaterpewer e|
aegat|ea, 1|s|ategrat|ea, aa1 1eath, Ahr|man ( the Avestaa
AngraMa|ayu i.BetweeathePewere|L| ght aa1the Ceuater-
pewere|arknessthere|saecemmen greua1,necemprem|se
e|ceex|stence,butamerc||essbatt|ee|wh|cheurEarth,tegether
w|th a||v|s|b|e Creat|en, |sthe e|1,unt||the censummat|eae|
the Aeon, the apokatastasis erresterat|ea wh|ch w||| put aa
ea1tethem|xture(gumechishn ) bytheseparat|en (ticharishn )
that w|||castthedemen|c Ceuaterpewers back |nte the|r abyss.
Te be sure, th|s v|ew e| th|ags |s by ne means the ch||1|sh
cencepttewh|ch,aswe|requeat|yseeaewa1ays,certa|nwr|ters,
pressed|er t|me er |||-|n|ermed, re1uce semeth|agthey be||eve
te be newMaz1a|sm, aewMaa|che|sm, descr|b|ag|t as |acem-
p|ete andrud|meatary. Th|sv|ew has aeth|agat a| | te 1e w|tb
pre|ess|ag that the be|ags whe surreua1 M nrt: c i ther "white"
6
etb|ack.The state |awh|ch we ||ve |s prec|se|y eae e| m|x-
ture.What|s|aquest|ea|sacerta|awaye|uaderstaad|agth|s
m|xtureaadawaye|be|agteward|t,wh|chd|erspte|euad|y
|remthatwh|ch|s|asp|red|ausby eurready-made aad rare|y
cha||eaged ]udgmeats.
New, |t |s a character|st|c |eature e| the Zeteastr|aa v|ew
thatthe LerdW|sdemsheu|da|ways appearsurreuaded by s|x
Pewers e|L|ght w|th wh|ch he h|mse|| ( as the rst, er as the
seveath ) |ermsthe supreme1|v|ae Beptad. Oathe pretext that
what|s|aquest|ea|sa se-ca||edpr|m|t|vetheught,therehave
beeaeccas|eaa| attempts te reduce these Pewers teaspectse|
the supteme d|v|a|ty, w|theut tak|ag |ate acceuat that such a
meda||sm weu|d, ea theceatrary, |mp|y h|gh|y deve|epedthee-
|eg|ca| specu|at|ea, aad that |a aay case the |mpu|se e| p|ety
hasaeth|agtedew|ththesesubt|eabstract|easaadd|st|act|eas,
but|sd|rectedtewardheavea|yPerseas,the|asc|aat|eae|whese
beautyhasbeeaexpet|eacedaadwhesepewerhasbeeaackaew|-
edged as eect|ve. These are the 8evea Pewetswhe ate des|g-
aated as the Amahraspands ( the Avestaa Amerta Spenta ) , a
aame that |scurreat|ytraas|ated as the Be|y lmmetta|s,the|r
he||aess |s uadersteed aet as a caaea|ca| attr|bute, but as a
ttaas|t|ve, act|ve, aad act|vat|agEaergy that cemmua|cates be-
|ag, estab||shes |t, aad causes |t te superabeuad |a a|| be|ags.
These are the 8evea Pewers whe are a|se geaera||y des|gaated
as the Zereastr|aa Atchaage|s.
YashtXlXe|theAvesta( that|s,eaee|the||turg|ca|hymas
w|th a character|st|c aat|pheaa| structure ) descr|bes |a wea-
dreustermsthe|tsp|eadetaadthemysterye|the|rte|at|eash|p.
Thehymace|ebratestheseArchaage|s,a||8eveae|whemhave
the sametheught, the samewerd,the same act|ea . . . theysee
each ethets'seu|s eagaged|amed|tat|agtheughts e|t|ghteeus-
aess,|amed|tat|agwerdse|r|ghteeusaess,|amed|tat|agact|eas
e| r|ghteeusaess,|amed|tat|agthe Abedee|Bymas, aad they
haveoathse||| ghtbywh|chtetrave|tethe||turg|es |ce|ebtated
|a the|r heaerJ . . . whe created aad gevera the creatures e|
Ahura Maz1a,whe|ermedthemaad1|rectthem,whearethe|r
protccton aadtheir ||beraters.
7
8ethete |s, ameagthe8eveaArchaage|s,asette|unio mys
tica, wh|chmakesthed|v|aeBeptadasd|ereat|remthecutteat
wayse|desct|b|ag meaethe|sm as|remthesete|ett|agte pe|y-
the|sm, we weu|dde betterte speake| a kathenotheism, |a the
seasethateach e|theP| gurese|theBeptadcaabemed|tated|a
tuta as actua||z|ag the teta||ty e| the re|at|eas cemmea te the
ethets. Ia the texts we caa |e||ew a certa|a esc|||at|ea wh|ch
semet|mes eahaaces the pr|macy e| the Lerd W|sdem ameag
the8evea, aadsemet|messttessesh|sunio mystica w|ththe( s|x i
ethetPewetse|L|ght. Thus,|athePah|av|texts,the|tequeacy
w|th wh|ch Ohtmazd, |a|t|at|ag Zarathustta h|s ptephet, te|ers
te We, the Atchaage|s cetrespeads, |athe Avesta |tse||,te
theusee|thewetdMazda |athep|uta|,the LetdsW|sdem,
te des|gaate the Amahraspaads as a whe|e. Ia cempar|sea, we
c
,
a teca|| hew, |a Ph||e, the Leges|| aet Ged B|mse||~|s
ca||edbytheaamee|Archaage|, becausehe|s"Apxov 'Ayi>.rv. 9
Ttad|t|eaa||y,|ameata||ceaegtaphy,as a|se aedeubt|atea|
|ceaegraphy,10 the d|v|ae Beptad |s gured as d|v|ded |ate twe
greups thtee Archaage|srepteseatedasmascu||aeeathet|ght
e| Ohtmazd, three |em|a|ae Atchaage|s ea h|s |e|t. Ohtmazd
h|mse||teua|testhe|ttwe|e|daatute,s|ace|t|ssa|de|h|mthat
hewas ateae aadthe same t|me the |athet aadthe methet e|
Cteat|ea. A||the 8evea tegethetpteducedcteatedbe|ags bya
||turg|ca| act, that |s, by ce|ebtat|ag the heavea|y L|turgy. -
Eache|the8eveaPewers e|L|ght,byv|ttuee|theEaetgythat
evetews|tem|tsbe|ag,bt|ags|etththe|tact|eae|the be|ags
that |n the teta||ty e|cteat|ea tepteseats |ts petseaa| h|etutgy,
aadwh|ch|etth|steaseacaabedes|gnatedby|tsewaname.
Ash|sewah|etutgy,astheeb]ecte|h|scteat|veaadptev|deat
act|v|ty,Ohtmazdhastakenthehumanbe|ag,etmeteptec|se|y
thatpatte|humaa|tythathascheseatetespeadeaeatth|etthe
be|ags e| L|ght. O| the thtee mascu||ae Atchange|s Vohu
Manah ( exce||ent theught, Vehumaa |a Pahlavi, Bahmaa |a
Persian ) hasuadettakeatheptetect|eae|thewhe|eaa|ma|ctea-
t|ea,Arta Vahishta ( pet|ectex|steace,Attvah|sht,Utdib|h|sht i ,
the gevetament e| F|te |n a|| |ts d|eteat maa||estat|eas,
Xshathra V airya ( des|tab|e te|ga, 8hathrlYarq Shahrlvar ) , the
8
gevetameate|themeta|s. As|etthethtee|em|a|aeAtchaage|s .
Spenta Armaiti (Speadarmat, Is|aadatmuz ) has as het ewa
h|etutgy theEatt
h
asa |eme|ex|steacewhese Image |sW|s-
dem, aad wemaa tegatded as a be|ag e| ||ght, te Haaratat
( |ategt|ty, Khutdad ) be|eagthe Watets, the aquat|c wet|d |a
geaeta| , te Amertct ( |mmena||ty, Mutdad ) be|eagthe p|aats,
theeat|tevegetab|ek|agdem.These atetheh|etutg|ca|te|at|eas
that |ad|catetehumaabe|ags ptec|se|ywhete aadhewtemeet
the |av|s|b|e Pewetse|L|ght,that |s, byceepetat|agw|ththem
|etthe sa|vat|ea e| the cteatuta| teg|ea wh|ch |s depeadeat ea
the|tpatt|cu|at ptev|deace.
Iath|s wetk thesupteme Atchaage|s ate he|ped |athetst
p|acebythemaayYazatas ( lzad |aPets|aa, ||teta||ytheAdet-
ab|e Oaes, whe ate the eb]ects e| a ||tutgy, a Y aana ) , these
ate the Aage|s ptepet te Mazda|sm, aad the aet|ea e| the|t
ceepetat|ea w|th the Amahtaspaads suggests a stt|k|ag cea-
vetgeace w|th the aage|e|egy e| Neep|atea|sm. Ameagthem
|s Zamyat, the |em|a|ae Aage| e|the Eatth, as Dea Te"estrs
aadte||ut|cG|ety,wheceepetatesw|ththeAtchaam|Amenat.
Seme peep|e have tegatded het as a mete deub|et e| Speata
Atma|t| , |a the ead we sha|| see that the|t |uact|eas aad the|t
petseas ate d|st|act. Meteevet, a||the Ce|est|a|s ate Yazatas,
|ac|ud|ag Ohtmazd aad the Amahtaspaads, a|theugh a|| the
Yazatas ate aet Amahtaspaads, w|th respct te whem they
etm a k|ad e| subetd|aate h|erarchy. F|aa||y, thete ate the
ceuat|ess mu|t|tude e||em|a|ae ce|est|a| eat|t|es ca||ed Fravarti
( ||teta||y, these whe have chesea, meaa|ag these whe have
cheseateght|aetdettecemetethehe|pe|Ohtmazd ),
whe
ate at eae aadthesamet|metheheavea|yatchetypes e|b|ags
aad the|t tespect|ve tute|aty aage|s, metaphys|ca||y they ate
ae |ess aecessaty thaa the Yazatas, s|ace w|theut the|r he|p
Ohrmazd ceu|d aet have de|eadedh|s cteat|en aga|ast the de-
sttuct|ve |avas|ea e|the demea|c Pewets.
They presuppese a
un|versa|sttuctutee|be|agaade|be|agsaccetd|agteMazdeaa
eate|egy. Evety phys|ca| etmeta| eat|ty, evetycemp|ete be|ng
er greao e| be|ags be|eag|agte the wet|de| L|ght, |ac|ud|ag
Ohnnnzd, the Amahraspaads, aadthetzads, has|tsFtavatt| .
f)
Whattheyaaaeuaceteeatth|ybe|ags |s,thete|ete, aaessea-
t|a||ydua|sttuctutethatg|vesteeacheaeaheavea|yatchetype
etAage| , whese eatth|y ceuatetpatt he|s. la th|s sease, thete
|sa dualitude eveameteesseat|a|teMaz1eaacesme|egythaa |s
the dualism e|L|ght-Datkaess, wh|ch |s|tsmestcemmea|yte-
membeted aspect, th|s 1ua||sm mete|y exptesses the dtamat|c
phase uadetgeae by the Cteat|ea e| L|ght whea |ava1ed aad
b|em|shedbythe1emea|cPewets,aa1|sa1ua||smwh|ch|atet-
ptets th|s aegat|v|ty w|theut cemptem|se, w|theut te1uc|agthe
ev||teapriatio boni . As|ettheesseat|a|1ua||tude, |tcea]e|as
eae be|age| ||ghtw|th aaethetbe|age| ||ght, but aevetcaa a
be|age|||ght becemp|emeatedby a be|age|datkaess, wete |t
|ts ewa shadew the ptepetty e| bed|es e| ||ght ea the ttaas-
guted Eatth |s ptec|se|y aet te cast a shadew aad |a the
p|etema |t |s a|ways m|1day. -
Th|s dua| sttuctute estab||shes a etseaa| te|at|eash|p that
pata||e|s that ethet bas|c te|at|eash|p exptessed |a Mazdeaa
cesme|egyby the d|st|act|ea betweea the menik state aad the
getik statee|be|ags. Th|sd|st|act|ea|saetexact|ybetweeathe
|ate|||g|b|e aadtheseasety, aet s|mp|ybetweea the|acetpetea|
aad the cetpetea| ( |er the Ce|est|a| Pewets have vety subt|e
bed|ese|||ght ), the d|st|act|ea|stathet a mattet e|the te|a-
t|eash|pbetweeathe|av|s|b|e aa1thev|s|b|e,thesubt|eaadthe
dease,theheavea|yaadtheeatth|y,ptev|1ed|t|sc|eat|yuadet-
steedthatthegetik state( eatth|y,matet|a|) |a|tse||byaemeaas
|mp||esa degtadat|eae|be|ag,butthat|twas|tse||, be|etethe
Aht|maa|aa|avas|ea, as|tw|||bethetea|tet,ag|et|eusstatee|
||ght,peace, aad|acetmpt|b|||ty.Evetybe|agcaabetheughte|
|a|ts menok state, aswe|| as|a|tsgetik state ( |etexample, |a
|tsheavea|ystate,theeatth|sca||edzam; |a|tsemp|t|ca|,mate-
t|a| ,peadetab|estate |t|s ca||edzamik, etzamin |a Pets|aa i.
Beteptec|se|yweatt|veatthatpatt|cu|atmedee|petcept|ea
e|be|agsaadth|agswh|ch,byteach|agthepess|b|||tye|uadet-
staad|agae|eagets|mp|ywhat theyate,butwho theyate, w|||
a||ewustemeetthem|athepetseae|the|tAage|. It |s qu|te
ev|deat that the meata| v|s|ea e| the Aage| e| tbe Eatth, |et
examp|e, |s aet a seasety expet|eace. l|, by l ogknl habit, we
1
c!ass||yth|s|actas|mag|aaty,thequest|ea aeaethe|ess tema|as
astewhatcaajust||yaa|deat|cat|eae|what|s|mag|aaryw|th
what|satb|ttatyaaduatea| , the quest|en as te whethet tepte-
seatat|eas det|v|ag|tem phys|ca| petcept|ea ate the ea|y eaes
tebceas|detedasreal kaew|edge,whethetphys|ca||yvet|ab|e
eveats a|eae caa be eva|uated as |acts. We must ask eutse|ves
whether the |av|s|b|e act|ea e| |etces that have the|t pute|y
phys|ca|exptess|ea|aaatuta|ptaessesmayaetbt|ag|atep|ay
psych|c eaetg|es that have beea aeg|ected et pata|yzed by eut
aab|ts,aadd|tect|yteuchaalmag|aat|eawh|ch,|at|tembe|ag
arb|ttaty |aveat|ea, cettespeads te that lmag|aat|ea wh|ch the
a|chem|sts ca||ed Imaginatio vera aad wh|ch |s the astrum in
homine. u
The act|ve lmag|aat|ea thus |aduced w||| aet pteduce seme
atb|ttaty, evea |yt|ca|, ceasttuct|ea staad|ag betweea us aad
rea||ty,butw|||,eatheceattaty, |uact|ea d|tect|y asa|acu|ty
aadergaae|kaew|edmjustasreal as~||aetmetetea|thaa~
theseaseetgaas.Bewevet,|tw|||petce|ve|athemaaaetptepet
te|t Theetgaa|saetaseasety|acu|tybutaaarchetype-Image
that|tpessessed|temthebeg|aa|ag,|t|saetsemeth|agdet|ved
|temaayeutetptcept|ea. Aadthe ptepenye|th|s lmage w|||
be prec|se|ythate|eect|agthettaasmutat|ea e|seasety data,
the|t rese|ut|ea |ate the put|ty e|the subt|e wet|d, |a etdet te
testetethem as symbe|s te b dec|phered, the key b|ag |m-
pt|ated|atheseu| |tse||. 8uchpetcept|eathteughthe lmag|aa-
t|ea |s thete|ete equ|va|eatte a dematet|a||zat|ea, |t chaages
thephys|ca|datum|mptessedupeatheseases|aapurem|ttet,
asp|t|tua|ttaaspateacy,thus|t|sthattheEatth,aadtheth|ags
aad b|ags e| the Eatth, ta|sedte |acaadesceace, a||ew the ap-
pat|t|ea e| the|t Aam|s te peaettate te the v|s|eaaty |atu|t|ea.
Th|s be|ag se, the autheat|c|tye|the Eveat aad |ts |u|| tea||ty
ceas|st esseat|a||y e| th|s v|s|eaaty act aad e| the appat|t|ea
veuchsa|edby |t. Aadth|s|sthepte|euadmeaa|age|what,|a
theh|stety e| degma, |s ca||ed docetism, ceaceta|agwh|ch the
sameettershavebeeat|te|ess|yaadmeaeteaeus|ytepeated.
Thus|sceast|tutedth|s|atetmed|atywet|d,awet|de|atche-
tyoa|ce|est|a|l| gureswh|cbtbeact|velmag|aat|eaa|eae|sab|e
I I
I. Mazdean Imag Terae
to apprehend. This Imagination does not construct something
unreal, but unveils the hidden reality; its action is, in short, that
of te ta'wil, the spiritual exegesis practised by all the Spirituals
of Islam, whose special quality is that of alchemical meditation:
to ocultate the apparent, to manifest the hidden. 26 It is in this
interediary world that those known as the 'urafa', the mystical
gnostics, have meditated tirelessly, gnosis here being taken to
mean tat perception which grasps the object not in its objec
tivity, but as a sig, an intimation, an announcement that is
fnally the soul's annunciation to itself.
Wen Suhrawardi, in the twelfth century, restored in Iran
the philosophy of Light and the angelology of ancient Persia,
his schema of the world was structured on the world of arche
typal Images, an interediary world in which transmutations
of te ephemeral into spiritual symbols take place and which,
by virtue of this, is the world where the resurrection of bodies
is efected. 28 Indeed, just as the body of the moral Adam was
created from the material Earth, so the soul "substantiates" its
resurrection bdy from the heavenly Earth, which it projects
and meditates upon. The connection is rigorous. The active
Imagination is the organ of metamorphoses : the transmutation
of the Earh into the substance of the resurrection body depends
upon its manner of meditating upn the Earth. Such meditation,
as te source of the soul's activities, is the organ of this birh.
The very idea of body having thus been made independent of
representations of the body of perishable fesh, leads inevitably
to the idea of this mystical Earh of Hurqalyl which we shall
see as govering the spirituality of Shakhim. The latter is a
school that arose in the midst of Iranian Shl'ism at the end of the
eighteenth century, and this idea remains without doubt the
truly creative contribution of that school in our time.
The task now will b to seek out how and under what condi
tions te fgure of the Angl takes shape exactly at the point
where the data of sensory perception are raised, as it were, to the
diaphanous state by the active Imagination ( when the gltik is
perceived in its mlnik ) . This task is chiefy to make it clear what
kind of an organ this archetyp-Image i s, through which the
1 2
active Imagination, by perceiving things directly, efects their
transmutation; how it is that once this transmutation is efected,
things refect its own Image to the soul, and how this self-recog
nition of the soul brings into bing a spiritual science of the
Earth and of earthly things, so that these things are known in
their Angel, as foreseen by the visionary intuition of Fechner.
Here there comes into play an Energy that sacralizes bth the
minok state and also the getik state of being; the representation
of this Energy is so basic to the entire Mazdean view of the
world that it was wholly incorporated into the philosophical
restoration that was the work of Suhrawardl. 27 This Energy is
operative from the initial instant of the formation of the world
until the fnal act announced and forecast in the technical term
Frashkart, which designates the transfguration to b accom
plished at the end of the Aeon by the Saoshyants or Saviors is
suing from the race of Zarathustra. This is the Energy that is
designated by the ter Xvara in the Avesta ( khurrah, farrah
in Persian ) . Several translators have attempted to defne it, to
convey all its shades of meaning.28 The term "Light of Glory"
seems to us to restore what is essential, if at the same time we
keep in mind te Greek equivalents, already given abve: ole
and Tvx, Glory and Destiny. 19 It is the all-luminous substance,
the pure luminescence of which Ohrmazd's creatures were con
stituted at their origin. "From it Ahura Mazda has created the
many and good . . . bautiful , marvelous . . creatures, full of
life, resplendent" ( Yasht XIX, 10 ) . It is the Energy of sacral
light which gives coherence to their being, which measures at
the same time the power and the destiny impared to a bing,
which ensures victory to the bings of light over the corruption
and the death introduced into the Ohrazdean creation by the
demonic Powers of darkness. This energy is thus assoiated
essentially with eschatological hops; so, in the liturgical chant
dedicated to Zamyat , the Angl of the Earth, the mention of the
creatures of light, whose attribute is this Light of Glory, calls
forth each time, in refrain, the following doxolog: "Of such a
ki nd thnt they will make a new world, freed from old age and
clruth from clecom
p
oAition and corrupti on, eternally living, eter-
l :
na||ygrew|ng,pessess|agpeweratw|||,wheathedeadw|||r|se
aga|n,when|mmerta||tyw||| ceme te the ||v|ag, andwhen the
wet|dw|||renew|tse||asdes|red ( YashtXIX, 1 1 .).
In |cenegraphy |t |s represeated by the |um|aeus ha|e, the
Aura Gloriae, wh|chha|eesthek|agsandpt|estse|theMazdeaa
te||g|en, and |atet by trans|eteace, the gres e|Buddhas and
Bed|sattvas,aswe||astheheavea|ygurese|pr|m|t|ve Chr|s-
t|an an. F|na||y, a passage |n the greatBundahishn, the Maz-
dean beek e| Genes|s, xes as prec|se|y as ene ceu|d w|sh the
d|tect|en |n wh|ch th|s |magery |s tead|ag, when |t |dent|es
Xvarah, that L|ghtwh|ch|sG|ery andDest|ay,w|ththe soul
|tse||. 8eth|s,na||yaadessent|a||y,|sthe|uadameata|Image,
|nwh|chandbywh|chtheseu|understands|tse||andperce|ves
|m energ|es and |ts pewers. In Maz1e|sm |t reptesents what
depthpsyche|egyhastaughtusted|st|ngu|sh asmearchetypa|
Image, hete |t|sthe Imago Animae. Aad perhaps we are thus
appteach|ng the secret structure revea|ed and made pess|b|e
bythev|s|ene|theEanh|a|tsAnm|.
That L|ght e| G|ery, wh|ch |s the archetype-Image e| the
Mazdean seu| , |s |n|actthe ergaa by wh|ch the seu| perce|ves
thewer|de|||ghtthat|se|thesamenatureas|tse||,andthreugh
wh|ch,et|g|aa||yandd|rect|y,theseu|eectsthetransmutat|ea
e| phys|ca| data, the very data wh|ch |er us are pes|t|ve, but
wh|ch |er the seu| weu|d be |ns|gn|cant. Th|s |s the very
Imagethattheseu|pre]ects|atebe|ngsandth|ags, ta|s|ngthem
te the |ncandescencee|that v|cter|a| F|re w|th wh|ch the Maz-
deanseu|hassetthewhe|ee|creat|enab|aze, aadwh|ch|thas
perce|vedabevea|||athedawnsam|ageathemeuata|apeaks,
|nthevetyp|acewhere|twasexpect|ngthereve|at|eae||tsewa
dest|ny,andtheTtansgurat|eae|the Eanh.
Inshert,|t|sbyth|spre]ect|eae||tsewnImagethattheseu| ,
|neect|ngthetransmutat|ene|the mater|a| Eanh, a|seestab-
||shes |tem the beg|nn|ag an Imago Terrae that reects aa1
anneunces |ts ewn Image te the seu| , that |s te say, an lmage
wheseXvarah |sa|setheseu|'sewaXvarnah. lt|satthatpe|at
~|nandbyth|sdeub|ereect|eae|thesameL| gbt e|G|ery=
thatthe Aage| e| the Eartb |s revea|e1 te t|emrntnl Ni ght, tbat
1 4
|stesay,thattheEanh|sperce|ved|atheperson e||tsAage| .
Aadth|s|swhat|sadm|rab|yaadpre|euad|yexpressed|aa|ea-
ture e| Mazdeaa aage|e|egy, bare|y peadered upea uat|| new,
whea |t |s p|ated eut that the Amahraspaad 8peata Ama|t| ,
the |em|a|ae Archaage| e| earth|yex|steace, |s the mether e|
Dan.
Daaa |s, |a |act, the |em|a|ae Aage| whe typ|es the traa-
sceadeat er ce|est|a| I, she appears te the seu| at the dawa
|e||ew|ag the th|rd a|ght a|ter |ts departure |rem th|s wer|d,
she|s|tsG|ery aad|tsDest|ay,|tsAeon. Themeaa|age| th|s
|ad|cat|ea,there|ere,|sthatthesubstaacee|the ce|est|a| Ier
Resurrect|eaBedy |seageadered aad|ermed|remthe ce|est|a|
Earth, that |s, |rem the Earth perce|ved aad med|tated |n |ts
Aage| . What |t a|se meaas |sthat the dest|ay e|the Earth ea-
trusted te the traasgurat|ve pewer e| the seu|se| ||ght |eads
tethe|u|||meate|theseseu|s,aadthatth|s|srec|praa|. Aad
such |s the pre|euad meaa|ag e| the Mazdean prayer, many
t|mesrepeated|atheceursee|the||turg|es Maywebeameag
thesewhearete br|ngabeuttheTraasgurat|ea e|the Earth
( YasaaXXX, 9 ) .
Themysterye|th|sImago Animae pre]ect|agtheImago Ter
rae, aadrec|praa||ythemysterye|th|s archetype-Imame|the
Earth substaat|at|ag the |ermat|ea e| the |uture teta| I, |s
expressed, there|ere, |a aage|e|eg|ca| terms |a the re|at|eash|p
re|erred te abeve. 8peata Arma|t|, whe |a the Pah|av| texts |s
|aterpreted as per|ect Theught, s||eat Med|tat|ea, aad whese
aame, exce||eat|y traas|ated by P|utarch as Sophia, ||ghts the
path e| Mazdeaa seph|e|eg~8pata Arma|t| |s the mether
e| Daaa, aad at the same t|me the eae ceacera|ag whem the
Mazdeaabe||ever,eah|s|a|t|at|eaattheagee||teea, |staught
tepre|ess Mymether|s8peadarmat,Archaage|e|theEarth,
aadmy |ather|sOhrmazd,theLerdW|sdem.-Inwhat|shere
the principium relationis we caa perce|ve semeth|ng ||ke a
Hszdesasacramentum Terrae; |a|tsesseace,and|remthevery
name 8pata Arms|t| 8eph|a, |tcaabedescr|bed asageosophy,
that i s to say as b|agtbeSophianic mysterye|theEarth,whese
commmution wi l l be |t eschatological Traasgurat|ea ( Frash-
1 5
kart ) . What we st||| have te |emu|ate prec|se|y here |a be|d
eut||ae |sthe metamerphes|s e|the|acee|theEarth as seeaby
theergane|theMazdeaaact|veImag|nat|ea.
The percept|ea e| the 8eph|aa|c mystery e| the Earth, e|
geesephy,ebv|eus|ycaaaettakep|ace|athe|ramewerke|pes|-
t|vegeegraphy.Itpresuppesesav|s|eaarygeegraphy,whathas
beear|ght|yca||eda|aadscapee|X varnah," that|s,a|aadscape
pregur|agtheFrashkart. Th|s|saetspreadeverpte|ane,pre-
v|eus|y determ|aed space,but |s ceaceatrated er ceaceatrates a
sacra|spacein medio mundi, |athe ceater e|thev|s|eaceatem-
p|ated |n the preseacee|thev|s|eaary seu| ( er e|the v|s|eaary
cemmua|ty ) , aad th|s space dees aet aeed te be situated, s|ace
|t|se||tse||situative. Geegraph|ca||eatures,meuata|as |er |a-
staace, arehereae|eagermere|yphys|ca||eatures,theyhave a
s|gn|caace |er the seu| , they are psyche<esm|c aspects. The
eveats that take p|ace there ceas|st |a the vety see|age| these
aspects, they are psych|c events. 8e the parad|se e| Y|ma, the
parad|see|the archetypes, ex|sts |ath|s ceater because |t|sthe
meet|ngp|acee|theBeavea|yBe|agsandtheEarth|yBe|ags.
8uch|stheImagee|theEatththatthecartegrah|ca|methed
e| the anc|eat Iraa|aas w||| revea| te us. !ust as a |aadscape
e| X varah caaaet be expressed by representat|ve art, but has
esseat|a||ytedew|thsymbe||cart,seth|smapmak|agdeesaet
|ead te repreduc|ag the eut||nes e| a cent|aent. Ramer, |t
shapes aa |astrumeat |er med|tat|en that makes |t pess|b|e
menta||y te reach the center, the medium mundi, er rather te
take pes|t|en thete d|rect|y. On|y a v|s|enary geegraphy can
be the scene e| v|s|eaary eveats, because |t |tse|| toes part |n
them, p|aats, water, meuata|as are transmuted |ate symbe|s,
that |s, perce|vedbythe ergan e|aa Image wh|ch |tse|| is the
preseace e| a v|s|eaaty state. L|ke the heaven|y F|gures, the
eanh|y|aadscapes then appearha|eedw|ththe L|ght e|G|ery,
resteredtethe|rparad|sa|pur|ty,aadthev|s|ease|Zarathustra,
h|smeet|ngsw|thOhmazdaadtheArchaage|s, takep|ace aa1
are Imag|aed |a a sett|nge| meuata|as b|az|ag |a the dawa
ande|heavea|ywaters|nwh|chgrewthep|aatse||mmerta||ty.
1 6
2. The Seven Keshvars
2. The Earth of the Seven Keshvars
The schema of the surface of the earth, as projected here by the
active Imagination, is as follows. 88 In the beginning, the Earth
was established as a continuous whole, but, because of oppres
sion by the demonic Powers, it was divided into seven keshvars
[kishvar 1 ( Avestan karshvar ) . Tis word should be understood
as representing something analogous to the Latin orbis : these
keshvars are zones of Te"a frma, rather than "climates." Not
only is the image not the same etymologically, but it is advisable
to forestall confusion with the division into climates properly so
called, which will come later.
There is the central keshvar, called X vaniratha ( which means
something like "luminous wheel" ) , the extent of which in itself
alone is equal to that of all the six other keshvars, which are
arranged around it and separated one from another by the cosmic
oean that surrounds them. There is one eastern keshvar, one
western keshvar, two to the north, two to the south. The keshvar
on the eastern side is called Savahi; the one on the western side,
Arezahi; the two keshvars to the south are Fradadhafshu and
Vidadhafshu; the two to the north are Vourubareshti and Vour
jareshti. The mythical oean surrounding and dividing them is
called Vourukasha. As to their situation, this is deduced astro
nomically in relation to the keshvar which is the center, whose
presence, therefore, has the quality of situating space, before
itself being situated in that space. In other words, it is not a mat
ter of a preexisting, homogeneous, and quantitative space in
which regions are distributed but the typical structure of a
qualitative space.
The eastern keshvar, Savahi, extends from the point where
the sun rises on the longest day to the pint wher it rises on
the shortest day. The two souther keshvars extend from this
last poi nt to the pint where the sun sets on the shortest day.
From there to the point where the sun sets on the longest day
extends the western climate, Arezahi . Finally the two northern
keshvnrs extend from this l ast point to where the sun rises on
1 7
I. Madean Imago Terrae
the |eagest day. The aames e| the s|x keshvats that sutteuad
the ceatta|c||mate e| Xvaa|tatha actua||y cettespead te vthi-
cal teg|eas ( F|g. 1 ) . Fetth|steasea|thas beeapess|b|etetake
North
West
8
East
South
Figure 1 . Diagram of the seven mythic keshvars.
them as et|g|aa||y te|ett|agtea ce|est|a| tepegtaphy |atet ap-
p||ed te tettestt|a| |eca||t|es, thus |akes aad meuata|as e| the
Eatth weuld b aamed a|tet the|t ce|est|a| atchetypes. As |et
the s|gn|caace e|the aames e| these keshvats, we caa d|v|ae
|t |tem the aames e| the s|x 8aeshyaats ( 8av|ets ) that cette-
speadtethemsymmett|ca||y,that |s,|temtheaamese|the s|x
hetees whe, each |ah|s ewa tespect|ve keshvat, will ceepetate
w|th the |ast e| the 8aeshyaats |a the ttaasgurat|ea e| the
wet|d.
1 8
Aswehave]ustsa|d,thearrangemente|thesekeshvarscer-
respend|ng te myth|ca| reg|ens dees net cenrm the data e|
ps|t|ve geegraphy, but g|ves shap te the Imago Terrae pre-
]ected by the |mag|nat|ve percept|en. Th|s be|ng se, |t |s ne
|enger pess|b|e teday, as |t was |n the beg|nn|ag, |er humans
tepass|remenekeshvarteanether.
A|ryanem Vae]ah ( Pah|av| .ran-Vej ) , the crad|e erseed e|
the Aryans (~ Iran|ans ), |s|n Xvan|ratha atthe center e|the
centra| keshvar. There |twas that the Kayan|ds, the herees e|
|egead,werecreated,there,theMazdeanre||g|en was |eunded
and |rem there spread |nte the ether keshvars, there w||| be
bern the |ast e| the 8aeshyants, whe w||| reduce Ahr|man te
|mpetence and bt|ng abeut the resurrect|en and the ex|stence
teceme.
In |tsturn, Xvan|ratha, wh|ch represents the teta||ty e| gee-
graph|c space new access|b|eteman, a|theugh |t|sen|yenee|
the seven parts e|the |nhab|ted Earth, was |ater d|v|ded |ate
sevenreg|ens, accerd|agte ap|an|nwh|ch acentra|c|rc|erep-
resents the |and e| Iran, areund wh|ch are greuped s|x ether
c|rc|es,butth|st|metangentteeaeanetherande|equa|rad|us.
Th|swasthemethede|c|rcu|arrepreseatat|enthattheIran|an
geegraphers e| the 8assan|d per|ed transm|tted te the Arabs,
Yaqat, |er |astance, werk|ag |rem aac|eat data, express|y at-
tr|butesth|smethede| geegraph|ca| represeatat|en te Zereaster
( F|g. 2 ) .
Th|smethed|sexact|ywhata||ewsusted|sceveranent|re|y
apprepr|ate way e| |mag|n|ng and med|tat|ng the Earth. In
|act, |t detem|nes a structure |adependent e| a|| systems e|
spat|a| ceerd|nates te pes|t an er|g|n |s a|| |t requ|res. In
ceatemp|at|ag th|s stmcture, eae's attent|ea cenverges teward
the ceater aad |s a|ways ca||ed back there, s|nce the |aat|en,
d|rect|ea, and er|entat|en e|the ether keshvars are determ|ned
by the center and er|g|aate |rem |t ( |a erder te grasp the cen-
trsst,|t samcestecempare|tw|ththecartegraph|ca|methede|
Pte|emy, |a wh|cb c||mates are represeated by para||e| be|ts
rangi ng eatward|remtheequater ) . Theeat|restructure,there-
|are,i " ardered in resoectto thi center-ori gi n. lawhateverp|ace
I. Madean Imago Terae
Figure 2. The seven geographic keshvars according
to Biruni ( lOt century ) .
accetd|agtepes|t|vegeegtaphywehavetes|tuatethept|m|t|ve
h|stery e|the Itaa|aas~whethet te the east |a ceatta| As|a et
tethewest |a Azetba|]aa~the meata| ptecess e| temembet|ag
|s the same the Eveats teek p|ace aad ate temembeted | a
Etan-Ve] , that |s,atthe center, wh|ch | satthe same t|me the
orgin. Thepteseacee|thesub]ectattheceatet|saetasituated
pteseacebutasituative pteseace.In medio mundi theseu||sae
|eagerbeuadtespat|a|ceetd|aates. Iasteade||a|||ag|ate,e|
hav|ng te be situated in a predetem|aed space, the seu| |tse||
spat|a||zes, |s a|ways the et|g|a e| the spat|a| te|eteaces aad
detem|aes the|t stmctute. Tat |s why we nd hete, aet aa
emp|t|ca|teptesentat|en,butanatchetypa|gure.
Theteareethetpess|b|eexamp|ese|th|sgre,wh|cha|ways
teadteestab||shtheseu| |atheceatetet|ead |tbackthete,be-
cause|t|snet|ad|spers|eabut |aceaceattat|eathattheImago
Terrae canreect|tsewaImagebacktetheseu| ,ettec|pteca||y,
thattheseu|caax|tsmed|tat|eaeatheatchetype-Image.Th|s
was, |etexamp|e,the meaa|age| the att and structure e| gar
deas|nItaa ( |t|skaewathateutwerd paradiu ori gi nated from
20
a Medeanwerd, pairidaeza) . That |swhy|tcan b sa|d that
the representat|en e| the Eanh w|th |ts seven keshvars as at
archetype-F|gure |s an |nstrument |er med|tat|en. It |s eere
asa mandala. Itgu|desamevemente|theughtthattrave|s, net
en a sy||eg|st|c er d|a|ect|ca| track, but as |n the way e| the
ta'wil, theexegesis e|symba|s, a sp|r|tua| exeges|s|ead|ngback
te the er|g|n, wh|ch |s the center,u there prec|se|y where the
apparent can b acu|tated andthe h|dden man||ested ( ]ust as
|n a|chemy, as neted abve ) . Th|s, |ndeed, |s the rea| trans-
mutat|ene|what|swr|tten ( whether|nabeeker|nthecesmes )
|nte symbe|s, what |s wr|tten |s ra|sedte|ncandescence and the
h|ddens|gn|cance sh|nesthreughthecever|ng,wh|chbecemes
transparent. Frem th|s p|nt we can grasp the cennect|en e|
such a cartegraphy w|th the events e| a v|s|enary geegraphy,
the geegraphye|a wer|dthat secretes |tsewn ||ght, ||kethese
Byzaat|ne mesa|cs whese m|d |||um|nes the space they encem-
pass, er ||ke the |cans er |andscaps e| seme Pers|an schae| ,
where the red-ga|d backgreund transgures the ce|ers, er ||ke
the parad|se e| Y|ma, in medio mundi, and a|se the Earth e|
Borqa|ya, en wh|ch we sha|| dwe|| at |ength |n the |e||ew|ng
pages.
Frem th|s pe|nt, wecanpassbeyendthe|eve| enwh|ch
was
pesed ene e| the mest |rr|tat|ng quest|ens, wh|ch termented
severa| generat|ens e| er|enta||sts Where d|d the Zereastr|an
preach|ag take p|ace? Where was Eran-V] , s|nce |t was |n
Eran-Ve] that Zarathustra had h|s v|s|ens and began ta teach?
Teday mest er|enta||sts take |er granted that the p|ace e| h|s
oreach|ng ( wh|chwecanst|||hear|nread|ngtheGathi) ,was
|ncentra|As|a,semewhere|ntheupperOxusreg|en,attheeast-
ern beundary e| the Iran|an wer|d. On the ether hand, th|s
preva|entsc|ent|c certa|ntycentrad|cts|aterIran|antrad|t|ens,
e| the 8asan|d and pest<asan|d per|ed, wh|ch weu|d p|ace the
b|rth and preach|nge|Zarathustraenthe western bundae|
the lraa|an wer|d, |n Azerba|]an. There have been attemptste
receac||ethesecentrad|ct|ensbuta|waysw|ththew|shterema|n
ea tbe greaadof oes|t|ve|acts 7arathustra was prebab|ybrn
|a tbe West but b|s oreac||agorebab|y teek p|ace |nthe East.
2 1
A recent se|ut|en was c|ear|y |nsp|red by the system e| the
keshvars. Inth|s case |t |s suggested that the sacredh|stery e|
pr|m|t|ve Zereastr|an|sm teek p|ace |n the East e| the Iran|an
wer|d, that the Zereastr|an m|ss|en then penetrated pregres-
s|ve|y teward the West e|the Iran|an wer|d unt|| ene ne day
the geegraph|c er|entat|en was s|mp|y reversed ( the eastern
keshvarbecamethewesternkeshvar ). Eventhewerd|a|s|ca-
t|encemes|nte|tenthegreundsthatthewesternMag||dent|-
edthehe|yp|acese|sacredh|stery ( theArax,Meunt8ava|an,
the he|yc|tye|8hiz ) a|tertheevent, w|theut th|s |dent|cat|en
hav|ngthe|easth|ster|ca|va|ue| ~
In rea||ty, the term |a|s|cat|en |s cemp|ete|y |rre|evant,
s|nce these quest|ens pe|nt |n |act te the preservat|en e| the
structure e| an essent|a||y qualitative space, whese reg|ens are
erdered |n re|at|en te ene anether, net accerd|ng te preestab-
||shed geemetr|ca| ceerd|nates, but accerd|ng tethe|r |ntr|ns|c
qua||cat|en. I|therewascemp|etetranspes|t|ene|thep|acee|
h|stet|ca| scenes,th|sfact presuppesesandbears w|tness |nthe
rst p|ace te the pess|b|||ty e| a menta| eperat|en, the ver|ca-
t|en and s|gn|cance e| wh|ch e|ude pes|t|ve sc|ence, wh|ch,
beund as|t|ste mater|a|data a|ene, |s thereby reduced te sus-
pect|ng|a|s|cat|en,even||uncensc|eus.Buttheschemae|the
sevenkeshvarscens|deredasanarchetypa|representat|enc|ear|y
revea|s te us th|s pess|b|||ty and the precess |nve|ved, that |s,
the presence that censt|tutes the center and wh|ch, assuch, |s
theorgin andnettheresu|tant e| spat|a| re|erences, wh|ch |s
nets|tuatedbutsituative. Th|s presence carr|es|tsspace a|eng
w|th |t w|theut need|ngte change the system e| spat|a| re|er-
ences as a whe|e. Or rather, s|nce th|s center |s st||| and at a||
t|mesthe Center,there has, |nthetea||tye|thepsych|c event,
beennerea|trans|er ( in space ) . Thes|gn|cancee|theCenter,
me medium mundi , as the p|ace where psyche-sp|r|tua| events
a|ways toe p|ace, as the space e| h|emphan|es, a||ews us te
pseme preb|em en a |eve| where trad|t|ena| certa|nty andthe
certa|nt|es e|pes|t|ve sc|ence ne |engercen|ct.
It|sbynemeanseur|ntent|entere|egatethe sacred h|stery
e|Zereastr|an|smtetherea|me||egend. But it iN C!lential te
22
2. The SeTen Keshvars
take |nte acceunt that |n whatever p|ace a h|stet|ca| event ( |n
thecurrentmean|nge|thetermi mayhavetaken p|ace |neuter
and mater|a| rea||ty, ver|ab|e by the senses e| these whe w|t-
nessed |t, there had te be~|n erder that net|cat|en e| the
Event sheu|d teachus |n|tssp|r|tua|identity, regard|esse| the
diversity e|thephys|ca||aa||zat|ens~anergane|temembrance
|unct|en|ng |n a way qu|te d|erent |rem the ver|cat|ens e|
eur pes|t|ve sc|ence, wh|ch, restr|cted te what |er |t are the
|acts, has thereby a ene-s|ded understand|ng e| the phys|ca|
event. Th|s ergan e| temembrance and re||g|eus med|tat|en |s
ptec|se|y the archetype-Image wh|ch, by b|ng pre]ected ente
mater|a||y d|vetse megaph|ca| spaces, has been ab|e te trans-
mutethembybr|ng|ngthembackte|tse||asCenter,|nsucha
waythattheh|erephan|c space |s a|ways and|n each case at the
center. Theact|veImag|nat|enhasthenbeenab|etecensecrate
themashe|yp|acesandidentify themeach time as b|ng|ndeed
thesameEarthe|v|s|en,nettheetherwayreund,name|y,that
seme mater|a| qua||ty ( even h|ster|ca| i e| spaces here and
there |mpeses ev|dence e| the|t sacredness, detem|nes the|r
|dent|ty,erenthecentrarycausesam|staketebemade.B|ere-
phan|estakep|ace|nthe soul, net|nthings. And|t|stheevent
|n the seu| that s|tuates, qua||es, and sacra||zes the space |n
wh|ch|t|s |mag|ned.
And se, what are the Events thattake p|ace |n Eran-Ve]?
Theteatethememetab|e||turg|es,ce|ebratedbyOhrmazdh|m-
se||, by the ce|est|a| be|ngs, by the |emndaryherees. Itwas |n
Eran-Ve]thatOhmazdh|mse||ce|ebrated||turg|es|nhenere|
Ardvt8oraAnah|ta,theB|gh, the8evere|gn, theImmacu|ate,
the Ange|-Geddesse| the ce|est|a| Waters, |n erder te ask her
that Zarathustra beattachedteh|mand be h|s|a|th|u|prephet
(YsshtV, I ).Zarathusttaaskedthesamegeddess|etthecen-
vers|ene|K|agVrshtaspa ( YashtV, I0 ) . Itwas|nEran-Ve]
thst the ceme|y Y|ma, Y|ma e| sh|n|ng beauty, the best e|
merts|s, rece|ved the erder te bu||d the enc|esure, the V ar,
where were gsthered tegetherthee|ect|rem ameng a|| be|ngs,
the |s|rest, the mest grsc|eas, thst they m|ght be preserved
from the mortal wi nter unleii Hhed hy the 1emea|c Pewers, snd
2:
seme day tepepu|ate a ttansgted wer|d. Indeed, the V ar e|
Y|ma |s, as |t wete, a c|ty, |nc|ud|ngheuses, stenheuses, and
rampans.Ithas|um|nescentdeersandw|ndewsthatthemse|ves
sectete the ||ghtw|th|n,|et|t |s |||um|nated beth by uncteated
andcteated||ghts.Butenceayeat,thestats,themeen,andthe
sunateseentesetandt|se,that|swhyayeatseemsbuta day.
Evety |etty yeats, each human ceup|e gves b|nh te anethet
ceup|e, mascu||ne and|em|n|ne. Andth|s pethaps suggests the
andtegneuscend|t|ene|thesebe|ngswhe||vethemestbeaut|-
|u|e|||vesw|th|ntheunchang|ngV ar e|Y|ma."
Is|tbymed|tat|enetbyacampa|gne|atchee|eg|ca| excava-
t|enthatwecanhepe ted|scevetthe ttaces e| th|s Patad|se e|
atchetypes,e|th|sce|est|a|Eatth|nthecentete|thewer|dthat
ptesees the seed e| the tesuttect|en bed|es? Y|ma's Parad|se
cannetbematkedenthesut|acee|eutmaps,sub]ectteasystem
e|ceerd|nates. What |s ca||ed |ethere |s net tepegtaph|ca| te-
seatch,butte ach|eve the ttanspatencywh|ch a||ewsthe arche-
type-Imamteappeat,|ntheen|yp|acewheteth|s|spess|b|e,in
medio mundi . Th|s,thete|ete,|seurquest Bewdeesthev|s|en-
aty megtaphytoe shape, when perce|ved|temth|s centet e|
the wet|d, and e| what psyche-sp|t|tua| events dees |t |nd|cate
theptesence?
S. Visionar Geography
Once aga|nYashtXIX, the||tutg|ca|chantded|catedexptess|y
teZamyat,theAnge|e|theEatth,Dea T errestris, |swhatsheds
|u|| ||ghtentheMazdeanImago Terrae. Te hymn chatactet-
|st|ca||yepensbyanevecat|enenumetat|nga||themeunta|ns,
|n ce|ebtat|en e| the X "ar and |ts d|st|ngu|shed pessessets,
amengstwhemate|nc|udedptec|se|ysemee|thesemeunta|ns.
Indeed, the |attet p|ay an essent|a| patt |n the cempes|t|en e|
the v|s|enaty |andscape that pregutes the Ttansgutat|en e|
me Eanh. Theyate preem|nent|y theseat e| theephan|es and
ange|ephan|es. Accetd|ngtether|tua|,enthetweaty|ghthday
e|thementh ( thedaye|Zamyat ), the ||turg is eeredte the
Eatth wh|ch |sanAnge| , tethemountai ns of thr dawns, te al l
24
3. Visionary Geography
themeunta|as,tethe L|ghte|G|ery.Acannect|ea|sa|ready
eut||ned,the patteras |awh|ch w||| bcame c|ear.
TheMazdeanbeke|Genes|s ( Bundahishn ) g|vesastr|k|ng
descr|pt|en e| the |ermat|en e| the meunta|ns under attack
bythedemea|cPewerse|Ahr|man,theEarthbgantetremb|e,
|tsheek|aherreraadrebe|||en.As||tesetuparampartaga|nst
thesepewers,theEarthra|sedup|tsmeuata|ns.F|rstthepewer-
|u| cha|a e|meunta|ns surreund|ng|t, wh|ch, |athe Avesta, |s
ca||edBarabereza|t|. Etyme|eg|ca||yth|s|sthePers|anElbun,
aad |t |sthename g|veauat||teday tethecha|n e| meunta|ns
berder|agIraaeatheaerth,|remwesttaeast,andse|t|shere,
am|dstthepeaksaadh|ghp|ateause|thatcha|a,thatthe8asaa|d
trad|t|ea red|scevered the s|tes e| the ep|sedes |a the sacred
h|stery e| Zereastr|an|sm. In any case, there er e|sewhere,
visionary space presuppeses the traasmutat|en e| seasery data.
In erder |er the rea| E|burz te cerrespead te th|s v|s|eaary
space,|erexamp|e,theact|veImag|aat|eahasterecapture|t |a
|ts archetypa| spc|es. Tat |swhywe can |eave as|de here a||
d|scuss|eae|pes|t|vemater|a|tepegraphy,aadcencerneurse|ves
ea|yw|ththeImage, |nse|aras|t|saaergane|percept|ea,and
|ase|aras|t|s|tse||prce|vedthreughapsycho-geography.
Indeed,weare|arremeved|remtheerd|aaryv|ewandpes|-
t|vepree|s.E|burzhasnetceasedtegrewdur|nge|ghthuadred
years twehuadredyearstethestat|eae|thestats,twehundred
yearstethestat|eae|theMan,twehuadredyearstethestat|ea
e|the8un,aadtwehundredyearstethata|the|nn|teL|ghts.
New,thesearethe|aurdegreese|theMazdeanBeaven. E|burz
|s there|ere |ndeed the cosmic mountain, ra|sed up by the su-
preme eert made by the Earth |a erder net te be separated
|rem Beaven. It |s the resp|eadent maunta|n . . . where there
|s ae|ther a|ght, ner darkness, ner s|ckness w|th a theusand
deatbs, aer |a|ect|en created bythe demeas.- It |s the seat e|
1lv|aepa|acescreatedbythe Archange|s. And the ether meua-
tai ns al l er|g|aate |rem |t, as || |rem a g|gaat|c tree grew|ag
sad t|rast|ag eut reets |rem wh|ch spr|ng ather trees. The
mountai n system thus|erms a aetwerk |awh|ch each pak |s a
knot . n a People |ave tr|ed to i denti fy them on the bas|s e| tbe|r
25
numbe~the number 2244 |s a||udedte |nthe trad|t|en seme
have been preneunced rea|,ethers myth|ca| .The en|y th|ng
that g|des us w|th any certa|nty |s the Image, wh|ch appre-
hends bththerea|enesandthemyh|ca|.
Here, then, we have a greup e| h|gh peaks wh|ch present
d|mcu|t|esnedeubt|erever|nse|ub|ebythesewheseektep|ace
them by the pes|t|ve methed. As aga|ast th|s, the s|tuat|en e|
theseh|ghpeaksteachesusabeuttheEarthasaneveat ||vedby
theseu| ,that|s,|tshewsus|nwhatmannertheEarthhasbeea
med|tated by the ergan e| the act|ve Imag|nat|en. It weu|d be
d|mcu|t,|ndeed,te|eca||zethesemeunta|nsbymeanse|pes|t|ve
tepegaphy, |er the |ntent|en and a|m e| th|s med|tat|ea was
qu|te d|erent|remthat e| eur pes|t|ve sc|ence. A|| the meun-
ta|ns where the act|ve Imag|nat|en perce|ves a h|erephany e|
the Xvarnah are |n Eran-Ve] , in medio mundi ; en them, the
Xvarnah pre]ects the sceaes e| the events exper|enced er |ere-
seen, g|v|ngbedytethem, because the act|ve Imag|nat|ea |s |a
|tse||the|rsubstanceandthe|rbedy,thatwh|chatthesamet|me
enactsthem andexper|ences them.
There |s |n Eran-Ve] a meunta|n ca||ed Boka|rya ( Bugar,
theveryh|gh i,ameunta|nwh|ch|s ash|ghasthestars, and
|rem wh|chpeurs dewnthe terrent e|theheaven|yWaters e|
Ardvt 8ora Anah|ta, the B|gh, the 8evere|gn, the Immacu-
|ate,aterreatpessess|agaXvarnah asgreatasa||theWaters
tegetherwh|chewupeatheEarth.There|t|sthattheearth|y
abede e|the geddess e| the heavea|y Waters |s |mag|ned. 8he
thusappearsasthe parad|sa| seurcee|theWatere| L||e. Mar-
ve|eus p|ants andtrees grew |n er areuad th|s we||spr|ag, aad
abeve a||the wh|te Baema, Gaekarena, e|wh|ch |t |ssa| d
He whe partoes e||t becemes |mmerta|.That |s why the
E||x|r e| |mmerta||ty w||| be made |rem th|s at the memeat e|
the na| Transgurat|en. The tree wh|ch cures a|| |||s aad |a
wh|charedeps|tedtheseedse| a||p|aats,grewsaexttethe
wh|teHaema.Indeed,the|ert|||tye|a||be|ags|na||the|r|erms
dependsenthegeddesser|em|a|neAage|Ardvt8ora. Bewever,
she|sbynemeansthe"Terra Mater" a|terthemaaaere|Cyee|e,
26
|erexamp|e,she|s|armere||ke a V|rg|ne|theWaters,pure,
chaste, |mmacu|ate, reca|||ngtheGreekArtem|s.
In Eran-Ve] , c|ese by the meunta|n e| Hoka|rya, there |s a
meunta|n e| the dawns (U shidarena ) . The ||turg|ca| chant te
the Ange| Zamyatepensw|th astrephe|npra|see|th|smeun-
ta|ne|thedawns.It|smadee|ruby,e|thesubstancee|heaven,
|t |s s|tuated |n the m|dd|e e| the cesm|c sea Veurukasha, |nte
wh|ch |t peurs the waters |t rece|ves |rem Boka|rya. It |s the
rst meunta|n te b ||ghted up by the aurera| res, |er th|s
reasen,|t|sthereceptac|e,thetteasurye|the dawns, and ||ke-
w|se ( byhemepheny ) thatwh|chg|vesintelligence temen.It|s
sa|dthatthemeunta|nrst||ghtedupbytherayse|thedawn
a|seen||ghtensthe|nte|||gence,s|ncedawn andintelligence are
ene (ushi andus hi ) .
P
Z
F|na||y, the r|tua| amms the cennect|en wh|ch |s essent|a|
here between the meunta|n e| dawn and eschate|eg |t pre-
scr|bs that an eer|ng b made te the Ange| Arshtat at the
heur e| Aushah|n ( that |s, betweenm|dn|ght and dawn ) , and
thereasen g|ven |sthatthemeunta|ne| dawn |s ment|ened |n
erder te prep|t|atetheAnge|Arshtat. And newthecennect|en
becemesc|ear |t|s atthe dawnthatr|sesa|terthe th|rdn|ght
|e||ew|ngdeaththattheseu|haste|acetheerdea|e|theCh|nvat
Br|dge.Thus,themeunta|ne|dawn|s|nvestedw|ththe L|ght
e|G|eryattheexactheurwhentheseu||sca||edupentetest||y
cencern|ng |ts earth|y ex|stence |n the presence e| the Ange|
Arshtat and e| Zamyat, the Ange| e|the Eanh, both of whom
ass|sttheAmahraspandAmertat|nthewe|gh|nge|theseu|s.
Theseu|sare|nthe||ghte|dawn whentheygaterenderthe|r
acceunt, the|r pass|ng takes p|ace threugh the sp|end|d dawn.
8ewhat |s perce|vedhere |nthe meunta|nha|md bytheG|ery
e|the dawns|snetanastrenem|ca| phenemenen, butthe dawn
e| |mmerta||ty the Imago Glorae be|ng pre]ected ente the
r|s| ag dawa, th|s dawn appears te the seu| as the ant|c|pated
preseacee|astatea|ready||ved,that|s,astheant|c|pat|ane||ts
mrsaaa| eschate|ag.
Aaether h|gh meuata|a, tbe Chakad-|-Datt|k ( the pak e|
27
]udment i , cemp|etes th|s same |andscape e||nd|v|dua| escha-
te|egyand|sa|ses|tuated|nEran-V] ,them|dd|ee|thewer|d.
0
Frem|tssumm|tspr|ngstheBr|dgee|Ch|nvat, attheentrance
tewh|chtakesp|acethemeet|nge|theseu| e|merw|thDana,
|tsheaven|y"1," er,enthecentrary,w|ththeterr|b|e appar|t|en
thatreectsneth|ngbutan"1," mut||atedandd|sguredbyevery
k|nd e|ug||ness, cut e|rem |ts ce|est|a| anhetype. 8e th|s |s
thes|tuat|en,abevea||ethers,whentheImago Terrae, transg-
ur|ngthe eutermater|a| data, shewstheper|ectseu|the p|aces
andsymbe||c |andscapes e| |ts ant|c|pated etern|ty, |n wh|ch |t
enceunters|tsewnheaven|yImage. Thepr|ectseu|cressesthe
Br|dge e| Ch|nvat bythe |mptus e||ts sp|r|tua| |ght and the
pewere||ts act|ens |tmevesentewards the stars, then te the
Meen, then te the 8un, and then te the |nn|te L|ghts. Bere
aga|nwehavethe|eurstagese|thegrewhe|theA|bun.Thus
theBr|dme|Ch|nvat||nks the summ|t that |s |n the center e|
the wer|d te the cesm|c meunta|n, and the ascent e| the |atter
|eadstetheGarDtman, tetheAbedee|theBymns.
8ewesha||ne|enmrb asten|shedtendthemeunta|nsre-
ca||ed|nthebeg|nn|nge|thehymnte Zamyat, nersha||wesee
the |atterasa mere ||ste|phys|ca||eaturesdeve|d e|re||g|eus
centent. In |act, nene e| these~the dawns b|az|ng en the
meunta|n teps, the terrents e| spr|ng water, the p|ants e| |m-
merta||ty grew|ng |n them~be|eng te the emp|r|ca| earth ac-
cess|b|e te the neutra| ver|cat|en e| sensery prcept|en. Th|s
|stheEanhperce|ved|nEran-V]astheer|g|na|Iran|anEanh,
th|s |s an Earth wh|ch the Mazdean act|ve Imag|nat|en has
transmuted|ntethesybe|andcentere|theseu|, andwh|ch|s
|ntegrated |nte the sp|r|tua| events e| wh|ch the seu| |tse|| |s
thescene. Berewea|readyg||mpsethatwhattheseu|perce|ves
threugh |ts Imago Terrae |s actua||y beth |ts ewn archetypa|
Imam andtheenactmente||tsewnmenta|dramaturgy.
Ne|ther the dawn, ner the runn|ng waters, ner the p|ants,
are pene|ved as equ|va|ent te what we ca|| astrenem|ca|, me-
|eg|ca| , er betan|ca| phenemena. The dawn |n wh|ch Dana |s
revea|ed, the heaven|y waters e| Ardvt 8ora, tbe p|ants of
Amertat,a||e|them~the dawns,waters, aa1 o|aats~are per-
28
ce|ved|athe|rAage|,becausebeaeaththeappearance theappari
tion becemes v|s|b|e te the Imag|aat|ea. Aad th|s |s the phe-
aemeaeae|the Aam|,the gure wh|ch the act|ve Imag|aat|ea
revea|s|tse||teb, wh|ch|trevea|ste|tse||baeaththeappear-
aaces perce|ved, |s the gure e|the Aam|s e|the Eanh. That
|s why terrestr|a| pheaemeaa are mere thaa pheaemeaa they
are the h|erephaa|es prepr te Mazde|sm wh|ch, |a b|ags aad
th|ags, revea| who these b|ags aad these th|ags are, that |s,
who the|r heavenly person, the seurce e| the|r X varnah, |s.
Aga|a,|aetherwerds, thebe|ags aadtheth|ag, hav|ag bea

traasmuted bytheImag|aat|ea|atathe|rsubt|e ( mtnk ) state,
arerevea|edastheactions e|a prseaa|theught,a|wh|chthey
aretheh|erurgy.
Theact|veImag|aat|eapne|vesaadshewste|tse||aaEarth
wh|ch|setherthaathatEarthwh|ch|sseea|aerd|aaryseasery
exper|eace. ThatetherEanh |sthe Earth |rrad|ated aadtraas-
gured by Xvarh. 8ut the L|ght e| G|ery |s mest cena|a|y
aetamater|a|qua||ty|ahereat|aseaserysubstaaces,prcept|b|e
by a|| mea w|theut d|st|act|ea, pheaemeae|eg|ca||y, we sheu|d
uaderstaad |t as be|agat the same t|me the L|ght wh|ch cea-
st|tutes, ha|ms, aad ea||ghteas the seu| , aad the pr|mard|a|
Imagee||tse||wh|chthe seu| pre]ects. Thus |t|sthe ergaa by
wh|ch the seu| shews te |tse|| earth|y th|ags traasgred, er
awa|t|agtheaa|Traasgurat|ea. The seu| must, |adeed,have
aa Imam e| |tse|| e| such a k|ad that, by pre]ect|ag |t, |t caa
d|scever|a|tsv|s|eathegurese|theL|ghte|G|ary.Iatheseu|
ra|sed te |acaadesceace by th|s L|ght e| G|e, w|th wh|ch |t
|s aa||y |deat|ed, |t becemes pass|b|e, ||ke Fechaer, ta see
thattheEarth|saaAage| ,errather|ertheEarthte b aeen
|a|ts heavea|yprsaa,aad, thaaksta her, atthe samet|me|ar
a|| the |em|a|aeAage|sa|the Earth ta be seen a the s|sten,
er as the mether e| the Aam| Daeaa, the heavea|y "1," the
Anima coelestis. The Imame|theEarth|srevea|edhere|athe
|em e| aa Aage| , because |t |s |mag|aed |a the Imam a| the
sea| , the|r heme|egy |s revea|ed |a the very k|ash|p e| the|r
Aage|s.
We csathere|eresaythi ! : the Imago Terrae, wh||e |t|sthe
g{)
ergane|percept|en|tse||,a|ses|gn|estheseaspectsandgures
e| theEarththatare perce|ved, ne |engers|mp|ybythe senses
net as senseryemp|r|ca| data, but bythe archetype-Image, the
Imagea priori e|theseu||tse||.TheEarth|sthenavision, and
geegraphyavisionar geography. Bence|t|stheImagee||tse||
and |ts ewn Image that the seu| red|scevers and meets. Th|s
Imagepre]ectedby|t|satthesamet|metheenewh|chen||ght-
ens |t and the eae wh|ch reects back te |t the gures |n |ts
Image, e|wh|chtec|preca||y|t|s|tse||theImam,name|y the
|em|n|neAage|se|the Earththatare|nthe||kenesse| Daena-
Anima. That |swhytheMazdeanphenemene|egy e| the Earth
|s,preper|yspeo|ng,anaage|e|egy.
Out e| geegraph|ca| stud|es, a new ||ne e| study, descr|bed
as psychological geography, has deve|eped |n eur day70 The
|ntent|en |s te d|sceverthe psyche|eg|ca| |acters that ceme |nte
p|ay|nthecen|ermat|en g|vente a|andscape. Thephenemene-
|eg|ca| presuppes|t|en |mp||c|t |n research e| th|s k|nd |s that
the essent|a||unct|ense| the seu| , the psyche, |nc|ude the pre-
]ect|ene|anature,aphysis; cenverse|y,eachphys|ca|stmctute
d|sc|esesthemedee|psycho-spiritual act|v|tythatbr|ngs |t|nte
eperat|en. Inth|ssense,the categer|es e|the sacredness wh|ch
pessesses the seu| can b recegn|zed |n the |andscape w|th
wh|ch |t surreunds |tse|| and |n wh|ch |t shapes |ts hab|tat,
whether bypte]ect|ngthe v|s|enenan|dea||cenegraphy,erby
attempt|ngte|nscr|beandrepreduceamede|e|thev|s|enenthe
actua| earth|y greund. Th|s |swhy each e| the h|erephan|es e|
eur v|s|enaty geegraphy eers an examp|e e| a case e|psyche-
geegraphy un||ke aayether. We sha|| ||m|t eurse|ves here te a
rap|d descr|pt|en e| twe such examp|es.
Therstexamp|e|ssupp||edbythe|cenegraphye|whathas
beenca||edthe|andscapee|Xvarnah. " Bewcanenerepresent
anearth|y|andscap|nwh|cheveryth|ng|stransguredbythat
L|ght e| G|ery wh|ch the seu| pre]ects ente |t? When the
Mazdean seu| perce|ves that th|s Energy e| sacra| ||ght |s the
pewetthatcausesthespr|ngstegush|erth,thep|antstegerm|-
nate, the c|euds te sa|| by,human be|ngs te be bern, that |t |s
the pewet that ||ghts up the|r |nte|||gence, endews them w|th
30
a v|ctet|eusandsupetnatura| streagth, andcensectates them as
be|ngs e| ||ght byc|eth|agthem |a h|erat|ca| d|gn|ty~neae e|
th|s can be exptessed |a representative pa|at|ag, but en|y by a
pteem|nent|y symbolical att. As the eanh|y sp|eadet e| the
d|v|n|ty, the Xvarnah Imagined by the seu| traasgures the
Eanh |nte a heavea|y Earth, a g|et|eus |aadscap symbolizing
with thepatad|sa| |aadscapee|thebeyead. Th|s requ|res, there-
|ete, a |etm e| exptess|en cemb|a|ng a|| the h|erephan|c e|e-
mentse|th|sG|etyaadttaasmut|agthem |atepure symbe|se|
a ttansguted nature.
Perhaps the best |||ustrat|ea e| th|s wh|ch has ceme dewn
te us teday |s te be |eund |n a |ate manuscr|pt wh|ch se |at |s
cens|deredua|quee| |tsk|nd,whese|u||-page pa|nt|ngs |n |an-
tast|cce|ers were executed at 8h|raz |n seuthetn Pets|a at the
ende|the|euneenthceatury ( A. D. 1 :98 ) . 71 ( 8ee p|ate |ac|ng
p. :2. ) Aadhere|tweu|dbeapprepr|atetereca||the|andscaps
|n cetta|n Byzant|nemesa|cs, w|theutevea paus|agte cens|der
centtevets|a| quest|eas abut mater|a| |auences et h|stet|ca|
causa||ty.
Thesecendexamp|ee||mag|aat|eae|thece|est|a|Eanhcaa
be ebserved |a that sacred betaay that ceaaects the cu|t|vat|ea
e|ewetsaadera|artw|ththe||turgy.Acharacter|st|c|eature
e| Mazdean ange|e|egy |s te g|ve each e| |ts Atchaage|s aad
Aage|s a ewet as aa emb|em, te pe|at eut, as |t were, that ||
eae w|shes menta||y te ceatemp|ate each e| these heavea|y
F|guresaadtebecemetheteceptac|ee|the|rEnerg|es,thenthe
best|astrumeate|med|tat|en|s|adeedtheewerwh|ch|sthe|r
tespect|ve symbe| . 8e, |et each e| the Archange|s et Aage|s
te whem ene daye|themeath|s tespect|ve|yceasecrated, aad
|et whem that day |s aamed, thete |s a cerrespead|ag ewer.
FerOhrmazd,myrt|e.FerVehumaa,wh|te]asm|ae.FerArtava-
h|sht, mar]eram. Fet 8hatrtvar, the reya| p|aat ( bas|| ) . Fer
8peadatmat, musk ( sweet bas|| ) . Fer Kherdat, the |||y. Fer
Amertat, that per|umed ye||ew e
er ca||ed campak |a
8anskr|t.
A|ter the Amahrasoaads ceme the |em|a|ae Aage|s, wh|ch
arc more cl o!cl y rel ated to tlu soul , ta Xvarnah, aad te the
:l
Eanh Ardvt8urahasthe|r|s as hetemb|em, Daena,the rese
w|th a hundred peta|s, Ash| Vanuh| ( Ash|sangi , her s|ster, a||
w||d awers ( er e|se the chsanthemum, buphthalmus ) ,
Arshtat,the wh|te haema, Zamyat, saren,- and se en. These
ewersp|ayedan|mpenantre|e|nanc|entZereastr|an||turg|ca|
pract|se, cena|newerswereused|eteachAnge|whese||turgy
wasbe|ngpart|cu|at|yce|ebrated.Theanc|entPers|ans,tee,had
a |anguage e| ewets, wh|ch was a sacred |anguage.
Mete-
avet, th|s de||cate and subt|e symbe||sm eets un||m|ted pess|-
b|||t|este||tutg|ca| |mag|nat|en aswe|| as|err|tua|se|med|ta-
t|an. In the|r tum, the art e| gardens and the cu|t|vat|en e| a
gatden thus acqu|re the mean|ng e| a ||tutgy and a menta|
actua||zat|en e|av|s|en. Inth|sart,ewersp|aytheparte|the
matera prima |et a|chem|ca| med|tat|en. Th|s means menta||y
recenst|tut|ngParad|se,keep|ngcempanyw|thheaven|ybe|ngs,
cantemp|at|en e| the ewers wh|ch are the|r emb|ems eveke
psych|creact|ens, wh|ch transmutethe|ermscentemp|ated|nte
energ|escerrespend|ngtethem,thesepsych|cenerg|esarena||y
d|sse|ved|ntestatese|censc|eusness,|ntestatese|menta|v|s|en
threughwh|chtheheaven|yF|guresappar.
Inbethe| the examp|es we have ]ust ana|ysed, we see that
the |ntent|en andeerte|the seu| tends te g|ve a |ermte the
ce|est|a| Earth and te actua||ze |t, thus mak|ng pess|b|e the
ep|phanye|thebe|ngse|||ght.TheEanhe|V|s|enshastebe
teached in medio mundi , whererea|events arethevisions them-
se|ves.Andsuch,|ndeed,aretheeventsdescr|bed|ntheRec|ta|s
cancern|ngthe prephet|c |nvest|turee| Zarathustra. The Zara
tusht-Nama ( the Beek e| Zereaster i te||s us abeut |t w|th
sub||me s|mp||c|ty When Zatathustta had reached the age e|
th|rty, he had the des|re |er Etan-Ve] , and set eut w|th seme
cempan|ens, men and wemen. Te have des|re |er Eran-Ve]
|stades|retheEanha|V|s|ens,teteachthecentete|thewer|d,
thece|est|a|Eatth,wherethemeet|ngw|ththeImmerta|8a|nts
takes p|ace. In |act, the ep|sedes that mark the ptegtess and
entrye|Zarathustta andh|scempan|ens |nteEran-Ve] , andthe
mament |n t|me when th|s entry |s ach|eved, ate ne|thet euter
32
eventsnerdatesthatcan bechrene|eg|ca||y recerded. Theyare
h|erephan|cep|sedesands|gapests.
The |andscapes andevents are cemp|ete|y real, and yetthey
ne |enger depend en pes|t|ve tepegraphy, ner en chrene|eg|ca|
h|stery.Anessent|a|c|ue|sthataccessteEran-Ve]|sarupture
w|th the |aws e|the phys|ca| wer|d. A |arge expanse e| water
stands |nthe waye|the ||tt|e greup, |edby Zarathustra, a|| e|
them cress |t w|theut even str|pp|ng e the|r c|ethes As a
vesse| g||desevertheew|ngwaves,sed|dtheywa|kanthesur-
|ace e|the water ( Zaratusht-Nama, ch. XVI ) . Carnspnd|ng
teh|erephan|cspace,T|me|sne|engerpre|anet|mew|thdates
wh|ch can b recerded |n the ca
endars e| h|stery ( a|theugh

th|shasbenattempted) . Thearr|va| |nEran-Ve] ,theEanhe|
V|s|ensin media mundi, takes p|aceenthe |astday e|the year
( the eve e|Naw Raz; |n8h|ttetheesephy, the parousia e|the
h|dden Imam ||kew|se acurs en the rst day e| the year, the
Naw Raz ) . New, each Mazdean meath, as we|| as the whe|e
year,|stheheme|eguee|theAeon, the greatcyc|ee|theT|me-
e|-|eng<em|nat|en. The date|sthere|ere |nth|scase a h|ere-
phan|c s|gn |t hera|ds the end e| a m|||enn|um, the dawn e|a
new age ( |unher en we sha|| a|se see that the ce|est|a| Earth
e|Borqa|ya||esenthebeundarybetweenT|meandtheAevum) .
lnthesameway,a|sa,thersttheephanyw|||takep|aceenthe
|teenthe|thementhe|Ord|behesht,wh|chcerrespendstethe
med|and|v|s|ene|twe|vem|||enn|a,that|s,tethemementwhen
theFravart| ( thece|est|a|ent|ty) e|Zarathustrawassenten|ts
m|ss|en te earth. Bere the dates are these e| a ||turg|ca| cyc|e
cemmemerat|ngandrepat|ngtheevents|nBeaven.
Atth|s pe|nt, Zarathustra|eavesh|scempan|ens. Bereaches
the r|verDa|tr, |nthe center e|Eran-Ve] ( Zaritusht-Nima, p.
2, n. 6; Zat-Spram, II, 6 ) , enthebankse|wh|chhe wa born.
Tbushereturastetheer|g|n,tethearchetypa|wer|d,theneces-
sary pre|ude te the d|rect v|s|en e| the archetypa| Pewers e|
||gbt.Therehe |s,a|ene,enthebanke|me|mmense,bttem|ess
r|ver,wb|cb|sd|v|ded|ate|eurbranches. Beenters|t|ear|ess|y,
pl ungi n
g
evermeredeep|y|ateeache|tbe|eurbranchese|the
33
r|ver ( Zaritusht-Nama, ch. XXi . BeretheZereastr|antrad|t|en
has captured se we|| the |ee||ng e| the psycho-spiritual |mper-
tancee|theeventthat|tapp||estheprecesse|theta'wil erese-
ter|cexeges|se|the8p|r|tua|se|Is|amtetheexterna|date, and
|eadstheEventbacktethesp|r|tua|rea||tythatg|ves|t|tstheme
and structure. The cress|ng e| the |eur branches e| the r|ver
Da|tt |sequ|va|ent|nth|s centextte the menta| ach|evement e|
the teta||ty e| the Aeon. It represents Zaramustra redivivus |n
thepersene|thethree8aeshyants|ssued|remh|sXvarah, whe
w||| br|ng abeut the transgurat|en e| the wer|d ( Zaritusht
Nama, ch. XXI, Zat-Spram, XXI, 7 ) .
And when the rst theehany takes p|ace, when the v|s|en
takesthe shape e| the Archange| 8ahman ( Vehu Manah i , e|
prest|g|eus beauty, resp|endent |rem a|ar ||ke the sun and
c|ethed |n a rebe e| ||ght,^ the Archange| erders Zarathustra
te put e h|s dress, that |s, h|s mater|a| bedy, h|s ergans e|
sensery percept|en, and a||ew h|mse|| te be taken |nte the
dazz||ng presence e| the d|v|ne thearchy e| the 8even. The
d|a|egue epens |n the manner e|the d|a|egae between Bemes
andh|sNous, Pe|mandres.TheArchange| asks ''Te||meyeur
name, what yeu seek |n the wer|d, and te what yeu asp|re.
Accempan|edbytheArchange| ,Zarathustra|s|necstasy|nthe
presence e| the Ceunc|| e| Archange|s. Bere a new deta|| e|
myst|ca| phys|e|egy |s g|ven~as seen as Zarathustra entered
the assemb|ye|the Ce|est|a|s,hene|engerseesthepre]ect|en
e| h|s awn shadew en the greund, because e| the dazz||ng
sp|ender e| theArchange|s ( Zit-Spram, XXI, I S ) . It means
thattetakeethemater|a|dress|ste|eretastethestatee|the
8edy e| L|ght, er resurrect|en bedy, the pure d|aphaneus |n-
candescence e| Archange||ca| L|ghts, m|s pure |ncandescence
un|tes w|th the L|ghts w|theutcast|ng a shadew, because |t |s
|tse||a seurce e|||ght. Nettecasta shadew |sthe preperty e|
the glorious body, |stebeat the center. Andthes|gn|cancee|
a||th|s|sthattheseatandergan e|the events wh|ch takep|ace
|nthe|ande|Eran-Ve]|sthesubt|ebedye|||ght.
F|na||y,thetheephan|estake p|ace enthe h|gh peaks e|th|s
Earth. TheAvestameat|ensthemeunta|nandthe|erestwhere
34
the sacred ceaversat|eas take p|ace. There are |ate trad|t|eas
that |deat||y th|s meuata|a w|th certa|a meuata|as e| pes|t|ve
geegraphy,wehave a|readytr|edte deaethemeata| precess
that|eadstesuchheme|egat|ea. Letusratherca||tem|adhere
the |ad|cat|eas |athePah|av| textsre|err|agpan|cu|ar|ytetwe
e|thesemeuata|as,wh|chweretheplaces a|thesetheaphaa|es
Boka|rya, the meuata|a e| the pr|merd|a| Waters, where the
wh|teBaema,thep|aate||mmena||ty, graws, aadthe meua-
ta|ae|thedawa,ha|eed|atheL|ghte|G|eryattheexactheur
wheathe dawae|the heavea|y|||e r|ses |athe seu| . It|strue,
there|ere, that the ecstas|es a| Zarathustra take p|ace prec|se|y
wherethe|aaerv|s|aapreexper|eacesthe|ad|v|dua|eschate|egy.
Themeuata|atepsa|theEartha|v|s|eas arethemauata|ateps
e| the seu| . The twa archetypa| Images,the Imago Terrae aad
theImago Animae, cerrespeadteaae aaether the mountain of
visions is the psycho-cosmic mountain.
Mereever, th|s has beea cearmed by cena|a aac|eat trad|-
t|eas that have beea preserved |a the Greek texts re|at|ag te
Zarathustra. Fer examp|e, Parphyry descr|bes the retreat a|
Zarathustra|aagrette|athemeuata|ase|Pers|s,aderaedw|th
ewers aad gsh|ag spr|ags, wh|ch prev|ded a per|ect Imago
mundi80 |erh|s med|tat|aa. D|ea Chrysestemmeat|eastheh|gh
peak ea wh|ch Zarathustraret|red |aerder ta ||ve |athe way
thatwash|sewa,aadwhereacenmeaye|ecstasy,|av|s|b|ete
the eyes e| the pre|aae, ua|e|ds |a a sett|ag e| re aad super-
aatura| sp|eader.
Retreat aa the psycha<asm|c meuata|a ac-

tua||y represeats aa esseat|a| phasea| everymyster|esephy |ts
aa|act|saaecstasy,theatheheavea|yF|gures,astheybeceme
appareat threugh the ergaa e| |ts awa archetype-Image, are
made v|s|b|etethe seu| . Aadhere eacemere |t|sperhapsta a
Greektextthatweeweaaesseat|a|deta||e|thesacredecstas|es
|aEraa-V] , |twasAgathos Daimon whad|rect|y|a|t|atedZara-
thustra|atew|sdem. New,ear||erresearcha||ewedustereceg-
a|zeAgathos Daimon as a gure heme|egeus tethata|Daeaa,
the ce|est|a|"1 ," theAnima coelesti. 82
So, aa| | y, the v|s|ea e|the earth|y |aadscape ha|eed by the
Xvarnalr , the Lght of Gl ory, we|| theceas|steatcharactet
:5
a|theevents,v|s|b|ean|ytatheseu| , wh|chtake p|ace there, a||
a| th|s beg|ns ta cenvey an eschate|egca| ar|entat|en. It |s a
|aretaste bth e|thena|Transgrat|en e|the Earth ( Frash
kart ) andthe greatevente||nd|v|dua| eschate|agy, the aurara|
meet|ngw|ththeheaven|yI,theAnge|Daena, attheentrance
ta the Ch|nvat Br|dge. That |s why th|s v|s|anary geegraphy
createsamenta||canegaphythateersasuppart|ermed|tat|en
an what we prev|eus|y ca||ed geosophy, and |s revea|ed as |n-
separab|e |ram eschata|egy, |er |ts |unct|en |s essent|a||y ta
prepare the b|rth a| the eanh|y human be|ng ta h|s ce|est|a|
I,wh|ch|sDaena,thedaughtera|8pentaArma|t|-8eph|a.
4. Geosophy and the Feminine Angels of the Earth
Anexpas|t|ana|th|smasaphyw|||there|are |nc||netatakethe
|em e| an aut||ne e| Mazdean 8eph|a|agy. The very term
masaphysuggested here |smere|y a trans|at|en e| the name
8pentaAma|t| ,the8ophia andFem|n|neAnge|a|the Earth.
Wat th|s term makes apparent |ram the start |s the str|k|ng
d|erence between a vague |ee||ng ( and the cammenp|ace ne-
t|an i a| be|nga san e|the earthan the ane hand and enthe
ather the |ee||ng and knew|edge character|st|ca||y expressed |n
the Mazdean pre|ess|an a| |a|th, and|mpressedenthe adept |n
that cantext, a| be|ng a human |nd|v|dua| whe |s the sen e|
8pentaAma|t|,the|em|n|neArchange|e|theEanh.Thesec-
andtem|nthe||a|re|at|ansh|p|snewne|angeraman|mpr|s-
anedbetweenthebaundar|es a|terrestr|a|b|rth and death, but
a human be|ng |n h|s tata||ty, |nc|ud|ng the past e| h|s pre-
ex|stenceandthe|utune|h|ssuperex|stence.The||a|re|at|en-
sh|p w|th the Archange| 8penta Arma|t| extends |rem the pre-
ex|stent|a| ce|est|a| Ita that ce|est|a| Ibyand|erwhemshe
w||| engender the man. It |s the cansummat|en e| a |em e|
ex|stence pre|uded |n Beaven at the dramat|c memeat whea
theFravan|s acceptte descendte themater|a| Eanh aad there
wage batt|e an the s|de e| the Pawers a| L|ght aga|nst a|| tbe
human-|aced demens. Ferthe human seu| , |t|s the mement of
S6
4. Feminine Angels of the Earth
chas|ngte ceme teEarthand answer therefor thePewers e|
L|ght,asthe|atterwill answer |er|tpost mortem.
There|ere the choice e| the seu| w||| a|se be |ts judge. Par-
t|c|pat|ngat eachmemeate|the Aeon |n the na| werk e|the
Saeshyants,eachseu|e|||ghtmustght|ertheTransgurat|en
e|theEarth,|ertheexpu|s|ene|the demen|c Pewers|ramthe
Ohrmazd|ancreat|en. Andthe v|s|en thattransmutestheEanh
andtheth|ngse|theEarth|ntesymbe|sa|ready|nauguratesthe
resterat|en e|the Earth te |ts parad|sa| pur|ty. Te v|ctery e|
the seu| |ncarnated |n terrestr|a| ex|stence |s measured by the
degree e| th|s resterat|en, that |s, by the degree e| the seu|'s
X var, e| |ts grewth teward |ts ce|est|a| ex|stence te ceme,
e||ts resurrect|en bdy, the substancee|wh|ch, rec|preca||y, |s
madee|thatce|est|a|Earthwh|ch|s|tsact|enand|tswerk.
Fermanteundertakesuch a werk, |sprec|se|yte undenake
|n h|s ewn be|ng what the Pah|avt texts ca|| Spendarmatikih88
( an abstract neun der|ved |rem Spendarmat, the Pah|avt |erm
e| the name 8penta Arma|t| ) , and wh|ch we can trans|ate as
Sophianity, the 8eph|an|c nature e| 8penta Arma|t| cens|dered
as 8eph|a ( |n accerdance w|th P|utarch's trans|at|en and w|th
the Pah|avt texts ) . By assum|ng th|s nature, the human be|ng
|s then, |nthe true sense, the sen e| the Anm| e| the Earth,
and se ab|e te have a menta| v|s|en e| her. The seu| then
awakens a|se te censc|eusness e| |ts ce|est|a| k|nsh|p. Areund
Daena, whe |s the daughter e| 8pnta Arma|t| and whe |s
herse|| 8eph|a, are c|ustered the gures e| Ange|-Geddesses
whese h|erephan|es are descr|bed |n me Avesta |n marve||eus
tems ( Ch|st| , Ash| Vanuh|, Arshtat, Zamyat, Ardvr 8ora
Anah|ta i, wh|ch revea| the personal |erms |n wh|ch exemp||-
cat|ense|eaeandthe same archetypeweresuggestedexper|en-
t|a||yteMazdeancensc|eusness,th|sarchetypbe|ngthecentra|
symbe| by wh|ch theteta||tyandcemp|etenesse| h|s be|ng are
pra|a|medteman.Bereexper|ence|sschemat|zed|ncen|em|ty
w|th the |uadameata| aam|e|egy e| the Mazdean v|s|en e|the
wer|d.Thepreseacee|a|em|n|aeArchange|e|theEarth|nthe
celesti nl a|erems was recega|zedaadexaer|enced.Th|sre|at|en-
37
sh|pestab||shestheMazdeansacramentum Terae, the8eph|an|c
mysterya|theEarth.
Itmust be adm|tted that very |eweertshave been made te
br|ng a|| the F|gures a| Mazdean ange|e|egy |nta a cehereat
wha|e. Usua||y,pap|ehavebeencantentmere|yteputtegether
the |acts. Rare|y has an eert e| med|tat|en been app||ed |n
arder ta cemprehend these F|gures, ta act|vate the|r perseaa|
character|st|cs, te mat|vate the|r act|ens and |nteract|ens. We
aeedaa|ystressherethepr|ac|pa|F|guresamengthese|em|n|ne
Ange|s a| the Avesta, |nsa|ar as the|r re|at|ensh|p w|th the
8aph|an|cmysterye|the Earth|scenceraed. As|erthe accem-
p||shmenta|th|smystery,wehave]ustdeaed|tascaas|st|ng,
| n the case e| the human be|ng, |n becem|ag |nvested w|th
8pendamattkth,that|sw|ththe8eph|an|tya|8pentaAma|t|-
Sah|a. Th|s |nvest|ture |s necessary |n erder te ver||y ( make
tme i a twa|a|dteach|agre|at|ngtethe |em|n|ne Archange| a|
the Earth, an the ane hand, that |t|s she regard|agwhem the
Mazdean be||ever |s taught te pra|ess |rem the age e| |teen
I amthe sana| 8pentaArma|t|, and,enthe ether hand, that
|t |s she wha |s the mather a| Daena-An|ma. Th|s |s te say
that the materna|'
re|at|ensh|p e| 8penta Arma|t| w|th the

humanbe|ngna||ycu|m|nates|na|u|||mentwhere|a|t|sthen
equa||y true ta saythat Daena |seagendered |n h|m, erte say
that he |sh|mse|| eagendered |nDaena. Thus the re|at|ensh|p
w|th the Mather-Archange| e| the Eanh |s |u|||ed an the
eschata|ag|ca|har|zan,andthe ether|em|n|ne Anm|s ceeperate
|nth|s|u|||ment. Letustrybr|eyta |nd|catethepracess as |t
appars ta us, pa|nt|ng eutthat|twau|d certa|n|y be necessary
t med|tatean|tatgreater|ength thanwecanhere.
Ta assume8pendamattkthmeansthatthe human be|ngw|||
exemp|||y|nh|spersenthemedea|be|nga|8pentaArma|t|as
me |em|n|ne Archange| e| the Earth and a| eanh|y ex|stence,
dat|s, e|thepresentmede e| be|aga|the|ncarnate Fravart|.
We can d|sceverwhat such anassumpt|en |mp||es and what
makes |tpass|b|e, bath|rema studye|the|eaturesthat deae
mepersana|8pentaAma|t|herse||,and|ramthereughsketch
a| a myst|ca| aathrepe|egy that aut||nes the |nter|eruat|ea or
S8
apprepr|at|en e|the attr|butes cend|t|en|ngreb|rth|nthece|es-
t|a| state. Menta| |cenegraphy attr|butes |eatures te the orsaa
e| 8pnta Ama|t| that re|ate her c|ese|y te 8eph|a cens|ere
asmastercra|tsmane|Yahweh'sCreat|en. 8he|sthedaug|ter
e|theLerdW|sdem,she|sthem|stresse|h|sheuseaat|e
methere|h|screatures,she|stheDwe|||ngp|ace Weaer
th|s ||turgy te thee whe an the very Dwe|||ng p|ace, 8oata
Ama|t|. O| ceurse, the |nvaat|en |s addressed ne|ther te a
bu||d|ng ner te te||ur|c matter. It |s addressed te the ene w|a
prec|se|y |s the m|stress e| the Dwe|||ng p|ace, and ta ||ve
there enese|||ste assume tewardthe dwe|||ng p|ace ameea|
b|ng and respns|b|||tycen|em|ngte the h|emrg|c andrev|-
dent act|en e| the |em|n|ne Archange| |n whese regency aa
care |t |s. That |n |tse|| denes net a spat|a| re|at|ensh|p,buta
persena| ene, the re|at|ensh|p thanks te wh|ch the task e| t|e
|ncarnatedFravart|s|s carr|edeut,thatsametaskwh|ch8pata
Arma|t| |emu|ated d|rect|y te Zaramustra |n the ceurse a| a
cendent|a| cenversat|en.
90
A |ew |nd|cat|ens a||ew us te g||mpse there|ere hew t|e
8eph|an|c nature e| 8penta Ama|t| |s deve|eped |n the |aaer-
mestbe|nge|theOhmazd|anhumancreature.It|ssa|dt|ata|
thethreeAmahraspandser|em|n|neArchange|s Thecnatures
e| Ohmazd pessess life threugh Kherdat ( the Archanm| a|
aquat|c nature ), immortality threugh Amertat ( the Archaam|
e| vegeta| nature ), perect thought ( bavandak menishnih )
threugh 8penta Ama|t|.'' As pr|ect theught, theug|t a|
qu|etude and gent|eness, med|tat|ve Imag|nat|en and s||ent
Med|tat|en,- the Archanm| 8pnta Ama|t|'s antagen|st |s t|e
Archemen Taremat| ( unru|y theught, v|e|ence, uprear, ep
press|en). And th|s per|ect menta| act|v|ty ( pr|ect theug|t
uaderthepure gazee||eve ) denestheSeph|an|cnaturee|the
daughtere|theGede|L|ght. Whentheb||everassumesth|s
8penamatikth, and repreduces |n h|mse|| that theught e|
w|sdemwh|ch|s theessencee|theAnge|e|theEarth,hecauses
8aeadamat,the daughtere|Ohmazd, teex|st |nh|s ewnpr-
sea. He |s the ch||d, net ]ust e| the Earth Mether, but e| the
femi ni ne Angl e| the Earth, thst |s, he csuses the ce|est|a|
:
I. M azdean Imago Terrae
Earth, the heusee| wh|ch 8peataArma|t||sthe m|stresste
epeaup |a h|mse||. Te the same degree thatth|s med|tat|ea e|
w|sdem|stheergaae|theb|rthe|thece|est|a|Earth,|tbecemes
truete say that, |ereveryMazdeaa seu| , 8peata Ama|t| |sthe
methere|its Daeaa,that|se||tsce|est|a|"1," theImago Animae,
them|rrerreect|ag|tsewatraasgurat|ea,|tsgeosophia, |athe
Imago Terrae.
Th|sprecess|awh|ch8eph|aa|cmed|tat|eabr|agstheseu|te
|tsce|est|a|lcaa be |e||ewed |urther thaaks tethe vest|ges e|
amyst|ca|phys|e|egy,sehardtetrace|aMazde|smthataeheed
|s pa|d te |t, the mere prec|eus |er th|s reasea. la the v|ta|
eaergye|thehumaa be|ag,there|s a Thought : there|a 8peata
Arma|t|ab|des.Iath|sTheughtthere|sa Word: there|aab|des
Ash| Vaauh| ( the |em|a|ae aage| whe |s Daeaa's s|ster i. Aad
|a th|s Theught, there |s aa Action: there|a ab|des Daeaa.
A tr|ad e| |em|a|ae Archaage||c Pewers |s |ater|er|zed ea the
p|aae e| th|s sacresaact tr||egy e| Zereastr|aa|sm ( Theught,
Werd, Act|ea i . Ia cea|erm|tyw|thheme|egeussequeaces, ]ust
as rea||zed act|ea er pre|essedtheught g|ves bedy te the |aaer
theught, se |s Daeaa the ce|est|a| gure whe appears te the
meata| v|s|ea te the exteat that the seu| rea||zes aad act|vates
|a |tse|| the 8eph|aa|ty e| 8peata Arma|t| , wh|ch meaas that
med|tat|ea er per|ecttheught |s the ergaa that g|ves b|rth te
the ce|est|a| "1," er that 8peata Arma|t| |s the mether e|
Daeaa. There|ere th|s per|ect theught, the act|ve lmag|aat|ea
e|thece|est|a|Earth,|saeta|aatasy,|t|sapewercapab|ee|
substaatiat|ag aad v|v||y|ag. Th|s |s because |a the humaa
be|ag |t |s the seat e| a Pewer wh|ch, as |t has r|ght|y beea
pe|atedeut, |sheme|egeus te thatether gure ca||ed, |aMaa|-
che|sm, Mater Vitae, Mater Viventium, Mether e| L||e er
Mether e|the L|v|ag. There|ere the 8eph|aa|c |erme| Maz-
deaa devet|ea te the Aage| e| the Earth u|t|mate|y teads te
causethe epea|agup|aceasc|eusaesse|that archetypa| Image
wh|ch depth psyche|egy ca||s Anima, aad wh|ch |s the secret
preseacee|theEteraa||em|a|ae|amaa.
Ferar|ghtuaderstaad|age|theact|vat|eae|th|sImage, the
preterrestr|a| dramaturgy te wh|ch we prev|eus|y a||uded must
40
b pteseat |a theught . the pre|egue |a Beavea, the choice
eeted te the humaa Ptavart|s ( these whe have chesea i
e|thettetema|a|av|e|ate|athece|est|a|wer|d,ere|setedescead
te Earth aad de batt|e there |et the wer|d e| the Aage| . Aad
that|s|adeedthepatadex.ThePravart|sarethece|est|a|atche-
typsaadtute|atyaage|s,theGu|dese|a||be|ags,bethCe|est|a|
aadTettestr|a|.Whatdees|tmeaathea,||thehumaaPravart|s
( tepteseat|ag Ohmazd|aa humaa|ty i |acataate themse|ves ea
eatth? Is the esseat|a| dualitude wh|ch cea]e|as twe be|ags e|
||ghtthetebyab||shed?A|theughth|spreb|emhashatd|ybeea
med|tated ( |t|se|se||tt|e|aterestteh|ster|ca|sc|eaceassuch i,
the amp||cat|ea eeted by |ts se|ut|ea caa be based w|th cer-
ta|aty ea the data wh|ch emerge ea the |eve| e| Mazdeaa cea-
sc|eusaess. Ia |act, the |acataate Ptavart| , the Aage|-seu| that
has g|vea up |ts ce|est|a|cead|t|ea te cea|reat the hetret e|
Ahr|maa|aa humaa|ty, |s aet a|eae the seu| |a |ts terrestr|a|
cead|t|ea, mak|ag cemmea cause w|th a|| the be|ags e| ||ght,
wages at the|ts|de |ts batt|e |etthe Aage|. The Aage| |s
s|mu|taaeeus|y|ts|a|thaad|ts]udge, |tsex|steaceaad|tssuper-
ex|steace,|tsce|est|a|paredros. Th|s|actw|||be tevea|edtethe
seu|ea|ypost mortem, aadthat|swhyaea,theAage|e|the
|acataateseu| ( for wh|chthePtavan|,hav|agcemete Eatth,
has chosen te aaswet ) , |s a|seca||ed ra'in-i rih, the seu| ea
thepath,that|s,theAnima coelestis wh|chtheAnima humana
meetseathepathtetheCh|avatBt|dge.
Aadth|s |swhytheseu|has|tsprev|s|ea ( see abeve, i 1 i ,
|nthe aaauac|atety dawas e|the v|s|eaaty |aadscape in medio
mundi, ea the peak |rem wh|ch pte]ects that Ch|avat Br|dge,
w|th aea staad|ag at the eatraace te |ac|||tate the passage
e|thebe|agwheseAnima coelestis she|s. 8hehetse|||saaether
gure exemp|||y|agthe atchetypa| 8eph|a, she |s, ||kew|se,the
daughtere|8eh|a, shehasa|sebeeacempatedmerethaaeace
te the gure e| 8eph|a|athe O|dTestameat, where W|sdem
|sthedaughtere|Yahwehaadthemastetcra|tsmaae|h|sctea-
t|ea,appear|agas a sp|ead|d ma|deatewhemevetyyeuthw|th
an ardent des|re |er snow|Cdge o| | ghts h|s treth. Or w|th
equul juMti fcntion, ns hn! been poi nted out, there |s aa aaa|egy
4 1
I. M adean Imago Terrae
w|th the Ket e| Betmet|sm, as we|| as w|m the V|tg|a e|
L|ght e| Maa|che|sm aade|the gaest|c beekPistis 8opom.
Tevetyaamee|Daeaabt|agstegethetseveta| aspectsthat
sheu|daetbe|tageatedeteppesedteeaeaaethet,butsheu|d
be tecaptuted |n the ua|ty e| het Petsea. Etye|eg|ca||y
( Avestaa dev, 8aaskt|t dot i , she |s the v|s|eaaty seu| et the
v|s|eaatyetgaae|theseu|,the||ght|tthtewsaadwh|chmakes
|tpss|b|etesee,aadatthesamet|methe||ghtthat|sseea,the
ce|est|a| gutethatcemes|acete|acew|ththeseu|atthedawa
e||ts eteta|ty. Daeaa |sthe vision e|the ce|est|a|wet|d as|t |s
/wed, that|s, aste||g|ea aadpte|essed|a|th,aad|etthatvery
teasea |t|sthe esseat|a||ad|v|dua||ty,thettaasceadeatce|est|a|
I. Bytheceajuact|eae|thesetweaspectset|deas|ahetpt-
sea, she ptec|a|ms that tea||zat|ea ua|a|||ag|y cettespeads te
|a|th. Ia th|s sease, because she |s the atchetype, the guatd|aa
Aage|whegu|desaad|asp|testhe|||ee|thebe||ever,she|sa|se
h|s judge, she whe tevea|s te h|m the degtee te wh|ch h|s
eatm|yex|steacehassat|sedthemestpetseaa||awe|h|sbe|ag,
|athe||v|agexptess|eae||t.Wheatheseu||aamazemeatasks,
Whe ate yeu? the ma|dea, mete resp|eadeat thaa aaybeauty
evetg||mpsed|athetettestt|a|wet|d,mevestewatdtheeatraace
e|the Ch|avat Bt|dgeaadaaswets I amyeutewaDaeaa,
wh|ch meaas I am in person the |a|th yeu have pre|essed aad
shewhe|asp|ted|t|ayeu,Iamshe|etwhemyeuaaswetedaad
she whe gu|dedyeu, whe cem|etted yeu aad whe aew judges
yeu,|etI am|apetseatheImagesetbe|eteyeus|acetheb|nh
e|yeutbe|agaadtheImagewh|ch,aa||y,yeuyeutse||des|ted
( I was |a|t, theu hast made me |a|tet st||| i. That |s why
Daeaa |s a|se X vaao, petseaa| G|ety aad Dest|ay, aad as
such|sth|ae Aeoa, th|aeEteta|ty. It |saet|athepewete|
ahumaab|agtedestteyh|sce|est|a|Idea,but|t|s|ah|spewer
te bttay |t, tesepatateh|mse|||tem |t, t
have,attheeattaace
te the Ch|avat Bt|dge, aeth|ag |ace te |ace w|th h|m but the
abem|aab|e aaddemea|c cat|catute e| h|s "I de||veted evet to
h|mse||w|theutaheavea|yspeaset.
Aad Daeaa<eph|a has s|stets, whe ate, as |t wete, her
ptegurat|eas,med|atets,aadhera|ds,|remthepe|ate|v|ewe|
42
the|dea|sequeace|awh|chv|s|eaatyeveats ateetdeted.Thete
|sthe Aage| Chisti , ce|ebtated |a YashtXVI, wh|ch |s spec|-
ca||yded|catedteDaeaa. Betaame,tee,ceaveysthe|deaa|aa
act|veL|ghtwh|ch|||um|aates aadtevea|sa Petm e| L|ght. It
|sshe whecea|etsea each b|agthe |acu|ty e| v|s|ea, patt|cu-
|at|yeathe patt|c|paat|athe ||tutgy,whebyhet|seaab|ed te
see aad peaettatethemeaa|age|thewetds aad gestutes e|the
R|tua| . As |t|steca||ed|atheYasht ( sttephe 2i Zatathustta
sact|cedte het, say|ag 'R|se|temthythteae,ceme |temthe
Abede e| Bymas, 0 mest upt|ght Ch|st|, cteated by Mazda
aadhe|y.' Ia the ||tutgceasectatedte Daeaa, |t |sthete|ete
Ch|st| whe tevea|s her pteseace |a meata| v|s|ea as med|att|x
|ethets|stetaadasthepet|etmete|th|s||tutg. 8hecatt|es
the eb|at|eas,she |sthept|estess|aptsea. 8|ace|t|sshe whe
cea|ets v|s|ea, she hetse|| thete|ete i the v|s|ea that deaes
the|eatutese|het|ceaegtaphy ta||aads|eadet,c|ethed|awh|te
aad hetse|| wh|te. 8he g|ves te the Zeteastt|aa tt||egy |ts
ttu|ysacte-||tutg|cmeaa|age|theught,wetd,act|ea,aadthat
|swhyDaeaa, hav|agherceatetetseat ( c|. a. 94 abeve i |a
the humaa b|ag, |a the he|y action act|vated by med|tat|ve
theught (8peata Ama|t| i, |s v|sua||zed |a the ptsea e| het
s|stet, het m|ttet-|mage, whese |eatuns cettespead ta what
|s expet|eaced aad ||ved |a the ceutse e| the ||tutg|ca| action.
Th|s act|ea p|aces maa |a Etaa-Vej, in medio mundi , whete
heavea|y be|ags aad eatth|y be|ags caa cemmua|cate. As the
Aage| a| the ||tutgy, Ch|st| |s thus the med|att|x e| het s|stet
Daeaa,that| s, theeaewhecausesthe||tutg|ca|act|eatabeceme
v|s|eaaadaat|c|pat|eae|theeschate|eg|ca|meet|ag.
.
The sau| |s aga|a |av|ted te expt|eace a s|m||at |atu|t|ve
aat|c|pat|eabyDaeaa'sethets|stet,theAage|Ashi Vanuhi , whe
a|se, |athe tt||egye| pwets desct|bed abeve, setves as med|a-
tr|x betweea 8peata Ama|t|, whese daughtet she |s, aad
Daeaa,whases|stetshe|s. Betattt|butestesemb|ethe|ts she
a|se|sAhuraMazda'sdaughtet,thes|stete|theAtchaage|s,
shetssesaathe|eme|apreudaadbeaut||u|ma|dea,hetg|td|e
tied hi gh, oure, aeb|e,aad|av|ac|b|e. Netea|ydethe|eatutes
of her iconography reoradacethasea|theather|em|a|aeAage|s
( Daena, Atdvi 8ora i , thus exemp|l|ylng the same atchetypa|
lmage, but she, ||ke Ardvi 8ora, assumes the preregat|ve e|
exttaetd|aaty ptecedence, s|nce Ohmazd h|mse||, Letd e| the
Amahtaspands ande| a|| the Yazatas, eets sact|ces |nEtan-
Ve]bethtehetaadteArdvt8ota ( aspessessetsandd|spensers
e| Xvarnah ) . In Etan-Ve] , that |s in media mundi, Zata-
thustra a|semeetsthe Ange| Ash|Vanuh|. Th|s event |s str|k-
|ng|ydescr|bed|nYashtXVII.TheAnge|-Geddess,dr|v|ngher
chat|et e| V|ctety, |s |nveked as a||-pewet|u| and as hetse||
pessess|ag Xvarnah. Th|s Iran|an Gloria Victrix |s |ndeed the
s|stet e| the N|ke e| Gteek statuaty ( these V|ctet|es whe,
pt|nc|pa||y ew|ng te gnest|c |nuence, wete the et|g|n e| the
tst teptesentat|ens e| the Ange| |n eat|y Cht|st|an |cenegta-
phy i. Then, etect en het ttlumpha| chat|et, she |nv|tes Zara-
thustta te appteach, te meunt and s|t bes|de het ''Theu att
beaut||u|, 0 Zatathustta, theu an vety |a|t . . . te thy bedy
X varnah |s g|ven and te thy seu| |ast|ng b||ss. Behe|d, thus I
ptec|a|m|tte thee.
Thus,theAage|Ash|Vanuh|pessessesandbestewsXvarnah,
the L|ght e|G|ery, but at the samet|me she herse|| a|se is the
V|ctety, the v|ctet|a| P|re. In het petsen ate cencentrated the
s|gn|cance beth e|G|ery and e| Dest|ny, the Aura Gloriae e|
a be|nge|||ght.ThusM|thra|smteekhetas-x' ( |nthe sense
e|Fortuna Victrix, Glora-Fortuna ) .
1
1 3 TemeetAsh|-Vanuh||n
Etan-Ve] ,tebe|nv|tedtes|tathets|deeahetchat|ete|v|ctety,
|s |ndeedthe psych|c event wh|ch at the same t|me ant|c|pates,
ptegutes, and makes pess|b|e the meet|ng post mortem w|th
hets|stetDaena,G|etyandDest|nyhav|ngbeea|u|||ed.8he
|s the Imago Victrix e| the seu| , |ts sacta||zat|ea by Xvarh,
the teve|at|eae| |ts ce|est|a| archetype. The v|s|en |n Eran-Ve]
ptegtes the dawn t|s|ng en the Ch|nvat Bt|dge, and that |s
why the Pah|avt ttad|t|en tecegn|zes Ash| Vanuh|, s|stet e|
Daena-8eph|a, ashetse||be|ngthe8p|t|te|W|sdemthatguldes
the be|ngs e| ||ght tewatd pet|ect ex|stence, that |s pata-
d|sa| ex|stence. 8he|sa|seca||edtheAage|e|theparadlsa|
abede,aaass|stante|8pentaAma|t|,whe| seutAbede.
Atth|spe|nt,then, thecen]unct|entakesp|acee|thedestlay
44
e|theseu|~thePtavan||acataated|atettestt|a|ex|steacaad
the dest|ay e| that tettestt|a| Eatth te wh|ch |t came se|e|y |a
etdettehe|pOhtmazdaadthePewetse|L|ghttesavetheEatth
|tem the demea|c Pewets. Ash| Vaauh| |s the Aage| whe
tad|ates Xvarnah, the L|ght e| G|ety, but th|s tad|at|ea evet-
|ast|ag,that |ste say, the petdutab|e tad|aace thus testeted by
v|s|ea, aew bcemes that ethet |em|a|ae Aam| whe |s ca||ed
bythe aame Arshttt. 110 Iahetpetseashe |stheImago Gloriae
teect|ag te the seu| the Image e| aa Earth ttaasguted |ate
the |mage e| the seu| that ttaasgutes |t. Te uadetstaad the
meata| dtamatutgy dem|aated by the gute e| the Aage|
Atshtat, |et
s temembtthe eschate|eg|ca| |mp||cat|eas e|the

Image e|X varnah. Ia Yasht XIX we heat ce|ebtated the ctea-
tuteswheateteceme|temthe wet|de|||ght aad, |athe |etm
e| 8aeshyaats, teaew earth|y ex|steace, mak|ag |t aa ex|steace
w|th the aatute e| P|te, whea a|| cteatutes w||| pessess aa |a-
cettupt|b|ebdye||um|aeusP|te. Butthat|saaeveattewatd
wh|ch a|| cteatutes e| ||ght ate wetk|ag aew, |a the pteseat.
Th|swetkaadth|seveatwere the veryteasea,|temthe beg|a-
a|ag,|ettheche|ceaadthebatt|ee|thePtavan|s. Thecteatutes
e|||ghttece|vethe|tcapac|tyte|u|||etteaat|c|pateth|smeta-
metphes| ptec|se|y thaaks te the v|ctet|a| P|te whese radiance
embed|ed|a be|ags |sca||edbythepetseaa| aame e|the Aage|
Anhtat.
The ptev|s|ea e| th|s aa| Ttaasgutat|ea ( Frashkart ) , the
ceasc|eusaess e| be|eag|ag te the cteatutes e| ||ght whe wetk
tegethet |et |t |a evety memeat e| the Aeon, ate petcept|eas
wh|ch, ||ke the v|s|eaaty geegtaphy e| the |aadscapes mea-
t|eaed abeve, bt|ag|ate p|ay, aet s|mp|e phys|cs et|g|aat|ag|a
seasety ptcept|eas, but a v|s|eaary phys|cs. Th|sttaasgut|ag
eaetgy e| wh|ch the Imago Glorie |s the seutce aad etgaa,
eave|epesthewhe|ee|theseu| .Petcept|eae|theP|tee|eatth|y
G|ety pro|a|ms the tad|aace e| a sp|t|tua| P|te bt|ag|ag the
seu|te|acaadesceace,tetheL|ghte|sav|agkaew|edge(gnosi),
|atreduces the seu| tethe Earthe|L|ght, aadtea||the be|ags
camjs|ag|ts awa wer| d, the wer|d|er wh|ch |t|s aaswetab|e.
Thut iH why the guree|Duena, the | | ghte|saew|edgeaadthe
45
I. M azdean Imago Terrae
Imago Animae,1
1
8 |ssemet|messubst|tuted|etthate|theAage|
Atshtat. Aad that |s a|se why at the ]udmeat wh|ch |s the
cea|teatat|ea e|the seu|w|ththe ce|est|a| atchetypes|et wh|ch
|thadte aaswet ea eanh, the Aage| Atshtat staads at the s|de
e|Zamyat,theDea terrestrs, atthewe|gh|age|theseu| ,beth
e|themass|st|agtheAtchaage|Amettat.
11
9
Pet th|s cea|teatat|ea causes the seu| te ask w|th what
we|ghtd|d|twe|gh |tsewaX varnah wh|ch was |etthettaas-
gutat|ea e| be|ag? Te what degtee was |t |tse|| a 8aeshyaat,
thus|u||||agthe vew e| |ts ewa ptayet May we be ameag
thesewhe ate te bt|agabeutthe Ttaasgutat|ea e|theEatth
(YasaaXXX,9 i.I|AtshtataadZamyatatethe]udgese|the
seu| be|ete Amenat ( Immetta||ty i , se, by the same tekea |s
the|t s|stetDaeaa. Theeutceme e|the sttugg|e |se|thetttaas-
gutat|ea et demea|c d|sgutat|ea. Te make the |mage e| the
Earthttaas|uc|dtethegtee|theAage||a aa aam|emetph|c
v|s|ea such as Pechaet's, the |em e| the Aage| must ewet |a
the seu| |tse||. New thete|a ceas|sts the b|tth e| the seu| te
aeaa, te |ts ce|est|a| "1," aad we have a|teady |ad|cated hew,
|a th|s |ad|v|dua|eschate|egy,theu|t|mate meaa|age|the pte-
|ess|ea e| |a|th |s |u|||ed My methet |s 8pata Ama|t|, the
Atchaage| e| the Eatth. Bete |s whete we beg|a te see hew
Zamyat, the Aage| e| eatth|y G|ety, g||mpsed |a me ame e|
the dawa ea the meuata|a teps e| the |aadscapes e| Xvarnah,
|s aet s|mp|y a deub|et e| 8peata Atma|t| . Zamyat |s ea|y
v|s|b|etetheseu||awh|chaadbywh|ch|tbecemesttuethat
8peata Atma|t| |s the methet e| Daeaa-8eph|a. G|v|ag b|tth
tethece|est|a|IaadtheTtaasgutat|eae|theEatth|etmthe
cyc|ee|whatwehavett|edte desct|be heteasa geesephy.
Thete|ete, |tem th|s geesephy |u|||ed by the |em|a|ae
Aage|se|theEatth,theMazdeaate||g|eusImag|aat|eashaped
a mythe-h|stety, |a wh|ch the v|s|ea e| the Atchaage| e| the
Eatth eageadet|ag a humaa be|ag, st||| ptetettestt|a| , a|teady
typ|es the supetaatuta| geaetat|ea e| the 8av|et, the aa|
8aeshyaat te ceme, |atheaameaadwetke|whemeveryPta-
vatt|patt|c|patesthteugh|tsewasttugg|e.
Gayematt, the pr|metd|a| Maa, wascteated in Frln-Vej , on
46
the baaks e| the t|vet Da|tt |a the ceatet e|the wet|d. Whea
Aht|maasucceeded|agett|agDeathtepeaettateh|m,Gayamatt
|e|| ea h|s |e|t s|de, aad, s|ace h|s bdy was cempsed e| pute
meta|, the abse|ute meta| ceast|tut|ag the meta|||c teta||ty,
seveameta|semetged|temh|sbedy,each ptmeed|ag|mmthe
membttewh|ch|tcenespeaded. Theaathtepgaaythat|erms
abt|dmbetweeathecesm|cs|ga|caacee|pt|metd|a|maa aad
specu|at|eas ceaceta|agthe m|ctmesm, bt|ags eut vetyc|eat|y
the cettespeadeace e|the meta|s w|th the pans e| the humaa
bedy. Bes|desth|s, |t g|ves aaesseat|a| dea|t|ea Gold, asthe
eighth meta|, aad because e| |ts pnem|aeace, |ssues |tem the
vety soul ( Xvarah ) e| Gayaman aad |tem h|s seed. Ge|d,
exa|ted by |ts aeb|||ty abve a|| ethet meta|s, symbe||zes hete
with theesseat|a|"1," theseu| ,wh|ch|ssupt-addedtethe|ad|-
v|dua|membetswheseteta||ty|tdem|aates, aadtewh|chthe
meta|s ate tespct|ve|yte|ated. Th|s Ge|d, as we kaew, |s, |a
thea|chem|ca|ttad|t|ea, thesymbe|abevea||ethetse|theflius
regius, e|thetesunect|eabdy,e|the8e||.New,|t|sth|sGe|d
that 8peata Ama|t| gatheted temthet. Fet |eny yeats she
kept |t, at the ead e|wh|ch t|me aaexttaetd|aaty p|aat getm|-
aated|temthese||,th|s p|aat |etmedthe tst humaa ceup|e,
Mahtyag-Mahtyaaag,twebe|ags se||ke eae aaethet,sec|ese|y
ua|tedw|theachethet,thatthema|eceu|daetbed|st|agu|shed
|tem the |ema|e, much |ess |se|ated. Oa these twe be|ags, et
tathet ea th|s st||| dua| b|ag, th|s aadtegae, desceaded eae
aad the same Xvarnah, eae aad the same L|ght e| G|ety, eae
aadthesamesoul, wh|chex|stedb|enthephys|ca|etgaa|sm.
What |s gtasped |a th|s v|s|ea |s eace aga|a the Eveat e|

pte-Adam|c humaa|ty ( Adam-Eve, aet yet Adam and Eve ) .
Adam|c humaa|ty tea||y ea|y bg|as |tem the desceadaats e|
Mahryag aad Mahtyaaag~whea mascu||ae aad |em|a|ae, d|s-
t|act|remeae aaethet,w|||becemetwo. Beteaga|a,thedepths
e| the pte|ess|ea e| |a|th, |ts meaa|ag, sh|aes thteugh I have
8peata Arma|t| asmymethet,I he|dmyhumaacead|t|ea|tem
Mnhryag aadMahtysaag. The Eanh thatce||ectsthem|d
of Gnyomnrt |scena|a|y aet the eatth e|euterd|aaty phys|cs,
hut the jrsea e| tbe Aage| e| the Eatth, 8pata Ama|t| .
47
Ne|therthe categer|es e| eur gee|egy, aerthese e| aatura| em-
brye|egy,aretebesubst|tuted|erthemedee|percept|eawh|ch
|shere preper|ythate|geesephy.Ne|ther|sthehumaa be|ag
whem 8peata Arma|t| ceace|ves by her ewa sea Gayematt
maa |a eur preseat humaa cead|t|ea. Be |s the teta| humaa
oe|ag, st||| aadregyaeus, Mahryag-Mahtyaaag. Bewever, s|ace
Ahr|maahadcausedeathteeater|ateGayeman,thestructure
e|th|steta|be|ag,e|th|saadregyae|ssu|ag|remh|sGe|d,that
|s,|remh|ssoul er8e||,e|wh|chArma|t|-8eph|a|sthereceptac|e
~th|s structure |s uastab|e aad |rag||e, |t |s aet v|ab|e ea the
Earth,wh|ch|sthepreye|demea|cpewers.P|aa||y,bymesc|s-
s|eae||ts |ateraa|dualitude, th|sbe|agg|vesb|rthte|tspester-
|ty,h|ster|chumaa|ty,thecead|t|eae|wh|ch|stheea|yeaewe
caaexper|eace, aadwheseemergeace|sthere|eresubsequeatte
the greatcatastrephe,te theday a|ter,the |avas|ea byEv||.
The|deae|a restereddua||tude|sexpressed |athecea]uac-
t|eapost mortem e| the humaa be|agw|th aeaa, whe |s pre-
c|se|y the daughter e| 8peata Arma|t|, ]ust as the humaa
be|ag|ah|spreh|ster|cersupraterrestr|a|cead|t|ea|shersea.
That |swhytheEveat wh|ch teek p|ace |a preh|stery (8peata
Arma|t| ce||ect|ag the Ge|d er 8e|| e| Gayemart, e| her ewa
seata|atedbyeath i pregurestype|eg|ca||ytheEveatthat|s
the daeuemeat e| h|stery, the threshe|d e| metah|stery. Ia
ether werds whea 8peata Arma|t| becemes the mether e| a
humaa be|ag|athe sease aad tetheverydegree that she |sthe
mether e| aeaa, th|s o|rth re|ers te aa eschate|eg|ca| cea-
]uact|ea, suchthat the 8eph|aa|cmystery|ascr|bed |athe very
aame e| the Aage| e| the Earth, Arma|t|-8eph|a, |s ceasum-
mated tegether w|th the geaera| eschate|egy. Oa|y thea |s the
pre|euadmeaa|age|thetextsthatpreseatArdvi8oraAaah|ta
as the ass|staat, the cewerker ( hamkar ) e| 8peata Arma|t|,
revea|ed.
Itweu|dbe|mpess|b|etru|yteuaderstaadthemythe|Gaye-
martaadtereader]ust|cetetheIraa|aamysterye|theAathre-
pes||eaewerete|se|atethegree|Gayemart|rem|tspr|ac|-
p|e. Gayemart, Zarathustra, aad the aa| 8aeshyaat represeat
thebeg|aa|ag,them|dd|e, aadtheeade|Maaaade|thewer|d
48
e|Maasub]ectedtem|xture.Zarathustra|sa|sepr|merd|a|
Maa, Gayeman rediivus, ]ust as the |ast 8aeshyaat w||| be
Zarathustra redivivus, aad ]ust as Mazdeaa gnosis aat|c|pates
theexa|tat|eae|Aathrepes|atheperseae|the8aeshyaat. Aad
that |s why the superaatura| aad v|rg|aa| ceacept|ea e| the
8aeshyaat, the pretetype e| a humaa|ty aa||y redeemed |rem
death, represeats, |a re|at|ea te the memeat e| the persea e|
Zarathustra,a praessheme|egeusbut|aversetethe eae wh|ch
breught |erth |rem Gayemart, threugh the |atermed|ary e|
8peata Arma|t|, ahumaa|ty de||veredeverte the merta| cead|-
d|t|ea. Th|scead|t|eae|h|ster|c humaa|ty was hera|ded by the
sc|ss|ea e| the teta| be|ag, ceast|tuted by the Ge|d er 8e|| e|
Gayemart.
The|mage e|the8aeshyaat|sthere|eretheantiphony e|the
Image e| the Aathrepes ravaged by the demea|c Pewers. The
v|rg|ab|rth,threughasuperaatura|precess, abe||shesb|e|eg|ca|
|aws, er rather traasceads the phys|ca| meaa|ag e| pheaemeaa
by ge|ag beyead the dua||ty aad eppes|t|ea e| mascu||ae aad
|em|a|ae a s|ag|e be|agtakesea the|uact|eae| beth. !ust as
theGe|d|ssued|remGayemartwaspreservedby8peataArma|t|
uaderthepretect|eae|theAage|se|theEarth, se, aetthe seed
|a the phys|e|eg|ca| meaa|ag e| the werd, but the X varnah
( Ge|d i e| Zarathustra, h|s Aura Gloriae, was rece|ved by the
Aage| Neryesaag, aad was eatrusted oy h|m te the G|ery
( X varnah ) e|the Waters,that |s, te the Aage|-GeddessArdvi
8uraAaah|ta,the B|gh, the 8evere|ga,the Immacu|ate.Bere
a|se,theexpectat|eae|theTraasgurat|eae|maaaadtheEarth
caabeperce|vedaadexpressedea|y|atermse|ageesephy.The
Zarathustr|aa G|ery |s kept by Ardvi 8ora |a persea, myth|-
ca||y|a the waterse| Lake Kaasaeya, |remwh|ch emerges the
meuata|ae|dawas,Mons Victorialis; 125 amu|t|tudee|Pravart|s
watchever|t.Attheeade|thetwe|vem|||eaa|a,wheaeurAeon
w||| ceme te aaead,ama|dea, act|agastheearth|yaadv|s|b|e
typ|cat|eae|Ardvi8ara|apersea,w||| eaterthewaterse|the
myst|c |ake. Tbe L| ght e|G|eryw||| oe |mmaaeat|aher oedy,
and Hhe w||| caace|ve eae who mast master a|| the ev|| deeds
nf drmnnK nnd mcn. "1 1" Thnt iH why the V| g| n Metber,Eredbat
Pedhr|, |s a|ready herse|| ha||ed by the aame V|spa Taurva|r|
( the a||<eaquer|ag i , the Omnivictrix. There|ere,Ardvt8ora
Aaah|ta, preserv|ag the X var e| Zarathustra, |rem wh|ch
theheree|theaa|resterat|ea(apokatastasis ) |sbera,|s|adeed,
asthe||turgy-says,thecewerkere|8peataAma|t|,keep|ag
the Ge|d |ssued |rem Gayamart, aad V|spa Taurva|r| |s the
eanh|y Wemaa typ||y|ag beth e| them. Mazdeaa eschate|egy
a|se, ||ke the 8eph|aa|cmystery e|the Earth, |s|u|||edby aa
exa|tat|ea e|8eph|a. -
A|| th|s, e|ceurse, |s|u|||ed |a Eraa-Ve] ( where Gayaman
d|ed,whereZarathustrawasbera,wherethe8aeshyaatsw|||be
bera, wherethe aa| L|turgysett|agthewer|deare w|||take
p|acei, aad se th|s eat|re dramaturgy |s |tse|| percept|b|e ea|y
|aEraa-Ve] , atthe center of the world, that |satthesummit of
the soul.
WehaveheardPechaer gr|eve because|aeurdayv|s|ease|
th|s aature are ceas|dered |mag|aary aad uarea|. Perhaps we
caaapprec|ateteday,eveamerethaa|athe|astceatury,ph||es-
eph|esthatd|daetcea|usetheImag|aaty,erratherthe Rea||ty
cerrespead|ag te |mag|aat|ve percept|ea, w|th the uarea|. Be-
tweeaaua|verseceast|tutedbyapurephys|csaadasub]ect|v|ty
wh|ch|a|cts|se|at|eaea|tse||,we|ereseetheaeede|aa |aur-
med|atewer|dte]e|aeaew|ththeether,semeth|ag|atheaature
e|asp|r|tua|rea|me|subt|ebed|es. 8uchaa|atemed|atewer|d
was cease|ess|y med|tated, pan|cu|ar|y |a Is|am|c Iraa, beth
by the mastets e| Susm, the adepts e| the 8uhraward|aa ph|-
|esephye|||ght,aadtheadeptse|8ha|kh|sm.Th|s|atermed|ate
wer|d|s ae|eagerea|ythe ceater e| the world, ||ke Eraa-Ve] ,
but the ceater e| the worlds. The wer|d e| the Imag|aab|e, e|
|mag|aat|ve Rea||ty, the wer|d e| archetype-Images, |s estab-
||shed as med|ater betweea the wer|d e| the pure, |ate|||g|b|e
esseaces aad the seasery ua|verse. Th|s wer|d |s the eighth
keshvar, the e|ghth c||mate the Earth e| the emera|d c|t|es,
themyst|ca|Earth e|Borqa|ya.
50
II THE MYSTICAL EARTH OF HORQALYA
1 . Progressio haronica: Fatima, Daughter of the
Prophet, and the Celestial Earth
Wheevet |s semewhat |am|||atw|th the etgaa kaews what ate
te|ettedteassteps. Thaakstethesesteps,eachaetecaacause
seveta|p|pese|d|eteat|eagthstespaks|mu|taaeeus|y,thus,
bes|desthe |uadameata| aete, a aumbet e|hatmea|c eveneaes
caa be heatd. Ameagthe ceatt|vaaces that tegu|ate them, the
progressio harmonica des|gaates a cemb|aat|ea e| steps wh|ch
a||ews mete aad mete eveneaes te b heatd as eae asceads
tewatd the uppet teg|stet, uat|| at a cetta|a p|tch the |uada-
meata|aetea|seteseuadss|mu|taaeeus|y.
Th|s|sdesct|bed vetybt|ey aadw|theutaayc|a|mte tech-
a|ca| accutacy, but |et a dea|te putpese. It |s just that th|s
pheaemeaea seems te us the pata||e| mest he|p|u| |a uadet-
staad|agthesubt|t|ee|th|sb k FtemMazdeaaItaate8hr|te
Itaa.Asa tesu|te|theceaaect|eawh|chwaseectedbetweea
the e|d Mazdeaa Itaa aad 8hr|te Itaa~a ceaaect|ea |a wh|ch
wesha||havetepayspec|a|atteat|eatethesp|t|tua|schee|that
has teact|vated ttad|t|eaa| 8hr|te ges|s |a Itaa|aa Is|am s|ace
theeade|thee|ghteeathceatuty~semeth|ag||ke a progressio
harmonica takes p|ace. The h|ghet we ascead, the mete hat-
mea|cs we heat. F|aa||y, the |uadameata|, wh|ch gave the pte-
ced| agchaptet |ts teaa||ty, w||| beceme aud|b|e aga|a.
T|e aaa|egy suggested mayat|ast eaab|e us teuadetstaad
cetta|a |eatutes e| the sp|t|tua| h|stety e| Itaa. 8e ||tt|e study
bas t|us |at beea deveted |a the West te the ph||esephy e|
5 1
II. Mystical Earth of Hurqalyi
Iraa|aa ls|am, whether 8hi|te er aet, that these whe spec|a||ze
|a the study e| aac|eat lraa, as we|| as spec|a||sts |a Mus||m
ph||esephy as such, semet|mes seem surpr|sed, || aet aaaeyed,
whea a ceaaect|ea |s pe|ated eutwh|ch t|||theawasaet seea
|athe|rscheme.Oatheetherhaad,therearevery|ewcu|t|vated
Iraa|aas whe are |aseas|t|ve te th|s ceaaect|ea. Te succeed |a
represeat|ag |t adequate|y, we sha|| prebab|y have te g|ve up
certa|ae|eurcustemarycateger|es thattakeea|yeuterh|stery
|ate acceuat, where everyth|ag |s stud|ed w|m a v|ew te d|s-
cever|ag ma]er curreats, deduc|ag |aueaces aad causa| ex-
p|aaat|aas, try|ag |a a|| ways te reduce th|ags te a cemmea
deaem|aater. l| a pheaemeaea dees aet |ead |tse|| te such re-
duct|eate|deat|tybywaye|cause aadeect,|||tre|useste t
the preceace|ved |abe| , eae w||| read||y be suspected e| hav|ag
beea|ed astraybysememater|a|that|s aet autheat|c. Th|s |s
what has made |t se d|mcu|t te d|scuss spiritual facts as such,
espec|a||y these that teek p|ace |a lraa, because sp|r|tua| |acts,
as such, are d|sceat|aueus aad |rreduc|b|e, they de aet succeed
eaeaaether|aahemegeaeeust|me,theyare, eache|them,the|r
ewat|me.
We sha|| aew ceas|der br|ey twe e| these t|mes. Oa the
eae haad, the t|me e| 8uhrawardi, whese werk, chreae|eg|-
ca||y, be|eags te eurtwe||th ceatury. la |t, the auther pursues
the a|m e| rev|v|ag |a ls|am the w|sdem, the theosophia, e|
aac|eat Pers|a. B|s metaphys|ca| eut|eek |s dem|aated, ea the
eaehaad,bythemet||e|theXvarnah, the L|ghte| G|ery, aad
by the Mazdeaa aage|e|egy threugh wh|ch he |aterprets the
P|atea|cldeas, aad, eatheetherhaad,bythet|mee|8ht|sm,
determ|aedastequa||tybythe|deae|theh|ddealmam aadh|s
parousia. Th|s|deareseuads||ketheharmea|ce|a|uadameata|
aete that we have a|ready heard |a the Zereastr|aa |dea e|the
eschate|eg|ca| 8av|erer8aeshyaat. But ae|ther 8uhrawardt aet
the 8hr|tes are Zereastr|aas. They are aad|atead te rema|a |a
Is|am, |a a sp|r|tua| ls|am,te be sure, wh|ch |s pre|euad|y d||-
|ereat|remthe|ega||st|cls|am, theec|a|re|| g|eae|thema]er-
|ty. l|eae |s ||m|ted te the pes|t|ve h|stery e| exteraa| th|ags,
w|theutkaew|aghewteeectpheaemeae|eg|ca|reduct|ea,hew
52
1 . Filima and the Celestial Earth
caaeae pess|b|yg|veh|ster|ca| autheat|c|ty te a pheaemeaea
thatexptesses,|aag|veawer|d,theva|uesaadrea||tye|certa|a
petcept|eastece|ved|aawer|dthat|s|ere|ga, eveaheteregeae-
eus, te the |ermet? 8uch aa attempt w||| g|ve r|se te ta|k e|
syactet|sm, d|a|ect|ca| ceac|||at|ea, art|c|a| ttaaspes|t|ea. Aad
thatw||| b the ead e| |t.
Out 8p|r|tua|s, |adeed, de aet |adu| ge |a syactet|sm, aer de
they have te attempt d|a|ect|ca| ceac|||at|ea, bcause they have
at the|t d|spesa| a mede e|percept|ea d|eteat |tem the eae te
wh|ch we have beea teduced by eur eae-d|meas|eaa| h|ster|ca|
ceasc|eusaess. Ia the rst p|ace, they have at the|t d|spesa| a
wet|d e| seveta| |eve|s, aad |t|sexact|yeaee|these |eve|s that
thepteseatb k|stry|agtedescr|baadtes|tuate.Iatheceutse
e| th|s b k we sha|| ceme acress the |e||ew|ag exptess|ea by
eae e| eut authets '3e see er perce|ve th|ags |a Botqa|ya.
Thete|a ||es aaa||us|eatethe bt|ag|ag|atep|aye|the |acu|ty
e| ptcept|ea, wh|ch a|se aad aecessar||y |s ava||ab|e te these
8p|t|tua|s. The bt|ag|ag|ate p|ay e| th|s |acu|ty |s des|gaated
by the techa|ca| tetm ta'wil, wh|ch etyme|eg|ca||y meaas
"
t
bt|agback the data te the|rer|g|a,te the|r archetype, te the|t
donor. Fet th|s, the same data must be tecaptuted at each e|
the degrees e| be|aget |eve|s threugh wh|ch they had te de-
scead|aerdetteteachthemedee|be|agcettespead|agtethe
p|aae ea wh|ch they are ev|deat te eur erd|aary ceasc|eusaess.
Th|sptact|cehastheeecte|caus|agthesep|aaestesymbe||ze
with eaeaaethet.
Beace,theta'wil |spteem|aeat|ythehermeaeut|cse|symb|s,
theexges|s,thebr|ag|ageute|h|ddeasp|r|tua|meaa|ag.W|th-
eut the ta'wil, 8uhtawatdi's Oriental Theosophy weu|d aet
ex|st, aet yet that sp|t|tua| pheaemeaea |a geaera| , aame|y
8hr|te gaes|s, by wh|ch the meaa|ag e| Is|am |s ttaasgted.
Aadceavetse|y,theteweu|dbeaepess|b|||tye|ata'wil w|theut
the wer|d e| Borqa|ya, wh|ch we are at preseat study|ag, that
|s, w|theutthe wer|da|atchetypa|lmageswhere that |mag|aa-
t|veoerceot|ea|uact|easaad|sab|e,bytraasmut|agthematet|a|
data e| exteraa| h|stery |ate symbe|s, te peaettate te the |aaet
maa| nge In sbert, th|s ceace:as the splr|tua| h|stery whese
II. Mystical Earth of Hirqalya
events take p|ace |n Hutqa|ya. Ta'wil ptesuppeses the supet-
es|t|ea e|wet|dsand|ateet|ds,asthecette|at|ve bas|s |et a
p|uta||tye|meaa|ags |athe same text.
Th|s techn|que,te be sute, was knewn at eae t|me |n the
West. Thete, hewevet, |t tap|d|y degeaetated |nte aa an|c|a|
techn|que, but |n |act |et teaseas wh|ch wete extnas|c te |ts
aatute aadwh|chd|stened|tsptact|ce,bethbecause|twascut
e|temthetheosophia e|wh|ch|t|sthecette|at|ve,aadbecause
|t was dept|vede|spentane|tybya degat|c authet|t
)
. Teday,
|atheeyese|theph||e|eg|sts aadh|stet|ans,|t|stheught e| as
semeth|ng att|c|a| aad neg||g|b|e, || aet unbeatab|e. I de net
be||evematthete|sanyptet|ad|scuss|eaa|medattecenc|||ag
the twe p|nts e| v|ew. Regatd|ess e| what happened te th|s
techn|que |a the West, the |act tema|ns that |ts ptact|ce |n
Is|am|ctheesephy ( thelikma ilahiya ) hasceat|nuedte b sup-
pettedbyqu|teethetmeaas,aadte ptesetve |ts spentaae|ty. I|
eae dees aet uadentand |tem what |t spt|ags, a|| the sp|t|tua|
|acts cennected w|th |t tema|n |acemptehens|b|e. The ta'wil,
w|theutquest|en,|samattete|harmonic perception, e|heat|ng
an |dent|ca| seund ( the same vetse, thesame ladith, evea aa
ent|te text ) easeveta| |eve|s s|mu|taaeeus|y. One heats etene
dees net heat. But he whe dees net pessess the |anet (But-
qa|yan ) eatcanaet bemadeteheat whathewhedees pessess
|t|sab|eteheat. Because,|etthatmattet,thesectete|thepte-
gtess|en e| chetds, |n hameny, depends upen the ta'wil e| a
g|ven chetd.
Latet|nth|sbeekwe sha||teada |ew pagese|8uhtawatdt,
the yeungmastetwhe d|ed a mattyt at the am e| th|tty|ght
( 5 87 I 1 1 9 1 ) aad whe came |atet te be ca||ed the Mastet e|
Ot|enta| Theesephy ( 8ha|kh a|-Ishtaq )1 because h|s gteat a|m
wasthetena|ssancee|aac|entItan|anw|sdem.Wehavea|teady
ment|ened h|s aame aad sha|| de se aga|a, s|ace h|s wetk |s e|
suchcap|ta||mpenanceteeuttheme~the Ce|est|a|Eanh. la
the ptesent ceatext, we | ntend en|y te dtaw attent|ea te a |ew
pages |tem h|s ch|e| wetk, wh|ch exp||c|t|y meat|ea the tank
aad|uact|eae|the |em|n|ae Atchange| e|the Eatth undertbe
name that Mazdean h|eresephy tradltleaa||y cea|ers upa her,
54
1 . F aeima and the Celestial Earth
8peata Arma|t|. Th|s aame, |a M|dd|e Itaa|aa er Pah|av| , be-
cemes8peadamat,wh|ch |amedera Pets|aa g|vesus Is|aadar-
muz. Iathe preced|agchaptetwe wete shewahewtheceaste|-
|at|eae|theetherAage|se|theEatthweteatrayedareuadhet.
Ia the 8uhtawatd|aa dectr|ae, the schema e| the sp|r|tua|
ua|vetses appeats |a btead eut||ae as |e||ews . |rem the rst
V|ctet|a|'' L|ght (Oah|t i, et tst Archaage| emaaated |rem
theL|ghte|L|ghts,whesettad|t|eaa|Mazdeaaaame|sBahmaa
( Vehu-Maaah i , there |ssues a p|etema e| |aaumerab|e be|ags
e|||ght,pure |ate|||g|b|eL|ghts,qu|te |adepadeate|aaymate-
t|a|bdy,th|s|sthewer|de|theJabarat. Prem|tthereemaaates
aaether p|erema e| substaaces e| ||ght, seme e| wh|ch have te
take upea themse|ves the guard|aash|p e| a matet|a| spec|es,
wh|ch |s the|t theutgy, wh||e the ethets have te|| the te|e
e|8eu|s,wh|ch|er|eagetetshertetpt|edsaa|mate a mater|a|
bedy. The rst are the atchetype-Aage|s er Aage|s e| spec|es,
ameag wh|ch the Zereastr|aa Amahtaspaads are te|erred ta by
aame. 8uhtawardt|atetptetsthe P|atea|c Ideaseathe p|aaee|
th|saage|e|egy.Theseceadatethe8eu|se|the8pheres ( Angeli
coelestes ) aadhumaaseu|s. Thesetwecateger|estemthet|em
the wer|d e|Malakat, aad the Earth e|Malakat |sthe ce|est|a|
earthe|Botqa|ya.
Is|aadarmuz gutes ameag the Aage|s e| the spec|es. It |s
s|ga|caat aad ceatmat|ve that 8uhrawardi, |a h|s tura, em-
p|eysthe character|st|c e|d Itaa|aaterm by wh|ch, as we have
seea, the Avesta a|teady des|gaated the |uact|ea e| 8peata
Atma|t|, aame|ythekad bani'iya, the |uact|ea e|them|stress
e|theheuse. AstheAage|e|theEanh, Is|aadamuz assumes
|a part|cu|at the guatd|aash|p e| the aatuta| tea|ms |a wh|ch
thete| |ur|ce|emeatpredem|aates,s|acetheEatth|sthetheutgy
e||mAage|.The Eatth|sshewherece|ves, asthe receptac|e
e| the |aux aad eects e|thece|est|a| 8phetes,|t assumes the
|em|a|ae re|e w|th tespect te the mascu||ae. Th|s |s eae e| the
themes wh|ch w||| be |utthet deve|eped by 8uhrawardi's pre-
|euad cemmeatatet, $adruddta 8hirazi ( d. 1 640, see be|ew,
PartTwe,Atts0 1 , VI , aad I X ) whea hewasteach|agat8h|raz.
On the one hand, the rel ationshi p betweea the Earth as we
II. Mystical Earth of Hurqalya
kaew|taadtheetherFermsthatareeb]ectse|seaserypercep-
t|ea |s aaa|egeus te that wh|ch ex|sts betweea the |dea| Earth,
that|s,theAage|e|theEarth,aadtheetherseparatesubstaaces
erAage|se|spec|es.T|sdeesaetmeaa,e|ceurse,thatwecaa
speake|pass|v|t|es ( inf'alit ) |nthewer|de|Iate|||g|b|es the
|em|n|a|tye|theAage|e|theEanhrestseathe|actthatshe|s
theeaewherece|ves,theeae|awhem|smaa||estedthemu|t|-
tude e|the eects and |aueaces e|the Cherub|n|c act|ve Ia-
te|||geaces accerd|ngte aa eate|eg|ca| gradat|ea aad aa |ate|-
||g|b|estructure, |nthe same way as, enth|s Earth, the eects
e|theheaven|ybed|ese|wh|chtheseIate|||gencesarethemet|ve
pewers,threughthe |atermed|arye|the|r8eu|s,aremaa||ested
accerd|agteachreae|eg|ca| success|ea aadastructurepercept|-
b|etetheseases.OaeurEanh,th|s|shewthe|uact|eae|kad
banuiya |s seea te make eur Eanh symbe||ze w|th |ts Aage| ,
Is|aadamuz.
T|s s|mp|e examp|e wh|ch we have chesea |rem ameagst
ethers sheu|d sumce te shew hew the specu|at|ve theesephy e|
Is|am|cIraa,|rem8uhrawardi|athetwe||thceaturyteadrud-
dtn 8htrazt |athe seveateeath ceatury ( aadwe sheu|d |ac|ude
the|rsuccessersuptethepreseatday i , preservesaadceat|aues
temed|tatethe gure e|the Aage| e|the
Earth, whese persea

the anc|eat Iraa|aas had beea taught by the Mazdeaa re||g|ea
te recegn|ze. Th|s gure, the Gestalt, has cemp|ete|y reta|aed
|ts |deat|ty, evea theugh the e|ements e| the centext have
changed. What |s adm|rab|e |s the pewer e| the tawil e| the
sp|r|tua| hermeneut|cs, wh|ch |s ab|e te g|ve va|ue te a|| the
sybe|s and br|ng them back te the archetype. Th|s |s the
|a|t|at|c |unct|ea wh|ch sp|r|tua| Is|am assumes, |a the persea
e|themastere|Or|eata| theesephy,andh|semu|aters.
That |s aet a|| . Whea we aga|n ad 8uhrawardt us|ag the
veryaameIs|aadamuz,theAage|e|the Earth aadthe8eph|a
e|Mazda|sm, wehaveaed|mcu|ty|arecega|z|agher|eatures,
s|ace evea the character|st|c aame e| her |unct|en has beea
carr|ed ever |rem the Mazdeaa ||turgy |ate the Is|am|c, Nee
p|atea|c ceatext e| 8uhrawardi. But |t may happea that her
aame|sae|eagerpreaeuaced,thataP|gurewi th aaeat|re|ydi f-
56
1. Ftlima and the Celestial Earth
|eteat aame appats |a aa eat|te|y d|eteat ceatext, aad that
aevetthe|ess we caa st||| |deat||y the same |eatutes, the same
Gestalt. Ltustakecate|u|aete,hewevet,e|thespec|caatute
e|the sp|t|tua| pheaemeaeawh|ch |s abeutte c|a|m eut attea-
t|ea. As |t appeats, we caaaet s|mp|y say that th|s |s a P|gute
that|smete|yaaewexemp||cat|eae|theatchetypepetsea|ed
by 8peata Atma|t|. Oa the he|ght e| the p|aae whete we sha||
beaab|edtepetce|veth|sP| gute,wesheu|dtathetspeake|aa
atchetype-P|gutee|theatchetype,astheughweweteappteach-
|agthepake|theprogressio harmonica, aadthattheteat|ast~
aad ea|y thete~|t wete g|vea te us te heat eace mete aad
s|mu|taaeeus|y the |uadameata| seuad |a the base. It |s the
|em|a|aeAtchaage|e|asupracelestial Eatth,assum|agthetaak
aad pt|v||ege e|the d|v|ae 8eph|a,that |t |ssuggested wemay
petce|ve,eathe|eve|e|thewet|de|thelahut, theetetaa|tea||ty
e|thedazz||agPat|ma,daughtete|thePtephet,asshe|smed|-
tated |a 8hr|te gaes|s, et mete exact|y, |a that e| the 8ha|kht
scha| .
It |s ttue, a|as, that |a the abseace uat|| aew e| a cempte-
heas|ve wetk
,
a 8hr|te datt|aes, aad espec|a||y these e|
8ha|kh|sm, te wh|ch we ceu|d te|et, we may b suspected e| a
tee easy acceptaace e| ebscute a||us|eas. 8hr|sm~th|s werd
cemes |tem the Atab|c shra aad des|gaates the cemmua|ty e|
the adepts whe |e||ew the Imams e| the Ptephet's |am||y=
8hr|sm, wh|ch |et ve ceatut|es has beea the |em e|Is|am |a
Itaa, whete |tem the bg|aa|ag |t had |ts ceatets e| tad|at|ea,
|s st||| vety ||tt|e kaewa |athe West. Teee|tea, |aueaced by
ceatempetaty |ads, pep|e teduce |ts et|g|as te quest|eas e|
pe||t|ca| success|ea. By se de|ag, they cemp|ete|y evet|eek the
|mpnaat bedy e| ||tetatute ceas|st|ag e| the ceavetsat|eas e|
the tst adepts w|th success|ve Imams uat|| the a|ath ceatuty
e|eut eta. These ceavetsat|eas beat w|taess thatthe ewet|ag
e|8hr|smwasesseat|a||ytheewet|ag,ettathetthetesutgeace,
e|gaes|s|a Is|am ( ||eaewetete g backaadstudytheet|g|as
e| the datt| aes, eae ceu|d aet sepatate Twe|vet 8hr|sm aad
lsmt'||| 8hr' |smi . 8hr'|te gaes|s |s oreem|aeat|ythe esetet|c|sm
a| lal nm, and when |t was mode the state re||g|ea by the
!7
Sa|av|ds |athe s|xteeath ceatuty, th|s tesu|ted |athe |emat|ea
e| a k|ad e| emc|a| c|etgy a|mest exc|us|ve|y ceacemed w|th
]ut|sptudeace. The ch|e|eecte|th|s etdea|waste teadet the
Itaa|aa adepts e| 8hr|te gaes|s,evea teday, st||| mete t|geteus
|athe|tptact|cee|thed|sc|p||aee|theatcaaum.
Wh||eptephete|egy|saaesseat|a|e|emeate|Is|am|cte||g|ea
assuch,|a8hr|tetheesephy|t|sd|v|ded|ate ptephete|egy aad
Imame|egy. Bes|de the ptephet|c |uact|ea, wh|ch de||vets the
message e|the ||teta| Reve|at|ea, thete |sthe |a|t|at|c |uact|ea,
wh|ch |a|t|ates |ate the h|ddea meaa|ags e| teve|at|eas, aad
wh|ch|sthe|uact|eae|the Imam. A|tetthe cyc|ee|pmphecy
(da'irat al-nubawa ) that eaded w|th Muhammad, the 8ea| e|
the Ptephets, thete cemes the cyc|e e| Ia|t|at|ea ( da'irat m-
walaya ) ,thepteseatcyc|e,p|aceduadetthesp|t|tua|tu|e e|the
Twe||th Imam, the h|ddea Imam, pteseat |a the heatts but
|av|s|b|e te the seases.
The 8ha|kht schee| , wh|ch eut|shed at the ead e| the
e|ghteeath ceatuty uadet the st|mu|us e| the |e|ty aad stteag
sp|t|tua|petseaa||tye|8ha|khAhmadAhsat( d. 1 826 ) ,matked
aaexttaetd|aatytev|va|e|pt|m|t|ve8hr|tegaes|s.Its||tetatute
|seaemeus, |etthemestpanst||||amaausct|pt. Betewecaa-
aeteveaeut||aea||thedectt|aes,but|atheceutsee|the|e||ew-
|ag pages we sha|| see hew aadwhythetheme e| Batqa|ya |s
eaee||tsesseat|a|tbemes. Ia|t,themeaa|age|Imame|egyhas
beeac|ese|y exam|aed |a gteat depm ( et he|ght i . Thetwe|ve
Imams whe assumed the |a|t|at|c |uact|en subsequeat te the
ptephet|c message e| Muhammad, h|s petsea, aad the petsea
e| h|s daughtet, Fat|ma, |tem whem the ||ae e| the Imams
et|g|aated, th|s p|etema e| the Feuneea Vety-Pute |s uadet-
steed aad med|tated aet ea|y as tegatds the ephemeta| appeat-
aace ea eatth e| the|t tespect|ve petseas, but |a the tea||ty e|
the|t ptecesm|c etema| eat|t|es. The|t petseas ate esseat|a||y
theephaa|c, they ate the Names aadthe d|v|aeAttt|butes, that
wh|ch a|eae caa b kaewa e| the d|v|a|ty, they ate the etgaas
e|the d|v|a|ty, they ate |ts epetaat eptat|eas.Ftem a struc-
tura| pe|at e| v|ew, |a 8hr|te thee|egy, Imame|eg p|ays the
same te|e as Cht|ste|egy |a Cht|st|aa thee|egy. That |s why
58
1. Fatima and the Celestial Earth
wheevethaskaewaea|y8uaa|teIs|am,|scea|teated|aItaaby
semeth|ag uaexpcted, aad becemes |ave|ved |a a d|a|ege the
t|chaess aad ceasequeacese| wh|ch ate ua|eteseeab|e.
Thus,thetwe|veImams,|athe|ttheephaa|cpneas,tegethet
w|ththePtephetaadthe tesp|eadeat Fanma,|emthe p|etema
e|the Peutteea Vety-Pute, whea med|tated|athe|t substaace
aadthe|tpteetetaa|ptsea,theyassumeamede e|be|agaada
pes|t|ea aaa|emus te the Aeon e| the p|etema |a Va|eat|a|aa
gaes|s. Astegatdsthesubjecte|eutceacemhete, aame|y,the
theme e| the ce|est|a| Eatth, the pes|t|ea aadte|e e|Fat|ma |a
th|s p|etema aew take ea a ptedem|aaat s|ga|caace. Ia the
a|etemeat|eaed schema e| 8uhtswatd|aa Ot|eata| theesephy,
we wete shewa hew eut Eatth aad |ts |em|a|ae Aage| , Is|aa-
darmuz,taaked|athewet|da|theatchetypes, thewet|de|the
8eu|etMalakat. Thus,wehadathtee|e|dua|vetse theeatth|y
humaa wet|d, wh|ch |s the eb]ect e| seasety ptcept|ea, the
wet|de|the 8eu|etMalakat, wh|ch |s, ptept|y speak|ag,the
wet|d e| |mag|aat|ve ptcept|ea, and the wet|d e| pun Chem-
b|a|cIate|||geaces,theJabarat, wh|ch|stheebjecte||ate|||g|b|e
kaew|edge.
Ia the 8hr|te theesephy e| 8ha|kh|sm, aaether ua|verse ( as
|a Iba 'Atabi ) , |s supt|mpesed ea the abeve thtee ua|vetses
theua|vetsee|thelahat, thesphetee|thede|ty.Butthechatac-
ter|st|c e| 8hr|sm aad 8ha|kh|sm |s te ceace|ve th|s lahat ex-
p||c|t|yasceast|tut|agthep|etemae|theFeutteeaVety-Pute.
Oaem|ghtsaythat|ta||ewsusteheatthethemee|thece|est|a|
Eanh, ||ke a|| the ethet themes, |a a st||| h|ghet mtave. Each
ectave |s a aew wet|d, a aew bg|aa|ag, whete evetyth|ag |s
ted|sceveted,butatad|eteathe|ght,mat|s,|aah|ghetmede
e|be|ag.Th|ssuccess|eae|ectaves|swhat a||ewstheta'wil, et
sp|r|tua| hetmeaeut|cs, te b ptact|ced autheat|ca||y. Meteevet,
|a the traasceadeat Petsea e| Fat|ma as a member e| the su-
premeP|etema,wesha||beheat|agsemeth|ag||kethemet||e|
the supracelestial Earth; aad thteugh th|s suptace|est|a| Eanh,
we are|edtethe|deae|a 8hr|te8eph|e|egy,bywh|ch wesha||
perce|vea|reshsemeth|agthatMazdeaa8eph|e|egya|teadypet-
ce|ved |a the persea e|the Aam|e|the Eanh, but th|s t|me at
59
aaewaadh|gher|eve| ,a|acetheprogressio harmonica preduces
thereseaaacee|harmea|cswh|chuat||theahadrema|aeds||eat.
We sha|| summar|ze here a |ewesseat|a| pages e|a great werk
|aPers|aa, |a|eurve|umes,cempesed, as we|| as maay
ethers,
bythe em|aeat 8ha|kh Ha]] Muhammad Kartm Khaa K|maat
( d. I2/ I 10 i , secead|athe||aee|success|ea|rem8ha|kh
Ahmad Ahsa'i as head e| the 8ha|kht schee| . B|s 8p|r|tua|
O|rectery abeuads |a g||mpses that are epeaed te the reader
thaaks te h|s pre|euad aad er| g|aa| theught ( the secead pan
e| the preseat beek, Art. x, ceata|as a |ew pages |rem |t i. Ia
erderteuaderstaadthestructuree|thep|eremae|8hr|tethees-
ephy aad the re|e |a|t p|ayed by Fat|ma, eae must be gu|ded
by the bas|c |dea, e| wh|ch we are ceastaat|y rem|aded |a the
text, that a|| the ua|verses sybe||ze w|th eae aaether. Bere
aga|awemeettheBeaveas aadaaEarth, butthese are aetthe
BeaveasaadtheEarthe|eurwer|d,aerthesee|Malakft, aer
thesee|Jabarat, but the Beaveas aadtheEanhe|that hyper
cosmos wh|ch|sthespheree|the De|ty, thelihft. Therhythm
that determ|aes |ts arch|tectea|c structure |s thea deve|eped |a
the d|meas|ea e| terrestr|a| t|me. Te d|scever |a th|s h|ster|c
d|meas|ea |tse|| a structure wh|ch makes |t pess|b|e te see the
success|ea asheme|egeus te the structure e|the p|erema~th|s
w|||beesseat|a||ytheeseter|chermeaeut|c, the ta'wil; |tw||| be
ad|sceverye|thetrueaadh|ddeameaa|ag,thesp|r|tua|h|ste
that becemes v|s|b|e threugh the rec|ta| e| exteraa| eveats. lt
w|||meaateseeth|ags|aBorqa|ya.
C||ag|agaswede|atheWesttethemater|a||tye|h|ster|ca|
|acts, |ack|agwh|ch we |earte |ese eur |eethe|d, |t |s perhaps
d|mcu|t|eruste uaderstaad thatthe er|g|a e|a||ls|am|c |a|th
aadhepe,aswe||ase|therespeas|b|||tyeawh|chtheceasc|eace
e|thebe||ever|sbased,||esaet|aa|acte|h|stery,but|aafact
e| metahistory-the preeteraa|pactceac|uded when the d|v|ae
Be|agaskedtheteta||tye|humaabe|agspreseat|atheAathre-
pes, the ce|est|a| Adam Am l aet yeur Lerd? ( A-lastu bi
rabbikum? 1 . I 1 Ii.Wehavea|readyseeaa|sethat theMazdeaa
faith and eth|c are based ea a fact of mrtt!iNtory : the Ler1
60
1 . Fa#ma and the Celestial Earth
W|sdem'squest|ea|age|thePravart|sas te whethettheywere
w||||agtedesceadteearth,thereteghtaga|asttheAhr|maa|aa
pewers. Butherethere|s st||| semeth|agmen. the samemeta-
h|ster|ca| eveat |a wh|ch the spiritual history e| the Adam|tes
er|g|aates|s|tse||ea|ythereappearaace,eathep|aaee|Adam|c
humaa|ty, e|aaEveatthat reseuads |remdescead|agatavete
descead|ag ectave, but whese r|merd|a| sceae|s the supreme
p|erema.
Ia |act, the |aterregat|ea eacedes |er the |mag|aat|ve

mrcept|ea the ua|athemab|e mystery e| the er|g|a e| er|g|as.
Iba 'Arabt suggests the appreach te th|s whea he dec|atesthat
the |v|ae Be|agwas at eae aad the same t|me the quest|eaer
aadthetespeadeat.
Th|s quest|ea |s, |adeed, the key te the mystery e| the pr|-
metd|a| theephaay, the reve|at|ea e|the |v|ae Be|agwhe caa
ea|yberevea|edteh|mse|||aanother se||,but|suaab|etereceg-
a|zeh|mse||asother erterecega|zethatetherash|mse||,except
|athathehimself |stheether'sGed.The|actthatthebe|agse|
the supreme p|erema appeared |a aaerdere|eate|eg|ca| prece-
deace cerrespead|ag tethe erder |a wh|ch they aaswered the
pr|merd|a||aterregat|ea|saway,|erthe|mag|aat|veprcept|ea,
e|dec|pher|agthe structure e|the p|erema as the p|ace e|the
pr|merd|a| theephaay. !ust as thev|s|b|e Beaveas are created
bytheceatemp|at|ve actse|cherub|a|c Iate|||geacesemaaat|ag
eae|remaaether,setheheavease|thep|erema,|athesphere
e|thelihut, arebreughtabeutbytheephaa|cacts.
These theephaa|c acts ce|ac|dew|ththe pregress|ve d|erea-
t|at|ea e| the dres e| the pr|merd|a| aeaa e| be|ag, that |s,
e| be|ag g|vea |ts |mpetat|ve by the creat|ve Esto. 6 The vis
formativa, |mmaaeat|aeach drep,eaab|es|tte g|vethe aaswer
that ceac|udes the d|v|ae preeteraa| pact. 8
z
ce the etder e|
eate|eg|ca| success|ea e| the aaswers determ|aes the structure
e|thep|eremae|thelihut, thetesu|t|sthattheh|etarchye|the
Peurteea supreme sp|r|tua| eat|t|es w||| have |ts ep|phaay ea
earth,atthet|mee|thecyc|ee|Muhammadaa prephecy, |athe
success|ea e| the perseas whe typ||y |t, the Peurteea Vety-
Pure. the PrephetMuhammad, Pa|ma, h|s daughtet, aad the
twe|veImams.
6 1
The tste|the sp|t|tua| eat|t|es te aaswet |s the tst e|the
be|ags, the |acheate be|ag, he whe w||| have h|s seasety
~
aa||estat|eaeaeatth|athepetseae|thePtephetMuhammad.
Th|s|swhyhe|sthesuptemeBeaveae|theP|etema,aadtheeae
wheseheme|egue|athe astteaem|ca| Beaveas |sthe Sphete e|
Sphetes, the Thteae ('arsh i, the Empyteaa. A|tet h|m, the
secead e|the etetaa| sp|t|tua| eat|t|este aaswet |sthe eae whe
w||| bmaa||estedeaeatth|athepetseae|HatatAmit ( that
|s, the F|tstImam, 'A|t |baAbi-Ta||b, a ceus|a e|the Ptephet
aadthehusbaade|Fa|ma i, h|sheme|egue |athe astteaem|ca|
heaveas |s the e|ghth Beavea, the Beavea ceata|a|ag the |et-
ttesses etceaste||at|ease|theZed|ac,the Beaveae|the P|xed
Stats ( Kursi ) , the mameat. Thete|ete, the empyteaa e| the
p|etema |s the Beavea e| Ptephecy (nubawa ) ; |ts mameat
|s the Beavea e| Ia|t|at|ea (walaya ) . By v|ttue e| that, th|s
mameat |sthe Beavea e| Iategta| Ia|t|at|ea, the P|tst Imam,
|ah|stheephaa|cptsea,tecap|tu|ates|t|a|tsteta||ty.
Bewevet, the teta||ty e| the Beavea e| the Ia|t|at|ea |s a
ceajuact|ea e| twe|ve Petseas et pt|metd|a| hypestases ( the
asttaaem|ca|heme|egues e| wh|ch ate the twe|ve s|gas e| the
Zed|aci, that |s, e|the sp|t|tua|eat|t|esthatw||| bemaa||ested
eaeanhasthetwe|veImams. Each e|them hash|sd|st|act|ve
s|ga |a the Zed|ac e| the p|etema, that |s, |a the cea|esceace
e|the Ia|t|at|eatecap|tu|ated |a the heavea e|the F|tst Imam.
But each e| them, accetd|ag te h|s d|st|act eate|eg|ca| taak,
||kew|se pteduces h|s ewa Beavea. Twe e| them ve|ce the|t
tespease, these twe te wh|ch, ea eatth, w||| cettespead that
pa|re btethets,theyeuagImams, Hasaa aadHusaya ( pt|ace
e|manyts i, the seas e| 'A|t aade|Fanma, these twe eat|t|es
pteduce, tespct|ve|y, the Beavea e| the Sua aad the Beavea
e|theMeeae|thesuptemep|erema.Theacemestheeaewhese
ep|phanyeaeanhw|||btheTwe|thImam,theh|ddeaImam,8
that |s, the Imam e| eut t|me, whese penea |s te the Ptephet
Muhamad as the |ast Saeshyaat, Zarathustra redivivus, |s te
the ptephet Zatathustta h|mse|. Latet the e|ght ethet Imams
uttet the|t tespease |a success|ea, |a the etdet wh|ch |a the
eteraa| Ia|t|at|eaw|||be symbe||zedastreaem|ca||ybytheethet
62
1 . Fima and the Celestial Earth
p|aaetaty8pheresaadbythese|mag|aed|aetdetteacceuat|et
the mevemeats e|the Maa.
P|aa||y there cemes the respease e| Batat Pa|ma te cem-
p|etethe p|eremae|thelahat aad g|ve|tbeth |tsp|ea|tudeaad
|ts |euadat|ea. Thus, she |stheEarth e|the supre
,
e p|etema,
aadth|s|swhy|tcaabesa|dthateath|seate|eg|ca|p|aaeshe
|smerethaathece|est|a|Eatth, she |sthesupracelestial Earth.
IaetherwerdstheBeaveasaadtheEanhe|thep|etemae|the
lahat are re|ated te the Beaveas aad the Earth e| Borqa|ya,
abeutwh|chtherew|||bemuchtesay|atet |a th|sbeek, |athe
samewayastheBeaveasaadtheEarthe|Borqa|yaarete|ated
te the Beaveas aad the Eanh e| the seasety wet|d. Or aga| a,
the p|eremat|c petsea e| Pa|ma |s te the ce|est|a| Earth e|
Borqa|yaas8peataArma|t||stethe Mazdeaa Eanh ha|eed by
the ||ght e|the Xvarnah.
Ne humaa b|agcaahaveaccesstethe v|s|eae|thesupreme
p|erema, te de se, he weu|d aeed ta catch up w|th these
sp|r|tua| eat|t|es whe are etetaa||y ahead e| the teta||ty e|
creatures. Oae s|ag|e atame|thesuptace|est|a|Eatth ptejected
| ate a m||||ea e| eut ua|vetses weu|d sumce~because e| |ts
beauty, |ts pur|ty, aad |ts ||ght~te br|agthem | ate a state e|
|acaadesceat|us|ea. Theb|ags e|the p|eremae|the lahat are
v|s|b|eea|y|athe|rappat|t|eaa||ems,wh|charethereceptac|es
e| the|r theephaa|es. Pt|metd| a| , there|ete, |s the |uact|en e|
the eae whe |a petsea |sthe suptace|est|a| Eatth, the parad|se
beyead parad|se, te the same exteat that the ce|est|a| Earth e|
Borqa|ya|stheEatthe|theephaa|cv|s|eas. Iaetherwetds, as
wesha||see,w|theutthepetseae|Fa|matheteweu|dbeae|ther
themaa||estat|eae|theImamate,aetImam|c|a|t|at|ea.Petthe
p|erema e|these eat|t|ese|||ght|s the vetyplace e| the d|v|ae
mystery.The|t||ght|sthed|v|ae||ght|tse||,the|ttraaspareacy
a| |ews |t te sh|ae thteugh, teta|a|ng aeae e| |t as me|t ewa
| pse|ty. Pure am|agcrysta|s wh|ch the eye caaaet gaze upea
because they maa||est the |||um|aat|ag 8ua, these feurteen
Very-Pare are aet ea|y the Pr|eads aad Leved Oaes e| Ged,
they are tbe very substaace e| pre-eteraa| Leve, they are the
i denti ty of love, lover, and beloved, that |deat|ty wh|ch a|| o|ts
(\
have asp|ted te ||ve, aad wh|ch, accerd|agte the 8hr|te 8p|t-
|tua|s, |s |aaccess|b|e te aayeae aet |a|t|ated |ate the sectet e|
Imame|egy. Th|s caa exp|a|a, |et examp|e, the|t c|tcumspect
att|tude, that e| 8ha|kh|sm, |et examp|e, tewatd aea-8hr|te
Susm.
Ftem th|s he|ght, we teach a petspect|ve |a wh|ch the
Sophiology e| 8ha|kh|sm w||| be deve|eped. Oa th|s eatth,
Panma, the daughtet e| the Ptephet, was the w||e e| 'A|t |ba
Abt-Ta||b,h|mse||thePtephet'sceus|a. The|texemp|atyua|ea
|s the maa||estat|ea e| aa etetaa| syzygy et|g|aat|ag |a the
eteta|ty e| the p|etema e| the lahut. 9 The F|tst Imam aad
Fa|ma atete|atedte each ethet|athe same tec|pteca| way as
the twe tst hypestases, 'Aql aad Nafs, Iate|||geace aad 8eu| ,
et|atetmsmete|am|||atteus ( becausetheyg backtePh||e i
Logos aadSophia.
The ceup|e 'Ali-Fa#ma |s the exemp||cat|ea, the ep|phaay
ea eanh, e| the etema| ceup|e Logos-Sophia. Beace, we caa
|eteseethe |mp||cat|eas e|the|ttespect|ve petseas. The Leges
('aql ) , |a 8ha|kht dectt|ae |s the h|ddea substaace e| evety
be|agaade|evetyth|ag, |t|sthesuptaseasetyca|||ag|etv|s|b|e
Fem|aetdettebemaa||ested.It|s||ketheweed|awh|chthe
|etme|thestatuew|||appeat.Bettetst|||,|t|s||ketheatchetypa|
bedy, the |aaet astta| mass e| the sua, |av|s|b|e te humaa
petcept|ea, |ate|at|eatethev|s|b|ePem,wh|ch|s|tsaura, bt||-
||aace aad sp|eadet. The maqim ( th|s wetd s|ga||y|ag state,
taak, degtee, p|aae, a|se the p|tch e| a aete |a mus|c i ~the
maqam e|Fanma cettespeadsexact|yte th|s v|s|b|e|erme|the
sua, w|theut wh|ch thete weu|d be ae|thet tad|aace aet heat.
Aad th|s |s why Pa|ma has beea ca||ed by a se|ar aame
F i#ma al-Zahra', the bt||||aat,tesp|eadeatFanma.Theteta||ty
e|the ua|vetsesceas|stse|th|s ||ghte|Fa|ma,the sp|eadet e|
eachsua|||um|aat|agevetyceace|vab|eua|vetse.
8e eae ceu|d a|se speak hete e| a cesm|c 8eph|aa|ty, hav|ag
|tsseurce |atheetetaa|petsea e| Pa|ma-8eph|a. As such, she
assumesa thtee|e|dtaak, a thtee|e|dd|ga|tyaad |uact|ea. Fet
she|sthemaa||estedPem,that|s,thevetyseu| ( nafs, Anima )
e| the Imams, she ls the Threshe|d (bab ) thteugh wh|ch the
64
1 . Faima and the Celestial Earth
Imamseuse the g||te| the|r||ght,]ust as the ||ghte|the sua
|seusedbythe|eme|thesua~wh|ch|s|tsbt||||aatsp|eadet
~aet by the |av|s|b|e substaace e| |ts archetype-bedy. Thus,
|athesecead p|ace, she|sa||th|akab|e rea||ty,thep|etema e|
meaa|ags ( maani ) e|a||theua|verses,bcauseaeth|age|what
i caabew|theutqua||cat|ea.Oua||cat|eaaadmeaa|agateea
the same |eve| e| be|ag as |erm, aad |erm |s prec|se|y ea the
|eve| e| be|age|the 8eu| , |er |t |s the 8eu|-8eph|a thatcea|ets
qua||cat|ea aad meaa|ag. Th|s |s why the whe|e ua|verse e|
the seu| aadthesecrete|the meaa|ags g|vea bythe8eu| |sthe
veryua|verseaadsecrete|BatatPa|ma. 8he|s8eph|a,wh|ch
|stesayd|v|ae w|sdemaadpewet,embrac|aga||theua|vetses.
That,|ast|y,|swhyhereteraa|Persea,wh|ch|sthesectete|the
wet|d e| the 8eu| , |s a|se |ts maa||estat|ea ( bayan ) , w|theut
wh|chthecteat|ve Pr|ac|p|ee|thewet|dweu|drema|auakaewa
aad uakaewab|e, |ereverh|ddea.
Ot yet aga|a the eate|eg|ca| taak e| the Imams |a the|t
eteraa| eat|ty traasceads a|| represeatat|ea aad percept|ea, a||
meaase|exptess|eaaaddes|gaat|eabycteatedbe|ags,wheteas
theraake|BatatPa|ma|sthep|aaee|the|rep|phaay,because
theraake|herbe|ag|stheverytaake|the8eu||eteachdegtee
e| be|ag. Thus the degree e| be|age| Pa|ma-8eph|a tecap|tu-
|ates the whe|e e|the degrees e| kaew|edge, e| gaes|s, se vety
cemp|ete|y that the taak e| the respect|ve preem|aeace e| the
prephets |a regard te the|r kaew|edge e| Ged |s measuted by
the|r kaew|edge e| Batat Pama. Evea these whe wete the
mestem|aeat|remameagthehuadredaadtweaty-|euttheusaad
Nabis, thesewhe, pt|etteMuhammad,wereeatrustedw|ththe
m|ss|ea e| tevea||aga heavea|y Beek,eveathey ate st||| be|ew
the raak e| Pa|ma-8eph|a, because |t |s she whe |s the seurce
e|a|| the|rkaew|em,teve|at|eas, aad thaumatutg|ca| pewets,
|erPa|ma-8eph|a|sthetabula secreta ( la maMi? ) .
ladeed,accerd|agt trad|t|ea,Gabr|e||stheAage|e|Reve|a-
t|eaaadtheAage|e|Kaew|edge,thehera|dseattetheptephets.
But he h|mse|| rece|ves the d|v|ae reve|at|ea, wh|ch he cem-
mua|cates te them, threugh the |at
,
rmed|ary e| three ethet
nrchangeh t, Azrnel , Seraphi el , aad M|chae| , whe are the sup-
t\5
petts e| the Thteae. Oa|y the Atchaage| M|chae| tece|ves d|-
tect|y patt e| the kaew|edge ceacea|ed |a the tabula secreta,
wh|ch|ad|catesthetaak|tse||aadthepes|t|eae|Panma-8eph|a
astheheatte|thettaasceadeatsp|t|tua|wet|d.
IatheOut'aatheteatevetseswhesecemp|etemeaa|agcaaaet
be uadetsteedexcept bymeaase|thesp|t|tua|hetmeaeut|c,the
8hr|te ta'wil; |et examp|e,thevetse ( wh|chwe ttaas|ate aste-
qu|ted by th|s ta'wil ) |awh|ch Ged dec|ates Yes, I sweat |t
bytheMeea,aadbythea|ghtwhea|ttet|tes,aadbythedawa
whea|tt|ses,th|s8|ga |seaee|the gteatet8|gas,eaee|these
wh|chwatahumaabe|ags ( 74: 35-39 ) . Th|s8|ga ameagthe
gteatet 8|gas |s Baztat Pa|ma |a the m|dst e| the Peutteea
Vety-Pute.
A|tet tecap|tu|at|ag the eate|eg|ca| ptetegat|ves e| Batat
Pa|ma-8eph|a w|th eut em|aeat 8ha|kh, we caa say e| het
thteughwhemeatth|yex|steace|sttaasgted|atethedawae|
a suptace|est|a| Eatth, that she |s the THEOPHANY. The theme
t|ses aad expaads te such maga|tude that eut Itaa|aa 8ha|kh
( te whem,meteevet,weate a|se|adebted|et atteat|seeace|-
ets i teacheshe|ghts|eteshadewedbyGeethe at the ceac|us|ea
e| the secead Paust aa Etetaa||y Pem|a|ae, pteced|ag evea
tettestt|a| wemaa because pteced|agthe d|eteat|at|ea e|ma|e
aad |ema|e |a the tettestt|a| wet|d, ]ust as the suptace|est|a|
Eatth tu|es evet a|| the Eanhs, ce|est|a| aad tettestt|a| , aad
ex|stsbe|etethem.Pa|ma-8eph|a|s|a|actthe8eu| the8eu|e|
cteat|ea,the 8eu| e|eachcteatute,that |s, theceast|tut|vepatt
e| the humaa be|agthat appeats esseat|a||y te the |mag|aat|ve
ceasc|eusaess |a the |etm e| a |em|a|ae be|ag, Anima. 8he |s
theetetaa||y|em|a|ae|amaa, aadthat|swhyshe|stheatche-
type e|the heavea|y Eanh, she |s beth patad|se aad |a|t|at|ea
|ate|t,|et|t|sshewhemaa||eststhed|v|aeaamesaadattt|butes
tevea|ed |athetheephaa|c petseas e|the Imams, that |s, |athe
Beavease|the P|etema e|the lahat.
Beteeaebeg|as te uadetstaadthe tesutgeace e| a theme e|
pt|m|t|ve8hr|tegaes|s,meteexact|ye|Isma1|tgaes|s,|awh|ch
Pa|ma|sca||edFa!ima Fa#r, Pa|matheCreator ( |athemascu-
||ae i . Iadeed, thlssuggeststhatwe caapetce|ve, ataa extraet-
66
1 . Falima and the Celestial Earth
d|aaryhe|ghte|reseaaace,themeaa|age|the aame wh|ch the
8hr|te |a|th|u| g|ve teday te Barat Pat|ma. Ia Pat|ma they
ha|| the queea e| wemea. But |ath|s ceatext |t suggests that
we |eek |er |tsmeaa|ag|arbeyeadaad abeve the sexua| d|er
eat|at|ea wh|ch |sthecead|t|eae|eatth|y humaa|ty, ameaa|ag

that we have te traas|ate by semeth|ag||ke severe|ga e| |em|-
a|ae humaa|ty er e| humaa|ty |a the |em|a|ae. Iadeed, we
havete take |em|a|ne asmeaa|ag,|athe rst p|ace,theteta||ty
e|the be|agse|the ua|versese|thePess|b|e| A||creatureshave
beea createdeute|the8eu| |tse||, eute|theAnima e|the he|y
Imams, they|ssue|remthe |e|ts|dee|the |atter, as Eve, the
Anima e|Adam, was created |rem h|s |e|ts|de, as the ||ght e|
the 8ua ceas|sts e| the maa||ested |erm aad the qua||cat|eas
e|thesua.
A|| creatures be|ag |ermed |rem the|r seu| , the eate|eg|ca|
statuse|the ua|versee|creatures|ar|at|eatethehe|yImams
as cesmegea|c pewers |s a |em|a|ae status. Ia th|s sease the
twe|ve Imams arethemeae|Ged a||uded te |acerta|a verses
e|theOur'aa.Butatthesamet|metheImams,whe|aaugurate
ea earth the cyc|e e| Ia|t|at|ea |ate the h|ddea meaa|ag e| the
reve|at|eas,wer
,
created|remtheseu|e|the Prephet,errather
theyare theseu|e|thePrephet.Th|s|s|ad|catedsevera|t|mes
|athe Our'aa, as, |orexamp|e,|athe |e||ew|ag verse Be has
madew|ves|eryeueute|yeurewaseu|s ( 1 6: 7 4 aad30: 20 ) .
la th|s sease, the Imams are the br|des e| the Prephet. Aad
|urthermere, s|ace Ia|t|at|ea |s aeth|ag but the sp|r|tua| b|rth
e|theadepts,|aspeak|age|themethere|thebe| |evers|athe
true sease, we sheu|d uaderstaad that me rea| aad eseter|c
meaa|age|th|swerdmetherre|erstetheImams. Iadeed,th|s
sp|r|tua|b|rth|seetedthreughthem,aadthe|e||ew|agsay|ag
e|thePrephetre|ersteth|s I aadA|iarethe |atheraadthe
methere|th|scemmua|ty.
Aad se the twe|ve Imams, as the |astrumeats aad eect|ve
causese|Creat|ea,are,eatheeaehaad,themeae|Ged,aad
mascu||ae. But, ea the ether haad, aad at the same t|me, they
are the seu| e| the Prephet, that |s the Anima, the Pem|a|ae
BRpect e|the Prophet through whom la|t|at|ea,that |s, sp|r|tua|
()7
cteat|en,toesp|ace.Newwea|readyknewthattheente|eg|ca|
ranke|the8eu|aadtherea||tye|the8eu|aretheveryrankand
rea||tye|Pat|ma-8eph|a. TheImamsaremascu||neasagentse|
cesmegeny, s|nce creat|ea |s the|r seu| , as authers e| sp|r|tua|
creat|entheyare|em|n|ne,s|ncetheyare the8eu|ands|ncethe
8eu| |s Pat|ma. Th|s, there|ere, |s why we read that Pat|ma |s
the theephany e| the supreme p|erema, aad that |s why the
theephan|c and |n|t|at|c |unct|en e|the he|yImams |s prec|se|y
the|rPat|m|cdegreee|be|ng ( the|rfi#miya, wh|chwe|a|th-
|u||y trans|ate as 8eph|aa|ty i, and th|s |s hew Pat|ma cemes
tebeca||edPat|maPat|r,Pat|matheCreator.
Ber |unct|ens symbolize w|th each ether, |remeae un|verse
te the ether |n the p|erema e| the lihut, as the suprace|est|a|
Earth wh|ch |s |ts |eundat|ea, en the terrestr|a| Earth, as the
daughterand8eu|e|thePrephetandastheene|remwhem|ssue
thesewhe|nthe|rturnarethe 8eu|e|thePrephet,the ||neage
e|the twe|ve Imams. 8he|s the theephanyandshe|stheIn|t|a-
t|en, she |s majma al-nurayn, the cenuence e| the twe ||ghts,
the ||ghte| Prephecy and the ||ghte| In|t|auea. Threugh her,
creat|en,|remthebeg|nn|ng,|s8eph|an|c|nnature,aadthreugh
hertheImamsare|nvestedw|ththe 8eph|an|tythattheytrans-
m|ttethe|radepts,becauseshe|s|tssoul. Premth|sp|eremat|c
he|ghtwecand|st|ngu|shthe|undamenta|seundemerg|ng|rem
thedepths name|y,thatwh|chMazdean8eph|e|egy|ermu|ated
|nthe|deae|spendar matikih, the8eph|an|tyw|thwh|ch8penta
Ama|t| , the |em|n|ne Anm| e| the Earth |nvested the |a|th|u|
be||ever.
Bewever, un||kewhatwe |eund |ntheOr|enta| theesephy
e| 8uhtawatdi,the name e| 8penta Arma|t| has net been men-
t|eaed |a the passages we have ]ust ana|yzed and cemmented
upen. Neverthe|ess,||eurharmen|cprcept|enmakes|tpess|b|e
te d|scern spentaneeus|y the cherd preduced by the Mazdeaa
EarthtraasguredbytheL|ghte|G|eryandthece|est|a|Eartb
traasgured |a the persen e| Pat|ma-8eph|a, th|s cencerdaace
w||| becenrmed|nanetherway.
It wasmadec|earear||er ( Ch. 1 , i 4 ) how the l i nk i s |emed
btween 8oendarmat , tae Angel of tlw J4: nrt h, amd the person of
6H
1 . Fi#ma and the Celestial Earth
theSaoshyants, the 8av|erse|whemthe |asteae |sdest|aedte
carry eut what |a Zereastr|aa eschate|egy |s ca||ed the Ttaas-
gutat|ea aad Re]uveaat|ea e| the wer|d ( Frashkart ) : the
apokaastasis, et testetat|ea e| a|| th|ag te the|t pt|metd|a|
sp|eadetaadwhe|eaess,tethestate|awh|chtheyweteuat||the
|avas|ea e| the Aht|maa|aa Ceuaterpewers. Ua|ettuaate|y, we
caaaet attempt here a cempatat|ve eut||ae that weu|d |e||ew
|remtheaaa|egysuggested,eatheeaehaad,bythete|at|eash|p
betweea Muhammad, Pa|ma, aad the h|ddea Imam~the eae
wheseparousia w||| a|sebeapre|udetetheapokatastasis-- and,
eathe ethet haad,bythe re|at|eash|p betweea Zatathustta,t
[
e
methet e|the |ast 8aeshyaat aad the |ast 8aeshyaat |a ptsea.
Butwhataeedstebepe|atedeut,hewevet,|sthat|atheve|um|-
aeus ||teratute st||| pteduced aewadays |a 8hr|te Iraa, ateuad
thetrad|t|eaa|seurcesdea||agw|ththe h|ddeaImam, thete are
abuadaat te|eteaces shew|ag that certa|a 8hr|te thee|eg|aas
havead|rectkaew|edgee|theO|daadNewTestameatse|the
B|b|e, as we|| as e| Zeteastr|aa eschate|egy. A|teady |a the
seveateeath ceatury, whea Oubuddta Ashk|vatr, eae e| the
mest eutstaad|ag pup||s e| Mtr Damad ( the great master e|
thee|egy|atheI|ahaaschee| ) waswr|t|agh|ssp|t|tua|h|stety
|athree cyc|es ( aac|eat8ages aad prephets, gures e|8uaa|te
ls|am, pettta|tse|8hr|teIs|am),hestressedthe|deat|tye|the
|eatutesthatmatkthePetseae|theZereastt|aaSaoshyant, aad
e|the attr|butes accetd|ag te the 8hr|te |a|th e|the Petsea e|
theTwe||th,eth|ddea,Imam.
We a|se eaceuatet passams e| th|s k|ad |a aaethet Pets|aa
werk by the same em|aeat 8ha|kh, Muhammad Kanm Khaa
K|rmaat,|temwheseteach|agwe have ]ustteaped suchptet.
We are th|ak|ag espc|a||y e| the pages |a wh|ch the 8hah
re|ers te eae e| the ecstas|es e|Zarathustta, |a the ceutse e|
wh|chOhrmazdg|vesh|sptephetthev|s|eae|atteew|thsevea
braaches, the shadew e| wh|ch teached eut te evety p|ace ea
the Eanh. The sevea braaches e|the ttee wete made e| m|d,
s||vet, ceppet, bteaze, |ead, stee| , aad |tea, tespect|ve|y. Oht-
mazdexp|a| asteZatathustrathemeaa|age|each btaach. each
( as| atbev|s|eae|aa|e| ) symb||zeseaee|thegreatemp|res.
69
W|th the seveath btaach, that |s, the seveath pet|ed, |a-
augutated by the re|ga e| the 'Abbas|ds ( |ad|cated by the|r
symbe||c ce|et, wh|ch |s b|ack i, catasttephes |e||ew |a tap|d
success|ea,ameagthemthe wh|r|w|addesceate|the Meage|s.
ButOhtmazdcease|esZatathustrabyaaaeuac|agthe adveate|
theeschate|eg|ca|hete,BahtamVat]avaad,whew|||ceme|tem
the East, |tem Ceatta| As|a. Cetta|a ttad|t|eas spec||y that he
w||| ceme |tem the c|ty e| the ma|deas (shahr-i dukhtarin ) ,
wh|ch ||es |a the d|tect|en e|T|bet (c|. abeve, Ch. 1 , a. 126 ) .
B|saamedeaesh|spetsea. Bahram |sthePets|aaaame|etthe
p|aaetMats ( aew wehave a|teady seeathat |athe heaveas e|
the p|etema e|thelahat, the heme|ege e|theBeaveae|Mats
|stheBeaveae|theTwe||thImami , V arjavand meaashewhe
pessessesthe pewetaadsevete|gatye|the L|ght e| G|ety, the
X varah.
1 1
The heme|egat|ea e| the Zeteastr|aa eschate|eg|ca|
here te the persea e| the h|ddea Imam, whese parousia butsts
|etth as the s|ga e| the Resunect|ea, gaes back, as we have
]ustreca||ed,temuch ear||et8hr|tethee|eg|aas.
Butethetheme|egat|eascaab made. TheZeteastt|aahete
aadtheImam-Resurtecter bethhave a the|tcemtades|a ams
aetea|ythesewhe, |aeaeper|edet aaethet,catea|erthem
thebatt|ee|thesp|t|tthatbt|agsc|eserthe|ututee|the|tre|ga,
but a|se these whe, preseed |a a myst|ca| s|eep, wa|t te t|se
upw|ththemwheamet|mecemes,aada||these|temthepast
whew|||
,
etuta |et the aa| batt|e. Pet the Zeteastt|aas, |er
examp|e, thete |s Peshetoa,eae e|the seas e| K|agVtshtaspa
whe ptetected Zatathustta aad eaceutaged h|s pteach|ag, aad
|etthe8hr|tes,theP|tstImam|apenea. Tese atetwe gteat
gutes e| sp|t|tua| ka|ghts (javanmardan) whese |deat|ca|
eschate|eg|ca| re|e ]ust|es theheme|egat|ea suggested by eur
8ha|kh.
Bewevet, |etus stress the |act that eut authets ateth|ak|ag
aet |atetmse| h|stet|ca| cutteats et |aueaces, but |a the
|erme|cyc|es,tak|ag|ateacceuatbeththeschemae|ua|vetses
symbe||z|agw|theae aaethetaada|sethexhemae|pet|edse|
sp|r|tua|h|stery. Tustheheme|egated|ermsdeaethavetebe
reduced te the same hemegeaeeus t|me, each of them i1 their
70
1 . Fatima and the Celestial Earth
t|me. Aad that |sptec|se|ywhy they atetyp|cat|eas aad why
they caa t|ght|y beheme|egatedte eae aaethet, aad why each
petseaage has h|s hame|egue |a each cyc|e. Ta make the
8aeshyaat heme|egaustethe h|ddea Imam|saet, aswe weu|d
deubt|ess tead te make |t, a mattet e| we| gh|ag |aueaces |a
pe|at|ageutcutteats,that |s, |a tak|ag apanthe eat|te mecha-
a|sm e| extetaa| h|stety |a etdet te exp|a|a |ts |deat|ty by
bt|ag|ag|t back ta a s|ag|e p|aae. Pat|tam|t, |et th|s waye|
th|ak|ag|a cyc|esdemaads a k|ad e|hamea|c petcept|ea, at,
aga|a, the petcept|ea a| a caastaat sttuctute, just as the same
me|edy caa be pteduced |a d|eteat teg|stets. Each t|me the
me|ed|ce|emeatsate d|eteat, but the sttucture |sthe same~
thesameme|edy,thesamemus|ca|gute,thesameGestalt.
That |s why the ptagtess|ea, wh|ch th|s mede e| theught
makes |t pess|b|e |et us te ceace|ve, |s aet a het|zeata| ||aeat
eve|ut|ea, but aaasceat|remcyc|etecyc|e,|temeaeectave te
ah|gherectave.A|ewpages|temthesame8ha|kh,wh|chhave
beattaas|atedhete ( PanTwa,Art.x, 2 ) |||usttateth|s. The
sp|t|tua|h|stetye|humaa|tys|aceAdam|sthecyc|ea|ptephecy
|e||ew|agthecyc|ee|cesmegeay,buttheughthe|emer|e||ews
|athetta|ae|the|attet,|t|s|atheaatutea|atevets|ea,atetum
aad teasceat te the p|etema. Th|s has a gaest|c avet, te be
sute, but that |s exact|y what |t meaas ta see th|ags |a Bat-
qa|ya.Itmeaastaseemaaaadh|swet|desseat|a||y|aaven|ca|
d|tect|ea. The Orient-origin, wh|ch orients aadmagaet|zesthe
tetuta aad teasceat, |sthe ce|est|a| pole, the casm|c Netth, the
emeta|d
tak at the summ|t e| the cesm|c meuata|a e| Oa|,

|atheveryp|acewhetethewet|de|Batqa|yabg|as,se|t|saet
a teg|ea s|tuated |a the East ea the maps, aet evea these a|d
mapsthatp|acetheEastatthetep, |a p|acea|theNenh. The
meaa|age|maaaadthemeaa|age|h|swet|datecea|enedupea
them by th|spolar dimension1 1 aad aet by a ||aeat, het|zeata| ,
aad eae-d|meas|eaa| eve|ut|ea, that |ameus sease a| h|stety
wh|ch aewadays has beea takea |et gtaated, evea theugh the
terms e| te|eteace ea wh|ch |t |s based tema|a eat|n|y hyp-
thet|ca|.
Mereever, the patad|se e|Y|ma |a wh|ch ate ptesetved the
7 1
II. Mystical Earth of Hirqalyi
mest beaut||u| e| be|ags whe w||| repepu|ate a traasgured
wer|d,aame|y,theV ar thatpreservestheseede|theresurrect|ea
bed|es, |ss|tuated|atheNenh. The Eanhe| L|ght,the Terra
Lucida e| Maa|che|sm, ||ke that e| Maade|sm, |s a|se s|tuated
|athed|rect|eae|thecesm|cNerth. lathesameway,accerd|ag
te the myst|c 'Abd a|-Kartm1t|t (c|. PartTwe, Art. I V ) , the
Earthe|theseu|s|sareg|ea|athe|arNerth,theea|yeaeaet
te have beeaaectedby the ceasequeaces e|the |a|| e| Adam.
lt|stheabedee|themeae|thelav|s|b|e,ru|edbythemyster|-
eus prephet Kh|r. A character|st|c |eature |s that |ts ||ght |s
thate|them|da|ghtsua,s|acetheevea|agprayer|suakaewa
there, dawar|s|agbe|erethesuahasset. Aadhere|tm|ghtbe
use|u| te |eek at a|| the symbe|s that ceaverge teward the
parad|se e|the Nenh, the seu|s' Eanh e| L|ght aad the cast|e
e|theGra|| .
Newwemusttryteuaderstaadheweurtextsua|e|dteshew
us th|s Earth e| L|ght as the Earth e| V|s|eas aad the Earth
threugh wh|ch the resurrect|ea e| the bed|es er, mere exact|y,
the appar|t|eae| the sp|r|tua| bed|es, takes p|ace. But as re-
gards this wer|d, descr|bed te us as the wer|d e| archetype-
lmages aadthewer|de|the seu| , we hadtehave aa|deawho
was|tsseu| . Bygu|d|agustetheh|gherectave,tethep|erema
e|thelahut, 8ha|khitheesephyhasshewaushewPa|ma-8eph|a
|s the suprace|est|a| Earth, because she |s the 8eu|,the Anima
er maa||ested |erm e| the supreme p|erema.
As eur authers gradua||y he|p us te eater |ate the e|ghth
c||mate, we sha|| a|se be |eara|ag hew the Anima substantiva
e| the adept, h|ssp|r|tua| bedy, |s the Earth e| h|s Parad|se.
Newth|s Earth e|Barqa|ya|swheretheh|ddeal
,
am ||ves at
the preseatt|me. Ceasequeat|y, we sha|| beg|a te see the bead
e| myst|ca| exemp||cat|ea that assec|ates me seu| aad persea
e| the 8hi'|te adept w|th Pa|ma-8eph|a, pr|me er|g|a e| the
Twe||thimam,aad|aveststheadeptw|ththe8eph|aa|c|uact|ea
e|Pauma. Per, aswe sha|||eara,theparousia ermaa||estat|ea
e| the h|ddea imam |s aet aa exteraa| eveat dest|aed suddea|y
te appeareatheca|eadare|phys|ca|t|me, |t|sadisoccultation
that gradua||y takes p|ace as the p||gr|m e| the sp|r|t, r|s|ag
72
2. The "Eighth Climate"
teward the wer|d e| Borqa|ya, br|ags abeut the eveat e| the
awa|tedImam|ah|mse||.Thewhe|ee|thesp|r|tua||tye|8hr|sm
|sbasedeath|s,as|tw|||bcemec|earteusearead|agtheae
passages |rem the wri
ags e| 8ha|kh 8arkar Agha g|vea |a

traas|at|ea |atheseceadparte|th|sbeek aadwh|chwere pre-
c|se|yse|ectedtehe|pusuaderstaadwhyBorqa|ya|stheEarth
e| V|s|eas aad the Earth e| Resurrect|ea.
Teh|ster|aaTabart( a|athceatury i haspreserved|erusseme
e|the ear||est |a|ermat|ea ava||ab|e abeut a myster|eus reg|ea,
wh|chh|sdescr|pt|eaeaab|esuste|deat||yasthe Earth e|the
Emera|d C|t|es. Twe c|t|es are s|tuated there~abarsa aad
!aba|qa~te wh|ch the trad|t|eas we sha|| study here add a
th|rd c|ty, Borqa|ya, the aame Borqa|ya |s thea used te des|g-
aate th|smyst|c ceuatryas a whe|e. I regret aet be|agab|eyet
te prev|de a sat|s|actery etyme|egy |er these aames, |eav|ag
as|desevera|p|aus|b|ehypetheses,wesha||s|mp|ycea|ermhere
te the trad|t|eaa| preauac|at|ea st||| |a use teday |a Iraa|aa
sp|t|tua| c|rc|es.
!abarsa aad !aba|qa, Tabart te||s us, are twe emera|d c|t|es
that||e|mmed|ate|ybyeadthemeuata|ae|Oa|. L|kethese e|
the Beavea|y !erusa|em, the|r d|meas|eas exptess quatera|ty,
thesymbe|e|per|ect|eaaad whe|eaess. The sur|ace e|each |s
a square, thes|desmeasut|agtwe|ve theusaad parasaags. The
|ahab|taats de aet kaew e| the ex|steace e| eur Adam, aer e|
Ib|rs, the Aatagea|st, the|r |ad ceas|s
,
s exc|us|ve|y e| vegeta-
b|es,theyhaveaeaeede|c|eth|ag,|erthe|r|a|th|aGedmakes
them ||ke the aage|s, a|theugh they are aet aage|s. 8|ace they
areaetd|ereat|atedbysex,theyhaveaedes|te|erpestet|ty.
Last|y, a||the|r||ghtcemestethem |rem themeuata|ae|Oa|,
wh||ethem|aera|s|athe|rse||aadthewa||se|the|ttewas ( ||ke
thesee|thearchetypa|parad|see|Y|ma i secretethe|rewa||ght.
Th|s | ad|cat|ea a| ready putsus ea the way te estab||sh|agthe
|deat|tye|tbemeuata|aw| th themyster|eusc|t|es. It|ssa|d,|a
fuct , thut |a thi s mountui n t|a:e i1 aCi tber sua, aer meea, aer
7!
stats. Newwekaewthat|athe Pte|ema|c system a chatactet-
|st|c e| the a|ath 8phete, wh|ch cempt|ses the teta||ty e| the
ce|est|a| 8phetes aad cemmua|cates d|utaa| mevemeattethem,
|s that |t |s a heavea w|theut ceaste||at|eas. Meteevet, ttad|-
t|eas sp
r
c|ca||y desct|be me meuata|a Oa| as the meuata|a
suneuad|ageutua|vetseaadas|emedeat|te|ye|emeta|d, the
teect|eae|wh|chpmducesthe gteeace|et ( wh|chte us|eeks
b|ue ) e|the ce|est|a| vau|t. Ot aga|a, |t |sthe tmk ( akhra )
|em|agthekeysteaee|mece|est|a|vau|taad|mag|aedasbe|ag
cempesede|emeta|daadascast|agateect|eaeathemeuata|a
e|Oa|. Whatthevisio smaragdina petce|ves hete |s, thete|ete,
the cesm|c meuata|a eac|tc||ag aad evethaag|ag eut eatth|y
hab|tat, the cesm|c meuata|a was a|se what was ptce|ved as
eacempass|agthev|s|b|e het|zea e|Etaa-Ve] , in medio mundi,
at the very p|ace whete the Ch|avat Bt|dm pte]ected |tem a
h|ghpeakte]e|ath|scesm|cmeuata|a,wheseasceat|edtheseu|
tethetea|me||aa|teL|ghts.
New the megtaphet Yaqut exptess|y amms that the meua-
ta|a e| Oa|waseace ca||edthe E|butz.
,
Iadeed, |t|s the vety
same uata|a wh|ch |s the methet e| a|| the meuata|as e|
thewet|d, theyateceaaectedte|tbysubtenaaeaabtaachesaad
ve|as.Aad|t|sa|setheeaec||mbedbythep|| gt|mse|thesp|t|t
~as |a 8uhtawatdt's Rec|ta| e| the Occ|deata| Ex||e, |et ex-
amp|e~teteachtheemeta|dteck|eem|agbe|etethem||kethe
ttaas|uceats|dee|amyst|ca|8|aa|.Aadthete,asattheeattaace
te the Ch|avat Bt|dge e|the Mazdeaa dtamatutgye| the seu| ,
themeet|agw|ththeatchetypa|F|gte takes p|ace,thece|est|a|
Petsea |tem whem the tettestr|a| I et|g|nates. Thete|ete,
the meuata|a e| Oa| matks the beuadaty betweea twe wet|ds,
meeaev|s|b|eaadtheethet|av|s|b|etethe seases. Iaetdette
peaettate|atethec|t|esh|ddeaea|ts |utthet s|de, the myst|ca|
p||g|mmusthavepassedbyeadtheev|deacee|theseasesaad
cemmeaaems, musthave|acedtheetdea|s symbe||zed bythe
|eag]eumey|athe Datkaess actessthed|staaces that sepatate
h|m|temtheEatthe|theemeta|dc|t|es.
O|ceutse,|ase|atasthemeuata|ae|QAf enl y |eads|ts aame
te the aac|eat E|butz, |ts pt|metd|a| Image hnN been pte]ectea
74
a|se ea spaces e| emp|t|ca| geegtaphy ( the Caucasus aad |ts
|eeth|||s ea Itaa|aa se|| i , wh|ch thea beceme the theatet e|
myth|ca| eveats. Oa the ethet haad, as a pt|metd|a| Image, |t
a|waysmatkstheexttem|tye|thewet|d,aad |s|aaccess|b|ete
mea.Teteach|t,|tweu|dbaecessatytewa|k|et|eutmeaths
|atheDatkaess,that|swhyA|exaadet'sptegtessthteughthe
teg|ea e| Datkaess |s that e| the atchetypa| sp|t|tua| hete, |a
Av|ceaaa's Rec|ta| e| Bayy |baYaqaa, as we|| as |athe ex-
ems|s e|the Out'aa|c 8ota 1 8 : 84, desct|b|aghew A|exaadet's
Ouest |ed h|m te the extteme Occ|deat aad the extteme Ot|eat
e| the ua|vetse. Beyead, a teg|ea beg|as that |ac|udes maay
ethet c|t|es ( a ceuatty wh|te as s||vet, |etty days' ttave| |a
|eagth, |ahab|ted by aage|s, aaethet ceuatty, e| ge|d, seve
,
ty
ceuatr|es e| s||vet, sevea ceuatt|es e|musk, each tea theusaad
days']eutaey|a|eagthaadbteadth,etc.i. Iashen,tepeaettate
|ate these Eanhs |s te ga|a access te the |atemed|ate c||mate
e| the ce|est|a| seu|s that meve the 8phetes aad ate preem|-
aeat|y eadewed w|th pute Imag|aat|ea, aet depead|ag ea the
seases. It|sthe e|ghth c||mate,|atewh|ch, as |ate Etaa-Ve] ,
eaedaesaetpeaettatew|ththeetgaase|seasetyptcept|ea,but
by pass|ag thteugh the 8eutce e| L||e, at the psyche<esm|c
ceatet.
Bete we adeutd|tect|ea|aa br|e|te|eteacetethe schema
e| the wet|d thattakesdea|te shap |aAv|ceaaa's cesme|egy.
Th|sschemad|v|destheteta||tye|th|akab|ebe|ag|ateacesm|c
Occ|deat aad a cesm|c Ot|eat. We have a|teady nca||ed pte-
c|se|y thatth|s cesm|c Ot|eat |saette bseught |a the Eastea
eutmaps,but|athepe|atd|meas|ea.Ia|act,th|sOt|eat|sthe
celestial pole, theceatete|a||ceace|vab|eet|eatat|ea. It |ste
beseught|athed|tect|eae|thecesm|cNetth,thate|theEatth
e|L|ght.
Z0
The Occ|deattepteseats theseasetymatet|a|wet|d,aad|t
|s twe|e|d thete |sthe c||matee|sub|uaattetrestt|a|mattet,
thate|eurmater|a|Eatth,sub]ecttegeaetat|eaaadd|sse|ut|ea,
aadthere|sthec||matee|ce|est|a|mattet,thate|the8phetes,
ceas|st|age|an ether|csabstaace,d|aphaaeusaad|acetrupt|b|e,
oat sti l l , |awever,deri vi ng from d1e ohys|ca|. The Or|eat b-
7!
g|as |rem the c||mate e| the seu| . at the ce|est|a| pe|e, at the
emera|d reck. There the sp|r|tua| 8ua r|ses |er the p||gr|m,
aad th|s dawa revea|ste h|m theperspect|ve e| aaeat|re|y aew
ua|verse, where|a are raaked success|ve|y the seu|s summeaed
tegeverahumaabed|es|erat|me,theathe8eu|swhesem|ss|ea
|t |s te cemmua|cate the mevemeat e| the|r des|re aad the|r
|evetethece|est|a|8pheres,aadwheareca||edce|est|a|Aage|s
( Angeli coelestes ) ; aa||y, the pure late||| geaces, whe are,
respect|ve|y,theeb]ectse|th|s|eveaadwhataredes|gaatedsp|r-
|tua| Aage|s er Cherub|m ( Angeli intellectuales ) . The charac-
ter|st|c that d|st|agu|shes Av|ceaaa's cesme|egy |rem that e|
Averrees|sprec|se|ythatthe|ermer|ac|udes|a|tsstructureth|s
wer|de|ce|est|a|8eu|s, |awhese|magethe humaaseu| |scea-
st|tuted, butwh|ch,ua||ke|t,deaetpessesstheergaase|seasery
kaew|edge. Oa the ether haad, they are eadewed w|th act|ve
Imag|aat|ea.Theyeveapessess|t|asepureaadper|ectadegree
thatthe|rlmag|aat|ea,|adepeadeat,ua||keeurs,e|seaserydata,
|seat|re|ytme aad aever weakeaed. There|ere, the represeata-
t|eas thatthe Aage|s er ce|est|a| 8eu|s maymake e| the|r ua|-
verse cerrespead te the s|tuat|ea e| the humaa seu| whea |ts
act|ve Imag|aat|ea, pur|ed aadtra|aed,hasbecemethelmagi
natio -era, |tsergaae|med|tat|ea.
8e what the seu| shews te |tse||, |n th|s case aga|a,as |athe
case e|theMazdeaaImago Terrae, |sprec|se|y|tsewa |mage
theEanh|tpre]ects,theEanh e|Borqa|ya, |sthepheaemeaea
e|theEarth|a|tspurestate,s|ace|td|rect|yreectsthelmage
premed|tatedbytheseu| .Theua|versethus|mag|aed,|ree|rem
m|s|ead|ag aad per|shab|e seasery data, |s there|ere a |uact|ea
e|the pure traasceadeata|lmag|aat|ea aaddepeads ea|yea |ts
categer|es, wh|ch are a priori archetypa| lmages. That |s why
th|s ua|verse |s ca||ed 'ilam al-mi thil, the wer|d e| archetypa|
Images,the wer|d e| auteaemeus |mag|aat|ve |erms, er aga|a,
the wer|d e| cerrespeadeaces aad sybe|s, that |s, a wer|d
sybe||z|ag with the seasery, wh|ch |t precedes, aad with the
|ate|||gb|e, wh|ch |t |m|tates. lt |s a m|xed wer|d, med|a|ag
between the seasery aad the |ate|||gb|e, |t |s the center of the
worlds, er aga|a the |atermed|ate Or|eat, betweea the aear
76
Ot|eat,wh|ch|sthehumaaseu|r|s|agteceasc|eusaesse||tse||,
aad the sp|t|tua| |at Or|eat, ceast|tuted by the p|etema e|
chetub|c Iate|||geaces. Thus, as p|ctured by eut 8p|r|tua|s |a
the|tewa way, |t represeats th|s |atemed|ate k|agdem betweea
puremattetaadpure8p|r|t,aa|atermed|ary aecessaty |aerdet
te va||date the v|s|eaaryeveats, theeat|redramaturgye|wh|ch
theseu||sbeththesubjectaadthesceae,everyth|agthatseasery
petcept|eas have ae meaas te gevera, |mpa|t, et supp|emeat,
evetyth|agte wh|ch the scept|c|sm e| tat|eaa| ceasc|eusaess |s
eppesed,as|t|stea||esseat|a||y|ad|v|dua|casesthatcaaae|ther
bec|ass|edaetgaugedbyerd|aatystaadards.
The prem|ses aad structura| purpese e| th|s |atetmed|ate
ua|verse, th|s mundus archetypus, have se |ar beea very ||tt|e
aaa|yzed. Bewevet,|t|u|||saaetgaa|c|uact|ea|athescheme
e|thewer|daad|athe|aaetexpr|eacetewh|chawhe|esp|r|t-
ua| trad|t|ea bears w|taess aad |rem wh|ch, |a Iraa, we have
a|teadyse|ectedthetwememeatse|t|memestesseat|a||eteur
purpese |athetwe||thceatury,thensterat|eae|theph||esephy
e| aac|eat Pers|a ( based ea aage|e|egy aad the Xvarah, the
L|ght e|G|ery), |ase|at asth|swas 8uhrawardt's wetk, c|eset
te us, attheeade|thee|ghteeathceatury,thatsp|r|tua| schee|
bera|aaaIraa|aaImam|tem|||eu,wh|chwasthewerke|8ha|kh
Ahmad Ahsa'r ( d. 1 826 ) aad h|s successets, aad wh|ch |s
usua||y ca||ed 8ha|kh|sm. We have eut||aed abeve the |uada-
meata| Imame|egy pte|essed by th|s schee|, wh|ch eat|re|y te-
va|er|zes the gaes|s a|ready kaewa |a the esetet|c c|tc|es e|
Imam|smerpr|m|t|ve8ht|teIs|am.Later,wesha||havetesttess
aga|a |ts ae |ess |uadameata| theme, the spiritual body. Th|s
schee| , st||| vety much a||ve teday |a Iraa ( where |ts pt|ac|pa|
centet|sK|maa i,- caa g|ve usaa |dea e|what a pute|y sp|t-
|tua|Is|amweu|drepreseat|eteutmederat|mes.
Bereaewaretheteach|agsg|veausbytheeaeaadtheethet.
Whea yeu |eata |a the tteat|ses e| aac|eat 8ages, wt|tes
8uhrawatdt, that there ex|sts a wet|d w|th d|meas|eas aad
exteas|ea, ether thaa the p|erema e| Iate|||geaces aad ethet
than the wer|d geveraed by tbe 8eu|s e| the 8phetes, a wer|d
wi th se many c|tiC thnt i t is a| a:est |mpess|b|e te ceuat the|t
77
aumbet, de aet hasten te ca|| th|s a ||e, |t se happens that the
p||gt|ms e|the sp|t|tceatemp|ateth|swet|daad|a|tadevery
eb]ect e| the|r des|te.
The authet, as we|| as h|s |mmed|ate

cemmentaters, have ea severa| eccas|ens c|ear|y desct|bed |ts
|dea| tepegraphy. They te|| us that wh||e the wer|d w|th ex-
teas|en percept|b|e te the senses |ac|udes se'en c||mates ( the
sevea kesh'ars prev|eus|y meat|ened i , aaethet wet|d ex|sts,
wh|ch |erms the eighth c||mate. The anc|eat 8ages were a||ud-
|ag te th|s wet|d when they dec|ated that bes|des the sensety
wet|d there |s aaethet wet|d w|th shape aad d|meas|ens a|se
extend|ag |a space, but the shape, d|meas|ens, aad exteat e|
th|sethetwer|d ate aet |deat|ca| w|th these we petce|ve |athe
wet|d e| phys|ca| bed|es, a|theugh what ex|sts |a the seasety
wet|d has |ts aaa|egue thete, |t |s aet a quest|ea e| seasety d|-
meas|eas, but e| exemp|ary |mag|nat|ve d|meas|eas (maqidir
mithillya ) .
8ehetewehaveathtee|e|dua|vetse aa|ate|||g|b|eua|vetse,
a sensety ua|vetse, aad between the twe a un|vetse |er wh|ch
|t |s d|mcu|t |n eut |aaguage te nd a sat|s|actetytetm. I|we
usethewetdImaginable, wet|sksuggest|agthe|deae|eveatu-
a||ty, pess|b|||ty. Thewetdmustbeg|veaa||the|ercee|atech-
a|ca| tetm as des|gaat|agthe eb]ect prepet te the imaginati'e
perception, everyth|agthatcaabeperce|vedbytheImag|aat|ea,
w|th as much tea||ty aadttuth astheseasety caa be ptce|ved
bythesenses,erthe|ate|||g|b|ebythe|ate||ect. Pethapsthea|t
weu|dbes|mp|etteusethewetdImaginati'e, ptev|dedthetem
|s te|ated beth te the sub]ect whe |mag|aes aad te the Image
wh|ch |s |mag|aed, meteevet, the |attet |s the Image e| th|s
sub]ect, theimaginati'e wer|d|sthewer|de|the seu|wh|ch|s
madeImage bytheetgane|theseu| ,thetebytevea||agte |t|ts
ewa Image. That|s the teach|ngt|te|ess|y tepeated by a|| eur
authets.
8e th|s |s a un|vetse wh|ch symbe||zes beth with cerpetea|
substaace,because |tpessesses shape, d|mens|ens, aadextent=
aadwith sepatated er|ate|||g|b|esubstance, because |t|sessea-
t|a||ymadee|||ght (nurini ) . It |sbeth|mmatet|a|mattetand
the |acerperea| cetpetea||zed. It |s the limit wh|ch separates
78
aad atthesamet|meua|tes them. That|s why |athe specu|a-
t|vetheesephye|osmth|sua|vetse |susua||yca||ed barakh
( scteea,||m|t,|atetva| ,|atetwet|d i .
Thete, ameagethetmat-
ve|s,atethtee|mmeasec|t|es,!aba|qa,!abata, Batqa|ya,pe-
p|ed by |aaumetab|e cteatutes. Aad by v|ttue e|the heme|egy
that makes the thtee wet|ds symbe||ze w|th eae aaethet, the
wet|d e| the lmag|aab|e et e| the Imaginative a|se pteseats a
d|v|s|ea cettespead|ag te the twe|e|d Occ|deat e| the phys|ca|
wet|d, thus !abaa aad !aba|qa cettespead te the tettestt|a|
wet|de|e|emeatatymattet, wh||e Botqa|yacettespeads te the
Beaveas e|the phys|ca| wet|d. L|ke them, Batqa|ya ttaasm|ts
|ts |aux te |ts ewa Eatth, ea wh|ch |t a|se cea|ets |ts ewa
aame. The wet|d e| Botqa|yathete|ete ceata|as beth Beaveas
aad aaEatth, aet aseasetyEatthaadBeaveas,but Eanh aad
Beaveas |athestatee|exemp|aty lmages. L|kew|se,the Eatth
e|Batqa|yaa|se|ac|udesa||theatchetypa|lmagese||ad|v|dua|
be|ags aad cetpetea| th|ags ex|st|ag |a the seasety wet|d ( se
eut authets ask that these atchetypa| lmams sheu|d aet b
cea|usedw|ththeP|atea|cIdeaswh|ch, a|theugh des|gaatedby
the p|uta| e| the same wetd, muthul, ate pute |ate|||
k
|b|es i
_
Z
Th|se|ghthc||mate,th|swet|d|athesubt|estate,wh|ch|ac|udes
maaydegtees,aadwh|ch|s|mpaettab|ebytheseasetyetgaas,
|sthereal p|acee|a||psyche-sp|t|tua|eveats ( v|s|eas,chat|smas,
thaumatutg|ca| act|eas bteach|ag the phys|ca| |aws e| space
aadt|me i, wh|ch ateceas|deteds|mp|y as |mag|aaty~that |s,
asuatea|~se|eagaseaetema|as|athetat|eaa|d||emmawh|ch
|stestt|ctedteache|cebtweeathetwetetmse|baaa|dua||sm,
mattet et sp|t|t, cettespad|ag te that ethet eae. h|stety
etmym.
lab|stuta,8ha|khAhmadAhsa'rdesct|bs|adeta||the|dea|
tepegtaphye|theEanhe|Batqa|ya.ltbeg|as,hesays,eathe
ceavex sm|acee|the a|ath8phete~th|s|saptec|seaadsubt|e
way te |ad|cate that th|s Eatth |s ae |eaget ceata|aed |a the
d|meas|eas e| eut phys|ca| cesm|c space, s|ace byead the sut-
|ace e| tbe eave|ep|ag 8phete wh|ch, |a the Pte|ema|c system
e|tbewer|d,i s tbebeuada||m|t|agaaddea|agthed|tect|eas
e|1puce, t|e8pberee|Sphere1, io further d|rect|eaaetet|eata-
t|ea |a phys|ca| space |s pess|b|e. There |s a d|sceat|au|ty be-
tweea seasery space aad the spat|a||ty preperte the archetypa|
wer|d e| lmages, wh|ch |s trusspat|a| |a re|at|ea te the rst
eae. That|swhy,]ustasthewer|de|the barzakh, th|sbeuad-
ary-Earth beg|as, that |s has |ts be|ew at the beuadary e|
the emera|d reck er myst|ca| 8|aa| , the keysteae e| the ce|es-
t|a| vau|t, the pe|e|athe same way 8ha|kh Ahmad s|tuated
Borqa|ya beth at the h|gh pe|at e| T|me ( a'la'l-zaman ) aad
atthe|ewesterrstdegreee|etera|ty ( asfal al-Dahr, mereex-
act|ye|theAevum er eteraa|T|me i . F|aa||y, |t |s, there|ere,
aa interorld, ||m|t|agaad cea]e|a|agt|me aad etera|ty, space
aad traasspace, ]ust as |ts |mmater|a| matter aad |ts ce|est|a|
Earth are a|se the s|ga e| |ts coincidentia oppositorum,30 the
cea]uact|eae|the seasery aadthe |ate|||g|b|e|athe pure space
e|thearchetype-lmages.
Th|s theme |s amp||ed |a a mest |aterest|agway|a aa |m-
pertaat werk by the preseat |eader e| the 8ha|khi cemmua|ty,
8ha|kh 8arkar Agha, aaem|aeat sp|r|tua| gure |alraa teday,
|th|a||ae|rem8ha|khAhmadAhsa't.Wewerestruckbyth|s
ceatra| theught . the h|erarchy e| be|ag |s raaged |a a series
e| ua|verses, a|| e| wh|ch ead aa||y |a eur terrestr|a| Earth
( khak i,th|sEarthwh|ch|s||kethetembtewh|chtheyhave
beeaeatrusted, |t|s|remth|stemb thattheymust emerge aad
be resurrected. But th|s resurrect|ea |s ceace|vab|e ea|y || the
desceat e|the eteraa|Ferms eateth|s Eanh |s uadersteed |a
|utruesease.!ustastheastra|aesse|the8uadeesaetdescead
|rem |ts Beavea, se there |s ae quest|ea e| aa |ahereace er aa
|a|us|eaaere| amater|a||acaraat|ea,aa|deawh|chaaOr|-
eata| ph||esephy dea|te|y re]ects. Oa the ceatrary, the |dea
e| epiphany dem|aates |ts mede e| percept|ea aad that |s why
thecempar|seaw|tham|rrer|sa|wayssuggestedteus.Bumaa
seu|s, be|ag eteraa|, de aet themse|ves m|x |a persea, se te
speak, w|th the wer|d e|mater|a| aad acc|deata| th|ags, wh|ch
are tempera|. lt |s the|r s||heuette, the|r lmage, the|r shadew,
wh|ch |spre]ectedeate|t. Each e|themhas |tsewapart|cu|ar
act|v|ty aadper|ect|ea, wh|ch are aaeectaadaa|auxe|the
ua|versa|aadabse|uteact|v|tye|the8eu|e|theWer|d.
80
New th|s, the 8ha|kh says, |s what |s ca||ed wer|d, that
abse|ute psych|c act|v|ty wh|ch, takea as such, |s at the same
t|me be|ew the 8eu| whese act|v|ty |t |s, but abeve these acc|-
deata|terrestr|a|matters|awh|chtheseasery|acu|t|esperce|ve
|t. Te wer|d as abse|ute psych|c act|v|ty |s a barakh, aa |a-
terva|.Beace,]ustasthemater|a|substaaceaadthe|erme|the
m|rrerareae|therthematteraerthe|eme|theImagereected
aad perce|ved |a |t, but s|m|y the pr|v||eged p|ace where
th|s Imam |s ep|phaa|zed, se seasery matter |s but the veh|c|e
( markab ) ,errathertheep|phaa|cpace( mhar ) ,|erthe|erms
preduced by the abse|ute act|v|ty e| the seu| . It weu|d b the
greatest m|stake 1e take m|rrer as ceast|tut|ag here the sub-
staace aad ceas|steacy e| the Images that apear |a |t. The
m|rrermayae |eager be there, |t may b brekea the |erms e|
the seu| , be|ag ae|ther |ahereat |a aer cesubstaat|a| w|th the
m|rrer,ceat|auetesubs|st.
Iaerderte graspthe Image |a |ts absolute rea||ty, that |s te
say absolved, detached, |rem the seasery m|rrer |a wh|ch |t |s
reected, |t |s uadeubted|y aecessary te have what the 8ha|kh
ca||s aa "eye of the world beyond" ( Chashm-i barakhl ) , that
|s, aaergaae|v|s|eawh|ch|s|tse||aparte|theabse|ute act|v-
|ty e| the seu| , aadwh|ch cerrespeads te eur lmaginatio vera.
Letusemphas|zethea,thatth|sdees aetmeaakaew|agth|ags
as abstract |dea, as ph||eseph|ca| ceacet, but as the per|ect|y
individuated |eatures e| the|r Image, med|tated, er rather re-
med|tated, by the seu| , aame|ythe|r archetypa| Image. That |s
why |a th|s |atermed|ate wer|d there are Beaveas aad Earths,
aa|ma|s, p|aats, aad m|aera|s, c|t|es, tewas, aad |erests. New,
th|smeaas,|aeect,that||th|agscerrespead|agtea||theseare
v|s|b|e aad seea |a th|s wer|d, here eath|s terrestr|a| Earth, |t
|sbecause u|t|mate|ywhatweca||physis aadphys|ca||sbutthe
reect|eae|the wer|de|the8eu| , there |saepurephys|cs, but
a|ways tbe phys|cs e| seme dea|te psych|c act|v|ty. 8e, te b-
cemeawaree||t|steseethewer|de|the8eu| ,teseea||th|ags
astheyare|atheEarthe|Harqa|ya,theEarthe|emera|dc|t|es,
i tis thevisio smaragdi na, whi ch i s the surrect|eaaadtheresur
rectien of tbe world of thr Soul . Thtn thi s rl i ty that erd|aary
H I
ceasc|eusaess cea|ets ea phys|ca| m|ags aad eveats as || they
wete auteaemeus tea||t|es, pteves |a |act te b the visionary
tea||tye|theseu|.
That|swhy we wete ab|e te say that me myst|ca| Eatth e|
Batqa|yatepteseats, as |t wete, the pheaemeaea e| the Eatth
|a|tsabsolute state,that|s, absolved |temtheemp|t|ca|appear
ance d|sp|ayed te the seases, aad, ea the ethet haad, the real
apparition testeted by the ttaasceadeata| Imag|aat|ea a|eae.
Bete a||tea||t|esex|st|a thestatee|Images,aad these Images
ate a priori et atchetypa| , |aethetwetds, they ate themse|ves,
as |t wete, pre-meditant, |a the med|tat|ea e| the seu| whese
wet|dtheyate,|et,s|acetheyatethewet|d,that|stheact|v|ty
ptepetteth|sseu|,theyg|vethemeasutee|th|sseu| ,express
|ts sttuctute aad |ts eaetg|es. The awakea|ag te ceasc|eusaess
e| Butqa|ya aaaeuaces a aew mede e|te|at|eash|p e|the seu|
w|th exteat,w|th evetyth|ag that |s cetpetea| aadspat|a| , a te-
|at|eash|p that caaaet be a te|at|ea e| ceateat w|th ceata|aer.
Thewaye|see|agtheEanhaadthewaye|see|agtheseu| are
thevetysameth|ag,thev|s|ea|awh|chtheseu|petce|ves|tse||,
th|s caa be |ts paradise, aad |t caa be |ts hell. The e|ghth
c||mate |s the c||mate e| the seu|, aad that |s what the gteat
theeseph|st Iba 'Atabi ( d. 1240 ) ceaveys te us |a a myth|ca|
tec|ta||temwh|chI w||| g|veheteea|y a |ewstt|k|agexttacts.
Ftemthe c|ay |tem wh|chAdam was cteated, he says, et
tathet|temthe |eavea e| th|s c|ay, a sutp|us tema|aed. Ptem
th|s sutp|us aa Eatth was cteated whese Atab|c aame ( Ar{
}aqiqa ) caa bettaas|atedbeth as Eanh e|Ttue Rea||ty aad
Eatth e|Rea|Ttuth. It|saa|mmease Eatth, wh|ch |tse|| |a-
c|udesBeaveas aadEanhs,Patad|ses aadBe||s. A gteat aum-
bet e| th|ags whese ex|steace |a eut wet|d has beea pteven
tat|eaa||y aad va||d|y te be |mpess|b|e, aevenhe|ess de ex|st
w|theutadeubt|athatEanh~thepta|t|eeawh|chthemyst|ca|
theeseph|sts aevet t|te e| |east|ag the|t eyes. Aad here |s the
pe|at |athewhe|ee|theua|vetsese|th|sEatthe|Ttuth, Ged
has cteated |et each seu| a ua|vetsecettespead|agtethat seu| .
When the mystic contemplates this universe, it i himself ( nafs,
h|sAnima ) , that he is contemplating.
82
Thus,theImago Te"ae |s|adeedhetethevety|magee|the
seu|, the |mage thteugh wh|ch the seu| ceatemp|ates |tse||, |ts
eaetg|esaad|tspwen,|tshepesaad|ts|eats.That|swhyth|s
Eatthe|Tmth|sthep|acewhetea||theImageswh|chtheseu|
pte]ectsea|tshet|zeatea||ysubs|st aadd|sc|esete |ttheptes-
eacee|eaeetaaethete| |ts states. Rat|eaa|
,
t tat|eaa||st|c eb-
ject|eas caaaet pteva|| aga|ast |t. Th|s Eatth e| Ttuth |s the
Eanhe|theewet|age|symb|sthatthetat|eaa||ate||ect|a||s
te peaettate, be||ev|agas |t usua||y deesthat |a exp|a|a|ag a
symbe||thas bythe sametekeamade|td|sappeatbyteadet|ag
|t superueus. Ne, |ath|s Eatth e|Ttuththe whe|e eachaated
ua|vetsee|the seu|subs|stsbecausethetethe seu||satheme
aadbecause|tsewaatchetypa|Imageshavebcemettaaspateat
|et|t,wh||eatthesamet|metheytema|aaecessatyte|tptec|se|y
|aetdetthatthe|tesetet|cqua||ty ( ba#n ) mayshewthteugh.
W|theutthese Imagesthe seu| weu|d actua||ze ae|thetthese
t|tua|s aet these |ceaegtaph|es aad dtamatutg|es whese place
e| tea| |u|||meat |s ptec|se|y the Eatth e| Botqa|ya. That |s
a|sewhyth|s Eatth |stheplace e|v|s|eaaty tec|ta|s, e|ptayet
|a d|a|egue, |t |s aet, Iba Atabt says, the place e| myst|ca|
aaa|h||at|eas, e|the abyssese|aegat|vethee|egy, buttheplace
e|d|v|ae ep|phaa|es ( tajalliyat ilahiya ) ,wh|chdeaetve|at|||ze
the seu| aet teat |t away |tem the v|s|ea e| |tse||, but ea the
ceattatyhe|p|tteb at|astw|th|tse||aad|a|tse||.Evety|etm
|a wh|ch these ep|phaa|es ate c|ethed, as we|| as evety|em |a
wh|c
h
maa sees h|mse|| |a dteams et |a the |atemed|ate state
btweea wak|agaad s|eep|ag,et|amat state e| act|ve med|ta-
t|eawh|ch|s a statee|w|agwh||ethe seases ate |eepa||
th|sbe|eagstethebody e|th|sEanhe|Tmth.Fetaaedsaet
eatet|ate|tw|thbed|ese|ceatsemattet.Theadeptmustkaew
that||hehappeasteseethetew|thh|seyessemesp|t|tua|eat|ty,
|t |s bcausehehasbecemequa||edtec|etheh|mse|||aeaee|
tbese Petms assumed by Aam|s whea they make themse|ves
v|s|b|e to aeaseasety ptcept|ea.
We ate aewab|ete gaspthe|u||s|ga|caacea|theceac|se

and stri ki ng |etmu|ae |a wh|ch a gteat thee|eg|aa-ph||esephet,
Mun-J
a
,, an Irani an Imaml te of the seveateeath ceatuty,
cendenses a|| that |t |s esseat|a| te kaew ceacera|ngthe Eanh
e|Burqa|ya,thee| ghthc||mate,thewer|de|archetype-lmages
Th|s |atermed|atewer|d,hesays, eccup|es |a the macrecesm
the same raak as the lmag|aat|en |n the m|crecesm. Aad |er
th|s reasea |t|s the wer|d threugh wh|ch sp|r|ts are embed|ed,
aadbed|essp|r|tua||zed. ltmaybe sa|dthateach|uact|en |s
the reasea |er the ether. The |atemed|ate wer|d |s access|b|e
ea|y te the act|ve lmag|nat|ea, wh|ch |s at the same t|me the
|euadere||ts ewaua|verse aadthe transmuter e|seasery data
| ate symbe|s. Byth|sverytraasmutat|eaaresurrect|eae|mate-
r|a|bad|es|atesubt|eersp|r|tua|bed|estakesp|ace. Th|sEarth
e| Borqa|ya, wh|ch the adept's med|tat|ea |eeds w|th h|s ewn
substaace, |s at the same t|me the Eanh |rem wh|ch h|s med|-
tat|ea extracts aad deve|eps the subt|ee|ementse| h|s bedye|
resurrect|ea. Aad that |s why aa||y the myst|ca| Earth e|
Borqa|ya, the Earth e| emera|d c|t|es, may be deaed as the
Earthe|V|s|easand astheEarthe|Resurrect|ea.
3. Hurqalyi, Earth of Visions
Te |||ustrate th|srstaspect, we ceu|d gather hereverymany
exper|meata| data that caa be g|eaaed |rem the werks e| eur
8p|r|tua|s. 8|ace we must ||m|t eurse|ves, we sha|| se|ect ea|y
threecases eae |spreseated as a perseaa| case, anether re|ers
te aa |dea| case, a th|rdeers a whe|e sp|r|tua| teach|ag. The
rst twe examp|es are |ura|shed by the werk e| the master e|
Ishraq, 8uhrawardt, the th|td be|engs te the 8ha|kht teach|ng.
8uhrawatdtre|ates|neaee|h|sbeekshew,dur|agapr|ed
e| everwerk aad sp|r|tua| erdea| breught ea by med|tat|ea ea
the preb|em e| Kaew|edge, up te then uase|ved by h|m, eae
a|ght, wh||e st||| |a an |atermed|ate state betweea wak|ag aad
s|eep|ag,hewas grat|edbytheappar|t|eae|thelmame|Ph|-
|esephers, thePrimus Magster, Ar|stet|e. The beauty and the
de||cate ||ght e| the v|s|en are care|u||y descr|bed, then the
auther reperts what was |a |act a |eag d|a|egue, evek|ag eae
a|ter aaether h|gh dectr|na| themes. E|sewhere, re|err|ag te
th|s memerab|e cenversat|ea, he seaks e| |t as an eveat that
3. Hurqalyi, Earth of Visions
teek p|ace |a the myst|ca| stat|ea e| !abara. Th|s |s beth a
subt|e aad a prec|se way te deae the ceas|steace e| the pure
psyche-sp|r|tua| eveat as paetrat|ea |ate eae e
r
the emera|d
c|t|es. Prec|se|y, the rst adv|ce g|vea by Ar|stet|e's appar|t|ea
teh|sv|s|eaaty,|aerderte|reeh|m|remthepreb|emtreub| |ag
h|m,|remwh|chhe|euadaete||e||aph||esephybeeks,|sth|s .
Awake te yeurse||. Per, w|th th|s awakea|agte eaese||' the
whe|e |aaetexper|eacee|theIshraqexpaads,that|stheexper|-
eace e|the t|s|ag e|the ||ght, e|the ||ght |a |ts Or|eat. Whea
|t awakeasteitself, the seu| |s|tse||th|s r|s|agdawa, |tse||the
substaace e| the Or|eat L|ght. The Eatthsthat |t |||um|aates
areae|eager,|er|t,ace||ect|eae|eutetp|acesaadth|ags,kaew-
ab|e ea|ythteughdescr|pt|vesc|eace ( 'ilm rasmi ) ; theyate,|et
the seu| , |ts very preseace te |tse||, |ts abse|ute act|v|ty, wh|ch
|t kaews threugh pnseat|a| sc|eace ( 'ilm lufuri ) , that |s,
threughth|sOr|eata| kaew|edge ( 'ilm ishriqi ) wh|ch caa b
charactet|zed as cognitio matutina. Te th|s day Iraa has pre-
servedth|strad|t|ea.
Bemes|sthe|dea|heree|th|scognitio matutina. Th|s|sthe
secead exper|meata| datum berrewed a|se |rem 8uhrawardi's
werks.Aseaecaa b eas||yceav|aced,the prseae|Bermes |s
there asasubst|tute|erthate|theauthertethemat|zethepr-
seaa| eveat. It |s a dramaturgy e| ecstasy, the descr|pt|ea e|
wh|ch |s str|k|ag. Oae a|ght whea the sua was sh|a|ag,
Bemeswaspray|ag|athetemp|e e| L|ght. Wheathece|uma
e|dawaburst|erth,hesawaa Earth be|agswa||ewedupw|th
c|t|es ea wh|ch the d|v|ae aager had |a||ea, aad they tepp|ed
|ate the abyss. Thea he cr|ed eut . 'Theu whe art my |ather,
save me |rembe|ag|mpr|seaed w|th thesewhe are aearperd|-
t|ea| ' Aadheheardave|cecryeut|arespease . 'Grabthecab|e
e|eurIrrad|at|eaaadasceadtethe batt|emeats e|theThreae. '
8eheasceadedaaduader h|s|eet, Le| EarthaadBeaveas.''
8uhrawardi's cemmeataters have deveted themse|ves te de-
c|pher|agthe meaa|age| th|s ep|sede, |t seems that |t caa be
c|ear|y|aterpreted w|theutteemuchd|mcu|ty.The ep|sedecea-
st|tutes a case e| ce|est|s| | aaer asceas|ea, such as are g|vea
in vi sionary hiogruphi e!, Znrnt huit rn'Ku as we|| as that e| the
Ptephete|Is|amdut|agthea|ghte|theMiraj,44 aad|t|ssuch
caseswh|chhavecentt|butedtetheaeed,patt|cu|at|y|a8ha|kh-
|sm,|etthedectt|aee|thesp|t|tua|bedy.
Lt us se|ect thema|a |eatutes that hete g|ve the eveat |ts
meaa|ag|eteut seatch. Thete |sthe Eanh, wh|ch |s eagu||ed
w|th|tsc|t|es |t|sthetettestt|a|Eatthtegethetw|ththe|acu|-
t|ese|seasetypetcept|eathatapptehead|t,they|a||aadvaa|sh
atdawa,that|s,|athetstg|eame|thev|s|eae|ecstasy.Mea-
t|en|stheamadee|aaEatthaade|BeaveasthatBetmes, thete-
a|tet, has uadet h|s |eet. Beace|enh, Bemes |s |adeed ea the
Eanhe|Butqa|ya,wh|ch|mp||esthathehas|e|tbe|ewh|ma||
the Beaveas e|the phys|ca| cesmes, the ce|est|a| Occ|deat e|
thematet|a| wet|d. Theathe syachtea|sm e|the ep|sedes |s |t-
se|| s|ga|caat,ceatm|agwhatwe had aeted|athe eveat tak-
|ag p|ace |a !abata, thete |s a ce|ac|deace betweea dawa's
bte|ag aad the awakea|ag te eae's se||. Fet, th|s sun aear
wh|ch, atnight, Bemeswasptay|ag,|sh|svetyseu|wh|ch,|a
arising te |tse||, |etsthe emp|t|ca| |acts |mpesed upeah|m by
h|stettestt|a|se]eutas|ak back|atethe|tdatkaess th|ssua|s
thesp|t|t'sm|da|ghtsua etautetabetea||s.But at the me-
meate|th|s bteak|agdawa, thete |s such daagetthat Bemes
ca||s ea h|s supteme teceutse |et ass|staace the ce|est|a| Ego
|temwhemheet|g|aates,tewhemhe tetutas, aadwhe caa be
uadetsteedhete,|athevetytetmse|theIshtaqtph||esephy,beth
asPenectNatute,theatchetypa|Ietguatd|aaAage|e|the
ph||esephet ( the Ftavatt|, zs,o tu,- ) , as we|| as the Aam|
e| human|ty, whe |s beth act|ve Inte|||geace aad the Aage|
Gabt|e|etBe|y8p|t|t|temwhemhumaaseu|semaaate.45 R|s-
|ag dawa aad awea|ngte eaese||, peaettat|ea |ate the Eatth
e|Butqa|ya aadmeet|ngw|th the ce|est|a| alter ego, these ate
thecemp|emeatatyaspectse|thesameeveatthatptec|a|msthe
ttaasmutat|eae|the seu|, |tsb|tth|atethe |atemed|aty wet|d.
It weu|d uadeubted|y take a whe|e beek te exhaust a|| tbe
a||us|eas aad meaa|ags |mp||ed byth|sdtamatutgy e| ecstasy.
Ia aay case, |t a||ews us te uadetstaad ea what expet|meata|
datatheeettse|eutOt|eata| (IshrAqJ i theeseph|stsettfJs
were based te estab||sh |a |ts auteaemy und lofty res| |ty th| s
3. Hirqalya, Earth of Visions
|atermed|arywer|de|thelmaginalia, secemp|ete|ym|sceastrued
threughthehab|tse|tat|eaa|aadpes|t|vem|ad,wh|ch|deat|es
|ts|mp|yw|ththeuatea| .
Oa the ethet haad, eut 8p|r|tua|s have d|||geat|y tr|ed te
deae|tseate|eg|ca|status. Ithadtebeadm|ttedthat|ermsaad
gures e| the |mag|aat|ve wer|d de aet subs|st | |ke emp|r|ca|
rea||t|es e| the phys|ca| wer|d, etherw|se they ceu|d r|ght|u||y
be perce|vedby ]ustaaybedy. Itwas a|se seeathattheycaaaet
subs|st |athepure|ate|||g|b|ewer|d,s|ace theyhaveexteataad
d|meas|ea, a mate
-
|a||ty uadeubted|y |mmatet|a| |a re|at|ea
te that e| the seasety wer|d, but st||| preper|y cerperea| aad
spat|a| .Petthesamereasea,theycaaaethaveeurtheughta|eae
as asubstratum.Aadyet,theyde aetbe|eagte the uarea| , the
ve|d, etherw|se we ceu|d ae|thet perce|ve them aet have aay
ep|a|eaabeutthem.Tustheex|steacee|aa|atermed|arywer|d
( al-alam al-khaycli al-mithali, mundus imaginalis archetypus )
appeatedmetaphys|ca||yaecessary.Equa||ydepeadeatea|tare
the va||d|tye|v|s|eaatyrec|ta|s prce|v|ag aad re|at|ageveats
|aBeavea,theva||d|tye|dreams,e|h|erephaa|esaadsymbe||c
t|tua|s,therea||tye|places ceast|tutedby|ateasemed|tat|ea,the
tea||ty e| |asp|red |mag|aat|ve v|s|eas, e| cesmegea|c re|at|eas
aad e| theegea|es, the autheat|c|ty e| the sp|r|tua| meaning
dec|phetab|euaderthe|mag|aat|vedatae|ptephet|cteve|at|eas,
aadseea~br|ey,evetyth|agthatsurpassestheerder e| cem-
mea emp|r|ca| percept|ea aad |s |ad|v|dua||zed |a a perseaa|
v|s|ea, uademeasttab|e by s|mp|e receurse te the cr|ter|a e|
seasety kaew|edge et rat|eaa| uaderstaad|ag.40
8e that, uaab|e te attr|bute te these tea||t|es perce|ved as
psyche-sp|r|tua| eveats e|thet the status e| ptmaaeat phys|ca|
substaaces|aseasetyspaceetthe |ahereacee|seaseryacc|deats
|a the|r substratum, eae was |ed te ceace|ve a mede e| be|ag
|ermu|ated as a mede e| be|ag |a suspease ( al-muthul al
muallaqa ) , that|s,amedee|be|agsuch thatthe Image etthe
Perm, be| ag|tsewamatter,|s|adepeadeate|asubsttatum|a
whi ch it weu|d be |mmaaeat|athemaaaere|aa acc|deat ( ||ke
the ce|erb|acs,|erexamp|e,subs|st|agthreughtheb|ackeb]ect
in whi ch it i1 immanent ) . Let u! i mag|ae the |erme| a statue
H7
|a |ts pute state, ||berated |rem the marb|e, the weed, er the
bteaze. That|swhywe a|ways returntethe apparitional mede
wh|ch |s that e| subs|stence e| the Images |n suspense |n a
m|tret. Th|s was genera||zed |n a dectr|ne e| ep|phan|c p|aces
aad|ems ( mahir ) , wh|ch|senee|thecharacter|st|caspects
e| 8uhtawatdi's Ot|enta| theesephy. The act|ve Imag|nat|en
( takhayyul ) |s the m|rrer par excellence, the ep|phan|c p|ace
( mhar ) e| the Images e|the atchetypa| wer|d. That |s why
|tspercept|ensare]ustasrea|asthesee|thesensery|acu|t|es.
They ate tea| even te a mete em|nent degree, s|nce the
lmaginlia e|seaseryth|agsthatareep|phaa|zedthereprec|a|m
ttaasmutat|ea e| the |attet. Persena| gures, |erms, and |and-
scapes, p|aats andan|ma|sthat appear |n|t ae |engerebeythe
pemaaent|awse|deas|tynerthecend|t|ense|thepercept|b|||ty
e|the seasetywer|d. Thus, |t |s |n Borqa|ya that Pythageras,
|etexamp|e, wasab|eteperce|vetheme|edye|the8pheres,the
cesm|cmus|c~that|s te say, euts|de e|h|s mater|a| bedy and
w|theuth|setganse|senserypercept|en.It|sthere|ereneces-
saty te ceace|ve that there are seunds, |er examp|e, per|ect|y
etcept|b|ebytheact|veImag|nat|en,wh|chare netcend|t|ened
by v|btat|ens e| the a|r, theycenst|tutethe archetype-lmage e|
seuad. Ia shert, there | s a whe|e un|verse e|cerrespendences
|a the |mage e| the phys|ca| wer|d ( pessess|ng gure, ce|er,
exteas|en,scent,tesenance i thatdeesnetdependenpurephys-
|cs, er tathet, that presuppeses the |ntegrat|en e| phys|cs as
such|ntepsyche-sp|r|tua| act|v|ty,the|rcen]unct|en|n an |nter
med|ate wer|d r|s|ng abeve the dua||sme|matter and sp|r|t, e|
seases aad|nte||ect.
Themetametphes|s, wh|che|evateseurv|s|en ands|tuates |t
eaa|eve||remwh|cheveryth|ngthatwaseeredtetheerd|nary
censc|eusaess as a pute|yphys|ca| th|nger event appears |rem
thea ea |a |ts essent|a| cen]unct|en w|th the psyche-sp|r|tua|
act|v|ty that cend|t|ens |ts very percept|b|||tyth|s metamer-
phes|s|stebe|atheEanhe|Borqa|ya. Hurqalya is the Earth
of the soul, because it is the soul's vision. Te see th|ngs |a
Botqa|ya|s te see them as they are as events e|the seu| , aad
net as censt|tuted |nte autenemeus mater|a| tea||t|es, w|tb
88
3. Hirqalyi, Earth of Visions
meaa|agdetached|remaad|adepeadeate|theseu| ,aseurpes|-
t|ve sc|eace ceast|tutes aad eb]ect|es them. P|aa||y, |t |s a
waye|med|tat|agtheEatth aadtraasgur|ag|tbyth|smed|ta-
t|ea.
Betewe caa a|se te|ettethe teach|age|the em|aeat8ha|kh
8atkatAgha,aadth|s|stheth|rdexamp|ethatIw|shedtec|te,
because |tsttessestheet|eatat|eae|theeat|resp|t|tua||||e. It|s
hete be|ew, ea th|s very Eatth, the 8ha|kh te||s us, that eae
must beceme aa |ahab|taat e| the Earth e| Borqa|ya, a Hur
qalyavf.Go Immed|ate|y we g||mpse the |mpertaace e| th|s |m-
petat|ve, whea |t ceacetas ||v|ag the |uadameata| hepe e|
lmam|smet8hr|sm,|tsexpectat|eae|theImam ( certespead|ag
tetheexpectat|eae|Ma|tteya,the|utureBuddha,e|the8aeshy-
aat |a Zeteastt|aa|sm, te the retura e| Chr|st |a Chr|st|aa|ty i.
lt |s aet aa eutwatd eveat te be expected semet|me |a the |ar
d|staat|utute, |t|s aa Eveat thathete aad aew |s tak|agp|ace
|aseu|saads|ew|yptegtessesaadmaturesthete. The Imam's
ep|phaay takes p|ace |et us, the 8ha|kh wt|tes, at the vety
memeat whea eut eyes epea |c|. abeve, the eye e| the wet|d
byead, the "barzakhi eye] , the memeat we ceatemp|ate the
ep|phaaye|th|sn|ga|aa||the ua|verses.Theathe statemeat
e| 8ha|kh Ahmad Ahsa't takes ea |ts |u|| meaa|ag, amm|ag
that|etthe8p|r|tua|stheImamfrom this very day in Hurqalya
|sthe eb]ect e|the|tceatemp|at|ea.Th|s |s what |s meaat by
the8uat|s|ag ( ett|s|agaga|a i |atheWest,that|stheOr|eat,
|a the ttue sease, the cete||aty be|agthe dec||ae e| the teady-
made emp|r|ca| ev|deaces e| the matet|a| Eatth, te wh|ch the
seu|haddec||aed.Putthermete,saysthe8ha|kh,ea|ytheayeu
w||| have ceatemp|ated Borqa|ya, aad t|s|ag h|ghet thaa th|s
tettestr|a| Eanh, w||| yeu have perce|ved the atchetype-Image
aadthe ||ghte| yeutewa Imam, a ||ghtwh|ch eacempasses at
the same t|me the tertestr|a| wer|d aad a|| that |s ceata|aed
betweea!aba|qaaad!abara.
W|thth|sceacept|eae|eschate|egy,wecaauadetstaad a|se
that the whole e| history |s seea |a Borqa|ya. That be|ng
admitted, the eveats e| th|s h|stery are seea te be much mete
than what we oursel ves cal l "facts"; they are visions. Oa the
RO
ethet haad, evetyth|ag that we ca|| h|stety, aad va|ue as
h|stet|ca|, |s aet seea |a Botqa|ya, |s aet aa eveat |a the
Eatthe|Botqa|ya, aadthete|ete |s deve|de| te||g|eus |ntetest
aad sp|t|tua| meaa|ng. The et|eatat|en e| the tettestt|a| Eatth
tewatdtheEanhe|Botqa|ya,tewatdthece|est|a|pole, cen|ets
a polar dimension ea tettestt|a| ex|stence, g|ves |t a d|tect|ea
neteve|ut|eaatybutvett|ca| ,asceas|ena|.Thepast|saetbeh|ad
us, but uadet eut |eet.It |s ptec|se|ythete that eut menta|
hab|ts, aet en|y sc|ent|c but te||g|eus, pethaps make us |ese
eut|eet|ag.Wetethesehab|tsdemaadwhatweca||h|stet|ca|
|acts, vet|ab|eceactetetea||t|es, phys|ca|eveatsw|taessed aad
tecetded,weateaaswetedm||d|ybyv|s|eas.Pethapsthecea-
teat e| these beeks that we ca|| Apectypha| ( these e| the O|d
aade|theNewTestameat i caabesthe|pusteuadetstaadthe
mattet
( aad ptec|se|y the |act that they ate set as|de as

Apectypha|has ameaa|ngi . Onemayca||th|s docetism, but
pethaps the eat|te East has a|ways beea pte|euad|y decet|st
( thete |s det|sm |n gaes|s, thete |s decet|sm |n Is|am, thete
|s a Buddh|st decet|sm, |et decet|sm |s |uadameata||y aeth|ng
buta theeseph|ca|ct|t|quee|kaew|edge, apheaemeae|egye|
sp|t|tua||etms i.
Ia aay case, |t |s th|s |dea e| physics be|ag s|mu|taaeeus|y
aadesseat|a||yapsyche-sp|t|tua|act|v|ty,wh|chmakespess|b|e
semeth|ng||keaphys|cse|Resuttect|eaaadaphys|e|ege|the
bedy e| tesuttect|en. It |s aet |tem the e|emeats e| the tet-
testt|a| Eatth, but |tem the e|emeats e| the Eanh e| the
emeta|dc|t|esthatthesp|t|tua|bedyet|g|aates.It|s asEanh
e|V|s|easthattheEatthe|Botqa|ya|stheEanhe|Resuttec-
t|ea. Th|s |s the h|ghest pe|nt and eutstaad|ag |eatute e| the
8ha|kht dectt|ae, amp|y expeuaded |athe wetk e| |ts |euadet,
8ha|khAmadAsa't.
The spec|c aatute e| the datt|ae |s a|teady |ad|cated |a the
tem|ae|egy that |eads 8hah Amadte make a stt|ct d|st|nc-
t|eabetweeatwetetmscutteat|yusedte des|gnatebedy thete
90
4. Hirqalyi, Earth of Resurrection
|sthebedy ceas|deted as etgaa|c, aa|matedbdy ( jaad) , aad
there |s the bedy ceas|deted as cetptea| mass et ve|ume
(jism )Ia eur 8ha|kh's aathtepe|egy|t|sestab||shedthatthe
humaabe|agpessessestwejasad aadtwejism; theytepreseat a
twe|e|d accidental bdy aad a twe|e|d essential bedy, accetd-
|agtethe |e||ew|agschema
( 1 ) Thete|sthetstjasad, wh|chwesha||ca||jasad A, aad
wh|ch |s uadersteed as b|ag the elementa body, mater|a| aad
pt|shab|e. It |s the appateat bedy e| each eae e| us, the eae
thatwecaasee,teuch,we| gh, tecega|ze. It|saaaccidental aad
pet|shab|e|etmat|ea,acempuade|sub|uaarphysical elements.
(2 ) There|sa seceadjasad, wh|chwesha||ca||jasad B; |t
j
s h|ddea aad mcu|t |tem eur s|ght |a jasad A; |t a|se |s aa
e|emeata| |etmat|ea, but d|ets |temthe tst |athat |t |s aet
cempesed e| pt|shab|e tettestt|a| e|emeatsthese, that |s, e|
eurmater|a|Eatth~bute|atchetypa| e|emeats, the subt|e e|e-
meats e|the Eatthe| Borqa|ya.Th|s seceadjasad |s, thete-
|ere,a|ermat|eabe|eag|agtethe|atemed|atewet|d,thewet|d
e| the barakh; ceasequeat|y, |t has d|meas|eas, but, ua||ke
thetstjasad, |t |saetaaacc|deata|bedybut aaessential aad
|mper|shab|e bedy, |t |sthe subt|ee|emeata| bedy, the bedye|
sp|r|tua| esh,caro spirituali.
(1 ) Thete |sthe tstjism; |etusca|| |tjism A. Ua||kethe
twejasad, |t |saetaae|emeata| bedy, |tbe|eags ae|thettethe
terrestr|a| E|emeats aet te the subt|e E|emeats. It resemb|es
jasad A |et,||ke|t,|t|sacc|deata|,aetevet|ast|ag.Ittesemb|es
jasad B |a the sease e| be|ag,||ke |t, a |emat|ea e|the |atet-
med|ate wet|d. Bewevet, |t dees aet at|se |mm the subt|e
e|emeats e|the Eatth e| Batqa|ya ( |tem the reg|ea,that|ste
say, wh|ch cettespeads thete te the te"estrial climate e| the
cesm|c Occ|deat ), |t et|g|aates |rem the ce|est|a| mattet aad
Beaveas e| Batqa|ya ( |tem the teg|ea, that |s, cerrespad|ag
tethe 8pheres,tethe celestial climate e|thecesm|cOcc|deat ) .
lt |s the subt|e ce|est|a| bedy, the astta| bedy, dest|aed te be
reabserbed.
(4 ) There|stheseceadjim, wh|chwesha||ca||jism B, aad
this is the esseat|s| subt|e bedy, archetypa| , etetaa| aad |mpet-
91
|shab|e ( jism li aqiqi ) ; the sp|r|t |sneverseparated|rem |t,
|er|t |swhatcenst|tutestheeterna| |nd|v|dua||ty. Onecan say
e||tthat|t|sthecorpus supracoeleste |nman.
Atrst s|ght,th|sschema str|k|ng|yresemb|es whatwend
|n the wr|t|ags e| the Neep|aten|st, Prec|us. The |dea e| these
d|erent bed|es, |n wh|ch the seu| |s c|ethed, and wh|ch cer-
respendted|erent|eve|se|be|ng,repreducesthecencepte|the
oxpaTa
( okhemata ) er 'eh|c|es e| the seu| wh|ch the Nee-
|atea|stswereseprenetemed|tate.56 Thedectr|nee|theastra|
bedy
(
uwpa auTpoE8 i eroxpaTa-7vWpa |sSO |undamenta||n
thesp|r|tua||am||ytewh|chNeep|aten|smbe|engsthat|t|mme-
d|ate|yca||s|ermanyetherre|erences,netab|ythe''per|ectbedy"
(
uwpa TEAEWJ) e| the M|thra|c ||turgy, the ''|mmerta| bedy"
(
uwpa tf&vaTov ) e|theBermet|cCorpus,51 andna||y,|erth|s
|swhat|t suggests, th|s |s |ts a|m and eb]ecte| asp|rat|en,the
i8to 8apov eroiEo 8apov, thepersena|d|v|n|tyerguard|an
Ange| te whem the adept|sentrusteden |n|t|at|en, andwh|ch
makestheterrestr|a|human be|ngthe ceunterparte|ace|est|a|
be|ngw|th whem |t|ermsa whe|e. Th|s, |ntermse| Mazdean
theesephy,|sPravart|,Daena,thetranscendent"1," thece|est|a|
alter ego.
Weknew thetems e|thequest|en|nthe case e|aPrec|us
acemprem|sehadtebe|eund neten|y between P|ate andAr|s-
tet|e,buta|sebetweenthePer|patet|ctendencye|Neep|aten|sm
andthe8te|cpsyche|egye|thepneuma. 59 Bes|des,twetrad|t|ens
cencern|ngthe astra| bedy hadte be recenc||ed, beth a||ve |n
Neep|aten|sm.O|thesetrad|t|ens,enerepresentstheastra|bedy
as attached permanent|y te the seu| , the ether represents |t as
acqu|rederassumedbythe seu| dur|ngthe seu|'s descent|rem
theupprreg|ens,andashav|ngtebeabandenedbytheseu||n
the ceurse e||tsreascent.00 Prec|us succeeds here | n ach|ev|ng
a synthes|s, the heme|egue e| wh|ch |s |eund |n the 8ha|kh|te
datr|ne, |er h|m |t cens|sts |n accept|ng the ex|stence e| twe
ox"Ia ( okhema ) . Theseare
(
1 ) theh|gherox11a wh|ch|ser|g|na| ,cengen|ta| ( uvptv ) ,
the eae that |s ca||ed
avyot8
( |um|aeus, aurera| i er
auTpoEt8 ( astra| i . It |s the proton soma ( ori gi nnl hody ) i n
92
wh|ch the dem|utge has p|acedthe seu| . It |s |mmatet|a|, |m-
pass|b|e, |mper|shab|e. What crtespeads exact|y te |t |a
8hay|kh Ahmad Ahsa'r's term|ae|egy aad ceacepts, |sthejism
B, wh|ch |s ca||ed the atchetype er|g|aa| , esseat|a| ( jism
laqiqi ) : |t|stherea|eresseat|a|humaabe|ag,maa|athettue
sease (insin laqiqi ) .
I
(2i The I
"
p
a 7vEv
p
aTu<ov, er |ewer paeumat|c veh|c|e,
wh|ch |s a temperaty ad]uact, cempesed e| |eut e|emeats . |t |s
thesubt|ebedyetveh|c|ee|the|rrat|eaa|seu| , ||ke the |attet|t
sutv|vesthedeathe|thebedy,but|sdest|aedted|sappeaterb
teabsetbed. Whatcettespeadste |t|sjism A, aaacc|deata||et-
mat|ea |ssued |tem the Beaveas e| the barakhi et hurqalyi
|atetmed|atewet|d.
Th|s quest|ea e| the subt|e bedy, e| the veh|c|e e| the seu| ,
(Macteb|us'luminosi corporis am ictus, Beeth| us'levis currus )
Z
has pers|sted aad w||| pers|st, w||| a|ways be med|tated, se |t
seems, as |eag as Neep|atea|c theught sutv|ves. It teappeats
ameag the Byzaat|ae Neep|atea|sts ( M|chae| Pse||es, N|cephe-
tesGtegetas i , theCambt|dgeNeep|atea|sts ( Ra|phCudwetth,
seveateeath ceatuty i aad, |et us aew add, ameag eut Nee-
p|atea|stse|Pets|a.
But|a8ha|kh|sm,thethemese|med|tat|ea gtew mete cem-
p||cated. Wh||e Prec|uswasab|etereceac||ethetwetrad|t|eas
=e| aa er|g|aa| aad |mpet|shab|e okhema aad e| aa okhtma
wh|chw|||eadbybe|agteabsetbedetdetached|temtheseu|=
|tcaateugh|ybesa|dthat8ha|khAhmadAhsa1ptaeedss|mu|-
taaeeus|y te amtm the ex|steace e| a twe|e|d |mpt|shab|e
okhema ( jism B aadjasad B ) , aade|aaokhema pneumatikon
( jism A) , aaeapetmaaeatsubt|eastta|bedy.Thecemp||cat|ea
e|th|s schema caa, |t seems, be attt|butedte the aeed te sa|e-
guatd the exeges|s e| Out'aa|c data ceaceta|ageschate|egy |a
geaeta| .
These data takea ||teta||y, as they were uadetsteed by the
||tera||st etthedex e| Is|am, ptesuppese that the bedy e| tet-
testr| a|esh,jasad A, |s resutrected, ettetutas]ust as|twas.
|et oh||eseoh|ca| med|tat|ea, th|s matet|a| |deat|ty has a|ways
rr
prr.!ented on | nsurmeuatable caatraa|ct|ea, a|| the mere |ru|t-
l rHH in t hut it Hbm1 from n n i nullidr nt uaderstaad|ag e| the
preb|em.Ferthephys|ca||mpess|b|||tytebeprevea,thequest|ea
demaadsthateaer|se abevethe tea|me|emp|t|ca| seasety ev|-
deace aad the cenespead|agmede e| percept|ea. At that vety
p|at, the wetk te be deae |s te traasmute the |attet |ate |ts
sp|t|tua|truth,|t|saetteadawaye|escape|atea||egetyaad
|tsabstractres|duum,butteestab||sha"harqalyi phys|cs. Th|s
|stheveryth|agthatmakespess|b|etheschemae|the |eut|e|d
bedy we have ]ust eut||aed. Ia eect, theugh jism A, the acc|-
deata| astra| bedy, |s aa||y te d|sappeat ( ||ke the okhema
pneumatikon e|theNeep|atea|sts i ~|et,wh||e be|agaharqalyi
jism, |t|saeverthe|essacc|deata|~|tw|||b tep|acedbyaaether
veh|c|e, subt|e aad pemaaeat, wh|ch |s a bedy at the same
t|me elemental aadessential, a bedye| sp|t|tua| esh, ceast|-
tuted by the subt|e atchetype~|emeats e| the ce|est|a| Earth
e| Barqa|ya. Iath|s way, the state e| whe|eaess, homo totus,
a|ways cempt|ses,as|aPto|us'system,atwe|e|dokhema. Th|s
ceacept |s ptepet|y that e| the Itaa|aa Neep|atea|sts aad |a a
wayte|a|ercesthate|theGteekNeep|atea|sts.
Bere thea, very br|ey, |s the 8ha|kh|te ceacept|ea e| the
eschate|eg|ca| ptmess evetyth|ag wh|ch |s accidental bedy
( jaad A aad jism A) w||| eveatua||y d|sappear. Everyth|ag
wh|ch |s esseat|a| bedy ( jasad B, aad jism B i |s assured e|
surv|va|. Jaad A |s the ceatse e|emeata| bedy |a wh|ch the
descead|agseu| c|ethed |tse||ea reach|agthe tetnstt|a| wet|d.
It|saetesseat|a| ,mere|yaaacc|deata|ceat|ag. Itpet|shes aad
|sdecempesed,eache|emeatretura|agte|tsseurceaadb|ead|ag
w|th|t~a|act e|erd|aaryebservat|ea. New, what |eaves th|s
per|shab|ebedyatthememeatwheatheAage|e|Deathcemes
te gather up the seu| |s a twe|e|d th|ag the essential er|g|aa|
bedy ( jism B, okhema symphyes ) , wh|ch |s the petmaaeat
bas|s e| the eteraa| seu| ( ?amil li'l-nafs ) , but at th|s pe|at ea-
wtapped|athat accidental subt|ebedy ( jism A, okhema pneu
mati
k
on ) |a wh|ch the seu| hadc|ethed |tse|| |a the ceutse e|
|tsdescenttewatdsthetetrestt|a|Eatth,eapass|agthteughthe
|atermed|ate wet|d e| the barakh. Th|s a|se |s a |emat|ea e|
the |atermed|ate wer|d, hewevet, as we have a|ready sa|d, |t |s
ceast|tuted aet |tem the subt|e matter e| the rlcmrnta e| the
94
4. Hurqalya, Earth of Resurrection
Eatthe|Barqa|ya, but|remthesubt|ematter e| the Beaveas
e| Barqa|ya. It ||kew|se |s aa acc|deata| |ermat|ea. These twe
jism ( A aad B ) su|ve, tegether |erm|agthe state e| eteraa|
humaa |ad|v|dua||ty aad expr|eac|ag |a the |aterwer|d e|ther
the ]ey aad sweetaess e| the Occ|deata| Parad|se ( the aver
e| th|s express|ea uaexpected|y reca||s the Pure Earth e|
Buddh|smi er,eathe ceatrary, the despa|re|a Be|| |mmaaeat
|a|tse||.Th|sapp||este|ad|v|dua|eschate|egyassuch.Butwhat
eaters at th|s pe|at |s aa extreme|y cemp|ex |aterpretat|ea e|
general eschatology, that|s,e|the eveats c|es|ageutAeon aad
pre|ud|agaaewcesm|ccyc|e.
Averse|atheOur'aa (3 9 : 6 8 i te||se|thetweb|astse|the
trumptwh|ch are tebeseuadedbythe Aage|8eraph|e| . Th|s
verse gave |u|| scepe te the spcu|at|ve |mpu|se e| the 8ha|kht
theeseph|sts. The Aam|'s trumpet |s, e| ceurse, a cesm|c |a-
strumeat.Eache||tser|cesrepreseatsthetreasure,theer|g|-
aa| matr|x |rem wh|ch each be|aghas ceme |erth, |a th|s case
the jism li, the subt|e, esseat|a| , ceagea|ta| bdy (jism B ) ,
the archetype e|humaa |ad|v|dua||ty. Therstseuad|age|the
trumpethera|dstheteta|reabserpt|eae|thecesmes,eachbe|ag
reeatets |ts seurce aad s|eeps there dur|ag aa |atea| whese
|eagh |s expressed as |eur ceatur|es e| eurterrestr|a| durat|ea
( th|s e| ceurse dees aet re|er te chreae|egy er quaat|tat|ve
t|me i . Theseceadseuad|age|8eraph|e|'strumpetpro|a|msthe
Reaewa| e| Creat|ea (tajdid al-khalq ) , a aewcesm|ccyc|ethat
assumes the character e| aa apokotastisis, a resterat|ea e| a||
th|ags|athe|rabse|ute, parad|s|cpur|ty.
IawhattheadeestheEveate|th|sResurrect|eaceas|st?Bew
caa |t be that the Eanh e| Burqa|ya |s at the same t|me the
|astrumeat aadthesceaeae|eagere|the|ad|v|dua|eschate|egy
a|eae ( the eatraace e| subt|e bed|es |ate the Occ|deata| Para-
d|se i,bute|the maera|eschate|egy?Whattheyte||us|sth|s .
wheathetrumpetseuads|ertheResurrect|ea,theesseat|a| ,er|g-
|aa| bedy, wh|ch |s the suppen e| the eteraa| |ad|v|dua||ty
( jism a#f, jism B ) , reappears |a |ts uachaamab|e whe|eaess
(verlls homo, in.tdn aqtqi ) . As |erjism A, okhema pneumati
kon, whi ch had mere|y |eat 6egree e| epac|ty te the per|ect
subt|eaess e| the jism B, |t dees aet reappear, er rather, |t |s
cemp|ete|y reabserbed |atethe a||-|um|aeus subt|ety e|jism B.
As wehave seea,these twe jism departed tegether, at the me-
meat e|death, |remthe per|shab|e,terrestr|a| , e|emeata| bedy,
jasad A. Butwhate|the|mper|shab|esubt|ee|emeata|bedy,the
bedy e| sp|r|tua| esh made e| the e|emeats e| the Earth e|
Borqa|ya,jasad B erjasad hurqalyi?
Bere 8ha|kh|sm |atreduces a h|gh|y er|g|aa| ceacept. Th|s
bedy, ||kew|se essential, |s madeupe|the subt|e matter e|the
archetype~e|emeats e| the Earth e| Borqa|ya aad |s a|se a
receptac|e e| the |aueaces e| the Beaveas e| Borqa|ya, th|s
meaas that |t pessesses ergaas e| ercept|ea that are seveaty
t|mes mere aeb|e aad mere subt|e thaa these e| the bedy e|
e|emeata| esh |awh|ch|t|sh|ddea aad|av|s|b|e. lthas shape,
exteat, aad d|meas|ea, aad |s aeverthe|ess |mper|shab|e.
Whereastheterrestr|a|e|emeata|bedy,jasad A, per|shes|athe
grave,jasad B, erjasad hurqalyi dees aetdepart|rem|t at the
memeat e| death |a cempaay w|th the esseat|a| maa ( insan
Iaqiqi ) , whe |smade up e| the er|g|aa| subt|e bedy eave|eped
|a h|s ether, prev|s|eaa| , subt|e bedy. The jasad hurqalyi sur-
v|ves,theyte||us~surv|ves|athe grave. Butatth|spe|atwe
sheu|d re|er te a str|k|ag |eature e| eae e| Maeter||ack's d|a-
|egues express|ag the eseter|c meaa|ag e| death, whea the
8hadew, a |ew memeats be|ere becem|ag the Aage| e| h|m
whesedeath|tis, dec|ares They|eek|ermeea|y|athegrave-
yards, where I aever ge. l de aet ||ke cerpses. The grave,
that |s, the p|ace where the jasad B ceat|aues te be, |s aet the
graveyard, but exact|y the myst|ca| Earth e| Borqa|ya te
wh|ch |t be|eags, be|ag ceast|tuted e| |ts subt|e e|emeats, |t
su|vesthere,|av|s|b|etetheseases,v|s|b|eea|ytethev|s|eaary
Imag|aat|ea.
V|s|eae|th|smyst|ca| subs|steace |s,there|ere, |tse|| a pre-
em|aeatexamp|ee|apsyche-sp|r|tua|eveattak|agp|ace|athe
Earth e| Borqa|ya. Bere the d|ereace betweea the schee|s e|
theught becemes appareat. Prec|us he|d thatthe |ahab|taats e|
the h|gh p|aces e|the Earth |a P|ate's myth, the Phaedo were
seu|s st||| c|ethed |a the|r |ewer okhema aad awa|t|ag the|r
96
4. Hirqalya, Earth of Resurrection
cemp|eteapokotastisis.es Iaawaypecu||ar|yh|s,8ha|khAhmad
a|ser|sesabevethed||emmawh|chweu|d|eaveaeche|ceexcept
betweeathe|deae|cemp|ete|yd|sembed|edseu|s ( |aceatrad|c-
t|eaw|ththe|deae|seu| i aadthe |deae|cemp|ete|mmerta||ty
e| the |rrat|eaa| seu| ( Jamblichus ) . But whea we ceme te
8ha|kh|sm, the dectr| e| apokotastisis |s amp||ed. It |s a|-
rmed, aetea|ythatthe |ewer okhema |s str|pped, but |unher
amms the reassumpt|ea e| th|s ether esseat|a| bdy, wh|ch |s
a|se a subt|e veh|c|e, aa |mper|shab|e, parad|s|c bdy, s|eep|ag
|aBarqa|ya,theEarthe|L|ghtwheace|tcame. That|swhere
theAage| teek |t|aerderte h|de |t |a the terrestr|a| bedy e|
esh,atthememeate|ceacept|ea.
There|ere,attheseceadseuad|age|thetrumpet,th|sjasad B
erhirqalyi bedy,thebedye|sp|r|tua|esh,|sthebedywh|ch
the eteraa| , |ad|v|dua| seu| , ceaveyed by |ts er|g|aa| , esseat|a| ,
er archetypa| bedy (jism B i, aga|a puts ea |ts traasgured
terrestr|a| ra|meate| g|ery. New, th|s reua|en aadtraasgura-
t|ea te p|ace |a aad threugh the Earth e| Barqa|ya. Th|s
ce|est|a|Earth, th|s e|ghthc||mate,|s,|adeed, whatpreserves
the |utun Resurrect|ea Bedy, s|ace th|s Earth |s |ts seurce,
aad|erthatreaseaa|se|tp|aysthesamere|e|athegeaeta|escha-
te|egy,aame|y,thate|Earthe|Resurrect|ea.Itgaesw|theut
say|agthaterthedexIs|amhasaeverbeeaab|etead|tsway
|a th|s theeseph|ca| phys|cs, the 8ha|khrs had te |ace d|mcu|t
s|tuat|eas, a mass e|eb]ect|eas, ea the |eeb|eaess e| wh|ch we
aeed aetdwe||, s|acethe prem|sesrema|aedeatheverymeata|
|eve|wh|chthe8ha|khts'med|tat|eaa|medtesutpass.
Let us eater st||| mere deep|y |ate th|s 8ha|kht med|tat|ea,

wh|ch traasmutes th|ags |ate the substaace e| Barqa|ya by
ceatemp|at|agthem |a that Eanh aad thus eve|ves a phys|cs
aad phys|e|egy e| Resurrect|ea. We aet|ce, thea, that |a th|s
praessmed|tat|eaeathe a|chem|ca|Werkp|aysacap|ta|part,
aadthatthesplr|tua|pract|cee|a|chemyceat|aues|aad|screet
|ash|ea evea te eur day |a Iraa|aa 8ha|kh|sm. The werk e| |ts
|euader revea|s the aeed he exemp||es te |ater|er|ze the true
ract|ce|aerderteebta| a|remltthepsychlcreact|easwh|chare
resa|ved |a a mystlca| psychol ogy of the esunectleabedy.
07
The bas|c |deae|a|chemy |et the 8ha|khts
|s that |t a|eae
makes |t pess|b|e te ceace|ve the tesuttect|ea e| bed|es as a
ceasequeace et cete||aty e| the sutv|va| e| 8p|t|ts. It makes |t
pess|b|ete pass |temthe eaetetheethet aad gathetthem |ate
as|ag|eceacept.Temaketh|sttaas|t|ea|stemake atthesame
t|meattaaspes|t|ea ( aaaaapheta i aadattaasmutat|ea,wh|ch
|ava||datethe tat|eaa||st ph||eseph|ca| atgumeats aga|ast tesut-
rect|ea,becausetheseatgmeatsatecatt|edeaea a|eve||ewet
thaathe |eve|eawh|chthe quest|ea |a|act at|ses, ]ust as, aad
|et the same teasea, the ||teta||st ceacepts e| etthedex thee-
|eg|aasceaceta|agthe tesuttect|ea e| bed|es ate equa||y weak.
Ptem the beg|aa|ag, |et us temembet8ha|kh 8atkat Agha's
beaut||u|aad|etce|u|max|m. eae'ststceaceta|stebeceme a
Hurqalyivi eaese||, eae must be ab|e aad eae must have beea
|a|t|ated te see th|ags aad be|ags, ptaesses aad eveats, |a
Butqa|ya.
(
heetgaae|s|ght|sthe act|ve Imag|aat|ea, wh|ch
a|eae eatets |ate the |atemed|ate tea|m, makes the |av|s|b|e
w|th|a the v|s|b|e v|s|b|e te |tse||. It |s thus the quinta essentia
e| a|| ||v|ag, cetpetea|, aad psych|c eaetg|es. We heat 8hah
Ahmad |as|st|ag stteag|y |a h|s tuta ea the esseat|a| |uact|ea
e|the med|taat, act|ve Imag|aat|en, as he says vety dea|te|y.
^he Imag|aat|ea |s esseat|a| te the seu| aad ceasubstaat|a|
( jawharani ) w|th |t,|t|saa|asttumeate|the seu| , ]ust asthe
haad|saa|asttumeate|thephys|ca|bedy.Eveaseasetyth|ags
atekaewaea|ybymeaase|th|setgaa,|et|t|stetheseu|what
the8eu|e|the Beaveae|Veaus|stethe8eu|e|theBeaveae|
theZed|ac.Oaecaathete|etea|sesayhete|aPatace|s|sttetms
that the Imag|aat|ea |s the "astrum in homine," "coeleste sive
supracoeleste corpus."69 Aad eae can add ||kew|se that the
a|chem|ca| Wetk, because e| the psych|c eects |t pteduces
|a h|m whe med|tates aad |atet|et|zes |t, |s esseat|a||y carried
out |atheEatthe|Batqa|ya. 8e|athatsease,|tcaabesa|de|
a|che
,
y that |t wetks w|th the e|emeats e| the Eatth e| But-
qa|ya aadttaasmutesthe tettestt|a| e|emeats|atethese subt|e
e|emeats.
But |et th|s te be ttue, the a|chem|ca| Opetat|ea must be
tea||y petce|ved aad meata||y actua||zed |a Butqa|ya, aad |t |s
|etth|sputpesethattheapptept|ateetgaae|petcept|ea |saec-
essaty. Th|s |s why the a|chem|ca| Optat|ea ( 'amal al-ini'a
al-maktam) , ||teta||y,mat|s,theoperatio secreta Artis, |sca||ed
theW|seMea'sM|ttet ( mir'dt al-lukami' ) . O|theOpetat|ea
e|the E||x|t ('amal al-iksir ) ,wt|tes8ha|khAhmad,theW|se
havemadeaM|ttet|awh|chtheyceatemp|atea||theth|agse|
th|s wet|d, whethet |t be a ceactete tea||ty ( 'ayn ) er a meata|
tea||ty ( ma'ni ) . Ia th|s m|ttet, the tesuttect|ea e| bd|es |s
seeatebeheme|egaustethetesuttect|eae|sp|t|ts.Thepestu-
|ate |s that eae aad the same sp|t|tua| Eaetgy e| ||ght |s ]ust
as much the ceast|tueat e| the esseace e| what |s qua||ed as
mater|a|as|t|se|theesseacee|what|squa||edassp|r|tua|.
Bt|ey,hew|tsheu|dbeexptessed|sbysay|agthat8p|t|tsate
be|ag-||ght|atheu|dstate ( nar wujadi dhi'ib ) wheteasbed|es
ate b|ag-||ght but |a the se||d|ed state ( nar wujadi jamid) .
The d|eteace betweea the twe |s ||ke the d|enace betweea
watet aad saew. Ptee| ceatm|ag the tesunect|ea e| the eae
|s va||d |a tespect e| the tesuttect|ea e| the ethet. New, the
aa| tesu|t e| the a|chem|ca| Optat|ea |s exact|y th|s coinci
dentia oppositorum: eace a bedyhas beatteated aad per|ected
by th|s Opetat|ea, |t |s |a the state e| se||d ( et 'ceagea|ed,'
'|tezea,'miyih jam ia ) ||qu|d.
Bete, thea, ateseme themes |etmed|tat|ea wh|ch, ameagst
ethets, a
,
e suggested te us w|th a v|ew te |atet|et|z|ag the a|-
chem|ca| Wetk. Lt us, |et examp|e, take s|||ca aad petash,
epaque, dease substaaces cettespead|agte the state e| the tet-
testt|a|, e|emeata| bedy (jasad A) . Ia the tst p|ace, hav|ag
beeabe||edaad||queed,thesetwesubstaaces|esethe|tepac|ty
aadbeceme g|ass ( petass|ums|||catei, wh|ch |s ttaaspateat, |a
th|s state the eutet a||ews the |aaet te be seea thtaugh |t, the
h|ddea speataaeeus|y shews thteugh the appateat. Cena|a|y
|t |sst||| the||the|dsubstaace, aadyet|t|sae|eagetthat. Th|s
statesheu|dbemed|tatedascettespead|agtethejasad B, wh|ch
|s the subt|e, d|aphaaeus bedy cempesed e| the elements e|
Harqa|ya. In te|us|ea w|th the add|t|ea e| a cetta|a chem|ca| ,
g|ass becemes crysta| , crysta| w|th the add|t|ea e| the wh|te
Fl i xi r turns i nto the "crstal wb|ch sets ea re ( a |eas ) . At
th|sstage|tcetnspeadstejism A ( okhema pneumatikon ) ,that
|s,tetheastra|bedywh|cheave|epestheesseat|a|er|g|aa|bedy
( jism li, jism B ) , et eteraa| |ad|v|dua| , aad wh|ch, tegether
w|ththe |atter, eatersthe ce|est|a| Earth atthememeatwhea
death sepatates them|temthe per|shab|e e|emeata|bedy ( | . e. ,
|rem jasad A) . Whea the crysta| |s |used a secead t|me w|th
wh|te E||x|t, |t becemes d|amead. Th|s |s the same crysta| , the
same s|||cate |a wh|ch the crysta| was h|ddea, the same cem-
peuad e| mercury aad su|phur, aad yet |t |s ae |eaget aay e|
these.Aadd|amead,|reed|remctysta|,|reed|remg|ass,|reed
|remsteae, certespeads tethe be||ever's bed|es |ath|s abse|ute
Parad|se.
Th|s epetat|ea |s ceamed by ethers. That, |et |astaace,
wh|ch|spt|etmedeapewer.Pewtettreatedw|thwh|teE||x|r
tutas |ate pure s||ver, the stage e| jasad B. Treated w|th red
E||x|r,thes||vetbecemespure ge|d,thestagee|jism A, wh|ch
eaters the eanh|y Parad|se er ce|est|a| Earth. Treated aga|n
w|th red E||x|t, the pewter-beceme-ge|d |tse|| becemes E||x|r,
thestagee|jism B, wh|ch,reua|tedw|thjasad B ( thehurqalyi
bedy i aad hav|ag ass|m||ated the |atter te |ts ewa subt|ety,
eaters |ate the abse|ute Parad|se.74
Br|ey, the med|tat|ea that |ater|er|zes the ttaasmutat|eas
accemp||shed |athe ceurse e| the tea| epetat|ea eamaders the
spiritual body, wh|cha|se|sacoincidenti oppositorum. Iteaters
|ate the |atemed|ate rea|m, |ate the psych|c rea|m e| subt|e
bed|esthteughtheact|vemed|taatImag|aat|ea,wh|ch,bytraas-
mut|agseaseryprecessesereveats|atesybe|s, |tse||act|vates
psych|c eaetg|es wh|ch tad|ca||y traasmute the re|at|eash|p be-
tweeaseu|aadbedy.Thete|stheaastate,says8ha|khAhmad,
|awh|chbed|esperce|vethreughthe|rveryesseace(bi-dhitihi )
thetheughts wh|charetheught|athece|est|a|wet|d,as we|| as
aage||c Pems. Rec|preca||y, the 8p|r|ts depeadeat ea these
bed|espetce|vebed|esaadcerperea|rea||t|esthreughthe|rewn
esseace,s|acethe|rbed|es, wheatheyw|sh|t,becemesp|r|taad
the|r sp|r|t, whea they w|sh |t, becemes bedy. There|ere,
med|tat|ea ea the a|chem|ca| epetat|ea etmed|tat|ea eperat|ag
a|chem|ca||y reach the resu|t the |emu|a e| wh|ch |s prec|se|y
1 00
the dea|t|ea we have heard, g|vea by Mehsea Payz, e| the
wet|de|thebarakh asawer|dthreughwh|chbd|esaresp|t-
|tua||zed,aadsp|r|tsembed|ed. Aadth|s|stheper|ectdea|t|ea
e| the Eatth e| Borqa|ya, as we|| as e| the Eveats wh|ch are
accemp||shed thete aad ta wh|ch th|s myst|ca| Eanh |eads |ts
vetysubstaace.
But, e|ceurse, th|s substaat|at|ea acuts ea|y threugh the
pteseace e| the adept te th|s myst|ca| Eatth whete sp|r|tua|
bd|esa|eaecaab preseat. That |swhytheceastaatpt|ac|p|e
heteaga|a|s solve et coagula. TheW|se,wt|tes8ha|khAhmad,
d|sse|ve aad ceagu|ate the 8teae w|th a part e| |u sp|r|t aad
repat the epetat|ea seveta| t|
+
es. Whea they have tteated |t
thtee t|mes w|th the wh|te E||x|t aad a|ae t|mes w|m the ted
E||x|t,the 8teae bcemes a ||v|agsp|r|tua| M|aeta| ( etmeta| i
(madan ayawini raini ) , wh|ch exact|y ttaas|ates eut Lat|a
a|chem|sts'|deae|the||v|ag8teae ( lapis vivus ) It|sa body,
but|tseprat|ea|sspiritual : |tg|ves|||etethesemeta|swh|ch
atedead.Med|tateaaduaderstaadth|s8|ga,saysthe8ha|kh,|er
such a bdy |s ptec|se|y the 8|ga e| the dwe||ets |a Patad|se,
|ettheyhavebed|es|awh|chex|sta||theattt|butes,|aws,aad
act|eas e| bed|es, butsuch bed|es eaactthe act|eas e| 8p|t|ts
aadputeIate|||maces,theypetce|vewhatthece|est|a|8eu|saad
aage||cIate|||geacesptce|ve,]ustasthe|attetpene|vethreugh
the|t ewa esseace what 8eu|s aad bed|es petce|ve. Bed|es
suchastheseatemade|temtheet|g|aa|c|ay (al-!ina al-a#iya )
e|theemeta|dc|t|es!aba|qa aad !abaa, aad they tece|ve the
|aux, ae |eamte|the Beavease|me phys|ca| cesmes, but e|
theBeavease|Botqa|ya.
8ha|khAhmadAhsa't'sewawetdshave,webe||eve,ceaveyed
what |sesseat|a| |athe dectt|ae. Atseme |utute date, we sha||
pub||sh a study e| the amp||cat|ea by h|s successers e| the
theme e| the sp|t|tua| bedy wh|ch |s the bdy e| tesuttect|ea.
Ia se de|ag, we sha|| d|scevet the ceastaats |a what m|ght b
ca||edthemetaphys|cse|ecstasycemmeatea||the8p|t|tua|s,
aadwh|ch beats w|taesste the petmaaeace aad |deat|tye|th|s
intenorld aa wh|ch the|t s|m||at exper|eaces ceavetge. The
Shai khs emphasize the idea of aaesseat| a|archetypebedy ( jism
1 01
/t aaotot i wh|ch s|mu|taaeeus|y pessesses d|meas|ea, shape,
|etm, aad ce|et ||ke bed|es |a geaeta| , but wh|ch d|ets |tem
them |a eae tad|ca| tespect, aame|y that the appeataace e| the
esseat|a| bedy depeads ea act|eas |u|||ed aad the |aaet states
maa||ested bytheseact|eas.Iaeuttettestt|a|werld,eut|aaet
statesate|av|s|b|eaadtheaspecte|whatwede|s||m|tedtethe
eutet,ebsetvab|eappeataace,but|athece|est|a|eatththesame
act|eas assume aaethet etm aad |aaet states pte]ect v|s|b|e
|erms.8emetakethe|etme|palaces,ethetsthe|etme|heut|s,
ete|ewets,p|aats,ttees,aa|ma|s,gatdeas,stteamse|tuaa|ag
watet,aadseea.A||these|etmsaadgutesateseeaaadate
tea|euts|de,buttheyateatthesamet|meattributes aadmodes
of being e| maa. The|t ttaasgutat|ea |s the ttaasgutat|ea e|
maa,aadthey|etmh|ssutteuad|ags,h|sce|est|a|Eatth. Beace
|tcaa be sa|dthatthe act|ea |s|ts ewa tewatd aadthe tewatd
|stheact|ea|tse||.
Theeate|eg|ca| status e|th|sce|est|a| Eatth |sthus deaed
|atetmscempatab|e,tetakebuteaeexamp|e,tethe|uadameata|
dectt|aee|8wedeabetg,wheceastaat|ytem|adsus, |a|emula-
t|eas wh|ch vaty vety ||tt|e, that th|ags euts|de the Aage|s
assumeaaappeataacecettespead|agtethesewh|ch atew|th|a
them. A|| th|ags that ceme |ate the Aage|s' e|d e| v|s|ea
cettespead te the|t |atet|et aad tepteseat |t, they vaty |a
accetdaace w|th these |aaet states, aad th|s |s why they ate
ca||ed'Appat|t|eas' ( apparentiae ) , but because they |ssue |tem
th|s seutce they ate petce|ved se much mete v|v|d|y aad d|s-
t|act|ythaatheway|awh|chmeapetce|ve tetrestt|a| data,that
they must tathet be ca||ed 'tea| Appat|t|eas' ( apparentiae
reales ) s|ace they tea||y ex|st.
Aadthe|e||ew|ag|etmu|at|ea
|s pethaps the esseat|a| eae the bedy e| each 8p|t|t aad each
Aage| i the |etm e| |ts |eve. A 8ha|kht say|ag echees th|s
|uadameata|thes|s ''The patad|se e|the |a|th|u| gaest|c |s h|s
vety b
dy aad the he|| e|the maa w|theut |a|th et kaewledge

|s ||kew|se h|s bedy |tse||.
Ot aga|a, th|s say|ag wh|ch cea-

deases me |tu|t e| 8ha|kh Ahmad Ahsa'i's med|tat|eas ea tbe
d|ameadbedy Evety |ad|v|dua| t|ses aga|a |atbe vety|etm
1 02
wh|chh|sWetk( |athea|chem|ca|sease ) hasxed|athesectet
( esetet|c) depthe|h|mse||.
Onecaa a|seundetstaadhewthe|dea e|thece|est|a|bedyet

tesuttect|ea bedy exptesses the |dea e|the humaa be|ag |a h|s
teta||ty, homua integer. By tepteseat|ag the humaa ptsea |a
|tsttaasgutedstate,|t|sheace|etwatd|atmetethanthephys|-
ca| etgaa e| petseaa| sub]ect|v|ty |a eppes|t|ea te the wet|d,
s|ace |t |s |ts wet|d, |ts ttue wet|d, that |s, aet a |ete|gn,
epaque tea||ty, but a ttaaspateacy, the |mmed|ate pteseace e|
|tse||te |tse||.Ptemthatpe|at a|sewecaauadetstaadhewthe
teptesentat|ea e| the et|g|aa|, sp|t|tua| bdy, the okhema aym
phyea e| Neep|atea|sm, came te be ceaaected w|ththe |dea e|
petseaa| d|v|a|ty ( idioa daimDn ) , the gatd|aa Aage| et atche-
typa| I|tem wh|ch the tettestt|a| meet|g|nates. Th|s aga|a
teca||s aa edd deta|| 8ha|kh Ahmad, whea asked abut the
et|g|ne|the aame Botqa|ya, wh|chhas assttaage aad |ete|ga
a seund |a Pets|aa as |a Atab|c, aasweted that |t was a wetd
wh|chcame|temthe8yt|ac|aagage (aaryani ) |auseameagst
the8abeanse|Bata,etmeteexact|y,theMaadeaas. Newthe
Eatth e| Botqa|ya, the |atemed|ate wet|d e| exemp|aty Rea|
Images,|sthe heme|egue, beth|n8uhtawatdi'sOt|eata|thees-
ephy aad |a 8ha|kh|sm, e| the Patad|se e| the atchetypes e|
Y|ma,and|tsehappeasthatthec|esetesemb|aacebetweeathe
Var e|Y|maaadtheseceadwet|d,etwet|de|atchetypes, e|
Maade|sm ( Mahunia Kuahta ) hasmetethaaeacebeeape|nted
eut.
Aad |a a|| cases |t n|ets te that same wet|d |a wh|ch the
|| oetated seu|, whethet |a memeataty ecstasy et thteugh the
supteme ecstasy e| death, meets |ts atchetypa| "1," |ts alter ego
etce|est|a|Image, aad te]e|ces|athe |e||c|tye|that eaceuatet.
Th|s teun|ea |sce|ebtated |a a Maadeaa text as |e||ews I ge
temeetmy Imam aadmy Imam cemes te meet me, embtaces
me aadhe|dsmec|esewheaIcemeeute|capt|v|ty.Receat|y
a|se, eurattent|en wasdtawatethe amn|tybetweeatheceatta|
|ere e| Maadean gnes|s, B|b|| Z|wa, aad the yeuag Patth|aa
prince, t|e here e| tbe 8eng e| the Peat| |a the Acta of
13
Thomas. 89 Iath|saac|eatgaest|cbeekweadaga|atherapture
e|a s|m||areaceuater,wheathe yeuagPr|ace, ea retura|agte
the East, h|s |ather|aad, d|scevers the|um|aeus ra|meat hehad
|e|t beh|ad The garmeat suddea|y appeared whea l saw |t
be|ereme||keuateam|rrere|myse||.I saw|ta|tegether|ame
aadI was a|tegether |a|t,|er we were twe, separate eae |rem
the ether aad yet but eae e| ||ke |erm. Aad the Gospel Ac
cording to Thomas dec|ares Whea yeu seeyeur||keaess, yeu
re]e|ce, butwheayeuseeyeurlmageswh|chcame|ateex|steace
be|ereyeu,wh|chae|therd|eaeraremaa||ested,hewmuchw|||
yeu bear|
New we must retura tethat wh|ch |s the archetype e|the
|ad|v|dua|eschate|egy,aadwh|chwasc|ear|ydescr|bedteus|a
the |astparte|the preced|agchapter. The gure e| me Aage|
Daeaa,thece|est|a| I, asthedaughtere|8peataArma|t| , the
|em|a|aeArchaage|e|theEarthaade|eanh|yex|steace,|edus
temakeaceaaect|eathathasse|dembeeapeadered. Itbecame
c|earteusthatthe||at|eae|the ce|est|a|I|sver|ed as aad
whea maa assumesSpendarmatikih, the veryaature e| 8peata
Ama|t| ,whe|sW|sdem-8eph|a.Beacethere|at|eash|pe|maa
w|ththe Earth, dea|agh|s preseat ex|steace, was seea by us
tebe a Sophianic re|atieash|p, the |u|| actua||zat|ea e|wh|ch |s
dest|aedtecemeabeut|aameet|age|theEarthw|ththeAbede
e| Byas ( Garitman, the Iraa|aa aame e| the ce|est|a| Para-
d|se ) . Ge|agea|remthere, aet|athe h|ster|ca| d|rect|ea,but
accerd|agtethe pe|ard|meas|ea,weheard |a ah|gher ectave
e| the harmeay e| the wer|ds, the theme e| the suprace|est|a|
Earth|athe persea e|Fat|mathe Resp|eadeat, Fauma-8eph|a,
whe|sthe Eanhe|the p|eremae|the de|ty because she |s|ts
8eu| . We have s|ace|earaedmatthe ewer|age|the sp|r|tua|
bedy,wh|ch|stheawakea|agaadb|rthtethece|est|a|I,takes
p|ace|athe|erme|amed|tat|eathattraasgurestheEarth|ate
a ce|est|a| Earth, because, rec|preca||y, |t |s sa|dthat the c|ay
e|every|a|th|u|gaest|cwastakea|remtheEarth e|h|sPara-
d|se.Perhapsthea we caabeg|ate see ae |eagerea|ywhat |s
the ce|est|a| Earth, butwho |sthece|est|a| Earth.
Whatdees a|| th|s meaa |erus teday? Nothi n
g
MlMf nor |ess
14
thaathatvetyth|agtewatdwh|chweatege|ag,wh|chweshape,
each eae e| us, |a the |mage e| eut ewa suostaace. We have
heatd |t exptessed |a |aaguages oeth temete aad aeatet te us,
|a vety aac|eat aad a|se |a medeta ceatexts ( we weat |tem
Mazda|sm te 8ha|kh|smi. Vety ||ke|y, the expet|eaces e| the
Itaa|aa 8p|t|tua|s eveke |aeach e|us cempat|seas w|th cetta|a
sp|t|tua||actskaewa|temethetseutces. I weu|d||ketetem|ad
yeuhetee|thewetdsutteted|athevety|astmemeatse|h|s|||e
by the gteat mus|c|aa R|chatd 8ttauss . P||ty yeats age, he
maaagedte say,Iwteteeath aadTtaasgutat|ea ( Tod und
Verklirung) . " Thea,a|tet a pause . I was aet m|stakea. It |s
|adeedthat."93
Attheoeuadatywhetethe beuadaryceasesteba oeuadaty
aad becemes a passage, thete cemes the evetwhe|m|ag aad |t-
te|utao|e ev|deace . tea||zat|ea dees |adeed cetrespead te the
|a|th pte|essed |a the |aaermest patt e| the seu| . Oae has ea|y
tetemembetthe|astbatse|th|ssymphea|cpeem,aadeae w|||
uadetstaad the |mpett e| that tea||zat|ea in the present at the
memeat whea the ead becemes a oeg|aa|ag. a|| that was |ete-
g||mpsed, a||the sttugg|e aad sectet hepe oetae as eae |aces a
cha||eage|t |s |adeed that. The tt|umpha| se|ema|ty e| the
c|es|ag cheta|e e| Mah|et's Resuttect|ea 8ympheay. "0 my
heatt, oe||eve| aeth|agatt theu |es|ag. What |s yeuts tema|as,
yes, tema|as |etevet, a|| that was thy wa|t|ag, thy |eve, thy
sttugg|e. Oae th|ag a|eae mattets |a the a|ght |a wh|ch eut
humaa ||ves ate wtappd. that the |a|at g|eam, the ety ||ght,
may gtew wh|ch makes us ao|e te tecega|ze the Ptem|sed
Laad, the Eatthe|Botqa|ya aad |ts emeta|dc|t|es.
t r t k
\
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PART TWO
INTRODUCTION
THE TEXTS AND THEIR AUTHORS
It seems the t|ght memeat aew te |et eut 8ha|khs spak |et
themse|ves,aame|y,thesewhehavegu|dedeurreseatchaadeur
med|tat|eaeathethemee|thece|est|a|Earth,merepart|cu|ary
|aIs|am|cIraa. Th|sw|||at|astprev|detheteaderw|thamere
d|rectceatact, ae deubt tare|y ava||ab|e, s|ace there are se |ew
traas|at|eas |a th|s e|d. The t|t|es e|the beeks aad the aames
e|theauthersthatappear|athe |e||ew|agpages are st|||,w|th
twe et three except|eas, uakaewa |a the West, save te a |ew
spec|a||sts. Yet the quest|ea uadet d|scuss|ea hete |s aet, et
sheu|daetbe,apreb|em|etspec|a||sts.
Cetta|a|y we are ae |eager at the stage e| be||ev|ag that
ls|am|c theught |s tepteseatedea|yby the aames e|the ve er
s|x great ph||esephers whe were kaewate Lat|a 8che|ast|c|sm.
Buthew|eagw||||tst|||takeuat||thecu|t|vatedWestetamaa
rea|lzes the aumber e| meaumeats e| theught aad sp|r|tua|
mastetp|eces beth |a Atab|c aad |a Pers|aa wh|ch se |at are
a|mest eat|re|y uakaewa? Aad hew much |eager st||| be|ere
the tteasutee|the|ttheughteaters|atewhat |s ca||ed the cu|-
tura|c|tcu|t,where|tm|ghtbeat|ru|t|aceavetsat|eas|a|ermed
bymutua| gaedw|||aadepa, at|ast,aaappteachtetheessa-
t|a|? Bav|ag access,erc|a|m|agte have access, te textse|th|s
k|ad, aad thea wtapp|ag eaese|| |a pseude mystety aad |a a
supetietwayw|thhe|d|agaayre|eteacestethem|s s|mp|yc|es-
i n
g
the gate e| kaew|edge beh|ad eae~a ptecedure that
Suhrnwardl al ready denounced in se maay werds, ceadema|ag
it li N ll Nign of imposture.
IU
Introduction to the Texts
But|etusbec|eatabeuteaeth|ag.The|ewpagesttaas|ated
heteate]ustadtep|atheeceaa.I|at|east,bymak|ag|tkaewa
thatthese beeks ex|st, theyceu|d|asp|te a |ewpeep|ew|th the
des|tetekaewmete abeutthemaadt sette wetkthemse|ves,
they weu|d a|teady have |u|||ed a patt e| the|t eb]ect|ve. A||
the passages we have g|veaweteused asthe bas|s |etChaptet
II e|PattOaee|th|sbeek. The|e||ew|ag|a|emat|eaceaceta-
|ag the|t authets w||| he|p te g|ve the teadet a c|earet p|cture
e| the etdet e| the|t success|ea |a t|me. W|th twe et thtee ex-
cept|eas,theyateItaalaaauthets,heteweaecessar||yeetea|y
vetysummaty|a|etmat|eaabeutthem.
I.8h|habuddtaYahya8uhtawatdt,the8ha|kha|-Ishtaq~that
|s ( as we have a|teadyteca||ed) , the Mastet e|Ot|eata| The-
esephy~was beta |a 548/ 1 1 53 et 550/ 1 1 55 |a aerthwest
ltaa,at8uhtawatd|atheptev|acee|!aba| aeatAzerba|]aa.Be
d|ed a mattyt's death at A|eppe, petsecuted aad ptesecuted by
theDectetse|theLaw|a5 87 I 1 1 9 1 , atthe agee|th|tty-s|xet
th|ny-e|ght. B|s |||e's wetk a|med te testete the theeseph|ca|
w|sdeme|aac|eatPets|a |aIs|am|tse||, aadw|ththeteseutces
e|theputesp|t|tua|s|dee|Is|am.8eme|eutceatut|esbe|etethe
great Byzaat|ae Gem|stes P|ethe,8uhtawatdt's wetk ceaaected
the aames e|P|ate aade|Zarathustta ( Zeteastet i |ah|s meta-
phys|c e| L|ght, |awh|chthe P|atea|c Ideas ate |atetpteted by
meaase|theZeteastt|aaaage|e|egy.
Iah|sdectt|ae,thewetdOt|eattakeseaatecha|ca|meaa-
|ag. Iathe||teta|sease, |t|sateae aadthe samet|methe gee-
gtaph|cEast,et,meteptec|se|y,thewet|de|Itaaaadtheheur
wheathehet|zea|s||ghtedbythetese|dawa.Iathetruesease
~that |ste say, |athe sp|t|tua|sease~the Or|eat|sthe wer|d
e|the be|ags e|L|ght, |temwh|chthedawae|kaew|edge aad
ecstasyr|ses|athep||gt|me|thesp|t|t.Thete|saettueph||es-
ephywh|chdeesaetteachcemp|et|ea|aametaphys|ce|ecstasy,
aetmyst|ca|expet|eacewh|chdeesaet demaadaset|eusphl|e-
seph|ca| preparat|ea. Aad such ptec|se|y was the dawning
w|sdem e| the Khustawaa|ds, these aac|eat Iranians |a whese
aetsea the twe meaa|ags e| the wer4 "Orirnt"-Aurora con-
1 10
surgens, Ishriq-were thus ceaje|aed. Th|s Ot|eata| thees-
ephy was dest|aed te have tepteseatat|ves |a Itaa up te the
preseat day, the eat|te sp|t|tua| |||e e| Itan has bea matked
w|th|ts|mpt|at.Theauthetse|Itanate|athehab|te|tepeat|ag
that th|s Ot|eata|theesephy|ste ph||esephy what osm |s te
sche|ast|cthee|egy ( theKalam )
II. Muhytddta|ba'Atabt ( betaatMutc|a|aAada|us|a,60/
i i 6, d|ed|aamascus|a61/ i210) waseaee|thegteatest
myst|ca| v|s|eaat|es aad theeseph|sts e| a|| t|me, whese te|e |a
sp|t|tua| Is|am a detem|aaat |actet, aade|whem, w|theut ex-
aggetat|ea, eae caa ttu|y say that h|s wetk was g|gaat|c. B|s
mest ce|ebtated bak |s the Kitab al-futflit al-Makkiya ( the
Book of the Spiritual Conquests of Mecca ) , cempt|s|ag seme
1,000pagespt|atedea|atm|aquarte.But|ah|sdmteta|thes|s
( a h|stetyaadc|ass|cat|eae|thewetkse|Iba'Atabt,2 ve|s. ,
Iast|tut |taaa|s de amas, i 61 ), Osmaa Yahya hasce||ated
0t|t|es|temtheextaatmaausct|pts ( evet2,000|aaumbt i ,
each e|wh|ch hehaspetseaa||yexam|aed. I|we e||m|aate the
t|t|es e| i 1wetkse| uacerta|a authetsh|p, thete st||| tema|as
a b|b||egraphy e|1i 2t|t|es. Outptev|eus teseatchceateted ea
astudye|thesymbe|se|h|s|||ecueaade|semeptedem|aaat
themes |a h|s g|gaat|c wetk. Bete we caa ea|y bt|ey te|et te
them, a||themetese asth|sbeek,|acetta|atespcts, |sa cea-
t|auat|eae|eutstudyCreative Imagination in the $ffm of Ibn
'Arabi. The pages thatappeat|atetea ate just as te|evaat te
that studyas they ateteth|sbek.
III. aud Oayatt, beta |a Aaate||a, as h|s aame |ad|cates
(Qay,ariya = Cesarea ) , |atet sett|ed |a Ca|te aad was eae e|
thegteatu|tgtese|thee|ghthceatutye|meB|jta,hed|ed
|a 1 I /I 10. Be |s bst kaewa |et h|s exteas|ve cemmeataty
ea eae e| the beeks e| Iba 'Atabt, the Fu,a, al-likam, wh|ch
has beeathemestteadaadexpeuaded|aa|| Is|am|c |aagages.
Th|scemmeataty|ac|udessuchah|gh|ydeve|eped|ntteduct|ea
ea tbe greattbemese|asmthat|acena|a b|b||egtaph|es|t|s
considered a1 an i ndepndent wer
,
. The cemmentaty, |a |ts
1 1 1
turn, has g|vea r|se te|urtherexpes|t|ene|the theme, even |n
8ht'|te Iraa, ameag the mere receat expes|t|eas were these e|
Mtrza R|a Oumshaht ( d. I 1 I0/ I 2 at Teheran ) . B|s cea-
temperary, the ce|ebrated Av|cena|an, Abu'|-Basaa !||vah ( d.
I 1 i 1/ I ) , added anether 8ht'|tecemmentaryd|rect|yenthe
Fua. Thesetwewere||kew|secemmentaterse|thegreatwerk
e|Mu||aSadra 8hirazt ( seebe|ew, An. VI )
IV.'Abda|-Kartm!t|ter!t|ant,bern|a11I I 1, be|enged,
ash|snameshews ( Gt|aa|s a prev|ace entheseuthwest ceast
e|the Casp|an 8ea ), te a |am||ye| Iran|anaacestrybut wh|ch
had|eags|ncesett|ed|nBaghdad,||kesemaayIraa|aa|am|||es
teth|sday.Cur|eus|yeneugh, theb|egraph|ca|ce||ect|ensmake
aement|ene|h|m, aadwehavete g|eanthe|n|ermat|enabeut
h|ssp|r|tua|auteb|egraphy|remh|sewnwerks.Fremthemwe
|eara that |n a|| prebab|||ty he be|enged te me Derv|sh Order
e|theOad|rts,|eundedby'Abda|-Oad|r!t|ant ( d. I / i i ) ,
we caa deduce |rem certa|n c|ues that he was a descendant e|
the|atter. Betrave|ed|aInd|aandthen||ved|ntheYemen. B|s
mest|ameus aadw|de|y-readbeek|sh|streat|seenthePer|ect
Man ( asam|crecesmrecap|tu|at|agthed|v|necesm|cenerg|es ),
but he |e|t abeut twenty ethers, mest e| them uapub||shed,
theugha| | werthye|pub||cat|ea.B| swerkads|tsp|ace|ame
||aee|thate|Ibn'Arabt,hewreteacemmentaryenthepeau|t|-
matechapter ( the th) e|theFutu?at; nenethe|ess, h|sewa
dectr|ne shews cens|derab|e persena| er|g|aa||ty. Be d|ed |n
0/ I101, attheagee|th|rty-e|ght.
V.8hamsuddinMuhammad!t|antLaht]t,anat|vee|Lahi]aa,
came|ah|sturate sett|e enthesheres eitheCasp|an 8ea. Be
was a d|st|ngu|shed 8ha|kh e| the Derv|sh Order e| the Nur-
bakhshtya,aad|atersucceeded8ayy|dNarbakhshasheade|the
erder. Be d|ed and was bur|ed at 8h|raz |n / I1. B|s
pr|nc|pa| werk, e| wh|ch there have beea severa| ed|t|eas |a
iraa, |s a menumeata| examp|ee| Iraa|aa spi ri tuali ty. Wr|ttea
|a Pers|an, |t |s a summary e|8br|te lofhmt, in the |erm e| a
eemmeataty ea tbe Rese Gardea of the Mytr y" ( Gul11an-i
1 1 2
ra) , a|engpeeme|seme I , 00versesdea||ng|ncenc|se a||u-
s|ve sentences w|th the |e|ty dectr|nes e| usm. Th|s peem
( wh|ch, s|gn|cant|y, was adepted by the lsmar|ts ) had been
cempesed by the ce|ebrated u|t 8ha|kh |rem Azerba|]an,
Mahmud 8hab|start, whe, a|ter ||v|ng mest|y |n Tabrtz, d|ed
at the age e| th|tty-three |n 120/ i 120 and was entembed at
8hab|star. The pm, as we|| as |ts cemmentary, |s st||| very
much read |n Iran.
VI. $adruddin Mu?ammad Shirii, mere e|ten ca||ed by h|s
hener|c surname, Mu||a adra, |s ene e| the greatest Iran|an
gures e| the a|av|d per|ed. Be was the pup|| e| the |ameus
Mrramad ( mastere|theschee|thatwehaveca||edthe8chee|
e| I|ahan ) , e| 8ha|kh Baha'r, and e|Mrr F|ndar|skr, a rather
myster|euspersenagewhe,|nthet|mee|8hahAkbarandDara
8h|kuh,p|ayedsemepart|n|n|t|at|ngthetrans|at|ene|8anskr|t
texts |nte Pers|an. The werk e| Mu||a adra |s a menumenta|
express|en e| the Iran|an Rena|ssance under the a|av|ds. It
typ|ca||yrepresentsthecenuencee|Av|cenn|sm andthelshraq
e| 8uhrawardr, en the ene hand, and e| the theesephy e| Ibn
Arabr and 8hr|te gnes|s, en the ether. Bewever, a|theugh
Mu||a adra |s an lshraqr, he deve|eps a metaphys|c e| be|ng
andthe|nqu|etudee|be|ng, |nthep|acee|8uhraward'smeta-
phys|c e| essence, wh|ch g|ves a very prsena| character te h|s
synthes|s.Asaresu|te|h|swerk,he,aswe||asa||e|h|speep|e
and h|s successers, had cens|derab|e treub|e w|th the emc|a|
c|ergy. B|sce||ectedwerkscens|st e| |ty t|t|es and cever the
e|d e| ph||esephy and myst|c|sm, as we|| as e| the sp|r|tua|
exeges|s e| the Our'an and the 8hr|te trad|t|ens. 8evera| cem-
mentar|eshavebeendevetedteh|swerk,andnewadaysarena|s-
sancee|trad|t|ena|Iran|anph||esephy|stend|ngtear|seareund
h|sname. Mu||aadra d|edatBara|n I 00/I 2, ashe was
return|ng|remap||gr|mageteMecca.
VII. Mu||a'Abda|-Razzaq Lahr]r ( d. I012/I 2 ) was yet
anether nerth Iran|an ||v|ng en the sheres e| the Casp|an 8ea
and waH a di rti nguished pupil e|Mul l a adra. Heevenbecame
1 1 3
h|s master's sen-|n-|aw and rece|ved |rem h|m the pn aame
F ayyd ( everew|ng) , ]ust as h|s brether-|n-|aw, Muhs|n, re-
ce|ved the name Fay? ( evemew|ng p|en|tude ) . B|s reputat|en
andpreduct|v|tyd|dnetequa|thate|h|sbrether-|n-|aw,buthe
|e|tabeutadezense||dwerkswh|charest|||much|nuseteday,
th|s |s espec|a||y true e| h|s cemmentary en Natruddtn Tos,
the greatth|rteenth<entury8hr|teph||esepher,andthewerk|n
Pers|aneat|t|edGawhar-i murid ( The Desired J ewe I ) ,wr|tten
|er8hah'AbbasII ( i 612-61 i . Deubt|essh|sIshraqtandSu|i
bent |s |ess preneunced than that e| Muhs|n Fayz, but |a the
case e| a 8hr|te wr|ter ene must a|ways take |nte acceunt the
pess|b|||ty that he |s be|ng de||berate|y ret|cent. Mu||a Sadra
had twe sens whe were a|se ph||esephers and wr|ters. Oae e|
them,Mtrza Hasan,|e|tadezenwerks,themanuscr|ptse|wh|ch
un|ertunate|y, ||ke semanyethers, have seem|ng|y been bur|ed
|nthearcanume|semepr|vatece||ect|en.
VIII. Muhs|nFayzKashant,tegetherw|thh| sbrether-|n-|aw,
'Abd a|-Razzaq Laht]t, was ene e| themestbr||||ant pup||s e|
Mu||aadraand,a|terh|m,eaee|thegreatestlmam|tesche|ars
dur|ngmee|eventhcenturye|theB|]ra.Bewasbern|nKashan,
where h|s |ather, Mu||a 8hah Munaza, was a|ready |amed |er
h|s|eam|ngandh|sva|uab|epersena|||brary.Becamete8h|raz,
where he stud|ed w|th the ce|ebrated thee|eg|an 8ayy|d Ma]|d
e|Bahre|n andthenw|thMu||aadra,ene e|whesedaughters
he,tee,marr|ed.Bewasaph||esepherandao|t,deep|y8hr|te,
andagreatadm|rere|Ibn'Arabt.Bewreteagreatmanywerks,
there are seme i20t|t|es|nh|sb|b||egraphy,|nPers|aa aswe||
as|nArab|c,dea||ngw|ma||thetrad|t|ena|branchese|Is|am|c
sc|ence. Be was a|se a peet, h|s Diwin centa|ns seme theusaad
verses. Bed|edatKashan |n i0 i / i 60.
IX. The 8ha|kht schee| ewes |ts name and|ts er|g|a te |ts
|eunder, 8ha|kh Ahmad Ahsa, |ts greatest 8ha|kh. We bave
a|readyhadeccas|eatepe|nteut that |t|stbes|gae|apewer|a|
rev|va| e|pr|m|t|ve 8hr|te gnes|s aad e| the teachi ng centa|aed
in trad|t|eastbat g bacstetbeHe| yI mnm1. Thil eveat,whi ch
1 1 4
came te pass |nIran at the end e|the e|ghteenth century, a|ter
the t|me e| treub|es that |e||ewed the ce||apse e| the Sa|av|d
dynasty,wassymptemat|c. Wesha||studyth|sschee| at|ength
ata|aterdateandsemere|ya||udete|there,emphas|z|ngthree
pr|nc|pa|pe|nts.
A g||mpse e| the bas|c dectr|ne e| lmame|egy deve|eped by
th|s schee| was shewn |n a |ew pages abve ( PartOne, Ch. u,
i i ) . Aste |tsdatr|nee|thesp|r|tua|bedy,|t has been d|s-
cussed at |ength |n Ch. n, i 1. 8t||||urtheren there are seme
s|gn|cantpamspe|nt|ngeut hewthedatr|ne standsha||way
between that e| the ph||esephers and that e| the ||tera||st|c
thee|eg|ans. Let us a|se nete, theugh we have ben unab|e te
stress |t here, hew |mpenant |t was |n deve|ep|ng ene e| the
greatthemesupenwh|chthe8p|r|tua|se|Is|am t|re|ess|ymed|-
tated~name|y,theascente|thePrephetteBeaven,then|ghte|
the Mi'rij. Last|y, the schee| has deve|eped a datr|ne e| the
sp|r|tua| cemmun|ty, thate|the Per|ect 8hr|tes,|nwh|ch we
can perce|ve~| ceurse, |n accerd w|th the ex|genc|es e| the
tena||ty preper te lmam|sm~a resenance net en|y e| the So|r
met||e|therijal al-ghayb, theMene|theInv|s|b|e,bute|the
|deae|anEcclesia Spiritualis, upenwh|chsemany|ndependent
8p|r|tua|s |nChr|st|an|tyhavemed|tated.The||tera||st|cOrthe-
dexhave sbewn abse|ute|y neunderstand|nge| a|| thesepe|nts,
amengmany ethers. I|ene |e||ews the sad sterye|d|scuss|ens
and b|cker|ngs, ene may we|| wender whether the Orthedex
made,erevenceu|dmake,thes||ghtesteente understandthe
true naturee|thesepreb|ems.Oneweu|dhavete beveryna|ve
te be surpr|sed by |t. The same sp|r|tua| |acts have a|ways
areused the same human react|ens.
8ha|khAhmadAhsa't( d. i21i /i 26 ) , |eundera|theschee| ,
wash|mse||anat|vee|Bahre|n,butmerethan|teenyearse|h|s
|||ewerespent|nIran,and|t|sprebab|ethatw|theutanIran|an
aud|ence there weu|d have been ne 8ha|kh|sm. The 8ha|kh
res|dedpr|ac|pa||y|nYazd,whereheen]eyedthe|r|end|ymed
w||| e| the geverner, Muh. 'A|r Mtrza, sen e| Fath-'A|t 8hah.
W|tb b|s |am||yheteeksevera| tr|ps acressthe terr|terye|Iran
to Tt hel'nn ( wberethesevere|ga,Fath-'A|r8hahOa]ar,w|shed
1 1 5
h|m te sett|e permaaeat|y i, te Mashhad, the saactuary e| the
E|ghth Imam, te I|ahaa, te Oazvia, aad te K|rmaashah. At
|ast the Sha|kh w|thdrew te the Shr|te he|y p|aces |a Iraq. It
w||| aetbe pess|b|ehereteeaumeratethe teta||tye|h|s werks
( the b|b||egraphy estab||shed by 8ha|kh Sarkar Agha ceata|as
I12t|t|es,tewh|ch, a|as,mustbeaddedmaaywerkswh|chua-
|ertuaate|yhavebeea|est i,erteg|veab|egraph|ca|sketch,|er
wh|ch rsthaad decumeats are ava||ab|e. But what we weu|d
||ke at |east te suggest |s me sp|r|tua| aura that casts a ha|e
areuad the tru|y very spec|a| persea e| Sha|kh Ahmad Ahsa'i.
Aad|twash|s geed|ertuaete have a ||aee| successers atthe
heade|the8ha|khtschee|wheseaeb|||tye|characteraad|erce
e|sp|r|tua|perseaa||tywere as adm|rab|e aswasthe|rsc|eat|c
preduct|v|ty.
X. 8ha|khBa]]MuhammadKarimKhaaK|rmaai ( d. I2/
I 10 i was the secead | asuccess|ea t e8ha|kh Ahmad Ahsa'i
attheheade|the8ha|khischee| .Muh.KartmKhaawasapup||
e| 8ayy|dKa|m Rashti, whe had beea the be|eved d|sc|p|e e|
the 8ha|kh aad the rst e| h|s successers ( d. I2/ I 11 i .
Threugh h|s |ather, Karim Khaa was a pr|ace e| the Oa]ar
|am||y.Te reca|| semedayh|s sp|r|tua|careerweu|d requ|re aa
eat|re beek. Ia the breadth e| th|s ua|versa| sp|r|t, wh|ch em-
braces aad eutstr|psthe eat|re sp|r|tua|cu|turee|h|s c|rc|eaad
h|s epech,there|s semeth|age| aa Iraa|aa Geethe. B|s werk,
beth |a Pers|aa aad |a Arab|c, teta|s ae|ess thaa 21beeks, |t
cevers aet ea|y the e|d e| ph||esephy aad Shi|te theesephy,
thesp|r|tua|hermeaeut|cse|theOur'aaaadtheladith, buta|se
aaeacyc|epe1|ae|mesc|eaces . med|c|ae,phys|cs,ept|cs, astrea-
emy, theerye|||ght,e|mus|c, e|ce|er, |ac|u1|aga|chemy aa1
re|ated sc|eaces. The |ew pagesthatwe have traas|ated sheu|1
sumceteshewthatthe|atteresseat|a||ydea|tw|th sp|r|tua| sc|-
eaces. Much e| th|stremeadeuswerk |s st||| uapub||shed. The
same|struee|theequa||yexteas|vewerke|h|stweseas,Sha|kh
lajj Muhammad Khaa K|rmaai ( 1. I12+/ I 0 i aad 8ha|kh
Zayaa|-Ab|1iaKhaaK|rmaai ( 1. 1 36 1 / 1 94 2 ) , who werethe
thi rd aad |eurth successers e| 8aa| s| Al,muul . ThuN, the very
J W
er|g|aa| preduct|ea e| the 8ha|khi schee| , bes|des pub||shed
werks,st|||cempr|sestease|theusaadse|sheetse|uapub||shed
maauscr|pts.
XI. 8ha|khAbu'|-Oas|mKhaaIbrahtmtwasbera|aK|maa
|a i 1 i1/ i 6, theseae|8ha|khZayaa|-Ab|dtaKhaaaadthe
gtaadsea e| 8ha|kh Mu. Kartm Khaa. B|s peep|e ca|| h|m
|er shen aad w|th aect|eaate respct by the heaer|c t|t|e
8arkarAgha. Tedayhe|sthe|thsuccessete| 8ha|kh Amad
Asa'iteheadthe8ha|khtschee| . B|swerks,themse|ves|mper-
taat, |ac|ude a vast werk that expaads certa|a d|mcu|t themes
|a
,
hewerke|8ha|khMu. KarrmKhaaK|maat. Thec|es|ag
pams e| th|s beek are cempesed e| extracts |rem th|s werk,
they are the mest su|tab|e |er shew|ag the p|ace e| the theme
uadet d|scuss|ea here |athe teta||ty e| 8hr|te sp|r|tua||ty. Aad
|t|sch|eyeath|sscerethatIweu|d||kete paytr|bute tethe
eutstaad|agprseaa||tye|8ha|kh8arkarAgha.Ihavehadecca-
s|ea, prseaa||y, te exper|eace h|s sp|r|tua| tad|at|ea ea these
areuadh|maadte|earath|agswh|chIweu|daeverhave|earaed
|rembeeks|atheceursee|the maayceaversat|easthatbyh|s
k|adaesshehasmadepess|b|e.
8uch are the mea |rem whem we have takea eut che|ce e|
ttad|t|eaa| texts. We are emp|
y|ag m|s term here just as

s|mp|y as they de themse|ves, aet |a aay way |mp|y|ag seme
sectet aad vague auther|ty te teach, wh|ch Westeraers are apt
teassumewheatheyd|scuss these matters. Its|mp|y meaasthe
textstewh|cheae trad|t|eaa||yre|erswheahav|agtedea| w|th
atheme||kethepreseateae.
F|aa||y,eutauthersturaeuttebee|evea|aaumbt,a|theugh
th|s was aet by |ateat|ea ea eur part. It |s ptebab|e, hewever,
that aeTwe|ver 8hr|te w||| acceptth|s asthetesu|te|chaace,
because he w||| kaewthewhereabeutse|thetwe||th eae.
) ) 7
I
SHI HABUDDi N Y AHYA SUHRA W ARDI
( d.1
/
I I i )
Hurqalya, the World of Autonomous Images and
Imaginative Perception
( a i BooK O F Co N V E R S ATI O N s ,
When yeu|eatn |remthe wr|t|ngs e|the anc|eatSagesthat
there ex|sts a wer|d pessessed e| d|meas|ens and exteat, ether
thaathep|eremae|Inte|||mncesaadthewer|dgeveraedbythe
Seu|se|theSpheres,aadthat|a|ttherearec|t|esbeyeadaum-
ber ameagwh|ch the Prephet h|mse|| meat|ened !aba|qa aad
!abar,deaethasteateprec|a|m|ta||e,|ettherearep||gr|ms
e|thesp|r|twhecemetesee|tw|ththe|tewneyesand|a|tad
the|r heart's des|re. As |er the tabb|e e| |mpesters and |a|se
pr|ests, they w||| deay what yeu have seen evea || yeu br|ag
pree| te expese the|r ||e. There|ere, rema|n s||eat and have
pat|eace, |er || yeu ceme eveatua||y te eut Book of Oriental
Thesophy, aedeubtyeuw|||uaderstandsemeth|age|whathas
]ustbeensa|d,prev|dedyeur|a|t|aterg|vesyeug|daace.I|aet,
b a be||ever|n w|sdem.
( b i BooK OF EL U C I DATI O N s t
A aarrat|ve aad a dream Fer seme t|me I was prey te aa
|ateaseebsess|ea.Icease|ess|ypract|cedmed|tat|eaaadsp|r|tua|
exerc|ses, s|ace the preb|em e| knew|edge assa||ed me w|th
|ase|ub|e d|mcu|t|es. What they say abeut |t |n beeks breught
me ae ||ght. Oaeae part|cu|ar a|ght I exper|eaced a dream||ke
ecstasy. Suddea|y I was wrapped |a geat|eaess, there was a
Our editioD, p. 109, in the notes; quoted here nnorc l l ng to the manu
script.
t P. 70, par. 55.
I I H
Shihibuddin Y a/ya Suhrawardi
b||ad|agash,thea averyd|aphaaeus||ght |nthe||keaesse|a
humaa be|ag. I watched atteat|ve|y and there he was Be|per
e|seu|s,Imame|w|sdem, Primus Magister, whese|erm||ed
mew|thweaderaadwhesesh|a|agbeautydazz|edme.Became
tewardme, greet|agme se k|ad|ythatmybew||dermeat|aded
aadmy a|am gave wayte a |ee||age||am|||ar|ty. Aadthea I
begaatecemp|a|ateh|me|thetreub|eI hadw|thth|spreb|em
e| kaew|edge.
''Ceme back (awakea i teyeurse||,"he sa|d teme, aad yeur
preb|em w||| b se|ved."
Bew se?"I asked.
Isthekaew|edgewh|chyeuhavee|yeurse||ad|rectpercep-
t|ea e| yeurse|| by yeurse||, er de yeu get |t |rem semeth|ag
e|se?. . . "1
Later, Suhrawardl himself alluded to the meaning of this con
versation in his Book of Conversations, pp. 483-84, par. 208.
As|erthev|ewI perseaa||ypre|ess cencern|agth|s preb|em
( e| kaew|edge i , |t |s meat|ened |n my beek en the 'Or|enta|
theesephy, but |t |s net pss|b|e |er me te dwe|| upen |t here
exp||c|t|y, s|ace|ath|sbeekI|ateadedteceaductmyeaqu|ry|a
suchawaythat|tweu|daetbetee|ar|remthepregrame|the
Per|patet|cs.Neverthe|ess,||eaeweretestudyth|spreseatbeek
care|u||y,eaeweu|d adthat|t|saetdeve|de|prec|eus th|ag
aadtreasuresh|ddeauaderath|ave||. I|theha||-w|t |s uaab|e
te d|scever them, the |au|t |s net m|ae. As |er the pers|steat
werker aad prsever|ag seeket, |et h|m gather the teach|ags
wh|ch are rm|y estab||shed|ath|s beek, |et h|m se|ze he|d e|
that|erwh|chhehadnetyetdaredtew|shaad|erwh|chIw|||
have prev|dedh|m w|ththe necessarydar|ng. The surestway
|ertheseekerte|e||ewbe|etestudy|agmyOriental Theosophy
|sthewayImeat|eaed|nmyBook of Elucidations. There|aI re-
|ate what camete pass betweea the w|se Imam e| the d|a|ect|-
c|aas aad myse||, when h|s appar|t|en ta|ked w|th me |n the
myst|ca| dwe|||ag-p|ace, !abara. Fet the seeket, th|s waycen-
s|sts frst e| a|| |a |avest|gat|ag||s kaew|edge e| h|mse||, aad
1 1 9
Article I
thea |a ta|s|agh|mse||tethekaew|edgee|that wh|ch |s abeve
h|m.
( c i BooK O F EL U C I DATI O N s
Oaa certa|a a|ght whea there was sua||ght, Bermes was at
prayets |a the temp|e e| L|ght. Whea the ce|uma e| dawa
b|azed|erth, he saw aa Earth abeutte be eagu||ed, w|th c|t|es
upeawh|chthe d|v|neaagethaddesceadedandwh|ch |e|| |ate
theabyss.
Thea Betmes sheuted, Yeu whe are my |ather, rescue me
|remtheeac|esuree|thesenearteperd|t|ea|
Aadhehearda ve|ce sheut|agaaaaswer, ''Take he|de|the
cab|e e| eur lrra1|at|ea aadc||mb up te the battlements e|the
Threae.
Theahec||mbedupaadthere,beaeathh|s|eet,wasaaEarth
aad Beaveas.
Shahraziri: ByHERMES, the auther |s sybe||ca||y re|er-
r|agtethe aeb|e aad per|ect seu| . B|s prayer |s h|s er|eatat|ea
teward the ethet wer|d. The a|ght e|the sua |s the Preseace,
thereaadtheaatea||ty,e|thattewh|chthe8eu||eeks|erward
|a|tssp|t|tua|eettsaad|a|e||ewiagthemyst|cpath.Theburst-
|ag |erth e|the ce|uma e|dawn |s the ep|phaay e| the seu|
euts|de the mater|a| bedy, whea the d|v|ae ||ghts aad mest
sacred ames suddea|y ceme upea |t. !ust as the ce|uma e|
dawa r|ses |et us abeve the eatth|y her|zea, se th|s ce|uma e|
dawaIre|ettetheth|ak|ngseu|bursts|erthbyr|s|agabeve
the Earth e| the bedy. 8e |t |s qu|te ttue that Bemes sees aa
Earth be|ag swa||ewed up. The p||gr|m, that |s, the th|ak|ag
seu| , wh|ch, |athe ||ghta|agash e| theephaay, |s maa||este1
euts|de the mater|a| bedy, sees the Eatth e| h|s bedy aa1 h|s
c|t|esthat|sh|s|acu|t|es~be|agswa||eweduptegether.Th|s
|s because,thaakstethereve|at|ea aadep|phaay,the seu| a1s
|tse|| |a thespace e| the |ate|||g|b|e ||ghts aa1 h|gher eat|tles,
whereas the be1y aad |ts |acu|t|es rema|a i n the space e|the
|ewer wer|1 aoea wh|ch the 1|vlae angtr |a| | s. n, i s is a way
1'. IH, pnr. H!.
1 20
Shihabuddin r alya Suhrawardi
e|pe|at|ageutthatme|atterrepreseatwhat|s|urthesttemeved
|remthed|v|ae Ma]esty. Theathemyst|ca| p||gr|m,r|s|ag|rem
the abyss e|the mater|a| bedy teward the zea|th e|the Iate|||-
geace, ca||s ea h|s |athet, a aame wh|ch te|ers e|therte the
NecessaryBe|ag|tse||erte the atchaage||ca| Iate|||geace |rem
wh|ch the seu| e| the myst|c emaaates. 8ave me, he cr|es,
|remtheeac|esuree|theseaeatteperd|t|ea,that|s,thebed||y
|acu|t|esaadmater|a| attachmeats. Ave|ceaaswersh|m,Take
he|d e|the cab|e e| Irrad|at|ea,that |s, spcu|at|ve theesephy
aad pract|ca| theesephy, beth e| wh|ch |ead te the h|gher
wer|ds. C||mbuptethebatt|emeatse|theThreae,teme aa-
ge||c Iate|||geaces separated |rem matter. Aad there beaeath
h|s |eet there was aa Eatth aad Beaveas. Aad se Bermes was
|adeed ta|sed abve a|| the matet|a| ua|verses, abeve the wer|d
e|thece|est|a| 8pheres as we|| as abeve the wer|d e| the E|e-
meats. Newthe aac|eat8ages were |athehab|te|re|err|agte
the sp|r|tua| eat|t|es as 8pheres, because these whese ||ght |s
streaget eacempass the weaker, ]ust as the ce|est|a| 8phetes
eacempasseachethet.Th|s|swhatP|atere|erstewheahesays,
Ia a state e| ecstasy I saw 8pheres e| ||ght, wh|ch meaas
Beaveaswh|chcaabeseeaea|ybythesewheareta|sed|temthe
dead,wheaaaethetEatthtakesthep|acee|theEatthaadwhea
aewBeaveastakethep|acee|theBeaveas.
Ibn Kammina: It |s d|mcu|t t dec|phet these symbe|s |a
ceajuact|ea.Ourcea]ectute|sas|e||ews Thece|umae|dawa
break|ag|etth|stheep|phaaye|the||ghtse|h|ghetkaew|edge.
Teeatth |sthe bedy, ete|semattet|a geaera|. Tec|t|es are
theseu|swh|chhavebcemeattachedtemater|a|bed|es,ete|se
the |acu|t|eswh|chhavethe|tseat |athe|attet. Itseems,there-
|ere,thattheauther|scempar|agthe|acu|t|estethe|ahab|taats
e|thesec|t|esaad|sca|||agthe|ahab|taatsthemse|vesc|t|es,as
wheahesays, ''Thec|tyhasseughtte|ugew|thGed,meaa|ag
theteby the |ahab|taats. The|t|a|||atetheabyss |sthe |a|| e|
theseseu|s|remthetaaktewh|chthepr|ac|p|ee|the|ter|g|aa|
aatute weu|d have eat|t|ed them. Yeu kaew a|teady the cea-
t|ea aad me cause e|th|s dewa|a||. The eac|esute |s the bedy,
tho!c close te perd|t|ea are the bad||y |uact|eas. The cab|e e|
1 21
Article I
Irrad|at|ea |sthe ceaaect|ea w|th theh|gherwer|d. The batt|e-
meats e|the Threae are the sp|r|tua| eat|t|es. F|aa||y, me |act
that uader the |eet e| Bermes there |s aa Earth aad Beaveas
meaasthat|ah|sasceathehasaew|e|tthewer|de|bed|esaad
mater|a| rea||t|es aad |s abeve the|r Earth as we|| as the|r
Beaveas.
Ibn Kammina, like Shahrazirl before him, proceeds here to
allude to the celebrated account of ecstasy which all of our
authors attribute to Plato, whereas, as we know, it comes from
a spiritual autobiography in the Enneads of Plotinus ( I v. 8. 1 ) .
Our authors know it through a passage from the Theology
attributed to Aristotle, which was one of their, so t spea, "bed
side books." Suhrawardi quotes the frst lines in his Oriental
Theosophy, and his commentator, Qutbuddln Shirai, zealously
transcribes the entire passage. Our commentators do not ques
tion-and they are absolutely right-that the ecstasy of Heres
means his entry into the interworld, that is, the world of
Huralyi. In support of this, Ibn Kammina cites the same three
passages translated above. Heres emerged from the confnes of
the Earth and of the Heavens visible t astronomy and pene
trated into the world of archetype-Images which has its own
Earth and Heavens, and which contains, among countless other
cities, Jabalqi and JibaJ1i. Ibn Kammina concludes a fol
lows: "The real intention of te author in this pasage raises
more difculties for me than everything which came earlier in
this chapter." Sharazirl did not experience these difculties;
but it is true that Ibn Kammina was not a mystic.
Since the account of ecstay as it appears in the Arabic text
of the Theology attributed to Aristotle was a paraphrase of te
text of the Enneads, we are not giving the translation here.
Furtherore, this new Eart and these new Heavens, no longer
those of the sensory world, but those of the imaginative universe,
the mundus archetypus, are again described in the passage
from te Theology most often used by adruddln Shirazi (cf. be
low, Art. VI ) in his lessons on Book II of the second part of the
Oriental Theosophy. This text in itelf is j ustifcation for re
lating the image of the Heavens or Spheres of light t the spirit
ual entities which Plato, according to our authors, had seen.
Here we quote the translation of this passage by our colleague
Georges Vajda. 8
There are severa| k|ads e| sp|r|tua| enti ti eR. 8eme e| them
bavethe| rdwe|| |agp|ace|atbeheaven Hi tulltd nhove the starry
1 22
Shihabuddin Y aiya Suhrawardi
sky. Each e|the sp|r|tua| ent|t|es||v|ng|n th|s heaven eccup|es
thewhe|ee|thespheree|h|sheaven,andyethasaxedp|ace,
d|st|act|remthate|h|scempan|en~|acentrasttethecerperea|
th|agswh|ch are|nthesky~|ertheyarenetbed|es,ner|sthe
heavea |aquest|en a bedy. That |swhy each e|them eccup|es
the whe|e e| h|s heaven. We say mat beh|nd th|s wer|d there
|s a heaven,an earth, a sea,an|ma|s,p|ants, andce|est|a| mea,
everybe|ng|nthatwer|d|sce|est|a|and|n|tthere|sneeanh|y
th|ag. The sp|r|tua| ent|t|es wh|ch are therecerrespeadte the
humaa be|agswherethere,nenee|them|sd|erent|reman-
ether,andthere|sneeppes|t|ennerd|sagreementbetweenthem,
but each supperts the ather.
( d ) Boo K O F CON VERS ATI O N s "
The eaceuater w|th suprasensery rea||ty caa ceme abeut
threugh a certa|n way e| read|ag a wr|tten text, |t can ceme
abeut |rem hear|ng a ve|ce, w|theut the spaker be|ng v|s|b|e.
8emet|mesthe ve|ce |s se|t, semet|mes |tmakes enetremb|e, at
ethert|mes|t|s||kea gent|emumur.Itmaybematthespeaker
makesh|mse||v|s|b|e |nseme|em,e|therasa censte||at|en, er
|a the ||keaess e| ene e|the supremece|est|a| pr|nces. The ex-
per|eacee|autheat|craptures|athewet|de|Borqa|yadepends
eathemagn|ceatpr|ace,Borakhsh,themestsub||mee|these
whehaveassumedabdy,thegreat|yveneratedenewhe, |nthe
term|ae|egy e|the Or|enta| theesephy, |s the 8upreme Face e|
Ged. It |shewhesusta|nsthemed|tat|ene|the seu| by |av|sh-
|ag||ghtupen|t,andhe|sw|tnesse||tscentemp|at|en. There
are a|se v|s|tat|ens and cemmun|cat|ens |rem ether ce|est|a|
pr|aces. 8emet|mes the v|s|tat|en cens|sts e| the man||estat|en
e|certa|ne|thesece|est|a| pr|nces|nep|phan|c|ermserp|aces
apprepr|ate te the mement when they shew themse|ves te the
per|ected rec|use. 8emet|mes |t |s the seu|s e| the past wh|ch
|nduce anawaken|ngatan|nnetca||.8emet|mesthe appar|t|en
takes en human |erm, ethet t|mes the |em e| a censte||at|an,
Pp. 494-96, pars. 215-26.
1 23
Article I
et aga|athat e|awetk e| art, a statue utter|agwetds, et e|se
agureresemb||agthe|keasseea|achurches, ||kew|seeadewed
w|th speech. Semet|mes the Maa||estat|ea takes |em |mmed|-
ate|y a|tet the sheck e|the eataptut|ag||ght, at ether t|mes |t
cemesea|ya|tetthe|etme|||ght.Wheatheb|az|ag||ght|asts
|eag, |teb||tetatesthe|erm,the gutes aretakeaawayaadthe
|ad|v|dua| v|s|tat|ea |s eaced. At that pe|at eae uaderstaads
that what |s eaced |s g|v|agwayte semem|age| ah|ghet er-
det. . . .
Wedeayther|ghttethePet|patet|cstespeakabeutthe|etms
aad tea||t|es wh|ch beceme v|s|b|e te the v|s|eaaty ceatemp|a-
t|ves, |et what |s |a quest|ea |s a path wh|ch scatce|y aay e|
themhas|e||ewedaadevea|athesevery|ewcasesthemyst|ca|
exper|eace rema|aed weak aad ptecar|eus. The |e||ewet e| the
myst|ca|pathwhehastece|vedh|s|a|t|at|ea|remamastetw|th
theeseph|ca| expet|eace, erthaaks te the spec|a| d|v|ae ass|st-
aacewh|ch gu|desthese||tatyex||e~the |attetcase be|agvery
tate~w||| |u||y uadetstaad that the Per|patet|cs have eat|te|y
evet|eeked twe sub||me ua|vetses wh|ch aevet gute |a the|t
d|scuss|eas, aad that there ate a aumbet e| ethet th|ags that
tema|abeyeadthescepee|the|rph||esephy.
( e i FROM THE S AME WORK"
. .I ashert,thetheeseph|stwhehasttu|yatta|aedtemyst|-
ca| expet|eace |s eaewhesematet|a| bedy becemes ||ke a tua|c
wh|ch he samet|mes casts e aad at ethet t|mes puts ea. - Ne
maa caa be aumbeted ameagthe myst|ca| theeseph|sts se |eag
as he has ae kaew|edge e| the mest he|y |eavea e| myst|ca|
w|sdem, aadse |eag as he has aet expet|eacedth|s cast|age
aad th|s putt|ag ea. Ftem that pe|at, he asceads tewatd the
L|ght atw||| , aad, |||tp|eases h|m, he caa maa||est h|mse|| |a
whatevet |erm he cheeses. Th|s pewet |s pteduced |a h|m by
the autera| L|ght ( nur sharq ) wh|ch |nad|ates h|s persea. De
yeu aet see hew |t |s whea re causes |rea te beceme red het,
that the |rea takes ea the appearaace e| fre; it |rtad|ates aa1
. Pp. 503-505, pnrs. !!3-!4.
1 24
Shihibuddin r ahya Suirawardi
|ga|tes? The same he|ds true |er the seu| whese substaace |s
that e| the sp|r|tua| wer|d. Whea |t has uadergeae the act|ea
e|||ghtaadputeatherebee|aurera| L|ght,|t tee |s ab|e te
|aueace aad te act, |tmakes a s|ga aad the s|ga |s ebyed, |t
|mag|aes aad what |t |mag|aes cemes te pass accerd|ag|y. Im-
pesters begu||e us w|th tr|ckery, but the ea||ghteaed maa, the
mr|ected maa, themaa|a|eve w|th harmeay, |s |mmuae |rem
ev|| aad scts threugh theeaergyaadw|ththehe|pe|theL|ght
becauseheh|mse|||sthech||de|thewer|de|L|ght.
.I| that wh|ch predem|aates |a the esseat|a| substaace e| the
seu| |s the res victoria/is ( al-amr al-qahri ) , thea the L|ght e|
dawar|seseatheseu||asuchawaythatthatparte|thev|cter|a|
rea||t|es emaaat|ag|remtheceaste||at|eas aad|remthe Aage|s
whe are the|r theurg|es, predem|aate |a |t. Th|s |s the supra-
seasery rea||ty wh|ch the aac|eat Pers|aas ca||ed X varnah
( L|ght e| G|ery, Khurrah |a Pers|aa i . Th|s |s semeth|ag
wh|ch, hav|ag ar|sea |rem astra| |acaadesceace, rema|as as a
dem|aat|ag |erce |a the humaa wer|d, he whe |s |avested
w|th |t becemes a here, a ceaquerer, a v|cter. I| the L|ght e|
dawa ar|s
-
g |rem the spiritual stars"pure sp|r|tua| eat|t|es
e|||ght~errespeadstethecapac|tye|theseu||aad|meas|ea
e| des|re aad |eve, thea what rema|as e| the X varnah wh|ch
paetrates |t w|||bmaa||estedbycaus|ag|u pessessertetake
jey |a subt|e aadreaedth|ags, by awakea|ag|a seu|s |ac||aa-
t|ea aad|eveteward h|m, by br|ag|agmea te s|agh|s pra|ses,
|er the sp|eader cemmua|cated te h|s be|ag der|ves |rem the
Aage|saadthe|rbeaeceattheurg|es,werthye|g|er|cat|eaaad
e||eve. F|aa||y, ||there |s ba|aace aad ||the qua||t|es e| ||ght
rece|ved |rem a sub||me|um|aary threugh the |atermed|ary e|
the ce|est|a| pr|ace are superabuadaat |a h|m, thea he w|||
bcemeamaga|ceatk|ag,surreuadedbyrespct,|averedw|th
kaew|edge, per|ect|ea,aadpresper|ty.Aadthata|eae|swhat|s
ca||ed the royal X varnh ( Kayan Khurrah ) . Ia |ts p|ea|tude
th|sre|erstethemestma]est|ce|categer|es,|er|t|mp||esaper-
|ectba|aacee|||ght,bes|desthe|actthatthesub||meLum|aary
|sthegatewaytea||thegreaterecstas|es.
As |atthe |acte|wa|k|ageawater, g||1|agthreughthe a|r,
1 25
Article I
reach|ngHeaven, see|ng the Earm re|| up ||ke a carpet, these
areexper|encesknewnteacerta|nnumbere|myst|cs,prev|ded
thatthe L|ght wh|ch reaches them|screatedbythe ce|umn e|
dawn |n thec|t|ese|the |ntemed|ate Or|ent. Te be sure, a||
th|scanbemetw|thentheway|e||ewedbythemyst|cs.These
amengthemwhearest|||en|ymederate|yadvancedstepatthat
pa|nt, but the per|ected enes attach ne |mpertance te |t. At a||
evenu, weknew neene |nthe sect e|the Per|patet|cswhehas
everhada se||d|eundat|en |n theosophical w|sdem, I mean, |n
thesc|encee|thepureL|ghts.
( | ) BooK O F OR I E N TAL THE OS OP HY ,
In this, the last part of his great work, Suhrawarl has just
given an analytical description of how te mystics experience
light or photisms. Tese photisms can be classi
f
ed experientially
in some ffteen categories. Te autor ends his analysis wit
some obserations which complete the passage just translated.
As in oter passages in the same book, we have added to it
indispensable additional material from the commentator Qutb
uddln Malmid Shirai.
A|| these are |||um|nat|ens (ishriqit ) wh|ch r|se ever the
human seu| when |t |s master e| |ts bedy. Then they are r
ectedenthebed||yhab|tat|en ( thetemp|e ). Thesephet|sms
mark a ha||-way stage at wh|ch seme step. Semet|mes these
L|ghtscarrythem, |nsuchawaythattheywa|k enthe waters
andg||dethreughthe a|r.ItmaybthattheyascendteHeaven,
but |n a bedy wh|ch |s the|r subt|e bedy, thea they beceme
ua|ted w|th cena|n e|the ce|est|a| pr|nces. But a|| such events
ar dependent en the cend|t|ens e|the Eighth Climate w|th |ts
c|t|es,!aba|qa,!abara, and Butqa|ya,u|| e|wenders.
Qu,buddfn Ma?mid Shirif : The Eighth Climate |s the
mundus archetypus ( 'ilam al-mithil ) , the wer|d e| Imams aad
archetypa| Fems. Actua||y, the ea|y un|verse that pessesses
d|mens|ens and extent |s the ene that |s 1|v|ded |nte eight
c||mates.Seven e|themarethesevengeegraph|ca|c||matesw|th
1|meas|eas aa1exteat wh|ch are percc! pt i hl e ta t|e seases. The
P. 2.4, par. 17:.
1 2fi
Shihibuddin Y aiyi Suhrawardi
e|ghth c||mate|stheene whese d|mens|ens and exteat can en|y
b graspedbythe |mag|aat|ve prcept|ea. Th|s |s the wer|d e|
autenemeusImages andFems ( ||t."in suspension," that|s, net
m|xed w|th any cerrupt|b|e substratum, but |n suspense |n the
waythataaImage|ssuspended |aam|rrer ) . Th|s|sthewer|d
e| the subt|e bed|es, wh|ch a|ene are ab|e te r|se te heaven,
whereasmater|a|bed|es, madee|thesubstancee|theE|ements,
are |undamenta||y |ncapab|e e| th|s. Th|s |s what acurs te
certa|ne|themyst|cs, meste|theasten|sh|ngandextraerd|nary
th|ngswh|ch areman||ested|athecasee|thePrephetsandthe
In|t|ates resu|t |rem the|r reach|ngand enter|agthat wer|1, e|
wh|chtheyknewtheep|phan|c|ermsandcharacter|st|c prepr-
t|es.As|er!aba|qa,!abara,andBurqa|ya, thesearethenames
e| c|t|es ex|st|ng |n the wer|d e| archetypa| Images and the
Prepheth|mse||washeardtepreneuncethese names. Bewever,
a1|st|nct|enmustbmadebetween!aba|qaan1!abara,wh|ch
are twe c|t|es be|eng|ng te the wer|1 e| the Elements e| the
wer|d e| the anhetypa| Images, whereas Ba rqa|ya, ||es |n the
Beavense|thatsamewer|d.
( g ) FROM T HE S AME WORK

We have taught yeu that |t |s |mpess|b|e |er |mages te b
mater|a||y |mpr|nted upa the eye, just as |t |s |mpess|b|e |er
them te be |mpr|nted ea seme p|ace |n the bra|n. The truth |s
that|erms seea |nm|rrers, just ||ke |mag|nat|ve |ems, are aet
|mpr|ntedmater|a||y,e|thereathem|rrerereathe|mag|nat|en.
Ne, they arebd|es |a suspens|en,- net depnd|ngen a sub-
stratum ( w|thwh|chtheyweu|dthenbem|xed,justasthece|er
b|ack, |er examp|e, |s m|xed w|th a b|ack ebject ) . They cer-
ta|n|yhavep|aceswheretheyappear,ep|phan|cp|aces(mahir),
but they are net mater|a||y centa|ned |n them. Certa|n|y the
m|rrer|sthe p|ace e|theappar|t|ene||erms seen |n|t, butthe
|ennsthemse|vesare|nsuspens|enthere,theretheyarene|ther
||ke mater|a| th|ngs |n a p|ace |a space, aer||ke an acc|dent |n
|ts substratum. Certa|n|y the act|ve |mag|nat|en |s the p|ace e|
1'. S l l , par. 225.
1 27
Article I
appat|t|ea e| |mag|aat|ve |ems, but the |erms themse|ves are
|n suspense"; they ate ae|thetin th|s p|ace, aetin the substra-
tum. New |||a the case e|m|rters we accept the ex|steace e|
aa auteaemeus |mam, evea theugh |t |s ea|y en the sur|ace,
w|theut depth er aayth|agback e| |t, aad evea theugh that e|
wh|ch|t|sthe|mage|saaacc|deat ( |etexamp|e,theacc|deata|
|em e|Zayd, |mmaaeat|ah|smatter i, thea eae w||| adm|t
fortiori theex|steacee|asubstaat|a|qu|dd|ty, thate|thearche-
type ( substaat|a| ,|a|act,s|ace|adepeadeate|aaysubstratumi
hav|ag aa acc|deata| |mage ( the |erm e|Zayd |mmaaeat|ah|s
mattet ) . Tus|mper|ect||ght|sana|egeusteper|ect||ght. Ua-
detstaad.
Qutbuddin Shirazi: Tete|ere,|mag|aat|ve|ermsex|stae|ther
in theught,s|acethegreatcaaaetbe|mpt|ated|athesma||,aer
in ceactete tea||ty, ethetw|se aayeae w|th aema||y hea|thy
seasesweu|dbe ab|eteseethem. Buttheyareaetmere|yaea-
be|ng,|et||seeaeceu|dae|thetrepreseatthemteeaese||, aer
d|st|ag|sh them eae |rem aaethet, aad d|ereat ]udgmeats e|
them ceu|d aet be |emed. S|ace they are semeth|ag w|th rea|
be|agaadareae|therin theught,aerin ceacreterea||ty, aer |a
thewer|de|theIate|||geaces~|ertheyarecerperea||zed|erms,
aetpure |ate|||g|b|es~theymustaecessar||yex|st|asemeether
reg|eaaadthe|atter|swhat|sca||edthewer|de|thearchetypal
Image aade|imaginati'e perception. It|sa wet|d|atemed|ate
betweeathewet|de|theIate|||geaceaadthewet|de|theseases,
|tseate|eg|ca|p|aae |s abevethewer|de|theseasesaadbe|ew
the |ate|||g|b|e wet|d, |t |s mere |mmater|a| thaa the rst, |ess
|mmatet|a| thaa the secead. It |s a wet|d |awh|chthereex|sts
the teta||ty e| |ems aad gures, d|meas|eas aad bed|es, w|th
a||that|sceaaectedtherew|th. mevemeats, rest, pes|t|eas, cea-
gu
at|eas, etc. , a|| e| them se||-subs|steat |a suspease, that

|s te say, aet be|ag ceata|aed |a a p|ace aer depead|ag ea a
substtatum.
Uadetstaad,theauthersaysteus.Bete, |adeed,wehave a
maga|ceatsectet, semeth|age| supreme |mpertaace. Itmeaas
that the teta||ty e| the th|ags wh|ch ex|st |a the a| gaer wer|d
havethe|rnadir aadthe|raaa|egue|atael ewCr worl d. Al l t|ese
1 28
Shihabuddin Y alya Suhrawardi
th|ngs ateknewnbythe|tnadir andthe|tana|egue.Then,when
yeuhave|eatnedtekaew, as|snecessaty,the tea||tye|ephem-
eta| ||ghts, yeutknew|edge he|ps yeu te knew the |mmatet|a| ,
substant|a| L|ghts. The putpese e| a|| th|s |s that yeu sheu|d
knew that the |mpet|ect, acc|denta| ||ght wh|ch |s that e| the
sune|the seasetywet|d|stheimage e|the pet|ect substant|a|
||ght,wh|ch|sthesune|thewet|de|theInte|||gence, theL|ght
e|L|ghts. Inthe same way,the ||ghte|eachephemeta|stat |s
the |mage e| an |mmatet|a| substant|a| ||ght. Th|s |s an |m-
mense subject, eet|ngmaay myst|ca| expet|ences. Bence the
authet's |mptat|ve Undetstand|
( h ) FROM THE S AME WORK

These autena
maus Images and Fetms ate net the P|aten|c

Ideas, |et the Ideas e| P|ate ate e| pute, |mmutab|e ||ght,
wheteas amengtheFetms|nquest|enthete atesemewh|chate
datk~these wh|ch temeat the teptebate, these ate h|deeus,
tepu|s|ve, the s|ght e| them causes the seu| suet|ng, wheteas
ethets ate |um|neusandthe|tsweetness|stastedbytheb|essed
andtheseatebeaut||u|,tesp|endeatFetms. -
Qutbuddin Shirai: The8agese|e|d,suchasP|ate,8atates,
Empedec|es and ethets, netea|y amrmed the ex|stence e| the
P|aten|c Ideas, wh|ch ate |ate|||g|b|e aad made e| pute ||ght,
buta|setheex|stence e|autenemeus |mag|nat|ve Fems wh|ch
ate net|mmaaent |n a matet|a| substtatum e|eut wet|d. They
ammedthattheseatesepatatesubstances, |ndependente|ma-
tet|a|mattets,thattheyhavethe|tseat|nthemed|tat|ve|acu|ty
and|ntheseu|'sact|veImag|nat|en, |nthe sensethatthesetwe
|acu|t|es ate the ep|phan|c p|aces whete these Fems appat,
undeubted|y aad cenctete|y they ex|st, a|theugh th|s dees net
mean that they ate |mmanent |n a substtatum. The 8ages a|-
med the ex|stence e| a twe|e|d un|vetse en the ene hand, a
pute|y suptaseasety ua|vetse, |nc|ud|agthe wet|d e|the De|ty
andtaewet|de|aage||cIate||| gences, eatheethethand,awet|d
e|matet|a|Fetms,that|s,thewet|de|thece|est|a|8phetesand
l'p. i:0-:4, pars. 246-48.
1 29
Article I
E|emeatsaadthewer|de|appar|t|eaa||erms,aame|y,thewer|d
e| the auteaemeus Imam. . . . These Ferms aad Images have
ae substratum |a eur mater|a| wer|d, |etetherw|se they weu|d
aecessar||y be percept|b|e te the euter seases aad weu|d aet
aetaeedp|aces|erthe|rep|phaay.Theyare,thete|ere, sp|r|tua|
substaaces, subs|st|ag |a aad by themse|ves |a the wer|d e|
|mag|aat|veprcept|ea, that|s,|athesp|r|tua|ua|vetse.
Suhrawardi: Ihavew|taessed|a myseu|semeautheat|c aad
uaquest|eaab|e exper|eaces wh|ch preve that the ua|verses are
|eut|aaumber there |sthewer|de| dem|aaat er archaage||c
L|ghts ( Luces 'ictoriales, theJabarat ) ; there|sthewer|de|the
L|ghtsmvera|agbed|es ( meSeu|s,that|stesay,theM alakat ) ,
thete|sa deub|e barakh aadthere |sthewer|de| auteaemeus
ImagesaadFerms,semee|themdark,seme|um|aeus,therst
ceast|tut|agthe|mag|aat|vetermeate|thereprebate,thesecead
the|mag|aat|vesweetaessea]eyedbytheb|essed. . . . Th|s|ast
wer|d |s the eae we ca|| the wer|d e| the Apparentiae reales
wh|chare|adepeadeate|matter('a/am al-ashba? al-mujarada) ;
th|s| stheua|vetse| awh|chtheresurrect|eae|bed|esaadd|v|ae
appar|t|easarerea||zedaadwherea||theprephet|cprem|sesare
|u|||ed.
Qutbuddin Shirazi : Sewehavete uaderstaadthatme rst
e| these ua|verses |s that e| the separated |ate|||g|b|e L|ghts
wh|ch have ae attachmeat e| aay k|ad te bed|es, they are the
cehetts e|the d|v|ae Majesty, Aage|se|the h|ghest raak ( An
geli intellectuales ) . The secead ua|verse |s the wer|d e| the
L|ghts gavera|ag bed|es, whether they be the Ispahbad22 e| a
ce|est|a| Sphere ( Angeli coelestes ) er e| a humaa bedy. The
deub|e barakh ceast|tutestheth|rdua|verse, |t |s the wer|d e|
bed|es percept|b|e te the seases ( because everyth|agwh|ch has
abedy|erms aa|aterva|, a d|staace,a barakh ) .23 It|sd|v|ded
|ate the wer|d e| the ce|est|a| Spheres w|th the astra| bed|es
they eac|ese, aad the wer|d e| the E|emeats w|th the|r cem-
peuads. F|aa||y, the |eurth ua|verse |s the wer|d e| the act|ve
lmag|nat|ea, th|s |s aa|mmeasewer|d,|aa|te, whesecreatures
sre |a a term-|er-term cerrespea1eace wi t| those enc|esed by
t|eseaserywer|1|a the 1eub|ebarkl--t hl lllrl aadthecem-
1 30
Shihabuddin T alya Suhrawardi
peuads e| the E|emeats, m|aera|s, vegetab|es, aa|ma|s, aad
maa. . . .
It|steth|s|astwer|dthatthe8agese|e|dte|ertedwheathey
saythatthereex|stsawer|dhav|agd|meas|easaadexteatether
thaathemater|a| seas|b|e wer|d.Iaa|te are |tsmarve|s,ceuat-
|ess |tsc|t|es. Ameagst these are !aba|qa aad!abara,twe |m-
mease c|t|es, each w|th a theusaad gates. They are peep|ed by
ceuat|ess creatures whe are aet evea aware that Ged has cre-
atedterrestt|a|Adamaadh|spstet|ty.
Th|swer|dcerrespeadstetheseaserywet|d |ts|mag|aat|ve
ce|est|a| 8pheres ( that |s te say, Borqa|ya ) are |a perpetua|
mevemeat,|tsE|emeats ( that|s,!aba|qaaad!abara ) aadthe|r
cempeuadsrece|ve|ramBorqa|yathe|auxaadatthesamet|me
the |||um|aat|eas e| the |ate|||g|b|e wer|ds. It |s there that the
var|eus k|ads e| auteaemeus archetypa| Images are |aa|te|y
rea||zed, |erm|ag a h|etarchy e| degrees vatyag accerd|ag te
the|rre|at|ve subt|etyerdeas|ty. The |ad|v|dua|speep||ageach
degree are |aa|te, a|theugh the degrees themse|ves are a|te
|aaumber. ( Same work, p.210 Oaeache|these|eve|sspec|es
ex|staaa|egeustethese|aeurwer|d,buttheyare|aa|te.8eme
arepeep|edbyAage|saadthehumaaE|ect.Othersarepep|ed
by Aage|s aad gea|| , ethers by demeas. Ged a|eae kaews the
aumbere|these|eve|saadwhattheyceata|a.Thep|| gr|mr|s|ag
|rem eae degree te aaether d|scevers ea each h|ghet |eve| a
subt|etstate,amereeatraac|agbeauty,amere|ateasesp|r|tua|-
|ty, a mere everew|ag de||ght. The h|ghest e| these degrees
berderseathate|the|ate||| g|b|epureeat|t|ese|||ghtaadvery
c|ese|y resemb|es |t. ) The ptephets,the Ia|t|ates, themyst|ca|
theeseph|stshavea||ackaew|edgedtheex|stencee|th|sua|verse.
The p|| gr|ms e| the sp|r|t adthere evetyth|agthey aeed, a||
themarve|saadweadreuswarkstheyceu|dw|sh. . . .
Threugh th|s ua|vetse are tea||zed the d|v|ae appar|t|eaa|
|ermssemet|mesmajest|caaddazz||ag|ybaut||u| ,semet|mes
aweseme aad herr||y|ag~uader wh|ch the F|tst Cause maa|-
|ests |tse||. The same |s true e| the apparentiae reales uader
whlcb |t p|easestheF|rstIate|||geace aadtheethetarchaage||c
I ntel l i gences teshewthemse|ves,because|ereache|themthere
1 3 1
Article I
|samu|t|tudee|appar|t|eascerrespead|agtethe d|verse |erms
uader wh|ch |t may p|ease them te maa||est themse|ves. The
d|v|ae appar|t|eaa| |ems may have ep|phaa|c p|aces |a eur
wer|d, whea they aremaa||estedhere, |t |spess|b|e te perce|ve
themv|sua||y.Th|swasse|athecasee|MeseswheaGedmaa|-
|estedH|mse||teh|meaMeuat8|aa| ,asdescr|bed|atheTerah.
Tus |t was |er the Prephet, whe perce|ved the rea||ty e| the
Aage| Gabr|e| whea the |atter maa||ested h|mse|| |a the |erm
e| the yeuth, Dahya a|-Ka|bt. It ceu|d be sa|d that the whe|e
Imag|aat|veua|verse|stheep|phaa|cp|acee|theL|ghte|L|ghts
aad e| the |mmater|a| be|ags e| ||ght, each maa||ested |a a
dea|te|erm, atadea|tememeat, a|ways cerrespead|agtethe
cerre|at|ve taesse|the receptab|e aad e|the ageat.
Last|y,whea|t|ssa|dthattheprem|sese|prephecyare |u|-
||ed|ath|sua|verse, ||th|s |suadersteedasthetermeats su|-
|ered by the pep|e |a he|| aad the de||ghts tasted by these |a
parad|se, |t|sbecausethecead|t|eae|thesubtle body ava||ab|e
te the seu| post mortem cerrespeads te that e| the mater|a| ,
seasery bedy. The subt|e bedy a|se has euter seases aad |aaer
seases aadthe |actrema|asthat|atheeaecase as|athe ether
the petce|v|ag,|ee||agsub]ect |s aever aayth|agether thaa the
seu| |tse||.
( | ) F R O M T H E S A ME WO R K ,
The supraseasery rea||t|es eaceuatered by the prephets, the
Ia|t|ates, aad ethers appear te them semet|mes |a the |erm e|
||aese|wr|t|ag,semet|mes|athehear|age|a ve|cewh|chmay
begeat|eaadsweetaadwh|chcaaa|sebeterr||y|ag.8emet|mes
theysee humaa |erms e|extreme beautywhe speakte them |a
mest beaut||u| werds aadceaversew|mthem |at|mate|y abeut
the |av|s|b|e wer|d, at ether t|mes these |erms appear te them
||ke these de||cate gures preceed|ag |rem the mest reae1 art
e|thepa|aters.Oaacas|eatheyareshewaas|||aaaeac|esure,
at ether t|mes the |erms aad gures appear suspeaded. Every
th|ag wh|ch |s perce|ved |a dreammeuatal as, aceaas, aa1
l,p. 2402, par1. 256-58.
1 32
Shihabuddin T a}ya Suhrawardi
cent|nents, extraerd|nary ve|ces, human persenages~a|| these
are se many gures aad |erms wh|ch are se||-subs|stent aad
need nesubstratum. The same |struee|per|umes,ce|ers, aa1
avers. Bew can the bra|n, er ene e| |ts cav|t|es, centa|n the
meunta|ns and aeaas seen |n a dream, whether the dream b
true er|a|se, nematter hew eae cence|ves e|, er exp|a|ns, th|s
capac|ty?!ust asthe s|eeperenawakea|ag|remh|sdreams,er
the |mag|nat|ve man and me centemp|at|ve man, btween the
wak|ng state and s|eep, return|ng |rem the|r v|s|en, |eave the
wer|de|autenemeusImagesw|theuthav|ngtemakeanymeve-
meaterw|theut hav|agthe |ee||age|mater|a| d|stance |n re|a-
t|ente |t,|nthesame wayhewhe d|este th|s wer|d meets the
v|s|ene|thewer|de|L|ghtw|theut hav|ng temake anymeve-
mentbcauseheh|mse|||s|nthewer|de|L|ght. . . .
The ce|est|a| 8pheres g|ve eut seunds wh|ch are net caused
by anyth|agex|st|ag|neursub|unarwer|d.Mereever,wehave
a|readypreveathatseuad |s semeth|agetherman the undu|a-
t|ene|a|r.Themestthatcan b sa|den th|s pe|nt |sthathere
be|ew seuad |s cend|t|eaed by the uadu|at|en e| a|r. But || a
th|ng|s the cend|t|en e| aaether |n a certa|n p|ace, |t dms net
|e||ew that|trema|nsa cend|t|en|er|ts ana|egue. !ust as aay-
th|ng |n genera| caa have mu|t|p|e, |ntenhangeab|e causes, se
a|se|tscend|t|enscaachange. !ustasthece|erse|thestarsare
netcead|t|eaed by thatwh|ch cend|t|ens the ce|ers |n eur ter-
rest|a| wer|d,
Z
se |t |s as regards the seunds em|tted by the
ce|est|a|spheres. Wecannetsaythatthe tremendeus terr||y|ng
seundsheardbythev|s|enarymyst|csarecausedbyanundu|a-
t|en e| a|r |n the bra|n. Fer an a|r-wave e| such |erce due t
semed|sturbaace|nthebra|n|s|nceace|vab|e.Ne,whatwehave
here|sthearchetypa|Imagee|theseund,andth|s autenemeus
Ferm |s |tse|| a seund [Commentar: !ust as the archetypa|
Imagee|man |scerta|n|y aman, andthate|eachth|ng|scer-
ta|n|y respect|ve|ythatth|ngJ . Thus,|t|scence|vab|e thatthere
are seunds and me|ed|es |n the ce|est|a| 8pheres wh|ch an
aetcend|t|enedbythe a|r ner by a v|brateryd|sturbance. And
eaecaaaet|mag|aethatmereceu|dbe me|ed|esmerede||ght|u|
thaa theirs, just as eae caaaet caace|ve that there ceu|d b a
1 33
Article I
burn|ngdes|re mere ardent thanthedes|ree|the Angeli coeles
tes. Ba|| | then,tethecempanye|a||whehavebecememadand
drunk w|th des|re |er the wer|d e|L|ght, w|th the|rpass|enate
|eve |er the ma]esty e| the L|ght e| L|ghts, and whe, |n the|r
ecstasy,havebeceme||ketheSevenVeryF|rmOnes. -Because
|nthe|rcasethere|sa|essen|erthesewhearecapab|ee|under-
stand|ng.
Qutbuddin Shirai: As theauther ment|ened |ntheBook of
Conversation, a|| the Sp|r|tua|s e| the d|erent peep|es have
ammed the ex|stence e| these sener|t|es, net en the p|ane e|
!aba|qa and !abara, wh|ch are c|t|es e| the wer|de|the E|e-
ments|ntheun|versee|thearchetypa|Ferms,buten thep|ane
e|Borqa|ya,theth|rdc|ty,w|th|tsmanymarve|s,mewer|de|
the ce|est|a| Spheres e| the un|verse e| archetypa| Fems. - Te
h|m whe reaches th|s un|versearerevea|edthe sp|r|tua|ent|t|es
e|these8pheresw|ththe|rbeaut||u||emsandexqu|s|tesener|-
t|es. Pythageras re|ated that h|s seu| rese as |ar as the h|gher
wet|d.Duetethepur|tye|h|sbe|ngandtemed|v|naterypewer
e|h|sheart,heheardtheme|ed|ese|theSpheresandthesener|-
t|es preduced by the mevements e| the heaven|y bed|es, at the
samet|mehebecameawaree|thed|screetresenancee|theve|ces
e|the|range|s.Aterwardshereturnedteh|smater|a|bedy.As
a resu|te|whathehadheardhedetem|nedthemus|ca|re|at|en-
sh|psandper|ectedthesc|encee|mus|c.
1 34
II
MUHYI DDI N I BN ' ARABI
( d. 61/I210)
The Earth Which Was Created from What Remained
of the Clay of Adam
Here the indescribable
actally takes place.
Fawt, Part II
The complete title of chapter VIII of Ibn Arabi's great work,
Kitab a-futafat al-Makkiya ( The Book of the Spiritu Con
quests of Mea, Cairo, 1 329/1 91 1 , I, 126-Sl ) , reads as fol
lows: "On the knowledge of the Earth which was created from
what remained of the leaven of Adam's clay, and which is the
Earth of True Reality, mentioning the strange things and
marvels it contains." Like almost every chapter in tis work,
this one opens with a few verses the allusive density of which
is hard to render. The leitmotiv is the palm tree a a symbol
of the celestial Earth. On the borderline btween the vegetable
and the animal kingdoms, the palm tree ha especialy held the
attention of the Islamic philosophers a being an exceptional
creature. The celestial Eart being the inmost secret of man,
a it were, his mystic Eve, what is hidden in the words wit
which the poet speaks to the palm tee tat is it symbol begins,
in it turn, to be divined. As the symbol of tis secret earth,
the pam tree, is "Adam's sister" ( t
h
e word palm tree, nakhla,
being feminine in Arabic ) . "O my sister! or rather, 0 aunt!
perceptible to all, thou ar te feminine lmim whose secret is
nevertheless unknown to us. The sons look toward tee, 0 sister
of their fater 0 aunt, tell me how the frateral secret is
revealed in thee. Thou art the feminine Imam and the
lmim is thy brother; and those he precedes1 are so many images
drawn from himself."
All these allusions are explained up to a point in the frst
lines of the chapter: Te secret of the creation of the palm tree
made from the remainder of te clay from which Man himself
was created. And, of the clay from which his own "sister" was
molded, there was still an invisible remainder, te equivalent
of se1ame seed, no more. But this very fact conveys the mean
ing that the is no common measure between the expanse of
1 35
Article II
sensory space and tat which begins at the point where te
directions of sensory space come t an end. For it is exactly
there tat te limitless expanse of the celestial Earth will extend.
This means further tat one can ''free oneself from space wit
out abandoning the sense of expanse." In his tur, 'Abd al-Karlm
Jill ( below, Art. I V ) tries to make this symbol explicit: the
"Earth of sesame" is Ada's sister, or rather, the daughter of
his inmost secret. The lineage of the one is the lineage of the
other. It endures and continues to exist, whereas everyting
else comes to nought. The fruit which is Adam himself sprang
from a palm tree. It has no other enclosure; te grove of palm
trees is nowhere else than in Adam himself. Thus they respond
reciprocally and spontaneously to each other's call. -
Numerous references illustrating the functions of the palm
tree as a symbol of te celestial Eart and of resurrections need
to be collated. Moreover, is known, the Qurinic revelation
makes no mention of te birth of Jesus at Bethlehem; on the
other hand, as though to recall or transpose some tidings of the
Infancy, it alludes to the miraculous birth "under the palm
tree." Between the "palm tree of Mary" and the palm which is
"Adam's sister" taken as a symbol of the celestial Earth, the
very one under which the infant Christ is born, certain Qur'inic
commentaries allow us to discer the link. 4 We cannot go into
this, no more than we can discuss here all the difculties pre
sented by the texts which we have attempted to translate for
the frst time. Nevertheless, we should call attention again to
the thematic kinship between the present text dealing with ''the
Earth which was created from what remained of the clay of
Adam," and the text to be read later ( below, Art. x, 1 ) making
explicit "in what sense te body of te faithfu believer is the
Earth of his paradise."
KaewthatwheaGedhad created Adamwhe was the rst
humaa ergaa|smtebe ceast|tuted, aa1wheahehadestab||she1
h|m as the er|g|a aad archetype e| a|| humaa bed|es, there re-
ma|ae1 a surp|us e| the |eavea e| the c|ay. Prem th|s surp|us
Gedcreatedthepa|mtree,sethatth|sp|aat ( nakhla, pa|mtree,
be|ag|em|a|ae i |s Adam's sister; |erus,there|ere, |t |s ||ke aa
auat ea eur|ather's s|de. Iathee|egy |t |s se descr|bed aad |s
cemparedtethe|a|th|u| be||ever. Ne ether p|aat bears w|th|a
|t such extraerd|aary secrets as are h|ddea |a th|s eae. New,
a|ter the creat|ea e| the pa|m tree, there rema|aed h|d1ea
oert|ea e| the c|ay |rem wh|ch the o|aat hud htrn ma1e, what
1 36
Mulyiddin ibn 'Arabi
was|e|twastheequ|va|eate|asesameseed.Aad|twas|ath|s
rema|ader that Ged |a|d eut aa |mmease Earth. S|ace he ar-
raaged |a|t the Threae aadwhat |t ceata|as, the F|rmameat,
the Beaveas aad the Eanhs, the wer|ds uadergreuad, a|| the
parad|ses aad be||s, th|s meaas that the whe|e e| eur ua|verse
|s te b |euad there |a that Eanh |a |ts eat|rety, aad yet the
whe|e e||t temther |s ||ke a r|ag|est |a eae e|eur deserts |a
cempar|sea w|th the |mmeas|ty e| that Earth. Aad that same
Earthhash|ddea |a|tse maaymarve|s aad straage tb|ags that
the|r aumber caaaet be ceuated aad eur |ate|||geace rema|as
dazed by them.
OathatEarth Ged created |aeach seu| ( aad cerrespad|ag
te each seu| ) ua|verses e| pra|se |a wh|ch caat|c|es are suag
w|theut ceas|ag bya|ghtaadbyday,|erGed'smaga|ceace|s
maa||ested ea that Eanh aad B|s creat|ve pewer dazz|es the
eyes e| b|m whe ceatemp|ates |t. A mu|t|tude e| th|ags ex|st
there wh|ch are rat|eaa||y impess|b|e, that |s, a mu|t|tude e|
th|ags abeut wh|ch reasea has estab||shed dec|s|ve pree| that
theyare|acempat|b|ew|threa|be|ag.Aadyet| ~a||theseth|ags
de |adeed ex|st |a that Earth. It |s the vast pra|r|e where the
theesepher-myst|cs|east the|reyes,theymeve areuad |a|t, they
g aadceme |a|tastheyw|||. Iathe whe|e e|a||theua|verses
thatmakeupthatEarth,Gedhasespec|a||ycreatedeaeua|verse
|aeur|mage ( a ua|versecerrespead|agteeacheaee|us i . Whea
themyst|cceatemp|atestbatua|verse,|t|sh|mse||,h|sewaseu|,
that he ceatemp|ates |a |t. 'Abd A||ah |ba 'Abbas was a||ud|ag
te semeth|ag||ke that, |a a say|ag e| h|s reperted |a a certa|a
ladith : Th|sKa'ba |seaedwe|||agameag|eurteea dwe|||ags.
Iaeache|theseveaEarthsthere|sacreature||keeurse|ves ( eur
heme|egue ),sethat|aeache|the seveaEarthsthere|saaIba
'Abbas whe |s my heme|egue.'' Th|s trad|t|ea has met w|tb
w|despread asseat ameagv|s|eaarymyst|cs.
Let us retura tethe descr|pt|ea e|that Earth, w|th |ts |m-
meas|tyaadthemu|t|tudee|ua|verseswh|ch havebeeaceast|-
tuted from it aad in it. Fer the myst|cs, th|s Earth |s where
tbeep|sa|esaad theephaa|c v|s|eastakep|ace. Oaee|themte||s
137
Article II
us e| a case wh|ch I myse|| kaew, |rem a perseaa| v|s|ea Ia
that Eanh, he te||s us, I happeaed eae day te peaetrate |ate
agather|agwh|chwaskaewaastheAssemb|ye|Mercy ( Majlis
al-Ralma ) . I aever saw aa assemb|ymere weader|u|thaathat
ene. Wh||e I was there, there came upea me suddea|y a thee-
phaa|cv|s|ea,|ar|remtear|agmeaway|remmyse||,|tmademe
mere rm|y |a my ewa cempaay. Th|s |s eae e| the pecu||ar
character|st|cs e|that Earth. Iadeed, whea suchtheephaa|c v|-
s|eascemetemyst|cs|aeurmater|a|wer|dwh||etheyarepres-
eattethe|resh|ybedytheycarrytheecstat|caway|remh|mse||
aad he |s aaa|h||atedbe|ereh|sv|s|ea, se |twas |athe case e|
the prephets, me great Ia|t|ates aad a|| these whe have exer|-
eacedsuchecstas|es.L|kew|se,thewer|de|thece|est|a|Spheres,
theF|rmameat ( Kursi, theBeavea e|theF|xed Stars i ab|aze
w|thceaste||at|eas,thewer|de|theThreaeeac|rc||agthewhe|e
cesmes are~a|| e| them~re|t |rem the ecstat|cs whea the
theephaa|c v|s|eas ceme upea them, |t |s a|| destreyed as by
aashe|||ghta|ag.Oatheetherhaad,wheathev|s|eaarymyst|c
haspeaetrated|ateth|sEanhe|wh|chI amspeak|agaadwhea
a theephaa|c v|s|ea cemes te h|m there, h|s ceatemp|at|ve per-
cept|ea |saetaaa|h||atedby|t, |tdeesaettearh|m|remh|sact
e|ex|st|ag,|tmakespess|b|etheceex|steace|ah|me|v|s|ea aad
d|sceurse.
Be a|se says Ia th|s assemb|yI have just reca||ed, I weat
threughexpr|eaces aadkaewsecretsthatI amaet ab|etete||
bcause e|the abscead|tye|theth|ags theymeaa aad because
|t|saetpess|b|etereachpercept|eaaaduaderstaad|age|them
be|ere see|agthem|ereaese||astheyareseeabyh|mwhehas
d|rect v|s|ea e|them.
IathatEarththerearegardeas,parad|ses, an|ma|s, m|aera|s
~Geda|eaecaakaewhewmaay.New,everyth|agthat|stebe
|euadeathatEarth, abse|ute|yeveryth|ag,|sa||ve aadspeaks,
basa |||e aaa|egeustethate|every||v|agbe|ageadewedw|th
theught aad spech. Eadewed w|th theught aad spech, the
b|ngs there cerrespead te what they are here be|ew, w|th the
d|ereace that |a that ce|est|a| Eanh thi ngH are permanent,
138
Mu}yiddin ibn 'Arabi
|mper|shab|e, uachaageab|e, the|r ua|verse dees aet d|e. The
|act|sthatthatEanhdsaeta||ewaccessteaaye|eurphys|ca|
bed|esmadee|per|shab|ehumaac|ay, |tsaature |ssuchthat|t
w||| a||ew access ea|y te bed|es e| the same qua||ty as that e|
|tsewaua|verseere|the wer|d e|Sp|r|ts. Aad se|t|s|athe|r
sp|r|t aadaet|athe|rmater|a| bedythatthe myst|cs eater |ate
|t.They|eavethe|resh|yhab|tat|eabeh|adeaeurearth|yEarth
aad are |mmater|a||zed.
A marve|eus race e| |erms aad gures ex|st ea that Earth,
e|aaextraerd|aaryaatute. Theykeepwatchevertheeatraaces
e|thewayse|appreach|y|agabeveth|swer|d|awh|chweare,
Earth aad Beavea, Parad|se aad Be||. Wheaever eae e| us |s
search|ag |er the way e| access te that Earth, the way e| the
Ia|t|atese|whatevetcategery|tmay b, whether meaer gea||,
Aage|serdwe||ers|aparad|se~therstcead|t|eatebe|u|||ed
|sthepract|cee|myst|ca|gaes|saadw|thdrawa||remthemate-
r|a|bedy.TheahemeetstheseFermswhestaadaadkeepwatch
atthe eatraacestethewayse|appreach, Gedhav|agespec|a||y
ass|gaedthemth|stask. Oaee|themhasteastewardsthe aew-
cemer,c|ethesh|m|a a rebe su|tab|eteh|s raak, takes h|m by
thehaad, aad wa|ks w|thh|meverthatEarth aad meyde|a |t
astheyw|||. Be||agetste|akatthed|v|aewerks e|art, every
steae, every tree, every v|||age, every s|ag|e th|ag he cemes
acress, hemayspeakw|th,||hew|shes,asamaaceaversesw|th
a cempaa|ea. Certa|a|y theyspak d|ereat |aaguages,butth|s
Earth hasthe g||t, pecu||ar te |t,e| cea|err|ag ea whemseever
eaters the ab|||ty teuaderstaad a|| the teagues that are spkea
there. Wheahehas atta|aedh|sebject aad th|aks e|retura|ag
te h|s dwe|||ag p|ace, h|s cempaa|ea gees w|thh|m aad takes
h|mbacktethep|aceatwh|chheeatered.Thereshesaysgeed-
byeteh|m,shetakesetherebe |awh|chshe had c|ethed h|m
aaddeparts|remh|m. Butbytheahehasgathered a mass e|
kaew|edge aad |ad|cat|eas aad h|s kaew|edge e| Ged has |a-
creasedbysemeth|aghehadaetprev|eus|yeav|s|eaed. I deaet
th|akthatuaderstaad|agever paetrates |adepthw|th a speed
cemoarab|e te thatw|th wh|ch |tpraeeds whea |t cemes abeut
1 39
Article I
|athat Earthe|wh|ch I amspeo|ag.Themer
,
se |a that here
ameagus,|aeurewawer|daad|aeurpreseatex|steace,certa|a
maa||estat|eascemetesupperteurassert|ea.
Ten Ibn 'Arabi tells the tale of a strange thing that hap
pened to an Iranian ufi, AwQaduddln Kirinl ( d. 624/
1 127 )
- during his adolescence; Kirminl himself told Ibn
'Arabi about it ( it will be noted that they met personally ) .
The young uf wished to come to te help of his Shaikh, who
had fallen ill. On ariving at Takrlt in Mesopotamia, he asked
the Shaikh's perission to go and get some remedy from the
hospital in Sanjar. Moved by te grief of his young disciple,
the Shaikh gave him permission. So the young man went to the
mallis of te Amlr, but being unknown to him, he was intimi
dated and afraid of being rebufed. But the Amlr greeted him
with great kindness, asked what he wanted and commanded
a servant to give him what he asked for. Te young uf was
overwhelmed and triumphant and returned to his Shaikh, to
whom he told everything tat had happened. But the Shaikh
smiled and said, "My child, I was inspired by my concer for
you. Seeing how sorry you were for me, I let you do what you
asked. But when you were gone, I was afraid that the Amlr
would put you to shame by refusing to receive
y
ou. So I sep
arated myself from my own corporeal habitatiOn; I entered
tat of te Amir and I sat down at his place. When you arrived,
it was I who greeted you and behaved toward you as you saw.
Then I returned to this habitation that you see. As a matter of
fact, I don't need this drg and have no use for it." "So here,"
said Ibn 'Arabi, "you see how a person was able to manifest
himself in the semblance of another man. What must it be in te
case of the inhabitants of that Eart of which we were speak
ing?"
The following episode ( pp. 128-29 ) is in the form of a long
account by Dbu'l-Nun Mi1ri ( d. 245/869 ) who frst tells us
that the time of that Eart is not unifor and all of one kind.
''The times of that Earth are qualitatively of diferent kinds."
Every event, every person, has i ts own time there. One day of
our eartly time may be te equivaent of a number of years.
Then Dhu'I-Nun describes at lengt the wonders of that Earth
in words reminiscent of the traditional stories about the moun
tain Qaf, which is the psycho-cosmic mountain, like te Var of
Vira. Tere he visited the land of silver, the land of white
camphor, the land of safron. He describes it wonders and
beauties, the charm and gentleness of the crrntures who people
it, their simple customs, the mi neri und prrdm11 1tones, the
colors which udorn it. The l i ght whith tri tn thrrr l1 not that
} l.( )
Mulyiddin ibn 'Arabi
of the physical sun but nevertheless night and day altrate,
just as with us. However, the darkness of the night tere is
never a veil; it never prevents an object from being seen. Tere
they engage in combat which is merely a game witout hated
or wounds. Sea voyages are undertaken and enlivened by ship
wrecks: for water is not a hostile element. It does not endanger
life. They walk on it surface until tey come back t shore.
There are also eartquakes on that Earth more violent even
than those on our earthly earth. Dhf'l-Nfn witnessed one of
them. When the tremor died down, the kindly being surround
ing him took him by the hand and consoled him regarding one
of his daughters called Fatima. "But I left her in good health
with her mother," he said. "What you say is tre, but this eart
never trembles while one of you is with us uness he dies ( and
then remains defnitely among us ) 9r one of his relatives dies.
Tis earthquake was the sign of the death of your daughter."
When Dhf'l-Nfn had left these companions ( the ceremony of
the return is what is described above ) and retured to tis
eart, he did learn of the passing of his daughter. We are bound
to abbreviate all these data as far as possible, the interest of
which from the viewpoint of religious phenomenology depends
on the principle already stated, namely: on that Earh every
soul has it own univers ( the palm tree, which is Adam's sis
ter ) ; when the soul contemplates tis universe, it is contem
plating itelf. It is in this sense tat we should interpret another
vision described by Ibn 'Arabi: that of a Ka'ba whose pro
portions surpass those of the temple tat lies in Mecca. Those
who circumambulate it were not wearing the rital pilgrim's
clothing. It had four pillars that spoke to those who walked
around them and initiated them into knowledge which tey did
not previously have. ( See the symbol of the one visible pillar
of the temple, as Holy Spirit interpreting the Mystery, in our
Creative Imagination in the $afsm of Ibn 'Arabl, p. 367, n.
44. ) There a
ain we fnd the same ocean, which i s made of

earth, and which neverteles behaves like water. ( Cf. below,
Art. IX, 4, b, the passage where the First Ima, on being asked
about the alchemical Work, afrms : "I cal Go to witness that
it is noting other tan Water in the solid state . . Earth in
the fuid state." ) And on this ocean is to be seen te vision of a
strange vesel made of magnifcent stones: two pillars rise
from it wings, the rear deck of te ship between te two
pillars ( the autor even draws a plan of it) is open to te sea
but the sea does not come in. Ten thirteen cities of light are
mentioned a being situated in that Earth int which only te
elect amongst the gnostics have access. ( The Shi'ite interpreta
tion spontaneously discerns the Prophet and te twelve Imams
in these cities of light. ) Tere are many other details no less
rich in symbolic possibilities. . ; .
141
Article II
In shett, eveth|ng that |n eut case the tat|ena| m|adhe|ds
te be |mpess|b|e and nds ptee|s te suppett, we nd |n that
Earth te be aet semeth|ng |mpess|b|e but semeth|ng pess|b|e
wh|ch dees |n |act take p|ace. Fet Ged has pewet evet a||
th|ngs ( 1 2 aad pass|mi . We knew that eut |nte||ect |s
||m|ted, but that Ged has pewet evet the coincidentia opposi
torm: the pewet te cause ene bedy te ex|st |n twe d|etent
p|aces, the pewet te make the acc|denta| subs|st |ndependent|y
e||tssubstanceandtettans|et|t|temenesubstanceteanethet,
the pewer te make the sp|t|tua| sense subs|st thanks te the
sp|r|tua| sense a|ene ( w|m ne exetet|c suppett i . Evety event,
pted|gy,ands|gnwh|chcemes abeut|neurwet|d ande|wh|ch
the tat|ena| m|nd |s |eath te adm|t the real apparition, |n that
Eatth we ndtakes p|ace byend a deubt as a tea| appat|t|en.
Evety bedy assumed bythe sp|t|tua| , whethet anm| et gen|e,
evety|emetshape|nwh|chmaa|eeksupenh|mse|||nadteam,
a||theseatesubt|e bed|es be|eng|ngtethatether Eanh. Each
e| these bed|es has |ts apptept|ate s|te thete, w|th subt|e
tenueus pte|eagat|ens extend|ng te the whe|e e| |ts un|verse.
Each e| these teau|t|es has a cendaat whe cettespends
te |t. Whenthe |attetsees seme patt|cu|arsp|t|tua|ent|ty w|m
h|s ewn eyes, |t meaas he has a spec|a| amn|ty w|th such and
suchaden|te|etmameng|etms,thatexacteaewh|chtheSp|t|t
assumes, as when the Ange| Gabt|e| assumed |et the Ptephet
the|etme|thehandsemeade|escentDyaa|-Ka|bt.Thecause
e|m|s|sthatGed|a|deutth|sEatth|nthe barakh, the |ntet-
wet|d, andxeda|ecat|enthete|etthesesubt|ebed|es assume1
bypute sp|t|tua|be|ngs, tewatdwh|cheutseu|sthemse|ves are
ttanspetted dut|ng s|eep and a|tet death. Th|s |s why we are
eutse|vesapatte||tsun|vetse.
Last|y, that Eatth epens eut atene exttem|ty ente Pata1|se .
thatend e||t|sknewn asthe |eteceurt etesp|anade. Aadthere
|s anethet exttem|ty wh|ch |s ad]acentteeuteatth|yEarth. Te
g|ve a p|ctute wh|ch w||| he|p yeu te gasp hew |t |s that
thatEatthcaaexteadas|ataseurwet|d,lsuggestthe|e| |ew-
|agcempat|sea. Suppese a maaxesh|s gaze ea a l amp, er M
thesua,erthemeea,andtheahal f shut hi eyeR 10 that h|seyr-
1 42
Muhyiddin ibn 'Arabi
|ashes ve|| the |um|aeus bedy |rem h|s gaze, thea he w||| see
semeth|ag||ke amu|t|tudee|||aese|||ghtstretch|ag|remthe
|um|aeus bedy teh|seyes~awhe|e aetwerk stan|ag|remthe
|amp, |er examp|e, aad reach|ag r|ght te h|s ewa eyes. Whea
the eye||ds are s|ew|y aad gradua||y ra|sed, the ebserver sees
theaetwerke|||aese|||ghtdrawback||tt|eby||tt|eaadgather
|ate the |um|aeus bedy.
Aad se the |um|aeus bedy |s aaa|egaus here te the |aat|ea
espec|a||y reserved |a that Earth |er such aad such a |erm e|
appar|t|ea ( a subt|e bdy c|ath|aga sp|r|tua| eat|ty) . The eb-
server|ath|scaserepreseats eurewawer|d. As|erthe expaa-
s|ea e| the ||aes e| ||ght, th|s cerrespeads te the |ems e| the
subt|ebed|es|awh|cheurseu|saretraasprtedtethethreshe|d
e| Parad|se dur|ag s|eep aad a|ter death, aad wh|ch are ||ke-
w|sethe appar|t|eaa| |erms assumed byme8p|r|ts. Yeur|atea-
t|eateebta|aav|s|eae|the||aese|||ghtbycever|agyeureye-
||ds se that the |ashes w||| ceme betweea yeur gaze aad the
|um|aeusbedy|s|ath|scaseaaa|emustethecapac|ty|erv|s|ea-
ary apprcept|ea. The em|ss|ea e| ||aes e|||ght|remthe |um|-
aeus bedywhea yeu make th|s exper|meatcerrespeadsthea te
the em|ss|ea e| the |arms ( wh|ch sp|r|tua| be|ag assume |er
yeu ) wheayeuhaveatta|aedthecapac|ty ( tesee|av|s|easuch
aad such aa appar|t|eaa| |erm). Last|y, the retract|ea e| the
||aese|||ghtastheyw|thdraw|atethe|um|aeusbedy,asthe|a-
terpes|t|ea e| the eye||ds ceases, represeats the retura e| the
|ems w|thdraw|ag |ate that Earth whea yeur capac|ty te per-
ce|vethemcemesteaaead. There|saeexp|aaat|eabyeadth|s
exp|aaat|ea. Mereever, wehavea|readyspkea at|eagh |aeae
e| eur great werks abut the marve|s |a that Earth aad the
kaew|edge ceaaected w|th them.
143
I I I
DA' 'D QA YARI
( d. 1I / I10 i
Mundus Archetypus
"
Kaew that the mundus archetypus ( at-atam al-mithili, the
wer|de|the archetypa|Images i |sasp|r|tua|ua|versee||um|-
aeus substaace, eatheeaehaad|thasaaama|tyw|thmater|a|
substaace,|athat|t|stheeb]ecte|percept|eaaadpessessesex-
teat,eatheetherhaad,|thasaaama|tyw|thseparate|ate|||g|b|e
substaace, |athat |tsaature|sthate|pure ||ght. It|sae|ther a
cempeuad mater|a| bedy, aer a separate |ate|||g|b|e substaace,
because |t |s a barzakh, that |s, aa |aterwer|d, a ||m|t, wh|ch
separates the eae|remthe ether. Everyth|ag wh|ch creates aa
|aterva| , a barzakh, betweeatweth|ags,mustd|er|remthese
tweth|ags,errather,|t|sbeuadtehavetwed|meas|easthreugh
each e| wh|ch |t symbe||zes w|th the ua|verse te wh|ch th|s
d|meas|eacerrespeads. Oaecaa a|se say, |t |strue, that |t |s a
bedy e| ||ght equa| |a subt|ety te the max|mum e| ceace|vab|e
subt|ety.Thus,|t|sa||m|t, aa|aterwer|dseparat|agthepure|y
subt|e separate substaaces aad the dease aad epaque mater|a|
substaaces,theughameagthe|attera|se,certa|abed|esaremere
subt|e thaa ethers, as are the Beaveas, |er |astaace, cempared
tetheetherbed|es.
There|ere |t |s aetaa acc|deata| wer|d, as a certa|a th|aker
be||eved, th|ak|agas he d|d~that Image-|erms ceu|d be d|s-
sec|ated |rem the|r substaat|a| rea||t|es aad that the same was
true|aregardte|ate|||g|b|e|erms.Thetruth|sthatsubstaat|a|
|ermsex|st |aeache|the ua|verses . the sp|r|tua| ua|verse, the
|ate|||g|b|eua|verse,the|mag|aat|ve ua|verse,aada||thesesub-
Extract from the commentary on the FU!i, alikam of Ibn Arabi,
ch. VII of the introduction. Bombay, 1 299/ 1 88 1 , pp. 30 f. and 1 300/
1 882, pp. 25 I. It ia necessary to coll ate the two ndi ti ons.
1 44
Da'ud Qay,ari
staat|a| rea||t|es assume |erms whlch cerrespead te the|r re-
spect|ve ua|verse.
Whea yeu have thereugh|y uadersteed what thls |s abeut,
yeu w||| ebserve thatthe |maglaat|ve pewer ( the lmaginatri)
wh|ch be|eags te the 8eu| e| the ua|verse, aad |tse|| |ac|ud|ag
everyth|ag|ac|uded bytheether |mag|aat|ve pwers ( these e|
the Animae coelestes ) , |s the substratum aad ep|phaa|c p|ace
e| th|s |aterwer|d. It |sca||edthe mundus archetypus because
|t ceata|as the Ferms e| everyth|agex|st|ag |a th|s wer|d, aad
cause |t |s the archetype e| a|| the Perms e| the |ad|v|dua|s

aadesseacesex|st|ageathep|aaee|dlv|aekaew|edge. It|sa|se
ca||ed the wer|d e| the auteaemeus Imaglaat|ea, because |t |s
|mmater|a| |a cempar|sea w|th the |mmaaeat |mag|aat|ea.
There |s ae supraseasery rea||ty, ae sp|r|tua| eat|ty aer8p|r|t,
thatdsaethave aa archetypa| |erm cerrespead|agte|tsper-
|ect|eas,s|aceeache|thempartlclpateslathed|v|aeNamethe
Revea|ed (al-ihir ) .Th|s|sthemeaa|age|are|lab|etrad|t|ea,
wh|ch re|ates that whea the Prephetsawthe Aage| Gabr|e| at
theLotus of the Limit ,4 theAage|hads|x huadred w|ags, every
mera|agaadevea|aghe eatered the rlver e| L||e, hecame eut
shaklagh|s w
,
ags, aad eut e| the scattereddreps Ged created
ceuat|ess Aage|s.
Th|s |aterwer|d ceata|as the Threae ( 'arsh, the supreme

Beavea ) , theF|rmameat(Kursi, theBeaveae|theP|xed8tars) ,
the sevea Beaveas aad the Earths, aad everythl aga|| e| these
ceatala. At that|eve|, the ceasc|eusaesse|the seeker awakeas,
heuaderstaadse| whatthe Prephet's Mi'rij ( heavea|yassump-
tlea) ceas|sted, hew |t was that the Prephet had the v|s|ea e|
Adam |a the rst Beavea, the v|s|ea e| !eha aad !esus |a the
seceadBeavea, thevls|eae|!eseph|atheth|rd,e|Idrts ( Eaah-
Bemes ) |a the|eurth, e| Aarea |a the |th, e| Meses |a the
s|xth, aade|Abraham|athe seveath. The seekeruaderstaads,
ea the eae haad, the d|ereace there |s btweea what he sees
la h|s dream aad the ab|||ty e| these mederate|y advaaced |a
themystlca|pathte rea|lze |mag|aat|ve|y aa asceatte Beavea,
aadea the etherhaad,the dlereace |rem what |s rea||y cea-
templ uted | a the splrltua| wer|1. Tbe |erms prcelved la eur
1 45
Article Ill
war|d an the shados a| these atchetypa| Fams. That |s why
the gnest|c, thteugh |ntu|t|ve phys|egnamy, tecagn|zes the
|aner states a| man accatd|ag te h|s auter |am. . . . Ia the|t
tum, thecapt|vearchetypa||emsteptesentedbyaut |mag|na-
t|aa ate themse|vesaa|yexemp||cat|ansa|the sp|t|tua| wat|d,
a shadaw|tam amangthe shadaws wh|ch Gad has cteated as
s|ga andptaa|a| the ex|steace e| th|s sp|r|tua| wat|d. That |s
whythe mastets a|myst|ca|v|s|aahave seea the |atetwat|d as
sameth|ngcant|guaust thesp|t|tua|wat|d,tece|v|ag||ght|tam
|t,asstteamsandt|vets|ssue|ntathesea,and as h|ghw|ndaws
a||awraysa|||ghtta eatera hause.
Far each e| the be|ags ex|st|ag |a the wat|d a| the seases
there |s,respect|ve|y,acapt|veatchetypa||ampetce|ved|nthe
humaa wat|d aa me p|ane a|the |mag|aat|aa, whethet |t be a
Heaven, astat,etanE|ement,am|aeta| ,ap|ant,atan an|ma| ,
eecausetheteatea8p|t|tandsp|t|tua|enetg|es|ereacha|them,
aad because the 8p|t|t pan|c|pates ta a cetta|a extent |a th|s
wat|d, athetw|se, theua|vetseswau|d natcartespand pet|ect|y.
Themastthatcanbesa|d|sthat|athem|neta|wet|dthemaa|-
|estat|an |s nat the same as |n the an|ma| wat|d. Gad h|mse||
states . ''Thete|snath|ngwh|ch daes nat g|ve pta|seby an act
e| g|at|cat|en ptepet te |t, but yeu de net understand the|t
hyma a| pta|se ( I 1 16 i.6 Th|s |scanmed by cena|n e| eut
ttad|t|ans,wh|chment|aathat aa|ma|ssee th|agswh|ch,ameng
human be|ngs, caa be seeaaa|y by the v|s|aaarymyst|cs. It|s
pass|b|ethatth|sv|s|antakesp|ace|atheabsa|utemundus arche
typus, aad|t|spess|b|ethat|ttakesp|ace|athewet|da|capt|ve
atchetypa||amsGada|aaekaawshaw|t|s|
Butas |at thase humaabe|ags wha ate |ncapab|e e| ta|s|ng
the ve|| becausea|the|r b||adness, the Ha|yBeakp|aces them
atthe|awesta|the|awestdegrees ( . ) . As|etthemyst|c,
wheahe has att|ved at me absa|ute mundus archetypus |a the
ceutse a| h|s p||gt|mage, thanks te the exedus that |eads h|m
aute|h|s capt|ve|mag|nat|en,he teaches the a|m|nevetyth|ng
aecaatemp|ates,aadd|scevetstea||tyas|t|s,eecausetheatche-
typa| Images cattespaad w|th the |ate|||g|e|e Farms |nscr|bed
eataetabula secreta, wa|ch|staemuni fe . ted form a|thed| v|ae
1 4()
Da'ud Qayar
wer|d. Ftem thea ea, threugh v|s|eaaty apptcept|ea, |t may
be that the humaa be|ag w||| have h|s eteraa| |ad|v|dua||ty te-
vea|ed te h|m |a |ts success|ve states, past aad |uture, because
he|stheattaasperted|remthewer|de|8hadewtethewer|de|
rea|aadesseat|a|L|ghts. . . .
F|aa||y, |t |s |mpertaat |et yeu te kaew that the barakh |a
wh|ch the8p|r|ts ad themse|ves a|tertheyhave|e|ttheterres-
tr|a|wer|d|sd|eteat|temthe barakh wh|chexteadsbetweea
the pure sp|r|tua| eat|t|es aad the wer|d e| bed|es. The |act |s
thatthestamse|theb|ag'sdesceataadthestepse|h|sasceat
|em a cyc|e. New, the stams wh|ch precede ex|steace |a the
tettestt|a|wer|daredegreese|desceat,theyareaatet|et,where-
as these degrees wh|ch ceme a|tet ex|steace |a the wet|d are
degrees e| asceat, they are pster|er. Bes|des, the Ferms w|th
wh|chthe8p|r|tsareteua|ted|atheseceadbarakh arethe|erms
e|the|rwerks aadthe resu|te| the|r pr|et act|v|t|es |ath|s ter-
restr|a| wer|d,8 ua||kethe|etmse|thetstbarh. Beace, the
|attet caaaet be |deat|ca| w|th the |etmet. Nevetthe|ess, they
have th|s |a cemmea. |a bth cases the Fems are a sp|r|tua|
ua|verse aad are |mmater|a| substaaces e| pute L|ght, ceata|a-
|agthearchetypese|the |emse|th|swer|d.The8ha|kh ( Iba
'Arabt ) , |achapter12 i e|The Book of the Spiritual Conquests
of Mecca,9 demeastratesc|ear|ythat the secead barakh |s d||-
|ereat|remtherst. Beca||sthe|attetthemystetye|thepes-
s|b|e, whereas he ca||s the |ermer the mystery e| the |mpes-
s|b|e,|atheseasethatwhatex|sts|atherstcaabeman||ested
|a eur v|s|b|e wer|d, wheteas |t |s aet pss|b|e |et that wh|ch
|s|athe seceadteteturatethev|s|b|estate,exceptanthe Day
e|!udmeat. Vety |ewate thesete whem th|s secend barakh
|s revea|ed. Therst,eatheetherhaad, may b revea|ed te a
geed maay ameagusaad seen w|theutewneyes. 8uch pep|e
caa have kaew|edm e||uture eveats |athe wet|d, but aetthe
pewerted|scevetthecead|t|eae|thesewhehave|e|tth|swer|d.
147
I V

ABD AL- KARI M JI Ll
( d. 0/ i101 i
The text translated below is taken from the best-known work
of Abd al-Karrm Jill, the Book of the Perfect Man ( Kitab al
insan al-kcmil ) , Cairo, 1 304/ 1886. There is urgent need for
a critical edition which would provide a better basis for reading
this text. The theme of ch. vn ( 27-28 ) is that "the Imagina
tion is the substance ( hayuli, matter ) of all the universes."
Some preliminary and very summary remarks : one is struck,
from the very beginning of the chapter, by the all-importance
attributed to the imaginative power ( the "lmaginatrix" ) -it is
"the life of the Spirit of the universe, its principle, it own
principle being the son of Adam." Jill, like Ibn Arabi, regards
the imaginative power as the very secret of cosmogony viewed
as theophany, of creation as divine self-revelation. The mystic
is even said to encounter here higher spiritual entity called
the "Spirit of Imagination" and "Spirit of Paradise." But sud
denly we remember te warning of the Prophet: te slumber
of humans asleep in the unconsciousness of dreams that are
the world of imagination. Actually, there is no contradiction
or dissonance here, for what is implicit is the secret of the
knowledge on which it depends whether a man remains un
conscious or takes his place among the Watchers of al-Araf.
Since all te planes of the universe are so many teophanic
act issuing from te absolute Divine Imagination, tere could
be no question of reabsorbing, denying, or annihilating them
without going counter to the theophanic divine Will. Such a
revolt is precisely what creates the condition of the peoples of
Hell, because they have not understood. But Jill makes it pos
sible for us to understand, by making a distinction similar to
the one already pointed out to us ( see above, Art. m, n. 3 ) .
Imagination considered in its totality has a twofold principle,
twofold source: on te one hand, i t i s active confguration and
, belongs to the world of superexistence ( the world of absolute
Imagination, the world of Malakut, the world of the Soul ) ; on
te oter hand, it is te imagined image, the formed image,
the perishable representation ( the images held "captive" in the
faculties of man in his present condition ) . The sleep of un
consciousness means ignorance of the true nature of sensory
perceptions. It means passive subjection-as though they were
material-to data ( empirical, historical, and so forth ) created
1 48
'Ahd ai-Karim Jil, 1
by a power i n himself of which man remains unconscious and
unaware. It means complete subservience to tese data, and
tis is why Jill explains ( n, 59-60 ) that this slavery is exactly
the condition of Hell which is a misinterpretation of, or rebel
lion against, theophany as such; because in the ignorance of
what theophany is, man puts the yoke of enslaving objectiviza
tions in it place.
By contrast, the paradisal condition is te overcoming of this
slavery because one has become aware of the secret law of the
universe as a teophany, and because one is in accor with
that secret. In the case of him who attains this knowledge, "Go
sets him up as a judge t decide the realities of the universe."
This consciousness, this awakening from the dogmatic sleep
that was a slavery t te authority of outer things, is known
as the reciproal compresence of creator-being and creatural
being. Because he has understood the data, and so is no longer
under their yoke, te mystic is compresent t the presence of the
Giver of these data. From then on, the theophanic Imagination
becomes lmaginatio vera, the very secret of the power creating
all the universes, and that is what it means "to be a Watcher"
( an Egregoros ) , one of the men of al-A'raf. He who has at
tained the knowlege of the law that gives structure to this
univere, and has available to him at will all that his knowledge
has made real, is in al-A'raf, the place of divine Proximity,
alluded to in the Qur'anic verse: "Dwelling place of truth, close
to a powerful king" ( 54: 55 ) . That is why all our authors
explain te mysterious term al-A'raf by the very root from
which the word comes: ma'rifa: knowledge of gnosis, knowl
edge which is spiritual realization.
There are very many traditions about al-A'raf and an entire
book would be needed to coordinate them and extract their
meaning. In Shl'ism they abound ( see Safina, II, 1 82 ) . For
Shaikh Mufld, who expresses a general opinion on this point,
it is a mountain or a rampart, a place intermediate between
Paradise and Hell. The Qur'anic verses ( 7: 44 and 46 ) call
al-A'raf the rampart where there exist men endowed with the
power of physiognomic discernment, that is, they are capable
of recognizing each one's inner essence from his physiognomy.
For Shl'ite theologians, these men of al-A'raf are the Fourteen
Very-Pure ( the Prophet, Fatima, and the twelve Imams ) : only
he enters Paradise who is recognized by them, but they pre
cisely can only recognize him who has himself known them.
This recognition is therefore likewise a compresence, for it is
being known while knowing, that is, in the very act of knowing,
in such a way that the inner and the outer act reciproally. And
so this compresence in knowing and being known depends on
thr theo
r
hanic function of the person of the hol
y
Imams. Hence
t hr Mi Knt fcnnce of the
p
l ace of al- A' raf is esoter1cism in general.
Article IV
Al-Araf is the "height that overlooks," that from which and
by which theophanic perception as such is possible, namely:
the visionary apperception of the divine Being as He is epipha
nized in each thing, wit His Attributes of which each thing is
a theophanic for.
An all-important point tat follows is that our autors relate
te ter, a-Araf, as a "dominant height" or "promontory,"
with one of te Prophet's faith that governs the entire esoteric
hermeneutic of the Qur'an: each verse ha an exoteric aspect
( ;air, te literal text is recited ) , an esoteric aspect ( bt#n,
the hidden meaning that must be understood) , a defnitive
aspect ( !add, fxing practical conduct ) and a "height of aim,"
which is what God aims to actualize in man and through man.
Tis faith has been enriched from Imam to Imam wt vari
ations and amplifcations which have become traditional ( the
seven esoteric meanings, the nine planes of reference, and so
forth ) . ROzbihan and others mention them in the beginning of
their Tafsir. Al-Araf is thus the ''romontory," the height that
must be attained and "realized" in order to perceive the spiritual
meaning, or rather to attain it-this is just the point: to per
ceive, to "realize," the spiritual meaning of the Revelations, te
"spiritual history" which is the invisible dimension of literal
data and earhly event. The mystics, having temselves been
know and recognied to the same degree that they are knowers,
become in teir tum "men of al-Araf. " That i why they are the
theo-sophoi ( al-arifun bi'llth ) , for one who knows God knows
the structure of the other world.
Tere is yet another mystical place in the oter world, close to
al-Araf, which is mentioned in our text and it will be useful at
this point to give Jill's own explanation ( II, 59-60 ) . This is
the place known as al-Kathib, the "dune" or "region of the
dunes. " We learn that it is a region or plane sitated below
al-Araf. The diference between te inhabitant of the Kathib
and those of al-Araf is that the forer left our world before
God had shown himself to them. When they emigrated to the
other world, their place of sojour was ten Paradise and from
there God sometimes brings them out in te direction of al
Kathib in order to show himself to them there, that is to say,
to show himself to each according to his fait and to te knowl
edge he had of God. The inhabitants of al-Araf, on the other
hand, are Spirituals to whom God manifested himself ( tajalli,
theophany ) before tey left this world and who therefore al
ready had a vision of Him here in tis world of ours. For them,
there is no dwelling place beyond the world except in God, "for
if one arrives in a country where a friend resides, that friend
cannot let him make his home anywhere but with himself."
On other pages ( II 70 ) in the course of hlhly developed
1 50
'Abd al-Karm Jili, 1
imaginative topography describing the seven Heavens and the
seven Earths ( see the text translated below, Art. x, 1 ) , Jill
refers again to the mysterious country Ta!, the country of the
"men of the Invisible," who recognize no one but te prophet
Khir ( Kha<ir ) a their overlord. The passage translated be
low describes the entry of the spiritual pilgrim into that country.
In this case, the celestial Earth, which is the frst of the earths,
is called the "Earth of souls," and is describd in terms that use
the symbols of the North ( see above, Part One, Ch. n, 1 ,
last part in fne, and 2 ) and thus we here again, in Islamic
gnosis, the theme of te "hyperborean Paradise" ( cf. the Var
of Vira ) . It is an eart which was created whiter than milk,
softer than musk. When Adam was exiled from the earth, it
took on the color of dust, except for a region in the extreme
north, governed by Khr, inhabited by the "men of the Invisi
ble," and to which no sinner can gain access. It is the country
of the "midnight sun": there te evening Prayer is not obliga
tory, for dawn rises before the sun set.
1 . Al-A'raf, the Earth of the Watchers
Apart from Heaven's Eternity
And yet how far from Hell!
Edgar Allan Poe, Al-Aaraf
Kaew~may Ged bt|ag yeu he|p| ~that Imag|aat|ea |s the
pt|ac|p|e aadseutcee|b|ag,|t|stheesseacethatceata|asthe
pet|ect|ea e| theephaay ( ?uhar al-ma'bad, 'the ep|phaay e|
the Adeted' ) . Med|tate ea yeutpetseaa| |a|th ceaceta|ag the
|v|aeBe|ag. eyeuaet seethatth|s|a|th|s attached te cet-
ta|aattt|butesaadNamesthat|t|ac|udes|etyeu?Whete|sthe
p|ace, what |s the etgaa e| th|s |at|mate ceav|ct|ea |a wh|ch
Ged Mest B|gh tevea|s B|mse||te yeu? Th|s p|ace, th|s ergaa
|s ptec|se|y the Imag|aat|ea, aad exact|y |er that reasea we
amrmthattheImag|aat|ea|stheesseace|awh|chtheper|ect|ea
e|theephaayres|des.
Assaaasyeuhavebecemeawaree|that,|tbecemesev|deat
te yeu that the Imag|aat|ea |s the pt|ac|p|e aad seutce e| the
eat|reua|vetse, becausetheD|v|ae Be|ag|sB|mse||the pt|ac|-
p|e aad et|g|a e| a|| th|ags, aad because the mest per|ect e|
Hls ep|phaa|es caa take p|ace ea|y |a a teceptac|e wh|ch |s
i tHdf at|g|a aad
|
r|ac|p|e. Th|s substratum |s the Imag|aat|ea.
1 5 1
Article IV
Frem that memeat, |t |s certa|a that the Imag|aat|ea |s the
pr|ac|p|eaadseurcee|a||theua|versesw|theut except|ea.
New, deyeuaetseehewthePrephet perce|vedwhat|s the
eb]ect e| sease percept|ea as a dream, aad th|s dream as an
|mag|aat|ea?Bumaasare as|eep,he sa|d. It|swheatheyd|e
that they awake. Th|s meaas that at that memeat, |a the|r
truesease,therea||t|esthatwerer|ghtbes|dethem|ath|swer|d
arerevea|ed,aad|t|stheathattheyuaderstaadthatthey were
as|eep.Th|sdeesaetmeanthatdeathpreducesteta|Awakea|ng.
Feruaceasc|eusaess e| Ged haags everthe |ahab|taats e| the
|aterwer|d ( the barakh ) as we|| as ever the mea e| the Last
ay, aswe||everthe|ahab|tantse|he|| aseverthe|nhab|tants
e| parad|se, unt|| the |v|ae Be|ag shews B|mse|| te them |a
the reg|en e| the duaes, teward wh|ch the |ahab|taats e|
parad|se semet|mes emerge aadthea ceatemp|ateGed.
Th|suacensc|eusaess|ss|eep. Thepr|ac|p|eaadseurcee|a||
the ua|verses |s Imag|aat|ea. That |s why Imag|nat|ea cea-
aectsa||the|ad|v|dua|swheare|atheseua|verses. Eache|the
cemmua|t|es |s ceaaected by the |mag|ned |mage |a wh|chever
un|verse|tmayhappeatebe.The|ahab|taatse|th|swer|d,|er
examp|e, are ||akedtegetherbythe |mag|nat|ene|da||y |||e er
by that e|the |uture |||e ( by waat|ag te easure eae and the
ether ) . New the ene aadthe ether |ave|ve uaawareaess e| re-
c|preca| compresence w|th Ged. That |s why these peep|e are
as|eep, whereas eae whe |s compresent w|th the |v|ne Pres-
eace |s a Watcher, aa Awakeaed Oae ( aa E gre goros ) ; h|s
degee e| awakea|ng |s prepert|eaate te h|s rec|preca| com
presence w|thGed.
Iathe|rturn,the|ahab|taatse|the|aterwer|d ( the barakh )
are a|se s|eep|agpeep|e,a|theughthe|r s|eep |s||ghterthaa that
e|certa|npeep|ee|eurwer|d.Iaeect,theyarequ|tepreeccu-
p|edby ang|sheren]eyment,wh|chare bethsemeth|ngwh|ch
is themse|ves, preceeds |rem themse|ves, aad semeth|ng in
which theythemse|ves are. Newthat|sa|ses|eep, becausethey
are equa||y |nattent|ve and uncensc|eus e| Ged. The same |s
true e|themeae|theLastay,|era|theugbtheystaad be|ere
Ged |er tbe readerlaga| acceuats, thry nrr nnnrtheless with
1 .12
'Abd al-Karim Jili, 2
the|rreader|age|acceunts,theyareaetcompresent w|thGed.
Aad that |s s|eep, because |t |s uaawareaess. Bewever the|r
s|eep |s ||ghter thaa that e| the |nhab|taats e| the |aterwer|d.
Thus|t|sthesame|erthesewhe||ve|aParad|se,aadst|||mere
|erthesewhe||ve|aBe|| . Therstarewith theea]eymeatthat
theyexper|eace,theseceadarewith theaagu|shthattheyexpe-
r|eace.Aadthataga|n|stebeuaawaree|Ged. It|ss|eep, |t|s
aetastatee|wake|u|aess.Bewever,thes|eepe|the|ahab|taats
e|Parad|se|s||ghterthaathate|themeae|theLastDay.
There|ere, |a th|s way, s|eep |s ||ke a |aw e| aature |er a||,
|atheseasethateach|ahab|taate|a||theun|verses,wh||ebe|ag,
|a a certa|a sease, compresent w|th the D|v|ae Be|agas such,
s|acetheD|v|neBe|ag|scompresent w|thb|ag|n|tsteta||ty~
Besayse|B|mse||. Be|swith yeuwhereveryeuare ( 1 1 i
~aeverthe|ess, a|| are compresent w|th B|m ea|y |a a dream,
aet|aa statee|censc|euswake|u|ness.
That |s why there |s awaken|ng aad a state e| wake|u|aess
ea|y|er the |ahab|taatse|al-A 'rif aad |er these |athe reg|ea
e|theduaes. Fertheyare|arec|praa|compresence w|thGed,
aadthe|r degree e|awaken|ng|s|apreprt|ea tethemeephaay
that|smaa||estedtethem. Gedhasshewa B|mse||tethe maa
whe, becausee|a d|v|aepred|spes|t|ea,ebta|as|remGed,here
|ath|s wer|d,what |spreduced ea|y |ater |athe reg|ea e| the
duaes |er the |ahab|tants e|parad|se, aad te h|m Ged shews
B|mse||aadhekaewsB|m.Be|sthere|ereaWatcher (T ain,
aaEgregoros ) . Aad|erthatreasea,thepr|acee| a|| the8p|r|t-
ua|s whe have reached th|s dwe|||aghas pra|a|med that mea
areas|eep.Itwasbecauseheh|mse||wasaWatcheraadkaew.
There|ere, aew that yeu have uadersteed that the |ahab|taats
e|eache|theua|versesareuaderthe|awe|s|eep, dec|arethat
a||theua|versesaresemaay|mag|aed|mages,|erdream|sthe
wer|de||mag|aat|ea.
2. Te
J
ourney of the Stranger and the
Conversation with Khir
Thr Stran
g
er, cal led b
y
tbe aame e|8p|r|t, ]euraeyed uat||
hr hnd rCnthCd the countr
y
': nl l cd the countr
y
e|Ta. Whenhe
Article IV
reached that heavea, he kaecked en the deer e| the |erb|dden
threshe|d.
A ve|ce askedh|m, Whe are yeu, the|everknak|agenthe
gate?
Beaaswered,Oae|a|th|u||n|eve,separated|remh|sewa. I
havebeeabaa|shed|remyeurceuatry.Ihavewaadered|ar|rem
these ||ke yeu. I have beea beuadtethe|mped|meats e|he|ght
aad depth, e| |eagh aadw|dth. I have ben |mpr|seaed |athe
]a|| e|P|reaad Water, e|A|raadEarth.9 ButaewthatI have
severedmybeads,Istartteseekanescape|remthepr|senwhere
Ihadrema|aed. . . .
Thea he |euad h|mse|| |a the preseace e| a perseaage w|th
wh|te ha|r, whe sa|d te h|m, Kaew that the wer|d te wh|ch
yeuretura |sthewer|de|Mystery ( iam al-ghayb, thewer|de|
thesupraseasery ). Themenbe|eag|ngte|tare great|aaum-
ber, theyareseas|t|ve|yhe|p|u|,theypessesspewer|u|metheds,
theyprev|dep|eatye|scepe.Bewheasp|restere]e|athemaad
tepresenth|mse||tethem,mustdeathe|rmaga|ceatdressaad
beper|umedw|ththe|rse|tper|ume.
Where deI precure garmeats? Where are these per|umes
se|d?
''Thegameatscaabe|euad|athemarkete|sesame|e|tever
assurp|us|remtherema|adere|thec|aye|Adam. As|erthe
per|umes,theycaabeebta|aedeatheEarthe|theImag|aat|ea.
I|yeupre|er,yeumayreverseth|sexp|anat|en. |nthat case
berrewthe c|eth|ag|remthe c|ethe|the Imag|aat|en aad the
per|ume|remtheEarthe|sesame. Pertheyareuaquest|eaab|y
twe brethers ( er twe s|sters ), beth be|eag te the same wer|d
ca||edthewer|de|Mysteryerwer|de|thesupraseasery.
TheaI weataway,rsttewardthe Earthe|Per|ect|ea, me
er|g|aa| appearaace a| Beauty, ca||ed because e| |ts aspects,
'Wer|d e| lmag|aat|ea. ' Ia that very p|ace I tumed teward a
perseaage |a a sub||me cead|t|ea, e| a h|gh raak, aad w|th
severe| gapewer.Beberetheaame '8p|r|te|Imag|aat|ea' ( ra?
al-khayal ) aad a suraame '8p|r|t e| Parad|se' ( ra? al-jinan ) .
Whea I had greeted h|m aad stepped respect|u||y |a |reat e|
b| m, he aaswered me w|th maay wel comi ng greeti ngs.
1 54
I sa|d teh|m, 'Oh my |etd, what |s th|s wet|d ca||ed the
sesame|e|tevet|temthec|aye|Adam?'
'That |s the subt|e wet|d,' he sa|d te me, 'a wet|d |etevet

|mpet|shab|e,ap|acethatdeesaetpassawayw|ththesuccess|ea
e| a|ghts aad days. Ged cteated |t |tem that c|ay, he se|ected
th|sseed|temeute|thewhe|emeu|d, theahe|nvested|tw|thaa
auther|ty that exteaded te evetyth|ag, te the gteat as te the
humb|eo o o o It|saaEatthwhetethe|mpess|b|ebecemes pes-
s|b|e, whete the pute gtes e| Imag|aat|ea ate centemp|ated
w|th theseases. '
'W|||Iadatead|ead|agteth|sexttaetd|aarydwe|||ag,te
th|s sttaagewet|d?'
'Cetta|a|y| Whea yeut act|ve |mag|aat|ea w||| have at-
ta|aed a|| |ts pt|ect|ea aad a|| |ts p|ea|tude, yeut capac|ty w|||
expaadt||| |tmakespess|b|ethe|mpess|b|e, t||| |tceatemp|ates
supraseaserytea||t|ese|theImag|aat|ea uadeta seasetymede,
t||| |t uaderstaads a||us|ves|gas aaddec|phetsthe sectet e|the
d|act|t|ca|pe|atse||ettets.Thenyeuw|||haveweveaagatmeat
|temthesesuptaseasetytea||t|es, wheayeuhaveput|tea,epa
|etyeutse||adeetg|v|agaccesstethesesame.'
'Ohmy Letd, I |u||thecead|t|eas, |etI am a|teady hete
aad aew beuad by the cab|e e| the ceac|uded pact. I a|teady
kaew,thteughteve|at|eaaadptseaa|d|scevety,thatthewet|d
e|puresp|r|tua|Eat|t|es|smetemaa||estaadstteagetthaathe
wer|dperce|ved by the seases, as much |et|at|mate expt|eace
as|erv|s|eaaty|atu|t|en. '
Thea, a|tet a mumut, he made a s|ga w|th h|shand, and
theaI |euadmyse||eathe Eatthe|sesame
Whea I had paettated |ate th|s matve|eus Eatth aad was
pet|umed w|th |ts sttaage|ysweet pet|umes, whea I had cea-
temp|ated |ts matve|s aad sttaageaess, th|ags se baut||u| aad
se tarethattheyhave st||| aet eateted |nteyeut theught aad
caaaet be seea e|thet |a eut wet|d et even |n eut |mag|aab|e
wer|d,Iseughtteasceadtethewet|de|Mystety.
At thatmemeatI aga|a|euadthe 8ha|kh whehad beeamy
frst guide, bat I ascena|aed that ptact|ce e|the d|v|ae se|ce
hncl mncle hi m se s||m tbat he seemed te be a pute appar|t|ea,
1 55
Article IV
aad that he had grewa th|aner thaa eae weu|d have theught
pess|b|e. Iasp|tee|that,hehadpreserveda||h|s|aaerstreagth
aadthesamecreat|vesp|r|tua|eaergy,hewas]ustas|mpetueus
aad rese|ute as be|ere, ]ust as prempt beth te s|t dewa aad te
staad up, h|s br|ghtaess was||kethate|the |u||meea.
Bav|aggreeted h|m aad my gteet|aghav|agbeea returaed,
I sa|dteh|m,'Iw|shteebta|aaccesstethemeae|thewer|de|
Mystery ( rijdl al-ghayb, the Iav|s|b|e Oaes, the 8uperhuman
Oaes ) . There|saedeubtthatI |u||thecead|t|eas.'
'Thea |t |s the t|me te eater,' he sa|d te me. 'The t|me te
reua|tehasceme. ' W|thh|sr|aghekaeckedeathedeerwh|ch
rema|aedc|esedh|therteaad|tepeaedveryw|de|y.Ipeaetrated
|ate thec|tye|themarve|eus Earth, |ts |eagth aadbreadth are
|mmease, |ts |ahab|taats have a knew|edge e| Ged such as |s
pessessed by ae ethercreature. There |s ae maa ameng them
whe|etsh|mse||be d|stracted. Its se|| |sapureaadverywh|te
wheat eut, |ts Beaven |s e| green emera|d. Its sedeatary |a-
hab|taatsaree|apureraceaade|h|gh aeb|||ty,theyrecega|ze
aeether k|agthaaKh|zr (a|-Khaa|r ). Itwas prec|se|y w|th
h|m that I depes|ted my |uggage. Eater|ag |ate h|s preseace,
I kaee|ed dewa aad preceeded te preseat my geet|ags. In h|s
turn, he b|d me we|ceme as dees eae |r|ead te aaether. Thea
he|av|tedmetebh|sguest,andw|thasm||ethatputmeper-
|ect|yatease, he sa|dteme,'We|| | Newsaywhat yeuhave te
say. '
My |erd,' I sa|d,'I weu|d ||ke tequest|en yeu abeut yeur
sub||me s|tuat|ea s|ace yeur cend|t|ea |sse d|mcu|tte ceace|ve
that eurwerds beceme eataag|ed whea we w|sh te descr|be |t,
a|theughsemepeep|eb||nd|ypers|st|asede|ag.'
'I am,'he sa|dte me, 'traasceadeat rea||ty, aadI amthe
teaueusthreadthatbr|ags|tveryc|ese. Iamthesecrete|maa
|ah|sacte|ex|st|ng, aadI amthat|av|s|b|eeae ( al-ba#n, the
absconditum, the eseter|c i whe|stheeb]ecte| wersh|p. I am
the cy||ader that ceata|ns theEsseaces, aadI amthemu|t|tude
e|teaueusthreadspre]ected|erthasmed|aters. Iamthe8ha|kh
w|th the d|v|ae aature, aad I am the guard|aa e| the wer|d e|
humaa aature. I cause myse|| te be |n every cencept and te
156
Abd al-Karim Jili, 2
b maa||ested |aevery dwe|||ag. I appear ep|phaa|zedthreugh
every|erm, aadI make a s|gav|s|b|e|aevery 8ura. Mycea-
d|t|ea |s te be eseter|c, uausua|. My s|tuat|ea |s te b the
8traager,thetrave|er.Myprmaaeatdwe|||agp|ace|sthemeua-
ta|ae|QM.21 Myha|t|agp|ace|stheAraf. 22 I amhewhestaads
atthe ceaueace e|thetweseas, the eae whe p|uages |atethe
r|vere|theWhere, the eaewhe dr|aks |rem the seurce e|the
seurce. -I amthe gu|dee|thesh|atheseae|d|v|a|ty. I am
thesecrete|theembrye, aadI a|readybeartheade|esceat.I am
the |a|t|ater e|Meses.- I am the P|rst aad the Last d|acr|t|ca|
pe|at. - I am the ua|que Pe|e that |s the sum e| a|| . I am the
L|ght that sc|at|||ates. I am the |u|| meea r|s|ag. I am the de-
c|s|ve werd. I am the sp|eader e| ceasc|eaces. I am the des|re
e| the seekers. Oa|y the Per|ect Maa ( al-insin al-kimil ) , the
|agathered 8p|r|t, reachesaadadsaccesste me. As|era||the
ethers,myraak|swe||abevethedwe|||agp|acewheretheyare
estab||shed.Theyhaveaekaew|edgee|me, theyseeaevest|ge
e|me. Oathe etherhaad,t|e|rdemat|c be||e|takes shape |er
them |a seme eae e| the |ems e| re||g|ea pre|essed by mea.
Theymasquerade r|d|cu|eus|y|amyaame, they pa|atmy sym-
be| eathe|r cheek. Thea the |gaeraat, the |aexper|eaced, rests
h|s gaze there, aad he |mag|aes that |adeed te b what bears
the aame Khir. But hew|sthat re|ated te me, whathave I te
dew|ththat?Orrather, what|sth|s peer cup |a re|at|eatemy
jar? Ua|ess |t |s sa|d, |a truth, that th|s |s a|se a drep e| my
eceaa, er aa heur e| my etera|ty, s|ace |ts rea||ty |s that e| a
teaueus thread ameagmyteau|t|es, 27 aadthattheway|e||ewed
by these |s a way ameagmy ways. Thea, |a th|s sease, I am
a|se th|s |a||ac|eus star. '
'What|sthed|st|act|ves|ga?'I askedh|mthea,'thesymbe|
e| eae whe reaches yeu, e| eae whe takes up |edg|ag |a yeur
eutersaactuaryaearyeu?'
'B|s d|stlact|ve s|ga,' he sa|d te me, '|s ceacea|ed |a the
kaew|edge e| the creat|ve pewer, |ts exa|ted kaew|edge |s |a-
ve|ved|athesc|eacee|theesseac|cat|eae|theEsseaces. '
TbeaI quest|eaedh|meatbedlereatcategarlese|the'mea
of th l nvi Ni hle' ( rijcl al-!hayb, tbasee|tbewer|de|Mystery i. -
1 ,7
Article IV
" 'here are some among them,' he said to me, 'who are
Adamites, and there are some among them who are pure spirit
ual entities. They for six categories difering as to rank.
" 'he frst category is the preeminent one; they are the Per
fect Ones, the great Initiates who follow in the footsteps of the
prophets2' and who remain invisible to the creatures of this
world, bcause they are hidden in the Mystery which is desig
nated as the plane on which the Merciful8
0
is enthroned. They
are not known, they cannot b described, although they are
Adamites.
" 'The second categor consists of the intimates of supra
sensory planes, the Spirits that inspire the hearts. 81 The spiritual
Guide manifests by taking their form, in order that morals be
led by them to inner and outer perfecton. They are Spirits; they
are, so t speak, pure apparitional fors, in that they have the
faculty of producing a visual representation of themselves. They
travel , taking their departure from this visible world; they reach
as far as te feld of the mystery of being. Afterards, they may
pass from the hidden to the visible state. Their breath is entirely
a divine service. They are the pillars of the Earth, 82 keeping
watch for God over the tradition and precepts.
" 'he third category are the Angels of inspiration and im
pulses who, during te night visit the Initiates and converse
with the Spirituals; they do not show themselves in the world
of sensory perception; they are not known by ordinary men.
" 'Te fourth category are the men of confdential psalms
throughout their ecstasy. They are perpetually out of their
world. If one ever meets them, it is always in another place
than where they were supposed to be found. They manifest to
other men by taking for in the world of sensory perception.
Wen the Spirituals happen to meet them on these detours, they
initiate them into the mysteries of the invisible and infor them
of realities kept secret.
" 'he ffth category are the men of the wild lands; they are
the privilegd in the world. They are a race of Adamites, they
can make themselves visible to humans, then they conceal them
selves. When they are addressed, they answer. Most often,
1 5R
the|r dwe|||ags are |a the meuata|as aad |a the deserts, |a
streambeds er ea r|verbaaks. 8emet|mes there are sedeatary
eaesameagthem,theatheycheeseameagthec|t|essemedwe||-
|agwheretheye|ectteres|de,but|t|saetap|ace|awh|chthey
weu|dputthe|rtrust, aaymere thaa|t sat|ses the des|red am-
b|t|eas.
'Thes|xthcategaryarethesewhe resemb|e suddea |asp|ra-
t|ease|theught,hav|agneth|ag|acemmeaw|thdemea|c sug-
gest|eas. They are ch||dren whese |ather |s meata| d|sceurse
aad whese mether |s the act|ve |mag|aat|ea. Ne eae pays aay
atteat|ea te what they say, the|r ||ke de aet |asp|re ardeatde-
s|re. They are betweea the |a|se aad the true, they are bm
peep|ewhehave|||tedthe Ve|| aadpep|ewherema|a|a |reat
e|theVe||.AadGed|stheTrue,he|sthe gu|deeatheWay
( 11 . 1 i . Near h|m |s the archetype e| the Beek ( i 1 . 1,
umm al-kitab, themethera| theBeek ) . '
1 59
v
SHAMSUDDI N MUIAMMAD LAHUl
( d. / I1 i
J
a
b
alqa and
J
a
b
ara*
Ia the acceuats aad beeks e|trad|t|eaa| h|stery, meat|ea |s
madethatJ abalqa |saa|mmeasec|tys|tuated|atheEast,where-
asJabari |s a c|ty ]ust as |arge aad spac|eus, s|tuated |a the
West, eppes|te !aba|qa. The masters |a the hermeaeut|cs e|
symbe|shavemadeth|sthe sub]ecte|aumereus cemmeatar|es.
The|deaIhavemyse||arr|vedat|remqu|te|adepeadeattheught
caabesummar|zedverys|mp|yas|e||ews,uadertwehead|ags .
F|rst, !aba|qa |s the mundus archetypus |ecated te the East,
aad turaed teward the sp|r|tua| eat|t|es, |t |s the |aterwer|d
(barzakh i betweeathesupraseaserywer|daadthewer|dv|s|b|e
te theseases. Itceata|as a||the archetypese|the ua|verse, aad
thuse|aecess|ty|saa|mmeasec|ty.!abara,tetheWest,|sthe
wer|d e| the Image, the |aterwer|d |a wh|ch the 8p|r|ts dwe||
wheatheyhave |e|tthe wer|de|earth|yex|steace. That |sthe
very p|ace where the Perms e| a|| cemp|eted werks ex|st, the
Ferms e| a|| mera| behav|er aad geed aad bad act|eas, these
wh|ch have beea acqu|red |athe ceurse e|earth|yex|steace, as
w|taessed by the verses e| the Our'aa aad eur ladith. Thus,
1abara |s the |aterwer|d s|tuated |a the West, aad turaed te-
wardthemater|a|bed|es,e|aecess|ty,|t|sa|se aa|mmease c|ty
aad|aces!aba|qa. Thestructuree|!aba|qa|smeresubt|e aad
merepure,s|acethate|!abara,be|ag|atermse|createdwerks
aad mera| behav|er acqu|red |a the wer|
a
e| earth|y ex|steace,
|s te a greatexteatma1eup e| |erms aad gures eave|epe1 la
darkaess.
Extract from the Persian commentary on the "Rose Garden of the
Mystery" ( Gulshan-i Riz ) , a mystical poem by Mnl,unOd Shabisturt ( d.
720/ 1 320 ) . Edi ti on of Kuyvln Snmt't, Trhrrn n, I : 7 H / I U.H, pp. 1 34 3(i .
1 (j( )
Shamsuddin Mu}ammad Lahiji
Mest peep|e take these twe |aterwer|ds (barakh ) as be|ag
ea|yeae. Bewever, |t |s |mpertaat te receg|ze thatthe |ater-
wer|dwherethe8p|r|tsarea|tertheyhavebeeaseparated|rem
earth|yex|steace|s d|ereat |remthe |aterwer|d wh|ch exteads
btweea the pure sp|r|tua| eat|t|es aad the mater|a| bed|es. Ia
|actthedescead|agdegrees e| be|agea me eae haad, aad the
ascead|agdegreeseatheether, tegether|erm acyc|e, |awh|ch
the ]uact|ea e| the aa| pe|at aad the |a|t|a| pe|at caa ea|y b
represeated as a mevemeat e| cemp|ete reve|ut|ea. The |ater-
wer|dpreced|agthespheree|earth|yex|steace|sparte|these-
r|es e|the descead|agdegrees e| be|ag, w|th respect te eanh|y
ex|steace, th|s |aterwer|d has pr|er|ty aad aater|er|ty, whereas
theeaesucceed|agearth|yex|steace|sparte|theascead|agde-
grees, w|th respectte earth|y ex|steace,|ts raak |s u|ter|er aad
pester|er.
Bes|des,tbe|ermswh|chaga|are]e|athe8p|r|ts|athesecead
|aterwer|d are the |ermse| the|rwerks, the resu|taats e| the|r
acts, e|hab|ts acqu|red aad bhav|er actua||zed bythem |athe
earth|ywer|d.Newth|s|saetthecasew|ththearchetypa|Pems
e|therst|aterwer|d,heace,there|saveryc|eard|ereacebe-
tweea the eae aadthe ether. Oathe ether haad,the twe |ater-
wer|ds have |a cemmea that they are twe sp|r|tua| ua|verses,
thattheyhave||ghtassubstaace, thattheyare|mmater|a| , aad
thattheyceata|athe auteaemeusPermsaadImagese|theua|-
verse.
8ha|kh a'od Oayart draws spec|a| atteat|ea te the pages
e| 8ha|kh Muhyiddta Iba 'Arabt's beek eat|t|ed The Spirit
ual Conquests of Mecca2 |a wh|ch the auther c|ear|y states
thatthere|saedeubtthattheseceadlaterwer|d|sd|ereat|rem
the rst. Be ca||s the |atter the mystery e| the Pess|b|e ( er
Puturab|e ) whereas he ca||s the secead the mystery e|the Im-
pess|b|e ( erIrrevers|b|e ) . These twe appe||at|eas meaa that||,
eatheeaehaad,|t|spss|b|e|erevery|ermerarchetypa|gure
ex|stlag la the rst |aterwer|d te be maa||ested |a the v|s|b|e
wer|d,lt ls,eatheetherhaad,|mpess|b|e|eraPermtraaspesed
ta the Hecond wer|1 teceme bac| te the v|s|b|ewer|d,ua|ess|t
ll in th 1wrc1tlum vcnturu m. Many a:e the vl sleaary mystlcs,
1 6 1
Article V
te whem the Ferms e| the rst |nterwer|d are man||ested as
appar|t|ens, and whe thus have |ereknew|edge e| events |neur
wer|d. But en|y a very |ew v|s|enar|es have knew|edge e| the
psthumeusstatee|thesewhehavedeparted|rem|t.
8ecend|y, I weu|d ||ke te pe|nt eut the |e||ew|ng 8|nce the
c|ty e| !aba|qa |s the d|v|ne p|ane character|zed by the cen-
uencee|metwe seas,that|s, thecenuencee|thenecessary
mede e| be|ng and the pess|b|e mede e| be|ng, we can under-
standthat|n|t arecenta|nedtheFerms andImages e|the un|-
versa||tye|th|ngs andbe|ngs, |na||the|rdegrees genera|and
|nd|v|dua|, subt|e and dense, werks and act|ens, way e| be|ng
and way e| de|ng, mevement and rest. We can take |t that
!aba|qa |nc|udes everyth|ng that was and everyth|ng that w|||
be,and|erth|sreasen|ss|tuated|ntheEast,becausebeyend|t,
there|sthedegree e|thed|v|ne Ipse|ty|n |tse||, w|theut there
be|nganyse|ut|ene|cent|nu|tybetweenthetwe. Thesuns,the
meens,andthestars,wh|charethed|v|neNames,eterna|qua||-
cat|ens andhecce|t|es ar|se|nthe East,wh|ch|sd|v|neIpse|ty,
|remwh|chtheypre]ectthe|rsp|ender.Thec|tye|!abarsa,en
theetherhand,|sthewer|de|man,thep|acewheretheun|ver-
sa||tye|thecententse|thed|v|neNamesanda||theessencese|
b|ngareman||ested.Everyth|ngthatdawnstetheEaste|the
d|v|ne Ipse|ty, na||y dec||nes at the sunset e| human rea||ty
andbcemesh|dden|nthe|eme|human ex|stence. Apeethas
expressed|tthus 8heu|dthere be anOcc|dent,herewe are~
beceme mc|dentse|themyster|es. 8heu|dtherenetbeanOcc|-
dent,hereweare~becemetheer|entse|the||ghts.
Inshert,!aba|qaand!abaraaretwe|mmensec|t|es,theene
|ac|ngthe ether, and|ntruththere |s ne ||m|tte the mu|t|tude
e|creatureswh|ch|nhab|tthembeth.Andaseache|thewer|ds
has respect|ve|y |ts Or|ent and |ts Occ|dent, the auther e| the
ReseGardene|theMysterydec|ares Med|tatecen]e|nt|ythe
Or|entsandtheOcc|dents,netw|thstand|ngthateurwer|dhere
be|ewhasen|yenee|each.
Knewthatthewer|de|thede|ty,w|mrespcttethewer|d
e|suzera|nty |sanOr|ent|rem wh|ch the pr|merd|a| Emana-
t|eneuses en th|swer|de|suzera|nty. And tbe wer|de|suze-
1 62
Shamsuddin Muhammad Lihiji
ra|aty |s aa Or|eat |a re|at|ea te the |aterwer|d e| archetypa|
Images,aadthewer|de|archetypa|Images|saaOr|eat|are|a-
t|eatetheseaserywer|d.Fremeache|theseOr|eats,thed|v|ae
Emaaat|eaeuseseathewer|dwh|ch|sbaeath|t.Eache|the
ua|verses|atura,eache|thedegreese|b|ag,eache|the |ad|-
v|dua|s,|saaOr|eat|remwh|chr|sesthesuae|eaeName|rem
ameagthe d|v|ae Names. Thehumaaheart, because |trecap|tu-
|atesa||the|emse|theep|phaa|c|uact|ea,pssesseshuadreds,
eveahuadredse|theusaadse|Or|eats aadst|||mere,aada||the
stars wh|ch are the d|v|ae Names r|se aad sh|ae threugh these
Or|eats. But eppes|te each eae there |s a|se aa Occ|deat. Bew
weadreus aad straam the humaa heart, wh|ch ae eae caa see,
savethep|| g|mse|thesp|r|t,whearethepure|aheart.0
1 6!
VI
ADRUDDI N MUAMMAD SHIRAZI
( MULLA ADRA)
( d. I00/ I c10 i
S
p
issitudo S
p
iritualis *
The term spissitudo spiritualis ( spiritual condensation or con
sistency) was suggested by Henry More in his Enchiridion
metaphysicum to designate the "fourth dimension" ( quarta
dimensio ) , the idea of which inevitably struck him once he
grasped the distinction between the concepts of space ( that of
the locus supracoelestis ) and the concept of matter. The expres
sion seemed appropriate to characterize the following pages of
Mulli sadri. It brings out a not altogether surprising afnity
between the Cambridge Platonists and the Persian Platonists,
to which we will return elsewhere.
Everyth|ag maa p|ctures te h|mse||, a|| that he rea||y per-
ce|ves, whether threugh |ate|||g|b|e er seasery percept|ea,
whether | a th|s wer|d er |a the beyead, a|| these th|ags are
|nseparab|e |rem man h|mse|| aad caaaet be d|ssec|ated |rem
h|s esseat|a| "1. " Mere prec|se|y, what |s esseat|a||y the eb]ect
e|percept|ea |s semeth|agthat ex|sts |a h|mse||, aet |a seme-
th|nge|se. We have a|readyhad eccas|ea te speak e| what the
eb]ecte|v|sua| percept|eaesseat|a||y|s, wheathesky,theearth,
eraayth|age|se|serce|ved,byus,|t|saetaaeuter|ermex|st-
|ag|aeb]ect|vemater|a|data,as|euad|athed|meas|ease|eur
wer|d.
It|struethatatthedawae|ceasc|eusaess|amaa, the seu|'s
percept|earequ|restheceeperat|eae|mater|a|ergaas ( eye,ear,
aad se ea i , |t a|se requ|res thatthepes|t|eae| eb]ects sat|s|y
, Excerpt from the Book of the Theosophy of the Throne ( Kitab a l
ikmat al'arshiya ) , Teheran, 1 31 5/ 1 897, pp. 148, 15 1-55, 195-98.
Tis bok has been the subject of several commentaries, notably the one
by Shaikh AQmad AQsA'l ( Tabrtz, 1278/ 186 1 ) 8CC pp. 1 82 202, 325-
34, some excerpts from which are given below ( Art . l A , 4 h, t' , ! ) ,
1 64
$adruddin Mu/ammad Shirazi
certa|a re|at|eash|ps, because percept|ea |s st||| ea|y peteat|a|
|athe be|age|maa |ase|ar as be |s a |ee||agsub]ect. ltthere-
|eremustbep|aced|aa su|tab|eperspect|ve aadthecead|t|eas
pecu||ar te the ergaa e| percept|ea |a re|at|ea te a mater|a|
eb]ectmustb|u|||ed.Butthemater|a|ebject|saeveraayth|ag
but aaeb]ectperce|ved by accident; |t |s actua||yea|yaaeuter
|erm |m|tat|ag, exemp|||y|ag the |erm preseat |a the seu| ( |ts
archetypa|Ferm|atheMalakat ) , wh|ch|sessentially theeb]ect
e|percept|ea.That|swhy,wheapercept|eahaseaceersevera|
t|mes takea p|ace |a th|s maaaer, the seu| |s verye|tea ab|e te
ceatemp|ate the |erm e| a th|ag |a |ts ewa wer|d w|theut re-
qu|r|ag aa euter mater|a| eb]ec as |atemed|ary. la the post
mortem statethererema|asaeebstac|etepreveattheseu||rem
prce|v|aga||that|t|ee|s aadperce|vesw|theutthe|atermed|ary
e|e|therexteraa|mater|a|dataere|acerperea|ergaabe|eag|ag
ae|ther te the wer|d e| theseu| aer te thetrue rea||ty e| the
seu|.. . .
O| a|| the rea||t|es that maa sees aad ceatemp|ates |a the
wer|dbeyead,thesewh|chde||ght,||keheur|s,cast|es,gardeas,
greea vegetat|ea, aad streams e| ruaa|ag water~as we|| as
the|r eppes|testbe herr||y|ag k|ads e| wh|ch Be|| |s cem-
pesedaeaee|these|sextr|as|cteh|m,tetheveryesseacee|
b|sseu| , aeae|sd|st|acterseparated|rem h|sewaacte|ex|st-
|ag. The substaat|a| rea||ty|sstreager,the|rpemaaeace btter
assured, the|resseace merestab|e,thaa|athecasee|themate-
r|a| |ems e| eur seasery wer|d wh|ch are sub]ect te |acessaat
reaewa|aadchaage. Letaeeaethere|erebe||evehehasther|ght
tequest|eathe p|ace, thesitus, aadthed|rect|eae|theserea||-
t|es, aet evea te weaderwhetherthey are ea the |as|de er the
euts|de e| eur cesmes, whether they are abve the 8phere e|
8pheres that determ|aes the ceerd|aates e| seasery space er
whether they are |ac|uded |a the c|rc|es e| the Beaveas, er
whethertheyarebe|ewthece|est|a|8pheres.8uchquest|easare
meaa|ag|ess eace |t |s uadersteed that we are ceaceraed w|th
aaetber rea|m e| ex|steace, betweea wh|ch aad the mater|a|
world tbere|saere|at|eaastesitus erasted|meas|ea.
Cct'lll i nl y, a we||-
,
aewa/adfth assertstbattheEarthe|para-
1 65
Article VI
d|se |s the mameat ( the e|ghth Beavea er Beavea e| the
ceaste||aueas ) , wh||e |ts ree' |s the Threae e| the Merc||u|
( the8phete e|8pheres,theempyreaa ). Butth|s sheu|daetbe
takenasre|err|agtethe astreaem|ca|e|deac|esed|athespace
e|th|swer|d, betweeathe Beavea e|theceaste||at|eas aadthe
supreme Beavea. Ne, we sheu|d take |t as re|err|ag te that
wh|ch cetrespeads te the eseter|c p|aae e| each Heavea, me|r
supraseaseryrea||ty,the|rsp|r|tua|eat|ty,|erParad|se|s|atet|er
tethesupraseaseryrea||tye|Beavea.
8|m||ar|y, whea |t |s sa|d that Parad|se |s |a the seveath
BeaveaaadBe|||athe|ewerEarm,|tmustbeuadersteedthat
|t re|ers te semeth|ag |aaer, semeth|ag h|dden under the ve||s
e| th|s wer|d, |et the world beyond |s perpetua|, eteraa| , |ts
sweetaess|suaceas|ag,|ts|ru|t|eaua|aterrupted,|ts|ru|tsaever
|erb|ddea. Everyth|agte wh|ch man asp|res,everyth|aghe de-
s|tes,|s|astaataaeeus|ypteseatteh|m,erratheteaesheu|dsay
tep|ctureh|s des|rei |tse||teexper|eacetherea|preseacee||ts
eb]ect. Butthesweetaessaadde||ghtaretheexpress|eae|Para-
d|se aad Be||, geed aad ev|| , a|| that caa reach maa e| what
censt|tutes h|s retr|but|ea |a the wer|d beyead, have ae ether
seurce thaathe esseat|a| Ie|maah|mse||,|ermedas |t|s by
h|s|ateat|easaadpre]ects,h|smed|tat|eas,h|s|aaermestbe||e|s,
h|s ceaduct. The|r pr|ac|p|e ceu|d aet be |a semeth|ag w|th aa
ex|steace aad asitus d|ereat|rem h|s ewa acte|ex|st|ag. . .
Tere ate maay d|ereaces betweea the bed|es e|th|s wet|d
andthesee|theworld beyond. Iatheethetwer|d,eachbedy|s
aa|mated, |t |s a||ve thaaks te esseace, |t |s |mpess|b|e te cea-
ce|vee|a bedy there as be|agw|theut |||e, ua||ke|aeur wer|d
when there are bed|es depr|ved e| |||e aad ceasc|eusaess, aad
where ||v|ag bed|es aever have mete thaa aa acc|deata| aad
ephemera||||e. Thebed|ese|th|swer|drece|veme|rseu|satthe
eade|apraessthatmakesthemtterece|vethem. The seu|s
e|theworld beyond themse|ves preduce the|t bed|es |aaccerd-
aacew|ththe|rewaaeeds.That|swhy|aeutwer|dbed|esaad
mater|a|rea||t|esr|sepregress|ve|y,accerd|agtethe|rapt|tudes
aad metamerpheses, te meet seu|s, wh||e |a that ether wer|d
seu|scemedewatemeetbed|es. Berebe|ew,v|nas| |ty|schreae-
166
$adruddin Mulammad Shirai
logcally antecedent to an act, while the act is ontologically ante
cedent to virtuality. In the world byond viruality is onto
logcally, and ontically, antecedent to the act. Here, the act is
nobler than virtuality because it is its fulfllment. Tere, virual
ity is nobler than the act bcause it is that which produces the
act.
Bodies and volumes are infnite in the other world, because
they originate from the imaginations and prceptions of souls,
which are bth infnite. Profs that dimensions are necessarily
fnite are not valid for the other world; they are only valid for the
dimensions and material spatializations of this world. Neverthe
less, there is neither crowding nor discomfor in that other world;
no body is outside another, nor inside it. Every human bing,
blessed or damned, possesses a complete universe, vaster in
itself than our world, and never forming, in relation to another
man's universe, as it were, a step in the same series, because
each of the blessed possesses whatever proprtion of the entire
series he desires. This is why the great mystic Abn Yazld Bas
ami declared: "Even were the Throne, with all it contains, to
enter into the secret places of Abo Yazld's heart, Abo Yazld
would not notice it. " 4
Now as to the way in which acts assume a bdy, and inten
tions assume shap on the resurrection day, you should know
what has been said abut the matter of their forms. Ever outer
form has its particular mode of apparition in the soul's dwelling.
Reciprocally, every inner form, every psychic for, all bhavior,
every habitus rooted in the soul, has a cerain mode of extra
mental existence. Do you not see that when a humid body exer
cises its efect on corporeal matter able to receive humidity, such
matter receives it and itself bcomes humid as did that body,
thereafter having the same plastic fexibility as the latter? On
the contrary, if it works on another matter, for example on an
organ of sensory perception or of imaginative perception, even
though that organ undergos the action of humidity, this is not
the same action; it dos not bcome humid after the manner of
that hoy, even while receiving the essence ( quiddity ) of it
humi di ty, but in another form and of another typ. In turn, the
167
Article VI
|nte||ect|ve |acu|ty e| man rece|ves anether |erm |rem |t and
perce|ves anether mede e| |u ex|st|ng and appear|ng a|theugh
the qu|dd|ty |n quest|en |s st||| the same, name|y the essence
( quiddity ) e|hum|d|tyandthehum|d.
8eherewe seehewthe samequ|dd|typessessesthree|ems
|nthreed|erentabedes,|ereache|wh|ch|thasanapprepr|ate
mede e|ex|stence and a den|te mede e| appearance. Pause te
cens|derthed|erencee|statusshewnbythesethreeex|stences
e|eneandthesamequ|dd|ty,aadcemparethemanner|nwh|ch
each|dea|rea||tyandeachcencretequ|dd|tycantakeend|erent
cengurat|ens |n the|r medes e| ex|st|ng and appear|ng. Then
de netbe surpr|sed || anger,wh|ch|sa psych|c meda||ty when
|tappears,bytak|ngen|ermw|thextramenta|ex|stencebecemes
a deveur|ngre, ner||knew|edge,wh|ch|sa|seawaye|be|ng
e| the seu| , becemes a |euata|n ca||ed Salsabil ( a |eunta|n e|
Parad|se, Our'an 16. i ) when |t appears as tak|ng en a |erm
w|th extramenta| ex|stence, de net be surpr|sed || that wh|ch
semeenehasun]ust|ydeveured e| anerphan'swea|th becemes,
|ntheetherwer|d,arethatterturesh|sentra||s, ner||the|eve
e| th|s wer|d, that |s, bad pass|ens and pessess|ve amb|t|ens
wh|charema|ad|ese|theseu| ,becemest|ng|ngscerp|ens,b|t|ng
snakes. Th|s sheu|d sumce te strengthen the |a|th e| ene ab|e
te understand |n the prem|ses and the threats uttered by me
Prephet.
It |s |ncumbent en anyene whe has the strength te venture
|nteh|gherkaew|edgetemed|tateenthepsych|cqua||cat|ens,
themedese|be|nge|theseu| , andentheway|nwh|ch these
medes e|be|ngg|ve r|seteeectsandextema| acts. Besheu|d
make th|s knew|edge a gu|de se that he may understand hew
certa|n medes e| be|ng and behav|er |mp|y the preduct|en, en
the daye|resurrect|ene|eutereects apprepr|ate te them. Aa
examp|e. the v|e|encee| anger|n a man preduces d|sturbance
e|theb|eed,rednesse||ace,swe|||nge|thesk|n. Newanger|s
apsych|cstate,semeth|ngthatex|sts|nthe|nnerwer|de|maa.
As |er the eects ]ust neted, they are the medes e| be|ng e|
ergan|c mater|a|bed|es,the|actrema|asthattheyaretheeects
preduced |ath|swer|d by pure|y psycb|c states. Tbere|ere why
168
$adruddin Mu/ammad Shirazi
b astea|shed||,|aaaetherwer|d,aager|sceaverted|ateapure
re that |aames the heart, |a|ects the eatra||s, ceasumes the
v|scera,just as|t|s|ahereatte|t|ath|swer|dteheatthe bedy,
acce|eratethe pu|sat|eae|the arter|es,makethe ||mbs tremb|e,
ceasume the humeurs, semet|mes te |ead te ser|eus |||aess,
eveatea|ata| acc|deat.We|| ! |t|sthesame|er a||thecerperea|
aad mater|a| |ems ex|st|ag |a the wer|d beyead, a|| e| them
resu|t|remhab|tsacqu|redbytheseu|s,|remthe|rgeederbad
behav|er, |rem the be||e|s they pre|ess, |rem the|r hea|thy er
cerrupt |ateat|eas, |rem everyth|ag |a them that takes tat
threughtherepet|t|eae|act|easaadwayse|de|agth|ags|ath|s
wer|d. That|swhy,||act|easaretheseurcee|behav|er|ath|s
wer|d,seu|sarethe pr|ac|p|es e|bed|es|athewer|dbeyeadby
the|rmedese|b|ag.
As|erthe matter ceast|tut|ag bed|es |a the beyead threugh
wh|chact|eastakeeabedyaad|ateat|eastakeshap,thatmatter
|s aeth|ag ether thaa the humaa seu| |tse||. !ust as mater|a|
matter ( hyle ) |sherethe mattere|wh|ch bed|es aadexteaded
|ermsareceast|tuteda|theughth|smatter|a|tse||deesaethave
exteat,s
,
thehumaa seu| |sthematterwh|ch, |athe wer|d be-
yead,ceast|tutestheex|steatswh|chtherehaveexteataadshap,
a|theugh the seu| |a |tse|| |s a sp|r|tua| rea||ty w|theut exteat.
8utherecena|a d|ereaces eater betweea the aaa|egeus |uac-
t|ease|seu|aadthehyle.
The ex|steace e| matter ( hyle ) |s pure|ypeteat|a| ex|steace,
|a |tse|||thasae actua| b|agexcept threugh cerperea| |erms.
It |s qu|te etherw|se w|th the seu|, wh|ch |tse|| |s actua||y ex-
|steat,hassubstaat|a|ex|steace, aad|seadewedw|ththe ab|||ty
te perce|ve. It beg|as by be|ag |a th|s wer|d the form e| the
e|emeata|bedy.Thea|tbecemesthemattere|thewer|dbeyead,
|erthe |erms e|thewer|dbeyead w|thwh|ch|t |s ua|ted by a
mede e|ua|ea sui generis. It |s there|ere ea the eae haad the
form e|the mater|a| rea||t|ese|eurwer|d,aadea theetherthe
matter e| tbe |erms e| the wer|d beyead, breathed |ate |t ea
tbedaywheathebreathe|theAage| w|||causethetrumpette
seaa4,whea theyw||| s||ceme raaa|ag|acrewdsaccerd|agte
thri r va:|aasspecies.
Article VI
Further,theseu||sasp|r|tua| ,subt|ematter( madda ruaniya
la1ifa, spiasitudo spiritualis! ) ; |t caa rece|ve |ems ea|y |a a
subt|e supraseasery state, prcept|b|e aet te the seases e| th|s
war|d,buttetheseasese|thewer|dbeyead.Oatheetherhaad,
mater|a|matter ( hyle ) |sadease,epaquematterwh|chrece|ves
dens|ed |ems detem|aed by seasery d|meas|eas aad seasery
ps|t|aas,m|xtures e| v|nua||ty aad e| aeab|ag. Further st|||,
mater|a|matterbhaves|napass|veway|are|at|eatethe|ems
|t rece|ves, |t undergees chaage, a|terat|ea, mevemeat. Ia cea-
trast, the behav|er e| the sau| |a rece|v|ng |ems that beceme
reeted|n|t|saceaservat|ve act|ea,aaact|ve|mp||cat|ea. There
|s na |ncampat|b|||ty btweea |ts recept|v|ty |a regard te |ems
and|tsacte|preduc|agthesesame|erms,s|ace|t|sprec|se|yby
ene aad me same reasea |er |ts be|ag that |t s|mu|taaeeus|y
praduces, aadrece|vesthe|emsaad|magespreducedby|tse||,
the same he|ds gaed |er |ts kaew|edge e| rst pr|ac|p|es, the
ex|steace e| wh|ch |s aet d|enat|ated |rem the very ex|steace
a|theInte|||gencethatcausesthemteex|st.
Thenareyetetherd|
ereaces recept|v|ty|nthatwer|ddees
aethavetheseasee|apregess|ve|yacqu|redapt|tudeaere|a
|uture pateat|a| . F|aa||y,here |ems are semaay pr|ect|eas as
regardsthe|r matters aadsubstrata,wh||etherethe|ems,bera
|remtheseu||tse||,areaetper|ect|easasregardsmeseu||ase|ar
astheyare|emsactualied |er|t.Therethegew|ngper|ect|ea
e|theseu| ceas|sts |averse|y |a|ts actua||zat|aae|these |ems,
that |s, |n be|ng such that |t praduces these |ems |tse||, aad
makesthemtheab]ecte||tsewakaew|edge. There |s betweea
thetwaaspectsa|uadamenta|d|erenceexp|a|aede|sewhere.
1 70
VII
' ABD AL- RAZZ.Q L.HI JI
( d. i012/ i 662 )
Oriental Theosophists and Peripatetic Philosophers"
Kaewthattherewasaschee|e|ph||esephers|aIs|am, headed
by 8h|habuddta Yahys 8uhrawardt, whe was reaewaed uader
thet|t|eMastere|Or|eata|Theesephy ( Shaikh al-lshriq ) |er
hav|agcreated|atheIs|am|cerathecerpuse|thetheesephye|
theOr|eata|s. Th|sschee|suppertsthethes|sthatsevera|e|the
k|ags aadpr|acese|aac|eat Pers|a,such asKayKhusraw- aad
h|speers,were|a|t|atese|Or|eata|theesephy.TheGreeksages
pr|erte Ar|stet|ewere||kew|seadepts e|th|s theesephye|the
Or|eata|s. Ar|stet|e, ea the ether haad, teek up aa eppes|te
pes|t|eaaadcreatedthataggregatee|datr|aesdes|gaatedasthe
ph||esephy e|thePer|patet|cs.
Thedlereacebetweeathetheesephye|theOr|eata|saadthe
ph||esephy e|the Per|patet|cs caa b seea|rem severa| aag|es.
As everyeae kaews, the Or|eata|s, er lshriqiyun, amrm that
w|sdemcaabeatta|aedea|ythreughamethede|sp|r|tua|rea||-
zat|ea,theyemphas|zethe |aaereerte|sp|r|tua| strugg|e aad
myst|ca|exper|eace.Theyva|ueae|therpurerat|eaa|theeryaer
d|a|ect|cs as such, eae m|ght evea say that they are |raak|y
hest||ete them. The Per|patet|cs,eatheether haad, base the|r
ph||esephyearat|eaa|theeryaad|eg|ca|reasea|ag,aadceacede
ae va|ue te what caaaet b reduced te rat|eaa| argumeatat|ea
aad|eg|ca| reasea|ag.TheOr|eata|s, erlshriqiyun, are re|ated
te the Per|patet|cs as the u|ts t the sche|ast|c thee|eg|aas e|
Is|am ( theMutakallimun ) . Th|sd|ereacecaabverled|athe
pre|eguee|thebeekwh|chwasmeat|eaedprev|eus|y.
Extract from the great work in Persian entitled Gawhar-i murad
( Tht l>tdrtd Jtwel ) , Sd maqlla, 4th bib, 2d farl, Teheran, lS lS/ 1895,
pp. 287--89.
1 7 1
Article VI
Br|ey, the Or|eata| theeseph|sts aad the u|is agree |a de-
|ead|ag|aph||esephyaadmyst|ca| theesephya|argeaumbere|
theerems wh|ch the Per|patet|cs aad the sche|ast|c thee|eg|aas,
eathegreuadsthattheydeaetmeettherequ|remeatse|rat|eaa|
theeryaad|eg|ca|argumeatat|ea,re]ect.Thesetheeremsaetab|y
|ac|ude the eae amm|ag the ex|suace e| the mundus arche
typus, the auteaemeus wer|d e| archetypa| Images er Perms
( 'a/am-i mit hal ) . TheOt|eata|theeseph|sts aadthea|is agree
|aamrm|agthe|e||ew|ag betweeathe|ate|||g|b|ewer|d,wh|ch
|s the wer|d e| eat|re|y |mmater|a| pure Iate|||geaces, aad the
seasery wer|d, wh|ch |s the wer|d e| pure|y mater|a| rea||t|es,
there ex|sts aaether ua|verse. The be|ags e| th|s |atermed|ary
ua|verse pessess shape aad exteat, evea theugh they de aet
havemater|a|matter.ThusthepureIate|||macesareseparated
beth|remmatteraadexteat,pure|ymater|a|th|ags arec|ethed
w|th beth matter aad exteat, the be|ags e| the mundus arche
typus areseparte|remmatter,buteadewedw|thexteat|athe
samewayasthe |erms e||mag|aat|veceasc|eusaess. Nevenhe-
|ess,thetea||tye|the|emswh|chare|mmaaeat|a|mag|aat|ve
ceasc|eusaessres|des|athatceasc|eusaess|tse||,aeteb]ect|ve|y
erextrameata||y,whereasthe rea||tye|thewer|de|archetypa|
Images|seb]ect|veaadextrameata|.
Thus th|s wer|d |s |atermed|ate betweea the twe ua|verses .
as a resu|t e| be|ag separated |rem matter, |t |s e| the same
aatureasthewer|de|pureIate|||geaces,asatesu|te|pessess|ag
|em aad exteat, |t resemb|es the wer|d e| mater|a| th|ags.
Everybe|age|thetweua|verses,the|ate|||g|b|eaadtheseasery,
has|tsarchetypa|Image|ath|s|atermed|ateua|verse,ase||-sub-
s|steat Image w|th auteaemeus ex|steace,~every creature aad
everyth|ag,|ac|ud|agmevemeataadrest,att|tudesaadphys|eg-
aem|es,aversaadper|umes,aadetheracc|deata|s. Themede
e|ex|steaceassumed|ath|s|atermed|atewer|dbyaaesseat|a||y
|mmater|a| be|agcerrespeads|er th|s same be|agte a k|ad e|
desceat threugh wh|ch |t becemes ab|e te take ea exteat aa1
shape. Oathe ether haad, the mede e| ex|steace assumed |a |t
byamater|a|be|ag,|erth|ssamebe|agcerrespeadsteaaasceat
1 72
Abd al-Raziq Lihiji
wh|ch str|ps |t e|matter aad certa|a th|ags |ahereat |a matter,
suchas|aa||zat|ea.
Th|s ua|verse|s a|se des|gaatedasthewer|de|auteaemeus
Images aad Imag|aat|ea, aad as the wer|d e| the barakh. 10
Itmayhappeathatabe|age|th|sauteaemeuswer|de|Images
makes h|mse|| v|s|b|e, makes h|s apparaace |a eur mater|a|
wer|d, aad caa be perce|ved |a |t by the euter seases. Bed|es
wh|ch are per|ect|y pe||shed aad traaspareat bd|es, such as
m|rrers,st|||water,theatmesphere,arethep|acese|theep|ph-
aay|aeurmater|a|wer|de|thebe|agse|thewer|de|archetypa|
Images.Iathesameway,maa's Imag|aat|ea |sa|sethep|acee|
the|rep|phaay. Permsceatemp|ated|am|rrers aadthese maa|-
|ested |a the Imag|aat|ea beth be|eag te that mundus arche
typus, wh|ch |s maa||ested |er us |a these ep|phaa|c p|aces
( mfahir ) , that|s,themrreraadtheImag|aat|ea.Iathesame
way a|se, the |erms eae sees |a a dream, Aage|s, ma|| , aad
demeas, are ||kew|se be|ags be|eag|agte th|s same wer|d,whe
are semet|mes maa||est te a whe|e greup, |a such er such aa
ep|phaa|cp|ace|aA|rerWater.
There |s, mereever, a trad|t|ea dat|ag back tethe8ages e|
aat|qu|ty ceacera|ag the ex|steace e| a ua|verse hav|ag exteat
but d|ereat |rem the seasery wer|d~a ua|verse w|m |aa|te
weaders aadceuat|essc|t|es,ameagthemJabalqa aadJabara,
twe|mmeasec|t|es,eachhav|agatheusaadgatesaadceata|a|ag
|aaumerab|ecreatures.Th|s|stheua|versebywh|chthetheese-
h|sts e|that schee| ( theIshraqiyan erOr|eata|s ) exp|a|a aad
autheat|catebed||yresurrect|ea, they amrmthatParad|se,Be||,
aadtheEarthe|Resurrect|eahavethe|rex|steace|ath|smundus
archetypus, the auteaemeus ua|verse e| the archetypa| Images.
Th|s|s the ua|verse |awh|ch acc|deats caa acqu|n substaace,
|awh|chthe actsaadwerkse|maacaatakeeaceas|steat|erm
aad gure. - Ameagthe schee|s that adm|t bed||y resurrect|ea
there |seae that pre|esses that the humaa pneuma ( the subt|e
bedy ) ceat|aues te ex|st |a th|s wer|d e| auteaemeus Images
dur| ag the |aterva| wh|ch |s a|se ca||ed a barakh, aad wh|ch
exteads|remthe deathe|tbe|ad|v|dua| te the GreatResurrec-
1 73
Article VI
t|ea. Numereus /adith aad trad|t|eas a||ude te th|s aad caa b
queted|asuppert, these w||| beaaa|yzed |ater |a th|sbeek.
Th|s wer|d e| archetypa| Images d|ers |rem the wer|d e|
P|atea|c Ideas~the eaewh|chewes |ts aame te P|ate~|a th|s
seasethattheP|atea|c Ideasdes| gaateuniersal |emse|kaew|-
edge, separate |rem matter aad a|| mater|a| eave|epmeats, se||-
subs|steat,aetsubs|st|agea|ythreughtheperseae|thekaew|ag
subjecterthreughsemeethersubstratum. Accerd|agteP|ate
|t|sthreughtheseIdeasthatthed|v|aeBe|aghaskaew|edgee|
that wh|ch |s ether. Here exact|y |s a th|rd way e| ceace|v|ag
d|v|aekaew|edge |ase|ar as |t d|ers |rem twe ether types e|
kaew|edge. representative kaew|edge aad presential kaew|-
edge. New, accerd|agtethe Or|eata| theeseph|sts, the be|ags
e|the wer|d e|archetypa|Imamsareparticular |ems that are
separate |rem Matter, but by ae meaas |rem a|| mater|a| ( that
|s, subt|e ) eave|epes. O| ceurse, the wer|d e| P|atea|c Ideas
resemb|esth|swer|de|archetypa|Images|ameseasethatthese
auteaemeus |mag|aat|ve Ferms are se||-subs|steat, ]ust as the
Ideaser|ate|||g|b|e|ermsare se||-subs|steat. Ia sum,thethes|s
e|theauteaemeuswer|de|archetypa|Images|specu||artethe
Or|eata|theeseph|sts ( lshriiyun) aadtetheu|ts,aadtesup-
pr th|sthes|stheyre|ertemyst|ca|exper|eace. . . .
Te author then recalls a number of objections which the
Peripatetics and scholastic theologians brought against te
lshraqiyan. It is not possible here t dwell on these technical
details. Among oter tings, the Peripatetics of Islam persisted
in objecting that every extent implies divisibility, and that every
divisibility implies matter, and consequently that it is impos
sible for extended forms to exist witout matter. Unfortunately
te idea of divisibility seemed to be limited for them to that of
anatomical divisibility, and teir concept of matter to tat of
te composite, dense, and corruptible matter of te sublunar
world. With the "Oriental theosophists" te idea of te mundus
archetypus presupposes the idea of "absolute matter," that is,
absolved from the deterinations tat are peculiar t te state
of matter in the terrestrial world. Tis very idea of a primordial
"immaterial" matter is te key to the cosmogony of Ibn 'Arabi
( nafa ai-Ra!man, the Breath of te Merciful ) ; without it, the
spissitudo spiritual i, namely, the subtle condensation of the pre-
1 74
'Abd al-Razaq Lahiji
material matter of the beings of the mundu archetypu, is
inconceivable. In this sense, there is no for witout matter.
We will meet with this idea throughout the following passages.
Te excert from Mulli adri, translated above, can sere
a prelude to them.
1 75
VI I I
MUISI N FAY KASHANI
( d. I0 I / I 0 i
A World in Which Spirits Are Corporealized and
in Which Bodies Are Spiritualized*
Because the pewer te gevern bed|es has been entrusted te
8p|r|ts, andbecause|t|s|mpess|b|e|erad|rectcennect|entebe
estab||shedbetweensp|r|tsandbed|esenacceunte|the|rhetere-
geneeusessence,Gedcreatedthewer|de|thearchetypa|Images
as an|ntermed|ary (barakh ) ||nk|ngthe wer|d e| 8p|r|ts and
the wer|d e| bed|es. Bence the cennect|en and an|cu|at|en e|
each e|the twewer|dsw|ththe ether |s assured. The em|ss|en
andrecept|ene|the|nuxe|sp|r|tua|ent|t|esthenbecemescen-
ce|vab|e,sp|r|tsareab|eteexerc|sethe|rregencyeverbed|esand
cemetethe|rass|stance.
Th|s archetypa| wer|d |s a sp|r|tua| un|verse. On the ene
hand,|tsymbe||zesw|thmater|a|substance|nthat|tcanbe an
eb]ecte| percept|en, |s endewedw|thextent, and can man||est
|nt|meand|nspace. Ontheetherhand, |tsymbe||zeswthpure
|nte|||g|b|e substance, |n that |t |s |ermed e| pure ||ght and |s
|ndependente| space and t|me. Thus, |t |sne|thera cempes|te
mater|a|bedy,nerapure|nte|||g|b|esubstancecemp|ete|ysepa-
rate |rem matter. One m|ght rather descr|be |t as a un|verse
hav|ng dua||ty e|d|mens|ensthreugheach e| wh|ch |t symbe|-
|zes w|th the un|verse te wh|ch that d|mens|en cerrespends.2
There |s ne ex|stent th|ng, whether |nthe |nte|||g|b|e wer|d er
|nthesenserywer|d,whese |mage|snetrecerded|nth|s |nter-
med|ate un|verse. Th|s un|verse, |n the macrecesm, |s heme|e-
geustetheact|veImag|nat|en|nthehumanm|crecesm. Indeed,
, Extract from Kalimit maknana ( Sayings Kept Secret ) , ch.
1
lith. Teheran, 1 2/ 1 6/ 1801, pp. 68-70; Bombay, 1296/ 1878, pp. 69-72.
The work is in Arabic and Persian.
1 76
Mulsin Fay Kishini
|tcempt|sesaaaspectthepercept|eae|wh|ch|sdepeadentupea
the|acu|t|eshav|ngthe|tseat|nthebra|a,th|sbe|agtecha|ca||y
ca||edthecent|gueus |mag|nat|ea ( cent|gueustethe atchetypa|
wet|d, wh||e tema|n|ng |mmanent |n maa ) . But |t a|se cem-
pt|sesaaaspectaetsub]ectteth|scend|t|en,andwh|ch|sca||ed
theAuteaemeusImag|nat|en ( thewer|de|theMalakat ) . 8
It|s:hteugh th|s wer|d, and thteugh |tschatactet|st|c ptep-
etty, that sp|r|tua| eat|t|es ate cerperea||zed, ate embed|ed,
wheatheyareman||ested|atheep|phan|c|etmswh|ch ate the
Images w|th wh|ch they symbe||ze. Th|s |s what |s te|etredte
|athevetsete|||aghewGabr|e|teeken a bedy ( wastyp|ed )
b|eteMatyam |athe|etme|ahuman be|nge|pet|ectbeauty
(i : i 6). The stety te|d abeut the 8amar|taa a||udes te the
same th|ag. I sawwhatthey d|d net see, I teek a haad|u| e|
eatth|temundetthe |eete|the Messeaget ( 20. 6 i , that |s,
|temundetthe|eete|theArchange| Gabt|e|.Thesame re|et-
ence |s a|se centa|ned |a the trad|t|en wh|ch te|ates that the
Ptephet saw the Archange| Gabr|e| |n the gu|se e| the ade-
|escentDahya a|-Ka|bt andheardh|m tead a d|sceutse c|ethed
|awerdsaad|ettets.
Th|s |s the |ntetmed|ate wet|d te wh|ch these whe ate sp|r-
|tua||zed ( thepneumat|cenes ) arecan|ede|nthe|tsp|r|tua|
assumpt|easwhentheyshedthe|te|ementa|phys|ca||ermsand
whenthe|t8p|r|uputenthe|rep|phan|csp|r|tua||erm. It|s|n
the|ntetmed|atewer|dthatpr|ect8eu|sputentheappat|t|ena|
|ems|awh|chtheyatepetce|ved|na p|aceetherthaatheene
where they actua||y ate, et e|se appeat te h|m te whem they
w|sh te appeat |aa |erm d|etent |rem that |awh|ch they are
perce|ved bythe senses dur|ngthe|r eanh|y se]eurn. Thatvety
th|ng can ceme te pass a|tet the|t trans|er te the ethet wet|d,
|ertheathepsyche-sp|r|tua| energy |s |unhet |ncteased bythe
|actthattheebstac|ee|thebedyhasbeenremeved.
Inshen,th|s |sthe wer|de|archetypa|Imagesthreugh and
|n wh|ch Spirits are corporealized and bodies spiritualized.
Threughand |nth|swer|d,wayse|be|ngandmara| behav|eur
are perseaal ized,aadsupetseaseryrea||t|esareman||ested|athe
FormN unci fgures with which they symbe||ze. Aad |urther, the
1 77
Article VII
appearance of fgres in mirrors or in any refecting substance,
for instance clear water, likewise taes place in tis interediate
world, since all fgures refected by mirors also belong to this
world. 8 Again, all forms and fgres immanent in our active
Imagination are seen in tis intermediate world, whether in
dreams or in the waking state, bcause tese fors and fgures
are contigous to this archetypal world; they receive its light
in the way tat a ray of light penetrates into a dwelling place
through skylight and lattices.
So, this is an immense world, so vast that it contains not only
the Fors of the immaterial substances above it, but also the
matrial realities below it. It is the interediary, the medium
through which the connection is efected. The senses and sensory
perceptions rise toward it, as the supersensory7 realities descend
toward it. From the place it ocupies it continues to gather in
the frits of each thing. It is trough this world that the trth
is confred of the accounts of the Prophet's assumption to
Heaven which mention that, in the manner of an eyewitness,
he had a vision of the Angels and prophets. 8 It is in this inter
mediate world tat the Holy ImAms are present when they
appear before a dying person, as related in so many traditional
accounts. This is the world in which the interogation of the
tomb takes place, with its delights and its torents; and it is in
tis interediate world also that the faitful believer can visit
those near to him after their death. Likewise, this interediate
world accounts for the possibility of scenes alluded to in certain
traditions : where the Spirits recognize one another post mortem,
just as corporeal beings recognize one anoter, ask questions of
one another, and so forh.
It would seem tat the "descent of Jesus" ( at the time of te
parousia of the hidden ImAm) belongs to this category of events.
In the words of Shaikh adnq: 1
0
"The descent of Jesus to the
Earh is his return t this world after bing carried away from
this world," because God himself prolaims : "It is I who receive
you, who carry you of toward myself, and deliver you from
those who deny you . . . until the Resurrection day."1 1 ( 1 1 i
In the same way, our traditions deriving from the Holy ImAms
1 78
Musin Fayr Kashimi
teach us : "At the time of the parousia of the Mahdi ( the
'Guide' ) , God will cause to come back a certain numbr of per
sons who died before; that is, a cerain numbr from among the
Initiates and adepts of the ImAm, his 'Shrites,' pure believers
with pure faith, so that they may gather with him the fruit of
his triumph and his invincible help and taste the joy of the
epiphany of his reign. God will likewise cause a certain numbr
of the enemies of the ImAm to return, pure infdels with pure
impiety, so that they may stand accused and receive the punish
ment they have deserved. . . . " All of this refers to the return
which accompanies te parousia and to which the faith of our
lmAmite coreligionists is paricularly attached. 11 And this is the
spiritual meaning of cerain verses relating to the resurrection,
when interpreted according to the teaching of our ImAms.
1 79
I X
THE SHAI KH! SCHOOL : SHAI KH
AIMAD AISA' I
( d. I21I /I 2 )
I . Physiology of the Resurrection Body*
. . . Iashett,whatme|ex|cegtaphets,ph||e|eg|sts,aadspec|a|-
|sts|aexeges|se|theOur'aateachus|sthattheesh (jasad )
des|gaatesthebedy,theve|ume ( jism) e|me||v|ag,maa||est,
aadv|s|b|ebe|ag. It|sttuethatthetem|tequeat|yeccutsa|se
|a the techa|ca| |aaguage e| the a|chem|sts, aad |a th|s case
des|gaates meta|||c substaace, that e| the sevea meta|s . ge|d,
s||vet, ceppet, |tea,|ead,t|a, aad metcuty. What seems mest
|e|y te me |s that et|g|aa||y, et as t|me weat ea, the wetd
jaad |atheAtab|c|aagagewastakeatemeaathebedy (jism )
e|the ||v|agbe|ag|ase|atasthe sp|t|t (riQ ) |s abseat|tem|t.
But e|sewhete, thetetm |s used |etsemeth|ag d|eteat. Thus
the Qamas meat|eas |ts use te des|gaate sarea ( jasad aad
jistd) , aad evea te des|gaate that wh|ch |s aa|mated by the
pneuma, the sp|t|t (riQ ) , as whea speak|ag e| the bedy e|
Zayd.
Bewevet, |t ceu|d be sa|d that |a the |ast case the term |s
|adeed usedtedes|gaate that wh|ch |s aa|mated bythe spirit ,
but ea|y whea tegatd|ag |t as a cempes|te tesu|t|ag |rem a
phys|ca|etgaa|smaad|temasp|t|t, thewetdweu|d thea app|y
ptec|se|ytethatwh|ch|sd|eteat|temthesp|t|taadaettethe
sp|t|taettethecempes|teassuch.Perhaps,thea,thea|chem|sts'
patt|cu|atusee|thewetdweu|deatet|ateth|scategery,e|ther
eathegteuadsthatmeta|sated|eteat|temsp|t|tserbecause
the a|chem|sts ceas|det seme meta|s as dec|eat, aame|y, |ead,
t|a, aad ceppetthets as |atermed|ary, aame|y, s||ver aad
. Extract from the Kitab Shar ai-Ziytra, Tnbrlz, 1 276/ 1 859, pp.
369-70.1
I HO
mercuty~aad eae ea|y ascemp|ete aada|shed, aame|y, ga|d.
Th|s gtadat|ea has te be uadersteed |a re|at|ea te the E||x|t
wh|ch,astegatdsthetsts|x,per|ectsthem,ete|semakesthem
teadtept|ectthe ethets, as |tdees|athecasee|ga|d. Iath|s
seasethemeta|saretepteseatedas|aaa|matebed|esw|theutthe
sp|t|t ( ajsid) ,thesp|r|tb|ag|etthemtheE||x|t.
It may a|se be that ||the astteaemers, ea the ceattaty, use
thewetdjism ( aetjasad) , |atheprepetsease,|t|sbecausethe
ce|est|a| 8phetes ate |aa subt|estatecempatab|ete thate|the
8p|t|ts, ete|se becauseastteaemetsregardthem|remthepe|at
e|v|ewe|the|tetetaa||atetdepeadeacew|ththe8eu|sbywh|ch
they ate meved, accetd|agte the dectr|ae e| the spec|a||sts |a
ce|est|a| phys|cs. The tetm|ae|egy used by Mus||ms ameag
themse|ves accetds w|th th|s usage, s|ace the|t exp|aaat|eas,
||ke thesee| the astteaemets, dea| w|th the astta| masses
( ajrim) assuch, w|theut |urtherdea|t|ea.
As|et the wetd jism, whea used w|tbeut |urthet dea|t|ea,
|t des|gaates that wh|ch |erms volume, |a the sease e| ve|ume
thatcaabd|v|dedaccetd|agt thethteed|meas|eas. It|e||ews
thea. e|thet that i) |t te|ers te aa |adetetm|aate aad s|mp|e
bedy, w|theut, se te speak, aay cemps|t|ea. 8emet|mes |t |s
te|ertedteasbody ( jism ) ceas|deted|a|tse||,asthate|wh|ch
|ts substaace |s made. 8emet|mes |t |s te|etred te as matter
( hayala, hyle ) , whea tegatded |tem the pe|at e| v|ew e| |ts
capac|tyte tece|ve the |etms e|the spec|es, ete|se, 2 ) |t may
re|ette the mathematical solid bedy ( jism ta'limi ) , that |s te
say, thebedywhea d|meas|ea assuch |sthept|maryceas|deta-
t|ea. Th|stetm |sdet|ved|rem the |act thatthe Aac|eats used
te teach the|r ch||dtea geemetry |a tems e| the bedy |ase|at
as|t|ac|udes||aesaadsut|aces, aeth|ag|urthet, ere|se |tmay
te|et te the physical body ( 1abrl ) , se des|gaated because the
d|scuss|ea |s ceaaed te ceas|der|ag |t |tem the pe|at e| v|ew
e|physis.
Ia the trad|t|eas ceacera|agtbe he|y Imams, aad |a |aveca-
t|eas addressed te tbem, semet|mes jasad ( the|t feshly bedy )
|s spken e|, somet ime1 thei r jism ( body, uadeaed ) . Fre-
quently l se h oth of thrNr l rm1 nre Uled, aad ea acas|ea the
I H I
Article IX
second ten ( jism) is substituted for the frst. The ImAms
themselves, in conversation with the pupils, must surely have
been guided by some considerations which they alone saw as a
whole. In any case, the result, for those who are fairly familiar
with the voabulary of the holy ImAms, is that the word ajsad
( plural of jasad, material, feshly body) is obviously used by
them as the antithesis of "Spirit," whereas the word jism ( bdy,
undefned, plural ajsam) has a much more general meaning in
their teninology. Occasionally, even the tens "fgres," "real
appearances," "apparitional fons" ( ashba/ ) , are used by them
as equivalent to "material body," and the ten "Spirits" as equiv
alent to "bodies" undefned ( ajsam)
.
Now you should be infoned that the human being possesses
two jasad and two jism. The frst jaad ( jaad A, that is, the
element! terrestrial body of fesh ) is the one which is made up
of elements that are a prey to time. This jasad, this fesh, is like
a ganent that a man puts on and later casts of again; this body
in itself has neither enjoyment nor sufering; it is subject neither
to fdelity nor to rbllion.
D you not see how it may happen to Zayd, for instance, to b
consumed by disease; he wastes away to the point where one
cannot blieve there is one ra#8 of fesh left on him. Yet he is
cerainly Zayd; he retains his identity. Spontaneously and with
out doubt you recognize him as still Zayd the rebel ; not one
paricle of his rebellion has disappared. If what disappeared
as the result of his wasting away had been capable of producing
the disapparance of his rebllion, then the later would have
almost entirely disappeared, because in that case it would have
lost both its suppor and its source. The same could be said
abut Zayd the faithful. Not one paricle of his fdelity will have
disappeared, since his fdelity has no connection whatever with
that part of him which has disappared, neither the connection
of an efect with its cause, nor that of a derivative with its source
-no interdependence exists of any kind whatsoever. If that
which te sickness has caused to disappear in Zayd had really
ben a par of him, its disapparance would have ben accompa
nied by the disapparance of the good and evil proper to Zayd's
1 82
Shaikh Ahmad Absai, 1
persea. Iaverse|y,||heputseawe| ght,Zayd rema|asthe same
Zayd, just as |a the prev|eus case wheathere was ne decrease,
se here there |s ae |acrease, se |ar as h|s esseace aad qua||t|es
areceaceraed,aer aay |acreasee|de||ty erreb|||ea.
Iashert,th|sjasad, this body of fesh consisting of terrestrial
Elements, |saetaparte|Zayd. It|sheme|egeustetheepac|ty
that ex|sts |a s|||ca aadpetash. Wheathese are |used tegether,
||qu|ed, they tura |ate g|ass. The g|ass |s certa|a|y the same
s|||ca aad the same petash that were cemp|ete|y dease aad
epaque. But a|ter the |us|ea, the epac|ty d|sappeared. Th|s
meaasthattheepac|ty|saeta prepertye|theearth |tse||. The
earth|tse|||ssubt|eaadtraaspareat,|tsepac|ty|scausedbythe
c|ash between the E|emeats. Wheawater|sst||| aadpure, yeu
see everyth|ag|a |ts depths. But || yeu st|r |t up, yeu caa ae
|eager d|st|agu|sh aayth|ag |a |t se |eagas |t |s |a mevemeat,
because e|the ce|||s|en betweea |ts pans aadthe rare|act|ea e|
the e|emeat a|r. What thea happas whea the |eur e|emeata|
Naturesceme|atece|||s|ea| Th|sjasad, th|sbedye|eshmade
e|terrestr|a|e|emeats, |scemparab|e te the deas|ty that makes
s|||ca aad petash epaque, a|theugh th|s |s aet a part e| the|r
esseace, e|the|r|pse|ty.
Aaethercempar|sea. a gameat,|erexamp|e,|saaassemb|y
e|weveathreads.As|erthece|ers,theseareacc|deata|s, wh|ch
are ae part e| |t, |t may b dyed |a var|eus shades, thea |ese
them, |t rema|as the same garmeat. Th|s |s prebab|y what the
F|rst Imam, 'A|t, had |n m|ad whea he sa|d |a answer te the
Arabwhewasquest|ea|agh|mabeuttheseas|t|ve aa|ma| seu| .
Whea |t|sseparated,hesa|d,|t returas wheace |tcame,just
as a m|xture |s d|sse|ved, aad aet |n the way that auteaemeus
e|emeau |a juxtaps|t|en are separated eae |rem aaether. Its
|erm|sdestreyed,act|enaadbe|agareabe||shed|rem|t,sethat
the cempes|t|en e| the m|xture |s |tse|| destreyed, s|ace |t |s
ev|deat that the cessat|en e| |em aad be|ag eata||s the d|sap-
maraacee|thecempes|t|ea|tse||.
As |er the secead jasad ( jasad B, thecaro spiritualis e|the
|emeats e| the sp|r|tus| wer|di, th|s bady surv|ves, |er the
c|sy |rem wh|ch |t was reast|tated sarv|ves |a the temb,
I H:
Article IX
when theEarth has deveuredthe e|ementaryterrestr|a| bedy e|
esh ( jasad A ) , andwheneveryparte|the|atterhasd|sse|ved
|nte|tsseurce theeryparts gelngbackteP|re,thea|ryparts
te A|r, the watery pans t Water, the earthy pans te Earth,
whereasthebedye|ce|est|a|eshsurv|vesandreta|ns|tsper-
|ectshape,as the Imam !a|ar ad|qsays. Onthe etherhand,
the answer we heard read a mement age, g|ven by the P|rst
Imam te an Arab, re|erred prec|se|y te the rst jaad, te the
cerrupt|b|e bedy e| esh made |rem terrestr|a| e|ements. But
thebedye|sp|r|tua|esh ( jasad B ) |s,enthecentrary,theene
re|erred te |a the say|ng e| the Imam !a'|ar, whea he states
thatthe c|ay e| wh|ch |t |s made surv|ves |a the temb and
reta|ns|ts shape|atactaadper|ect. Th|s|astexpress|eameans
reta|n|ngthe shape wh|ch cerrespends te |ts ewncen|emat|en,
that |s,thatthee|ements e|thehead, meneck,thechest, and
se|erthrema|nrespect|ve|yeach|nthe|rewnp|ace.Th|s|sthe
symbe||c exp|anat|en ( ta'wil ) e| the verse Ne ene ameng us
buthash|sappe|ntedp|ace ( 11 . i 61).
Th|sbedy ( jasad B ) |stherea||tye|thehuman be|ngwh|ch,
w|theut |ncrease er decrease, surv|ves |n the temb a|ter the
bedy e| esh made e| terrestr|a| e|ements, that |s te say, the
epaque dens|tyandacc|denta|s, have beenseparated|rem|t and
d|sse|ved.Whentheseacc|denta|s, theteta||tye|wh|ch|snamed
thee|ementarybedye|esh ( jasad 'unuri, jasad A ) , havemus
beenseparated|remthehumanbe|ag,theesh|yeyes,theergans
e|ept|ca|percept|en,ae|eagerseeh|m.Whea|t|sthusdecem-
pesed aad destreyed, there |s na||y aeth|nge| |t te be |eund,
sethatsemepeep|e amrmthatthe humaa be|ng|s ann|h||ated.
Netata|| |Netse|But||wesaythatthere|sabedythatsurv|ves
|nthetemb,thatbedy|saenethe|essinvisible teearth|ybe|ngs,
tethepeep|ee|th|swer|d,enacceunte|theepac|tythatdarkens
the|resh|yeyes andpreventsthem|remseeing what |s nete|
thesamek|ndasthemse|ves.Th|s|swhytheImam!a|ar aga|n
cempares th|s |nv|s|b|ebedyte the ge|ddust |nthe ge|dsm|th's
cruc|b|e.Th|s,||kew|se,theeyesde net see. Butthe ge|dsm|th,
hav|ng washed |t w|th water and pur|ed |t e| tbe earth w|th
wh|ch |twas m|xed,causes|tte beceme.|s| ||-.
1 H4
Shaikh Abmad Absa'i, 1
The same app||es tethe bedy e|sp|r|tua| esh ( jaad B )
that surv|ves |a the temb. Whea Ged w|shes te br|ag h|s
creatures backte |||e hecausesa ra|acem|ag|rem theeceaa
s|tuated b|ew the Threae te spread eut ever the Earth, the
watere|th|sra|abe|agce|derthaasaew. . . . T|s|sa||udedte
|aaverse|atheOur'aa ( aadB|sThreaerestedeatheWaters,
i i ) .Theathe|acee|theEarthbecemesb|eaded|ateas|ag|e
aeaa.Thewavesdashaga|asteaeaaetheruaderthevehemeace
e|thew|ads.Aua|versa|rea|agprecesstakesp|ace.Themem-
bers e|the sp|r|tua| bedy ( jasad B ) e|each |ad|v|dua| ]e|a te-
gether te |erm aa ergaa|sm |a per|ect shape, that |s te say
cea|erm|agtethestructurethebedyhad|ath|swer|d,thee|e-
meatse|theaeckarewe|dedtethee|emeatse|the head,thea
tethesee|the bust aad se|erth.E|emeatse|th|setherEarth
( the ce|est|a| Earth) m|ag|e w|th |t. Aad |a th|s waythe sp|r-
|tua| bdy cemes te b|rth |a the temb ||ke the mushreem |a
|tshumus.Wheathebreathe|8eraph|e|causesthetrumpette
v|brate, the 8p|r|ts take |ght. Each 8p|r|t |es sw||t|y teward
|ts sp|r|tua|esh ( jasad B ) ; |t burststhetemb, ]ust asthebed
e|humusy|e|dstethethruste|themushreem. Aad|e! behe|d
them staad|ag upr|ght gaz|ag |erth ( 1 6 ) . Th|s sp|r|tua|
bdycem|agbackte|||e|sthebedywh|chbe|eagstetheEarth,
Hurqalya. T|s |s the bedy |a wh|ch humaas are resurrected,
aadw|thwh|chtheyeater|ateParad|seer|ateHe||.
8emeeaew||| prhaps rep|y. ''The ebv|eus meaa|aga|yeur
werds|s|a anycasethatth|s bedye|esh weseehereteday|s
aet resurrected. New, such a datr|ae ceatrad|cts the teach|ag
|e||ewed by these whe pre|ess Is|am |a accerdaace w|th the
verse |rem the Beek 'Ged w||| ra|se up a|| whe are |n the
graves ( 22 . 1 ) s
TethatI aaswer. whatI pre|ess|spree|se|ywhattheMus
liman pre|ess. Fer de they aet say that the bed|es |n wh|ch
theyw||| beresurrectedare|adeedthe samebd|esthatex|sted
|a the preseat eanh|y |||e, w|th the d|ereace, hewever, that
the
y
sre eat|re|
y
par|ed|remacc|deatsaada||tara|sh?Arethe
Musliman aet s|| agreed in prefessi ag thatthesebed|esw|||aat
b resurrected i a thei r opaci t
y
nnd density, bat w||| have te
l R&
Article IX
undergo purifcation and will only be resuscitated when perfectly
pure, though retaining their identity? This is exactly what I say
and intend to say. For the opacity of the present body is de
stroyed, which means that it returs to its source; for its part
this elementary fesh has no connection with the Spirit, nor with
fdelity or infdelity, nor with pleasure or sufering; by itself, it
does not even possess the capacity to feel the one or the other.
Indeed, in regard to the human being it is, as it were, a garent
thrown over him. The opacity is exactly this feshly body made
of terrestrial elements ( jaad A ) , which is destroyed beyond
recall.
So understand what I wish to say, for this is te way in
which those traditions are to be understood which state that the
bodies of the holy Imlms7 have now been "taken up to Heaven."
Certainly if the body of the Imam lusayn had ben exhumed
soon after his burial it would still have been visible; but now no
human eye would be able to see it. He is now "attendant on the
Throne, contemplating his pilgrims, etc." The spiritual meaning
of these traditions should therefore be understood as referring
to the fnal separation from the terrestrial elemental bodies that
constitute the caral state, a state associated for a moment with
the archetypal spiritual bodies. As soon as the latter separate
from this carnal coating, they become imperceptible to the sight
of ordinary humans. I have dealt with that already in cerain
passages of the present book, to which Iwould ask you to refer.
As for the two jim ( that is jism A, or astral subtle body, and
jism B, the supracelestial archetypal body) , the frst ( jism A )
is the body in which the Spirit depars from its body of terres
trial fesh ( i. e. , ja8ad A ) . The "astral subtle body" ( jism A )
remains with the Spirit, whereas the Spirit is separated from its
"subtle body of spiritual fesh" ( jaad B ) at the moment when
death intervenes between them. The astral body is with the
Spirit in te earhly Paradise ( J annat al-dunya ) , situated in the
West; with this astral body it enters the abode of Peace ( Dar
al-Salam) , visits its habitation and place of origin. The spirit
of the infdel is also accompanied by this astral body when it
enters the terrestrial Hell ( N ir al-dunyt ) ut the rising of the
1 86
Shaikh Ama Asa'i, 1
sua, whereas at suaset | ttakes re|um with th|s bedy | n the
va||eye|Barhat,8 aad waaders w|th |t, dur|ngthe n|ght,|n the
va||eye|8u|phur.
8ethat|sthestate|awh|chthetwe greupsrema|nunt||the
tstb|aste|theTrumpetv|brates. Thenthe8p|r|tsthemse|ves
are aaa|h||ated dur|ag the |atetva| between me twe b|asts e|
theTrumpet.A||mevemeate|thece|est|a|8pheresandeve-
th|ag,aa|ma| aadvegetab|e,pessess|ngsp|r|t aad seu||sha|ted.
Th|s cesm|c pause |asts |eur hundred years. Thereupn the
8p|t|tsareresusc|tated,each|a|tsseceadjism ( thatis,jism B,
the suprace|est|a| anhetypa| bedy). Tat i s pss|b|e bcause
these bed|es (jism B ) have been cemp|ete|ypur|ed and have
|esta||the|repac|ty,that |s, the epac|tytheyhadhad|remthe
rstjism ( jism A erastra|bedy),exact|yasweexp|a|nedw|th
regatdtewhatacurstethe0esh|ybedy ( e|Earth|ye|ements,
jasad A, aad the bdy e| sp|r|tua| 0esh, jasad B ) , werd |er
werd. The 8p|r|ts arethere|ereresusc|tated,each respct|ve|y
|a |ts secead jism ( jism B, er archetypa| bedy). Th|s ce|est|a|
bedy |s, |ndeed,theenethat|emer|yex|sted|ntheeanh|y|||e
~neae ether, || |t were etherw|se, reward and pun|shment e|
the 8p|r|ts weu|d have d|sappared a|eng w|th the rst bedy.
Hewever,thejism thatex|stsdur|ng|||eeneanh, andwh|ch|s
atthesamet|meth|sbdythatwesee,|ac|udessubt|eanddense
e|emeats.The deas|tythatmade|tepaque w||| have been pur|-
ed aad destreyed. Th|s dens|ty |swhat we ca|| the rstjasad
( jaad A, the e|ementa| bedy e| pr|shab|e 0esh) . The subt|e
e|emeat, hewever, surv|ves |n the temb", this is whatwe des-
|gaateastheseceadjaad ( jasad B, thebedye|sp|r|tua|0esh ).
It |s |a the astra| bedy ( jism A ) that the sp|r|t makes |ts
appearaace|athebarakh ( theintemed|atewer|d) . T|sastra|
bedy |s the veh|c|e ( markab, okhtma ) and hab|tat|en e| the
8p|t|tuat||therstseuad|nge|theTrumpt.Atthatmement
|t tece|ves a |ast pur|cat|ea, aadthe deas|ty wh|ch we ca|| the
frst jism ( jism A, etastra|bedy ) a|sedeparts|rem|t.Oa|ythe
subtle element e|th|sjim rema|as|nthewer|de|sem|na|rea-
seas in three "treasurie1," while the deas|tyvan|shes|remthree
other "trenRuri el. " The1e 1i x "trea1uries" are arraaged |a the
I H7
Article IX
treasury e| tbe er|ces ( e| 8eraph|e|'s cesm|c Trumpet, wh|ch
|s tbe matr|xi e| tb|s 8p|r|t. Wbea tbe archaage| 8erapb|e|
seuadstbe''Trumpete|Resurrect|ea ( | . e. , theseceadb|aste|
tbeTrumpet i
,tbe8p|r|tdesceadstewardtbetemb.A|||tstreas-
uresb|eadtegetber,|tpeaetrates|atetbesubt|ejasad ( jaad B,
caro spiritualis ) ; tbey are tbea reassemb|ed, that | s, resusc|-
tated.
But kaewtbat | |yeu were ab|etewe|gh th|s sp|r|tua| bedy
|atheceurse e|tb|s preseat|||e, aad||, a|terbe|agwe|ghed,|t
were te uaderge a pur|cat|ea tbat weu|d eat|re|y separate |t
|rem tbe e|emeata| bedy e| per|sbab|e esh, se that aeth|ag
weu|d subs|st save tb|s pemaaeat sp|r|tua| bedy ( jasad B )
that be|eags te tbe wer|d e| Borqa|ya, aad suppes|ag |urther
thatyeuwere ab|ethea te we|gh |t aga|a, yeu weu|d ad that
|tweu|d aetbaved|m|a|sbedby evea se much asthe we|ght e|
asesameseed|acempar|seaw|thtberesu|te|tberstwe|gb|ag.
The|act|sthatthedeas|tythatceast|tutedtbee|emeata|esh|y
bedy ( jaad A ) |saaacc|deat.Newacc|deats|aaewaymed||y
tbe we|ght we are ceaceraed w|th here, tbey ae|ther |acrease
|t wheathey ceme abeut, aer decrease |t by depart|ag|rem|t.
Ia th|s sease |t weu|d be a m|stake te p|cture te eaese|| the
resurrect|ea bedy, the ergaa e| beat|tude er damaat|ea, as
semeth|agetherthaatbebedytbat ex|sts|athe preseat|||e, |a
sp|te e|there hav|ag beea a cbaage aad cemp|ete pur|cat|ea.
Or,eaesheu|dsayratberthat|t|s|adeedth|sbedy, aadyet|t|s
a|se semetb|agetber thaa |t|remthe |acte|hav|ag beea pur|-
ed, brekeadewa,re|ash|eaed.
Accerd|agteAbuMaaur'A|tTabarst,
cemmeat|ageatbe
verse|remtheOuraa. Eacht|methe|rsk|asha||beceasumed,
we sba|| rep|ace |t byaaether sk|a, setbattheymay taste the
chast|semeat ( 1. ) ~tbeImam!a|ar ad|q aasweredseme-
eae |a h|s eateurage wbewasask|agh|mabeutthemeaa|age|
tb|sverse . Becare|u| | tbey are |adeed tbe same sk|as aad yet
each t|me |t |s semetb|ag e|se. G|ve me a cempar|sea w|tb
semetb|ag |a th|s wer|d. Very we|| , de yeu aet see that || a
maa takes a br|ck, breaks |t|ap|eces, tbea puts |tback |ate |ts
me|d,tbebr|ckw|||betbesameaadyet|twi l l beaaet|er
br|ckt
1 88
Shaikh Amad Asa'i 2
Aad|athe Tafsir e|A|i|balbrabim |t te||shewthey asked
the Imam. Bew caa eae ceace|ve e| a sk|a be|agrep|aced by
aaether eae? 8uppese, rep|led tbe Imam, yeu take a br|ck,
break|tupaadreduce|ttedust,aadtheareshap|t|atheme|d,
w|||th|sbr|ckbethesameastbersteae?Ia|act,therstw|||
havebeeachaaged|ateaaether eae, a|theugh theer|g|aa| , the
archetype, |s|deat|ca| .
Iath|swaythe Imam makes |tc|earthatthesk|arep|ac|ag
therstsk|a |s aaethereae, wh||e rema|a|agthe|r sk|a.The
d|ereat|at|ea |sad|ereace|amedee|be|agaadqua||cat|ea.
8|m||ar|y,|arespecttewhatweareceas|der|aghere . thebedy,
theebjectwh|ch|sv|s|b|edur|agth|spreseat|||e, |s|adeedwhat
w||| betheresurrect|eabedy,buta|ter hav|aguadergeaethat
a|chemywehavesevera|t|mesdescr|bd. . . .
2. On the Esoteric Meaning of the Tom
b
*
Theesseat|a|aaturee|thetemb|sthat|t|stherest|agp|acee|
the dead,the nt e|the stages teward thesaeculum venturum.
Ia|tsv|s|b|easpectaadexeter|cmeaa|ag,| t|sthe abedee|the
mater|a|bedy|remwh|ch|||ehasdeparted.Th|s|stheerd|aary
ep|a|ea.Butuaderstadeseter|ca||y (ta'wil ) ,thetembs|ga|es
theaaturee|theprsea,h|s|||e, h|s|amestdes|re. Gedsa|dte
h|s Prephet . Ged makes h|mse|| heard by whemsver he
w|shes,buttheucaast aetmakethyse||heardbythesewheare
in their tomb ( 1 2 i i . Aadaga|a. Dead, aet||v|ag,kaew|ag
aetwheatheyw|||bera|sed ( I 6 2 i-22 i .
Express|eas such as 'he 8p|r|t w||| retura te maa ( |a the
temb ) are express|eas that cerrespead te the appareat er exe-
ter|cmeaa|ag.Iarea||ty,what|s|aquest|eaareeveatsthattake
p|ace aet |athe |ewertempera| wer|d,thate|the th|ag-ebject,
buteatheh|gherp|aaee|thedegreese|t|me, that|stesay|a
Barqa|ya. Aad || I sayeatheh|ghestp|aae~atthe h|ghest
degree e| t|me, |t |s because Borqa|ya |s aa |atermed|ary.
.
Extract from the Rildlat al-qaiJfJya, published in the collection of the
workl of Shaikh AJmad AJal'l, Jawdmi' al-kali m, TabrJz, 1273-
76/
I R:t-:U, 2 vol a. I n fol l n1 Vnl . I , l 't . I, !e i ri1Ai a, p. 1 36.'"
I HIJ
Article IX
Sometimes it serves to designate the higher degree of time
(zaman ) , sometmes it is used to designate the lower plane or
degree of the Aevum ( dahr, eternity) .
Tus, this double use of the ter is justifed by homogneity
and genuine correspondence. During his sleep, a man can be the
seat of violent movements, although his material body ( jaad)
remains motionless. The explanation of such movements lies in
the proximity of te subtle body ( jism) to the material body.
For while a man is sleeping, his Spirit "sings" in freedom in the
high branches of the great tree, which is the autonomous world
of Fors and Images ( 'ilam al-mithil, mundus archetypus ) .
This full-gown tree has its rots in the soil of the "subtle
bodies," and there are as many individuations of tese subtle
bodies as there are material bodies.
When we speak of "that which returns" ( as in the phrase
abve ) , we refer to the Spirit subsisting in the autonomous
mundus archetypus. When we spak of "that toward which the
return taes place," we refer to the spiritual body ( jaad B )
with which the supracelestial archetypal body ( jism B ) will b
reunited.
1
1 As for "punishment in the tomb,"1
8
this has to do
with what we mentioned concering the "return of the Spirit,"
bcause the totality of the world of the barakh ( the intere
diate world) , all that reaches it and is changed in it, refers to
the same ( that is to say, to the esoteric meaning of the "tomb" ) .
The apparance of the holy ImAms at the moment of death or
"in the tomb," whether to bliever or to unbeliever, is also an
event taking place in the world of HnrqalyA. It is to this that the
following verses from the Qur'An allude: "If we had caused an
Angl to descend, te afair would have been fnished, they
would have had no respite ( 6 8 ) s ''The day when they behold
the Angls coming, it will not be good tdings for the guilty
( 25 : 24 ) ."
These verses and some others, togther with certain of our
traditions, signify that the Angls are not prceptible to anyone
in the world of material bodies, unless the Angl takes on the
appearance of a material body. As when the Angel Gabriel takes
on the aspect of the adolescent Daya KalbT in order to appear
1 90
Shaikh Amad Asa'i, 3
to the Prophet, or again, when he comes down to Abraham
accompanied by Kerubiel and Michael on the ocasion of the
philoxenia, or again, to Lot, in order to chastise his people. For
every soul is in direct contact with those bings and those reali
ties of the intermediate world that correspond to its own spir
itual state. . . .
3. Te Heavens and Elements of Hurqalya*
. . . As for the world HnrqalyA, its meaning relates to an other
world. What this word designates is the world of the barakh
or the interorld. In fact, there is the lower, or terrestrial world;
this is the world of material bdies made up of Elements, the
world visible to the senses. Then there is the world of Souls,
which is the world of Malakat. The world of the barakh, which
is the world intermediate btween the visible material world
( 'ilam al-mulk ) and te world of the Malakat, is another uni
verse. It is a material world that is other. To put it diferently,
the world of bdies compsed of Elements constitutes what we
call the visible, material world. The world of Harqalyi is a
material world ( the world of matter in the subtle state ) , which
is other.
As for its psition, it is situated in the eighth climate.10 Its
lower plane borders on the convex surface of the Sphere of
Spheres, the surface that defnes the directions of space. It is not
itself in a dimension or direction of our space, since there is
nothing beyond the convexity of the supreme celestial Sphere
that defnes orientations; or rather, it has no spatial byond.
Nevertheless, the lower plane of the world of Hnrqalyi corre
sponds, by its position, to the highest degee of the supreme
Sphere, that which is called the "crstlline sphere." The form or
image at which you look in a mirror belongs to this lower plane
of the world or Hnrqalyi.
The langage from which this ter comes is the Syriac Lan
gage ( aaryinfya ) , that is, the langage in use toay among
Extract from the an1wer rl v"n to Mulll Muhammad luaayn Anlrl
Kl rmlnt I n Jnwdml' nl-lnll m, Vol , I , l't . :, Vth rlalla, pp. 1
53-5
4
.
10
I P I
Article IX
the8abeaas, thesewhemweaewca||the$ubbih ( meteexact|y,
theMaadeaas ) , meste|whem,aadtheyatemaay,havesett|ed
|aaadateuadBata.-
New,wheawespeake|theua|vetsee|Batqa|ya,|tsBeaveas
aadE|emeats,yeusheu|dknewthe|e||ew|ag. thewet|de|the
barakh, |atetmed|ate betweea the pteseat wet|d aad the sae
culum venturum, |s the mundus archetypus, the auteaemeus
wet|de|FetmsaadImages,|t|smewet|d|ntetmed|atebetweea
the wet|d e| the Malakit aad the v|s|b|e, matet|a| wet|d. The
tem Batqa|ya |s used te des|gaate the Beaveas e| th|s |atet-
med|ate wet|d, tegethet w|th a|| the heavea|y bed|es they cen-
ta|a. Whea we spak e| !aba|qa aad !abata, we meaa the
|ewet teg|eas e|th|s |ntetmed|ate wet|d. - !aba|qa |s a c|ty te
the East,that|s,|a thed|tect|eae|the beg|aa|ng. !abata |s a
c|tytetheWest,mat|s,|athed|tect|ea e|the tetutn aadead-
|ag.TheE|ementse|th|s|ntetmed|atewet|datewhatceast|tute
theseceadaad|mpet|shab|ejasad ( jasad B, thesp|t|tua|bedy),
that|s,thebedywhese c|ay sutv|ves|av|s|b|y|nthetemb,-
teta|a|ag |ts same pet|ect shape. Ia the easteta patt e| th|s
un|vetsethete |sthe eanh|yBe|| . Ia|tswestetapatt,thete |s
the eam|y Patad|se, Adam's Patad|se. Thete |t |s that the
8p|t|ts e||a|th|u| be||evets take te|um, aadthese ate the twe
gatdeas ceveted w|th gteeaety a||uded te |a the Out'aa
( 61). As |et the ptee|s that test||yte the ex|steace e| m|s
ua|vetse, thete ate, ea the eae haad, these kaewa te thee|eg.
Thete ate the maayttad|t|eas te|ett|agte the ex|steace e|the
|atemed|ate wet|d e| the barakh. Thete atevetses |tem the
Out'aa||kethe|e||ew|ag Beh|adthemabarakh uat||theday
whea theyw||| b ta|sedup ( 21 . 202 i . Aad |ast|y, thete ate
the maay ttad|t|ena| acceuats te|ett|ag te the ex|steace e| the
c|t|es e|the |atetmed|atewet|d. Incement|ag enthe Book of
the Theosophy of the Throne ( Kitib al-Mkma al-'arshiya ) by
Mu||a adta 8httazt,
- encesmegeayaadeschate|eg,I mysel|
havetepeated,ase|sewhete|nmybeeks,many?adith that|eave
ae teem|et deubt. Equa||y, ph||eseph|ca| undetstand|ng g|ves
|umet ev|deace e| the ex|stence e| this uni verse. Iadee1, the
wet|d e|theMalakit is ma1e upe|sub!tnm cH nnd bdn
g
s se
p
-
1 92
Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa'i, 3
arate|remmatter,wh||eeurv|s|b|e, phys|ca|wer|d|smadeup
e|mater|a|rea||t|es. Thereaecessar||yhastebean|ntermed|ary
btweeathetwewer|ds,a barzakh, that |s, awer|dwhesestate
|sne|therthe abse|ute|y subt|e state e|separate substances, ner
the epaque dens|ty e| the mater|a| th|ags e| eur wer|d. In the
abseacee|suchaua|verse,thereweu|dbea |eap,ah|atus|athe
gradat|ene|be|ag. Pree|s guaraatee|agthe ex|stence e|such a
state a|ter death aad preced|ag me Great Resurrect|en are se
aumereusthattheycaaaetbeceuated. Ameagtheph||esephers,
neaere]ectthesepree|s,a|theugheacheaeexpressesh|mse|||n
h|s ewn way and pursues h|s ewn ||ae. My cerrespendent re-
marksthatameagetherstatemeatsthatrema|nebscure|erh|m
|nmy answer ( |. e. , in the Risala al-Khaqaniya ) aresemethat
demeastrate that the e|emeatary bedy e| mater|a| esh ( jasad
A ) |s destreyed aad ds netretura. Itseemsteh|m thatth|s
ceatrad|ctsthe||tera|meaa|age|theOur'aa|cverseandthetra-
d|t|eaa|statemeatsre|err|agte|t. -
I sha||aaswerh|mas|e||ews . kaewthatthemater|a|bdy
( jasad) wh|ch |s |a the human b|ag |s |a rea||ty made up e|
twebd|es. -Onee|them,thersteae ( jaad A) |sana|h||ated
and w||| aetreturn. The subt|e bedy ( jism ) |s a|se|nrea||ty
made upe|a deub|e bedy, the rst ( jism A, the astra| bedy )
||kew|sedsaetretura. Oathe etherhaad,me secendmate-
r|a| bedy ( jasad B, thecaro spiritualis, made |remtheE|emeats
e| Burqa|ya ) , aad a|se the secead subt|e bdy ( jism B, the
suprace|est|a|, archetypa| bedy ) w||| beth retura.Th|s |s the
datr|aeIhaveexpeuaded|athetexte|my|ateadedaaswer.
What I meaa te say |s the |e||ew|ag. the human be|ng has
desceaded |rem the supraseasery wer|d ( aam al-ghayb, the
wer|de|Mystery) |remthesearchetypesertreasur|estewh|ch
the|e||ew|agversee|theBeekre|ers . Neth|agex|sts butthat
|ts treasury |s |a eur hands ( i . 2 i ) . Thus the human be|ng
desceads |ateth|swer|d,these]eurae|eertandstrugg|e,and
amassessemeth|age| h|s ewn |a v|ew e| the Futurum Resur
rection. Butashedesceads|rem steptestep,pass|nggradua||y
from one plane of bi ng te aaetber|a theceursee|h|sdesceat,
at each 1tep he ncqui rr1 trrtal n mi xture w|th the acc|deats
Article IX
corresponding to that step or plane. Just so, in the time of the
Prophet, when the Angel Gabriel descended to this world, he
took on the for and appearance of the beautiful adolescent
Dalya al-Kalbr. But when he "went back up to Heaven" this
form did not accompany him on his return. And so it was each
time he came down to one of te earlier Prophets : he showed
himself to the Prophet in te for of a very beautiful human
being, resembling some contemporary of that Prophet. Well, it
is just the same when the human being "descends" with his
subtle body, which is his archetypal body ( jism B, jism ali )
and the support of his Soul ( cf. the okhema symphyes of Proclus,
above, p. 2 i . He passes through the autonomous world of
Forms and Images ( 'alam al-mithal ) ; there the astral body
( jism A ) becomes attached to him. The latter will not "return"
when the Great Resurrection takes place, because it is not a part
of the essential reality of man. It can b compared to the flth
that is deposited on your clothing and which gs away "without
return" when you clean it.
When, at the end of his descent, the human being has reached
this lower world, then the elemental , material body the body of
fesh ( jasad A) , composed of the Elements of our sublunary
world, becomes attached to him. In relation to the reality of te
human bing, it is an accident; it is not a constituent of his es
sence. This body of fesh belongs to the flth of this world of ours.
At the moment of the exitus from tis world, the earh devours
this body of fesh as soon as it is placed in the tomb. But, as
against this, that other body ( jasad B, composed of the Ele
ments of HorqalyA ) survives invisibly "in the tomb" until the
Resurection Day, when the Spirit ( the "!"-spirit ) returns to it,
pnetrates it, and enters its Paradise or its Hell with it. This
spiritual body is what "returns," while the material body of
fesh, composed of sublunary Elements, that is, the totality of
accidents and stains that belong to this world blow, all of that
neither blonged to the man nor was with him, but was just
something that adhered to him due to the fact of his existence
in this world. And so all of that goes back to its origin "without
return." It is the same when mud and fl th Ntai n your cotton
1 94
Shaikh Ahmad Absa'i, 3
rob: as soon as you have washed it, the mud and flth will g
away "without return. " Will you then say, or will some one else
think of saying, that something is missing from the robe b
cause of what has departed from it? No, what has departed from
it was precisely not a part of it.
Thus when post mortem the Spirit has entered the world of
the barakh, it exists there in its archetypal bdy ( jism B ) , to
which a body originating in this barzakh ( jism A, the astral
body) provisionally adheres. In fact, the latter is not a part of it,
but is a temprary accident. On the Resurrection Day man in
his wholeness returns and leaves bhind him that which was
no part of him, which was not himself. Compare this: Break
your seal ; see how the form of it departs. Refashion it, now you
see the frst seal , returned to it original form, identical to itself.
Nevertheless, the frst for has not returned and never will.
This is the esoteric meaning of the verse: "Each time their skin
is consumed, We will replace it with another skin ( 1 ) .
Although the skin substituted may b identical to the frst, it is
called other because the frst for has departed from it and has
been replaced by another form. This is what is emphasized in
the commentary on this verse by the ImAm Jafar endiq. "It is
the same and yet it is an other. "2
8
Compare this furter with the clay brick which you pulverize
and then put back into its mold. It is certainly the same and yet
it is other. And it is the same in the case of the material elemen
tary body ( jasad A ) and of the astral bdy ( jism A ) regarding
which we say that neither the one nor the other "returns." By the
one and the other we desigate the accidentals that adhere to
the human bing due to the fact of his descent by successive
steps. And yet this same apparent, visible, sensible, palpable
body is also the one which is not annihilated and from which
nothing essential departs. 28 Or rather, it surives invisibly until
the Resurrection Day, that is, until it returns and the Spirit
enters into it to make its Paradise or its Hell. Certainly it has
to b broken and has to be refashioned. Thus it will b pulver
ized, puri fed of all that wn1 aata part of it. Afterwards it will b
1haped, for unle11 it iN puri frd of al l the accidents that are not
l Ul
Article IX
itself, |t weu|d aet bet|ersurv|va|. The very |act e|ex|st|ag
|a th|s wer|d |mp||es |ts m|xture w|th acc|deats, aad here |s
exact|ytheebstac|ete|tssu|va|.
My cerrespeadeat asks |urther what I meaa te say whea I
state that betweea the twe b|astse|8eraph|e|'s Trumpet, the
8p|r|t |s attracted, reabserbed, |ate wh|chever er|ces e| the
Trumpet are |ts matr|x, he asks me what I meaa by the s|x
Treasur|esaadwhatpree|there|sa|a||th|sr
I sayteh|m. thepree|hasa|readybeeag|veathatthe8p|r|t
|sthe rea|maa, hete whem eae speaks, he wha assumes. The
v|s|b|eargaa|sma|h|smater|a|bedy|steh|maaabade|awh|ch
he ads h|mse|| |mpr|seaed, but |ate wh|ch he has beea made
tadescead, because |t|s|erh|maa|astrumeatthaaks tewh|ch
he atta|asexeter|c aadeseter|c kaew|edge. 8e whea |t was re-
se|ved ta sead h|m dewa te th|s wer|d, the aature e| be|ag
aecess|tatedthe|atermed|arye|theseas|t|ve,v|ta|8eu|bestewed
by the ce|est|a| 8phere, |aerderthat there sheu|d be ae h|atus
|athe gadat|eae|be|agaad|atheEmaaat|ea. Wheathet|me
cemesta g backte|tser|g|aa| wer|d,the |atemed|ary, that|s
te say, thev|ta|8eu|emaaatedbyme ce|est|a| 8phens, returas
tathe8eu|sthatmevethe8pheres,as|twere,byrevers|eatea
m|xture,]ustasadrepe|wat
,
rreturastethesea.
ButtheI-sp|r|tsurv|ves,|tstaysawake,|tdeesaetsuccumb
te s|eep. As Imam!a|ar says . Whea |t retums, |t returas te
thestate|awh|ch|tbegaa. It|saetareturate am|xture,but
areturnt astatee|]utapes|t|eabecause|tsurv|ves. Wheathe
w|ad e| the rst b|ast v|brates |a the Trumpet, the ash|ag
seuad,| t|stheareabserbed,eachth|agretura|agte|tsseurce.
Itreturas,aadth|s|saretura|rem]uxtapes|t|ea. Because|twas
seatdawn|remthes|xTreasur|es,
|treturastethem,|tsewa
cessat|ea |eadstethe|rseparat|ea, |ts archetypa| Image returas
ta the Treasury|rem wh|ch |t desceaded. Ia the same way, |ts
matera prma,81 |ts aature, |ts seu|, |ts pneuma, |ts |ate||ect,
return each te the Treasury |rem wh|ch respect|ve|y they de-
sceaded. These aretheTreasur|esa||udedte, aswe sa|d, |athe
verse |athe Our'aa. Neth|agex|sts but that |tsTreasury |s |a
eurHaads ( I . 2 I i . These aretheTrenHurieN wh|ch |a each
1 96
case for a whole, which is the respective matrix of each
"I"-spirit, symbolically designated as the orifce or the "hole"
which corespnds to that spirit on Seraphiel's Trumpet.
As for the profs of what we have stated, they are contained
not in one ladith alone, nor in tens of ladiths, but in a multitude
of traditions. However, their demonstrative value in discussion
can only b understood by meditating on many of tem. Or
rather, it is a matter of letting oneself be guided by a higher
wisdom, and the proof furnished by the latter can only be recog
nized as demonstrative thanks to special divine help, bstowed
by God on heart that have attained full maturity, for "he to
whom wisdom has been giveQ has received much good
( 2 . 212 ) .
4. Alchemy and the Resurrection Body
( a ) ,
Know that what returns to Paradise, in this case the earthly
Paradise, is what is reaped by the Angl of Death, and that this
is man's essential reality, man in the true sense ( ina laqlqi ) .
The source and principle of his bing is, in fact, compsed of fve
things: the intellect, the soul , the essential nature, the matera
prima, the Image or archetypal For. 84 The intellect is in the
soul. The soul , with everything it infolds, is in the incorruptible
nature. All these three together are in the matera prima, again
with all tat is implied therein. When the Image or archetypal
Form is conjoined with the latter, then the original essential
body, ( jism li, jism B) is realized,81 that is, the body which
is hidden in the material, visible envelope, in the elemental bdy
( jasad A) formed from the four sublunar Element: fre, air,
water, and ear.
The elemental material by ( jasad A) , the body of perish
able fesh, is the one that remains in the earh; its visible aspect
is destroyed there. This is the organic body that undergoes the
Extract from the epistle addressed to FatJ-'Ali Shi QAjlr, Shah
of Peral a ( 1 707-1 8:4 ) In Jnw.mr ni-Jnli m, Vol . I, P. 1 , 5th rislla,
pp. 15-54.
I P7
Article IX
phenomenon of growth by assimilating the subtle elements of
food. I have just said that its visible aspect, its "outemess," is
destroyed in the earh. But the fact is that its hidden invisible
element, it "innemess," survives; this is the spiritual body
( ja8ad B, caro spiritualis ) , which is not formed from the sub
lunar Elements, but from the four Elements of the world of
H'rqalya, which are seventy times nobler and more precious than
the Elements of the terrestrial world.
8
8 This spiritual body rests
in the quiet state referred to in a verse from the Qur'ln. Indeed,
when the faithful adept has given an account of himself "in the
tomb,"87 he hollows out a channel for himself between the
"tomb" and the Paradise in the West through which rpose and
sustenance come to him. It is said: "For him who is of the num
ber of those brought nigh there shall be repose, sustenance, and
a sojourn in Paradise ( 6 1- ). " What is subject to this
repose is precisely the spiritual body ( jasad B ) , the body formed
from the Elements of the world of H'rqalyi, and hidden within
the elemental, material body ( jasad A) , the apparent visible
body, fored from the ordinary Elements of this world.
As for the body that remains with the Spirit ( te "I" -Spirit )
at the time of the exitus, this is the essential body, the body in
the tre sense ( the jism laqiqi, jism B ) ,
88
which is composed
of the matera prima and of the Image or archetypal For
( mithal ) . It is the suppor of the incorruptible nature, the Soul
and the intellect. It is the essential reality of man, of man in the
tre sense. This essential body is of the same nature as the essen
tial body of the universe: for the microosm it is homologous to
the supreme sphere, the spher that gverns and defnes spatial
orientations. Its capacity to experience enjoyment of food, drink,
touch, amorous delight, is seventy times greater than the capac
ity of the elemental, material body.88 The "1"-Spirit is never
separated from this essential body, which itself is never sepa
rated from the Spirit40 except at the time of the cosmic pause
marking the interval between the two blasts of Seraphiel's
Trmpet.
When Seraphiel causes the Trumpet to vibrate with the
"fery blast,"41 which is the "breath e| uni versal reabsorption,"
198
evety 8p|t|t |s dtawn |a, teabsatbed |n the pan|cu|ar ha|e in
theTtumpet wh|ch |s|tsmatt|x. Thematr|x |smade up a|s|x
Tteasut|es. Assaan as |t |s dtawn |n,the I<p|r|t meets |ts
awn Image, at atchetypa| Patm, |n the tstTreasuty, |n the
secand a| these, |t nds |ts materia prima; |n the th|rd, |ts |n-
cattupt|b|e natute, |n the |aunh, |ts Sau|, |n the |th, the
pneuma; |n the s|xth, the |ate||ect. When these Tteasut|es are
d|sassac|ated, the I-8p|t|t |s aba||shed and |ts pawer ta wark
a|sa|saba||shed.It|s|nth|ssense a|anethat|tcanbsa|dtab
aan|h||ated ( name|y, unt|| the secand b|ast a| Seraph|e|'s
Ttumpet ) . But na m|xtute |us|ng the campnent patts takes
p|ace,|atsuchm|xtute app||esan|ytathevegetab|e andan|ma|
sau|s ta the vegetab|e sau| because |t |s campsed a|the sub-
|uaat E|ementste, a|r, water, eatth. When these e|ementa|
patts ate d|sassa|ated, they teturn ta that |tam wh|ch they
came, thete ta b m|xed w|th |t, nat put tagether w|th |t, each
as an autanamaus th|ng. The |gneaus pans return ta the e|e-
meata| te, atem|xedandb|endw|th |t. Inthesameway,each
pan tetutns ta |ts p|ace a| at|g|n~a|r, water, earth~there ta
be m|xed and b|end w|m |t. The same app||es ta the an|ma|
8au| , wh|ch had |ts saurce |n the mavements a| the ce|est|a|
8phetes.When|t|sseparated|tretutnswhence|tatase,and|s
m|xed, nat added ta |t, bcause |t |smete|y a camb|nat|an a|
eaetgestesu|t|ng|tamtheenetg|esa|thece|est|a|Spheresand
ptapett|anatetathemavementsa|the|atter
Thete|ate, these twa sau|s, vegetab|e and v|ta|, return post
mortem tathe|tsautce andb|endw|th |t. Bawever,th|s |strue
aa|y a| the|t auter patt, the|r exater|c pan ( ?ahir ) ; |ar the
|aaet, esatet|c pan ( ba#n) a|the vemtab|e sau| surv|ves |n
the temb, th|s |nner pan |s the Elements of Harqalyd and |s
that bady ( jasad B) wh|ch rests |n qu|etness and sajaurns |n
Patad|se. As ta me esater|c parta|thev|ta| sau|, |t |smade
upa|theaatutesa|the8au|swh|chmavetheHeaven of Har
qalyt aad gaes ta the eanh|y Patad|se, as we have a|ready
sa|d. Ta caac|ude tae sp|t|t |snevetseparated|ram|tsar|g|-
nal essenti al bady ( iim B ) ; it aevet|eaves|t~never,that|sta
Hny, "dies" except duri ng the I nterval between the twa b|asts a|
Article IX
the Trumpet, the rst, wh|ch |s the am|ag seuad er the |a-
breath e| ua|versa| reabserpt|ea, aad the secead, wh|ch |s the
breath e|theResurrect|ea.
New, asteth|s ether quest|ea. Sheu|deaeuaderstaad the
Sp|r|t by |tse|| as be|agthe Sp|r|tw|th aa Image er archetypa|
Fem, er w|th a subt|e bedy? The aaswer sheu|d be. That
wh|ch eaters the 'Earth|y Parad|se' |s the Sp|r|t ( the 'I'-Sp|r|t i
w|th |ts er|g|aa| esseat|a| bedy (jism ali, jism B ) , because
|atheSp|r|tthere|sthe|ate||ect,the|ate||ect|s|atheseu| , aad
the|atter|s|athe|acerrupt|b|eaature.Theesseat|a|bedy|sthe
materia prima wh|ch |s the|r suppert, aad the Image er arche-
typa| Ferm cea]e|aed te the |atter. Th|s |s why the capac|tyte
|ee| aadea]ey |s, as we have sa|d, seveatyt|mes greater |ath|s
esseat|a|bedythaa|athemater|a| bedy, because |tsea]eymeat
|s beth seasery aad sp|r|tua| . It |s a sp|r|tua|/seasery |acu|ty.
As te what surv|ves |av|s|b|y '|a the temb' ( that |s te say |a
Barqa|ya i th|s|sthe Sp|r|tua|bedy (jasad B ) , wh|ch |smade
|rem the E|emeats e| Barqa|ya, whereas the bedy made |rem
the |eur erd|aary E|emeats ( jasad A, the bedy e| mater|a|
eshi |saaa|h||ated.
A number e| symbe|s aeed te be peadered here. We w|||
meat|ea eae er twe. G|ass, |er examp|e, |t |s preduced |rem
s|||ca aad petash, beth e|these, dease aad epaque, are heme|e-
geus te the e|emeata| mater|a| bedy (jasad A i, the bedy e|
per|shab|eeshw|thwh|chwearea|||am|||ar.Wheasub]ected
te |us|ea, the|r |mpur|ty aad d|rt ge away, we are |e|t w|th
c|ear g|ass, the|ater|er|sv|s|b|ethreugh the exter|er,theexte-
r|er |s v|s|b|ethreugh the |ater|er. Th|s, thea, |s heme|egeus
te the sp|r|tua| bedy ( jasad B ) , the caro spiritualis; the bedy
wh|chsurv|ves|athetemb,that|s,|aBarqa|ya,aadtewh|ch
resp|te aadse]eura|aParad|seare g|vea,whereastheepaque
deas|tye|the s|||ca aadpetashwasheme|egeuste the mater|a|
e|emeata|bedy(jasad A ) . Ceas|derhew,|rems|||caaadpetash,
dease aad epaque, there |ssued a bedy |a a traaspareat subt|e
state. The |atter |s uaquest|eaab|ythe same m|aera| substaace,
aadyet|t|saet. It|ssemeth|agether.
New, suppes|agth|s g|ass |a |ts tara i H Huhjected ta |us|ea .
200
Shaikh Amad Ast'i, 4
|etacetta|n apptept|atecbemlca|bepte]ectedanta|tandthat-
augh|y pnettate tbe wbe|e mass, tbe g|ass becemes vety ne
andbt||||antg|ass. l|tbe E| | xl re|wh|teness,theph||esaphet's
chem|ca| be pte]ected eate tbls ne g|ass, |t then bcames a
ctysta| wh|ch ames |n saa| l gbt ( |ens g|ass i , because |tcauses
thesun'staysenstr|k|agltssar|ace,tecenvetge.It|scetta|n|y
st|||g|ass,andyet|t|ssemetb|agetbetthang|ass,wh||etema|n-
|agg|ass,|t|s,hewevet,g|asstewb|chsemeth|nghashappned,
sameth|ngwh|ch has secemp|ete|y put|ed |tthatnew|ttanks
much h|ghet than tbe tst g|ass. Th|s |ncandescent g|ass |s
hama|egaustetheastta|bedy (jism A i wh|chaccempan|edthe
8p|t|tatthet|mee|the exitus, whentbe|attetdepatts |tam |ts
e|ementa| matet|a| bedy. lt |s the bedy w|th wh|ch the 8p|t|t
entetstheWestetnPatad|se,tbePatad|sea|Adam. We||then|
|| th|s spatk||ng ctysta| |s me|ted ence aga|n and the wh|te
E||x|t |s aga|n pte]ected ente |t, |e and behe|d| |t bcemes
d|amend (almis ) . It|sst||| g|ass, and yet no|t |s semeth|ng
athet~butnetsa,|t|scetta|n|y|tse||but|tse||a|tetundetge|ng
a||thesett|a|s.
Itwasam|neta| substaace,denseandepaque, |t wasme|ted
aad bcame ttaaspatent g|ass and then became a much net
g|ass.Aadwhenth|s|attethadbeensub]ected|etthetstt|me
ta |us|en and pta]ect|en a| the wh|te E||x|t, |t became |ncaa-
descent ctysta| . Itwas |used a secendt|me and the E||x|t was
pte]ecteden |t, |t becamed|amead. P|ace|tenthe anv||,stt|ke
|tw|th a hammet, |t w||| dentthe anv|| andthe hammet but |t
w||| net bteak. 8tt|ke |t w|th a p|ece a| |ead and |t w||| bteak
|atecub||etm |tamenu and||eachcub|ntutn |ssttuckw|th
the |ead|t w||| |n|ts tum bteak |ntecub||etm |tagments. That
|s tbe ttue s|gn that |t tea||y |s d|amend, but |||t has became
d|amead |t |s a|sa a s|gn that the d|amend was h|dden |n the
esseat|a| depths a| the m|neta| substance, bcause, |n |act, the
cempes|t|ea e| tbe |attet |s the tesu|t e| twa we||-knewn pt|n-
c|o|es, metcuty aad su|phut, accetd|ng te what |s estab||shed
|a p|ys|cs. Aad tb|s d|amaad, separated |tem the ctysta|, th|s
Lr
y
stal , seaarated |rem gl a!l, thi1
g
l ass sepatated|tem|tsm|n-
eral opaci ty, i1 |omo|ogonN to the 0esarrect|aa 8ady e| the
Article IX
a|thu| be||evet |n the Patad|se a| me |utute Aeon ( that |s ta
say, jism B, the essent|a| atchetypa| bady, the corpus supra
coeleste, thed|amandbady )-
Anathetsyba| t|n.Attst|t|shama|amustathee|ementa|
badya0esh ( jasad A ) wh|chweknaw|nauttettestt|a|wat|d.
Whenthewh|teE||x|r|spta]ectedan|t, |tbecamesputes||vet,
|t|sthenhama|agaustathesubt|e 8p|t|tua|bady ( jasad B, caro
spirtualis ) , wh|chsutv|ves|nv|s|b|y|nButqa|ya.Butwhenthe
tedE||x|t|spta]ectedan|t,|tbcamesputega|d,and|t|sthen
hama|agaustatheastta|bady ( jism A) at|g|nat|ng|nmeheav-
ens a| Butqa|ya, wh|ch |eaves the e|ementa| bady a| 0esh
( jasad A ) and accampan|es the 8p|t|t |n |ts exitus, that |s ta
say, the subt|e bady wh|ch tetutns ta Adam's Parad|se post
mortem and tastes the de||ght thetea|. Ithe ted E||x|t |s pta-
]ected a secand t|me, th|s ga|d |tse|| bcames an E|u|t, |t |s
hama|agaustatheat|g|na|,essent|a|bady ( jism B, corpus supra
coeleste ) , theane wh|ch entets thepatad|sea|theututeAeon.
Theact thatth|s ga|d has became E||x|t |s the s|gn and the
ptaathat |twas h|dden |nthe essent|a| depths a| t|n, because
|nact|tscampas|t|an|sthe tesu|t athetwawe||-knawn pt|n-
c|p|es. Then th|s E||x|t, |teed |tam me ga|d, the ga|d |teed
tam s||ver, the s||vet |teed |tam t|n, |s hama|agaus ta the
|utute Aeon. Many symba|s a| th|s st||| ex|st, wh|ch ate we||
knawntathasewha passess|nnets|ght. . . .
In te following table we can recapitlate te correspondances
analysed by Shaikh Abmad Ai'l between the ph
y
siology of
the "resurection body" and the phaes of te alchem1cal Work:
THE HUMAN BODY
Jaad A: Te elemental,
material body, te body
of perishable fesh,
composed of te
sublunar Element
Jaa B: Incorptible
Spiritual body, caro
spiritual is, composed of
the Elements of
ALCHEMICAL HOMOLOGUES
Glaa
Silica and
potash ( merury
and sulphur )
fusion
T
202
Tin
tin
Admixture
of white
elitr
silver
1
Shaikh Ahmad Ahsc'i, 4
Hurqalyi. It survives
invisibly post-mortem
"in the tomb," that is,
in Hurqalyi. It will be
reunited with the
Spirit at the time of the
Great Resurrection
Jism A: The astral body,
composed of the
celestial matter of the
Heavem of Hurqalyi;
put on by the Spirit at
the time of it descent
to this world;
accompanies it at
the time of the exitus,
enters the terrestrial
Paradise ( or the
infernum ) with it;
disappears at the time
of the Great
Resurrection and the
fnal union of jaad B
and jism B in the
corpu resu"ectionis
Jism B: The essential ,
original body, the
archetypal body,
imperishable and
inseparable from the
Spirit ( okhema
symphyes ) , the
supracelestial body
made of six "treasures";
joined wit jaad B,
fors the wholeness
of the resurrection body
( "body of diamond")
in the Aeon to come.
( b i
I
fne glass
frst ad'ixture
of the white
elixir
faming crystal
'
second
admixture
of white
elixir
diamond
frst
admixture
of the red
elixir
gold
second
admixture
of red
elixir
elixir =
lapis
philosophorum
This commentary is as original as it is important. Shaikh Ab
mad Absi'l here makes clear his standpoint in regard to Mulli
Extract from the commeOtary by Shaikh Almld Alsl' on the
Thoofll of 111 Thron1 by Mul l I adrl ( ladruddin ShirAzi ) , Tabrlz,
H I7R/ I RI U , pp. l f/- ff.11
Article IX
adri's philosophy ( see above, Art. VI ) . He neither adheres to
it nor systematically refutes it. It is impartial criticism, helping
better to situate the Shaikhi school in te general perspective
of Shrite thought. In his book, Mulli adra poses all the prob
lems relating as a whole to the posthumous becoming of the
human being, in the twofold aspect of "retur" or "reversion" of
Spirit to their original world ( ma't) and te resurrecton of
bodies. He remarks that the second aspect is not situated on
the same plane-the intelligibly evident-as te frst. His
thought, being theosophical thought, emplo
y
s rationa argu
ment as well as text from the religious tradition. The conjunc
tion of these is made possible by the practice of the ta'wil ( te
exegesis of the spiritual meaning) , whose alchemical operation
is shown to be an application ( to hide the apparent, to manifest
the hidden ) . Tis is exactly te operation that Shaikh AImad
AIsi'I stresses, as in the above passage, showing corespond
ence between the operatio secreta artis and the physiology of
the resurrection body. This correspondance even postulates an
antropology in which the theme of the "Reversion," deterin
ing future metamorphoses is antithetical to the idea of reversi
bility, which in general predominates in our historical points
of view.
Ph||eseph|ca| undetstand|ag, gu|dedbythevetyth|ngwh|ch
prevesthat sp|t|ts are |mpet|shab|e andtetutnte the|r et|g|na|
wet|d,nds thete|n the ev|dence |et thetesutrect|en e| bed|es,
|ettesunect|ene|bed|esandtevets|ene|8p|t|tstakentegether
haveeaeandthe samecause. Bewhehasmed|tatedbe|erethe
Ph||esephers'm|rrerhasbeeaab|etesee|tw|thh|sewaeyes.
Whea I speak e|thePh||esephers'm|rter,I meantheopera
tio secreta artis, 52 that |s, the eperat|en e| the E||x|t, |et the
Ph||esephers have used |t as a m|tret |n wh|ch everyth|ng ex-
|st|ag|steected|nthesamewayastheteturnandresurtect|en
e|8p|r|ts.
As the Ph||esephets uaderstaad |t, the demenstrat|en caa be
exptessed as |e||ews The mater|a| ex|stence e| a|| that ex|sts
|nthe wet|demanates|remthed|v|neWerk, as ||ghtemaaates
|rem a |amp. Everyeae kaews that th|s Operat|ea |s |||e, cea-
sc|eusness, d|sct|m|nat|en, pewet e| che|ce. The c|eser seme-
th|ng|stethePr|nc|p|e,themerepewer|u|arethese|eurtb|ags
|n |t, the |urther semeth|ag |s |rem the Pri nci
p
l e, tbe weaker
these|eurth|ags beceme |a|t.latbet wny, the l i gbte|the
204
Shaikh A!mad A!sa'i, 4
|amp |s censtaat asteradlatlea, dryaess, andheat, the neatet
semeth|ng|stethe|amp,tbemerepewer|u||n|tatethesethtee
th|ngs, the |urther away |t |s, the weaker they beceme, unt||
na||y the ||ght van|shes aad slmu|taneeus|ythese thtee th|ngs
van|sh.
Theacte|ex|st|agcaa be seea |nan ana|egeusway|nevery
th|ng the |urther semeth|ag|s |rem the Pr|nc|p|e, the weaket
beceme the |eur rea||t|es cempes|ag |ts ex|stence, wh|ch |s the
d|v|neOperat|en, unt|| the ext|act|en e|the|attet na||y br|ngs
abeut the ext|nct|en e| the sa|d rea||t|es. Pet the |||e wh|ch |s
|nthe 8p|r|t~ensc|eusness, d|scr|m|nat|en,pewete|che|ce~
a|| e| th|s ex|sts, |ndeed, |n the bedy and even |n m|neta| sub-
stance, but te an |nn|te|y |esset degree than |n the 8p|t|t. Te
saythatbed|esbecemet|red|ste saythatthey a|seare a||ve,
censc|eus, have d|scr|m|nat|en aad pewet e| che|ce, |n prepet-
t|entethe|rdegreee|part|c|pat|en|ab|ng.Benceth|sOur'aa|c
vetse Be sa|d tethe Beavens and the Eatth ceme, w||||ng|y
et |n sp|te e| yeurse|ves. They sa|d 'weceme w||||ng|y. ' Ot
aga|n neth|ag|sthatdeesnetpro|a|mh|spra|se,butyeude
net undetstand the|t hymn. ''
Amp|e cemmentary en th|s has

ben g|ven |ntheptesentbeek.
Fet, |n the |ast ana|ys|s, sp|r|ts are light-being |n the u|d
state ( nar wujadi dha'ib ) . Bed|es ate a|se ||ght-be|ng, but |n
the se||dstate. Thed|erencebetweenthem |sthe same asthe
d|erence between watet and snew. Th|s |s why the ev|dence
tend|ngte the amrmat|ene|theteturne| Sp|r|ts |s|tse||the
ev|dencetend|ngteamrmtheresurtect|ene|bed|es. . e .
The a|chem|ca| Werk test|es te the va||d|tye|th|s amtma-
t|ea. The |act |s that bed|es that have teached matut|ty and
cemp|eteness threughth|seperat|enare|nthe ||qu|d-se||d state.
Th|s |s what the P|rst Imam, 'A|t |bn Abt-Ta||b, dec|ates, ac-
cerd|ngtethereperte|h|sb|egraphetIbn8haht-Ashob,andof
Aba'|-'Abbas|nh|sbeekbt|ng|ngte||ghtthe sectetcencern|ng
the sc|eace e| the E||x|r.8' 8emeene there|ete asked the Imam
abeut s|chemy, whea he was de||ver|ag a d|sceutse It |s the
sister e| prephecy, he exdnimed; |er there |s an |mmun|ty
whi ch keeps prophet:y from h ei ng decrsted, wh|ch |s that
Article IX
ordinary people do no more than discuss its literal outer mean
ing. I call God to witness that it is none other than water in the
solid state, immobilized air, compact fre, fuid earh. 81 For
earth in the fuid stte is water in the solid state. In the same
sense bodies also are Spirits. . .
"Bodies, as we have already said, are thing which have come
down from 'archetypal Treasuries' to this terrestrial world, as
it is said in the verse: 'Nothing exists but its Treasury is wit
Us and We send it not down but in a known measure ( i . 2 i ) '
Given that each thing returns to its origin and principle, if bodies
were an exception, whether in the sense of surival in this world
or of annihilation, they would not 'return' to their origin and
principle. But this would contradict what is implied in the law
of universal return to the principle, universal resurrection, a
well-founded thesis on which philosophers and religious tradi
tions agree. Hence, philosophical understanding discovers the
proofs of the resurrection of bodies in the manner described
above . . . . "
( c )
Mulll adrl ShirAzi: 58 The soul is spiritual "matter" ( midda
rl?aniya ) , a subte organism that can only receive Fors which
are themselves in the subtle and suprasensory state, such that
they are not perceptible to the physical senses, but only to the
organs of psycho-spiritual perception ( the suprasensor senses ) .
As against this, "material matter" ( hayala ) is a dense, opaque
matter capable of receiving Fors whose state is equally dense
and opaque, deterined by spatial dimensions and psitions,
mixed with virtualities and negativities.
Shaikh AQmad AQsl1: It is correct to say that the soul is a
subtle organism unable to receive any but Fors in a subtle,
suprasensory state. It is equally correct to say that it cannot b
perceived by our physical senses, bcause the latter are soiled
and paralyzed by the infrmities inherent in the elemental natures
of which the feshly body is composed. As against this, to say
that Paradise, with its castles, houris, and the delights it con-
" Extract from the same work, pp. 33 1-32.
206
Shaikh Ama Asa'i, 4
tains are no more than "intentions," that is, consist only of pure
psychic Forms, imaginative Fors of the Malakut ( the world of
the Animae coelestes ) , is something I cannot accept. For from
that point one would b fored to negate resurrection, as the
author ( Mulla adra ) appeared to be doing in cerain passages
referred to earlier in tis book, at least judging from what the
literal sense of his words appars to convey. We have noted that,
in comparison with the doctrine of the holy Imams, what he says
does not sound like the words of one professing blief in bodily
resurrection. 11
The fact is : to say that Matter, hyle, as such is dense and
dark is not correct. No matter can be seen as necessarily dense
and dark. Matter has other states. Te celestial Spheres, for
instance, are not perceptible to our physical senses; not even the
Earth, that is, the Earth untrodden by the feet of the sons of
Adam ( i.e. , the celestial Earth, the Paradise from which Adam
was exiled and whither the Spirit returns in its subtle bdy ) ,
for that Earth is in the subtle state, it cannot be prceived by the
eyes of this world, the eyes of fesh.
Furtherore, those who live in Paradise are all bodies deter
mined by dimensions and positions: but te fact of bing such
a body by no means excludes survival or perptuity as such.
Certainly these spiritual bies include no negativity, no density,
no opacity, since these are concomitants of alteration and substi
tution, replacing what disappars by something weaker. But
these exactly are what are excluded from these bodies in the
world beyond our world. Therein even bodies are in prpetual
upward movement; if some change and replacement takes place
in them, it can only b thanks to some fore and renewal coming
from abve.
As for dimensions and psitions, these are inherent in places
and in bodies. They are not incompatble as such with the state
of those who live in Paradise. The latter are similar to those
who dwell on Earh, except that they have no density, no opacity,
no tendency to weaken, no tendency toward decay and annihila
tion. Their state is that of expriencing no replacement in their
bodies which is not a 1trenghenl ng, no chang which is not an
Article IX
|acrease |a pewer, a reaewa| , a bettemeat. But why deay the
mater|a|rea||tye|suchexper|eace ( prev|dedthemattertheree|
dees aet descead te b|agthe dease, darkmatter e| th|s wer|d
be|ew) ? These whe ||ve |a Para1|se |a the|r sp|r|tua| esh
( jaad B ) , |a the|r esseat|a| er|g|aa| bedy ( jism B ) , |a the|r
"I -sp|r|t,arecerta|a|ythesameperseaswhewere|ath|swer|d
be|ew. Oae chaage a|eae has takea p|ace |a them acc|deats
|ere|gn te them, mak|agthem prey te destruct|ea, have d|sap-
peared, darkaess |athem has beea d|spe||ed aad has vaa|shed.
Yes, whea these bed|es, such as yeu see them |a eur wer|d,
havebeeacemp|ete|y pur|ede| acc|deats |ere|ga te them, the
waye|be|age|these whewere be|ewre]e|a the way e| be|ag
e| these wheare abeve. Thea the sp|r|tua| bed|es perce|ve e|
aadby themse|vesthesp|r|tua| rea||t|es e|theJabarit as we||
asthe pure supraseasery|ermse|the Malakut. 58 Rec|preca||y,
whea8p|r|tswheseex|steace |sceaaectedw|ththesebed|es |a
erderte gevera themare cemp|ete|y pur|ed |rem the d|sturb-
aacethatrebe|||eam|xedw|ththe|r be|ag, aad|remtheuacea-
sc|eusaessthatceademaedthemte|erget|u|aess,thea,e|aadby
themse|ves, theyperce|vethe|rsp|r|tua|bed|esaad a||merea||-
t|esre|atedtherete.Ia|act, |erthe|rbed|este be sp|r|tua||zed,
te beceme sp|r|ts, theyea|yhavete w||| |t, eatheether hand,
|erme|rsp|r|tstebeembed|ed,tebecemebed|es,they||kew|se
haveea|ytew|sh|er|t.
There |s a symbe| e| th|s s|tuat|ea |a th|s very wer|d, aad
these whe kaew w||| uaderstaadte what we re|er. The natura|
Ph||esephers, these whe pract|ce the secret sc|eace ( | . e. , the
Achem|su) a|ways descr|bed the|r werk as |e||ews rst they
d|sse|ve the 8teae, thea they ceagu|ate |t w|th a pert|ea e| |ts
sp|r|t. Nextthey d|sse|ve the resu|taat, aadeace mere ceagu-
|ate |tw|th a parte||ts sp|r|t. Aga|athey d|sse|ve, aga|a they
ceag|ate, aad se |erth. Whea they have treated the 8teae,
accerd|ag te the|r estab||shed ru|e, three t|mes w|th the wh|te
E||x|r,thea a|ae t|mes w|ththered, the 8teae w||| have beceme
sp|r|tua|-||v|ag-m|aera| substaace ( lapis vivus ) .

Th|smeaasthat|a|tse||| trema|asabe1y,but regar1s|ts
werk|thasbecemespirit-a sp|r|t ablC to "bri nK to l i fe" metul s
20H
Shaikh A"mad A"sa'i, 4
wh|ch ate dead, |et tbe splrlt e| dea|t|ve sutv|va| has beea
b|ewa |ate |t. A|tet tbe rst oarte| tbeepetat|en |t |s a|teady
capab|e e| br|aglag te |l|e a mass eae theusaad t|mes |ts awa
we|ght, by |us|ag |t wlth |ts ewa substaace. Its th|tst hav|ag
bea queached a seceadtlme ( l . e. , a|tet the secead adm|xture
e| the E||x|r i, |t |s ab|e te br|ag te |||e a mass twe theusaad
t|mes |ts ewa we|ght. I| |t were te b satutated a theusaad
t|mes, |tsewawelghtweu|dbeab|ete bt|agte|||eawe|ghta
m|||lent|mes gteater, aad seeate |aalty. It|ssa|dthat a cet-
ta|a Ph||esepher pre]ected tbe E|lx|r thtee huadted t|mes eate
the 8teae, aad theteby v|v|ed the equ|va|eat e| thtee hundted
theusaad t|mes |ts et|glaa| wel ght.
The quaat|tat|ve |actease ls ptepert|eaate te the qua||tat|ve
|nctease.I|,|et|astaace,the8teae'smasshav|agbeeasub]ected
eace te the red E||x|t, s|x d|sse|ut|eas |e||ewed by s|x ceagu|a-
t|eas are pr|ermed upea |t, theua|t e| |ts et|g|aa| we|ght |s
mu|t|p||ed |etty-a|ae t|mes, eacbua|te|wh|ch |sab|etev|v||y
tespect|ve|ya we|ghtequ|va|eattetwe theusaadt|mes |ts ewn.
Thus,pt|ette th|s epetat|ea, we had a ua|t e| we|ght capab|e
e|v|v||y|ageaetheusaadt|mes |ts equ|va|eat, th|s ua|t |s aew
mu|t|p||ed by |erty-a|ae, aad each e| these ua|ts |atum mu|t|-
p||es the Ge|d-maklag pewet e| the er| g|aa| ua|t, wh|ch |a
te|at|eate|trepreseats aa|acreasee|apprex|mate|y a huadted
theusaad ualts e| we|ght, te the aearest twe theusaad ua|ts
( | .e. , a|aety theusaad exact|y i.
8uch aa epratlen weu|d be |aceace|vab|e || |t had te b
catt|ed eut ea |aen matet|a| bed|es, ea the ether haad, |t |s
per|ect|y |ate|||g|b|e as saa as 8p|r|ts are |a quest|ea. Th|s |s
whytbePbl|esephersamrm |t|scertala|yabody, but|tsv|ttue
aadeperat|ea atespiritual. 8ebesureyeu uadetstaadthe s|ga,
themarve|beredescr|bd.Perth|sk|ade|cerperea||ty|sexact|y
tbe marve| tbat characterlzes the splr|tua| bedy e| these whe
|lve|aParadlse.Certa|a|ytheyarebe1|esw|tha||theattr|butes,
ceadlt|eas, aad eperatleas tbat be|eag te bed|es, aad yet they
carryeuta| | tbe act|easoreoerte pareIate||l geacesaad8plt|ts,
and nrc able te perce|ve 4lre. t| y|er tbemse|ves wbat 8eu|s aad
I at| |c: (:c:- ( i . t . , A 11/t'li torlt' lltR and A nleli intellectuales )
Article IX
are able to perceive. Likewise, and reciproally, the Intelligences
prceive for themselves directly the objects perceived by the
Souls and these bodies. Likewise, also, they pereive the Souls.
And this is the meaning of what we stated above: the way of
being of those who were below is joined with the way of bing
of those who are above.
5. Te Active Imagination and the Resurrection Body*
Mulla $adra Shirai: Just as dimensional fors, plastic
shapes, and fgures are produced by an active subject in propor
tion to the suitability of a given matter and the participation of
their receptacle, so it may also be that they result from a pure
foundation, the active subject's way of picturing them; the
latter's activity is then the sufcient reason, without needing
the help of a receptacle, nor of its situs, nor even of the suitabil
ity of a previously given matter.
The existence of the celestial Spheres and constellations falls
exactly into this category, since their existence is founded on
acts of contemplation and representations of the archangelic
Principles;81 it results from their active "dimensions," as from
divine knowledge of the most perfect order, without presup
posing any receptacle or aptitude of preexisting matter. Now the
production of autonomous imaginative Fors falls into the same
category, subsisting without any material substatum and by the
single will emanating from the imaginative consciousness. The
latter, as you know, is independent of this world and of the
material forms prceived by the senses. One cannot say either
that they subsist through the organ of the brain, nor in the astral
mass of the Spheres, as cerain pople have believed, or even
in a universe of archetypal Images which could b conceived as
subsisting otherwise than through the soul itself.
Shakh Amad Asa'i : In speaing thus about imaginative
Fors, MullA adrA intends to point out that in all te Fors
that owe their existence to the pure activity of their agent, with-
Furher extracts from the above ork ( commentary on the Theoofhl
of tht Thront ) , pp. 1 75-76, 179-80, 1 86-87.
21 0
Shaikh Ama Asc'i, 5
out any need to presuppose a receptacle, or any suitable matter,
we must include the imagnative Forms that ar produced solely
by the will, intention, and inclination of the imaginative con
sciousness. They do not need a material substratum in order to
exist. They are conditioned neither by material causes nor by
any kind of receptivity. Actually imaginative Fors subsist by
the light of the imaginative pwer, for since the active Imagina
tion is itself a psycho-spiritual power blonging to the world
of the Malakat, all the fors arising from it are of the same
nature as itself; these fors are indepndent of exteral, sensory
realities.
Imaginative pwer is like a mirror; a thing only has to b in
front of it for the mirror to manifest the for of this thing. If
the thing belongs to the world of the Malakat, it is revealed
there directly; if it blongs to the visible, material world, the
faculties of sensory perception have frst to extract the for and
project it onto the semus communi,88 which transmits it t the
imagination. Everyone translates what is transmitted to him into
his own langag, that is, he makes it into something of the
same nature as his own prson. Thus, if it is something that
escapes the sensor prception, the Imagination takes from it its
subtle "celestial" For ( malakatrya ) ; it may b led thereto by
a word overheard or by some knowledg previously acquired or
by some other means.
That is why I prsonally should say that the imaginative
Forms are not merely creations of the Imagination but tat they
are a creation of the creator of the Imagnation, who, in creat
ing something, places it in the substratum that correspnds to it.
If it is a light, he places it in something that has a cerain
opacity, bcause a light could not subsist in something like
elemental , absolutely pure, diaphanous air. If it is a For, he
places it in a smoth and polished receptacle, like a mirrr or
still water. If a light and a for belong to a world other than
the material , visible world, he places them in their own world,
proper to them. The imaginative Forms are not part of the world
of vi si ble objects; he makes them apparent in a mirror which is
of exactly the same nature 11 thrlr world. In his Book, God him-
il l
Article IX
se||says Whethetyeh|deyeutwetdetpub||sh|tabtead,Ged
has |u|| kaew|edge e|the sectets e| a|| heatts. Bew sheu|d Be
whecteatedaetkaewthatwh|chhecteated (61 I 1-I1 i.
The |mag|aat|ve Petms be|eag ptec|se|y te what |s sectet|y
ceata|aed|atheheatt, aade|wh|ch Gedhas te|dusthat ||he
kaews|t,|t|sbecausehemade|t.Beteaga|a. Neth|ag|swh|ch
deesaethave|tsTteasutyw|thUs,aadweseadthemdewaea|y
|a stt|ct measute ( I . 2 I i . The |mag|aat|ve Petms ate a|se
th|ags that Be bt|ags dewa |tem the Tteasut|es |a a dea|te
measute|ateasubsttatumthat|sptepettePetms.Ttue,Mu||a
Sadta amtms thattheyate aet |a a substtatum, that |s, |a a
cetpetea| substtatum. Th|s |s because he ceas|dets that a|| the
th|akets whema|ata|athatthePemshave a substtatummeaa
thattheImag|aat|veex|stsea|y|aaadthteughthebta|a. Bew-
evet,theydeaeta||meaathatthepsyche-sp|t|tua||acu|t|es ate
|mmaaeat |a the bedy, they meaa that they ate attached te |t,
out |aetdette geveta |t.
Th|s hav|ag beea set |etth c|eat|y, |t |s ev|deat that the
|mag|aat|vePetmsbe|eagtethewet|de|theMalakut, as dees
the |mag|aat|ve pewet |tse||. They subs|st thteugh the m|ttet
wh|ch |s the |mag|aat|ve ceasc|eusaess. The|t mattet |s the
|||um|aat|ea ( ishraq ) that pte]ects the Petm |tse|| e| the th|ag
|mag|aed. The|t |em |s the vety cea|etmat|ea e|the m|ttet
ceast|tuted by the lmag|aat|ea. The m|ttet |ac|udes gteataess,
put|ty, wh|teaess, et e|se the|t eppes|tes. We have ptev|eus|y
had acas|ea te teca|| that |a the secead Beavea, the Beavea
e|Metcuty,thteeAam|s,Maymoa,8ha'maa aadZaytoa,have
the|uact|eae|caus|agtheep|phaaye|the|mag|aat|vePetmste
appeat, each e| these Aage|s has a mu|t|tude e| aage|s at h|s
setv|ce,wheseaumbet,accetd|agteptact|t|eaetse|thetbeutg|c
att, |s kaewa te Ged a|eae. Oae caa take |et gtaatedthat tbe
eteatet aadpteducet e|the |mag|aat|vePetms|s Ged h|mse||,
hewevet, accetd|ag te tbe |aw e| B|s cteat|ve wetk, act|ag
thteugh |atetmed|ate causes, Be has cteated the |mag|aat|ve
Pewet|athe shapee|am|ttetthatmakesthe |etmsappeatea
tece|v|aga k|ad e||mpt|ate|them. . .
Mulla $adri Shirazi ( pp. I1s-0 i . Thr i mugi nuti ve pewer
2 1 2
Shaikh Abmad Absc'i, 5
in man-1 mean the degree or i maginative level of hi s spiritual
"1''-is a substance exi sti ng i ndependently, as rgards its es
sence and its operation, of the material body which is the object
of sensory perception and of the tangible habitation. As we al
rady said, at the moment when the bdily mold is annihilated, it
survives-bliteration and dissolution have no efect on it; at the
moment of death, it can be touched by the bewilderent and
bitterness of death because of its immersion in the material body,
but post mortem it continues to see itself as a human bing with
dimensions and shape corresponding to those that were its own
in this world, just as it can picture to itself its body inert and
buried.
Shaikh Ahmad A?sa'i : The power of imagination is without
doubt consubstantial with the soul, is an organ comparable in
that respect to what the hand is for the body. The soul perceives
sensory objects through its organ alone, since the soul blongs
to the world of the Malakat. In fact, with respct to the soul , the
Imagination is like the Soul of the Heaven of Venus in relation
to the Soul of the Heaven of the constellations ( the Heaven of
the fxed stars, the Zodiac ) . "It is independent of the material
body," says Mulla adrA. Now we would like to recapitulate
briefy all the inferences of this statement, in accordance wit
our doctrine. We have said that Zayd has two jasad and two
jism. 65 We would like to complete what we have already said
about it, and add in conclusion the following clarifcations.
The frst jasad ( jasad A ) : Let it be understod that this is the
visible body, the material feshly bdy, composed of the four Ele
ments of our world; the plants also have a body in their fashion.
After death, this body is gradually annihilated in the tomb; each
of its elemental compnents, in dissolving, returns to its origin,
where it blends with it and is lost in it; the earthly parts return
to the Earh, where they intermingle; the fuid, aerial , igneous
parts each blend with their respective element.
The second jasad ( jasad B ) is hidden in the frst; it also is
composed of Elements, not the Elements of our world, but of
the world of I I OrqalyA from which it came down. All its separate
purts and the connecti on1 l t wren them endure "in the tomb,"
2 1
Article IX
bcause it keeps its "shap" so well that all its par remain
perfectly articulated. This body that preserves its perfect shape
"in the tomb" is that imperishable "clay" of which the ImAm
Jafar $Adiq was thinking when he declared: ''The clay of which
it was composed continues to exist in its perfect shap in the
tomb. " What we have to understand by the lasting perfection
of this "shape" is that the pars that make up the head, cor
responding to the "headstone" of the tomb, remain joined to the
elements of the neck, which remain linked with the elements
of the bust, which remain connected to the pars of the belly, the
latter to the legs, even if a marine monster or some wild beast
has devoured the body of material fesh ( jasad A) or if it has
ben mutilated, and its pars scattered in diferent places, or
even wrongly reassembled.
When the elements of this invisible body ( jasad B ) have
bcome disassoiated and freed from the material fesh com
posed of lower Elements, their entire structure remains un
changd "in the tomb. "88 And what is more, even if the material
body is not buried in the tomb, they retain this strcture. For
when we talk about this other body, what we should understand
by the "tomb" ( it is not the cemetery) is the original place, the
womb87 from which the "clay" was extracted and mixed by the
Angl with the twofold fuid issued from father and mother.
Being incorrptible, this "clay" will coagulate the water fowing
down from the ocean of $Ad ( situated below the Throne ) when
the time comes for the breath of the great Awakening to vibrate
in the second blast of the Trumpt. It is this body, this spiritual
fesh, that the Spirit will assume on the day of the great Resur
rection.
Perhaps, you will say, as others have already, that the appar
ent meaning of my exposition is to rule out the possibility that
the frt jaad ( jasad A, the elemental body of corruptible fesh )
can "return," and that one must concur with the thesis denying
and rejecting bodily resurrection. 8
8
In that case, I would point
out that when speaking of the second jasad ( jasad B, the body of
resurrection ) this is also that very body that is visible and tan
gible today. But, precisely, in order for i t to be the "rsurrection
2 1 4
Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa'i, 5
body," it must have been broken, pulverized, and reshaped in a
form that excludes all corruption and decrepitude, whereas the
present earthly form is dissolved forever. This outer form, gone
forever, and described as a composite of the sublunar Elements,
is the one to which the Amtr of the blievers ( the First Imam)
alluded in the ?adith relating to souls, mentioned above, wherein
he decl ard concerning the vegtable soul in man: "When it is
separated, it returns to its origin, there to blend and b lost, not
to survive there autonomously. " In short, by the frst elemental
jasad ( jasad A ) we mean the earthly accidents. For when the
second jasad ( jasad B, the spiritual fesh made of the Elements
of Horqalya, the resurrection body) came down into this world,
accidents issuing from the Elements adhered to it, just as when
you have worn a garent for some time, the dirt adheres to it
but is not a part of it. All you have to do is to wash it and these
accidents will g away, and the garment will lose nothing of
what made it what it is. Therefore ponder and understand the
dotrine of your ImAms and spiritual guides.
As for the frst jism ( jism A, the astral body made of the
infux from the Heavens of Hnrqalya ) , we said that it is with
this body that the "I" -spirit departs from the elemental, material
body ( jasad A ) when the Angel of Death seizes it. The arche
typal body ( jism B) continues to exist wit this actual body, the
latter being the accumulator of its energies in the interediate
world or barakh ( until the frst blast of the Trumpet, that is,
until the great cosmic pause ) . When Seraphiel's breath causes
the Trumpet to vibrate for the frst time, the Spirit casts of the
jism A and disappears. Actually, this body is also an accident,
l ike the frst jasad ( jaad A, the elemental material body ) , but
in its case an accident of te intermediate world or barakh; it
also is a form which the Imam Jafar, as we mentioned pre
viously, compares to a brick that is broken; when reduced to
dust, its frst shape has gone forever; but replaced in the mold,
it emerges identical to itself in one respct, but diferent in
another. As God says in his Book: "Each time their skin will b
commmed we will replace it by another, so that they may taste
thr ""'' "t i 1rment. " In all fairness, they cannot be given a skin
2 1 5
Article IX
ether thaa the|r ewa that weu|d be chast|semeat |er a aea-
ex|steat|au|t,erbe|ngeb||gedtesuerthechastlsemeat|erthe
|au|t e| aaether. Ne, ltrea||y|sthe rst sk|a. Yet, s|ace |t has
beea ceasumed,|tsrst|erm,wh|chwas aaaccldeat,has geae
|erever. There|ere, whea |t returas, |t |s true te say that |t |s
dlereat || eae ceas|ders the chaage, substltut|ea, aad reaewa|
e|theform; whereas, ||eaeceas|ders |ts matter, |tremalasthe
samesk|a.
Th|s |s why we caa sum |t up as |e||ews the rst jasad
( jasad A) |s the |erm be|eag|ag te the |ewer E|emeats. The
rst jism ( jism A ) |s the |erm be|eag|ag te the |atermed|ate
wer|derbarakh; the|atter|sthepretetypee|the|ermer.Whea
yeubreakyeursea|aadreshapeaaethersea| ,s|m||artetherst,
|rem the same matter, the seu| has |est aeth|ag esseat|a| , |er
|t |scerta|a|y |tse||, but |t has shed eae acc|deat aad assumed
anether acc|deat. The rst acc|deat weu|d here cerrespead te
jasad A ( the mater|a| bedy) |a th|s preseat |||e, whereas the
secead acc|deatweu|dbeheme|egeustejism A, theastra|bedy
|a the |atemed|ate wer|d, er barzakh. The I-seu| |s d|ereat
|remthee|emeata|jasad A, wh|ch |s aaa|h||ated a|ter death,|t
|s d|ereat a|se |rem the |mper|shab|e jasad B ( the e|emeata|
bedye|Borqa|ya,thebedye|sp|r|tua|esh ),aad|t|sd|ereat
|ast|y|remthejism A ( theastra|bedy,wh|chw|||aetreappear
|rem the memeat e| the retura e| the jasad B at the great
Resurrect|ea). As|erjism B ( theesseatla|er archetypa| er|g|-
aa|bedy),|t|s|erever|deat|ca|te|tse||.Tege|ateth|s|adeta||
weu|d take a |eag t|me, sumce |t te reca|| eae esseatla| th|ag
wh|chw||||eadyeutethekaew|edgee|maayetherth|ags.
8ewesha||st|||addthe|e||ew|ag Whea the I''-sp|r|t, that
wh|ch the Aage| e| Death gathers up aad carr|es away, has
aa||y shed |ts astra| bedy (jism A ) ,70 |t a|se w||| dlsappear,
but ea|y dur|agthe|aterva| ( the cesm|c pause ) betweeatbe
twe b|asts e|the Trumpet.Whea we speak e| |ts dlsappear-
aace, what we la |act meaa |s that whea the Aage| e| Deatb
gathersupthe I-splr|t|rem |tsmater|a|bedy ( jasad A ) , tbi s
splr|t gees away theugh keeplag lts ori gi nal preterrestri al
2 1 6
Shai kh Amad Asa'i, 5
structure ( jism B ) intact, and that i t survives in the banakh in
the waking state and in full consciousness.
As the Imam !afar said, when commenting on this descrip
tive verse ( 1 . 13 ) , "It will sound but once, since all are in the
waking state. "
This frst sounding of Seraphiel's trumpet is the one referred
to as the "fery blast"; it is an intake of breath and draws up the
spirits in order to reabsorb them in Seraphiel's Trumpet. Each
"1"-spirit goes back i nto its own matrix, sybolically represented
as one of the "holes" perforated in the lengh of the Trumpt;
this is the place from which it was originally extracted, the place
from which it came out in order to go down toward the bdies
at the time of its preceding existence. The matrix itself com
prises six dwellings or habitations : into the frst of these the
Image or archetypal Form of the "1"-spirit is breathed; its subtle
consubstantial matter into the second; into the third, its luminous
nature corresponding to the igneous Element; into the fourth,
its soul correspnding to the fuid Element; into the ffth, its
own pneuma, corresponding to the aerial Element; into the
sixth, its consubstantial intellect. When we speak of its disap
pearance, we refer to this separation and disintegration of the
si constitutive principles ( of its essential body, jism B ) . The
"!"-spirit then no longer possesses consciousness or feeling. Dur
ing this pause, the six constitutive principles are not dissolved in
mixture, for each retains its specifc reality; they remain as
though side by side in their respctive autonomy.
When the divine Will intends to renew Creation and to cause
the seeds from the preceding existence to grminate, Seraphiel
is commanded to blow into the Trumpet the breath of the great
Awakening. As oppsed to the "blazing sound," this is a propul
sive breath. Entering the sixth dwelling, it propells the intellect
towards the pneuma in the ffth dwelling; next it proplls intel
lect and pneuma together toward the soul in the fourth dwelling;
then it propels all three together, intellect, pneuma, and soul ,
towards the luminous nature in the third dwelling; then it pro
pls al l four together towards the subtle consubstantial matter
21 7
Article IX
in the second dwelling; fnally it propels all fve toward the
Image or archetypal For in the frst dwelling. Then the
"!"-spirit fnds again its composition and strcture, its conscious
ness and capacity to feel.
On the other hand, before the vibration of the breath of the
great Awakening, the water of the sea of $ld, situated below
the Throne, comes down and rains over the surface of the Earh.
Then J as ad B, the spiritual body made of the Elements of
Horqalya, serves as a "vehicle" for the new for, the "second
accident" referred to above. Its structure bing completed, its
"!''-spirit enters it. This is what is meant when the "headstone of
the tomb's bursting" is sybolically mentioned. For then the
individual arises in his imperishable For, shaking the terres
trial dust from his head. "As you were made in the beginning,
that you will again become ( 1 2 i ," as it is said. So here we
have very briefy all the points we wish to cover in speaking of
the fourfold bodily organism of the human being: a twofold
jasad or elemental body, the one accidental ( jasad A, the ele
mental body of perishable fesh ) , the other essential ( jasad B,
the body made of the Elements of Hirqalya, the imperishable
spiritual fesh ) ; and a twofold jism, the one accidental ( jism A,
the astral body ) the other essential ( jism B, the archetypal body
inseparable from the "I" -spirit ) .
In tese pages, which were written in response to the pasage
in which Mulla adra afrs that the imaginative power sur
vives, Shaikh A}mad A}si has summed up the entire physi
ology of te body of resurrection, without which Mulli adra's
afrmation would have no support. Doubtless, a very important
point is te one in which form is described as an accident that
goes away without returing, whereas matter, its permanent
element in it diferent states, is "tat which returs"; and this
precisely because new for means metamorhosis, the trans
mutation of matter "returing" to te state of incorruptible
spiritual matter. The terinology peculiar t Shaikh Abmad
must evidently be taken into account. Mulla adra's successors
-for example, Hadl Sabzavirl in the last century ( d. 1 878 )
have sometimes missed his point, a evidenced by certain crit
icisms that fall wide of the mark. In any cae, the
p
age trans
lated below is the best iilustration of what Shaikh Ahmad
Absa'l means; it is also te best t ronNi t inn tn subsequent
21 8
Shaikh A/mad A/sa'i, 5
extract, froM one of the great works written by one of his emi
nent succesors at the head of the Shaikhl school.
As for Form, if contrary to the opinion of MullA $adrA, I say
that it is an accident and is not "that which returns," it is because
form is a conforation of matter. What "returns" in reality is
matter in a certain form, but this form is precisely the work of
the individual person. Even if the matter undergoes metamor
phosis, exchanges one spcies for another in ters of the fors
corresponding to the person's acts, neverheless that which
returns, which "comes to life again," is prcisely that which
assumes Form, and not, as MullA $adrA thinks, For itself.
For example, the outer appearance of Zayd was initially created
in a human form, solely bcause of the afrative answer he
gave in preeternity to the question "Am I not your Lord?
( 1 . i 1i ) . "71 If he fulflls the pact into which he entered and
works accordingly, then his "esoteric nature," the inner man, is
also created in human form, thanks to his action. He truly dies
and comes to life again as a human bing, because then his
consubstantial matter, through his work, is homogneous in the
true meaning to the matter of human reality.
On the other hand, if he btrays his pact and complacently
follows evil passions, his consubstantial matter will assume a
form to match it, the for of a bast, even though he will con
tinue externally to assume the for of a human bing which will
b like a veil before God, and a test for tose who remain faith
ful to the pact. So says this verse: "The hour will come which
I wish to keep hidden, so that every soul may gather the fruits
of its efort ( 20: i -i 6 ) .When he dies and his outer human
form disappears "in the tomb" and goes to the Throne ( tat is,
withdraws into Hurqalya ) , then at once the for of an animal
manifests in him, since it is the ver for of his work, his
consubstantial matter now bing available for this for that
matches it. He will be brought back to life as an animal , bcause
his prsonal work will have made this matter of his into some
thing homogeneous to the matter of an animal . Matter is, in fact,
Fxtract Frm pp. 1 86-87 Fol low1.
2 1 U
Article IX
thesubstaacethat|smadeava||ab|e|eraadbywhathehasdeae,
aad |sshapedbythevery|erme|h|s werk.
Ia the wer|d e| sem|aa| reaseas Zayd had appareat|y aa-
sweredyeste thequest|eaasked eathe daye|thepreeteraa|
Ceveaaat,wh||esecret|yh|sche|ce|e||eah|sewapass|ea.72 Be
appareat|y chese r|ght|y whea he aaswered |a the amrmat|ve
the quest|ea that was put te h|m. But theugh h|s che|ce was
sumc|ent te cemm|t h|m te the een, aeverthe|ess h|s secret
state e| m|ad eutwe|ghed the |ermu|ated aaswer. Per th|s aa-
swer was certa|a|y ea h|s ||ps, but h|s secret teadeacy ceatra-
d|cted |t. A|ter he desceaded |ate th|s wer|d, aad the eert he
hadte make was shewa te h|m a secead t|me, everyth|agwas
d|ss|pated |a deubt aad cea|us|ea. B|s case was ceamed by
the |e||ew|agverse . Theyceu|daetceaseat,|ertheyhadpre-
v|eus|ydea|ed ( 1 . ) .
Thus,thesecrettheughtceatrad|ct|agtheaaswerwh|chwas
then|ermu|ated,wasthematr|xe|mewerk|atercarr|edeaby
ev||pass|ea.That|swhyth|ssecrettheught|ssure|ythec|ay
|remwh|chZaydwascreatedbyh|sewawerks,aadhecaabut
r|se aga|a w|th |t. Per at the very memeat whea h|s secret
theught was ceatrad|ct|ng h|s aaswer, h|s c|ay, that |s, the
ceasubstaat|a|mattere|h|s be|ag, was me|dedby th|s theught
|a the ||keaess e| aa aa|ma|, be|agheace|erth the ea|y matter
ava||ab|e|erthe mrm|aat|eae|h|sewasem|aa|reasea.8ewhea
he desceadedteth|s wer|d,whea he had sett|ed dewa there |a
accerdaacew|th h|sche|ce, aadwheahehad ceasummated h|s
che|ce by tepet|t|ea aad by app|y|agh|seertte what he had
a|readyuadertakea |athe wer|d e| sem|na| reaseas, what had
ex|sted |a h|s secrettheughtswas revea|ed |a the ||ght e| day
aadhemaa||estedthewerkse|h|saa|ma|aature.
That |s a|sewhy he |s resurrected |athe aa|ma| state, s|ace
a|| h|s ceasubstaat|a| matter had beea me|ded by h|s werks,
wh|chwerehemegeaeeustethesubstaat|a|aaturee|aaaa|ma| .
Pet |a truth Pem|stheceagurat|ea e|matter, there|ere |t |s
theceagrat|eae|theth|agwh|chreturas,|t|saettheth|ag
|tse||. That |swhythe Imam 1a|arcempares |t w|tb the br|cs
220
e|pettet'sc|aywh|ch|sbroken, and aga|atep|aced|ntheme|d.
It|s|ndeedthesamebr|ck,and yet|t|saaethetbt|ck themattet
|sthesame,buttbeform lsdi ferent. . . . Each|ad|v|dua| ,when
tesuttected, assumes the form wa|cb, thaaks te h|s wetks, has
|edged|ah|smestsecretpart (p. 227 )
22 1
X
SHAI KH l.JJ MUJAMMAD KARI M
KH.N KIRM.NI , SECOND SUCCESSOR
OF SHAI KH AJMAD AJSA' I
( d. I2/ i 10 i
1 . In What Sense the Body of the Faithful Believer
is the Earth of His Paradise "
Inasmuch as in this world there are certain accidents that are
not inherent in the human body and are not an integal part of
that body, you should understand that such accidents do not
have t rise again with a man. The only bdy which is raised
from the dead is the human body in its individual, archetypal
state; this is the body to which everything known as "reward"
or "punishment" ocurs. This body persists through all the suc
cessive states from earliest infancy until the moment of death.
Or rather, it is already there in the seed of the human being and
in all the successive stages : embryonic, moment of birh, frst
breath, and so forh. It is a body which has length, breadth,
depth, color, shape, and strcture, just lie the other bodies,
except that it has the advantag, as an archetyp, of retaining its
identty, whereas all the accidents of this earhly world are
ephemeral, appar and disappar. This body is the rsurrction
body, the one refered to when it is said that it enters Paradise
or Hell.
But her a subtle theme comes in, which requires explanation.
Te strcture of the arhetypal body f man depnds on his
works and on the feeling he professes about te world and about
God. When the inmost faith he professes is genuine, when his
bhavior is viruous and pure, in harmony with the very pure
Exrac from te lrh4t al-'aw4mm ( Spirttl Directive for the
U1e of the Faithful ) , Kiran, 1354/ 1 93
5
, Vol . I, Pt. 2, pp. 48-9, 66-
68, 27 1 , 277, 282
-
86. Tis work is entirely In Ptrll an. '
222
Shaikh Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani, 1
religion of the Messenger of the end of time, then the for of
his primordial spiritual body is truly the human for. For, in
fact, the human form corresponds to the Divine Will as a light
dos to its source. You see, for example, how the light of the
sun corresponds to the conformation of the sun, moonlight to
the conformation of the moon, and lamplight to the conforma
tion of the lamp. Terefore the light of the Divine Will neces
sarily corespnds to the form of that Will. This is why man,
who is the light of the Divine Will, takes on that very form.
Now the Divine Will is God's well-beloved-the object of his
love; its nature and mode of being thus correspnd to love and
divine desire. Or rather, this Will is what Divine Love itself is.
The two shades of meaning expressed by the Arabic ters for
will ( mashia ) and desire ( irdda ) are combined in Persian in a
single word expressing the idea of wish as both will and desire
( khwahish ) . The Divine Will is God's wish and God's wish is
none other than His Lve, for God cannot will anything other,
wish anything other than His Love. In combination, therefore,
Divine Will and Divine Desire take on the for of Divine Love.
But the human for, on the other hand, being the light of the
Divine Will, assumes the very for of the Will . And this is
why the human for is the God's bloved, the object of the
Divine Love.
Tus we understand that God ordains for man only what is
the object of His Love and forbids him only what He abhors.
That is why all the Prophet's prescriptions are in harony wth
Divine Lve. Divine Lve is the ver for of the Divine Will
which is the wish of Go, His fondest desire. It follows that the
prophetic religion is in harony with the for of the Divine
Will . Thus the conforaton of the inmost being of him who
acts in accordance with this religon assumes the ver form of
the Divine Will , which is the object of Divine Lve
, or rather i
that love itself. Hence such a man will b God's well-beloved,
and that is exactly what God commanded his Prophet to tach
men: "If you Jove Go, fol low me so that God may Jove you
( S : 29 ) . " Thus, followi ng the Prophet is what makes God love
man. And Fol lowi ng the Prophrt mean1 to model your own way
Article X
e| be|ag aad act|ag ea the examp|e e| the Magaaa|meus Oae
(buzurgar ) ; |t meaas te mede| the |erm e| yeur ewa be|ag
|athe||keaesse|h|s. . . . Bewheshapesh|seuterbedyaadh|s
|aaerbe|ageathemede|e|thePrephet,suchaeae|ssure|ythe
|r|ead aad be|eved e| Ged, s|ace he whe makes h|mse|| abse-
|ute|y s|m||ar te the |r|eade|semeeae, a|se becemes the |r|ead
e| the |atter. Aad the Prephet |s Ged's be|eved, because he
assumesthe|erme|Ged's w|sh, the|erme|B|sW||| aadB|s
Des|re. . . .
(Pp. 66-6 i Theparad|see|the|a|th|u|be||ever|sh|sewa
bedy. B|s v|rtueus werks, a|ter the maaaer prev|eus|y de-
scr|bed, are |tstrees, |resh ruaa|ag water, cast|es, aad heur|s.
The Geheaaae|theuabe||ever|s ||kew|se aeth|agbut h|s ewa
bedy, h|shate|u|werksare|tsery|uraaces,measters,serpeats,
degs,drageas, aad seea. Perhapsyeuw||| th|ak that uaderme
gu|see|sp|r|tua||aterpretat|eaI amtraaspes|ageveryth|ag|ate
purea||egery?Perhapsyeuareweader|aghewthehumaabedy
e|a be||ever, a m|aute humaa bedy, ceu|d be a parad|se,whea
the|a|th|u|be||ever|sprem|sedaparad|seatheusaadt|mesthe
s|zee|th|swer|d?Aadhewthebedye|theuaged|ymaaceu|d
beh|sGeheaaa,wheaBe|||s|mmeaseaaddescr|bedasceata|a-
|ag abysses aaderymeuata|as? Ged|erb|dthat a ph||esepher
sheu|dta|kw|theutrhye erreasea| 8epayatteat|ea, |aerder
teuaderstaadthe rea||ty aadtruemeaa|age|thetheme we are
d|scuss|aghere.
Yeu have a|ready beea g|vea te uaderstaad that the |a|th|u|
be||everpessessesacena|abedy,wh|ch|ac|udessemeth|agacc|-
deata| . Everyth|agthat |ath|s terrestr|a| wer|d caa be seea by
the ergaas e| phys|ca| percept|ea |s acc|deata| , mere ce|er|ag
aad appearaace pass|ag threugh success|ve states that appear
aad d|sappear w|theut|a aaywaybe|agaa|ategra| parte|the
esseat|a|erarchetypa|bedy. Th|sbedywh|chyeu are aew see-
|ag,w|th|tsm|autemater|a|d|meas|eas,|sthe acc|deata| be1y,
|aaeway|s|t aa|ategra| part e|the esseat|a| be1y. As|ertbe
esseat|a| er archetypa| bedy, |er |astaace thnt e| Zay1, |t |s
|ash|eaedaccerd|agtetbeexteate|hi 1 k nnwl rdge, to hi s cupuc-
Shaikh Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmini, 1
|ty te undetstand, tehl s solr|taa| censc|eusness, te h|s meta|
cenduct,|et themere deve|emdh|s sp|r|tua|censc|eusness,the
neb|et h|s meta| ceaduct, tbe sabt|et a|se w||| be h|s essent|a|
bedy.New,thesubt|etth|sbedybecemes,the gteateta|se|s|ts
magn|tude. lt|s|nth|sseasethatthes|zee|thepatad|see|the
|a|th|u| adepts |s measured by the|t knew|edge, the|t sp|t|tua|
censc|eusness, aad the|t mera| cenduct. The mete gnest|c,
|a|th|u|, andpet|ecttheyate, the vastetappatsthe|tpatad|se,
and the mete the|t bedy gtews. The ve|ume e| the patad|se
e| ene |a|th|u| adept may be seven t|mes the ve|ume e| th|s
tettestt|a| wet|d, |n the case e| anethet |t can b ten t|mes
gteatet, and |et st||| anethet a m||||en t|mes. Each e| them
cteates|eth|mse||adwe|||ngp|ace|nptepett|entethecapac|ty
e| h|s sp|t|tua| enetgy.
That |s why the essent|a| et atchetypa| bedy e| the |a|th|u|
adepts |s the vety Eatth e| the|t Patad|se, ]ust as the essent|a|
bedye|the|mp|eusman|sthevetyEanhe|h|sGehenna.The
nattewness e| the p|ace, |ts setd|d |th, |ts dense g|eem, the
suer|ngheendutesthete, ate |nptepett|en teh|s|mp|etyand
h|sd|ssa|at|en|temtheOne.7 TtyteundetstandwhatI mean.
Th|s |s a vety subt|e theme nebedy can escap |tem h|mse||,
geteute|h|mse||,nebedybcemessemeeneetherthanh|mse||,
neth|ngbcemessemeth|ngethetthan|tse||.
Den'tte||yeutse||thatthestatewh|ch I have ]ustdesct|bed
|s net exact|y the ene made knewn te us by d|v|ne Reve|at|en.
I ca||Gedasw|tness| Patad|seabeunds|nheut|s,cast|es,gteen
p|ants,and|teshtunn|ngwatet,un||m|ted~justasdesct|bd|n
theRevea|ed Beek~but netas they ate dep|cted by yeut |an-
tasy. We ate net the cemmun|ty e| eut |ancy, we ate me
cemmunltye|thePrephet,we|e||ewtheBeeke|theTtad|t|en.
Ate yeu ot awate that when yeu heat the wetd tree |n the
Out'an,yeup|ctuteteyeutse||tteesexact|y||kethetteese|th|s
wet|d? New, thete |s a vetse that dec|ates . ''The|t |tu|ts ate
b|ew ( 6 .2S ) , wh|chmeansthatthetepe|thetteese|Pata-
d|se are be|ew. B|s Be||ness the Amtt e| the Be||evets, eut
l|rst ImAm, ebsetves by way e| cemmentaty The ttees e|
PurudiNe nre the |averse e|the trees e|th|s wet| d. The ttees e|
Article X
Paradise have their root above and their branches below."'
When you hear the words "fresh running water" you imagine a
stream like the streams of this world, whereas it is said that the
Tanim ( cf. 1 21 ) enters the abodes of the inhabitants of
Paradise from above. Therefore it behoves me to deal with
these questions in confority with the Revealed Bok and our
Tradition, not according to your fantasy.
Therefore I declare that the essential or archetypal body of
the faithful adept is itself his Paradise. He himself is inside his
own Paradise, in this world already as in the Aevum to come.
The arhetypal body of the impious man is itself his Gehenna;
he dwells in his own Hell , in this world as well as in the world
to come. Have you not heard it said that the "clay" out of which
the faithful believer is made blongs to the Ear of Paradise,
whereas the "clay" of the impious man belong to the Earh of
Gehenna? So that the Earh of Paradise i Paradise, and the
Earh of Gehenna i Gehenna. As regards Paradise or Hell, to
each one can be given only what he is capable of receiving, and
which is of the same nature as te "clay" of which he is made.
No one is qualifed to taste reward or punishment that surpasses
the extent of his ftness. From the First Day, each one has been
given the Last Day. If, in the preterestrial world, te world of
seminal reasons, he was a faithful adept, he was then and there
worthy of reward, and he was given a proporionate share of
the Earh of Paradise. If, on the other hand, he desered punish
ment, he was given a proporionate share of te Earh of
Gehenna. No faithful believer becomes more of a believer in
this world than he himself decided in the preterrestrial world.
No impious one becomes more impious than he decided in the
preterestrial world. To each one is done and given according
to his faith or his faithlessness. Ponder on what I am saying
so as to mae no mistake, since tis is a subtle question. 10
Having said this, we must still mention that Paradise com
prises eight degees, and that Gehenna comprises seven. Many
faitful blievers are in the frst degree of Paradise; many of
them are in the second degree, and so on up to the eighth. In
versely, many impious are in the frst ci rl e of Hel l ; as well as
Shaikh Mu/ammad Karim Khan Kirmini, 1
i n the second and the seventh. The reason for this i s that the
Lord of the worlds incorprated eight "handfuls of Heaven"
into the archetypal body of the believer, eight "handfuls" of
primordial matter belonging to the Heavens of his universe, as
we explained previously. His body contains one handful of the
subtle matter of the frst Heaven ( that of the mon ) , and his
spirit ( ra, vital pneuma ) was made from this "handful of
Heaven"; one handful of the subtle matter of the second Heaven
( that of Mercury) and his meditative power was made from this
"handful of Heaven;" his imaginative power was made from a
handful of the third Heaven ( that of Venus ) ; one handful of
the fourh Heaven ( that of the Sun ) constituted his "consub
stantial matter: " one handful of the ffth Heaven ( that of Mars )
constituted his representative faculty; a handful of the sixth
Heaven ( that of Jupiter ) constituted his cognitive pwer; one
handful of the sevent Heaven ( that of Saturn ) constituted his
individual intellect; one handful of the eighth Heaven ( the
Heaven of the Fixed Stars, Kursf, the Firmament ) constituted
his soul . And fnally, his bdy contains a handful of the subtle
matter of the Throne ( arsh, the Empyrean ) ; from this is fored
his essential and fundamental reality
11
Consequently, when the bliever obeys his vital spirit, and
nothing above that has ben manifested in him, then that b
liever is on the frst level of paradise. When he obeys his medi
tative power, he is on the second level of paradise and so on:
whichever level in himself he obeys, which manifests in him and
determines his spiritual rank, is also his rank in Paradise, on
the level corespnding to him. He blongs to the spiritual fam
ily that is situated on this level. Every higher level , compared
to the lower level , is so vast that if one were to compare the
lower level with the higher level the latter would seem like the
circle of the horizon arising at the boundary of the immense
desert. This is so to such an extent that the lowest level of all
is still seventy times
1
1 higher than our terrestrial world.
In the same way, the body of the impious man comprises
seven "handfuls of earth," seven handfuls of the matter of the
ci rcles of Sijjtn. 1 1 The frst blonK to the Earth of death, the
Article X
secead tethe Earth e||aaateteadeac|es, theth|rdtethe Earm
e|aature,the |eunhtethe Eanh e||ust, the |th tethe Earth
e||ury,the s|xthtethe Earth e| aberrat|ea, the seveath te the
Earth e| abem|aat|ea. There|ere, |a the eveat that the seurce
e|the aegat|ve att|tudee|the |mp|eus maa |sthe rst haad|u|
e| earth e| h|s be|ag aad the secead |s aet maa||ested |a |t,
theahedwe||s|atherstc|rc|ee|Geheaaa.I|theseurce|sthe
secead haad|u| , aad the th|rd dees aet appear |a |t, thea he
dwe||s|atheseceadc|rc|ee|Be||. Aadse|erm. asthedesceat
praeeds, each c|n|e becemes aarrewer aad aarrewer, mere
aad mere wretched, cempared te the preced|ag eae. Thus,
eacheae ceat|aues accerd|agte h|s |uadameata| aature, uat||
hereturasteh|ser|g|a. . . .
( P. 21 i i Kaew that a creature has twe|aces erd|meas|eas,
theeae|s|tsd|v|ae |ace erd|meas|ea, the ether |s me |ace er
d|meas|eae||tsewase||heed.Byd|v|ae|aceerd|meas|eawhat
must be uadersteed |s aet that creatures are Ged, but have a
|aceerd|meas|eatoward Gedwh|ch |sL|ght,Geed,Per|ect|ea,
because each creature |s a trace bera e| the |v|ae W||| aad,
s|acethe |v|ae W||| |s L|ght, Geedaad Per|ect|ea, the trace
aatura||y resemb|es that wh|ch |mpr|ated |t. The ether |ace er
d|meas|eae|thecreature|s|ts|aceteward|tse||,aadth|sd|mea-
s|ea |s darkaess, ev|| , dec|eacy. A|| creatures are made w|th
thesetwe|aceserd|meas|eas.Bewever,theaearerthecreatures
aretethepr|merd|a|W|||,themere abuadaat|sthe|r||ghtaad
themererareedthe|rdarkaess.Oatheetherhaad, the|arther
away they are |rem that pr|merd|a| W||| , the deaser becemes
the|r darkaess aad the weaker the|r ||ght. Oa the eae haad,
there|ere, everyh|ag |s ||ght ea the p|aae ce|ac|d|agw|th the
greatest prex|m|ty te the pr|merd|a| W||| , there, the prepert|ea
e|darkaess|sbutthate|aspecke|dust,|tseect|sexhausted,
|t |s but a drep e| water |est |a the eceaa. Oa the ether haa1,
a|| |s darkaess ea the p|aae mest d|staat |rem the pr|merd|a|
W||| ,there,ea|yeaeateme|||ghtrema|as |P|g. 3] .
The || ght aad darkaess caa be represented in the |erm e|
twe |atersectlagtr|aag|es, as suggettd hy t ht uhove di uKrnm.
22R
Shaikh Mu!ammad Karim Khan Kirmani, 1
Tri angl e of Li ght
Tri angl e of Darkness
Figure
The uppettt|aag|e | sthe tt|aag|ee|||ght, the basee|th|s tt|-
aag|e ( atthetepe|thed|agtami |sthe||ghtwh|ch|sveryc|ese
te the pt|metd|a| W||| , at eae pe|at |t |steuched by eae e|the
apxese|thett|aag|ee|datkaess.Thebasee|the|ewettt|aag|e
~wh|ch |s th|s tt|aag|e e| datkaess~|s at the max|mum d|s-
taace|temthept|metd|a|W|| | , |t|steuchedateaep|atbythe
apexe|the tt|aag|ee|||ght.Thete|ete, evetyh|ag |s||ghtvety
c|esetethept|metd|a|W|||, thete |s]ust a ttacee|anatem e|
datkaess. But, w|th the dewawatd mevemeat, the ||ght gtad-
ua||yd|m|a|sheswh||ethedatkaess |acteases,uat|| , attheend,
the datkaesspteva|| s, thete tema|as ea|ya ttace e|anatema|
||ght. Oatheetherhaad, w|ththeupwatdmevemeatthedatk-
ness waaes, wh||e the ||ght waxes, uat|| |t reaches the p|nt
aeanst te the pt|metd|a| W||| . . . ha||-way btween the twa
||m|ts, ||ght aaddatkaess ateequa|. Ptem th|s|tcanb uadet-
steedthat|acase a haad|u| e|mattet|s takeaupwards |ram
the ceatet, aad ||a cteatute |s |etmed aut e|th|s matter, ||ght
w||| ptevai| |ath|s cteatute everdatkaess. But || the hand|u|
e|mattet|stakea dewawatds|temthe centet, and a cteature
|sme|dedeute||tthea,eatheceattaty,darkaess w||| pteva|||n
th|scteatuteaad||ghtw|||beevetcame.
( P. 277 ) Wetk |u| ||ed| s|tse||metewatd,aadtherewatd
|s itHel f the aeeamp| |shed task. Hewever,|t must b added that
229
Article X
in this world works and actions are visible to the eyes of your
body as outer appearances, whereas in the other world these
same actions are seen in other fors ( their apparentie reales ) .
Some are seen in the shape of castles, others in the shape of
houris, of plants, trees, or streams of living water, others in the
for of birds, camels, or horses, in the manner and sense which
we went into previously. All of them, in fact, are attributes and
qualities of the man himself; they are the outer manifestations
of his inner being. For all of them are there in the other world,
where they surround him and become his reward. . . . Earlier
we described the process by which works and actions are tus
shapd, and take the for, now of minerals, now of vegetables,
now of animals, now of houris and attendants in Paradise, or, on
the contrary, become his companions in Gehenna
_
. .
_
I0
( Pp. 22-6 ) When it is said that Paradise is in Heaven and
Gehenna is in the Eart, that is because the human being has
two dmensions : a dimension of light and a dimension of dark
ness. His dimension of light is the Heaven of his being; his di
mension of darkness is the Earth of his being. Every faithful act
a man does is done thrugh his dimension of light. Then he is
wholly luminous, celestial, subtle. Conversely, his betrayals and
denials come from his dimension of darkness; he is then wholly
dark, earthly, dense, and opaque. If then it is said that Paradise
is in Heaven, it is because it is the dimension of light and of
god, the dimension of approach to the Divine: conversely, Hell
is in the Earth, bcause it is the dimension of Darkness and of
evil, the dimension of utmost remoteness from the Divine.
Now, Paradise includes eight degees; Hell contains seven.
Each of these stages contain several enclosures; however, there
is one degee of Paradise that does not include a plurality of
enclosures. All the abodes of the other word together number
twenty-nine: ffteen ar primary, foureen derived from these.
In analysis of this theme, we will say that for the human being
there are ffteen degrees or planes; eight of them belong to the
dimension of light, which is called lllfyan; seven others are in
the dimension of darkness which is called Sijjrn. One of the eight
230
Shaikh Mulammad Karim Khan Kirmini, 1
degees or planes which are i n the dimension of light i s the
abode of that handul of heaven in man belonging to the eighth
Heaven ( Kursi, the Firmament ) , from which the hear of man
was created. The second is the abode of that handful of heaven
which, in man, blongs to the Heaven of Saturn, from which
man's intellective power was made. The third is the abode of
that handful of heaven in man which belong to the Heaven of
Jupiter, from which his cognitive power was made. The fourh
is the abode of the handful of heaven belonging to the Heaven
of Mars, from which his representative faculty was made. The
ffth is the abode of the handful of heaven in man blonging to
the Heaven of the Sun, out of which his subtle consubstantial
matter was made. The sixt is that of the handful of heaven
belonging to the Heaven of Venus, from which man's imagina
tive power was constituted. The seventh is the handful of heaven
which blongs to the Heaven of Mercury, and from it his medi
tative power was constituted. And fnally, the eight is the
handful of heaven which blongs to the Heaven of the Mon,
and from it his spirit ( ra?, pneuma ) was created. These are the
eight degrees which are the Abodes of Light of man; these
Abodes are his luminous and divine dimension; they for the
inner Heaven, they are Heaven in man.
With the exception of the frst "handful of heaven" ( the one
issuing from the eighth Heaven or Kursi ) , the above are
matched by the seven "handfuls of earh" which in man originate
respectively in one of the seven Earhs. One handful originates
in the frst Ear: from it the outer appearance of the physical
body of the human bing was constituted. Another one originates
in the second Earth, and out of it wer created man's innate
dispositions. And so forth: the third Earth, from a handful
of which te physical temperament of man was made; the fourh
Earth, from a handful of which lust was made; the ffth Earh,
from a handful of which frenzy was created; the sixth Earh,
from a handful of which ging astray was created, which con
sists in running away from the divine Being; the sevent Earh,
from a handful of which evil in man was created. Such are the
seven cate
g
ries of Earth1, which match the seven categries of
Article X
Beaveas.As|erthe e|ghth Beavea, |t has aeequ|va|eatameag
the Earths, because there are sevea Earths, ae mere, ]ust as
there are sevea Beaveas, actua||y, the Beavea wh|ch |s ca||ed
Kursi ( P|rmameat i |saetaa|ategra|parte|the Beaveas,|t |s
eae e| the threshe|ds e| the Mystery, e| the Iav|s|b|e. !ust as
theThreae (arsh, theEmpyreaa i |sa|seeaee|thethreshe|ds
e| the Mystery, aad |s aet aa |ategra| part e| the ce|est|a|
8pheres.
Thus,theua|versee|theseveaBeaveas aadtheua|verse e|
the sevea Earths have the|r mutua| cerrespeadeaces |a maa.
O|ceurse,wheaweta|kabeutthese haad|u|s e| Beavea, we
deaetmeaathatamater|a|sect|eahasbeearemeved|remeach
Beavea.Whatwew|shteceavey|sthedegreee|maa'spart|c|-
pat|ea|athe8eu|e|eache|theBeaveaswh|chare|ah|m ( the
share a||etted te h|m e| th|s psyche-sp|r|tua| ergaa e| each
Beavea i . The eseter|c, psyche-sp|r|tua| rea||ty e| the teta||ty
e| the Beaveas |s s|tuated |a the th|ak|ag 8eu| e| the wer|d.
New, thehumaae|ag|sthe|rrad|at|eae|that 8eu| , h|s whe|e
be|ag exemp||es |ts archetype. That |s whyh|s be|ng||kew|se
pessesses a haad|u| e| that eseter|c rea||ty e| each Beavea.
Mea d|er pre|euad|y |a regard te the|r respect|ve sp|r|tua|
dwe|||ag p|ace. They are by ae meaas a|| ea the same |ew er
h|gh |eve|. Whea we say that there |s |a maa a haad|u| e| the
psyche-sp|r|tua| substaace e| each Beavea, th|s re|ers ea|y te
the Per|ect Maa. Ia the same way, || a maa's be|agceata|as a
haad|u|e|eache|theEarths,|tre|ersteamaawhehasreached
thedegreee|teta| ,per|ectev||. As|ertheaveragemaa, eae e|
themmaypessessahaad|u|e|ea|yeaeBeavea,aaetherahaad-
|u|e|tweerthreeBeaveas,er|eurerve,ereveas|xersevea,
||hebe|eagstethepeep|ee|L|ghtaadGeedaess. Oatheether
haad,||he be|eags te the peep|e e| Darkaess aad Ev||, |t may
bethath|s be|agceata|asahaad|u|e|ea|yeaeEarth,eraga|a
|tmayceata|ahaad|u|s|remsevera|Earms.
Thus,whea there |sa haad|u|e|Beavea|amaa aad whea
thaaks te |t, h|s mera| ceaduct |sexce||eat, wb||e h|s |||e |a |ts
var|eus aspects actua||zes |a|tb|u| serv|ce of the d|v|ae, tbea
a|| h|s act|eas aad werks w||| be guthertd together ea the
2:2
Shaikh Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmini, 1
Resurtect|eaDay,| a1l0ereat|erms,buta||e|themeathe|eve|
aaddegteete wh|ch tb|s aaa1|u| e| Beavea cettespeads. I|,
|et examp|e, th|s haa1|u| be|eags te the tst Beavea, a|| h|s
wetks w||| be e| the aatu:e e| the tst Beavea. I| |t |ssues
|temthe seceadBeavea,they wl|| be e|thesameaatuteasthe
secead Beavea. Aa1 se |enh. Per h|m whe he|ds eae haad|u|
|temeae Beavea, hls werks wl|| be a|| ea that eae |eve| . The
wetke|eaewhehastwe haa1|u|s |remtweBeaveas w||| bee|
twe |eve|s. Aad se |erth, se that the werk e| the maa whese
be|ag|smadeupe|a||seveahaa1|u|sw|||be|seveadegtees.
lt gees w|theut say|ag that the wetks that spt|ng |tem a
haad|u| |tem the secead Beavea ate mete subt|e thaa these
thatspt|ag|remahaad|u||temthetstBeavea.Andse|etth,
the tesu|t be|ag that these that spt|ag |tem a haad|u| e| the
seveath Beavea ate the subt|est e| a||. De yeu aet see that the
|ate||ect ( noua ) |ssubt|et|a state thaa the seu|, aad hew much
subt|et|swhatyeupteducethteughyeut|ate||ectthanwhatyeu
pteduce thteugh yeut seu| ,17 just aswhatyeu pteduce thteugh
yeut seu| |s |atmete subt|e |astate thaayeut phys|ca| aature.
Aad such |s the case ptepert|eaate|y |et each haad|u| e|
Beavea|a te|at|eatethewetksthatspr|ag|tem|t.
Thus, the Beavease|yeutbe|agate eaes I have just de-
sct|bed ( the e|ght abedes e| ||ght e| yeut be|agi . The Pata-
d|see|eacheaee|us|sabse|ute|yprepetteh|m. Itcens|stse|
the maa's wetks aad act|eas, wh|ch |a the ethet wet|d w|||
appeatte h|m |athe|etme|heur|s,cast|es, aadvetdaatttees.
That i why the Paradise of each of us i s in the Heaven of his
being; |t|sabse|ute|yh|s ewa, |etaeeae e|se has a shate |n|t.
AsGedexptesses|t|nh|sBeek Iathatvetyp|ace|sptepated
that wh|ch the seu|s des|re aad wh|ch de||ghts the eyes
(11 7 1 i.There|sa degteee|Patad|sethatcettespadstethe
respect|vecapac|tyaadceaducte|eachmaa. Teeae|s g|vea a
|ace|athe rstBeavea, teaaethet,|atheseceadBeavea. Aad
se|enh aa||y,teseme|sg|veaap|ace|atheseveathBeavea.
Tbee|gbt thresbe|1se|Para1|se |athe|ttuta|em e| ghtde-
grees. Everyeae eaters by a tbresbe|d, |a tetmse|h|s sp|t|tua|
taasand the wetshe hu1 accompl i1hed. I n thewerdse|Barat
Article X
Amr, the First ImAm: "Paradise has eight thresholds. The
Prophets and their ImAms enter by one of these thresholds. The
ImAms of Mulammad's family1
8
enter by another threshold.
All our Shrites ( adepts ) and those who are our friends enter by
fve other thresholds. Ordinary Muslims, those who have borne
witness to non deus nisi Deus and have not fostered in their
hears one atom of hatred against us who are members of the
sacred Family,11 enter through the last threshold."
To sum up, from whatever Heaven the "clay" of each one of
us has been taken, to whatever Heaven his spirit belongs, this
is the very Heaven to which he will retur. His actions and his
works are gathered together in this Heaven, and it is there that
they are made manifest to him in their for of the world byond,
their resurrection for. All his activities are gathered arund
him, they bcome his Paradise. That is why the works of the
just man continue to rise until they have reached their Heaven,
bcause they issue from this same Heaven; that is their origin
and their true reality; inversely, evil acts descend into the Earh
until they reach their own Earth, the circle of Hell which is
their place of origin and return. . . . The degees of Paradise,
as we have said, are eight in numbr. However, the eighth is the
one that blongs to the Prophet and to the Twelve ImAms. It is
the "Paradise of the Peranent Abode" ( 1 1 ) or the "Gar
den of Eden" ( 1 8 : 10, et al. ) which is situated in that eighth
Heaven called the Lotus of the Boundary ( 1 14 ) . As the
eighth Heaven is the rank of the most sacred Soul of the world,
Z0
whose verdant ofspring, as I have explained previously, is the
soul of man, and as the Soul of the world is the "place" of
knowledge, this soul has many branches. It is the Tree, and the
lotus, which is called Lotus of the Boundary. In that very place
tere is the "Paradise of the Peranent Abode," the one which
belong to the Prophets. The "rof" of this paradise is the Throne
( 'arsh ) , as a ladith says : "the roof of Paradise is the Throne
of the Merciful."
Now, that degree has no opposite, because, ontologically, the
Prophet and the ImAms have no opposites. Ontologically, oppo
sites appear only on the level of our exi1tence, that i s, of the
2!4
Shaikh Muiammad Karim Khin Kirmini, 1
Shl'ites and the Tre Faithful . That is why the Antagonist, i n
the true and ontological sense, i s the adversary of the Shrites, or
adepts of the holy ImAms. But they, that is, the Prophets and the
ImAms, have neither opposite nor adversary in the true and
essential meaning of the word, because the adversaries them
selves rank below them. Ontologically, they rank on the uni
versal level, where all is made whole, and that which makes a
whole cannot include an opposite. To include an oppsite is
characteristic of all that is partial. That is why this degree of
Paradise has nothing counterbalancing it on the side of Gehenna.
On the contrary, the other seven degreesthose relating to the
True Faithful and Muslims in general-do have opposites on
the side of Gehenna to counterbalance them, as we pointed out
a few pages back.
Certain authors place these eight degrees of Paradise in the
fol lowing order: the gardens of Paradise ( 1 8 : 107 ) , which are
in the eighth Heaven; the lofty gardens ( 69: 22 ) ; the gardens
of bliss ( 10: 9 etc. ) ; the gardens of Eden ( 1 8 : 25 etc. ) , which
have no opposite on the side of Gehenna; the gardens of the
secure place ( 44: 5 1 ) ; the gardens of eternity ( 50: SS ) ; the
gardens of the refuge ( S2: 1 9 ) ; the gardens of the abde of
pace ( 6: 127 ) . As regards the degrees or circles of Hell , te
same authors rank them thus : Gehenna ( S : 1 96 etc. ) ; the fam
ing fre ( 70: 1 5 ) ; the consuming fre ( 104: 4-5 ) ; the brazier
( 67 : 5 etc. ) ; the devastating fre ( 74: 26-27 ) ; the furnace
( 79: S9 etc. ) ; the abyss ( 101 : 6 ) . Other authors, on the con
trary, claim that the furnace is the highest degree, while Ge
henna is the lowest, but I know no /aith to supprt this classif
cation, although all of these names appear in the Book and in
the Tradition.
ZI
In short, just as in Perfect Man there are seven "handfuls of
heaven," issuing respectively from each of the Heavens, so in the
"perfectly evil man" there are seven "handfuls of earth," originat
ing in each of the seven Earhs, whereas for the common run of
humanity the proprtion varies according to the diferences in
degree.
The 1even degrees of Pnrndise hnve seven degrees of radia-
Article X
t|ea, that |s, te each e| the degrees cettespeads a rad|at|ea
ptepette |t,|athe samewayas the se|attad|at|eacetrespeads
te the aature e| the sua. These sevea rad|at|eas |em sevea
eac|esutes|et the seveaPatad|ses. Butthe e|ghth Patad|sehas
ae eac|esute, s|ace|t|s ua|vetsa| , the eae wh|ch makes whe|e.
New,theaatutee|thatwh|chmakeswhe|e |saetthe same as
that wh|ch has ea|ya patt|a| |uact|ea aad a pan|a| rad|at|ea.
Everyth|agthat |ssues |rem the tad|at|eae|the |a|th|u| |athe
ttuesease aad|st|er Patad|se has|ts abede |athese eac|e-
sutes, aad aet |athe et|g|aa| Patad|se |tse||, because tad|at|ea
|saete|thesamedegteeastheseutcee|||ght. .
_
.
88
2. A World in Ascent, Not in Evolution*
We are translating below two more pages of the great work of
Mulammad Karim Khan Kiranl, in the frst place because
they gave rise to a valuable commentary on the part of te pres
ent head of the Shaikhl school, which is given at te end of tese
selected passages; and in the second place because, in conden
sation, these two pages recall a few essential themes.
Above all , te idea of a world whose "history" has a vertical
axis and is not seen in the horizontal perspective of an indefnite
evolution. The history of this world, "in the Gothic style," is not
that of an irreversible evolution, but of a progressive reversion.
Our concept of "historical causality" no longer applies. This
vertical orientation toward the celestial pole represented by
Hurqalya is deterined by the idea of a descent, followed by a
reacent : te frst is the fall of the intelligence ( Ennoia) down
to the terrestrial world, and this is the cycle of cosmo-genesis.
The second is the ascent from our world, which began wit the
cycle of prophecy inaugurated by Adam. Te traditional gnos
tic thesis introduces the further idea ( echoed by Franz von
Baader, we recalled above ) that even the Biblical history of
Adam only begins on te day after a catastrophe whose magni
tude we can perhaps no longer conceive.
Shl'ite consciousness superimposes the perspective of Imam
ology on that of Prophetology: te parousia of the hidden
Imam, the defnitive theophany, the advent of pure spirital
religion. For te Shl'ite adept, to attain personal consciousness
of tis parousia is to enter into Hurqalyi, and that means into
the world where the Imam becomes visible to the inner percep
tion, where eschatology breaks through into the present. Hence
' Extract from the same work, Vol . I I , Pt . :, 1 ' 1 ' 274-75.
236
Shaikh Mu/ammad
K
arim Khan Kirmini, 2
u-u-m-of the last pogr1 transl ated below: Harqalya and the
Shi'ite faith.
Kaew that whea Gad hud create1 Iate|||geace ( Ennoia ) ea
thetste|theDays, besai d te lt . New ge dewa.AadIate|||-
geaceweat1ewauat|| |t teacbe1 eutwet|d.The aa|stagee|
|ts desceat ce|ac|1e1 wlth tbe t|me e| Adam. Thea the ca||
teseuade1|athewer|1tbraughthemeuthe|BatatAdamaad
thteugh the meuths a| a|| tbese whe summea mea te Ged.
Newturaateuadaa1 geuoaga|a. Atthet|mee|theDesceat,
these whe speke |etGe1 wete cesm|c exptess|eas |a the |aa-
guam e| cesme-geaes|s. Atthet|me e| the Asceat they wete
|asp|ted exptess|eas |a the |aaguage e| ptephecy. The wer|1
uadertakes|tsasceat,|ts gta1ua|tetuta,thaakstetheprephet|c
|aaguagee|theMesseagets.I||tsheu|1happeathatpastt|mes
aterevea|edteyeu,yeuw|||seethemuadetyeur|eet,vett|ca||y,
aetbs|deyeu,het|zeata||y.
Theadveatutee|eutwet|d|sthe adveatutee|semeenewhe
has te be bteught up |tem the bettem e| a we||. Memeat by
memeathereachesacetta|a|eve||athewe||,|rem|eve|te|eve|
hecemestetheupper|eve|. 23 At eachmemeatthe |eve|hehas
passed|suadeth|s|eet.Wheevetkaewshew te |eekw|ththe
etgaa e| |aaet s|ght w||| thus see past t|mes baeath h|s |eet
mereaadmeteepaque,dease,aaddatk,whereas,daya|terday,
he ceat|au-s te ascead t|me, dtaw|agaeater te the pt|metd|a|
W|||aadbecem|agmere|um|aeus,metesubt|e.
Letus|mag|aeabe|agcem|agdewa|temBeaveaaadeater-
|ag the 8phere e| e|emeata| a|t, descead|ag|urthet, he eaters
the8phetee|atmesphet|cvapet,descead|agst||||unher,hew|||
eatet |a success|ea the 8phete e|the c|euds, thea the water e|
the eceaa, aad thea the bewe|s e| the Eanh. 8heu|d ene thea
sayteh|m. New,c||mbup aga|a,uphegees,emerg|ag|rem
thedatkaesse|theEanh,eatet|agthe8phene|watet,pass|ag
thteugh |ts deas|ty, aad thea travets|ag the 8pheres e| the
clouds aa1thevapeteaea|teraaether.Emerg|ag|temthe|ast
of these 8pberes,heeatets|atethea|t|atheputestate.B|seyes
gaze on everythi ng around hi m; bebteathesdeep|y,he |s |reed
237
Article X
from the restrictions that stifed him; he gives himself up to
relaxation in immense tranquility; at last he breathes freely.
And so, this is exactly the spiritual history of our world. For
this world had descended into the midst of the Earth, when it
was told, at the time of Adam: "Now, go up again." This is the
climb it is engaged in making; it is not yet freed from the heav
iness and roughness, the darkness and mist. It has not yet come
out into the pure air. For these places we are in are the abode
of darkness. And it is in darkness that one must seek a religion,
behave in a certain way, profess some belief. But as soon as
men have emerged from these mists and entered into pure air,
they gaze at the Sun, the face of the Friend, the ImAm; ten they
contemplate its lights uncovered and unveiled, witout needing
to dissemble. For the laws are no longer laws; religion is no
longer reli gion; institutions are no longer institutons. 24
What is needed, therefore, is for us ourselves to reach the
spiritual level where the Friend, the ImAm, becomes visible.
The ImAm cannot go there before us. If the ImAm were to
arrive before we were able to recognize him, it would be of no
beneft t us. The following verse expresses it : ''The Friend
is nearer to me than myself. But what is stranger still is that I
am far from him." Thus, if the ImAm came before we ourselves
were there, that is, before there was a change in our way of
being, we would not even see him; we would reap no advantage
from it; it would even be the contary of wisdom. On the other
hand, when our spiritual capacity ha changed and we have
been transformed, it means that we have come up higher. For,
as we have said, we must get out of the well ; we must rise in
order to reach tat place where it is possible to see the ImAm.
And the name of that place, in the language of the theosophists
( ahl-i Mkmat ) is Harqalya.
When our world, the world which we are, rises until it
reaches the level of Harqalya, it sees in that very place the
splendor of its ImAm. The Truth is revealed. Darkness is dissi
pated. Conditions are changed. Do not think that this spiritual
reality is far away. It is drawing near, for the signs of achieve
ment and crisis have already become nppnrent. From the world
238
Shaikh Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani, 2
of Harqalya a breeze is blowing, and the prfume of that world
has reached the senses of the Soul of the True Faithful. If you
are capable of feeling, you yourself will prceive, in the pages
of this book and its contents, a perfume emanating from the
fowers of the world of Harqalyl. But b careful ! Tere are a
great many people whose nature is weak and defored, who
are infamed by these perfumes and then bcome dizzy. On the
other hand, a larg number of tose who by nature fully merit
the name of man take delight in these fragrant scents which
become the fod of their soul. So the evidence is there, God
willing! Harqalya is near.
XI
SHAI KH ABU' L- QASI M KHAN I BRAHI M!
( SARKAR AGHA) , FI FTH SUCCESSOR
OF SHAI KH AHMAD AHSA' I
( b. I 1 I1/I 6 )
.
The Celestial Earth of Hurqalya and the Shtite Faith"
Wesheu|datth|s pe|at g|vea br|e| eut||ae e|thequest|eae|
Borqa|ya, e| the descr|puea e| that ua|vetse aad |ts s|tuat|ea
ameagthe p|aaes e| be|ag. We weu|d ||ke te br|agte an ead
a|| the d|mcu|t|es e| these e| eur brethers whe, hav|ag been
atttactedtetheeseph|ca|gaes|s,haveperhapsaetpa|dsumc|ent
attent|enteth|spe|at. . .
Ia erder te summar|ze the nature e| th|s un|vetse, here |s
whatthe exp||c|t assert|eas e| eutttad|t|eas, tegether w|th the
exp|aaat|eas |ura|shedby eur great8ha|khs,have made |t pes-
s|b|e |er me te uaderstaad aad te set |erth |a my turn vety
br|ey. Reugh|y, the werd Harqalya te|ets te the mundus
archetypus, the wer|d e| Images ( 'a/am al-mithal ) , the wer|d
e|auteaemeusF|guresandFerms ( 'a/am al-uwar ) . A|theugh,
stt|ct|yspeak|ag,theBeavense|th|sua|versearewhatwedes-
|gaate as Harqalya, whereas |ts Eanh |s re|erted te by the
namesJabalqa andJabara, ph||esepherssemet|mesre|etteth|s
un|vetse as a whe|e, w|th |ts d|etent p|anes and degtees as
Harqalya.
It|sa|seca||edthee|ghthc||mate,te|ert|ngtethe|actthat
the ph||esephers aad |eataed mea e| |emer t|mes d|v|ded the
Earth |nte sevea c||mates. The term e|ghth c||mate |s se||-
exp|aaatety, s|nce the ua|verse e| Borqa|ya |s abeve a|| these
c||mates, aad |s net |ac|uded w|th|a the|t v|s|b|e beuadar|es.
O|ceurse,thed|v|s|eae|theearth|ateseveac||matestaughtby
, Extract from Tanzfh al-awliy4, Kirman, 1 367/ 1 947, 58th Question,
pp. 702-26. The work is entirely in Persi an. '
240
Shaikh Ahu'I-Qa.'im Khan lbrihimi
the aac|eat sages caa be trace1 te a aumbet e| ethet seutces.
Th|sd|v|s|eawaskaewatetheaac|eatptephets, aad|tsseutce
|sautheat|c,s|acewea1theterm|ae|egyused|tequeat|y|athe
ttad|t|ease|eurhe|yImams. Themeat|eae|theseveac||mates
tecutstepeated|y|athesay|agse|theF|tstImam,HatatAmtt.
L|kew|se,the8|xth Imam, Barat!a|arad|q, exp||c|t|y states
|a a ladith that the wer|1 |s d|v|1ed |ate sevea c||mates. Pet-
seaa||y, I weu|d say|t|s abse|ute|ycertectte have ca||ed Bat-
qa|ya the e|ghth c||mate, s|ace |t |s beyond eut wet|d, but |t
mustaetb|ergetteathat|t|sa|se|av|s|b|yin our world |tse||.
Bt|ey, |t|sev|1eat,aetea|y|remtheBeeke|Ged,buta|se
|tem the teprted say|ags e| the he|y Imams, that the d|v|ae
cteat|ea |s by ae meaas ||m|te1 te the wer|d |a wh|ch we ate
ttave||agaade|wh|chweprce|vethev|s|b|eappeataace. Thete
ate maay wet|ds. The rst vetse e| the Beek dec|ates "Glory
be to God, the Lord of the Worlds" ( I . I) . Aad e|sewhete .
B|essed be he whe caused the Our'aa te descead upa h|s
setvaat,sethathem|ghtbeaprephet|etthe Worlds " ( 2 .1 ) .
Thete|ete thete |s tea||y ae deubt that thete |s a mu|t|tude e|
ua|vetses.
Aaethetversestates TeGed be|eagcteat|ea aadthectea-
t|ve Impetat|ve ( 7 : 2 ) . 8e we must 1|st|agu|sh btweea twe
th|ags awet|1e|creat|eawh|ch|sthe cteatura|ua|vetse, aad
a wet|de|theImpetat|vewh|ch|sthecreat|veUa|vetse. I|eae
med|tateseathesetweua|verses |adeta||,eachrevea|s amu|t|-
tude e| ether ua|vetses, but eur purpse hete caa be ae mete
thaa te g|ve a geaeta| eut||ae ceacera|ag them. The cteat|ve
ua|vetse, that e| the Imperat|ve, |s the pt|merd|a| d|v|ae W|||.
The meaa|ag e| th|s thes|s |s ma1e exp||c|t |a me tta1|t|eas
wh|chthehe|yImamshave|e|tus, butaga|awecaaaet ge |ate
|urthet 1eta|| here. By h|s W||| aad h|s Imptat|ve ( KN~
Estol ) , the Lerd e|theWet|1shas ex|steat|a||zedtheteta||ty
e|theua|versesaadtheteta||tye|be|ags. Beacetmetea||ty,the
esseacese|a|| th|ags, arecemr|se1 |athe1|v|aeW|||,butst|||
|a a state e| geaera| |ty aa1 oess|b|||ty, aet e| ceacrete detet-
m|aat|ea aad |ad|v|1aat|aa. TheMe esseacese|th|ags tema|a ea
the lower pl um oF the "wnl" ' c l uf the I mprati ve," wb|ch ceast|-
Article XI
tuts its Earth; this plane can neverheless rightly be referred
to as the "world of the Imperative. " The ultimate ter of the
Imperative is designated as a materia prima, which is pure pas
sivity. Sometimes it is called "virgin Earh" and sometimes the
"sempiternal world." Sometmes it is called "sea of the $a,"
sometimes the "dwelling place of the Nun," or again, the "world
of the heart. " There a other names for it, each referring to a
corresponding aspect, but there is no time to mention all of
them here; those who are interested will fnd the explanation of
each in its place.
So this sempiternal world, the world of essences and prime
origin of beings is on this level ; it is ir continuity with the
whole "world of the Imperative" and itself is par of the worlds
of Mystery, te unrevealed universes. After this world there is
the creatural world, taken as a whole. The creatural world also
comprises several planes and degrees. Each degree, within its
own limits, fors an autonomous universe, and to all these
planes and degrees, taken as a whole, we give the name "crea
tural universe," "world of creation."
The frst of these universes is the world of the Intellignce
( Ennoi) . It is repeatedly mentioned in the traditions, for in
stance, in the following: "The frst thing that God created was
the Intelligence." There are many variants of this tradition,
which we refrain from quoting here for brevity's sake. The
world of the Intelligence is the world of "consubstantial matters,"
which means that the inalienable consubstantial matter of every
bing issues from this world of Intelligence. 8 This, furthermore,
is the defnition we fnd in the traditions of our lmAms. There it is
said that the Intelligence encloses, comprehends all things, and
is the cause of all existing things. This all-mbracing compre
hension and this causativity defne everything having to do with
the "consubstantial matter" of each being. Indeed, all existing
creatural things are so many forms and attributes of the Intelli
gence. The latter possesses perfect undertanding of the whole
of its own fors; one can say that it is their consubstantial mat
ter, because it embraces and encloses them. Similarly, clay
contains and embraces the totality of vuHeN, bowl s, and other
242
Shaikh Abu'l-Qcsim Khan lbrchimi
objects manufactured from clay. This is what the Jaith states
when it says that the Lord created Intelligence and saw to it
that it should include as many heads as are included in the total
ity of creatures. "Whatever creature Thou lokest upon, that
creature is a head among heads, that is, a for among forms."
Thus we understand that the Intellignce includes a multi
tude of forms, and that creatures are so many fors of the
Intelligence. Considered from this point of view, all of God's
creatures possess Intelligence, knowledge, and consciousness.
All of them fulfll a doxological and liturgical function. "Every
thing in the Heavens and on the Earth glorifes God" ( 62: 1
and 64: 1 ) . Now the principle of
t
his hymnology and this divine
service is in the Intelligence4 for, as it is said, "Intelligence is
that through which the divine service is caried out" or again,
"Intelligence is the most faithful of the most faithful of bings
with respct to God. " That is why, if a being performs this act
of glorifcation, it is because this Intelligence in him is fulflling
its divine serice.
So, in short, all cratures are fors of te Intelligence; they
are so many "heads" created by God for this Intelligence. That
is why all these forms owe their stability and consistency to
Intelligence, and are inseparable from it. Indeed, "matter" does
not exist wthout "for," nor for without matter; they come to
b simultaneously; neither one can precede or follow the other;
their existence is synchronical. Yet each of them has its respec
tive rank and position, which it is imprtant to remembr. If we
say that "matter" ranks before or is "above," while "for" ranks
after or is "below," it is bcause for in this case is taken to
mean the "boundaries" and "demarcations" of matter. From this
point of view, we can say that matter is frst, while for is
second, since matter must be in order for these delimitations to
take place in it. It is therfore advisable to b careful in regard
to this "above" and "blow."
Indeed, it can be said that the "dwelling place" of forms is
"below," that is, on the lower plane of the dwelling place of the
Intel ligence. And this place it what, in philosophical terminol
ogy, we call the world of the Soul, or the world of immaterial
Article XI
substaaces. It|sa|seca||edthewer|de|FermsaadF|gutes,the
wet|d e|theAeon, aad |t|sad]aceatte the wet|d e|theIate|||-
geace. Thetrad|t|eaa|tem|ae|egye|thehe|yImams g|vesthe
aameMalakut teth|s dwe|||agp|ace, wh|ch|sthe wet|de|the
8eu| , whereas the wer|d e| the Iate|||geace |s ca||ed Jabarut,
aadthewet|de|thecteat|veImpetat|ve|sca||edLihut ( De|ty i .
Th|s wet|d |s a|se ca||ed the wer|d e| the sactesaact 8eu|,
as |t |s thewer|d |tem wh|chtheseu|s e| humaa be|ags have
beea exttacted. The seu| |s sactesaact because |t tema|as
|av|e|ateaad|mmuae|remthe|mpur|t|esaadv|c|ss|tudese|the
wet|d|awh|chweareaew. It|sa|seca||edthewer|de|sem|aa|
teaseas aad the wer|d e| the shades. Oae exp|aaat|ea e| th|s
wet|d e| sem|aa| teaseas |a wh|ch the seu|s e| humaas wete
cteated has a|teady beea g|vea |a th|s beek. That |s the vety
p|ace te wh|ch the Ptephet was seat |a etdet te make h|s ca||
tethe seu|s heatd. It was |a that very p|ace that the quest|ea
aad the aaswet wete exchaaged w|th each aad evety seu| , aad
whete|temeachaadeveryeaewastece|vedthecemm|tmeate|
|a|th aad de||ty te the |a|t|at|c pact. It was |a that dwe|||ag
p|ace that wheevet w|shed became a be||evet, aad wheevet
w|shedbecame aa| ade|P|aa||y,th|s |sthewet|dwe ca|| the
wet|d e| tesurtect|ea aad teassemb|y, because th|s |s the p|ace
tewh|chhumaabe|agsgebackatthet|mee|the|tRetuta,each
eaetetura|agtethep|ace|remwh|chhewascteated,aeh|ghet.
Thusth|sdwe|||agp|acehasmaayaames.Eachph||esephet
uses a aame cettespead|ag te h|s pe|at e| v|ew. Test|mea|es
ceaceta|agthese d|eteat p|aaes er degtees abeuad |aeut tta-
d|t|eas a|se,butth|s|s aetthe p|acete d|scuss them. A|ter a||,
these whe ptact|ce theesephy kaew what we meaa, as |erthe
ethets,theyweu|duadetstaad ae|theta geaeta| acceuat aet a
deta||ed expes, || aayth|ag, a deta||ed expes at th|s pe|at
weu|d ea|y make the pteb|em mete d|mcu|t.
8e,th|swet|dwh|ch|stheworld of Forms |sca||edthewer|d
e|the sactesaact 8eu| . Yeu must e|tea have met w|th the ex-
ptess|ea ua|vetsa| 8eu| , 8eu| e|the wer|d, |a the werks e| the
ph||esephets. The|r meaa|agcerrespea1s te wbat we eurse|ves
uaderstaadasthewer|de|theIntel l i gtntt aad RH t|e wer|dof
244
Shaikh Abrt'I-Qisim Khan lbrihimi
the Soul taken together, for they are considering "matter" and
"form" simultaneousl y. In sayi ng soul they are referring to the
rank of the form; when sayi ng universal they are referring to
conceptual reality and to the universality of the Intellignce.
This merits our close attention, because these developments will
not be explained so simply elsewhere. Although I am not a
"philosopher" by profession, at least I am the son of a philos
opher, and the sons of philosophers prhaps understand the
terminology of their fathers better than others.
In any case, everything that has just been said was more in
the nature of a parenthesis, for the rank or dwelling place of
God's prophets is above the rank or dwelling place of human
souls. This dos not mean that they belong to the world of pure
Intelligence, for the numbr of the nativities in that world is
limited to the Fourteen most sacred souls.
8
No, the dwelling
place of the prophets is the abode called the world of the Spirit
and the Spirit of the Malakit. This world of the Spirit is an
intermediary ( a barakh ) between the world of the Intellignce
and the world of the Soul , bcause it possesses neither the sub
stantiality of the Intelli gence nor the plasticity and individuality
of the soul . A barakh is an interediary between two worlds.
It would be difcult, indeed suprfuous, to g deeply into the
idea at this pint. Our purpose is limited to explaining that there
is an intermediary, a barakh, btween the world of the Intelli
gnce and the world of the Soul , because such is the divinely
ordained structure and because it is a philosophical constant
that God's universe contains no hiatus. The worlds are con
nected with one another; they form a continuous whole. When
ever one is considering two universes, there must be a barkh
between them. A verse in te Qurtn states: "He has separated
the two confuent seas. Beween them there is a barakh; the
one does not overfow into the other" ( . I -20 ) .
What can be said in broad outline about the world of the Soul
is that it is the world of those Forms which are the primary
Forms of the world of the Intelligence. These are sacrosanct
Fors, that is, protected from the impurities and blemishes of
our worl d, amd they exist in an autonomous state. From this pint
245
Article XI
of view, therefore, it is ftting to spak of the world of sacrosanct
Souls, for they are wholly exempt from the accidents and opacity
of our world, and have no connection with the opaque and acci
dental matters and fors of our world. Tis, in relation to this
world of ours, is called the "higher world." la:rat Amrr, the
First Imam, in describing this world of the Soul , speaks of
"Fors stripped of all matter, free from everything other than
what is ptential , and purely virtual." He quotes a variant of the
same /adith : "Fors transcending all matter." And these two
lessons contain an equally authentic meaning.
These statements signify that the Forms in question are in
deed Fors stripped of all earthly, accidental, and corruptible
matter, or else are Fors transcending such matter. In accord
ance with this ladith, as with the explicit meaning of the other
traditions received from the holy ImAms, it is quite evident that
one must take "matter" to mean corruptible and accidental mat
ter, in the state in which we fnd it in our earthly world. This by
no means implies that these Souls are "Fors without matter,"
since it is out of the question for a For to exist without matter.
Matter and For are the two factors constituting the substan
tiality of each being and each thing; they cannot be dissoiated
from one another. If one of them were missing, then the thing
itself would cease to exist, would become pure nonbeing. The
expression "matter" as used in the above /adith refers to acci
dental matters, subject to the conditions of time and of bcoming.
And the purpose of this same /adith is to afr that the sacro
sanct Souls in no wise owe their origin to these accidental ,
earthly, and corruptible matters, and that they have autonomous
existence.
So the theologian philosopher Mulla eadra ( eadruddrn
ShirAi ) is quite mistaken in thinking that human souls can
from the beginning be assoiated with these corporeal matters,
subject to the conditions of time and bcoming. His system pre
supposes a series of transforations : the mineral itself becomes
vegetable, which in tum passes to the animal state; the animal
fnally becomes a human being. This system is contrary to the
teaching of the Book of God and the tradi tiona of our lmlm1.
246
Shaikh Abu'I-Qa.tim Khan /brahimi
The same could be said of those literal and superfcial theolo
gians who are incapable of 1eeing in the word Man anything
other than an expression desi gnati ng material bodies composed
of physical elements. They claim that it is these same accidental
and corruptible, dense and opaque bodies that "return" to the
other world, on the pretext that the Return has to b understood
as a "bodily resurrection. "
They make a serious error, simply by forgetting that the
reality of what makes a body, its corporeity, is not limited to
that of the accidental and corruptible bodies of our earhly
world. What God's Book and the prophets indicate is the exist
ence of primordial or archetypal human bdies. They originate
in their own world, the world of the Soul ; as for their matter,
it comes from the world of the Intelligence. larat Amlr, the
First ImAm, in the ladith which tells of his interview with
Kumayl on the condition of human souls, declares that "the
matter of these souls consists of the energies they receive from
the Intellignce and which are substantialized in them. " He
declares further in the same ladith that the human soul by no
means owes its origin to visible physical bdies. It is neither the
"sap" nor the subtle element of the body of fesh. It can b
compared neither to the perfume given out by a fower, nor to
the essence extracted from a rose. Far from it! These souls are
Forms subsisting independently of all corruptible physical mat
ter, and existing in their own world in an autonomous state.
As for the manner in which souls make their entrance into
this world, it should b compared to the manner in which the
image of the human person makes its entrance, its appearance,
in te mirror which refects it, or else with the light of the sun
that falls from on high on this mirror or on the surface of calm
water. Neither the matter nor the for of the imag you see in
the mirror ori ginates in the mineral substance of the mirror.
No, this image possesses, separately and in itself, its own matter
and its own form, which are in no way par of the mirror and
in no way derive from its mineral substance, for they neither
blend with it nor alter it. This Image has autonomous existence;
it was created stparatel y. I f the mirror is there, the image is
247
Article XI
pre]ected en |t and m|trered |n |t, |eeks at |tse|| |n |t. I the
murer |s net there, the Imam nenethe|ess subs|sts |n |tse||
and|er|tse||, |t subs|sts |n |u ewn wer|d, w|th |ts ewn matter
and |ts ewn |erm. Deubt|ess |t w||| be sa|d that |t |s apane|
th|s wer|d. Butte saythat |t |s dead te and |er th|s wer|d
|n ne way means that |t |s dead te and |er |ts ewn wer|d.
Ou|te the centrary, there |t |s |ndeed, ||v|ng and c|ese te the
d|v|ne, wh|ch garantees |ts subs|stence. The phenemenen e|
deathteek p|ace |nth|s wer|d, net|nthewer|dbeyend.
Ttue,the |nd|v|dua||typost mortem has ne |enger any |erm
( mhar ) |n wh|ch teman||est|n eur wer|d un|essGedw|shes
|ttehave anep|phan|c|erma secendt|me|nth|swer|d,te||ve
andbe v|s|b|e here a secendt|me. 8uch a case |s pess|b|e, and
suchaneventhaseccurred.Per|nstance,therearetheacceunts
e|theseta|sed|remthedeadby!esus,ertheresutrect|ene|the
prephetUzayr ( Esdras ) ment|ened |nthe Our'an ( 10 ) , the
trad|t|ens cencern|ng the resurrect|en e| 8hem, sen e| Neah,
and st||| ethers attr|butedtethe|ntercess|ene|thehe|y lmams.
Bt|ey, these arethe themes wh|ch sheu|d beexpanded|era
thereugh d|scuss|ene|the quest|en wehave ]ust epened. Bew-
ever, eur centr|but|en must be ||m|ted te stress|ng cena|n as-
pects e| the cesme|egy that |nc|udes the teta||ty e| these un|-
verses, byway e| an |ntreduct|en that w||| enab|e us te under-
standthewhereabouts e|thewer|de|Borqa|ya.
Tesum up i i The rst e|the un|verses |s the wer|d e|the
creat|ve Imperat|ve, wh|ch |s the semp|terna| wer|d and the
wer|de|pureessences.2 ) Thenthere|sthewet|de|thelnte|||-
mnce, wh|ch |s the Abede e| censubstant|a| matters granted
respect|ve|y te the be|nge|every be|ng. 1 ) Next the wer|d e|
the 8p|r|t, wh|ch|sthe |ntermed|ary,the barakh, between the
wer|d e| the lnte|||gence and the wer|d e| the 8eu| . 1 i Tb|s
same wer|d e| the 8eu| , wb|ch |s the wer|d e| the Perms e|
be|ngs. i And na||y,a|terthe wer|d e| the 8eu| , eur wer|1,
wh|ch |s the tempera| , sensery, and v|s|b|e wer|d. Te |ast |s
the wer|d |n wh|ch we are at present, yeu and I , an1 |t |s tbe
|ane en wh|ch a|| tbe un|verses fnal l y converge. Tbe eternul
24A
Shaikh Abu'I-Qi.,im Khin lbrihimi
h|gherFerms,thesee|t|eworld e|the8eu| ,haveat|astreached
the|r ead ea thls pl ane; t|ey |ave beea hlddea there |a the
earth|y dust e|thlswer| 1, a|t|eugh vlrtua||ytheyhave a|ready
departed|rem|t. Fer thls wer|1 lsthe tembe| the h|gher un|-
verses. A|| the bel ags whe lahab|t these ether ua|verses have
beeabur|edhere la the earth. la accer1aacew|th the erdere|
the Lerd e| the wer|1s, they must shake th|s dust |rem the|r
heads aa1 emerge, |ree1 |rem the|r temb, |t behaves each e|
themteachleveh|sExe1us,teregalah|sAbede,tereturahome.
Ourpurpese |ath|s beek lsea|ytecemmeat eathestate e|
th|s ether wer|dtethe exteat aeededtecharacter|ze thewer|d
sub]ect te t|me. Thl s wer|1 e| eurs |s the p|ace |a wh|ch the
8eu|saadeteraa|h|gherFermsbecemedepeadeateacerperea|,
acc|deata| ,aa1per|shab|ematters,aadareheace|erthceaaected
w|ththemaa1beuadtethem.Bewever,mesetempra|matters
e|eurwer|1,|athe|rteta||ty, are aeaethe|ess aa acc|deatw|th
respect te these eteraa| Ferms. The|r re|at|ea aad ceaaect|ea
w|ththeseFermsareaet|ast|agbuttemperary.Atanymement
theymaybecemed|ssa|atedaadseparate|remeachether.The
|erms retura te the|r ewn eteraa| wer|d, wh||e the cerprea|
matters rema|a |athe|rwer|d. That |s why, a|theugh the 8eu|
|s the rst th|agcreated by Ged, every 8eu| wh|ch cemes |ate
th|swer|dmustaa||yd|e.That|s,b d|ssa|atedaadseparated
|remthe acc|deata| matters that are |ere|gte |t. The Lerd e|
the wer|ds dec|ares |t Every seu| w||| taste death ( 1 . i 2 ) ,
theusha|td|eaadtheysha||d|e( 2. 1 i ). Every|em, dur|ng
a dea|te per|ed, rema|as en me sur|ace e| th|s acc|deata|
mattet. Th|s durat|en |s what |s ca||ed time, the ||m|t e| th|s
Ferm. N|ghts aad days, heurs aad m|autes, are s|mp|y means
e| detem|a|ag the meaure e| t|me, but these measurements
are net time |tse||. Ia |tse||,t|me |sthe ||m|t e| the prs|stence
e| the eteraa| Fem ea the sur|ace e| the acc|deata| matter
e|th|s wer|d.9
If th|squest|ea has beea|u||yuadersteed,I caa aewattempt
te exp|a|a the way |a wh|ch tbese eteraa| Ferms be|eng|ngte
the wer|d e| tbe 8ea| ceme aate tbe sur|acee| the acc|deata|
matters of tbe priHhahlr wr|d. Tbey ceme there |n the
Article XI
same way that the ||ght e| the sua cemes eate th|s Eanh
et |ate m|rrets, et |a the same way that a maa's teect|ea,
h|s s||heuette, aad h|s |mage eatet, ceme |ate m|ttets.
Actua||y, these etetaa| Fetms |a themse|ves aevet at aay t|me
ceme dewa |rem the|t ewa wet|d, aay mete thaa a maa
h|mse|| eatets the m|ttet |a wh|ch h|s |mage appears, aay
mete thaa the astta| mass e| the sua desceads eate the Eatth
|temme sky. That|swhythe etetaa| humaa seu| |tse||, wh|ch
was cteated |a the wet|d e| sem|aa| teaseas, aad w|th wh|ch,
|a |ts ewa wet|d, the Letd e| the wet|ds exchaaged quest|ea
aad aaswet~whea the humaa be|ag, hav|ag beea g|vea the
pewet e|speech, utteted h|s pte|ess|ea e|Fa|th te the Letd e|
the Wet|ds aadthe seu| wasthus ptemetedte be|aga speak-
|ag seu|~m|s seu| ,I say, dees aet |tse||ceme |apersea aad
matet|a||y |ate th|s wet|d e| acc|deata| aad tempeta| mattets.
Its s|Iheuette, |ts |mage, |ts pre]ected shadew |s what cemes
| ate th|s wet|d, as the cempat|seas a|teady g|vea have sug-
gestedteyeu. Ia evetycase the d|v|ae anaagemeat |sceastaat.
Thev|s|b|e,theeutet,theexetet|c,|sthe|aadee|the|av|s|b|e,
the |aaet, the eseter|c, aad |a a|| d|v|ae cteat|ea thete |s ae
dev|at|ea |tem th|s tu|e.
Themete atteat|ve yeu ateteme|mp||cat|eas e|thetheme,
thebettetyeuw|||uadetstaadeut|ateat|ea.Whethetwespeak
|a tems e| teect|ea, s||heuette, |mage, et shadew~aad we
take a|| these techa|ca| tems e|met |tem the Beek e| Ged er
|temthe ttad|t|eas e|eut Imamst whethet we speak abeut
||ght, we a|waystake these terms astheyre|ettetheepetat|ea
e|thehumaaseu|.Eachesseace,eachsubstaace, hasamedee|
epetat|ea wh|ch |sptepette |t, |t a|se gaesw|theut say|agthat
th|s esseace aad substaace ca|| |et a cena|a pet|ect|ea aad
qua||cat|ea.Because, |a|act,evetyth|ag|screatedbya d|v|ae
W||| , |t i thatW|||. New the d|v|ae W||| ca||s |et penect|ea,
se a|| such w|||s wh|ch cteated th|ags 0 esseat|a||y ca|| |er
pet|ect|ea.
Newthepet|ect|eae|eachth|agceas|sts| asutpass|ag|tse||,
|aevetew|ag|tsewa||m|ts, ertraasgress|ag |tse||, |a erder
te sptead, te peaettate |ate ethet p|aces, jU11t 11 the fery g|ew
250
Shaikh Abu'l-Qisim Khin lbrahimi
of a lamp is the superabundance of its being and of its perfec
tion. Its prfection is its light; its light is the action brought
about by its burning, for burning is the gnerator of light.
Therefore each thing has its particular manner of bing perfect
and of operating. Finally, the weakness and the intensity of the
prfect quality of each thing depnd on its greater or lesser
proximity to the divine Being, which is the principle and center
of all perfections. The closer it is, the greater its perfection and
the more pwerful its capacity to penetrate, to expand, and to
blend with everything else. The further it is from this center
and from the supreme archetyps, the lesser it prfection, the
weaker its operation becomes, and correspondingly its capacity
to penetrate, to spread, to mingle, and to produce any action
whatsover.
Philosophers will have no difculty in understanding our
thought. But perhaps, for the sake of beginners, it will b useful
if we illustrate it by a furter comparison. For example, let us
take the invisible Fire; this is an eternal substance, one of the
higher Forms. At the ver moment when it reaches the surface
of tempral matter and when, having bcome its parner, tis
smoking mass begins to glow, at that moment the characteristic
way o
f
being of Fire is manifested. For immediately it "trans
gresses" the limits of this accidental, smoking mass; it begns to
spread and to extend as far as it has the force to act and to
spread. And whatsover fre it may be, whatsover the matter
on which it feed- vegetable oil , naphtha, brushwood-what
sover the matter through which its brilliancy may appar, b it
metal or astral matter such as the moon and the star, or incan
descent solar matter, in each case it gives out light in proprion
to the rank and degree of these "matters. " But it dos not itself
remain without moving in the place where it has "caught fre";
it extends beyond it, "breaks out" of it, and communicates to
others its perfection and its activity. Such is the way of being
peculiar to Fire, which is one of the eteral Fors.
However, some of these eternal Fors do not pssess prfec
tion and oprative power to such a dege. For example, the
color bl ock, or white, or redq or 1ome other color. For all these
Article XI
ce|ersare eteraa|Perms, they descead|remthe secret''Treas-
ur|es e| the h|gher ua|verses, these ce|ers are net tempera|
matter,they are Perms wh|chmaa||est, areep|phan|zed,enthe
sur|acee|tempera| matter. Bewever, a|tertheyhavethusmaa|-
|estedeathesur|acee|matter,theyrema|axedandmet|ea|ess
atthesamepe|at,theydenetspread,theydeaetpeaetrate,ner
de theyhave aay |urtber eect, because |a themse|ves they are
weakaaddec|eat. A g|vence|erpreperte a g|veamattercaa-
aet escape |remthe beuadar|es e|that matter, aer break eut
e| |t, ua|ess, seme per|ect|ag ageat bav|ag |aterveaed te cem-
p|ete th|s Perm, |t thea appears te be eadewed w|th expaas|ve
|erce.Perexamp|e,|tmayhappeathat||ght|a||seasemece|er
er anether|er |astaace, ea g|ass wh|ch |s red |n ce|er~aad
be|ghteas the red e| th|s g|ass, || the g|ass |s meved, |t toes
the ce|er w|th |t. Th|s |s pess|b|e, e| ceurse, but |t dees net
meaathatthece|erredhasspreadaadbeeaceaveyed|remeae
pe|nt te anether. It rema|as xed en the sur|ace e| that same
redmatter.
The examp|es ]ust breught may te seme exteat c|ar||y the
theme w|th wh|ch we are atpreseat ceaceraed. Ia the m|dste|
the eteraa| Perms be|eag|ag te the Malakut, the human seu|
raaksameagthemestmaga|ceat,sub||me,aadper|ecte|these
Pems,|t|stheattestat|eatethed|v|aeBe|agattest|ag|er|tse||
te the ether Perms, wh|ch are |mper|ect aad |ewer |a raak.
As BaratAmtr,the P|rst Imam, has sa|d,the human Pem |s
Ged'smestmaga|centsurety|erB|screatures.Itbearsw|taess
te the d|v|ne Be|ag because |t |s the|u||aesse|everyth|agpre-
ceed|ag|remB|m, aad|t|stheper|ectere|theetherPerms, |t
pessesses the max|mum e| eperated act|v|ty aad e| eperat|ag
act|v|ty, as we|| as per|ect|ea, aad |t |s the seat e| mu|t|p|e
energ|es.
In shert, eur preseat theme |s that the 8eu|s aad eteraa|
Permsachw|th|nme|rewa ||m|ts~are |avestedw|th a spe-
c|cper|ect|eaaadeperat|vepewer.Thus,thed|v|ae,teta|,aa1
eterna| 8eu| |s |nvested w|th abse|ute aa1 ua|versa| eperat|ve
pewer,s|acea||theeperat|easeecte1 by the |ad|v|1ua| eteraa|
seu|s are aa eecte| tbe eperat|ea e| t| di vi ne 8au| . Aad thi 1
252
Shaikh Alm'UJiai m Khan lbrahimi
abse|uteeprat|ea ls whnt i H fll l lrd in tbeeseph|ca|tem|ne|egy,
world, a wer|d si tatCd 11 t oncr aoeve eur wer|d e|tempeta|
andacc|deata| matters,and I H nC1 th tbe wer|de|thesacresanct
8eu| . Otte b mere exact , it i s barakh, tbat |s, an |nterva| ,
et |ntemed|ary, between t bese twe ua|verses, a between-two
ness, amed|aarea||tybetween two rea||t|es anintenorld. It|s
aet anauteaemeus world-si nce lt |s aet substant|a| , but sub-
s|sts thaaks te the sacresaact 8eu|]ust as the act|v|ty e| the
persen e| Zayd dees aet saes|st as a tb|ag |a |tse||, but ex|sts
thaakstetbeperseae|2ayd,erastbe||ghte|the|ampdeesnet
subs|st |adepeadeat|y, but tbaakste the |amp|tse||.
There|ere |t |s a wer|d wh|cb caaaet b cens|dered as be|ag
aparte|eurmater|a|ua|verse, be|agc|eat|y|ndependente|the
acc|denta| matters e|eur ua|verse aad bav|nga t|ghte|er|g|a
and a mede e| subs|steace pecu||at te |t, wh|ch de net der|ve
|rem th|s materla| ua|verse. Tbe mest that can b sa|d |s that
w|thtespectte |ttbematterse|eurwer|d|u|||the|uact|ene|
a veh|c|e, e|appar|tleaa| |em, ande|p|aces|nwh|chte man|-
|est.Ithas|tsewa pemaneatex|steaceabeve a||thesematet|a|
rea||t|es.As|ntbecasee|theteect|enman||ested|nam|rter
the |mage |s ether than the m|rter, |s d|st|nct |rem the mauer
and|erme|them|rtet.I|them|rter|sthete,the|mageappears
|a |t, ||them|rrer|s net there, yeur s||heuette and yeur |mage
cent|nue nenethe|ess t subs|st threugh yeut persen, w|theut
bav|ng anyth|ng te de w|th the m|rret. It |s exact|y the same
|n the case e| the wer|d e| the barakh, the |nterwer|d. Th|s
wet|d has |ts ewn |ndependent ex|stence, || the tempta| and
acc|deata| matters e| eur wet|d are there, the reect|en e| |ts
|mageappeats|nthem, ||theyarenetthere|tcent|nuesteex|st
|a |ts ewn p|ace andte subs|st, thaaks te the 8eu| . It s|mp|y
meansthat|tne|enmrhasa|em|nwh|ch|tcaaappear|nthe
eattb|ymater|a|wer|d. Terecap|tu|ate,mere|sthewet|de|the
barakh, a wer|d wh|ch ex|sts aad|spemaaent, |t|s |nv|s|b|y,
supraseas|b|yw|th|aeurwer|d,aadcerrespendste |t|nse|aras
a||tbeua|versestakeaasawbe|esymbolize with eaeaaethet.
la the brakh, |a th|s |aterwer|d, tbere are |n a per|ect|y
concrete state, Heavens and E11 rths, L|emeats,ceat|aeats, seas,
Article XI
the natural kingdomshumans, animals, plants, minerals-all
coresponding to those we see in our earthly world. We have to
be guided by the fact that if we see beings and things in our
world it is exactly because everything we see here below "came
down" from this other universe. God says so in his Book: "Noth
ing is which does not have its Treasury with Us and we send
them down only in strict measure ( 1 5 : 2 1 ) . " The divine Treas
uries are exacly those higher univeres of which we are
spaking.
The frst of these Treasuries is the world of the divine Im
perative, the world where to be is eternally in the imprative:
"Bel and it is ( 2 : 1 1 1 ) " Every being proceeds from this ex
istence-giving Imperative. The second Treasury is the world of
the Intellignce, which is the world of the matera conubstan
tialis, for the matera prma of beings and things was created
frst, and afterards their for. 1 1 The third Treasury is the
world of the Soul, the place in which the Fors of beings and
things are "situated." It has already been explained how the
enlightenment of the absolute Soul , the total Soul , rises over
the world and how the temporal world comes into existence
thanks to the dawning of this light. This aurora consurgens
( ishraq ) and operant power of the Soul, considered apart and
separate from the soul, is precisely what constitutes the world
of the barakh, the interorld. Sometimes we even refer to this
also as the world of the Soul , on account of its perfect likeness
in regard to the world of the Aevum. Lastly we talk of it as the
"Soul in projection," meaning that it is the projected picture of
the world of the Soul and the activity of that world. Indeed, it
reproduces it so prfectly that the very name of that world has
ben given to it and this world itself is called the "Soul in pro
jection." Te shadow, image, and apparition of all that the
divine Being has created in the eternal Soul, exists in the world
of the barakh, the only diference being that which stems from
the fact that the barakh lacks independence and autonomy. The
barakh, the interworld, subsists only thanks to the Soul of the
world, the eternal , celestial Soul.
So we understand how it is that the hanall or interworld
254
Shaikh Ahrt 'I-Qi.,i m Khin lbrihimi
undoubtedly exists : all thingt exist i n it synchronically; beyond
and above our earthly world in the i nvisible, suprasensible part
of our world, it constitutes a "world-beyond." Whenever Fors
from this world-beyond ( ,uwar-i barakhi ) -teral Forms in
the constitutive reality of their essence-happn to manifest on
the surface of the accidental matter of our world, you and I are
able to see them. But such of those eternal Forms as do not
appear on the surface of this matter remain invisible and hidden
from your eyes and from mi ne. It is possible, of course, that
apart from you and me, someone whose eyes are opn and who
has better sight than ourselves may see the Fors of this other
world. In fact, there is no need for all the Forms of the other
world to be manifested continuously and appear at every moment
on the surface of accidental , corporeal matters. What is more,
it can also happen that their accidental mirror may b broken;
the reality of the persons and imags nonetheless continues to
subsist in their own matter and in their other-worldly for, their
reality not being connected with the reality of temporal and
temporary mirrors. In the same way, if your photograph is torn
to pieces, the picture on the papr vanishes, but as long as you
live your image is everywhere where you are, and does not
depend on this papr in paricular. None of the forms of this
other world is efaced from the record of the bing, so long as
the eteral duration, the Aevum, of the world of the barakh
continues. You and I, prhaps, do not possess the "eye of the
world-beyond" ( chthm-i barkhi ) which would make it pos
sible to see them; but this is by no means either a sign or a proof
of their nonexistence.
For example, larat Amlr, the First ImAm, happned to stop
at WAdi al-SalAm, and converse for a while with certain persons.
"With whom were you talking?" he was asked. "With a group
of Spirits from among the faithful adepts," he answered. More
over, we see how often the following question is asked in our
traditional narratives ( akhbdr ) "Where are the spirits of the
faithful believers post mortem?" And the answer is always the
same : "They are in bodies which are in the likeness of their
material hodies." They do exi st; they have not disintegrated;
255
Article XI
wes|mp|ydeaetseethem. Th|s|shewthe gea|| aadtheaam|s
ex|st, wh||e be|eag|ag te theethetua|verse they pass thteugh
eurwer|d. YeuaadIdeaetseethem,butwhat|swr|ttea|athe
Our'aa du|y test|es te the|t ex|steace. By r|ght e| er|g|a they
are |ahab|taats e| that wer|d e| the barakh, me ether wer|d
wh|ch we ca|| the mundus archetypus, the wer|d e| the arche-
typa|Images. Theypassthreugheurwer|d, aadwe de aet see
themw|theurd||yeyes,butthePrephet aadthe Imam, whe
saw mem, ate sure aad te||ab|e |a|etmaats, aad |a|etm us e|
the|r ex|steace. The Aage| Gabr|e| came dewa aad appeared
te a|| the prephets, eae a|ter the ether. The prephet e| Is|am
tepetts that he appearedte h|m at eae t|me |athe |erm e| the
beaut||u| ade|esceatDahya a|-Ka|bt,at aaethert|me |a a d|er-
eat |em. The same caa be sa|d |a tegard te the ex|steace e|
the gea||, whe are repertedte have shewathemse|ves ea maay
eccas|eastesemepetseaserte havemadethe|tve|ceheardby
them. We te|et these whe are |aterested |a th|s sub]ect te me
beekMadinat al-maajiz.
Iathesame way, byv|rtuee|the d|v|ae dec|atat|eas aadthe
dec|atat|ease|thePrephetaade|ttuth|u||a|emaats,weamrm
that |ath|s ether ua|verse, |athe wer|d e| atchetypa| Images,
thete ex|st aa|ma|s, p|aats, E|emeats, eceaas, ceat|aeats, c|t|es,
evea Parad|se aad Be||. The twe gatdeas cevered w|th ver-
dure,te wh|ch the Our'aa|c text a||udes ( 61 ) are s|tuated
prec|se|y|ath|smundus archetypus, aetyet|athewer|de|the
futurum resurrectionis. Iathatverysamewer|de|thearchetypa|
Images|stheparad|sewhereAdamwascteated,aad|remwh|ch
Gedseath|m|erthte |u|||a m|ss|ea |ath|swer|d be|ew. It|s
st|||aetthepr|merd|a|Parad|see|the|utureResurrect|ea,|rem
thatParad|seaeeaecaabecasteut,aadthe|a|th|u| be||evers
w|||bethetein aeternum.
Itweu|d requ|re maaypages te g |ate deta|| , aad th|s |saet
the p|ace |er |t. We sha|| restr|cteurse|ves te d|scuss|ag seme
e| the degtees er |eve|s e| th|s wer|d e| the barakh er wer|1
e|thearchetypa|Images. 8ha|khAhmadAbsa'iaadtheauthere|
theSpiritual Directory1 2 semet|messpeakabeatthewer|1e|Hor
qa|ya, |aerderterem|ad meae| tbe twcessi ty to ri se up spirit-
256
Shaikh Abrt' UJiiRi m Khan lbrahimi
ually; they tell them of thei r rwed to raise themselves up to this
world, that there alone cnn they contempl ate the light of their
Imam, only there understand how their Imam acts in the high
est degree and manifests hi msel f; in short, it is there that they
discover high Knowledge. When they speak in this manner of
the world of Hurqalya what our Shaikhs have in view is, indeed,
this same universe about which we are speaking here, and con
cerning which so many of our traditional accounts, for example
the adith of Mufaal and others, teach us te manifestations
and modalities, by showing us how human bings will be
brought together there with the genii and Angels, see them and
spak with them.
As for the word Hurqalya, whatever its etymology, it desig
nates that other world, some of whose characteristics we have
describd in the course of the present bok. Let us add, for
greater clarity, that the Earth of Hurqalya is situated on the
lower level of the mundus archetypus,13 on the bundary b
tween our terrestrial world and the world of material ralities.
We still need to mention certain of the Qur'anic verses and tra
ditional accounts about the modalities peculiar to this universe,
for as we know, our Shaikhs make no pronouncements on their
own authority.
In the Sura of the Cave it is said: ''hey will question you
about Alexander . . . . He walked until he reached the setting
Sun; and he saw it setting in muddy water, near which he found
a people who had settled there. We said to him: '0 Alexander!
will you punish them or treat them with kindness?'-and he
walked until he reached the rising Sun; and he saw it rise on a
pople to whom we had given no veil to protect themselves from
it . . . . And he walked until he reached a place between the two
embankments, bfore which he found a people who hardly un
derstood a word. They said to him: '0 Alexander! Gog and
Magog are spreading corruption over the Ear.' "
Here we must refer you to many traditional accounts com
menting on these and other verses; traditions which, by allusion,
describ these universes, the peoples who inhabit them, the liv
i ng reli gions existing there, how these peoples live, what divine
27
Article XI
servces they practice, what knowledge is theirs, and what are
their beliefs, what the degree of their faith and devotion to the
Very-Pure ImAms, who are the guarantors of God for them as for
all the universes as a whole;14 fnally they describe how most
of these people are companions and assistants of the hidden
ImAm who will work with their help to bring abut the fnal
consummation of the terrestrial world. One would need also to
speak about thir food and drink, describe the customs and
ceremonial courtesies they obsere among themselves, the ven
eration they display for their Sages; we could also quote some
descriptions of their duties, and their buildings, houses, and
castles. 1 8
Moreover, we have traditions that infor us about the topog
raphy of that universe, its contnents, oceans, and mountains,
the peranent buildings, the tents which are pitched there, and
the poples who dwell in it. We owe traditions of this kind to
SalmAn PArsl, Abo Dharr, JAbir, and several other companions
of lrat Amlr, the First ImAm; they have already inspired long
commentares. From them we also learn that so far as they
themselves are concerned, these people do not recognize any
dvine testimony other than that of the Ver-Pure ImAms, and
reject with loathing this or that deceptive pretender. Indeed, if
we desired to extract all this inforation from the Qur'Anic
tafsir and collected traditions and bring it together in some
corpus, we would have to write an immense volume. But God
b praised! This is a theme which is not denied by the learned
among the Muslimun; we are rejecting neither the traditions
nor the verses of the Book. We are trying to undertand their
meaning. It is tre that this traditional information contains
obscurities and difculties, the key to which is preciously
guarded by those who are learned in this knowledge. It is not
necessary for us to know all the details, but it is important that
we give our assent, both inner and outer, to what they have said
about it. We will quote two or three of these ladith.
We read in the Kitab a-mubin, according to the Bilir al
anwar,17 this ladith which comes to us from the First ImAm,
'All ibn Abr-TAlib, through the interediary of Ja:rat Abo
25R
Shaikh Abrt'I-Qisi m Khin lbrihimi
'Abd AllAh ( Ja'far :Adiq, the Si xth ImAm) , from the augst
father of the latter ( Mul,ammad BAqir, the Fifth ImAm) , and
from 'Ali ibn al-.usayn ( the Fourth ImAm) : "The Lord ps
sesses a city beyond the West which is called Jabalqi. Seventy
thousand peoples dwell in this city of Jabalqi. Not one among
them but symbolizes with some community here below. Not for
one instant have they weakened in their pact with God. What
ever they do or say, they never fail to execrate the frst usurpers,
to dissoiate themselves from them, and to afrm their devotion
and passionate love for the members of the Family ( ahl-i bayt )
of God's Messenger."
From the Second ImAm, .asan ibn 'All, the following saying
is reported: "God possesses two cities, one to the West, the other
to the East, at whose summit there rises an iron fortress. En
circling both of these cities there is a surrounding wall contain
ing one million glden gates. Seven million languages are spoken
there, each diferent from the other. I know all of these lan
guages, just as I know everything within these two cities and
everything contained in the space between them. They know no
other guarantor of God than my brother :usayn and myself."
1
8
Lastly, I would like to mention the ladith which my own
master18 relates in his short work answering MirA :Adiq KhAn
PirniyA, in which several of the characteristics of this universe
and its cities are described. This ladith is somewhat lengthy,
but I wish to quote it here precisely because of the detailed
descriptions of these universes, which may contain some useful
teaching for our brothers.
The following is told about Muhammad ibn Muslim. 20 He
said: "I was questioning Abu 'Abd AllAh ( namely, the Sixth
ImAm, Ja'far :Adiq ) about the heritage of higher knowledge.
To what does it amount? Is it the understanding as a whole of
everything that belongs to this knowledge, or else is it the
exegesis explaining in detail everything that we have been talk
i ng about?" He said to me: "In truth, God possesses two cities,
one in the East, the other in the West. They are inhabited by
pople who know not lbll1 ( Satan ) ; they do not even know that
he hn1 bMen created. At every moment We11 meet them, and
Article XI
then theyask us |erwhattheyneed. Ferexamp|e,theyquest|en
usabeuthewte ray, thenwe |n|t|atethem.Theyaskusabeut
theeneamengstuswhew|||ra|seus|remthedead ( theQaim,
the h|dden Imami and they |nqu|re when h|s ep|phany w|||
take p|ace. The|r devet|en |s ardent and the|r d|||gence pas-
s|enate. The wa|| surreund|ng the|r c|t|es |s p|erced by gates,
betweeneach gatethere|sad|stancee|enehundred parasangs
(farsakh i They ce|ebrate magn|cent ||turg|es and devet|ens.
Te|r|nvecat|en
andthe|rsp|r|tua| een are se |ntense, that||

yeusawthem,yeuweu|dhavebutapeerep|n|en e|yeurewn
oehav|er. 8emee|mempray|erawhe|ementhw|theutra|s|ng
the|rheads |remthe|r prestrate pes|t|en. The|r neur|shment |s
hyne|egy,the|rc|eth|ng|sverdantyeuth,the|r|aceshavethe
br||||ance e|the mern|ng||ght. When theysee ene e|Us, they
greeth|m w|th a k|ss, they gamer areund h|m and cut eut the
earth wh|ch reta|nsh|s|eetpr|nt|nerdertekeep|tasa k|nd e|
re||c. Whenthey|ntene the Prayer,the hum e| the|rpsa|medy
|sheard abeve the rear e| the mest v|e|ent w|nd. Amengthem
there|sawhe|e greupwhehavenet|a|ddewnthe|rarmss|nce
theybeganteawa|ttheadvento|theeneamengUswhew|||be
the Resunecter ( the Qaim ) , and they ca|| en Ged te revea|
B|mtethem,enee|them|satheusandyearse|d.
Whenyeu see them, yeu w||| nd |n them en|y gent|eness,
medesty, and the search |er what br|ngs them near te Ged.
WheneverWearenetnearthem,they|earthatweareeended
w|th them. They g|ve a|| the|r attent|ve care |n the mements
whenwecemenearthem, theynevershewthe s||ghtest |at|gue
er|ukewamness. TheyreadtheBeeke|Gedaswehavetaught
themteread|t,and|ndeedcerta|ne|eurteach|ngs,||theywere
revea|edtethepeep|ehereabeuts ( |. e. , nen-hr|tes,exeter|c|sts,
||tera||sts i , weu|d be re]ected and cendemned as se many b|as-
phem|es. - They quest|en usabeuta||thed|mcu|t|eswh|ch the
Ouran he|ds |erthem, whentheyde net understand. Thea, as
seen asWe have made |tc|ear, the|rheartsexpand because e|
what they have |earned |rem Us. They ask Ged te graat Us
eterna||||e,andthattheremayneverbeat|mewhentheyweu| d
ne|enger nd Us. Theyknew that God huH c l one t|em aa i m-
260
Shaikh Abu'I-Qisi m Khan lbrahimi
mense favor through the teachi ng into which We have initiated
them.
"It is they who are destined to arise in the company of the
ImAm, on the day of the Parousia, and g at the head of the
knights in armor. They ask God to place them among those
who give battle for hi s Reli gion in Truth. Among them there
are mature men and young boys. When one of the latter meets
his elder, he sits down modestly before him and await a sign
bfore getting up. They have a Path, which they know btter
than anyone, leading to the place corresponding to the ImAm's
intent. When the ImAm gives them an order they work on it
without respite, until the Imam himself orders them to do some
thing else. If they were to invade the space between the East and
the West, the creatures therein would b destroyed in an hour.
They are invulnerable; fre dos not touch them. They have
swords which are forged from another iron than the material
iron of the world. 23 If one of them were to strike one of our
mountains with his sword, he would pierce it and shatter it into
pieces. - It is with companions ared with blades such as these
that the Imam confronts India and Daylam, the Kurds and the
Byzantines, the Berbrs and the Persians, and everything en
closed between JAbalqA and JAban;A, the two cities lying b
tween the Far East and the Far West. But they attack the people
of another religion only to call them to God, to true Islam, to the
taw?id, to acknowledgment of the prophetic message of Mu
Iammad and the initiatic function of the members of his House.
Those who answer the call are safe and sound, and are given one
from among them as their prince. Those who reject the call are
left for dead, so that between JAbalqA and JAban;A, and beneath
the whole mountain of QAf, there is no one left who is not a true
and pure believer."
There are so many ?adiths of this kind that we must forg
ofering them here in detail. Our purpose, in quoting the pre
ceding ones, was to illustrate the tesis that abve this world,
which is that of te senses, and below the world of the sacrosanct
Soul universes exist which, considered as a whole, are referred to
by the nome world of the barakh nnd world of the Return,
26 1
Article XI
|nthettad|t|ena|tem|ne|egye|eurImams.Onthe|ewetp|ane
e| th|steta||ty e| un|vetses, the |eve| ad]acent te eut matet|a|
un|vetse,thete|stheun|vetsewh|ch|sca||edthemundus arche
typus, erwer|de|atchetypa|Images. Inthetheeseph|ca|tem|-
ne|egye|theAnc|ents,th|s|sthevetysameun|vetsetheyca||ed
H arqalya, name|y, the ether wet|d. That wet|d |s the exact
Image e|th|swer|d~w|theutanyd|erence~as shewnbythe
exp||c|tdesct|pt|ansg|ven|neutttad|t|ensandtheptee|swh|ch
the theeseph|sts, espec|a||y eut ewn 8ha|khs, have estab||shed,
wh|ch ptee|s ate suppetted by Out'an|c vetses and eut ttad|-
t|ens. Indeed, they have shewn that these un|vetses resemb|e
and cettespend te th|s un|verse e| euts, wh|ch |s the wer|d e|
sensety phenemena. Bewever, thete |s a d|etence, |n that eur
sensery un|vetse |s the un|vetse e| ephemeta| acc|denta|s, |n |t
thedeter|etat|ene||emsandmattets|ncteases|remdayteday,
|remheutteheut,ertathet,everym|nutesemechange|etthe
wetsetakesp|ace.
Ontheethethand,nedetet|etat|entakesp|ace|ntheseh|ghet
andetetna|un|vetses,whetemattersand|emspssessanessen-
t|a| rea||ty and whete neth|ng |s acc|denta|. 8|nce matter and
|em pessess aa essent|a| tea||ty thete, they tema|n |etevet
un|ud,theycannetbed|sse|vederd|sassa|ated.Thete|sne|thet
astt|menet|ututet|methete, net|sthetemeta|ngereven|ng
a|terthe mannet e| eut wet|d. By thatvery |act death |s un-
knewnthete. Evetybe|ng,evetyth|ng,cent|nuesteex|stthete
|n |ts etema| |em. Patad|se and the peep|e e| Patad|se ate
etema| , a||ve |etevet, ]ust as the peep|e e| Be|| endute |etevet
|n the|t Gehenna. A|| cent|nue te ex|st |n the |dent|ty e| the|t
|em, |nth|s etetna| un|vetse a|a|th|u| adept can nevetbeceme
an unbe||evet, net can an unbe||evet be ttans|emed |ate a
|a|th|u| adept, |n th|s sense they ate ne |enget sub]ect te tbe
eb||gat|ense|theLaw,tethebendame|wetks,tetheacqu|t|ag
e| mer|ts. Thus, evetyth|ngthete |s d|etent |tem eur wer|d,
whete b|ack can beceme wh|te, wh|te can beceme gteen, and
saen.
Nevetthe|ess, |nthe|atetwet|dsthatprecede theh|gher ua|-
verses,mat|s,|ntbewer|dse|tbebarakh , tae wat|dse|Har-
262
Shaikh Abu'I-Qisim Khan lbrahimi
qalyi, the situation is interediate. It is quite unlike the situa
tion in our world of sensory phenomena, where forms and mat
ters deteriorate and vanish rapidly and at every instant. Nor is
the situation stable and peranent, like that of the higher uni
verses, which are lasting and prdurable. It is a btween-the
two, precisely an interworld. This is doubtless a difcult thing
to perceive and understand for one who does not pssess the
organ of perception and understanding. The unlimited duration
of tese universes of the barakh contains gradations which are
likewise unlimited, and which are not lie the measurements of
this world of ours. In our traditions, the duration of these worlds
is often interpreted in ters of millennia. We lear from the tra
ditions that in these worlds the faithful adept sees his psterity
increase to a thousand children; according to some the number
is even greater. In fact, these symbolic expressions are intended
to suggest a kind of magnitude which is not our ordinar meas
urement. The days and the years are diferent from our earhly
accidental days and years, which follow one another and replace
one another. We lack the means of comparison. 11 All of that
will be made manifest in the days of the parousia, that is, in the
days of the Epiphany of the ImAm, when the Earth dwellers
will arise and be transpred to the heights where they wll
become Hlrqalylvls, that is, inhabitants of the Earh of Hor
qalyl. Then, the knowledge of this other world and the nature
of its pople will b revealed. The ImAm will reign over them
for 0,000 years. 11 Many thing of this kind concerning the
characteristics of this other world can be read in numerous tra
ditions that describ the circumstances of the ImAm's Epiphany.
We cannot go into detil here.
How we are to understand this "bing transpred to the
heights," our metamorphosis into Horqalylvls, or inhabitants
of H1rqalyA, is precisely what Shaikh Mulammad Karim KhAn
Kirlnl alludes to in his "spiritual directory."' It has nothing
whatsover to do with intentionally abandoning this world, of
changing at present the status and conditions of the organic
body composed of terestrial elements. No, we reach it in this
vt ry world through which we are at present plodding, in just
263
Article XI
the same way as seme e|the Prephet's Cempan|ens reached|t.
Wearea|| am|||arw|ththeladith |nwh|chZayd|bnBar|tha
re|ates thatene day |nthe mesque he dec|ared |n the presence
e| the Prephet . New I see Parad|se and |ts |nhab|tants, Ge-
henna and |ts peep|e, my ears hear the|r greans. And the
Prephet cenrms h|s s|ncer|ty w|th these werds Rema|n |n
yeur certa|nty.
Perthesakeebrev|ty,Ihavenetquetedth|sladith verbatim
here, but we have a numbere|trad|t|ensmat can gu|deus en
th|stheme.The|e||ew|ag,|erexamp|e . B|sBe||nesstheImam
Basaa'Askart ( theE|eventhImami - washe|dpr|sener|nthe
paupers' caravansera| , wh|ch was the spec|a| dwe|||ngp|ace e
thedest|tute and the beggars. One e|the Cempan|ens came te
h|m te pay h|s respects. 8ad|y and |nd|gnant|y he sa|d te the
Imam Yeu,the guarantere|Gedenth|sEanh,he|dpr|sener
|nthecaravansera|e|thebeggars| ButB|sBe||nesstheImam,
rep||edw|tha gesture Leek| Atthatvery|nstantthea|thu|
deveteesawgardens,ewerbedsandstreamse|reshwater a||
areund h|m. In rapt amazement he heard the Be|y Imam say
teh|m WhereverWeare,|t|s||kethat.Ne,we are not in the
beggars' caravansera|. Aga|n, |n the treat|se |rem wh|ch I
queted ]ust new,- my ewn master, a|ter repeat|ng th|s same
hadith,dec|ares As 8ha|kh Ahmad Ahsa1 has sec|ear|y|nd|-
cated, the Imam while v|s|b|e and man||est|ng |n th|s wer|d,
was|nHurqalyi. Whattheladith g|vesusteunderstand|snet
that the Imam d|d netpessess anearth|ybedy, butthat hehad
thesp|r|tua|strenghtemaketh|swer|d|nv|s|b|e, andtemake
h|mse|| present te the h|gher wer|d. And th|s was what he
expressedwhenhesa|d We arenet|athecaravansera|e|the
beggars.
As|ertheVery-Pure Imams andB|sBe||ness the Imam e|
eurt|me~mayGedhastenthe]eye|h|scem|ng~wbeseraak
surpasses every ether cence|vab|e rank, they rema|n eterna||y
|ntheh|gherun|verses,bethdur|ngthe|||etheyspenteaeartb
and a|se |n the|r ex|stence a|ter death. What |s mere, tbey are
the d|v|ne test|meay, the guaranters e|Ged, |er the peeo|es e|
these h|gher ua|verses, wbe recega|ze M other guaraator e|
264
Shaikh Abu'I-Qasim Khan lbrihimi
Gedthanthem. Wbat tb|steacbes us |s that |t |sthebus|ness
e|theteste|thecemmua|ty,|tsearth|ymembers,teatta|nth|s
pe|nte|v|ew,th|ssp| r|tua| |eve| . Tb|s |sexact|ywhat|tmeans
te t|se,te be traasperted te tbe he|ghts. It has neth|agte de
w|th y|ag away aad arr|v|ag semewhere |a Beaven. Ner
dees|tmeaathatthephys|ca|exitus e|death|snecessarytetake
yeu eut e| th|s eanb|y e|emeata| wer|d we prce|ve w|th eut
senses aad he|p yeu reach th|s ether wer|d. Ne, what |s meant
|sted|e|nsp|r|t, t d|ea ve|uatarydeath. Itmeaastegetthere
wh||e tema|a|agin this world. O|ceurse, thete |s ne eb]ect|en
te |nterpret|ng th|s |aaer exper|eace aad the kaew|edge e| |t
as a death. But th|s death |s |a ae way |acempat|b|e w|th me
cent|nuat|en e| earth|y |||e, aad maay ttad|t|ens a||ude te th|s
vetyth|ag.The|e||ew|ag|erexamp|e . Knewhewted|ebe|ere
yeu are dead, kaewhewte sett|e yeur acceuats be|ete yeu ate
ca||edupen te g|ve aa acceuat.The s|ga|cance e| th|s death
|s te abseat eaese|| |rem tb|s terrestr|a| wer|d, by becem|ng
presenttetheethetwer|d,futurum resurrectionis. Butth|s|s|n
neway|ncempat|b|ew|thceat|nu|ag|||eeneatth.
Th|s was prec|se|y the permaaeat |aaet state e| the Be|y
Imams, aad such a|se |s the state exper|eaced by the|t pet|ect
Ft|ends, the pt|ect 8hr|tes, each |a tems e| h|s sp|t|tua|
taak,e|thetasa|ast|agaadprmaaeatexper|ence,etasastate
that makes |tse|| |e|t |a except|eaa| memenu. The |act |s that
the|tmannere|be|ng|ste be ava||ab|e tethe Imam,the Imam
ateuses|nthemwhatevet|naetstatehemaydes|te. The|theart
tema|ns at h|s d|spesa| . Aad the appreach te the day e| the
parousia, te theEp|phanye|theImam,cens|sts |nexact|ythat.
The appreach |mp||es that th|s ava||ab|||ty cent|nues te gtew,
unt|| |t becemes that e| the ma]er|ty e| humans. Fet th|s w|||
meanthattheeyese|humaasareepn|ngat|asttethewet|de|
Batqa|ya, and ate see|ngthere the ||ght and teya| sp|endet e|
the|rImamex|st|ag|nthatveryp|ace.
Fer that |s exact|y what the Ep|phaaye|the Imam means.
ls thete a s|ag|e8hr|te whe weu|d agree that the Imam e|th|s
t|memay Ged hastea the ]ey e| h|s cem|ng~|s at ptesent
4or|vd of || s uni versal |a|t| at|c pr|estbad, e| tbe teya| cha-
265
Article XI
risma that infuences all the atoms of the visible world? that he
is deprived of the sacred prerogative of the divine caliphate,
even though others have taken it over? Far from it. We Shrites,
all of us, are well aware that today the ImAm is already the
ImAm, with all the prerogatives of te ImAmate. You and I do
not see this royal splendor, this sovereign dignity, tis super
natural power with our physical eyes. But the Epiphany of the
ImAm takes plac for us at the very instant when our eyes open
to the world of HOrqalyA, and when we look upn the epiphany
of the royal majesty of the ImAm in the whole of the universes
together.
When the venerated Shaikh Amad A}sn, and all our
Shaikhs wth him, repeat that already now the ImAm is visible
to them and contemplated by them in HorqalyA, the hidden
meaning of such a statement is that for those who belong to the
world of HOrqalyA the ImAm is recognized as being already
invested with the ImAmate, with sovereign dignity and royal
splendor. Yes, they recognize him and pledge him their alle
giance. But the fact is that in this world, he cannot be perceived
by the senses of people like ourselves, and we do not see him.
This does not mean that the ImAm is not here, in our world.
Of course he is here. His presence in this world is like the pres
ence of Joseph among his broters. Joseph was there, beside
them, and in spite of that they did not recognize him. And until
Joseph made himself known, his brothers did not recognize him,
so our traditions tell us. The same applies in this case. So long
as the ImAm does not make himself known, we do not recognize
him. We remain i gnorant and unconscious. But he can only
make himself known at the ver moment when we are capable
of recognizing him, at the very moment when we have attained
the capacity for this spiritual consciousness with its prerequisites,
that is, when we have opned the eye which is capable of know
ing the ImAm ( chashm-i lmam-shind, lit. the "ImAm-gnostic
eye" ) and awakened the senses belonging to men of Horqalyl
( lit. "our organs of HorqalyAvr perception" ) . Then indeed, at
that very instant, we shall see that the whole visible realm is
the realm of the ImAmate and of the prophetic message, ami
266
Shaikh Abu'I-Qa.'im Khan lbrahimi
that sovereign dignity, royal charisma, and epiphany belong to
the ImAm.
And it is by living this state experimentally that we see and
understand how it is that the sun of the most sacred existence
of the ImAm rises in the West , 11 in other words, where and
when the present world has fnished setting. One must never
forget the true meaning, which is the spirtual meaning. It
must b understood that our world in itself has no "Orient" or
"Occident," any more than the sun "rises" or "sets"; its revolu
tion in its orbit is our own revolution around ourselves. Every
time we turn away from this world and g forward spiritually
toward the other world, the earthly world sinks toward its set
ting, while the l i ght of the other world rises in the East. What
should b understood here by "Orient" and "Occident," is the
Orient and Occident, unafected by the cardinal points of sensory
space, and not the metaphorical Orient and Occident of our
gography. Thus, a sun "which rises in the West" heralds the
hour of the "setting," the defnitive decline of this world. And
the light which rises is the most sacred existence of the ImAm.
One should pay close attention to the spiritual signifcance of
such statements. I am no specialist in the )ermeneutics of sym
bols, but I understand and interpret according to their spiritual
meaning the words of God, the Prophet, and the Holy ImAms,
whose eminence is such that it does not allow anything to b
assered or intended unless it compels recognition of the spiritual
sense.
In conclusion, HorqalyA is the mundus archetypus, the world
of archetypal Images, of autonomous Forms. If you can turn
your eyes away from the elementry, temporary, perpetually
changing realities, and have eyes for nothing but their very
Form, their pure Figure, their archetypal Image, which subsists
with and by its own matter and its own for, after the manner
of the image of Zayd in the mirror, then, at that very instant
and as far as you are able, you will have contemplated the world
of HorqalyA. You will b raised above this world of sensory
phenomena ; you will have perceived and contemplated the eter
nnl l mnlr, the pure Form and light of your ImAm, which is like
267
Article XI
a pt|matd|a| lmage cevet|ag evet the eat|te hat|zaa a| th|s
wat|d aad evetyth|ag |ac|uded betweea !aba|qa aad !abata.
Theayeuw|||uadetstaad hew |t |s that he a|aae gavetas aad
dec|des, and haw evetyth|ag aad evetybady caa da aa mate
thaacattyauth|s atdet. Yeuw|||seea|| act|v|t|es aad a||apeta-
t|aas as they ate gavetaed by th|s lmage, and as dependeat
a|waysaad|ateveteathelmam. l|theatchethappenstesheet
an attaw andk|||
s h|s ua|ertuaate mauat, yau w|||uadetstaad

that |t |s the lmam whe shet the attew aad wha sact|ced the
maunt.
O|cautse, |at aayaae wha has aet beea |a|t|aud ta gaas|s,
|tw|||beextteme|y d|mcu|ttepetce|ve theseh|ddeamean|ags.
lcansaynamateabaut|thetebywaya|e|uc|dat|an,s|acemy
putpase was aa|y ta epea up a bt|e| sutvey a| the wat|d
a|Butqa|ya.
26A
NOTES
PART ONE
SPIRITUAL BODY AND CELESTIAL EARTH
CHAPTER I
THE MAZDEAN IMAGO TERRAE
1. "I was walking in the open air on a beautiful spring morning.
The wheat was growing green, the birds were singing, the
dew was sparkling, the smoke rising; a transfguring light lay
over everything; this was only a tiny fragment of Earth . .
and yet the idea seemed t me not only so beautiful, but also so
true and so obvious that she was an Angel-an Angel so sump
tuous, so fresh, so like a fower and at the same time so frm and
so composed, who was moving through te sky a a that I asked
myself how it was possible that men should have blinded them
selves to the point of seeing the Earth as nothing but a dried-up
mass and to the point where they go looking for Angels above
them, or somewhere in the emptiness of the Sky, and fnd them
nowhere. Yet here is a concept which will be considered extrava
gant. The Earth is a sphere, and if there is more to it tan that,
then the place t look is in the natural history archives." U ber
die Seelenfrage, pp. 17071 . ( For full bibliographical data
on references, see the List of Works Cited. )
2. Sirtza, 28th day.
S. Concerning the word spenta, see H. W. Bailey, "Iranian Studies
III," particularly p. 292. J. Hertel ( Die awestischen Herr
schafts-und Siegesfeuer ) , in accordance wit his general method
of interpreting the Avesta, regards it as the qualifcation of
being in which an efusion or efuence of celestial Light is
immanent. It should be made clear that this Light i an Energy
and that the spenta being is precisely one which activates and
communicates this Energy; see H. S. Nyberg, Die Religionen
des alten Iran, German tr. H .. H. Schaeder, p. 442. See also
Nyberg, Hilfsbuch des Pehlevi, II, Glossary, p. 5, s.v. afinikih
( af%in: superabundance, exuberant force ) , where the word is
related to the technical lexicon of Ibn 'Arabi, which is common
to our emanatist theosophers, whether Avicennan or Suhra
wardian.
4. Garttmdn, the hi Khr1t drlree nF Paradisee
I . Vn1ht XI X, I 6 - I H1 d. Vaht, XI I I , 83-84.
g7 1
Notes/Chapter I
6. It is said that Ohrmazd created te Amahraspands ( cf. Bun
dahishn, I, in H. S. Nyberg, "Questions de cosmogonie et de
cosmologie mazdeennes," Journal aiatique, CCXIV : 2 [ 1 929],
21 8-19, henceforth referred to as "Questions," I ) , but he is
also the seventh ( or the frst ) among them. It is said that
Ohrazd divided among them the task of creation ( ibid. , p.
2! 1 ) , but it is also said that all seven together produced the
Creation by a liturgical act, that is, by celebrating the "celestial
Liturgy" ( ibid. , p. 2!7 ) , and that each of te Seven Powers
of the Heptad
o
f Light produced its own Creation; see Shiyat
li-shiyat, XV, 4 ( Pahlavi Texts, tr. E. W. West, I, !7! ) , in
which Ohrazd himself declares to his prophet: "Each of us
has produced his own Creation." Te creation of the Arch
angels is also regarded as an evocation or emanation producing
their being "like one torch being lighted from another torch. "
Te frst is evoked directly by Ohrazd; each of the other six
is revealed, comes to be, through the intermediary of the one
that precedes it (
i
yatkir-i-ihamispik, ed. G. Messina, book III,
lines S-7 ) . Ohrmazd can test them by asking tem: "Who has
created us?" And Arta Vahishta, the fairest among them, tere
upon replies: "It is thou" ( see J. Daresteter, Le Zend-Avesta,
II, S 1 1 ) ; it is true that the meaning of the test is above
a
ll a
primordial choice decided against the Antagonist. And another
passage describes the council of the Archangels discussing
among themselves in order to choose which of them might be
teir lord (
i
yatkar-i-ihimispik, III, 8-9 ) .
7. Discussed above, n. 6; see, among other references, Shayast
li-shiyast, XV, 4; te case occurs so frequently that a list of
references cannot be given here.
8. See Nyberg, Religionen, pp. 207, 226, where Nyberg speaks
of "henotheism"; I prefer the term "kathenotheism," as used
by Betty Heimann, Indian and Western Philosophy, a Study in
Contrats, p. !5.
9. See De somniis, I, 157, and E. Zeller, Die Philosophie der
Griechen, III, pt. 2, p. !79, n. 4; cf. H. A. Wolfson, Philo, I,
!77 f.
10. See Louis H. Gray, The Foundations of the Iranian Religions,
pp. 1 8 f. ( following the great Bundahishn, XXVI, 4; Dar
mesteter, Zend-A vesta, II, !06 ) . Concerning the traces of
real iconography, see J. Bidez and F. Cumont, Les Mages
hellenises, II, 284, n. S; L. I. Ringbom, Graltempel und Pam
dies, p. 41 6.
1 1 . Bundahishn, in Nyberg, "Questions," I , 220-2 1 .
1 2. MnOkl- Ya-iahn; CC M- 6 above.
272
Notes/pages 8-9
1 3. A sentence such as this is worth pondering: "From the ter
restrial light ( getik rtshnih ) , Ohrmazd created truthfulness
( rtstgtbishnih ) " ( "Questions," I, 21 6-1 7 ) . This sentence
alone would sufce to show that one should not translate Maz
dean concepts, as is too often done, by equivalents that only
evoke the idea of an abstract moralism; for example, when one
is content to translate asha, arta, by "justice." Hertel used to
translate it "das Licht-des-Heils. " The sentence recalled at the
beginning of this note can lead to this same meaning by a path
independent of the theories of Hertel. The ahavan are not mere
ly the "just"; cf. Nyberg, Religionen, pp. 1 33, 368.
14. Cf. Shtyast la-shtyast, the whole of ch. XV.
15. The Angel-Gods of Proclus are the hermeneuts of the hidden
deity; their theurgic role as demiurges is one aspect of this
essential mediation; there are celestial Angels of creation, gen
eration, and salvation. Their multitude is grouped in choirs
that escort the Archangel or the God who leads them and whose
Energy they difuse in those parts of the cosmos which are
dependent on his hierurgy and providence. See F. Cumont, "Les
Anges du paganisme," pp. 1 7 1 f. When they show themselves
to men, "their admirable beauty and the brilliance of their light
bring them nearer to the divine splendor. " But to say that "man
always organizes Heaven in the image of Earth" would be a
quite superfcial judgment ( ibid. , p. 1 64 ) . For what if it were
the other way around? Could it not be that man, at least in his
sacred rituals, sought to organize the Earth by projecting an
Imago which is precisely the image of his Paradise? ( Cf. with
what Mircea Eliade [The Myth of the Eternal Return, p. 91 ]
has admirably characterized as "nostalgia for paradise." ) Need
less to say, a phenomenology of the Imago goes beyond the
questions arising within the limits of historicism.
1 6. She is on the same angelological plane as Daena; she is the
Imago Terrae as it can be perceived by the soul , the soul
exactly conforing to Daeni, the daughter of Spenta Araiti.
See further 4, below.
1 7. Concerning the etymology of the word Fravarti ( or Fravahi ) ,
see H. W. Bailey, Zoroatrian Problems in the Ninth-Century
Books, pp. 107-10.
18. Cf. the Yasht dedicated to them: XIII, 1-2, 9, 1 2-1 3, 22,
28-29. Resembling the Valkyries who, lances i n hand, make
long journeys on hor1eback, they keep watch unceasingly from
the high rompart1 of l l euvrn; CC Bundahishn, VI, 3, and Zat
Spram, V, 2 ( Pthlml 'r:1 , I , !5, H i7 ) .
1 !. c. Ymu XXI I I , 2 1 XXVI , ! 1 Ya1ht XI I I , 80, 82, 85;
n
Notes/Chapter I
MenDke-Xrat, XLIX, 23 ( "Questions," I, 204-205 ) ; regarding
this cosmology in the "Gothic style" emphasizing the archetypal
dimension, see our stdy "Cyclical Time in Mazdaism and
Ismailism," p. 168. One quite fails to catch the concept in
simply comparing the Fravartis to the "souls of the ancestors";
in fact, such a comparison does not take into account eiter the
Fravartis of the Celestials, of te Y aatas, or those human
Fravaris of the Creation of Light whose incarnation is yet to
come and who are, neverteless, invoked in the liturgies.
20. A concept already admitted in the earliest Christian writings;
cf. the passage from the "Testament of te Lord," quoted in
J. H. Moulton, "It Is His Angel," p. 5 1 8 : "Cujusvis enim
animae simulacrum seu typus coram Deo ante constitutionem
mundi stat." Compare the great Bundahishn, III : of the fve
energies created for the redemption of man ( body, soul , spirit,
individuality, and guardian spirit ) , the guardian spirit ( fra
vahr ) is the one who stands in the presence of Ohrmazd the
Lr ( Nyberg, "Questions," I, 232-33 ) .
21 . Ibid. , p. 237.
22. Cf. Yasht XI, 2 1-22, honoring the "body" ( kehra) of each of
the archangelic Powers.
23. Cf. Nyberg, Hilfsbuch, Glossary, pp. 25 1-52, s. v. zdm and
zamik.
24. Cf. C. G. Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, pars. 393 f.
25. See our stdy "Le 'Livre du Glorieux' de Jibir ibn layyin,"
pp. 76 f.
26. Cf. our "Prolegomenes" I and II to the ( Opera metaphysica et
mystica, I, LI f. ; II, 34, n. 75 ) ; cf. below, Ch. n, 3, 4,
and the text translated in Part Two.
27. Ibid. and our book: En Islam izanien, II.
28. See the table recapitulating all the projected translations, pre
pared by Bailey, Zoroatrin Problems, pp. 75-77.
29. Concerning the conjuncton of these two aspect in one and the
same "person-archetype," see "Cyclical Time," pp. 140 f.
30. This Light of Glory, which is preeminently te attribute of the
Amahraspands and lzads, is above all manifested among ter
restrial beings in the for of the royal Xvar ( Kaaem Xvar
nah, which is also Farr-i Yazdin, te divine Light of Glory
whose image remains so living for te Ishriqlyun theosophers,
te disciples of Suhrawardl ) . The three fors of the X varnah,
that of priest, laborers, and warriors-three fors correspond
ing to the three sacral forms of freare all combined in thr
royal Xvarnah ( see Daresteter, Zmd- Ave1ta, I I , 6 1 5 fT. ,
introduction to Yasht XIX) .
Notes/pages 1019
: n . Tis identifcation of the Xvarnah with te soul, the conse
quences of which are considerable, has been stressed by H. H.
Shaeder in the footnotes to his translation of a passage of the
great Bundahishn in respect to anthropogony; see R. Reiten
stein and H. H. Schaeder, Studien zum antiken Synkretismus
au Iran und Griechenland, p. 230, n. 1 .
32. Cf. our translation of Pand Nimak i Zartusht, pp. 144-45
( unhappily, published fve years after we submitted it, without
our having the opportunity to revise either the manuscript or
the proofs. While we were grateful to our Zoroastrian friends
for publishing it, we have to apologize for the many typograph
ical errors, inevitable but catastrophic ) .
::. Cf. Bundahishn, XI ( Pahlavi Texts, I , 32 f. ) ; F. Spiegel,
Avesta, die heiligen Schriften der Parsen, III, 53; F. Justi,
Der Bundehesh, p. 2 14.
34. Cf. Vendidid XIX, 129 f. ; Vispered XI, 1; Ringbom, Gral
tempel, pp. 279 f.
35. Cf. Datistan-i-Dinlk, XXXVI, :-6 ( Pahlavi Texts, II, 78-79 ) .
Daresteter ( Zend-Avesta, II, 547, n. 265 ) also interprets the
names of the six heroes: t the west, he "who teaches the way
to the light"; to the east, he "who teaches the way t the sun";
to te south, he "who magnifes te Glory" and "who spreads
the Glory"; to the north, he "who prays his wish" and "who has
the wished-for beneft."
36. Thanks to a mythical animal now presered in a secret place
until the Frahkart, when he must be sacrifced and his body
used to make the potion of immortality.
37. We mention in this connection te presence in Mazdaism of an
ecumenical feeling of the "invisible Church." Since Zaratustra,
with his revelation, was sent only to Xvaniratha, all those in te
other keshvars who are believer cannot be so as direct adept
of Zarathustra; they are so in an intermediate way, that is to
say, in the same way as the frst adherent t the pure primitive
faith ( Pfrftkshin) ; having been created by Ohrazd, tey
have preserved this purity, living according to te Madean
religion witout knowing it and foring an "invisible commu
nity" together with the Zoroastrian believers ( cf. Spiegel,
Avesta, III, 239, n. 1 ) . This is why the Afrn Gihanbir ( in
Daresteter, Zend-A vesta, III, 1 80) mentions "the good beings
of the seven keshvars, those who believe in the goo and pure
Daena of the Pfryftkshin"; their Fravaris are also mentioned
( Yasht XIII, 1 7 ) .
:R. Ste Ylqot, Mu'jam al-buld4n, I , 25; cf. the use of this method
275
Notes/Chapter I
of representation in the case of Blruni, Kitab al-tafhim, ed.
Humiyl, p. 1 96.
!9. Te method suggests many connections with other projections
of mental Images. The very name "Xvaniratha" evokes the
image of a wheel , a central wheel surrounded by six others, the
whole world having, in its turn, the form of a wheel . The six
boundaries between the keshva.s can be imagined as starting
from Xvaniratha ( like spokes from the hub ) . The entire earth
surrounding the central keshvar is thus divided into six sections
corresponding to six arcs of a circle on the periphery of the
world ( cf. Fig. 1 ) . In its turn, through a new division, the
terrestrial circle can be placed in correspondence with the celes
tial circle, which is divided into twelve regions, the six keshvars
being thus pl aced in direct relation with the signs of the Zodiac.
This same method of fguration of the medium mundi is . also
found in the West ( in a ninth-century manuscript ) . These
fgures from Iranian or Christian sources are analogous to the
one known in Buddhism as bhabacakra ( the wheel of life and
death ) . For all of this, see Ringbom, Graltempel, pp. 279-85,
and H. Leisegang, La Gnose, J. Gouillard, p. 22; pl . I I , p. 1 6.
O course, the complex of intentions difers from one to the
other, but to te extent that the Buddhist diagram ( in which
te "six felds between the spokes of the wheel represent the
six forms of existence of all beings" ) was also used as a plan
of terestrial divisions, te method of representing te Earth
with seven keshvars can be considered as a construction analo
gous to a mandala; for the instrument of meditation to be perfect
it is sufcient, in addition, to inscribe in it te fgures and names
of the six Saoshyant-Bodhisattvas mentioned above ( cf. the
arrangement of the seven archangels in certain Russian icons ) .
40. Louis Massignon, in a very valuable treatise, was the frst to
have brought out some suggestive homologies ( cartography, the
art of gardening, methods of writing ) ; see "Comment ramener
a une base commune l'etude textuelle de deux cultures : l'arabe
et Ia greco-latine," pp. 1 !7 f.
41 . Enclosed gardens, sometimes immense, the memory of which
has remained alive in the Iranian imagination ( for a description
of tem in some classical texts, see Ringbom, Graltempel, p.
272, n. 22; cf. pp. 5! f. ) . The paradise-garden symbolizes the
Earth, just as much as it makes the Earth a symbol . Thus, the
Iranian garden, at least as it was and as it remains in its arche
type, consists of tose quincunxes of trees massed around the
central body of water, like the keshvars nrnund the ori gi nal t` f ' H
tral keshvar. Their height deLrCUNC J l i'OIrtNIi vrl y from thr
Notct/pagrs 19-23
horizon, which they outl i ne; gathering together and themselves
collecting toward the center, they likewise concentrate recol
lected thought in the mi rror of contemplation, which then is
silently exalted in the mental vision of the Image, which has
fnally been rediscovered ( see Massignon, p. 1 S7 ) .
42. This was not possible in the di agram of Ptolemy mentioned
above; see Btrunt, Tafhim, p. 1 9 1 .
4S. Cf. E. Benveniste, "L'Erin-vez et l'origine Iegendaire des
Iraniens," pp. 265-74.
44. Nyberg, Religionen, pp. S96-40S.
45. See very especially Mircea Eliade, Pattern i n Comparative
religion, pp. S80-82, and Images and Symbols, pp. 27-56
( the chapter entitled "Symbolism of the Center" ) .
46. We might mention in passing that the historians, surprised by
these "Events in Erin-Vej ," have created many problems for
themselves. Ohrazd, the "supreme Go" of the Aryans, is cer
tainly a "priest" ( Yasht I, 12 ) , but how does he come to be the
priest of a godess and to address prayers to her? What is
more, we are reminded ( see below, 4 ) that another "feminine
Angel" of the Avesta, Ashi Vanuhi, is similarly honored by
Ohrmazd. It is these traces, together with a new interpretation
of a Gatha or Psalm employed as a wedding liturgy ( Y asna
LIII ) , which have justifably led Nyberg to develop the hy
pothesis that the primitive Zoroastrian community of the
Gathd probably lived under a matriarchal system ( Religionen,
pp. 252 f. , 27 1-72 ) . However, as we have recalled, the
canonical Avesta forms a whole, and could have been recited
from beginning to end without the pious being struck by the
contradictions that might emerge from an analysis of histori
cal "stratifcations." To speak of "syncretism" is to oversim
plify the question somewhat; we suggested earlier ( n. 8, above )
the expression "kathenotheism" to describe the intimate process
of a lived devotion that is insensitive to tese "contradictions."
Furtherore, we should never lose sight of the eschatological
role of Ardvl Sura ( parallel to the primordial role of Spenta
Armaiti , whose helper she is ) in preserving the Xvarnah of
Zaratustra in the waters of a mystical lake, with a view to
the conception of the fnal Savior who will be brought into the
world by the Virgin-Mother Vispa-Taurvairi ( see 4, below) .
All these Figures give substance to the idea of a feminine Divin
ity whose presence is precisely in accord with the characteristic
features of Mazdean religious feeling. We also wish to point
out that Joseph Campbell , editor of the posthumous works of
J lll nrlch Zimmer, recently indicated how one could discover,
277
Notes/Chapter I
in te Zoroastrian dualist refon, the resurgence in Iran of
religious factors tat belong to the pre-Aryan matriarchal
world ( Philosophies of India, pp. 185-86, n. 6 ) .
47. See Vendidid II, 2 1 f. ; cf. Datistin-i-dinak, XXXVII, 126 f.
According to other traditions ( MenDke-Xrat, XXVII, 27-28;
LXII, 1 5-19 ) tis Var i s a place built i n
E
ran-Vej , but under
the Earth, hence secreting it own light, without any need of
sun, moon, or stars. There it was tat from among all creatures
the most beautiful and exquisite were bore and are presered.
This concept has been rightly compared with the Mandean
concept of Mshunia Kushta ( Hastings, Encyclopedia of Reli
gion and Ethics, II, 702-708; Brandt, Die mandiische Religion,
p. 1 54 ) , a mysterious and invisible eart, where live human
beings who are perfectly beautiful, good, and happy, by which,
after te fnal catastrophes, te transfgured world will be re
populated, and where, post mortem, the meeting with the celes
tial Image or ater ego takes place. Te comparison with
Mandeism is all te more interesting in that we shall see,
below, other later Iranian traditions dealing wit the mys
terious Earth of Hurqalyi ( lshriq'ya and Shaikh' traditions ) .
Now, between the eighteenth and nineteent centuries, when
Shaikh A}mad A}sa' ( founder of the Shaikhl school ) was
questioned about this unusual word designating the celestial
Earth where te seed of the Resurrection Bodies is preserved,
he answered: "It is a word used by te Sabeans ( that is, the
Mandeans ) of Bara." See below, Part Two, Art. IX, 3.
48. This caused astonishment, as i f i t were a peculiarity or a contra
diction, because of te fact that Zamyat is no longer named in
it! We hope here to suggest a diferent relationship beteen
te Imago and te angelophany, the manner in which the Angel
reveals itself in te hierurgical relations experienced by the soul
to whom it "shows itslf."
49. SirDza, 28th day.
50. Bundahishn, VIII ( Pahlavi Texts, I, 29-30) .
5 1 . Bundahishn, XII ( loc. cit. , pp. 34 f. ) .
52. Yasht X, 50; XII, 23.
53. Bundahishn, VIII, 4.
54. In order t complete this, we should mention Mount Terak
( Taera ) , the central peak of the mytical Elbruz ( Aibur)
and center of te world, around which the heavenly bodies
revolve ( ibid. , V, 3-4; XII, 4; Yasna XLI, 24; Yasht XV, 7;
XIX, 6 ) .
55. Yasht V, 3 is dedicated in it entirety to Arvl SorA and de
scribes her hierophanies with such exact feature that i t hu
27R
Notes/pages 2427
been supposed that they correspond to statues or fgures of the
goddess "drawn by four white horses ( 1S ) having te form
of a beautiful young girl , very strong and tall, her girdle fas
tened high, pure, of noble illustrious bloo, dazzling ( 64, 78,
126 ) . . . . Her head is crowned with a golden diadem, contain
ing one hundred eight-pointed stars ( 128 ) Her garent
are made of beaver skin . . . it is gold drowned in silver ( 129 ) ."
See also, e. g. , Yasht X, 88; XII, 24; VIII, 6; Yasna LXIV, 14.
56. Yasht V, 96; see n. 46, above, and below, 4the eschatologi
cal role of Ardvl Sura preserving, in te Waters of which she
is the goddess, te Xvarh through which the mystical con
ception of the fnal Savior will be accomplished.
57. Bundahishn, IX, 6; XVIII, 1-4; XXIV, 27; cf. Ringbom,
Graltempel, p. 29S ( the pomegranate tree? ) .
58. Bundahishn, XXVII, 4; it is the "head of the plant" {XXIV,
1 8 ) .
59. Yasht XII, 1 7. Tis is the tree in which dwells the bird Sin,
the Simurgh ( Sin-murgh ) ; cf. Darmesteter, Zend-Avesta, II,
495, n. 26 ( the Simurgh which later, in the twelfth century,
will become the central symbol of a great mystical poem in
Persian by Air ) .
60. Ringbom, Graltempel, pp. 292 f. , 406 f. , 448.
61 . Bundahishn, XII, 6 ( AOslnd6m) ; XIII, S-5.
62. Cf. Daresteter, Zend-Avesta, II, 6SS, n. 98. Te ray of the
dawn Oshbdm is "that ray of light which comes te moment
when the light of te sun is visible, without it body being yet
visible, up to the moment when the sun itelf appears ( day
break ) . Its function is to give intelligence to man" ( ibid. , p.
S 16 ) . Regarding tese two words as having a common rot
( ush, ear, understanding, and also dawn; cf. Latin aures,
aurora ) , see E. E. Herfeld, Archiologische Mitteilungen aus
Iran, II, 90 ( cf. Hertel, Die awestischen He"schafts- und
Siegesfeuer, p. 1 7 ) . As shown by Yasht XIX, 66, in the later
tradition, the active Imagination seems to have projected and
graspe tis hierophany in the mountain rising from the lake
known today as HamOn ( on te lranoAfghan frontier ) , which
is identifed with Lake Kansaoya ( Kansu, Kayinseh) , and this
mountain would ten be called Mount Kuh-i Khwijah ( Moun
tain of the Lord ) . Herfeld ( p. 99 ) ha given a fne descrip
tion of the mysterious block of basalt that emerges from the
plain of Seistan at the light of dawn. Tis mountain is likewise
identifed with the Mon Victoria/is mentioned in te fragment
of the Bok of Seth" contained in the Opus imperfectum in
Mtllllaum ( cf. G. Mesaina, I Magi a Betlemme e MH predi-
279
Notes/Chapter I
zione di Zoroatro, pp. 65-67, 83 ) . Since the water of this lake
preseres the Xvarah of Zarathustra in expectation of te vir
ginal conception of te Savior to come ( see above, nn. 46, 56 ) ,
we can understand all the better how Christian exegesis, by
having the Kings-Magi come from te Mons Victoria/is, has
valorized the Zoroastrian prophecy. This same mountain is also
linked with te memory of King Gondophares, whose image is
introduced into Christian hagiography by the Gnostic book the
Acts of Thoma; this book brings to mind the celebrated "Song
of the Pearl ," or "Hymn of the Soul," the prefguration of the
Quest of Parsifal . From there it was only a step to identify
Kuh-i Khwijah, the Mons Victoria/is, with Mount Salvat. But,
unfortunately, this hardly sufces to verify the hypothesis of a
"Pirslwil-Nima," a "Book of Parifa" in Persian!
63. Srtza, 26; Darmesteter, Zend-Avesta, II, 316; cf. Datistan-i
dn'k, XXX, 2.
64. Srtza, 39; Darmesteter, II, 321 f. Here we might mention
oter fgures of "feminine Angels," in connection wit eschato
logical annunciations of dawn: Parendi, especially asociated
wit Daeni and Ashi Vanuhi ( see below, 4, and Gray, The
Foundations of the Iranian Religions, pp. 155-56 ) ; Bamya
( beaming, radiant ) , who drives the chariot of Mithra and the
third night after death appears to the sacred soul when Mithra
climbs the mountain; in Manicheism, she becomes the "Friend
of the Light" ( ibid. , p. 139 ) ; Ushah, who bears te very name
of dawn ( ibid. , p. 164 ) ; Ushahina, the special Angel of the
hours between midnight and the moment when the stars become
invisible ( ibid. , p. 165 ) .
65. Bundahishn, XII, 7; Datistan-i-din'k, XXI, 1 f. ; XXXIV, 1-4.
66. Datistan-i-dinik, XXXIV, 3.
67. As E. Herfeld, Zoroater and His World, I, 352, has rather
too hastily concluded.
68. This mode of perception is a constant. Tus, the mother of
Zaratustra, before his birth, sees in a dream the Xvarnah "in
person" in the form of a ffteen-year-old adolescent ( cf. the
beginning of Zaratusht-Nama, a Persian text edited and trans
lated by F. Rosenberg, Le Livre de Zor0tre; this book is
long poem composed in Iran by a Zoroastrian in the twelfth
centry ) . On the plane of speculative philosophy, this w
o
uld
corespond t the cosmology of Avicenna, which in a way is
phenomenology of angelic consciousness, understanding each
Heaven as the "thought" of an Angel . Unfortunately, we cannot
here stress this essential correspondence.
69. We have already called attention above ( H. 3 1 ) to the extreml
280
Notes/pages 27-31
importance of a passage in the great Bundahishn in which the
Xvamah is identifed with the soul itself.
70. We call your special attention to an article by Pierre Defon
taines entitled "The Rel igious Factor in Human Geography:
It Force and Its Limit," pp. S4 f. On the other hand, when
nowadays there is no question of the "earth" being anything but
"a support for culture" or a "social function," we can measure
the downfall that has befallen the phenomenon of the Earth
as it appears to the socialized consciousness.
71 . This manuscript is now the property of the Evkaf Museum in
Istanbul. It is an imposing volume ( S 1 X 20 e. ) of some
thousand pages containing an anthology of the Persian poet,
at te beginning of which stands the work of Niaml. It was
studied and its plates published by Mehmet Aga-Oglu "Te
Landscape Miniatures of an Anthology Manuscript of the Year
1S98 A.D." Of the twelve paintings, eleven are inserted in the
portion of the book containing the poetic novels of Niaml.
What strikes one is that these paintings have no connection
wit Niaml's text itelf, nor wit the customary manner of
handling the subject in miniatures of post-Islamic Persian lit
erature, including the temes borrowed from the works of
Niaml. The high mountains in te full-page reproduction, the
leaping waters of Ardvt Sura, the cypresses ( this is Zara
thustra's sacred tree, perhaps the Gaokerena ) , the fantastic
colors which transfgure the landscape and illuminate it with
te Image of Xvamah, and fnally-this is a unique example
-the fact that there is not a single personage in the composi
tion ( the visionary soul is precisely the Presence that peoples
and inhabit the landscape ) : all these characteristics and pro
cedures take us far from Niamt and classical Persian miniature.
In commenting on the data of the problem, Mehmet Aga-Oglu
had an inkling of te trut when he refered to certain passages
of the Bundahishn ( to which we have referred in tis book) ;
if we take into account certain evidence testifying to the con
tinuance of Zoroastrian communities in the province of Kiran
up to te present, and in Flrs up to te sixteenth centur, the
idea dawns that te paintings of our anthology could have been
made by a Zoroatrian artist. Te author of te article quite
natrally wa led to pick up te motf of te "landscape of
X varnah." We recal te ardor with which J. Strygowski for
merly put into words and defended this motif ( X vamah Land
schaft ) , his intuition of which was doubtless inspired; but to
the pure historians it appeared as a deduction a priori, all the
MOC Irri tating because it validity was bCing discussed on
28 1
Notes/Chapter I
plane ( perhaps unknown to te autor ) to which it was in fact
foreign. Even if the motif became widespread, as is te way
with myths, tis already shows that it feld of application in
reality is not one in which the "fact" are systematized in such
a way that they can and should be explained "historically" by
the metod of causal reduction and material identfcaton. It
signifcance is more connected with the phenomenology which
we have attempted to bring out here. Where the material and
causal connections between "facts" are not subject t analyses,
tere Can be a C
O
nnection between VisiOn
f
Which are alSO faCtS,
but diferent in nature ( we have already referred [above, n. 10]
to a recent work by L. I. Ringbom, Graltempel und Paradies,
aiming at a new set of values for the same motif, especially
p. 1 1 3, n. 43, and pp. 306, 338 ) .
72. Cf. Bundahiahn, XXVII, the entire long strophe 24.
73. Concering the liturgical symbolism of tis "celestial" botany,
see J. J. Modi, The Religou Ceremonies and Cutoms of the
Parsees, pp. 373-77 ( especially the diagram depicting the way
in which the fowers are arranged in groups of eight, and the
manner in which they are displaced and exchanged so as to
symbolize the exchanges between the terrestrial world and the
heavenly world ) .
74. See Zaritusht-Nama ( above, n. 68 ) , p. 22. Cf. Zit-Spram,
XXI, 1 ( Pahlavi Texts, V, 1 54 ) .
7 5 . Here we wish to point out a small eror, which is important
from te point of view of iconography. In describing the beauty
of the Archangel and his great height ( nine times tat of
Zoroaster ) , the Zit-Spram ( XXI, 8 ) mentions ( if we may be
lieve what we have read in E. W. West ) tat the hair of the
Archangel was rolled up "like the tail of a scorpion." We fail
to understand exactly what the leared translator understood
when he states ( Pahlavi Texts, V, 156, n. 8, repeated by Rosen
berg, Zrituht-Nima, p. 27, n. 4 ) that this is a "sign of dual
ity" since the scorion ( kajdom ) is obviously an evil creature
of Ahriman. But how could such sign exist on the person of
the Amahrapand' Te reality is simpler. Tis is a classical
metaphor in Persian lyrical poetry t designate te ringlet and
waves ( :ulf } of the hair ( according t Dr. Mul. Mo'n ) .
76. Represented by the "garent perfumed with musk" ( prefgura
tion of the body of light of the heavenly Earth ) which Zara
thusta donned when he emerged from the purifying waters of
the river Diit ( mental anticipation of eschatol ogy, Zaritusht
Nima, XXI ) , and it is precisely at this moment tht the frst
282
Notes/pages 32-35
teophany occurs; cf. below, the body of the Earth of Hurqalyi
( jism Harqalyi ) . It is perfectly understandable tat the ecsta
sies of Zarathustra created the same problems in Zoroastrianism
as the heavenly ascension ( Mi'rdj ) of the prophet Mulammad
did in Islam. Was the latter to be understood a an ascension
in corpore ( as by the orthoox ) 1 As a spiritua rapture ( the
philosophers' view) 1 Or as in the subtle boy ( the Shakhls ) 1
See our study Avicenna and the Visionry Recital, I V, n. 26.
Now, the Archangel, before leading Zarathustra ( Zardtusht
Nama, XXII, p. 28 ) , says to him: "Close your eyes for a mo
ment," and when Zarathustra opens them, he is "in Paradise"
( the converse of te man Adam asleep to eterity and awakened
to te Earh) .
77. Vendidid XXII, 19. Let us also remember tat the "temptation"
of Zarathustra by Ahriman takes place in rin-Vej , on te bank
of the same river, when Ahriman "attempt" to entice Zara
thustra from his prophetic voation ( Vendidid XlX, 1 f. ) .
Ahriman is defeated, crushed by the liturgical incantation ( as
pointed out above, n. 6, Creation also is a liturgical act ) .
78. Sometimes it is Mount Savalin, a high peak in Azerbaijan
( 4850 m. ) , sometimes the mountain of te dawns ( above, n.
62 ) i n Seistin.
79. In the Zat-Spram, XXII ( Pahlavi Texts, V, 159-62 ) , the place
and the heavenly witnesses of the theophany in te case of each
separate conversation wit the Seven is given in detail : e. g. ,
the mystical conversation with te Archangel Vohuman "took
place" on the mountains of Hikairya and Ushidarena.
80. De antra nympharum, 6, cited in A.V.W. Jackson, Zoroater,
the Prophet of Ancient Iran; Bidez and Cumont, Les Mages
helllnises, II, 29 ( according to te testimony of Euboulos in
which the initiative of Zarathustra is connected with the founda
tion of the mysteries of Mitra ) .
81 . See te text in Jackson, Zoroater, p. 236, and Les Mages hel
linises, II, 28, 142 f. Mlrkhwind, a Persian historian of the
ffteenth centur, again passes on te memory of this ecstatic
ascent to the summit of the psycho-cosmic mountain in rin
Vej . In this account Zarathustra is supposed t have said: "Tis
book [the Avesta] came down towars me from the rof of the
house which is on te summit of that mountain" (Jackson, p.
34, n. 7 ) .
82. See our study "Cyclical Time in Mazdaism and lsmailism," pp.
136 f. , on Daeni-Sophia-Aeon as an archetype-Person; cf. in
Prod us, AW.v as hypostasis and te Al.vn ( The Elements of
283
Notes/Chapter I
Theology, ed. and tr. E. R. Dodds, pp. 228-29 ) ; see also R.
Reitenstein, in Historische Zeitschrift, CXXVI ( 1922 ) , 32,
n. 1, and p. 5 1 .
83. Te etymology of the name Armaiti ( Aramati ) is perhaps in
soluble. However, it may be possible to come close to it mean
ing indirectly; for more details, see n. 92, below.
84. See te Pand Namak i Zartusht ( above, n. 32 ) , pp. 144-45,
strophe 2.
85. See the text of the great Bundahishn i n Nyberg, "Questions,"
I, 237 ( cf. this - choice of the scene of the Gathi of the Great
Decision, Y asna XXX ) . Shahrastinl, too, attributes the idea
of tis free decision, prior to existence in the world of material
bodies, to a sect which he calls the "Gayomartians."
86. On this concept ( Spendarmanh, Spendarmatikih ) essential for
us here, see Denkart, IX, chs. 53, 27; 54, 2; 60, 4; and 69, 14-
1 5 and 47-48 ( Pahlavi Texts, IV) ; these are highly interesting
passages, which demand much more attention than we can
give tem here.
87. Cf. W. Bousset, Die Religion des Judentums im spithellenisti
schen Zeitalter, ed. H. Gressmann, p. 520; elsewhere, however
( Zeitschrift fur Kirchengeschichte, XLI ( 1922 ) , 1 7 4 ) , Gress
mann object to Bousset's view ( Hauptprobleme der Gnosis,
p. 336 ) that it is preferable to identify Sophia with Daeni ( the
frst comparison in no way excludes this-quite the contrary,
as we shall see later ) on the pretext that Spenta Araiti, unlike
Daeni, has no real demonic antagonist; this merely proves tat
the distinguished scholar here had lost sight of te Archdemon
Taromati.
88. Cf. the curious passage in a Pahlavi Rivayat, translated by
Darmesteter ( Zend-A vesta, I, 128, n. 5 ) : "One day Zoroaster
was standing in front of Ohrazd, and the Amahraspands were
gathered around teir chief, but Spendarmat was near him with
her hand around his neck, and Zoroaster asked him: 'Who is
that creature standing near you, who seems so dear to you?
Your eyes never leave her, nor do hers leave you. You never let
go of her hand, nor she of yours. ' And Ohrad answered:
'That is Spendarat, my daughter, the mistress of my house
( Paraise ) , and the mother of creatures.' " This quality of
Spendarat a "mistress of te house" ( kadbana ) has been re
tained even in the cosmo-angelology of Suhrawardl; cf. below,
Ch. I I , 1 .
89. Yasna XVI, 1 0; cf. Daresteter, Zend-Avesta, l, 1 44, n. 1 7 . On
Sophia as a "garden" and as "Earth," cf. ulao J . Poacher, Dcr
284
Notes/pages 36-39
Konigsweg zu Wiedergeburt und Vergottung bei Phi/on v.
Alexandreia, pp. 58 f.
90. Cf. Le Livre de Zoroastre ( Zarttusht-Ncma, n. 68, above ) ,
XXXII, p. 37 ( this conversation should be interpreted in the
context of the exchanges which Zoroaster had with each of the
Seven; unfortunately, the transl ation we quote from could be im
proved upon ) . Also to be noted is what can be deduced from the
mention of Daena as "spiritual Lord" ( ratu ) of the "Ohraz
dian" women ( Yasna XIII, 1 ) ; all the latter are associated with
Spenta Armaiti in the liturgical "intention" addressed to her.
Now, according to the Pahlavi commentary on Vendidad XI, 5,
they are identical with the Angel Artai-Fravart, who, i n her
"person," typifes the Fravartis as a whole ( see Darmesteter,
Zend-A vesta, I, 123 ) ; concerning the role of Artai-Fravart at
the time of the supernatural birth of Zoroaster, cf. Ztt-Spram,
XVI, 2 ( Pahlavi Texts, V, 145 ) .
91 . Denkart, IX, ch. 43, 2.
92. Without reopening an unresolved etymological problem, we
can approach the signifcance of the name and person of Spenta
Armaiti by cross reference. With E. Herfeld ( though we are
far from sharing all of his views ) we can compare Armaiti
( Aramati , Armati ) and Tushntmaiti ( Tushnamati, thinking
in-silence; in Yasht XIII, 139, this is the proper name of a
woman; cf. Herfeld, Zoroaster and His World, I, 341 ) . We
have further to take into account that te direct antagonist of
Spenta Armaiti is te Archdemon Taromati ( but then we must
guard against the fatal tendency of giving only colorless equiv
alents to Mazdean concepts, secularized by innocuous moralism
or quite abstract legalism; Taromati is not merely "thinking
outide the rule," nor is Aramati "thinking according to the
rule" ) . We can also note in Yasht XIII, 29 and 73, the associa
tion of the words tushnishad ( living in silence ) and armeshad
( living in quiet ) , for which Herfeld ( Zoroater, pp. 353-54 )
gives as Greek equivalents ucyf and plpf ix""' Even i the
etymology is uncertain, the representation is defnite-all the
more so, since tushntmatish vahishtc is substituted for
crmatish vahishtt ( ibid. and Yasna XLIII, 1 5 ) , for then the
Pahlavi expression bavandak-menishnih ( perfect thought ) is
really the exact equivalent of Spenta Armaiti ( see Nyberg,
Hilfsbuch, Glossary, p. 33, s. v. ) , and Plutarch's translation of
it as Sophia ( Isis and Osiris, 46 ) i s completely justifed. See
Spiegel, Avesta, III, x, and cf. Nyberg, Religionen, pp. 109 f.
93. cr. references to the text, above, n. 86.
285
Notes/Chapter I
94. Ditistin-i-Dfnik, XCIV, 2. Tere are variant: for instance, the
trilogy Vohuman ( Thought ) , Xarat ( Wisdom) , Spannik
Menak ( Holy Spirit ) ; cf. our translation of the Pand Nimak i
Zrtuht, 26, pp. 150-5 1 ( cf. also West, Pahlavi Texts, II,
270, n. 3 ) . Denkart, IX, ch. 60, 5, seems to give preference to
te liturgical sense of the trilogy as putting te Spendarma
tlklh into practice. Nyberg had already drawn a like conclusion
from te Avesta ( the entire series "Manah, Wort und Tat" is
connected with the terminology referring t the mysteries; cf.
Religionen, pp. 163-66 ) . It would be useful to compare our
text with a passage from te Taawurit, a treatise on Isma'll
teosophy atributed to Nlruddln 'isl: "Hi thought be
comes an Angel proceeding from the spiritual world; his word
becomes a spirit proceeding from tis Angel; his action be
comes a body proceeding from this spirit." ( Cf. our "Cyclical
Time in Mazdaism and Ismailism," p. 167. )
95. Cf. Gray, Foundation, p. 49, and En Islam iranien II, 1 21 f.
96. Tis already becomes apparent and is imprinted, unconsciously
and somewhat clumsily, on the physical features of te child
Zaratustra: the shoulders are those of Ardvl Siri, te torso
and loins are tose of Ashi V anuhi, and the breast resembles
tat of Spent Araiti ( Dnkart, IX, ch. 24, 3 ) .
97. Ti designation of Daeni, here fulflling the role of the
Fravai "who has remained in te celestial world," would have
t b developed in a manner which I am unable t undertake
here ( cf. Bailey, Zoroatrian Problems, p. 1 15 ) , al the more
so a she continues to be represented in tis manner even in the
late Madean tradition in Persian ( ravin-i rih; cf. Saddar
Bundehesh, in The Persian Rivayats of Hormazyar Framar,
p. 5 1 1 ) .
.
98. See te references cited above, n. 87, and our "Cyclical Time,"
pp. 122 f.
99. Ecclesiasticus 5 1 : 1 3 f. Cf. Odes of Saomon, 38 ( M. R.
James and H. E. Ryle, Old Testament Apocryphal Books: The
Psams and Odes of Salomon) , where Wisdom, te heavenly
betroted, i opposed to te fallen Sophia, Achamoth.
100. Gressmann, in Zeitschrift fir Kirchengeschichte, XLI ( 1 922 ) ,
158-59; R. Reitenstein, Da iranische Erlosungsmysterium,
pp. 240 f.
101. Cf. Gray, Foundation, pp. 70 f. ; actually ( since Bartolomae )
a distincton in fact was made between two words: on the one
hand the "I" te innerost part of the personality, the heavenly
essence of man, and, on te other, "religion. The penetratin
g
286
Notes/pages 402
analysis of Mr. Nyberg ( Religionen, pp. 1 14 f. ) makes it
possible to bring back together into one, not two words, but
precisely two meanings of the same word. However, contrary
t te learned author, I do not for a moment believe that the
frst meaning is the fruit of philosophical speculation, out of
place here ( after all, no one can decide this except according
to his own particular idea of philosophy ) . For if we are told
( p. 1 14 ) , as regards the meaning of "to see" ( schauen ) , "It
has nothing to do with vision in the ordinary sense. The word
means solely religious vision and the organ through which man
experiences the divine, thus a visionary sense, an inner eye,
a ray of light issuing from the innerost dept of man, a ray
which, being itelf divine, is united with te light," then some
body might object that here we are right in the midst of philo
sophical speculation! Far from raising an objection; we are
delighted with the explanation and we return to the frst and
condemned meaning, on condition that the "I" be given a dept
of meaning other tan that of rational psychology or current
experimental psychology.
102. Tus the word Dfn ( te Pahlavi for of te Avestan Daeni )
has fnally come to mean "religion." However, te "subliminal"
religious consciousness is necessarily diferent from the com
plex attached in the West today to the word "religion" ( the
"personal fgure of Din continues t exist ) . That is why it is
important in translation to retain te proper name, even in its
Avestan form ( as we have already done in our translation of
the Pand Namak ) .
103. Cf. Odes of Salomon, 33, in which the Virgin Sophia prolaims :
"I am your Judge," or again ( in Syriac ) "your Faith ( your
Religion, your Truth ) "; cf, Gressmann, loc. cit.
104. Te locus clasicus of the account of te A
p
parition in the
Avesta is Yasht XXII ( ~ Hahfkht Nak ) ; for parallel pas
sages in Pahlavi and Parsi-Persian litrature, as well as in
Manicheism, see J. D. Cursetji Pavry, The Zoroatrian Doc
trine of a Future Life, pp. 39-48. In the Persian version of the
Sadar Bundehesh ( ch. 99
)
there is an allusion t te growth
of the soul, the weakness of which is here protcted b
y
the
Angel SerOsh ( Sraosha ) during te tree days after death pre
ceding the pisoe at te Chinvat Bridge, Te development of
te three successive stages ( the infant, the seven-
y
ear-old, the
ffteen-year-old, which is te archet
yp
al age of te Immortals )
presupposes an organ of immortallty, a s
p
iritual organ, a seed
which has been ac
q
uired during life and which blossom& at
287
Notes/Chapter I
deat. Thus Mazdaism really does contain the idea of a mysti
cal physiology, already alluded to in this book; consequently, it
will be well to give close attention to the Shaikhl texts which
will be studied later on ( see below, Ch. 4 ) , and trans
lated in Part Two, Arts. 7 and x. Note, in the same treatise
( ch. 46 ) , the saving interention of Ardvi Sura at the Chin vat
Bridge, which is to be connected with the parallelism indicated
between Spenta Armaiti and Ardvl Sura at the end of this
paragraph. Moreover, the common characteristics which mental
iconography has attributed to Daena, to Ardvl Sura, and to the
Virgin of Light of Manicheism and the Coptic gnostic docu
ment have already been pointed out ( cf. Kramers, The Daeni
in the Githis, pp. 236-37, and ibid. , p. 225 ) . The Mazdean
and Manichean representation of the descent of Daena-Sophia
to the meeting with the soul has also prompted comparisons
with the theme of the "descent of Amithaba" in Pure Land
Buddhism.
105. Cf. n. 82 above. We would like to call attention to the follow
ing: in the Saddar Bundehesh ( ch. 99 ) the radiant Apparition
answers the astonished soul : "I am your own good Action. " The
"imagery" is none the less quite concrete: "She put her arm
around his neck, and both enter into Paradise, flled with an
immense gladness and an immense quietude. " This feature
and many other similar ones should save us from confusing
Figures like this with what are ordinarily called "allegory" or
"personifcation. " These ters refer to a process of abstraction
which difers toto caelo from the mode of perception that is
peculiar to angelology. The holy action ( or faithfulness, or
knowledge, or any other Mazdean virtue ) is perceived by the
Imago which from the beginning causes the mental apparition
of the heavenly person to be virtually present to the soul . This
is something quite diferent from the appearance of a person
imposed upon us by allegorical personifcation. That is why,
for example, it is stated in the great Bundahishn ( Nyberg,
"Questions," I, 235 ) : "From Arshisvang [ = Ashi Vanuhi] pro
ceeds the splendor of the piety which gives access to Paradise"
( and not the opposite ) . If the Apparition can answer: "I am
your Action," that is because the Xvarnah is the divine principl e
( existing prior to the body ) which confers on a being the capac
ity for autonomous action ( xeshkirlh, alTo7pa:la ) , an activi ty
responsible for a task which is absolutely it own ( cf. Reitzen
stein and Schaeder, Studien, pp. 230- -3 1 ) . Thus the Action is
revealed at its source, and here Doeni i s i ndrrd Hhown i n thr
288
Notes/pages 42-45
double aspect of Xvarnah , which is both Glory and Destiny,
and which she herself is. We can say that the valorization of
Mazdaism has greatly sufered because of the lack of phenom
enology in it interpretations.
106. Here again ( as in Yasht XIX; see above nn. 48, 67 ) , if all of
Yasht XVI, devoted to Daeni, extols Chisti, we should not
speak of inconsistency, but grasp the reason for the transpar
ency of one mirror-image to the other. Concerning Chisti, see
Gray, Foundations, pp. 140-42; Nyberg, Religionen, pp. 8 1
f. ; Hertel, Die awestischen Herrschafts, p . 6 9 ( Chisti : active
illumination; Chistt: irradiated illumination ) .
107. Yasht X, 126. Rashnu, the most benefcent, very tall and
slender, walks at the right of Mithra's chariot; on his left, bear
ing the oferings, Chisti, very straight, clothed in white gar
ment, the paredros of Daeni.
108. Cf. also Yasht XVI, 1 5-Hvogvi ( wife of Zarathustra ) pray
ing that her thought, her words, and her action may confor
to the wish of Daeni.
1 09. Yasht XVII, 16.
l lO. Yasht XIII, 107.
l l l . Yasht XVII, 60-6 1 ( cf. Yasht V, 1 7-19 ) ; see n. 46, above.
l l2. Yasht XVII, 1 7-24 ( Darmesteter, Zend-A vesta, II, 604 ) :
"The goo, the great Ashi, cantor of the gods, harmless to the
just, rose up on her chariot, and pronounced the following
w<rds: 'Who art thou, thou who invokes me? Thou whose voice
is sweeter to my ear than any of those who have invoked me
te most?' " Answering, Zarathustra recalls the episode of his
triumphal nativity; then follows the invitation of te "Angel
Nike."
l l 3. See Gray, Foundations, pp. 63-66. Elsewhere we have shown
how this complicated representation persists even in the arch
angelical triad of Ismaelian theosophy; see our 2tude prelimi
naire pour le "Livre reunissant les deux sagesses" de Nir-e
Khosraw, pp. 9 1 f.
1 14. Denkart, IX, ch. 43, 6.
1 1 5. Cf. the text of the great Bundahishn, appended to the SrDz, in
Darmesteter, Zend-Avesta, II, 3 1 8.
l l 6. She is most often shown as the angel of "Righteousness." This
may be so, but such a translation merely illustrates this "laici
zation" which reduces Mazdean concepts to the abstractions of
rational and rationalist morals, commonplace enough to ft
anywhere at all except in the context of an absolutely specifc
Muzdenn vision of the world. A Western man easily distin-
289
Notes/Chapter I
guishes between a simple act of ''virtue" and an act of "Chris
tian virtue. " But there is also a "Mazdean virtue" which needs
t be understood from this particular point of view. We should
come back tirelessly to such an exemplary sentence as the one
which was recalled earlier ( above, n. 1 3 ) : "From the terrestial
light, Ohrad created truthfulness" ( cf. n. 105, above ) . On
the other hand, Y asht XVIII ( like Y asht XIX) , dedicated to
te Angel Arshtat, extols Xvarnah. The aspect which for us is
"moral" is only one apect, even a scondary aspect, of the poly
morphism proper to Mazdean concepts. That is why Hertel
( Die awestischen Herrschafts, pp. 60-64 ) seems t us to be at
least searching in te right direction ( Ashi, Arshti : "iradiation"
as nomen actionis, and "radiatrix" as nomen agentis; Arshtit:
"the state of the irradiated being, uninterupted radiance or
totality of what is iradiated" ) . This may remind M of the idea
of Nar qdhir ( victoria! , triumphal Light ) in te philosophy of
Suhrawardl.
1 1 7. Arshtit is she who activates and gives peranency to the energy
of te Xvarah; she is savagaethd ( Yasht XI, 16, 21 ) , i . e. ,
according to Hertel ( pp. 68-69 ) , "transmuting living beings
into celestial fre," sava being the ter meaning the "heaven of
light," insofar as it is the abode of the igneous element consti
tuting a human being separated by death from his mortal ele
ment. Ohrmadian creatures derive teir capacity for tis
metamorphosis from the fact that Ohrazd emitted them into
being ( cf. Yasht XIX, 10) through tat Xvar which consti
tutes te core of their own being ( their "Glory and Destiny" ) .
But we have seen earlier that Ashi Vanuhi is it possessor and
dispenser ( she confers and she is tat Light of Glory ) ; its
efciency depends on her ( she it is who "causes to grow" ) .
1 1 8. Cf. Vispered II, 2, and it interpretation by Hertel ( p. 69 ) ;
from which Yasna, XVI, 6 f. ( Hertel, p. 65 ) .
1 19. Cf. the great Bundahishn, XXVI, 36, 38; Gray, Foundations,
pp. 136-37, 1 72.
120. Of course, i n this cae the number forty does not determine a
measure of physical time; it symbolizes the totality and com
pleteness of the event which is, on the contrary, the measure
of "time" ( and not te other way round ) . Likewise, every forty
year, in te paradise of the archetypes of Vira ( above, M. 47,
and the comparison i s signifcant ) , from every human ( or
androgynous ) couple tere issues another; Salamin has to medi
tate for forty days in the Sarapeion in order for Absi to appear
before him ( cf. our study Avicenna and the Vi1ionary Recital,
290
Notes/ pages 45-49
ch. V, 20 ) ; note also the importance of "perios of forty" in
ifl spiritual practice.
1 21 . Cf. the passages of the great Bundahishn and the Zat-Spram
transcribed and translated by Schaeder in Reitzenstein and
Schaeder, Studien, pp. 21 4-43, a distinct improvement on the
previous translation by Christensen who, especially in the all
important passage from ch. XIV of the great Bandahishn ( p.
230, n. 2 ) , failed to recognize the Aramaic ideogram ( gaddeh )
representing the X varnah.
122. Cf. our translation of the Pand Namak i Zrtusht, p. 145.
123. Thus, this i s one of the prototypes of the xldhvaghda ( mar
riage between close relatives ) . Whatever may be the sacred
mythical meaning of this custom venerated by the ancient
Persians, we wish exactly on this point t note that for the great
poet Farlduddln 'At*ir ( d. 6 1 8/1221 ) , it was the inspiration
of one of his most mystical paradoxes: "'f this mother who
begot me, I have in tum become the spouse. If I am called
Mazdean, it is because I have made love with my mother."
The famous if Shaikh afuddln Ardablll ( $afwat al-$afa',
p. 1 76 ) commented on this couplet as follows: Te human
soul was engendered from the mysterious womb of the Spirits
( Arah, the Fravartis ) ; for the mystic, to return t his origin
is to be born again in te heavenly pleroma which gave him
birth. This birth is at the same time the aspect and the fruit of
his being conjoined with the mother-source of his being, whose
spouse and child he bcomes at one and the same time. Here
we have once again one of tese little-studied cases in which
the Persian mystic typifes in symbols the characteristics and
images deriving from pre-Islamic Iran.
124. Datistan-i-Dinik, II, 1013; IV, 6; cf. LXIV, 3-7: From in
fnite Light Ohrmad prouced the form of a priest whose
name was that of Ohrazd, whose brilliance was that of fre,
and who was as incombustible as the inner part of light; and
in the for of this priest he created that essence which is
called Man. Cf. Nyberg, Religionen, pp. 303 1 , 301-304,
391-92.
'
125. See above, n. 62; Bundahishn, XXXII, 8; cf. Darmesteter, Zend
Avesta, II, 521 , n. 1 12.
126. Yaht XIII, 141; cf. Nyberg, Religionen, pp. 305-306. The
Pahlavi ( tradition based on Yasht XIII, 128 in fne ) has knowl
edge of a series of three Saoshyants ( Hushetar, Hushetarah,
and Soshyans Saoshyant ) , each of whom brings one of the
ln"t mi l l enaries ( the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth ) to a close.
29 1
Notes/Chapter II
The two Saoshyants preceding the last Saoshyant are also born
supernaturally of a maiden who is said to have penetrated into
the waters of Lake Kansaoya. Thus there is a whole feminine
eschatological series corresponding to the masculine series. Cf.
Yasht XIX, 89 ( Darmesteter, Zend-A vesta, II, 638, n. 1 25 ) ,
concerning the thirty immortal heroes ( ffteen men and ffteen
women ) plunged in mystical sleep until the arrival of te
Saoshyant, who will then arise to aid him in his work. As an
other illustration of the archetype that here determines the
feminine eschatological series, we should perhaps mention the
legend according to which a hero of recent times, Bahram
Varjavand, comes from the "City of the Maidens" ( shahr-i
dukhtardn ) in the direction of Tibet ( Persian Rivayats, p. 434);
could tis be an allusion to tat kingdom of Amazons to the
north of India referred to in Chinese chronicles? ( Cf. J. J.
Bachofen, Da Mutterrecht, l, 52 1 f. )
127. Cf. the text of the great Bundahishn (Darmesteter, Zend-Avesta,
II, 3 1 6 ) .
128. By an epilogue that corresponds to the descent of the heavenly
Jerusalem, symbol of the celestial Sophia, at the end of the
Apocalypse. The Abode of Hymns ( the Gar(tman, highest de
gree of Heaven ) descends to the sphere of the stars ( the lower
degree of Heaven; see above, 3 ) , while the transfgured Earth
is itself carried up to the sphere of the stars. Everything then
becomes Garotmdn; there is no longer anything but the Abode
of Hymns ( cf. Denkart IX, ch. 28, 3; see also below, Part Two,
Art. 7 q n. 27 ) .
CHAPTER I I
THE MY8TICAL EARTB OP BuROALYA
l. See below, Part Two, Introduction and Art. for information
on the inspiring fgure and principal work of te Shaikh al
lshraq; also En Islam iranien, II.
2. See our edition of the Book of Oriental Theosophy ( fikmat al
lshrdq ) , 209, pp. 199-200 ( see n. 1 to Art. below) , and
in the lithograph of Teheran, 1 3 1 5/1 897, p. 439, the com
mentaries of adruddln Shirazi ( Mull a adra ) .
3 . For details impossible to give here, see our book En Islam
iranien, I, 5 1 , 100; and III, 197, 1 98.
4. See the general information concerni ng Shni khi sm, ihicl. , I V,
205-302.
2!>2
Notes/pages 50-74
5. A western bibliography on the "sacrality" of the person of
Fatima is almost nonexistent. Only Louis Massignon has given
it careful thought; see, notably, his two studies La Mubdhala
de Medine et fhyperdulie de Fi/ima and "La Notion du vru
et Ia devotion musulmane a Fatima."
6. For what follows, see Shaikh ajj Mubammad. Karim Khan
Kirmanl, lrshid al-'awimm, m, 1 94-95.
7. Te title larat ( literally, "Presence" ) has no exact equivalent
in our language. It is used in addressing high personages of
this world or the other; it conveys the ideas of excellence, maj
esty, and sanctity. It is, therefore, better to retain it and give
te reader a chance t become familiar with its usage.
8. For further details, see our study cited above, n. 3.
9. For what follows, see lrshi al-'awimm ( above, n. 6 ) , III,
1 10-17.
1 0. See his Risila-yi Sulfinlya, pp. 1 64-67.
1 1 . To Mub. Mo'ln we owe a note drawing attention to the word
varj ( farr, khurrah, :arnah ) and it compounds, and t the
fact that it use confors perfectly to the etymology of Persian
authors; see the long account in his edition of the dictionary
Burhin-i qd#', IV, 2265-67.
12. We have dealt with this in detail in our book, L'Homme de
lumiere dans le soufsme iranien.
1 3. See Tabarl, Chronique, tr. H. Zotenberg, I, 33-36; cf. Yaqut,
Mu'jam al-bulddn, III, 32 ( Jabars and Jibalqo! ) ; VIII, 1 5
f. ( Qaf = Albur) ; Mo'ln, Burhin-i qd#', s. v. See te text
translated below, Part Two, Arts. 1 , v, I X, XI .
14. Undiferentiation generally symbolizes the androgyne; here, the
historian, who is not a symbolist and who besides is Muslim,
present these beings as all of te masculine sex; cf. te frag
ment of the Gospel According to the Egyptians, which point
out that the reign of death will last until masculine and feminine
for but one ( M. R. James, The Apocryphal New Testament,
p. 1 1 ; and The Gospel According to Thoma, log. 22, 1 14 ) .
1 5. See our Avicenna and the Visionary Recital, pp. 1 1 3 f.
16. See The Encyclopedia of Islam, s. v. i; compare the emerald
rock ( fakhra ) with the Great Rock ( the mystic Sinai ) men
tioned in Suhrawardl's "Recital of the Occidental Exile," in
Corbin, ed. , Cuvres philosophiques. See our En Islam iranien
II, 258 f.
1 7. See above, n. 1 3, and Ch. 1 , 3, the "visionary geography."
18. See En Islam iranien, II , 283.
1 9. Cf. the text of Shaikh Sarkar
A
gha translated below, Part Two,
Art. XI .
293
Notes/Chapter II
20. As to what follows, see Avicenna and the Visionary Recital,
13, and the notes and commentaries on the "Recital of Jayy
ibn Yaqan," in which the mountain of Qa, as it traditionally
is among the Spirituals, is already the cosmic montain, and cf.
L'Homme de lumilre, Ch. m, 3.
21. Frit Meier has devoted a study i n depth to tis world of the
archetype-Images and to the function of the Imagination as te
required organ of perception in a very great Iranian mystic of
the eighth/fourteenth century, Mlr Sayyid All Hamadanl; see
"Die Welt der Orbilder bei Al Hamadanl < t 1385 ) ," espe
cially pp. 1 43 f. , where the schema of the world is in striking
harmony with that of Mazdaism: two absolute worlds, that of
absolute Light and that of absolute Darkness; the interworld
of ''mixture," te world of "clarity." The mundua archetypua
is situated at the lower level of the frst.
22. In the southeast of Iran, a little more than a thousand kilometers
from Teheran; Kirman is te usual residence of Shaikh Sarkar
A
gha ( see below, Part Two, Introduction and Art. XI ) ; tere
the Shikhl community has it school of theology, a college,
and a small press. As will be noted below, te Shaikhl school
has produced a considerable number of works, a large part of
which are still in manuscript and unedited.
23. See the Suhrawardl texts quoted below, Part Two, Art. I .
24. See ibid. "All te charisma, al thaumaturgical actions, the
meetings of celestial princely angels mentioned in the biogra
phies of mystics, all that refers to the laws of te eighth climate,
in which Jabalqa, Jabara, and Hirqalya are found to be rich
in marels." Our language of today, even philosophical, is so
unft to describe this world of te Imagination as a perectly
real world that a satisfactory ter is lacking here. We must
avoid all confusion wit simple "fantasy"; "imaginable" too
particularly indicates possibility. We need some such adjective
as imaginal to qualify everything related to this interediate
universe ( dimensions, fgures, landscapes, and so on ) . Then
we would have lmaginalia ( as original, not as mere "efgies"
of sensory tings ) , just as we have Divinlia. And imaginal
is no more to be confused wit imaginary than original with
originry. We have already entered into these problems in our
book Creative Imagintion in the $1fsm of Ibn Arabi.
25. See Dl'id Qayar, commentary on the Fu,a, al-Iikam of Ibn
Arabi. The text is translated in Part Two, Art. m, below.
26. The mundus archetypua is one of the loci of the studies of our
philosophers from Suhrawardl to Muli A adrl ShirAzi and
294
Notes/pages 75-83
Hidl Sabzavirl ( see below, Part Two ) . This demands much
research; cf. the anonymous treatise in Arabic published by A.
Badawl, ldeae platonicae.
27. See Sh
a
ikh Almad Alsa'I, Jawami ai-Kalim, p. 153 ( artifcial
pagination; an eror of arranging the pages in this litograph
gives this place to a treatise which is really the ninth rda of
the third part of the Works ) . Se the text tanslated below,
Part Two, Art. IX, 3.
28. That i s why Suhrawardl created the Persian expression Na
K uja-
A
bd ( a region which is not in a Where ) ; the Where is
hereafter involved in the soul.
29. See Jawdmi, I, 2d part, p. 136.
30. See ibid. , p. 153, where i t i s confred that Horalyi i s homol
ogous with the Heavens of our physical universe, while Jabalqi
in the Orient and Jiba"a in the Occident are, in this inter
mediate world, homologues of our elemental earthly climate.
The meaning of other traditions should be more deeply investi
gated: that, for example, which locates the hell of the earthly
world at the east of this world of the banakh, while the earthly
paradise is at the west ( see "Western Paradise" in the Bud
dhism of the Pure Earth) , the double garden covered wit
greenery, mentioned in te Qur'an ( 55 : 64) .
31 . See Tanzih al-awliya', p. 709. The translation of this entire
chapter will be found in Part Two, Ar. XI , below.
32. In the sense in which Suhrawardl uses tis word both in his
Book of Oriental Theosophy and in his "Recital of the Occi
dental Exile" ( in Corbin, ed. , Cuvres philosophiques ) , te
afnity of which with te "Song of the Pearl" in the Acts of
Thomas bear witnes to it gnostic fliation.
33. Tanzih al-awliya', p. 7 1 1 .
34. See ibid. , pp. 71 3-15.
35. See Kittb al-futatat ai-Makkiya, Vol. I, ch. VIII, pp. 126 f.
Te translation of this text will be found in Part Two, Art. n,
below.
36. Ibid. , p. 127, the striking text that describes te ceremonial of
penetration into the Earh of Truth, where even the impoSBible
is accomplished ( see below, Part Two, Art. 11 ) Ibn Arabi
was right in saying that even what has rationally been demon
strated to be impossible in our world nevertheless exist in this
Earth of True Reality, frt, the coincidence of Representation
and of the Unrepresentable, of what signifes and te signifed,
of the exoteric and the esoteric-in short, everything that makes
this Earth of Truth an "absolute afration."
Notes/Chapter II
37. Mubsin Fay Kashani, Kalimit maknana, ch. XXX, lith. ,
Teheran, p. 69 ( translated below, Part Two, Art. vm) .
38. Book of Elucidations ( Talwifit ) , 55, translated below, Part
Two, Art. I .
39. Nar sha'sha'ini, Form of Translucent Light, both resplendent
and delicate; the ter characterizes, especially in the Ismi'Ill
lexicon, te beings of the spiritual and angelic world.
40. See te Book of Conversations ( Mutirafit ) , 208, translated
below, Part Two, Art. .
41 . Book of Elucidations ( Talwifit ) , 1 08; see the translation of
the text and commentaries below, Part Two, Art. I .
42. See the commentaries of Shahrazurl and Ibn Kammuna, below,
Part Two, Art. I .
43. I t has been dealt with i n the preceding chapter, 3.
44. As te exemplary case which each Spiritual i s called on to re
produce, see Avicenna and the Visionary Recital, ch. IV, 14.
45. One can only allude here to te extremely complex data of lived
experience. The "cities swallowed up" represent the failure of
te sensory faculties ( compare the abandonment of Absalom
by his army in the A vicenian recital of Sal amln and Ab
sal ) . The being Hermes calls to his aid is the Angel whom te
Suhrawardian pilgrim meets ( "Recital of te Occidental Ex
ile," Wing of Gabriel ) , or the youthful sage who guides the
Avicennan pilgrim, a central fgure of te sae archetype, or
the one who leads Ibn 'Arabi into the mystical Kaba ( see our
Creative Imagination in the $ufsm of Ibn Arabi, ch. VI ) . Let
us remember te "suprasensory personal guide" in te school
of Najmuddln Kubra. Sometimes the circumstances of this re
union are described as "fssion of the moon" ( shaqq al-qamar,
an allusion to the Qur'an 34: 1 ) , because the active intelligence
proceeds from the Angel of the Heaven of the Moon, or rather
is the latter's "esoteric" ( there exists, on tis point, an entire
treatise of a Spiritual of the ffteent century, 'All Turkah
Ifahanl; see En Islam iranien, III, 275-355 ) . Each Spiritual
becoming in his tur the "seal of the prophetic mission"; some
times, as is here the case, the circumstances are interpreted as
te "bursting fort of te column of dawn." Tat is evidently
reminiscent of Manicheism, whose meaning for Ishriql escha
tology Shahrazurl wa able to valorize, as the irruption of the
"Oriental presence." On the mutation of te Manichean image
of "column of praise" into "column of dawn," see below, Part
Two, Art. I, n. 4. Suhrawardl himself says again: "Te experi
ence of the authentic raptures in the world of Hnrqal yA depends
Notes/page.< 84-88
on the magnifcent prince Harakhsh, the most sublime of those
who have assumed body, the Most Venerated, who is te su
preme Face of God, in the terinology of Oriental theosophy"
( Mutiraft, 21 5 , translated below, Part Two, Art. 1 ) .
Hurakhsh denotes the Angel of the Sun, whose "exoteric" is the
faming mass of the star, his theurgy in the corporealized world.
Suhrawardl addresses one of his psalms to him; on the etymol
ogy, see Mul. Mo'ln, The Philosophy of Illumination and the
Ancient Iranian Culture, pp. 22-24. According to a Pahlavi
commentary on Yasht VI , 2 ( Daresteter, Zend-Avesta, II,
404, n. 2 ) , "hvare raokhshne" would seem to denote more espe
cially the rising or ascending sun from which the Angels receive
the Xvarnah and distribute it on Earth. Indeed ( here as in the
episode of Hermes ) , it is through the rising light ( nur shiriq )
that the soul divests itelf of its material tunic and puts on the
auroral robe ( libis al-shuruq ) , becomes itself auroral sub
stance, rising Sun ( Mutirafit, 22S ) . Compare with the
musk-perfumed robe that Zarathustra put on and the one put
on by Ibn Arabi's mystic when he penetrates into Hurqalya
( translated from the text, below, Part Two, Art. 11 ) If one
keeps in mind what has been said here ( ch. 1 , S ) concering
the blaze of the Xvarnah in Erin-Vej, on the summit of the
mountain of dawns, in the visionary landscape of the Avestan
liturgies, one will understand how, by making this sacred Light
the agent of ecstasy, Suhrawarl represented his own mystical
experience in the ters of a tradition that has been barely
studied, nor even recognized, until now.
46. See our edition of the Oriental Theosophy ( likmat al-ishriq ) ,
225 ( translated below, Part Two, Art. 1 ) .
47. Se the commentary of Qutbuddln Shrrazr, p. 5S8 ( translated
below, Part Two, Art. 1 ) .
48. Ibid. , p. 258, 240-42; see the translation of the entire con
text below, Part Two, Art. 1 .
49. Ibid. , p. 242. Hence the cardinal importance of the afrmation
of Iranian A vicennism ( as opposed to A verroism ) of the exist
ence of the Animae coelestes-tat is, the Angels who move
the Heavens and are distinct from te pure Intelligences or
Cherubim whom they contemplate; they represent the world of
pure or absolute Imagination, free of the sensory perceptions
that cause the paralysis or the imaginative absurdities of the
imagination in Animae humanae. Tis world of the Animae
coele1tes is the one which is terminologically designated as the
Malak at.
297
Notes/Chapter II
50. See Tanzh al-awliya, p. 725. ( translated below, Part Two,
Ar. XI ) .
5 1. See the admirable episode mentioned by Shaikh Sarkir
A
ghi
( ibid. , p. 723 ) , concerning te Imam lasan 'Askarl ( eleventh
lmi of the Twelver Shl'ites, tent century ) . Te lmim is be
ing held prisoner in the caravanserai of te beggars; neverte
less, with a simple gesture he appears before his visitor a he
ordinarily apears. "Wherever we are, it is like tat. We are
not in te caravanserai of the beggars." ( See te context in te
tanslation belo, Part Two, Art. XI . ) In his real person, the
lmim is in Hurqalyi, while remaining visible ( matrially ) on
tis Earth. In te same way, our commentaries on te fadith
( traditions ) as often as not become irrelevant i we apply to
tem our criteria of historical criticism. The "spiritual fact"
whose teme is to be found in te fadith attest to it auten
tcit.
52. See the ver fne text of Shaikh MW. Karim Khan Kiranl,
second successor to Shaikh Abmad Absa1, translated below,
Part Two, Art. x, 2.
53. We should meditate upon the following: the concise sentence
in Peter's Seron on Transfguration: Taem eum vidi qualem
capere potui ( Acta of Peter, XX) ; te conversation of the
Angel Christ with John during the passion of Jesus; the latter's
steps left no footmarks on the soil ( Acta of John) See our
study "Divine Epiphany and Spiritual Rebirt in Ismailian
Gnosis," 1 : Metmorphoses des visions thophaniques.
54. See Kittb aharf al-ziytra, II, 369. This very important passage
is completely translated below, Part Two, Art. IX, 1 .
5 5 . See principally the following works of Shaikh Abmad: Jawtmi,
I, 136, 153; Riatla khtqaniya ( ibid. , I, 122 ) ; Sharf al-ziytra,
II, 369; his commentary on the likma a- arahiya of adri
Shlril, pp. 179 f. Te translation of these text will be found
below in Part Two, Art. IX. Tis is one of the points on which
te Shaikhls and the "orthoox" have come up against each
oter; actually, the latter do not possess the capacity, nor have
tey ever made the efort, to understand the ters of the prob
lem. A friend has caled to my attention tat tere is a striking
consonance between te idea of the "ourfold body" and the
doctrine of Rudolf Steiner. As a matter of fact, a rapid com
parison of a few texts should sufce to draw one's attention to
it, despite certain "functional" diferences. It would be worth
while coming back to it.
56. Se Proclus, The Elements of Theololy, ed. and tr. E. R.
298
Notes/pages 89-97
Dodds, prop. 205 and commentary, p. S04. Cf. the important
work of J. J. Poortman, Okhema, Geschiedenis en zin van het
hylisch pluralisme.
57. Corpus hermeticum, XIII , S.
58. See Dods, Elements of Theology, Appendix n, pp. SI S f.
( the Astral Body in Neoplatonism) .
59. Ibid. , pp. Sl 6-17; see that Heraclitus of Pontus, the Platonist,
already makes the soul an ouranion soma of luminous substance
( ibid. , p. S l 6, n. S, but why the need to interpret this idea as
a surival of so-called "primitive thought"? ) .
60. Ibid. , pp. S l9-20. Representatives of the frst tradition:
Eratosthenes, Ptolemy the Platonist, lamblicus, Heracles; rep
resentatives of the second: Plotinus, Porphyry.
61 . We can compare the passage of the Risila khiqiniya, I, 122,
i n which i t i s stated that the jism al ( inin (aqiqi ) i s
homologous with te jism al-kulli or ninth Sphere, with prop.
205 of Prolus ( Dods, p. 1 8 1 ) , in which it is said that each
individual soul is related to it individual "ehicle" ( okhema )
as the divine Soul ( below which it is ranked ontologically ) to
the divine body. By an analogy of relationships we can compare
this with the relationship of the okhemata, which are also re
lated to each other in the same way as the souls.
62. Dods, Elements of Theology, p. S21 .
6S. Thus, the only "deat," and a very momentary deat, which
can occur to the jism ali is the sleep during the interval between
the two "soundings" of the trumpet ( this sleep can be compared
to that of the Sven Sleepers in the cavern, Sura 1 8; see the
Risila Khiqinlya, loc. cit. ) . In this manner, the general escha
tology of the Qur'in ( implying that every being must of neces
sity die ) is safeguarded. As a philosopher, adri Shirai ( on
whom Shaikh Abmad comment with a sympathy not excluding
criticism) allows himself more liberty wit the eschatological
Qur'inic data. In the pasages translated below ( Part Two, Art.
I X) we shall see that te "frst sounding" is designated as a
"fulgurant blast" or a "blast which reabsorbs"; te second is
called the "blast which propels."
64. M. Maeterlinck, "L Vieux qui ne veut pa mourir" ( in Le
Cad ran stellaire ) .
65. See Dods, Elements of Theology, p. S20.
66. We should also tae note that the Neoplatonist tought of the
okhema symphyes as spherical ( in the shape of an egg, accord
ing to Olympiodorus ) , whence the opinion, accepted by Origen,
that man returns to life with a spherical body ( see Dodds,
299
Notes/Chapter I
Elements of Theology, p. SOS ) . This is a strange, even shock
ing, picture, if one were to take it in the literal , geometrical
meaning, since it goes against every imaginable for corre
sponding to the canon of perfect human stature. Here the
Shaikh's teaching can be our guide. Te jfad harqaly', te
body that is the paradigm of the human body, is presered in
it "tomb" ( that is, in the Earh of Hurqalyi) "in a spherical
shape" ( mustadr ) , but here te nomen agenti8 indicates "tat
which draws a perfect circle by closing itself on itelf"-tat is,
a complete whol, a system which is closed and sufcient to
itself. The symbolical reference t spherical shape does not
allude to geometrical fguration but to te perfection of the
structure, which is wholly presered and invisibly circum
scribed, to it imperishable form. The spherical shape means
that even if the perishable elementary body ( jfad A ) is muti
lated, scattered, te Earth of Hurqalyi preseres the archetypal
body in its perfection and in the integrity of its structure; see
the commentary on the likma al-'arshlya of Shirai, p. 179;
Sharb al-ziyira, II, S70 ( see the pasages translated below,
Part Two, Art. IX) .
67. Besides the works of Shaikh Abmad previously cited, we must
at least mention here some of the works on alchemy written
by his successors: Shaikh Mubammad Karim Khan Kiranl,
among others, has composed a trilogy: I ,Ii al-ajsid ( on the
rectifcation or purifcation of bodies ) ; I f/i/ al-ari ( on the
rectifcation of spirit) ; and I 1ld al-nufas ( on te rectifcation
of souls ) . We might also mention a basic theoretical exposition:
Mirit al-/ikma ( The Mirror of Wisdom) . Then there is an
other great treatise on the physical , psychic, and esoteric mean
ing of te color red ( Ri8ila-yi yiqatiya) , after te manner of
Goete, which is the basis of an Iranian theory on colors
( Farbenlehre ) . Until now all these works have existed only in
manucript for.
68. Commentary on te likma al-'arshiya, p. 179 ( below, Part
Two, Ar. IX, 5 ) .
69. See C. G. Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, pars. S9S f. ( in te
meto of the alchemical Work, "imaginations" are by no means
schema without substance, or "fantasies," but something like
a corus subtile ) ; idem, "Paracelsus a a Spiritual Phenome
non," pars. 1 7S f.; ( imaginatio-meditatio as te psychic factor
in achemy ) .
70. Commentary on the likma al-'arshlya, p. 165 ( see below, Part
Two, Art. IX, 4 ) .
300
Notes/pages 98-102
71 . Ibid. , p. 331 , in which it is demonstrated tat life, conscious
ness, will, which are in the spirit, also exist-but in lesser
degr in minerals, which likewise live, toil, and choose. If
the truth be told, what is cal led hyle ( materia ) is by no means
opaque and dense in itself; mixture is what creates denseness
and decay ( cf. the Madean idea of gumechishn) . Te celestial
Spheres themselves are also material , but of a very subtle mat
ter not perceptible to the senses. The Earth of the Paradise of
Adam ( which belongs to the celestial Eart of Hurqalya ) ,
which the sons of Adam today are no longer permitted to tread,
is not perceptible to the senses, but only to pure Imagination; so
it is with the creatures who populate it and who have an extent,
a sittu, without that excluding the perpetuity and the perennial
ity of their being.
72. Ibid. , pp. 165, 166, containing a commentary on the remark
of the First Imam of Shtism ( All ibn Alt-Talib) in which he
prolaims that "alchemy is the sister of prophecy"; like the rev
elation of the Prophet, it protect esotericism ( bi#n) wit an
exoteric envelope ( air ) , so that ordinary mortals can speak
of it and know it only from the exoteric point of view. "I call
Go to witness! It is nothing but solid Water, incompressible
Air, impenetrable Fire, fuid Earth."
73. Literally, it is it "nadir"; see Risila khiiniya in Jawimi,
I, 123-24 ( below, Part Two, Art. IX, 4 ) . Thus we come pre
cisely to the representation of the "Diamond Body," and here
again the expression issuing from the heart of Shlite Islam
concords unexpectedly with a concept of Vajrayana Buddhism.
74. Ibid. , p. 124.
75. Iikma al-arhfya, p. 332.
76. See Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, par. 426, n. 2; Avicenna
and the Visionary Recital, I, ch. IV, n. 26.
77. Commentary on the Iikma al-arshfya, p. 332.
78. Ibid. , p. 1 19.
79. See the important work i n Persian of Shaikh iajj Mulammad
Karim Khan Kiranl, lrshid al-awamm ( above, n. 6 ) , some
pages from which are translated below, Part Two, Art. x.
80. Ibid. , II, 277. Compare also the extract from Mulli adri
Shlrizl, Part Two, Art. VI , below ( Spissitudo spiritual is )
81. Ibid. Here one could insert an exhaustive comparative study of
spirituality. What we alluded to above as "docetism" ( nn. 42
f. ) would be seen in quite another light than in the framework
of historical theological polemics. Between Hurqalyi and
Snmbhogakiya homologies can be foreseen that it is impo11ible
301
Notes/Chapter II
t go into here. Perhaps even Avicennan cosmology, seen as a
phenomenology of angelic consciousness, would reveal to us this
world of "absolute afration," since each Archangel , each
celestial Soul , and each Heaven realizes, hypostasizes the con
sciousness of another Archangel. See our book Avicenna and
the Visionary Recital, pp. 46 f.
82. Swedenborg, De Coelo et ejus mirabilibua, 156.
83. Ibid. , 175.
84. Ibid. , 363 : from tis i t becomes clear i n what sense the alchem
ical Operation prefgures the condition of the Paradisiacs. It
makes manifest what was hidden, occult ( esoteric, bi#n ) un
der te :hir, which then becomes transparent. Now it is said:
te Angel has te vision, the real appartion of what he medi
tates; his esoteric part is spontaneously manifested in an ex
teral for. This is why the alchemical Operation, as a psychic
event, takes place in the Eart of Hurqalyi.
85. Irahid al-awimm, II, 66-67.
86. Commentary on the likma aJ-arahiya, pp. 187, 227. The
process leading to this equation between the archetype "I" as an
essential body and the Paradise which is its celestial Earth is
extremely complex. I would like to add further the following,
in order to emphasize the thematic articulation of a few pages,
te translation of which will be found in Part Two, Art. x,
below. "I not speaking in metaphors," says Shaikh Karim
Khan, "in announcing tat the celestial Eart of the believer is
his body itself." Man is composed of a dimension of Light and
a dimension of Darkness. The frst is constituted by te Heaven
of his being, which is fored of eight Heavens or celestial
Earts. Te second is constituted by te obscure Earth of his
being, comprising seven Earths. A "handful" of each of these
Heavens and tese Earths can enter into the foration of his
"essential body." The presence of the eight Heavens in man
applies only to the Perfect Man. As for ordinary men, some
have received a handful of one of the celestial Earths, te
oters two or three, and so on. At teir resurrection, their act
tus appear in diferent forms, but they correspond to the de
gree of the celestial Earth of which they have received a "hand
ful" ( see that with Proclus, the souls have been "sown" among
te stars ) . If this handful is from the frst Heaven, for exampl e,
the totality of their act will be epiphanized in form homologous
t te frst Heaven, and so forth. This is why, since the celestial
Eart of each man i s absolutely his own and since this celestial
Earth is his own act epiphanized in th form of pal aces,
302
Notes/pages 102-105
gardens, houris, and the like, one can truthfully say that the
Paradise, the celestial Earth of each man, is "in the Heaven of
his being" and is absolutely his own, for no one else has a share
in it. Thus we see the outline of the circle ( individuation ) ap
pear. Each action of Light comes from a Heaven of the soul's
dimension of Light; one can say, therefore, that "the clay of
each of the faithful has been taken from the Earth of his Para
dise." In their turn, these acts go back to this same Heaven
and are epiphanized there. His essential boy originates in the
Heaven of his being ( his celestial Earth ) , and by its action,
which "returs" to it own Heaven, produces its own celestial
Earth. Hence one can truthfully say that the celestial Earth of
the faithful gnostic in his own "essential original boy" ( 'ox7p
cpm' of Proclus ) ; see Irs had aJ.awdmm, II, 282-84.
87. See above, Ch. n. 47 in fne, and Jawdmi', I, 153. Actually,
the word was already known to Suhrawardl in the twelfth
century.
88. Text quoted by E. S. Drower, The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran,
p. 55 ( cf. above, Ch. 1 , nn. 105-106 ) ; see ibid. ( according to
Das Johannesbuch der Mandier, ed. M. Lidzbarski, p. 126 ) ,
the story of the maiden awakened from her sleep and warned
by "her sister in Mshunia Kushta."
89. E. S. Drower, "Hibil Ziwa and the Parthian Prince," pp. 1 52-
156.
90. "Hymn of the Soul," 76 f. ; see above, Ch. 1
, n. 62 i n fne, and
H. Leisegang, La Gnose, tr. J. Gouillard, p. 249.
91 . The Gospel According to Thoma, p. 45, log. 84. Cf. above,
Ch. 1 , n. 20.
92. These words were reported by Bernard Gavoty in Journa musi
cal franfais, December 25, 1952, p. 8, according to the per
sonal estimony of the composer's son, Dr. Franz Strauss, who
was at his father's bedside and took down these "golden
wors."
PART TWO
ARTI CLE I
SHIH
A
BUDDIN YAiYA SUHRA W ARDI
1 . Concerning all the Suhrawardl text given here, we refer once
and for all to the critical edition we ourselves made of the
following works : ( 1 ) Opera metaphysica et mystica, I; ( 2 )
Cuvres philosophiques e t mystiques de Sohrawardi ( Opera
metaphysica et mystica, II ) . Each volume is preceded by Prole
gamines ( I and II ) in French.
2. Tis is followed by a lengthy conversation about initiation into
"presential knowledge" as opposed to re-presentative knowledge
trough the interediary of a for or species. The frst is
presence of oneself to oneself, aurorante illumination, cognitio
matutina. Te dialogue is not without its humor. In it Aristotle
expresses himself as a Platonist and speaks highly of Pl ato,
ending with praise of the great ufl masters. " 'Among the
Islamic philosophers,' I asked him, 'is there one who approaches
Plato in rank?' 'No,' he answered, 'not by one-thousandth of a
degree.' Then I recapitulated the names of those I knew and
decided to take no further interest in them. My thought re
tured to Abu Y ald Basiml and to Abu Sahl Tustarl. It
seemed to me tat Aristotle was delighted with them. He told
me tat these were philosophers and Sages in the true meaning
of the words. They have not become bogged down in purely
descriptive knowledge, which is merely representation through
an interediary form. They have progressed as far as that
knowledge which is Presence, union, direct vision." It must not
be forgotten that when our authors were reading the Theology
said to be by Aristotle, they thought that they were reading
Aristotle, when they were actually reaing Plotinus. Therefore,
Suhrawardl will make a distinction between his case and that
of the Peripatetics of Islam; as for Mulli adri, whose judg
ment is that of a good Shl'ite accustomed to esotericism, if
Aristotle criticized the Platonic doctrines, then according to
him this was a purely exoteric attitude.
S. This is an important allusion : it is in Jibnri-thnt is, in the
world of HirqalyA-that the convrr1nti on tnkrs pl ace whi ch
!04
Notes/pages 1 18-122
initiates into the knowledge of self as an aurorante Presence,
cognitio matutina ( "he who knows himself, knows his Lord" ) ;
this means that such knowledge marks the entrance into that
celestial Earth which is the Earth of Visions and Earth of
Resurrection, the Earth of which the boy of resurrection is
made, as te fruition of everything which has been attained in
te course of tis earthly life by knowledge and way of being
( see the Shaikhl text, below, Art. IX ) .
4. Amad al-$ubi, spelled with fad, "column of dawn." In fact,
te word should be spelled with sln, "column of praise," one of
the basic images of Manichean eschatology. Actually, some
manuscript do give this spelling. On the one hand, tere are
two ver good reasons for the orthographic mutation: the
expression A mad al-$ubi ( with fad) ordinarily indicates te
"light of dawn," and it "burst
i
ng forth" supplied our Spirituals
with a theme of meditation very close to the one which is sug
gested by the Qur'anic verse 54: 1 , the "burting forth of te
mon" ( shaq al-qamar) . On the other hand, although the
asent of the "column \f praise" here coresponds perfectly to
te ecstasy of Heres, te expression "bursting forth" ( shaqq )
retained by the autor and his commentators makes it obligatory
to presere te image of the column of dawn. Besides, the
"column of praise" is a "column of light." In any case, our
authors were so aware of being in te presence of a Manichean
idea that Shahrazur, in commenting on the corresponding
pasage of the Oriental Theosophy ( our edition, p. 233 ) ,
seized te ocasion t explain the individual eschatology of
Manicheism wit all the more sympathy in that he interpret
it as being accomplished in the world of Hurqalya. On te
Manichean idea, see especially Henri-Charles Puech, report in
te Annuaire du Collge de France, 59t year, 1959, p. 269.
Prayer, as an "exhalation of light," is imagined as being a
"column of praise" made, accordingly, out of luminous ele
ment, "the channel trough which pass frst the souls, te frag
ments of the living Soul, the prayers, and the hyns which
accompany tem."
5. An allusion to the veres of te Qrin 6: 13 1 and 28: 59.
6. In n. 4, above, we called attention to the orthographic mutation
of the word fUbi. On the theme of the bursting fort of the
Mon ( Qur'ln 54: 1 ) , see above, Part One, Ch. n, n. 45.
7. Te contrast between the two commentators is striking. Ibn
Kammuna toils and hesitates; Shahrazurl is a disciple com
pletely sure of what he is interpreting.
8, St GeofgeB Vajda, "Les Notes d'Avicenne sur Ia 'Tologie
305
Notes/ Article I
d'Aristote,' " p. 35 1 . The reference i to the marginalia of Avi
cenna. These notes are all the more precious since tey throw
some light on his own project of "Oriental Philosophy," the
draft for which are now lost.
9. Hurakhsh, spiritual entity, the Angel of te Sun; see Part One,
Ch. n, n. 45. Concerning te various etymologies suggested,
see Muh. Mo'In, Burhin-i qi#, IV, 2390. Wit reference to
this Madean solar Archangel , we are reminded that certain
texts of Islamic gnosis interret the fourt heaven ( Heaven of
the Sun ) as the Heaven of Christ; in Jewish gnosis, it is inter
preted as the Heaven of te Archangel Michael.
10. Regarding this idea of "witness of contemplation" ( shihid) on
which we cannot expand in this book, see our book En Islam
iranien: III, 65 f.
1 1 . Concering this word, see our Prolegomene II to the Cuvres
de Sohrawardi ( bikma ilihiya=theo-sophia, the ?akim muta
allih and the theosis )
12. This pasage ha been repeated verbatim by Mlr Dimid; see
En Islam iranien, IV, 9-53.
I S. With regard to the sequence of te following themes: Angel of
te Sun, rising sun, Xvarnah, ecstasy of Hermes at dawn, au
roral light, and auroral robe, see n. 9, above, and Part One,
Ch. n, n. 45.
14. So attention i s called to the fact that here again a basic repre
sentation of Suhrawardl's Oriental Theosophy ( donning the
auroral robe as the introduction into te world of Hurqalyi )
is expressed in terms of the investiture of the X varnahthat
is, in terms of Mazdean tradition. In Part One of this book
( Ch. 1 ) we saw tat te idea of this Light of Glory predomi
nates in all expressions of Iranian thought. It serves also to sup
port homologations of the Zoroastrian Saoshyant wit the hid
den Imam.
1 5. That is, of Hurakhsh, the Angel-Prince of te Sun ( see n. 9,
above ) ; this allusion again underscores the solar character of
te royal Xvarah.
1 6. Hence te cae of Kay Khusraw, the ecstatc King ( who dis
appeared mysteriously from this world, "taken up" like Elij ah,
Enoch, Jesus ) typifying wit Zarathustra, in Suhrawardl's
view, the mystical charisma of ancient pre-Islamic Iran.
17. That is, intermediate between te greater Orient, world of pure
Intelligences, and the lesser Orient, or world of the Soul ( see
Part One, Ch. n, 2 ) ; its location is that of al-A'rif, or the
"Eart of sesame" created from what was left YC from the
306
Notes/pages 123-130
clay of Adam ( see below, Art. and I V ) . According to our
text, these events are psycho-spiritual facts; they do not come to
pass in the world perceptible and verifable by the senses; their
narration deals not with outer empirical data but with events
taking place in Hurqalyi, the mundus archetypus, where the
light of dawn rises, and which is entered only by him who has
put on the robe of this light ( cf. the robe donned by Zoroaster
in order to come into the presence of the Immortal Saints, and
that donned by the initiate in the account of Ibn 'Arabi, below,
Art. u ) .
18. The two commentators stress that it is not with the material
body. Here we might call to mind the photisms experienced by
Najmuddln Kubri; see our book "L'Homme de lumiere dans le
soufsme iranien. "
19. It is of the utmost importance to distinguish between the Ele
ments and the Heavens of the world of subtle bodies in order to
understand not only the foundations of imaginative perception
( itself operating on a twofold plane ) but, in addition, all that
the Shaikhl text suggest about the physiology of the "resur
rection body" ( see below, Art. IX) .
20. $aydi ( with two faS ) mu'allaqa: literally, citadels, fortresses;
the word is used metaphorically to designate bodies- in tis
case, boies which are "subtle" but all the more substantial in
that they do not depend upon a substratum, upon a matter for
eign to themselves, and for tat reason are said to be "in sus
pense." The ever-recurring example of t1e mirror, which bears
witness to the presence of the suprasensory world in our very
perceptions, would call for an excursus into a kind of esoteric
verifcation of the laws of optics ( this applies also to the her
meneutics of te spiritual senses ) .
2 1 . For the meaning and te being of these forms whose "matter"
is the soul itself, see the text of Mulli adri Shirai ( bel
o
w,
Art. VI ) ; this is also the way in which Shahrazurl interpreted
Manichean eschatology ( above, n. 4 ) . Referring to te distinc
tion of a double barakh ( coresponding elsewhere to pre
existence and to post mortem becoming) , see below, Art. u,
I n, and v.
22. This expression, which the lshraqlyan have borowed from
pre-Islamic Iranian chivalry ( sipah-bud today is the title of a
commander-in-chief ) ; in this case, the image is equivalent to
the hegemonikon of the Stoics.
2!. We are reminded that in the case of Suhrawardi this word
barakh technically refers to everything that is body and extent
307
Notes/ Article I
and, consequently, for an interval, a distance. In this sense,
the world of autonomous Images and subte bodies is also a
barakh, since it is provided wit extent. But it is also the
world through which resurrection comes to pass; in that case,
barakh means the interal between the exitus and the great
Resurrection. This is the sense in which our autors most fre
quently take it.
24. In support of tis we would at least like to mention two excep
tionally interesting documents: the Diarum spirituale of Ruzbi
hin ( n. 10, above ) and the personal testimony of Najmuddln
Kubri ( n. 1 8, above ) .
25. Tis brings to mind the symbolical color connected with each
heavenly body.
26. "Seven Very Fir Ones" ( sab shidid) is the Qur'inic term for
te Heavens of te seven planets ( 78 : 12 ) .
27. In n. 1 9, above, we have already called attention to te im
portance of the distinction between te Elements and the
Heavens of the mundus archetypus.
ARTICLE II
MUiYIDDIN IBN ARABI
1 . It need hardly be pointed out that, in describing Adam as the
"Ima of mankind," the word Imam has a full a signifcance
as in Shtite theology: the guide, the one who goes before, the
leader, the one whose example is followed by all tose who
come after-that is, the archetype. Suhrawardl, in his Book of
Orental Theosophy ( 1 73 in our edition ) , also mentions te
special nature of the palm tree; his commentator takes the
opportunity to quote a saying of the Prophet which we fnd
echoed here: "Honor your aunt the palm tree, for she was
created out of the remainder of Adam's clay."
2. Abd al-Karm Jill, Kitib al-insin al-kimil, n, 28 ( see below,
Ar. IV) .
3 . Te passages translated here would call, in context, for a
complete study of the symbolism of. the palm tree; see J. J.
Herog, Real-encyklopiie fur protestantische Theologie und
Kirche, 3d edn. , VI, 505 ( Phoenix dactylifera ) , and XVIII,
388-90 ( Sinnbilder ) . C. G. Jung, i n his article "The Philo
sophical Tree," collected extremely interesting texts regardi ng
the symbolism of the tree in general . The palm tree as a symbol
of the celestial Earth of Light is the anti thesi1 of the mandrake
as the symbol of the dark, demoni c I:nrt h, nh nrntld out of
!OR
Notes/pages 133-136
Adam's clay. Hildegarde of Bi ngen writes: "Mandragora . . . de
terra ilia, de qua Adam creatus est, dilatata est e sed tamen
herba hac et propter similitudinem hominis, suggestio diaboli
huic plus quam aliis herebis adest et inidiatur" ( Physica, I, 56,
cited in Hugo Rahner, "Die seelenheilende Blume. Moly und
Mandragore in antiker und christlicher Symbolik," p. 224 ) .
4. Here the context calls for a comparative study of the Qur'inic
commentaries ( tafsir ) on Sura 1 9: 23 f., grouped by families.
( 1 ) Sunnite tafsir: Fakhruddln Razl, Mafdtl/ al-ghayb, V,
784: the palm tree which had not been fertilized i s an exemplif
cation of Maryam. ( 2 ) ff tafslr: Tafsir attributed to Ibn
'Arabi: the palm tree is "the palm tree of your soul springing
up toward the Heaven of the Spirit through your union with the
Holy Spirit" ( II, 4 ) . The same idea of Maryam exemplifying
the mystic in the tafsir of Ruzbihin of Shlriz, 'Ara'is al-bayan,
II, 8. ( 3 ) Shl'ite tafsir: for the lsmi'llls, the whole of the Sura
is interpreted in ters of their esoteric prophetology. Te palm
tree typifes gnosis as spiritual food ( Mizj al-tanim, ed. R.
Strothmann, p. 1 89 ) . For the Twelve Shl'ites: Tabarsi,
Majma' al-bayin, II, ad loc. : Maryam's palm tree is connected
with the heavenly palm tree referred to in lmim Jafar's lalth
quoted in n. 5, below. Tafsir a/-fdfi, Mubsan Fay:, p. 299:
Maryam leaves her family and withdraws to te Eat ( 1 9: 1 6 ) ,
that is, toward the Earth of the Imams. See also Mub. Biqir
Majlisl, Bibdr al-anwar, V, 3 19 f. ( Safina, II, 582 ) . We
would very quickly rediscover the sources of the teme of
Fiima as supracelestial Earth ( above, Ch. 1 ) and the
typological correspondences between Maryam, mother of Jesus,
and Fiima, mother of the Holy lmims. Let this note sufce to
suggest to the reader, by one small example, the amplitude of
research to be done in Islamic theology.
5. The tradition of the palm tree created out of Adam's clay is
recorded in the great encyclopedia of Shrite traditions by
Majl isl, Bibar al-anwdr, XIV, 840 ( Safna, II, 581 ) ; it fgures
as a lengthy answer given by the sixth lmim, Jafar idiq, to
someone who asked him about the origin of the palm tree. The
answer includes further details illustrating the signifcance of
the palm tree as a symbol of the celestial Earth. When God
banished Adam from Paradise he ordered him to take the palm
tree ( down ) with him. Adam planted i t in Mecca. All the palm
trees "directly descended" from it belong to the species 'ajwa
( the unusually exquisite and substantial Medina dates ) . All
other palm trees, in the Eastern and Western parts of the
J<:nrth, came from the pits of these dates.
309
Notes/ Article Ill
6. Te Throne ( 'arsh ) and the Finament ( kursi ) concerning
these classical tens in hierocosmology, see again the teaching
of te Imam Jafar, Bilir, XIV, 98: the kursi is the outer
treshold of the Invisible; the 'arsh is its inner threshold. In the
celestial physics of the philosophers, te 'arsh is te Sphere of
Spheres, or ninth Sphere; the kursi is the eighth Heaven, or
Heaven of the constellations.
7. Dhul-Non Mirl again uses tis image, word for word, in the
account of him given by Ibn 'Arabi ( p. 128, lines 1 5-1 6 ) , to
compare the dimension of the heavens according to our astron
omy wit the extent of the "Earth of white camphor," which is
one of the earths of the celestial Earth: "If our heavens were
t be placed in it, they would be in regard t it as a ring lost
in a deser."
8. This whole text from Ibn 'Arabi is reproduced and developed
in Majlisl's Shl'ite encyclopedia, XIV, 87.
9. Concerning 'Abd Allah ibn Abbas, see Mimaqinl, Tanqil
al-maqil, no. 6921 . For the fourteen dwelling places, see te
passage translated below, A. x, 1 .
10. Cf. the pasage from Mubsin Fa>" translated below, Art. , vm.
1 1 . See our Creative Imagintion in the $afsm of Ibn 'Arabi, p.
350, n. 10 ( hereafter cited as $a/sm of Ibn 'Arabi ) .
12. For the date of te death of Awbadl Kininl, see M. A. Tab
rlzl, Raylinat al-adab, I, 123, n. 291 .
13. Cf. lines 1 2, 108-109 of the last scene i n Goethe's Faust:
Part 11 here used as an epigraph: Da Unbeschreibliche, Hier
ist's getanwhat is undescribable here takes place in fact.
14. See the last allusion in ch. 1 1 1 ( Noah) of the Fu,O al-likam
( ed. A. E. Aff, I, 7 4; II, 43 ) . Ibn Arabi states that he has
written about the Heaven of Tal in his book on the Tanazulit
maw,iliya ( unedited MS; Tal is te name of te Angel gover
ing the fourt heaven, the Heaven of te Sun; see also Art.
I V, below) .
ARTICLE III
DA'OD QAYARI
1 . On the situation of this mundus archetypus in the hierarchy of
the levels of being, or Iaqarit, see our $afsm of Ibn 'Arabi,
pp. 225 f., 360 f.
2. In te following passages this will also be expressed in other
allusive forms: as a world contained in te horizon of the Soul
of the world, or "topographically" as a world beginning at "the
3 1 0
Notes/pages 137-152
convex surface of the Sphere of Spheres," the treshold of
which is the celestial pole, the rock of emerald. Among the
philosophers, the subtle and original matter of the supreme
Heaven emanates from the frst Intelligence through the act of
contemplation of it virtual negativity; the matter of the Heaven
of each Intelligence marks the "distance" between itself and
the Soul issued from it.
3. Concering this distinction, see our $a/sm of Ibn 'Arabi, pp.
21 9, 358-59. In short ( see below, Art. vn and vm) : the
separated imaginative world ( munf(il ) is the absolute mundua
archetypua, the world of autonomous Images, subsisting in
themselves. It is the Malakat, the world of the Soul existing
apart from the human faculties which have their seat in the
brain. Ten again, the world of the Images of our active imag
ination is a world of Images that are imminent to this imagina
tion and "captive" in it. Nevertheles, it is an imaginative world
which is adjacent ( mutt(il ) to Malakat, in continuity with it;
hence the noetic value of Images and imaginative perception as
a "window" or "lattice" ( see our text ) through which the light
of the Malakat penetrates into us.
4. An allusion to the vision of te Prophet mentioned in Sura 53
( Te Star ) , v. 14.
5. See above, n. 3: the fors present or "captive" in our imag
ination exemplify the forms of the world of the absolute
Imagination, not engaged in a substratum of "material matter,"
they appear to the souls of the Malakat. Di'Od Qayart also
says ( p. 28 ) : ''he visible world is the epiphany ( mhar )
of the world of the Malakat, that is, of the absolute archetypal
world."
6. See the context of the "prayer of the heliotrope" of Proclus in
our $a/sm of Ibn 'Arbi, pp. 105-1 1.
7. Se above, nn. 3, 5.
8. Cf. te text of Mulli adri Shlril, translated below, Art. N -
9. See the Cairo edition, III, 78. Shamsuddln Lihljl will lay great
stress on this distinction, which is based on the cycle of the
fors of being.
ARTI CLE IV
'ABD AL-KARIM JILl
1 . For the context of this sentence of the Prophet, see our $afm
of Ibn 'Arabi, pp. 239-41 .
3 1 1
2. That is, al-Kathib; to this place in the other world, see our
Introduction to Part Two above, in fne.
3. To designate this state of compresence, we must say consens
( from consum, praesens comes from praesum) ; see our
$afsm of Ibn 'Arabi, p. 374, n. 27. The idea referred to is
that of a call, a reciprocal exigency like that of the lord ( rabb )
and the one of whom he is lord ( marbab ) , without which he
would not be this lord; a reciprocal co-naturalization of "that
which is shown" and "the one to whom it is shown," of the
Giver of gifts and the one to whom and for whom they are
given. To be a Watcher is to be "in the present" of this com
presence, not to be present with something or someone other.
4. The Watcher, Awakened, is the Muntabih, the Yaq?cn
*
pre
cisely the word that appears in te name of the hero of one
of the mystical novels of Avicenna, layy Ibn Yaq?an, and
which is the literal equivalent of the Greek Egregoros. See our
book Avicenna and the Visionary Recital. The concept of
Egregoros has been "reactivated" in our day by Etienne Souriau
in his book L'Ombre de Dieu.
5. See the Introduction, above.
6. Ibid.
1. In this teme of te Stranger we rediscover a characteristic
Gnostic theme, the fundamental note of the "Recital of the Occi
dental Exile" of Suhrawardl ( in Corbin, ed. , Cuvres philo
sophiques ) , B well as of the "Song of the Pearl" of the Acts
of Thomas. For other statement by Jilt clarifying his concept
of Spirit, cf. the books cited in our $afsm of Ibn Arabi, pp.
249 and 369 f. , nn. 59, 60.
8. On te country of Ya, see above, Art. n, n. 14.
9. That is, imprisoned in the world of the Element, of sensory
space, which must be left behind t reach the nonsensory exten
sion of the world of ra-an attainment assuming, as in all
similar passages of our autors, that one can leave space with
out leaving extension.
10. On the "men of mystery," the Invisible Ones, forming the fnal
theme of the present chapter, see below, n. 28.
1 1 . On the sesame "left over from the clay of Adam," see above,
Art. I I , the text by Ibn Arabt.
12. Tis phrase seems to have been inserted by the author himself
in the thread of the recital, which continues immediately after
wards in the frst person. Note the reciprocity, especially empha
sized, between the two ideas: Earth of Imagination and Earth
of sesame.
3 1 2
Notes/pages 152-157
13. See above, Art. 1 1 , the text by Ibn 'Arabi.
14. Here a new occurrence is slipped in by te author, which we
prefer t report in a note for better clarity: "hat is what we
are interpreting in the present book; to that we are opening
this dor."
15. Here there is a poem of ffteen couplets, continuing the theme
already developed by Ibn 'Arabi : the Earth of sesame, of which
the palm tree is the symbol , is the sister of Adam-that is,
of man-r rather, the daughter of his mystery ( see above,
preface t Art. 1 1 ) .
16. On the himma, the enthymesis, creative power of the hear, see
our $a/sm of Ibn Arabi, p. 222 f.
17. On the prophet Khr ( Khadir ) , see ibid. , pp. 53 f., and above,
Introuction: his sovereignty over the "Earth of souls" ( the
"hyperborean paradise" ) , which is the very same tat re
ferred to here.
1 8. In order t understand here the mysterious and paradoxical
statement of Khir about himself, it is appropriate to recall
that a fraction of Twelver Shl'ite ufsm identifed him with
the hidden lmim ( the twelfth lmim) . Cerain of tese state
ments recall and even reprouce some of those that fgure in
certain sermons attributed to the frst lmim: the full moon,
te decisive word, the pole to which the entire hierarchy of the
Invisible Ones is attached. These among other things reveal
the afnites of Shl'ite lmimology with Gnostic Christology.
The coincidentia oppositorum ( Deus absconditus : Deus reve
latus; lihat : ndat; esoteric : exoteric ) is resolved in te person
of the lmi
i
who is not an Incarnation ( hypostatic union ) but
a teophany ( see the Shaikhl text cited below: the teophanic
peron of the lmim is perceived "in Hurqalyi," not in the
empirical data of ordinary evidence ) .
19. The raqiqa is the subtle interediary ( the tenuous thread )
that joins two things, like the unfolding of the link that binds
Go t man; see Sprenger, Dictionary, 582, cited in H. S.
Nyberg, Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-'Arabi, p. 72, n. 2 ( cf.
abve, the text of Art. 1 1 in fne ) .
20. Lhat and ndat : divinit and humanity, classic terms of Shl'ite
lmiology ( see above, n. 1 8 ) .
2 1 . On the mountain of Qi, see above, Part One, Ch. 1 1 , 2.
22. On al-Araf, see the preface t te present article and 1,
above. Here the secret of al-A'raf i s revealed as the dwelling
place of Khezr and therefore as te interworld ( barkh )
connecting the divine ( lihat ) and the human ( naat ) ,
31 3
Notes/ Article IV
23. Here we have a whole series of references alluding to Sura 1 8
( The Cave-that is, the Sura of the Seven Sleepers ) : 1 8 : 59-
60 ( the confuence of the two sea) ; 1 8: 64 ( Khir is in this ) .
Te symbols are linked here like a progression of chords; if
one says al-A'rif or Hurqalya, it is the confuence of the two
seas-that is, of lihft and ndut; that is why Khir is found
with the rijal al-ghayb, the "men of the Invisible Ones," the
"men of al-A raf ( the Imams and their people ) ; tat is why
from one shore he plunges into the river Where ( the ndsft, the
dimensions of sensory space ) , and from the oter he quenches
his thirst at the source ( the lihut ) , the most frequent theme in
the iconography of Khir.
24. See Sura 1 8: 60 ( and the "Recital of the Occidental Exile" of
Suhrawardl ( in Corbin, ed. , (uvres philosophiques ) ; te sym
bol of the fsh typifes the pilgrims who have found teir way
to the l ake that the mystical Sinai overhangs ) .
25. See the entire episode of Sura 1 8, in which Khir appears as
the one who initiates Moses and who therefore is invested with
a charisma superior to that of te prophet ( an idea held espe
cially in certain Imamite ufl circles ) .
26. An allusion to the secrets of the ''philosophical alphabet"; on
this point Sht'ite Imamology has even afected a literal trans
position of a well-known episode in te Childhood Gospels, the
young Imam Mu}. Baqir ( the Fifth Imam) being substituted
for Jesus. See our study "De Ia Gnose antique a Ia gnose is
maelienne," p. 1 21 .
27. On this idea, see above, n. 1 9, and cf. our $ufsm of Ibn Arabi,
pp. 195 f. : "the God created in the faiths."
28. This is one of the most imporant themes of the esoteric
theosophy of ufsm. What Jtlt says here about it is so much
more difcult to deterine and to translate because it tends
simultaneously toward a phenomenology of the presence of these
Invisible Ones for the adept ( their apparitional fors ) and to
a description of teir way of being in temselves, all in sym
bolic allusions valid on one plane and another. As a short indi
cation of the hierarchy of tese initiates ( awliyi' ) , let us simply
recall this ladith: ''God has on Earth three hundred eyes or
persons whose heart is confored to the heart of Adam ( the
300 nuqabi' ) ; forty whose heart is confored to the heart of
Moses ( the 40 nujabi' ) ; seven whose heart is confored to the
heart of Abraham ( the 7 abdil ) ; fve whose heart is confored
to the heart of Gabriel ; three whose heart is conformed to the
heart of MichCl ; one whose heart is conformed to the heart
of Chnmurl I t hr tmlr; i n Shl' i te term1, the hlddrn I mAm) . " For
3 1 4
Notes/pages 157-162
the context, see En Islam iranien, III, and IV, 26 1 . But there
are many variations; instead of the group of fve, the group of
four awtd ( below, n. 32 ) , and the six categories of Jill do not
necessarily have to be put in exact correspondence with those
enumerated above.
29. On the relationship between nubawa and waliya, the cycle of
prophecy and the cycle of Initiation, see En Islam iranien, I,
220, 239.
30. Allusion to Qur'inic verse 7: 52.
3 1 . Literally, the "vases," receptacles ( al-awinf ) . Te great mystic
laklm Tiridhi, in his lthbit a/-'i/al, recalls a (adlth where
it is said: "There are for Go certain vaes on earth, yes! hearts
[of the spirituals]. " ( Brought to our attention by M. Osman
Yaya. )
32. The Awtid al-arf. If the expression of Jill is to be taken here
in a strict sense, it refers t the four awtid arrang' around
the pole. Just as the hierarchy described above ( n. 28 ) cor
responds to an astronomical symbolism, so the idea of the four
awtid ( "pillars" ) presumes the homologation of the spiritual
cosmos to a vision of Heaven as a tent resting on four "posts,"
the pole at the center representing the support of the whole.
In any case, what i s said here about the situation of the four
awtid corresponds well to what Khr. their pole, previously
gave about himself. See our book, L'Homme de lumiere dan le
soufsme iranien, ch. III, 2, 3.
ARTI CLE V
SHAMSUDDIN MUIAMMAD L
A
HIJI
1 . Tus it was in Jibai that Suhrawardl says he had his con
versation with the apparition of the Magister primus, Aristotle.
See above, Art. 1 , b.
2. Here the author has in view the pages of Di'Od Qay1arl cited
above, Art. 1 1 1 , n. 9.
3. Allusion to the Qur'inic verse 1 8: 59. As we have seen pre
viously ( above, Art. I V, n. 23 ) , this "confuence of the two
seas" is where Khi,r is to be found, the sovereign of the land
of Ta(, of the "Earth of the Souls," of the Watchers of ai-Araf,
in the place between: btween /ihat and niut.
4. An allusion to Qur'inic verses 7: 136 and 70: 40.
5. Regarding this distinction between the plane of the deity and
the plane of the Names or divine personalizations which for
rnt h creature are respectively the divine Lord or "suzerain"
3 1 5
Notes/ Article VII
( rabb ) of this creature, to whom the divinity manifest himself
in te for of tis Name, see $1fsm of Ibn Arabi, pp. 1 21 f.
6. Thus we see how the traditional meaning of Jabalqa and
Jabari bears frit for Lahljl in a very personal experience,
which shaped an idea of the Orient which ultimately i that of
Suhrawardl. Each universe, each individual , has its Jabalqa
and its Jaba11i, it Orient and its Occident, it dimension of
light and its dimension of darkness. To pass through tis, ac
cording to the expression of the poet quoted in the above text,
is to become "oneself an orient of lights."
ARTI CLE VII
ABD AL-RAZZ
A
Q L
A
HIJI
1 . Regarding this designation, see the Introduction to Part Two
of this volume and the text of Suhrawardl translated above,
Art. 1. In his lexicon, Jurjanl gives "Platonist" as an equivalent
of the term lshrtqiytn.
2. See above, Art. 1, n. 16.
3. It must not be forgotten, however, that Suhrawardl, as well as
Mulla adra, puts the responsibility for tis opposition not so
much on Aristotle ( presumed autor of te celebrated Theol
ogy, with whom Suhrawardl conversed "in Jaba11i" ) as on the
Peripatetics themselves.
4. That is, the prologue of the Book of Oriental Theosophy ( lik
mat al-ishrtq; see above, Art. 1 ) .
5. Concerning the ufs, see the passages translated in Arts. 1 1-v
and the reference to All Hamadanl in Part One, Ch. 1 1 , n. 21 .
6. Regarding this distinction, see above, Art. m, n. 3.
7. However, Suhrawardl states explicitly that the archetypal Image
exists only for a complete being; for instance, tere is not one
image for musk and another for the perfume of musk.
8. See the theme of "condescendence" in our $1fsm of Ibn Arabi,
pp. 156 f.
9. See the passages referred to in Art. m, n. 3, above.
10. Te meaning of te word barzakh ( which in Greek has produced
the for 7apa.ay< ) , interval , something between, interorld,
has been made sufciently plain in all the passages which have
been translated in this book, so that there is no need to stress
it again.
1 1 . It has already been pointed out that our authors couple the
theory of visionary apperceptions ( including the perception of
! 1 6
Notes/pages 153-1 78
the spiritual meaning of revelations ) with the teory of mirrors
and an esoteric interpretation of laws of optics ( De perpec
tiva) .
12. Refer here especially to the excerpt from Mulla adra trans
lated above, Art. VI .
13. The /shrdqiyan have always been careful to uphold tis distinc
tion, which has motivated more than one controversy. The
problem is complicated by the fact that the same word ( mithil,
plural muthul ) is always used. Te Platonic Ideas interpreted
in angelological ters cannot, of course, be either universals or
simply ideas in the divine mind. On the other hand, the Form
or Image of Light-for example, Perfect Nature or celestial
Alter Ego-is perfectly individualized; it is neither logical
universal nor concrete sensory. In any case, it is through the
"regional ontology" of the mundus archetypus that the Platonism
of te lshriqiyan became an essential organ of their Islamic
eschatology.
14. The frst ( ilm (u,au) presupposes a species, the creation of a
for which represents the object for the knowing subject. Te
second ( iJm (u{ar) is a direct intuitive knowledge, the type
of knowledge that the subject has of himself; see above, Art.
1 , b, and the notes thereto.
ARTI CLE VIII
MUlSIN FAY K
A
SH
A
NI
I . The chapter is entitled "In which the existence of the mundus
archetypus or interworld ( barakh ) is made clear, and it
qualitative and quantitative aspect."
2. These lines are in literal agreement with a passage in the text
of Da'ud Qayarl translated above, Art. I I I .
3. Regarding this distinction, see above, Art. I I I , n. 3, and the text
of Litjt, Art. VI I .
4. The Samaritan, i n fact, saw the Angel whom the others did not
see ( as the Prophet saw the Angel , whereas the Companions
saw only the young Da}ya al-Kalbt ) . That is why te Samari
tan, knowing tat the Earth over which the Angel had passed
could give life to inanimate things, gathered a handful of tat
earth and threw it into the molten metal of the golden calf.
5. Concering this theme, see above, Art. VI ( Mulla adra ) , and
cf. the text translated below, Art. I X, 1 .
6. For this theory of the mirrors, see above, Art. VI I , n. 1 1 .
31 7
Notes/ Article VIII
7. See above, Art. VI I , n. 8. That is why, if a philosophy denies
the world of Hurqalyi, it can no longer perceive te event of
spiritual history on their own plane of reality. Rational con
sciousness is faced with tis dilemma: either te abstract truts
of reason, or the empirical fact of history ( wheter from the
viewpoint of contingency or deterinism) . And all te rest is
degraded to te level of myt or allegory.
8. See Part One, Ch. I I , 3: te Mi'rdj of the Prophet has become
te archetype of mystical experience for all is. Here again,
lacking Hurqalyi as the Earth of Visions and the idea of the
"spiritual body" it postulates, one is once more faced with this
dilemma: either to see the Mi'raj as a philosophical allegory,
or to understand it in a literalist, ordinary, and absurd manner
a an assumption in corore.
9. Tis means tat one does not in fact pay tis visit "in the
cemetery" but, consciously or not, "in Hurqalyi" ( see te
words of Maeterlinck quoted above, p. 96, and te passage
translated below, Art. IX, 2 ) . Hence te signifcance of te
ziyarat ( ziyira ) , "religious visitation, pilgrimage," especially in
Shrism. Certainly, it is goo to make a physical pilgrimage to
the sanctuaries which shelter the tombs of the Holy Imams.
But, in fact, this spatial movement is a rite intended to sustain
the mental pilgrimage into the invisible, "into Hurqalyi." Tat
is why te ziyirat ( for which so many prayers have been com
posed in Shrism ) are practiced privately, and frequently where
one happens to be, in the privacy of one's own oratory. ( See
below, Art. IX, te passages concering the "body of spiritual
fesh," which is presered intact "in Hurqalyi." )
10. Shaikh aduq ( Ibn Bibiyah ) of Qumm ( 140 km. southwest of
Teheran ) , one of te most eminent Shrite teologians of the
tent century ( d. 38 1/99 1 ) , autor of 1 89 works, of which
only a few have reached us.
1 1 . It is known tat Qur'inic Christology is deterinedly docetist
( 3 : 48, 4: 1 56 ) . So, altough the text of Mu\sin FaP here
says ba'd mawtihi, one should read ba'd rafihi, in keeping with
all the Shrite traditions on this point ( Safn, II, 192; Muh.
Baqir Majlisl, Biir al-Anwar, V, 348-52 ) , as wit Mu\sin's
own commentary on te Qur'in ( Kitab Tafsir a-$af, pp. 89 f. )
and the others ( see Mulli Fat Allah ad 111 : 48 ) . Jesus was
"carried away" to Heaven like Khir-Elijah, ldrs-Enoch, and
kept apar until the Resurrection. It is precisely thanks to the
world of Hurqalyi that the Christology of this Islamic prophet
ology is docetist, yet without turning the person or Christ, to
31 8
Notes/pages 1 78-180
speak, into a phantasm. Later on, the reader will see ( Art. XI )
the deep meaning which the idea of the hidden Imam acquires:
it is men who have made themselves incapable of seeing him
and have hidden him from themselves. In the same way his
enemies, in denying Jesus his prophetic message, have obscured
him from themselves: he whom tey believed they had put to
death was no longer there ( 4: 156 ) , and he is never there
when one interpret event by historical materialism, under the
guise of theology, instead of grasping the spiritual history "in
Horqalya."
12. Imamites-that is, Twelver Sht'ites or adepts of the twelve
Imams. In Shl'ite eschatology, the teme of the "retur" is that
of the "Companions of the Imam," who put an end to historical
time; previously ( Part One, Ch. n, 1 ) we called attntion t
the corespondence with the Zoroatrian motif of the "Compan
ions of the Saoshyant."
ARTICLE IX
SHAKH AiMA T AiS
A
'I
1 . This great work on 460 pages in folio is witout doubt the
most important of Shaikh Abmad Absa''s writings; d. te
Fihrt or bibliography of Shaikhite works by Shaikh Sarkar
Agha, pp. 1 5-16 ( hereafter: Fihrt ) . Te general ziyar ( see
above, Art. vm, n. 9 ) addressing the Fourteen Very-Pure
commemorates al the quaifcations of the Imams; te commen
tary thus becomes a summary of Shl'ite teosophy. Te arange
ment of te text here translated will mae it possible to under
stand step by step the idea of the twofold jcad and the twofold
jiam; in what sense the jcad B is presered; how the four
boies are respectively constituted; the type of meditation which
substantiates the subtle boy and which is homologous to the
alchemical operation; and last, the function of the active Imag
ination in regard t tat operation. Te reader is refered to
Part One of the present book, Ch. n, 4. Shaikh Abmad, it
will be noted, maes his thought more explicit with each stage
of his expos6.
2. Regarding the complexity of te terinology, cf. Paul Kraus,
Studien zu Jabir ibn layyan, II, 1 9 f. ; Mub. Khin Kirminl,
Rista-yi Na.Jrlya, pp. 56 f. The distinction between jcad and
jism is correlative to the distinction between the "Heavens" and
the "Element" of HurqalyA.
31 9
Notes/ Article IX
3. Measure of weight equivalent to 2,564 grams.
4. Regarding the event heralding te dawn of the Resurrection,
that is, the new cosmic cycle, see the following texts.
5. Sometimes changed to Sorayel or Souriel.
6. Here Shaikh Almad clearly wishes to forestall the objection of
the orthodox literalist; but, as we have already pointed out,
the latter have never understood or really wished to understand
the problem as it was posed by the Shaikhls.
7. This description still refers to the pleroma of the Twelve; see
Part One, Ch. n, 1 .
8. Concerning the valley of Barhit, see Safna, I, 7 4.
9. Concering the meaning of the "two blasts of the Trumpet,"
see below, 4.
10. In other words, the relationship of the body of perishable fesh
( jaad A) with the body of spiritual fesh ( the subtle body,
jaa B ) is analogous to te relationship of the astral body
( jism A ) with the supracelestial archetypal body ( jism B ) .
The purifcation in readiness for the Resurrection consist in the
elimination of Elements A ( those of the physical world, jaad
A) and of the astral element ( those of Hirqalya, jism A) . Te
corus resurrectionis in its integrity is jism B plus jaa B.
This analogy explains the terinology of the holy Imams pre
viously pointed out by the author: the term ahbi/ ( subtle
body) used for aji ( tat is to say, jaad B ) and the word
"Spirit" substituted for the word "body" ( that is to say, jism
B ) .
1 1 . The 'ilam al-dha"; cf. the logoi spermatikoi. The Qur'anic an
nouncement that "every being must die" is carried out by the
frst blast of the Trumpet. But it is no more tan a cosmic
pause, a momentary reabsorption. Te spirit departs from its
astral body as it departed from its body of perishable fesh and,
at te second blast of the Trumpet, rediscovers its body of
spiritual fesh.
12. Regarding te series of symbols describing eschatology and
renewal, see again below, 4.
13. Tabarsi, the eminent Shl'ite theologian of the ffth/eleventh
centur; regarding te book ( IMijij ) in which the saying of
the Imam is recorded, see Shaikh
A
gha Buzurg, Dhan'a, I ,
281 , Art. 1 472.
14. 'All ibn Ibrihlm of Qumm ( fourth/tenth century ) , the author
of one of the most ancient Shl'ite commentaries on the Qur' in
( Mamaqanl, Tanqli, no. 8 1 02 ) .
1 5 . Regarding this treatise of Shaikh Almad, Cf Fihriat, p . 1 5 .
320
Notes/pagc.' 1 82-197
Te work referred to as Jawdmi' al-Kalim, 2 vols. i n folio, is
a large collection of wri tings by the Shaikh.
16. This is the traditional idea of Hurqalyi, already met with in
the present book. However, we should note in this case the
further detail that "between the times"-between "physical
time" and "eteral time"-is the time of the Soul or of the
Malak at ( what Simninl calls zamcn anfusi, endogenous time ) .
1 7. See abve, n. 10.
1 8. Regarding this notion of the eschatological episoe in Islam in
general , see A. J. Wensinck, The Muslim Creed, pp. 163 f.
19. Regarding this treatise i n which Shaikh Abrad answers four
questions concerning Hurqalya, see Fihrist, p. 34.
20. See above, Art. r , and Part One, Ch. 1 1 , 2 ( the qurta dimen
sio, above, Art. vr ) .
21 . Up to now we have been unable to confrm this reference. In
fact, we have already pointed out that everything our authors
say about Hurqalyi exactly corresponds in Mandean cosmology
t the world of the Doubles or celestial Images, Mshunia
Kuhta. But Suhrawardi, in the twelfth century, was already
familiar with the term, as we have seen.
22. Namely, the world of the "Elements" in the universe of
Hurqalyi. See also above, Art. v.
23. Te "tomb" which is not "in the cemetery" but in Hurqalyi;
see above, 2, and Art. vm, n. 9.
24. See the extracts from this commentary, below, 4, 5.
25. That is, the epistle addressed to Fatb-'All Shih Qijir, from
which an extract is translated below, 4.
26. This refers to the unending source of misunderstanding of the
Shaikhs ( above, n. 6 ) -i. e. , confusion between arithmetical
unity and ontological unity, inability or refusal to conceive the
idea of a caro spiritualis implicit in the idea of resurrection,
as in lmimology.
27. See the other texts translated here, 1 and 4.
28. See above, 1 , last part.
29. The spiritual boy, the reality of the caro spirtualis ( jaad 8,
compose of the Elements of the universe of Hurqalyi ) , i s hid
den in the dense, opaque, corruptible boy of fesh. It loses
noting of what it is when the latter disappears. Jaad B, the
boy of the Earth of Hurqalya, together with jism B, for the
supracelestial body, the corpus resurrectionis.
SO. Regarding tis symbol, see below, 4, 5.
Sl. Habd, 'ama; cf. our $afsm of Ibn 'Arabi, pp. 1 85 f.
32. Refers to the Riscla al-Khaqcniya ( cf. Fihrist, p. 3 1 ) , in which
321
Notes/ Article IX
Shaikh Abmad answers fve questions put by Fat-'AII Shah;
te text given here is taken from te answer to the frst ques
tion.
33. Refers to the paradise described herein under te various names
of the celestial Earth; our autors make a distinction between
this and the paradise of the Aeon to come, te "absolute Para
dise."
34. Five things to which the Spirit itself ( Rt? ) is added as a sixth;
cf. below.
35. This is Proclus' okhlma symphyes; cf. the previous passages
from Shaikh Abmad.
36. The number 70 is not a cipher representing a quantitative rela
tionship, but is a form or multiple of the numerous septenarius
( cf. Kraus, Studien zu Jabir ibn Iayyan, II, 221 ) . It is the
symbol of a qualitative diferentiation, expressed here as ten
cycles of seven ( ten octaves ) ; jasad B does not belong to the
"carbon cycle."
37. Still, that is to say, "in Hurqalya" until reunited wit jism B;
see above, n. 23.
38. It should not, however, be forgotten tat i t has been said and
will be said again that the Spirit depart with it jism A ( the
astral body of the Heavens of

Hurqalya ) , which it will aban
don "when te Trumpet sounds." But, a fortiori, it leaves wit
it jism B, the archetypal body from which it cannot be dis
sociated.
39. Regarding the qualitative sense of the number 70, see above, n.
36.
40. In pas
sing, let us note tat Shaikh Abmad always uses the
word rf, spirit, in te feminine. It can be of eiter gender in
Arabic. In Aramaic, the word is feminine ( "my moter the
Holy Spirit" in the Gospel of the Hebrews in the Gnostic Apoc
rypha ) , and this is not a mere grammatical coincidence.
41 . Wherea the frst blast of te Trumpet is te "flaming breath"
or Breat of Universal Reabsorption, the second, being te
Breat of Resurection, i a breath of propulsion, inaugurating
te reintegration of all things, te apokatatais which fgures
in many other cosmogonies; in lsmailian gnosis, the great
Ressurrection inaugurates te "Cycle of Epiphany" ( dawr al
kahf ) .
42. Cf. wit what has been said above about the archetypal Image,
Part One, Ch. 1 , 4; Ch. 1 1 , 4 in fne.
43. Thus a comparison could be made, both of the "si x Treasuries"
and also of the rejunction of the elemental part with the Ele-
322
Notes/pages 197-205
ment from which they sprang, with the anthropology of the
Mazdean Book of Genesis, the Bundahi.hn.
44. A rather long passage has here been omitted concerning the
process by which the vital soul comes t be adjoined to the
embryonic organism.
45. An allusion to the Qur'an, 56: 87-88.
46. Here then we have furter information concering the physiol
ogy of the resurrecton boy: the esoteric or suprasensory part
of the vegetable soul , coming from the Element of Hurqalya,
is the jaad B, the caro spiritualis; the esoteric part of the vital or
animal soul, emanated from the Souls which move the Heavens
of Hurqalyi, is te ji.m A, the astral boy which goes with the
Spirit at the moment of the exitw, but which is separated from
it at te Resurection, when the Spirit dons its "spiritual fesh,"
it jMad B.
47. The interval of te cosmic pause i s ciphered as 400 years. Here
again, as in te cae of the number 70 ( above, n. 36 ) , this has
nothing to do with quantitative time, but is a "fgure" symbol
izing the endogenous time of te total maturation of the
resurrection: the tetrad multiplied by a hundred ( cf. the sym
bolic value of the "figure" forty, above, Part One, Ch. 1 , n. 120 ) .
For this symbol, cf. also C. G. Jung's Alchemical Studies, In
dex, s.v. quaternity; see also below, 5.
48. Cf. the remark above, n. 40.
49. The defnition of the alchemical operation is exactly that of
spiritual hermeneutics: to hide the apparent and manifest what
is hidden. Hence, it i not exactly a chapter in te "pre-history
of science."
50. It would be important t compare these data, translated here
for the frst time, with the homologation& studied by Jung in
Psychology and Alchemy and Myaterium Coniunctionis, and by
Mircea Eliade, The Forge and the Crucible.
5 1 . Concerning this important work of Shaikh Abmad, see Fihrist,
p. 32. A few pages from Mulli adri's own work are included
in the present bok ( above, Art. VI ) .
52. Mir' at al-ukama' : speculum philosophorum, the word "philos
opher" being understoo in the sense in which Olympiodorus
and Stephen of Alexandria take it. The terms operatio secreta
artia, traditional in Latin alchemy, are the exact equivalent of
the Arabic 'amal a-Jint'a al-maktam.
53. See our $a/sm of Ibn 'Arabi, pp. 108 f.
54. Ibn Shahr-
A
shUb was a famous Iranian Shrite theologian who
lived in the Mazandarin ( southern shore of te Caspian Sea ) ;
323
Notes/ Article IX
he died in 588/1 192. The extract from te homily atributed
here to the frst Imam seres only to illustrate the original con
nection between the alchemical idea and Shrite esotericism
( the Imam and te Stone ) : the similarity between te prophetic
message and the alchemical Work emphasizes it furter. It is
known that Jabir ibn layyan proclaimed himself to be a disciple
of Jafar adiq, te Sixth Ima ( see te work of Paul Kraus
cited above, n. 2 ) .
55. Coincidentia oppositorum, possibly referring also to anterior
states of matter, t cycles of cosmic alchemy ( homologous to
te cycles of prophecy ) , of which te postumous development
of the four bodies constituting man would itelf be only one
phase.
56. In te traditional manner, Shaikh A\mad quotes lemmata at
some length from the writings of Mull i adri and insert his
own commentary, which is why our translation of this and the
following passages appears to be a dialogue.
57. Shaikh A\mad's reservation is interesting. It undercores te
fact we have already pointed out that the view of Shaikhite
philosophy difered equally from that of the philosophers and
from that of the theologians of literaist orthodoxy in relating
the fact of resurrection t the spiritual body.
58. The two terms have appeared here so frequently tat tere is
no need to go into them again. However, let us just note that
in our day terms such as noosphere and psychosphere have been
invented and excite all the more admiration on the part of
those who adopt tem in that they have no idea that the tradi
tional teosophers of old already had something of te sort in
mind!
59. Cf. the passage from Mu\sin Fay translated above, Art. vm.
60. The classical precept of alchemy: solve et coagula.
61 . Ma'dan fayawtni rf/tni lapis vivus spiritualis. Cf. C. G.
Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, par. 426.
62. Allusion to the Avicennian theory of the procession of the In
telligences producing, by their act of contemplation, their
Heavens and the Souls moving them, a cosmology described by
us elsewhere as a "phenomenology of' angelic consciousness."
63. Koine aisthesis, or synaisthesis; cf. our book Avicenna and the
Visionary Recital, Index, s. v.
64. Cf. this theme in our $a/sm of Ibn 'Arabl, pp. 1 80 f. This
exactly guarantees the noetic value of the forms of the imag
inative consciousness : the God imagi ned therein is the very God
imainin1 hi m1Cf through this orgnn; hent:e the reciproci ty,
:24
Notes/pages 206-216
the undeniable correlation of the two situations: knowing being
and being known, known, that is to say, in the very act of know
ing, and vice versa.
65. In the following lines, Shaikh Amad gives us a complete re
capitulation of te physiology of the resurrection boy, starting
from te four bodies of man, with which we have become
acquainted in the preceding texts. What it is important to
notice, apropos te passages from Mulli adra, is the emphasis
on the preeminent, transcendent part played by the active Imag
ination, te latter being so nearly consubstantial with the spirit
ual anima, the "1"-spirit, that, contrary to the common opinion
of the Philosophers, physical death does not touch it. Tanks
to it the "Form of Resurrection" is the work of the Person. This
"subtle matter" has to be given its human form, whereas many
give it only an animal form. So the Imagination here perfors
the alchemical work, the mediant action, active meditation,
imaginatio vera ( see the passages from Mulli adri, above,
Art. VI ) Here we fnd the transition toward the text tat will
be given below, Art. x, 1 .
66. Tese refections developing, it will be recalled, a proposition
of the Imam Jafar confr that we have to take the ters
istidara, mustadir, not in the sense of rotundity, sphericity, but
as what we suggest by the expression ''perect shape," signify
ing the constant perfection and harmony of structure ( tartlb,
tart tub ) ; cf. above, Part One, Ch. n, 4, n. 66.
67. We have been given t understand here many times that the
"tomb" is not "in te cemetery" ( see above, n. 2S ) but "in
Hurqalya," where it is sybolized for each being by one of te
"holes" perforated in Seraphiel's cosmic Trmpet.
68. Tis is the everlasting objection, as we have said, of te literal
ist "orthoox" in opposition to the Shaikhls. And because they
have not so much as glimpsed the metaphysical impor of the
idea of metamorhosis, they have equally failed t grasp the
essential link between te physics of resurrection and te ethics
of resurrection, whereas the Shaikhls are continually and
strongly stressing it ( cf. above, n. 65 ) .
69. As rgards form, it follows that it is true tat numerically it
makes two, and this is exactly why there are two jaa, the one
made up of sublunar Element, the other of the Element of
Hurqalyi.
70. Namely, the atral boy that accompanies te "1"-spirit at the
moment of the exitu and remains conjoined wit it until the
"frst blast of te Trumpet" inaugurates the great cosmic pause.
325
Notes/ Article X
7 1 . We have already had occasion to recall how this primordial
question and answer mae teir efects felt on all the planes
of all te universes. Beginning from the pleroma of te ltat,
the order of succession of the responses typifes te order of
succession of the Fourteen Very-Pure and of their Heavens ( see
above, Part One, Ch. I I , 1 ) . It could b said tat this Qurinic
verse, used as a key to the ShJite metaphysics, in which the
preexistence of souls is a premise, also deterines it "person
alism." And te same remark applies to te Madean idea of the
"reexistentia choice" of the Fravaris.
72. The soul's preexistential choice may also call to mind here te
Platonic myth of Gorgi.
ARTICLE X
SHAIKH I
A
JJ MUIAMMAD KARIM KH
A
N KIRM
A
NI
1 . On tis work, to which we have already refered ( Part One,
Ch. I I , 1 ) , see Fihrt, pp. 1 84 f. Tis important work in
four volumes was composed at the request of a few pious mu'min
( in te Shtite meaning of the word, tat is, adept of te Holy
Imams ) . It does not claim t be a technical work; noneteless,
it does contain te essential point of the doctrine, very clearly
set forth. It has been reedited several times and is current read
ing in Shaikhl circles. It has been somewhat enlarged in te
work of Shaikh Sarkir
A
ghi, a chapter of which we tanslate
in Art. XI , below.
2. Here, no doubt in order to simpliy the exposition, te schema
of the four bodies, as it was given to us in te previous passages
of Shaikh Abrad Ahsi', ha been abridged. Here te essential
archetpal body, or "Hurqalyan body," combines te functions
of what was presented as jaa B and jim B, whereas the
material or accidental boy combines the functions of jaa A
and jim A.
3. Cf. te l ast passage from Shaikh Abmad quoted above, Art.
IX, 5.
4. This i s te old Iranian word tan, whence i Pahlavi tan i paCn,
te word which, in Madean eschatology, designates te "body
t come" or resurrection boy, which i hom at te moment
of the fnal consummation. We have already referred above
( Ch. I, n. 1 04 ) to the Madean idea of a "subtle physiology."
5. Here one should remember the theme of the api11itudo Piri
tuali ( see above, Art. VI , the text of MuliA adrA jn fn ) .
326
Notes/pages 219-234
6. Regarding the notion of himma, see our $a/sm of Ibn 'Arabi,
pp. 222 f.
7. As a rule, shirk is translated as the act of asociating other gods
with the One; actually the term "dissociation" is just a appro
priate. Te tawlid, as an act of unifcation, efect an integra
tion. Consequently shirk involves a disintegration of being; and
that, as we saw earlier, is what Hell is.
8. What is in question here is not te active Imagination with
the paramount function previously ascribed to it, but "fantasy."
Regarding this all-important distinction, see again our $a/sm of
Ibn 'Arabi, pp. 21 6 f.
9. Concerning the symbol of the arbor invera, see the documents
studied by C. G. Jung in "The Philosophical Tree," pars. 41 0 f.
10. See above, Art. IX, nn. 71 , 72.
1 1 . This concept thus justifes astral symbolism as a characterologi
cal procedure. The Ismi'Ills also regard the astronomical
Heavens as homologous to the Heavens of the esoteric world.
Thus, the Heavens and te heavenly bodies are merely the
physical aspect of psycho-spiritual organs ( see the passage
from Mulli adri, above, Art. VI. That is why in this case they
represent factors or states of anthropogenesis ) .
12. Regarding the qualitative signifcance of the number 70, see
above, Art. IX, n. 36. A comparison could be made here with
the Ten Heavens and Eight Earts of Manicheism; cf. also with
what follows below.
1 3. Sijan, the lnfernum, Qurin 83: 7-8; Safna I, 603; on the
Seven Earths, see Safna I, 19, 66 1 .
1 4. The diagram reproduced here is an exact copy of the original.
The area indicated by the central diamond thus corresponds to
the state designated in Mazdean cosmology as "mixture"
( gumechisn ) .
1 5. Cf. the text of Mulli adri ( Ar. VI , above ) and Swedenborg,
De Coelo et ejus mirabilibus, 156: "The things outside the
Angels assume an appearance corresponding t those which are
within them."
16. On te "esoteric" of each Heaven ( bi#n al-falak ) , see Mulli
adri ( above, Art. VI ) , and see En Islam banien, m, 225.
17. O coure, here we should not take "soul" in the Cartesian sense
of the word, but as apiBBitudo apirituais.
18. Te remark of the lmim alludes to verse 4: 7 1 in te Qurin,
which we are translating here as required by Shrite here
neutics; see Safna, n, 1 8 ( quoting a Tafair attributed to te
Fifth lmim) .
327
Notes/ Article XI
19. An allusion to verse SS : SS which, in Shl'ite hermeneutics, sa
cralizes the Prophet's family. Professing Islam, being a Muslim,
still does not confer the quality of a mu'mim, True Faithful;
the latter implies devotion to and love for the Fourteen Very
Pure.
20. Nafs-i qudsi-yi kull: sacrosancta Anima generalis.
21 . It goes without saying that all these expressions should be
understood in the psycho-spiritual sense suggested from the
very beginning of this book by such ters as the "Heavens of
your being," the "Hells of your being," in the same way as
Simnanl, when he interiorizes the science of prophecy, speaks
of the "seven prophet of your being." ( See our book cited above,
n. 16. )
22. Readers should remember the distinction made at the beginning
between paradisic Abodes, which are such by right of priority,
and tose which are such by derivation. These lines introduce
a description of the latter.
2S. This motif of the well is a classic example of gnostic anthro
pology ( Mandeism, Suhrawardl, Najmuddln, Kubra ) .
24. All the Shi'ite feror burst forth in this last page. The parousia
of the Imam is awaited the reign of spiritual liberty, the
advent of the Paraclete. But in this eschatology there is still
the consciousness that the occultation of the Imam result from
the fact that men have become incapable of seeing him, and
that the parousia of the hidden Imam presupposes frst of all
the disoccultation of their hearts. Otherwise they would not
even recognize him, and that is why, in Shrite esotericism, it
is obligatory not to talk about him to anyone incapable of
recognizing him.
ARTI CLE XI
SHAIKH ABU'L-Q
.
SIM KH
A
N IBR
.
H'MI
I . The chapter extracted from this considerable work forms a
commentary on the text of Mul. Karim Khan Kirani in Art.
x, above. The selection was a result of a quite inept question
by a person who, not understanding much of mystical theosophy
( 'irfan ) , did not understand the rel ation established between
the world of Hurqalya and the epiphany of the hidden Imam.
This chapter is the most suitable to conclude our choice of text';
al l the overtones of HurqulyA that sound in Shi'ite pi ety nrc to
b henrd hrt. The l imi tations of our book prrvent us from
doing j u1ticr to i t .
:2H
Notes/pages 234-257
2. Intelligence, of course, refers to the frst hypostasis ( Nofs or
Ennoia) . The !adith that relates it to the "Mu):ammadan Light"
( the primordial spiritual entity of the Prophet ) ofers nu
merous variations, all of which bore fruit in the meditation of
the mystics.
3. Therefore, it is not a question here of perishable "matter" as
opposed to "spirit," but of spissitudo spiritualis-"spiritual mat
ter" consubstantial with every being ( cf. the idea of Nafa ai
Ramtn in Ibn Arabi ) .
4. Te "cosmic liturgy" celebrated by the Intelligence forms a
theme well developed also in Isma'III gnosis ( Nir-i Khus
raw, Abu Yaqub Sijistanl ) ; see our $ufsm of Ibn Arabi, pp.
105 f. ( the "prayer of the heliotrope" in Prolus ) .
5 . That is, separated from perishable and corruptible "material
matter," while possessing their own consubstantial and incor
ruptible "spiritual matter."
6. The logoi spermatikoi; see above, Art. I X, n. 1 1 ; Safna, 482;
Mu):. Karim Khan Kirmanl, Kitib a-fu,al, 236; cf. Plotinus,
Enneas, v. 8. 13; VI . 3. 1 5, and passim.
7. Allusion to the preexistential choice, the decisive event of meta
history; see above, Art. IX, nn. 71 , 72.
8. On the pleroma of te Fourteen Very-Pure ( the Twelve Imams
around the Prophet and Fatima ) forming the pleroma of the
lihut in Twelver Shl'ite theosophy, see above, Part One, Ch. u,
1 . Their manifestation i n the world of the Malakat is referred
to here. Similarly, the theme of the "Earth of the world of the
Imperative," found at the beginning of this text of Sarkar
A
gha,
recalls the teme of Fapma as the supracelestial Eart of the
lthat.
9. An idea very close to the endogenous time ( zmdn anfusi ) of
Simnanl: each soul , each form, is its time ( not of its time ) .
10. The fundamental importance of the comparison with the mirror
has already been noted here. It shows us how what is called
docetic metaphysics is in fact a theological critique of knowl
edge. The spiritual cannot "be materialized" in the natural
world: the latter represent the surface of a mirror, nothing
more or less. Thus, material history is erased in favor of a
realism of the soul .
1 1 . Cf. the theme of the "six Treasuries" in Shaikh A):mad A):sa'
( abve, Art. I X) ; on the concept of materia prima, see above,
n. 3.
12. This i s the lrshid at-awtmm, several pages of which we have
translated above, Art. x.
1 3. See above, p. 1 91 , the text of Shaikh Abmad: "Its lower plane
329
Notes/ Article XI
borders on the convex surface of the Sphere of Spheres," when,
emerging from the physical and astronomical cosmos, one en
ters te "eighth climate," the quarta dimemio.
14. On tis theme of fundamental lmimology ( presupposing the
isomorhism of all the planes of te universe ) , see above, Part
One, Ch. I I , 1 .
1 5. See ibid. , for one sees in these lines how te theme of Hurqalyi
and the Shrite fait are linked. At the same time as the theme
of the "companions of the hidden ImAm" tere reappears, in a
new octave, the Zoroastrian theme of te "companions of the
Saoshyant"; tis takes place thanks to the entire individual etic
of the Shl'ite adepts. Each of them is in a relationship to the
hidden Imam ( in Hurqalya, on the "green island," and so on)
analogous to the relationship of one of the hundred and twenty
four thousand Nabls to te Prophet. On this Ecclesia spirtulis,
see our book En Islam iranien, I, 35, 1 19, 132, and IV, 275-
445. The theme should also be related to te theme of the
Watchers of al-A'raf, the "men of the Invisible world" dwelling
in the countr of Tt? ( above, Art. IV ) .
16. We have already encountered here descriptions relating to the
inhabitant of te Var of Yima or of te cities of Hurqalya
( above, Part One, Ch. 1 , 2 in fne, and Ch. I I , 2 ) . The
present context emphasizes furter tat they must be considered
as a phenomenology-that is, as a description of the outer tings
which are the apparentiae reales of inner states. As previously
suggested, a fruitul comparison with Swedenborg's descrip
tions could be attempted.
1 7. The frst work cited is te work of Mu}. Khan Kiranl, Tird
successor to Shaikh A}mad ( d. 1 324/ 1 906 ) . Te Bi!ar al
Anwar is the great Shl'ite encyclopedia of Majlisl, cited here
many times. The traditions about Jabalqi and JabaJa are in
Vol . XIV, 78-87.
1 8. Ibid. , p. 80, line 23-26.
19. This refers to te author's own fater, MawlinA Zaynal-'
A
bidln
KhAn KirAnl ( d. 1 361 /1 942 ) , Fourth successor of Shaikh
A}mad; for the work in question, see Fihrist, p. 449 ( the tenth
treatise of the collection described ) .
20. Bi!4r al-Anwar, XIV, 8 1-82 ( p. 8 1 : theme of te emerald,
which is known t symbolize the cosmic Soul for the ufls ) .
2 1 . Te plural "We" designates the pleroma of the Twelve ImAms,
in the name of which each ImAm speaks-here, the ImAm
Jafar lAdiq. One sees that the humanity described in these
lineR is that of the archetypal lmAmites, centered on the ImAms
Lomogonl nod soteriologic thenpluml"
Notes/pages 258-267
22. In these lines there is an explicit and stirring demand by te
Imam himself for the esotericism which is imposed on faith
and on Shl'ite beliefs.
2:. Tis detail sufces to show that the eschatological descriptions,
te fnal battle in which the mystical Knight surrounding the
Imam participated, should not be understood as data concern
ing material events. They translate event taking place now "in
Hurqalya."
24. Tis accords with the remark attributed to Jagir Kurdl, one of
the Shaikhs of Ruzbihan of Shlri ( d. 605 I 1 209 ) : "He has
given me a two-edged blade, one for the East, the other for te
West; if I pointed it toward the mountains, the high peaks
would collapse. " See our introuction to the book of Ruzbihan,
Le Jamin des Fidlles damour, p. 52.
25. For there i s no common measure between zaman anfusi, endog
enous qualitative time, and zman afaqi, quantitative physical
time.
26. This number "encoes" the duration of an astronomical cycle;
seven heptads of millennia, each governed respectively by one
of the seven planet. It should therefore be taken, as the author
suggest, as essentially a symbol of purely Htrqayii duration.
27. That is, in te text translated above, Art. x, 2, and commented
on in the present chapter. Te symmetry between the confg
urations of the theme has already been noted: Here the "trans
portation" upwards to Hurqalyi; the descent of te "Abe of
hymns" ( Gar6tman ) to encounter the Earth, in Mazdean escha
tology; the descent of the celestial Jerusalem, in the Apocalypse;
see above, Part One, Ch. 1 , n. 128.
28. On the touching fgure of the Eleventh lmim, lasan 'Askarl,
father of the "hidden lmi," who died at the age of twenty
eight ( in 260/873 ) , see our study "Le Douzime ImAm" in
En Islam iranien, IV, 301-460. Te episode narated here
refers to the annoyances inficted on him by the 'Abbisid Caliph.
29. On this treatise, see above, n. 19.
SO. On this qualifcation of te hidden Imam, see our study cited
above, n. 28.
Sl. An allusion to the theme of the sodalita spiritualis which, wit
the tawfid, prophetology, and lmimology, is one of the "four
pillars" of the Shrite Shaikhl teaching.
32. This is one of the oldest symbols of Shrite gnosis. Te alchemist
Jibir ibn layyan already saw the "sun rising in te West" a
te symbol of the Imam, the inaugurator of a new cycle.
331
Ll8T OP WORK8 CITED
Acts of John. See JAMES , The Apocryphal New Testament.
Acts of Peter. See JAMES, The Apocryphal New Testament.
Acts of Thomas. See JAMES, The Apocryphal New Testament; this
is the source of the "Song of the Pearl ," which is the same as
t
h
e "Hymn of the Soul."
AFFI FI , A. E. ( ABU' L-'ALA' 'AFFi I ) , ed. Fu, al-likam. 2 vols.
Cairo, 1 365/ 1946. ( Fu,a, I = Ibn 'Arabi's text; Fu, II =
Affi's commentary. )
AcA-OLu, MEHMET. "The Landscape Miniatures of an Anthology
Manuscript of the Year 1398 A.D. ," Ars lslamica, III, pt. I
( 1 936 ) , 77-98.
AcHA BuzuRG ( SHAI KH ) . Dhar'a. 20+ vols. Teheran.
AISA'I, ( SHAI KH ) AIMAD. Commentary on the Kittb al-fikma
al-'arshlya of adruddin Shirai. Tabrtz, 1 278/ 1 86 1 .
Jawtmi' al-kalim. 2 vols. Tabriz, 1273-1276/ 1 856/ 1 859.
. Kittb sharf al-ziytra, II. 2 vols. Tabriz, 1276/ 1 859.
. ai-Ristla al-khtqtnlya. ( This part of his Jawtmi' al-
kalim. )
ARDABI LI, AFI UDDI N. $afwat al-,aft'. Bombay, 1 9 1 1 .
BACHOFEN, JoHAN N JAKOB. Das Mutterrecht : Eine Untersuchung
iber die Gynaikokratie der a/ten Welt nach ihrer religiosen und
rechtliclen Natur. Stuttgart, 1 86 1 . ( See Gesammelte Werke.
Ed. Karl Meuli. Basel, 1943-. )
BADAWI, 'ABD AL-RAIMAN. ldeae platonicae. Cairo, 1 367/ 1 947.
BAI LEY, HAROD WALTER. "Iranian Studies III," Bulletin of the
School of Oriental Studies, VII ( 1 933-1935 ) , 275-298.
--. Zoroatrian Problems i n the Ninth-Century Books. Oxford,
1 943.
BENVENI STE, MI LE. "L'Erfm-vez et l'origine Iegendaire des lrani
ens," Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, VII ( 1 933-
1 935 ) ' 265-27 4.
BI DEZ, Jos EPH, and CuMONT, FRANZ. Les Mages hellenises : Zoro
atre, Ostanes et Hystape d'apres Ia tradition grecque. 2 vols.
Paris, 1938.
BIRUNI , ABO RAYIAN. Kittb al-tafhim, ed. Humayt. Teheran,
1 3 1 8/ 1 900.
BoussET, WI LHELM. Hauptprobleme der Gnosis. ( Forschungen zur
Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments, 10. )
Gottingen, 1907.
333
Works Cited
BoussET, WI LHELM. Die Religion des Judentums im spithellenis
tischen Zeitalter, ed. Hugo Gressmann. 3rd edn. , Tibingen,
1926.
BRANDT, A. J. H. WI LHELM. Die mandiische Religion. Leipzig,
1 889.
Bundahishn. The "great Bundahishn," an unedited MS, i s cited in
part in Nyberg, "Questions," I , q. v. The "small Bundahishn" is
tr. in West, Pahlavi Texts, pt. I, pp. 3-1 51 . Unless further
identifed, references are to the great Bundahihn.
CORBI N, HENRY, tr. and ed. L'Archange empourpre, by Shaykh
al-Ishraq Sohravardl ( =Suhrawardl ) . Paris, 1976. ( Fifteen
treatises and mystical recitals, translated from the Persian and
Arabic, annotated. )
. Avicenna and the Visionar Recital; tr. Willard R. Trak,
New York ( Bollingen Series LXVI ) and London, 1 960. ( Orig. :
Avicenne et le recit visionnaire. 2 vols. Teheran and Paris,
1952, 1 954. Bibliothque iranienne 4-5. )
. Creative Imagination in the $afam of Ibn Arabi, tr. Ralph
Manheim. Princeton ( Bollingen Series XCI ) and London,
1969. ( Orig. : L'Imagination creatrce dan le Soufsme d'Ibn
Arabi, Paris, 1958. )
. "Cyclical Time in Mazdaism and Ismailism." In: Man and
Time ( Papers from the Eranos Year books 3 ) , pp. 1 1 5-1 72.
New York ( Bollingen Series XXX) and London, 1957.
. "De Ia Gnose antique Ia gnose ismaelienne," Atti del Xll"
Congresso Volta, Accad. Na. dei Lincei. Rome, 1956.
. "Divine Epiphany and Spiritual Rebirt i n Ismailian
Gnosis." In: Man and Tranformation ( Papers from the Eranos
Yearbooks 5 ) , pp. 69-1 60. New York ( Bollingen Series XXX)
and London, 1 964.
. En Islam iranien: apects spirituels et philosophiques.
( BibliotMque des Idees. ) Vol. I, Le Shi'isme duodecimain;
Vol . II, Sohravardi et lea Platoniciens de Perse; Vol. III, Les
Fidiles d'amour. Shi'isme et soufsme; Vol. IV, L': cole d'Ispa
han; L': cole Shaykhie; Le Douziime Imam; index general.
Paris, 197 1-1 972.
--. tude preliminaire pour le "Livre reunisaant des deux
aagesses" de NOir-e Khosraw. Teheran and Paris, 1953. ( Bib
liothque iranienne 3a. )
--. L'Homme de lumiire dana le aoufsme iranien. Paris, 1 971 .
--. "Le 'Livre du Glorieux' de JAbir ibn layyln: alchimie et
archetypes," Eranos Jahrbuch, XVIII/ 1 950, 47-1 14.
--, ed. Cuvre1 philoaophique1 et my1tiqut1 de Sohraward, I
Works Cited
( ~ Opera metaphyaica et Myatica, II ) . Teheran and Paris,
1 952. ( Bibliothque iranienne 2. ) ( Contains: Kitib (ikmat
al-iahriq [Bok of Oriental Teosophy]; Kitib i'tiqad al
(ukami' [Te Symbol of the Philosophers' Fait]; Qiffat i
ghurba al-gharblya [Recital of the Occidental Exile]. )
, ed. Opera metaphysica et mystica, I. Istanbul, 1 945. ( Bib
liotheca lslamica 16. ) ( Contains the metaphysics of Kitib al
talwi(it [Bok of Elucidations], Kitib al-muqiwamit [Book
of Oppositions], Kitib Mahir' wa'l-Mulirahit [Book of Con
versations]. )
, tr. Pand Nimak i Zrtusht ( The Book of Counsels of
Zartusht, tr. from the Pahlavi ) . In: Poure Dauoud Memorial
Volume II. Bombay, 195 1 .
--. See also ROZBIHAN BAQLI SHI RAZI; SuHRAWARDI , SHI HA
BUDDIN YAIYA.
Corpus hermeticum. Text established by A. D. Nock. Tr. A.-J. Festu
gire. 4 vols. Paris, 1 945-1 954.
CuMoNT, FRANZ. "Les Anges du paganisme," Reue de fhiBtoire des
religion, LXXII ( 19 1 5 ) , 1 59-1 82.
e See also BI DEZ, JosEPH, and CuMONT, FRANZ.
DARMESTETER, JAMES, tr. Le Zend-Avesta. 3 vols. Paris, 1 892-
1 893. ( Annales du Guimet, 2 1-22, 24. )
DitiBtin-i-Dlnlk. In: West, E. W. , tr. , Pahlaui Texts, II, 1-276.
DEFFONTAI NEs, PI ERRE. "e Religious Factor in Human Geog
raphy: Its Force and It Limit," Diogenes, II ( Spring, 1953 ) ,
2437.
DtNKART. In: West, E. W. , tr. , Pahlaui Te:ta, Part IV and V.
DRoWER, . ETHEL STEFANA. "Hibil Ziwa and the Parhian Prince,"
Jour of the Royal Aaiatic Society, 1954, pts. 3-4, pp. 152-
156.
. The Mandaan of Iraq and Iran. Oxford, 1937.
ELIADE, MIRCEA. The Forge and the Crucible. Tr. Stephen Corrin.
London and New York, 1 962. ( Orig. : Forgeron et alchimiates,
Paris, 1 956. )
. Images and Symbola: Studiea in Religious Symbolism. Tr.
Philip Mairet. New York and Paris, 1 96 1 . ( Orig. : Images et
Symbolea: EBBai aur le aymboliame magico-religieu:, Paris,
1952. )
--. The Myth of the Eter Retur. Tr. Willard R. Trask.
New York ( Bollingen Series XLVI ) and London, 1 954. ( Orig. :
Le Mythe de Nterel retour: Archltypea et rlpltition, Paris,
1 949. )
--. Patterns in Comparative Religion. Tr. Rosemary Sheed.
335
Works Cited
London and New York, 1958. ( Orig. : Traite d'hi8toire des
religions, Paris, 1 964. )
The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Ed. M. T. Houtsma, T. W. Arold,
R. Basset, R. Hartann, et al. 4 vols. and suppl. Leiden and
London, 1 91 3-1938.
FECHNER, GusTAV THEODOR. Ober die Seelenfrage. Ein Gang
durch die sichtbare Welt, um die unsichtbare zu fnden. Leip
zig, 1 861 ; 2nd edn. , Hamburg and Leipzig, 1 907.
Fihri8t. See lbrihlml.
The Gospel According to Thoma. Ed. and tr. Antoine Guillaumont
et a. New York and Leiden, 1 959.
GRAY, Loui s H. The Foundations of the Iranian Religions. Bombay,
1925.
GRESSMANN, HuGo. "a religiongeschichtliche Problem des Urs
prngs der hellenistischen Erlosungsreligion," Zeitschrift fur
Kirchengeschichte, XLI ( 1 922 ) , 154-1 80.
HASTI NGs, JAMES, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. 13 vols.
Edinburgh and New York, 1 908-1 926.
HEI MANN, BETTY. Indian and Western Philosophy, a Study i n Con
trats. London, 1 937.
HERTEL, JoHANNES. Die awesti8chen Herrschafts- und Siegesfeuer.
Leipzig, 193 1 .
HERZFELD, ERNST EMI Lq ed. Archiologische Mitteilungen aus Iran,
II. Berlin, 1 930.
. Zoroater and His World. 2 vols. Princeton, 1 947.
HERZOG, JoHANN JAKOB, ed. Realencyklopidie fur protestantische
Theologie und Kirche. 3rd edn. , 24 vols. Leipzig, 1 896-1 91 3.
See VI ( 1 899 ) , XVIII ( 1 906 ) .
Hildegarde of Bingen. Physica.
"Hymn of the Soul ." See Acts of Thoma.
IBN `ARABI, MuiYIDDI N. Futfl al-ikam, ed. A. E. Aff. 2 vols.
Cairo, 1 365/ 1 946. ( Futfl I Ibn 'Arabi text; FutU II
Aff's commentary. )
*. Kitab al-futtat al-Makkiya f ma'rifat al-arar al-maliklya
wa'l-mulkiya. 4 vols. Cairo, 1 329/ 1 91 1 .
( attributed ) . Tafsir al-Quran. Cairo, 1 3 1 7/ 1 899-1 900.
I BRAHI MI , ( SHAI KH ) ABu' I.-QASI M KHAN ( SARKAR AGHA ) .
Fihrist. KirmAn, 1 329/ 1 91 1 .
--. Tanzlh al-awliy4'. KirAn, 1 367/ 1 947.
JAcKsoN, ABRAHAM VAI. E NTI NJ: WI LLI AMS. Zoroater, the Prophet
of Ancient Iran. 5th edn. , New York, 1 938.
JAMFs , MoN' J' AC: I I F RHom: s. The Apocryphal New Testament. Ox
for, 1 960.
336
Works Cited
JAMES, MoNTAGUE RHODEs, and RYLE, HERBERT EDWARD, eds.
Old Te1tament Apocryphal Book1: The P1alm1 of Solomon.
Cambridge, 189 1.
JILl, 'ABD AL-KARI M. Kitib al-imin al-kimil. Cairo, 1304/1 886-
1 887.
JuNe, CARL GusTAV. My1terium Coniunctioni, tr. R. F. C. Hull.
( The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, 14. ) New York ( Bollin
gen Series XX) and London, 1963. 2nd edn. , Princeton and
London, 1970.
. "Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon," in Alchemical
Studie1, tr. R. F. C. Hull. ( Te Collected Works of C. G. Jung,
13. ) Princeton ( Bollingen Series XX) and London, 1967.
Pp. 109-189.
--. "The Philosophical Tree," i n Alchemical Studie1, t. R. F. C.
Hull. ( The Collected Works o
f
C. G. Jung, 13. ) Princeton
( Bollingen Series XX) and London, 1967. Pp. 25 1-349.
e P1ychology and Alchemy, tr. R. F. C. Hull. ( The Collected
Works of C. G. Jung, 12. ) New York ( Bollingen Series XX)
and London, 1953; 2nd edn. , rev. , Princeton, 1968.
JusTI , FERDI NAND. Der Bundehe1h. Zum er1ten Mae herawgege
ben, tramcribiert, uber1etzt und mit Glo11ar ver1ehen. Leipzig,
1 868.
KAsHANI , MUISI N FAY. Kalimit maknana. Lithograph, Teheran,
1216/1 801 ; Bombay, 1296/ 1878.
o Taflir al-Jifi, Teheran, 1275/ 1858.
KIRMANI , ( SHAIKH IAJ J ) MuiAMMAD KARIM KHAN. Irshid
al-'awimm. 3rd edn. , 4 vols. in 2. Kirin, 1353-1355/ 1934
1936.
lflia al-aj1i. Manuscript.
[flia al-a. Manuscript.
llil al-nufa. Manuscript.
Kitab al-tu,al. Kiran, 1 354/1935-1936.
Mir"it al-likma.
. Rilia-yi nairya. Kirmin, 1375/1955.
Rilia-yi IUlliniya. Bombay, 1 860.
Ril
d
la-yi ydqatya.
KRAMERs, JoHANNES HENDRI K. The Daliin the Githi. Oriental
Studies in Honour of Dasturji Saeb Cursetji Erachji Pavry,
January 1934. Reprinted in: Anecta Orientalia, I, 225-23 1 .
Leiden, 1954.
KRAUS , PAUL. Studien zu Jibir ibn Iayyin. 2 vols. Cairo, 1942-
1943.
LAHI JI , 'ADD AL-RAzZAQ. Gawhar-i murid. Teheran, 1 31 3/1 895.
337
Works Cited
LAHIJI, SHAMSUDDI N MUIAMMAD. Commentary on te Gulshan-i
riz of Mabmud Shabistarl. ( Edn. of Kayvin Samn. ) Teheran,
1 378/1958.
LEISEGANG, HANS. La Gnose, tr. J. Gouillard. Paris, 1 95 1 . ( Orig. :
Die Gnosis, Leipzig, 1 924. )
LI DZBARSKI , MARK, ed. and tr. Da Johannesbuch der Mardier.
Giessen, 1 9 15; repr. Berlin, 1 966.
MAETERLI NCK, MAuRI CE. "Le Vieux qui ne veut pas mourir." In:
L'Autre Monde, ou Le Cadran stellaire. New York, 1 942.
MAJ LISI, MuiAMMAD BAQIR. Bi(tr al-anwtr. 14 vols. Teheran,
1 305/1 887-1 888.
MAMAQANI , 'ABo ALLAH. Tanqi( al maqt f a(wtl a-rjt. 3 vols.
Najaf, 1 349-1 352/1 930-1933.
MASSI GNON, Lour s. "Comment ramener l une base commune
l'etude textuelle de deux cultures: l'arabe et Ia greco-latine."
In: Lettres d'humaniU, II, 1 22-1 40. Paris, 1 943.
* . La Mubthaa de Medine et fhyperdulie de Fd#ma. Paris,
1 955.
*. "La Notion du vu et I a devotion musulmane l Fipma."
In: Studi orientalistici in onore di Giorgio Lei della Vida. 2
vols. Rome, 1 956. Pp. 102-126.
MEI ER, FRITZ. "Die Welt der Urbilder bei 'All Hamadinl ( t 1 385 ) "
Eranos Jahrhuch, XVIII/1 950, 1 1 5-172.
M!NOK-XRAT. In West, E. W. , t. , Pahlavi Texts, Part III, pp.
1-1 13. ( Same as : Mainyo-i-Khard and Mainog-i-Khirad. )
MESSI NA, GI USEPPE, ed. and tr. Libro aocalittico persiano
A
yatkdr
i :imdpik. Rome, 1939.
". I Magi a Betlemme e una predizione di Zoroatro. Rome,
1933.
Moor , Jr vANJI JAMSHEDJI . The Religious Ceremonies and Customs
of the Parsees. 2nd ed. , Bombay, 1 937.
MuiS I N FAvz. See Kishinl, Mulsin Fay.
Mo'I N [Mu'I N] , MuiAMMAD, ed. Burhin-i qt!i' by 'Al ibn Mulam
mad Tabiabi'. 5 vols. Teheran, 1 371-1376/1 95 1-1956; IV,
1 376/ 1 956.
--. The Philosophy of Illumination and the Ancient Iranian
Culture. Teheran, 1370/ 1950. In Persian.
--. See also Ruzbihan Baqll Shirazi.
MoN N ERET J>F VI LLARD, UGo. Le Pitture muaulmane a ofto della
Cappella Palatina in Paermo. Rome, 1 950.
MoRF, HENRY. Enchiridion metaphyaicum. London, 1 671 .
Mom. ToN, JAMES HorF. I t I s His Angel ," The Journal of Theo
logica Studie, I l l ( 1 902 ) .
M1 1 1 . 1 . A AURA. Srr Su l aAzl AI>RI I UUI N .
::H
Works Cited
NYBERG, HENRI K SAMUEL. Hilfsbuch des Pehlevi. 2 vols. Vol. I,
Uppsala, 1928; Vol . II, Glossary, Uppsala and Lipzig, 1931 .
. Kleinere Schriften des Ibn a-'Arabi. Liden, 1919.
. "Questions de cosmogonie et de cosmologie madennes,"
Jour aiatique ( Paris ) , CCXIV: 2 ( Apri-June, 1929 ) ,
193-3 10. ( Cited "Questions," I. )
. Die Religionen des aten Iran. Genan tr. H. H. Shaeder.
Leipzig, 1938. ( Mitteilungen der Vorderaiatisch-aegyptischen
Gesellschaft, 43. )
Odea of Solomon. See James, Montague Rhoes, and Ryle, Herbert
Edwards, eds.
Pand Namak i Zrtuaht. See CoRBI N, HENRY, tr.
PASCHERi JosEF. Der Konigaweg zu Wiedergeburt und Vergottung
bei Philon v. Alexandreia. Paderbom, 193 1.
PAvRY, JAL DASTUR CuRSETJI . The Zoroatran Doctrine of a Fu
ture Life from Death to th.e Inividu Jugment. 2nd edn. ,
New York, 1929.
The Peraian Rivayata of Hormayar Framar, the Sadar Bundehesh.
Bombay, 1 932.
PHI LO JunAEUS. De aomniia. In: Philo, ed. F. H. Colson and G. H.
Whitaker. Vol. V. Cambridge, Mass. , 1 934, pp. 285-579.
( LCL. )
PLOTI NUS. The Ennea&. Tr. Stephen MacKenna, rev. B. S. Page.
London and New York, 1 956.
PLUTARCH. laia and Oairia. In: Plutarch's Moraia, tr. F. C. Babbitt.
Vol. V, Cambridge, Mas. , 1936, pp. 3-191 . ( LCL. )
PooRTMAN, JoHANNES JACOBUS. Okhlma, Geachiedeni en zin van
het hyliach pluraliame. 2 vols. Assen, 1 9541958.
PoRPHYRY [PoRPHYRI US]. De antro nympharum. In: Opuacula Se
lecta, ed. A. Nauck. Lipzig, 1886.
PRoclus. The Element& of Theology, ed. and t. Eric Roberton
Dodds. 1 933.
QAYARI , DA' On. Commentar on te Ft( al-(ikam of Ibn 'Arabi.
Bombay, 1 881 and 1882.
QuMMI, 'ABBAs. Safnat al-bi(t al-anwdr. 2 vols. Najaf, 1352-
1354/19341937.
HAHNER, HuGo. "Die seelenheilende Blume. Moly und Mandragore
in antiker und christlicher Symbolik," Eranoa Jahrbuch, XII/
1945, 1 17-239.
lUzi , FAKHRUDDI N. Mafttll al-ghayb. 8 vols. Istnbul, 1307-
1 308/1 889-1 890.
REITZENSTEI N, RICHARD. "Gedanken zur Entwcklung des ErlO&er
glaubens," Hitoriche Zeitachrft, CXXVI ( 1922 ) , 1-57.
Da iraniache Erloaunga-myaterium. Bonn, 1 921 .
339
Works Cited
REITZENSTEI N, RICHARD, and ScHAEDER, HANS HEI NRI CH. Stu
dien zum antiken Synkretismus aus Iran und Griechenland.
Leipzig, 1926. ( Studien der Bibliothek Warburg, VII. )
RI NGBORN, LARS-IVAR. Graltempel und Paradies. Stockholm, 195 1 .
( Kungl. vitterhet historie och antikvitet akademiens hand
lingar, 73. )
RosENBERG, FREDERI C, ed. and tr. Le Livre de Zoroatre (Zari
tusht-Nima) de Zartusht-i Bahram ibn Pajda. St. Petersburg,
1914.
ROZBI HAN, BAQLI SHIRAZI. 'Ari' i s al-bayin. 2 vols. 1 301 /1 883.
Le Jasmin des Fideles damour (K. 'Abhar a-
A
shiqln).
Traite de Sou/me en persan, ed. and tr. Henry Corbin and
Mu]. Mo'In. Teheran and Paris, 1958. ( Bibliotheque irani
enne 8. )
Saddar Bundehesh. In: The Persian Rivayats ( q.v. ) .
Safin. See QuMMI, 'ABBAS.
SARKAR AGHA. See lbrihlmi.
ScHAEDER, HANS HEI NRI CH. See REITZENSTEI N, RICHARD, and
ScHAEDER, HANs HEI NRI CH.
SHABI STARi, MAIMOD. See LAHIJI, SHAMSUDDIN MuiAMMAD.
Shiyat li-shiyat. In West, E. R. , t. , Pahlavi Texts. Oxford,
1880, Part I, pp. 237-406.
SHIRAZI, QurnuDDI N MAIMOD. Shar/ Uikmat a-ishriq. Lit1o
graph, Teheran, 1 3 1 5/1 898.
SHIRAZI , ADRUDDIN ( MULLA ADRA) . Kitib al-/ikma al-'arshiya.
Teheran, 1 31 5/1 897.
Sirtza. In Daresteter, t. , Zend-Avesta, II. Siroza I, pp. 296-322,
Sroza II, pp. 323-330.
"Song of the Pearl ." See Acts of Thoma.
SouRI AU, ETI ENNE. L'ombre de Dieu. Pars, 1955.
SPI EGEL, FRI EDRI CH, ed. Avesta, die heiligen Schriften der Parsen.
3 vols. , Leipzig, 1 852-1 863; III, Khorda-Avesta, 1863.
STROTHMAN, RuDOLF, ed. Mizij al-tanim.
SUHRAWARDI, SHI HABUDDI N YAIYA ( SHAIKH AL-lsHRAQ ) .
(uvres philosophiques et mystiques de Sohrawardi, II
( Opera metaphysica et mystica, III ) Works in Persian, ed.
S. H. Nasr. Foreword by H. Corbin. Teheran and Paris, 1970.
( Bibliotheque iranienne, 1 7 ) .
. See also CoRBI N, HENRY.
SwEDFNBORG, EMANUEL. De Coelo et ejus mirabilibus 156 ( orig.
publ . in Latin, London, 1758 ) . Tr. Rev. Samuel Noble, Heaven
and lt1 Wonders, The World of Spirits and Hell: From Things
Heard and Seen. New York, 1 864.
340
Works Cited
TABARI , MuiAMMAD I BN JARI R. Chronique de Abou-Djafar
Mohammed-ben-Djarir-ben Yezid Tabari , tr. Hermann Zoten
berg. 4 vols. Paris, 1 867-1 874.
TABARsl , AL-FAJL IBN AL- I,AsAN. Majma al-baydn. Teheran,
1 31 8/ 1 900.
TABRizl , M. A. Rayhdnat al-Adab, I.
VAJDA, GEORGES. "Les Notes d'Avicenne sur Ia 'TMologie d'Aris-
tote," ' Revue Thomiste, LI ( 1 95 1 ) , 346-348.
Vendidad. In Darmesteter, tr. , Zend-Avesta, II, 1-293.
Vispered. In Darmesteter, tr. , Zend-Avesta, I, 443-492.
WENSI NCK, ARENT JAN. The Muslim Creed. Cambridge, 1932;
repr. New York, 1 966.
WEST, E. W. , tr. Pahlavi Texts. 5 vols. Oxford, 1 880-1 897.
WIET, GASTON. Soieries persanes. ( Memoires de flnstitut d'Egypte,
Vol. 52. ) Cairo, 1 367/ 1 947.
WoLFSON, HARRY AusTRYN. Philo. Foundations of Religious Phi
losophy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 2 vols. Cambridge,
Mass. 1 947.
YAQOT I BN ABD ALLAH, AL-}AMAWI . Mujam a-buldan. 10
vols. Cairo, 1 345/ 1 926.
THE YASHTS, In: Darmesteter, tr. , Zend-Avesta, II, 33 1-683.
Yan. In Darmesteter, tr. , Zend-Avesta, I , 1-442.
Zat-Spram. In: West, E. R. , tr. , Pahlavi Texts, I.
ZELLER, EDWARD. Di e Philosophie der Griechen. 3 vols. i n 6 part.
Leipzig, 1 879-1 892. III, pt. 2. 3rd edn. , 1 881 .
ZI MMER, HEI NRI CH. Philosophies of India, ed. Joseph Campbell.
New York ( Bollingen Series XXVI ) and London, 195 1 .
I NDEX
abdes of light, 2SS
Abraham, 191
Abn Dharr, 258
AbQ'l-lasan Jilvah, 1 12
AbQ Sahl Tustarl, S04
Abn Yazld Bastlml, 167, SM
active Imagination, 12, IS, 2S-25,
26, 28, 76, 84, 88, 98, 127f,
145, 148, 15 11, 154f, 176,
210f, 279 n 62, S25 n 65
Acts of John, of Peter, 298 n 5S;
of Tomas, 104, 295 n S2,
Sl2 n 7
Adam, 1S6-1S7, 2S7
Adamites, 61, 158
Aeon, SS, S4, 49; aens, 59
A
g
athos Daimon, S5
Almad A\sA' ( Shaikh) , 58, 79,
89, 90f, 1 14f, 180221, 254,
264, 266, 278 n 47, S26 n 2
Ahriman, 6, 19, 25, 47, 48,
272 n 7
Ahrmazd ( Avestan Ahura
Mazda) , 6, 7, 8, 15, 16, !S, Sl ,
272 n 6, 277 n 46, 291 n 124
'4lam al-ghayb ( world of Mystery,
suprasensory wrld) , 154f, 19S
'dlam al-mith4l ( world of Forms ) ,
194
alchemy, 21 , 98-10, 102, 141,
180, 197-210, SO n 69,
SOl n 72, S2S n 50, n 52
Alexander, 75f, 257f
All ibn Abi-TAiib, la,rat Amlr,
frst ImAm of Sht'iam, 62, 18S,
184, 205, 2S4, 241, 247, 252,
255, 257, SOl n 7!
Ali-FAima, 64f
All HamadAnl, Mlr Sayld,
!94 n 21, 51 6 n 5
All ibn al-luaayn, fourh lmlm of
Sht'lam, 259
All ibn IbrAhim of Quum, 189,
S20 n 14
'All Turkah lffahAn1, 296 n 45
Amahraspanda, archangels in
Zroastrianism, 7, 8, 9, 25, Sl ,
S4f, 55, 272 n 6, 284 n 88
AmertAt ( Amahraspand) , Sl , S9,
46
androgyne, 47, 48, 29S n 14
Angel, alter ego, Perfet Nature,
iio1 daimn, 25, 29, S5, 42,
92, 102-IOS, 274 n 20, 278 n
47, n 48, 286 n 101, SI7 n IS
Angel of the Earh, 4f, 54, 56;
angels of the Earh, 29, SO
angelolog: Mazdean, 4f, 9f, SO,
Sl , S7, S9f, 52, 1 10, 288 n
I05; neoplatonic, 6, 9; 1ee also
Dii Angeli
anima, 4I, 67-68
AnqA ( the bird) , xvii
apparentie reale1, I02, ISO, l SI,
!SO
A'rAf ( al- ) , 150, 151, 21 1 n 16,
SSO n 15
arbor inv0r1a, 225, S27 M 9
archangels, 1ee Amhraspands
archetypeAngels, Angels of
species, 55
archetye-Images, 4, 1 1 , 2S, 25,
29, 81 , ISS, 172, 196, 198,
!0, 218; world of, 12, 50, 5S,
76, 79, 8!-8S, 122, 126-lSO,
ISS, 146, 160, 174176, 190,
240f, 255f; 1ee al1o banh,
mundr imt
g
inli archetypw
Av SlrA AnAhitA, angel
godes of the clestial Waters,
IS, 26f, 29, 32, S7, 48f,
277 n 46, 286 n 96, 287 n 104
Aristle, 84, 1 19, SQ n 2
ArahtAt, 27f, S7, 45-46, 289 n
1 16
Ara-Vahishta ( Arvahisht,
Ordtbeheht ) , Amahraspand,
8, 31 , 273 n lS
S4S
Index
ArAi-Fravar, 285 n 90
Ashi Vanuhi, 32, 37, 40, 43-45,
277 n 46, 286 n 96, 288 n 105,
289 n 1 12
Ashkevart ( Qutbuddtn ) , 69
Attar ( Fartduddtn) , 279 n 59,
291 n 123
Avesta, 3, 5, 7, 283 n 77
Avicenna, 75-76, 291 n 120
Avicennan cosmology, 81 , 280 n
68, 283 n 8 1
Awladuddtn KirAnt, 140,
310 n 12
AyAtkAn-i ZhAmasptk, 272 n 6
Azerbaijan, 21
Azrael ( archangel ) , 65
Badawt, 'A. , 295 n 26
Bahram Varjavand, eschatological
hero, 70, 29 1 n 126
BAmyl, 280 n 64
barzkh ( interval , interworld) ,
80f, 130f, 142, 144f, 152f,
1 72f, 187, 190, 191f, 245f,
263, 307 n 22; double, 147f,
16 1f, 1 76f
Behnam, Issa, xvii
Berleberg ( circle ) , xiii
Birnnt, 20 fg. 2, 275 n 38,
277 n 42
Bodhisattvas, 14
bodies : jasad and jiam, 180-1 82;
body of diamond, 100, 203,
301 n 73; body of the world
beyond, 1 66f, 229-230;
resurrection body, 12, 34, 37,
84; primordi al bodies, 247, 248;
spiritual body, 77, 84, 86, 100,
207-209; subtle body of l ight,
34, 127, 132, 307 n 1 9[ see also
jasad A and jism A ( accidental
bodies ) , jaad 8 and jism 8
( essential bodies )
Roehme, J . , xiii
Hoethim, 93
hotnny, Rncred, 3 1
RuclclhiRm, 271 n 39
nunlnhi Rhn, Mnzcllnn Rook nf
Genesis, 14, 25f, 272 n 1 1 ,
274 n 20, 27 7 n 46, 280 n 65;
see also List of works cited
Cambridge Neoplatonists, 93;
Cambridge and Persian
Platonists, 1 64
caro spiritualis, ix; see also
jasad B
Caucasus, 75
celestial princes, 123, 126
center of origin, 19f, 23
Chakad-i-Dattik ( the peak of
judgment ) , 27
s
Chinvat ( bridge ) , 27f, 36, 41f,
44, 74, 287 n 104
Chisti, 37, 43f, 289 n 106, n 107
Christensen, A. , 291 n 1 21
christology, 58, 31 3 n 18,
3 1 8 n 1 1
cities of light ( the thirteen ) , 141
Climate: the Eighth, 50, 75f,
126f, 191, 240, 294 O 24;
of the soul , 82; the Seven, 17
cognitio matutina, 85, 304 n 3
coincidentia oppositorum, 80, 100,
142, 324 n 55
column: of dawn, 120f, 296 n 45,
305 n 4; of praise, 305 n 4
Companions: of the hidden ImAm,
xiv, 70f, 258, 260, 31 9 n 12,
330 n 15; of the Saoshyant,
291 n 126
com-presence, 149f, 152-1 53,
3 12 n 3
corporeity, 24 7
corpus hermeticum, 92
creative imperative ( world of the ) ,
241 , 244, 248, 254
Cudworth, R. , 164
cycl e: of i nitiation, 58, 3 1 5 n 29;
of cosmogenC5is, 7 1 , 236f;
of prophecy, 58, 236f, 3 1 5 O 29
Daenl ( Dtn ) , xiv, 1 5f, 2R, 29,
30, 32, 35, 36, 38, 40-44, 45,
5 1 , 92, 1 04, 2R: n R2, 284 H
R7, 2R7 O 1 02
Index
DaJya al-Kalbi, 1S2, 142, 177,
190, 1 94
Daitl ( the river ) , SS, S4,
282 n 76
Daniel's vision, 69
DarA Shiknh, 1 1 S
Datisttn-i-dinlk, 280 n 65,
29 1 n 1 24
DA'id Qayarl, 1 1 1, 144-147,
1 61 , 294 n 25, S 15 n 2,
S1 7 n 2
Denkart, 284 n 86, 292 n 128
Dhi'l-Nin Mirl, 140f, S lO n 7
Dii-Angeli, 6, 27S n 15
dimension: of light, of darkness,
228-229, 2SOf; polar, 71 , 75,
90; vertical, 2S8
Dion Chrysostom, SS
docetism, 1 1 , 90, S1 8 n 1 1
Earth: phenomenon of the, 82;
of the soul ( HirqalyA) , 88;
of souls ( the hyperbrean
paradise ) , 72, 1 17; celestial,
S1 , S2; of the Imagination, of
Perfection, 154f; of the ImAms,
S09 n 4; of the LAhit, 57, 59,
6S; of light ( terra Iucida) ,
72, 75; of resurrection, 89-108,
17S, S04 n S; of sesame, 154f,
S06 n 17; of truth, 82f, 1 S5f,
1S6-140, 295 n S6; of visions,
S2, SS, 79-90, S04 n S,
S18 n 8; of the Watcher,
Bee al-A 'rAf
Earts ( the seven ) , 137, 151,
2S6f, SOl n 81
Elburz ( Haraberezaiti ) , cosmic
mountain, 25, 74f, 28S n 81
Elija, S06 n 16
emerald ( symbol ) , SSO n 20
Emerald Rock, 74
Empeocles, 129
Epiphany: of the ImAm, 89 (Bee
alBo paromia) ; divine epiph
anies, 8S
Eran Vej ( Airyanem Vaejah) ,
19-2S, 26f, S2-S4, 44f, 50,
74, 28S M 81, 297 n 45
Eredat-Fedhri ( virgin mother of
the Saoshyant ) , 49-50
eschatology: Manichean, S05 n 41
S07 n 21 ; Mazdean, 501 68-69,
70, 291 n 126, S26 n 4;
Shi'ite, 68-70, 89
esotericism, xii; Shl'ite, 260,
SS1 n 22
Eye of the world beyond, 8 1
Fakhruddln Razl, S09 n 4
Farr-i Yazdan, 274 n SO;
see also Xvarnah
FatJ-'Ali ShAh QijAr, 1 15
FAima ( the dazzling) 1 the
Prophet's daughter, 57, 59, 60,
6S-69, 104, 29S n 5, 309 n 4,
S29 n 8; see also Sophia,
sophianity
faJimlya ( the Imams' moe of
being) , 68
Faust, 66
flim regim, 47
Firdawsl, xi
fowers, Mazdean liturgy of the,
S l-S2
for: human, 252f; apparitional,
ISO, 177, 182, 25S; eternal
fors of the world beyond, 246,
248-249, 25 lf, 255; autono
mous imaginative, 127f, 129,
210f, 212, S07 n 22; see also
archetype-Images
forty, 47, 291 M 120, S2S M 47
Foureen, the Very-Pure, 58f,
6 lf, 6S, 149, 245, S26 n 71 ,
S28 n 1 9, S29 n 8
Frahkar ( transfguration of the
world) , lS, 15-16, 26, 29, S6,
45, 46, 69
Fravaris, 9, S6, 41, 45, 61, 86,
92, 27S n 19, S26 71
Gabriel ( archangel ) , 65, 86, 1S2,
142, 145, 177, 190, 194,
314 n 28
!45
Index
Gar6tmAn ( Abode of the Hymns,
highest degree of The Mazdean
paadise) , 28, 271 n 4, 292 n
128, 331 n 27
Gavoty, B. , 303 n 92
Gayomar, 46-50; Gayomarians,
284 85
Gehenna, the seven circles of, 226f
geography: psychological, 30;
visionary, 2436
geosophy, 15f, 36-50
Getalt, 57, 71
gltik ( terestrial, manifested
state ) , 10
gnosis: llml'll, 329 n 4; Shl'ite,
53, 57f, 1 13; Valentinian, 59
Goethe, 66, 310 n 13
gold, 47-9
Gorgit, 326 n 72
Gospel : according to the
Egyptians, 293 n 14; of the
Hebrews, 332 n 40; according to
Tomas, 104, 293 n 14
Gospels, Childhood, 136, 3 14 n 26
Grail, castle of the, 72
Gregoras ( Nicephoros ) , 93
gumechilhn ( mixture ) , 6, 327 n
14
H aaratlt ( Khurdld ) ,
Amahraspand, 9, 31 , 39
la4arlt ( levels of being) , 310 n 1
laklm Tiridhl, 315 n 3 1
handfuls of Heaven, the eight,
227f, 23lf, 245; see also
physiology, mystical
Haoma, white, 26, 35
lasan ibn All, second lmlm of
Shl'ism, 62, 259f
laaan Askarl, eleventh ImAm of
Sh1'ism, 264, 298 n 51 ,
33 1 n 28
layy ibn Yaq,An, 75, 294 n 20,
3 1 2 M 4
Heavenly Jerusalem, 73, 292 n
128, 33 1 n 27
lleavens r the eight, 302 n 86;
of IOrqal yl, 9 1 , l Ol a of the
Pleroma of the Sahat, 6lf, 66;
supraensory, 23 1-233, 328 n
21
Hell, 148-149; the seven circles
of, 230, 234f; "hels of your
being," 328 n 21
Heptad: the divine, 7, 8; of Light,
272 n 6; see also Amahraspands
Heraclide du Pont, 299 n 59
Henes, 34, 85f, 120-122,
296 n 45, 305 n 4
Hibil Ziwa, 103
hierarchies, esoteric, 315 n 32
himma ( enthymesil ) , 31 3 n 16,
327 6
historicism, xiii
Hokairya ( the mountain) , 26 f,
35
Horakhah, Angel of Te Sun, 123,
125, 306 n 9, n 15
HorqalyA ( celestial Earh, world
of the ) , xii, xivf, 12, 33, 53,
55, 58, 63, 71, 72-73, 79f,
81-84, 97, 101, 1 18-134, 185,
189, 190f, 240-268, 295 n 30,
301 n 81 , 304 n 1, 314 n 23,
318 7; elements of, 91
lusayn ibn 'All, third lmlm of
Shl'ism, xvii, 62, 186
hyle ( hayall, "material" matter ) ,
169f, 206, 301 n 7 1
lamblicus, 97
Ibn Arabi, 82f, 1 1 1, 135-143,
147, 161, 295 n 35, 296 n 45
Ibn KammOna, 121, 122
Ibn Shahr-Ashob, 205
lmaginalia, 87, 88, 294 n 24
Imaginatio 'era, 1 1 , 76, 81 , 149,
325 n 65
Imago Animae, 14, 15, 35, 40, 46,
82
Imago Terrae, 14, 15, 20, 24f,
28, 29, 35, 40, 76, 83, 273 n 1 6
ImAm ( the twelfth ) , the hidden
ImAm, xiv, 62, 69, 72, 89f,
238, 260, 265-267, 292 n 3,
306 n 14, !18 M 1 1
Index
lmAmism, x; see also Sht<ism
lmlmites, see Sht<ites
lmAmology ( Shtite ) , 58, 64, 236,
3 1 3 n 20, 314 n 26, 321 n 26,
330 n 14
ImAms, the twelve, 59, 61-62,
64-65, 67, 141, 149, 178, 181,
186, 190
Intell igence: the First, 130, 2371,
242, 3 1 1 n 2; world of the,
242-245, 248; see also JabarQt
Intelligences ( angelic, Cherbim,
angeli intellectules ) , 56, 76,
1 21 , 130, 134, 1721, 209,
297 n 49
IsfandAruz, 55, 56; see Spenta
Armaiti
IshrAqtynn, 1 71 ; see also oriental
theosophists
Isml'tlis, 309 n 4, 327 n 1 1
Ispahbad ( =hegemonikon) , 130,
307 n 22
JAbalqA and JAbarA, citie of the
subtle world, 73, 79, 85, 89,
101, 1 18, 1 19, 1261, 1311,
134, 1 60-163, 173, 192, 240,
259, 261, 268, 295 n 30
Jabarnt, world or sphere of, 55,
59, 60, 130, 208, 244
JAbir ibn ayyAn, 274 n 25,
3 19 n 2, 323 n 54, 331 n 32
Jafar Adiq, fourh ImAm of
Shrism, 184, 1881, 195, 196,
215, 217, 220, 241 , 259,
323 n 54, 330 n 21
jaa A ( elemental by, material
and perishable ) , 91-96, 99-
101, 182-183, 193-195, 1971,
20-203, 213, 216, 320 n 10
jaa B ( spiritual boy, esential,
imperishable, constitute of the
subtle elements of HorqalyA,
caro spiritualiB, jaa harqalyl ) ,
91-96, 99-101, 183-185,
1901, 198-200, 202, 203,
2131, 215-218, 299 n 66,
320 n 10, 321 n 29, 323 n 46
Jtlt ( Ab al-Kartm) , 72, 1 12,
148-159, 136, 308 n 2
jilm A ( subtle celetial by,
accidental, emanated from the
Heavens of HOrqalyA) , 9 1-96,
186, 187, 190, 193, 195, 199,
20, 201, 203, 2141, 320 n 10,
323 n 46
jilm B ( subtle archetypal boy,
consubstantial, imperishable ) ,
91-96, 99-102, 187, 190-191,
193-195, 199-20, 207-208,
215, 21 61, 222-224, 320 n 10,
326 n 2
Jung, C. G. , 274 n 24, 300 n 69,
308 n 3, 323 n 47, 324 n 61 ,
327 n 9
Kaba, 137, 141
kadblnn, kad bAnO'ya ( attribute
of Spenta Araiti ) , 55f, 284 n
88
KalAm, 1 1 1
Kansaoya (l ake ) , 49, 279 n 62,
292 n 126
kathenotheism, 8, 272 n 6,
277 n 46
Kathtb ( al- ) , 150, 171
Kay Khusraw, 171, 306 n 16
Kerbiel ( archangel ) , 191
Keshvars, the Seven, 17f, 78,
276 n 39
Khi:r ( al-Khatr ) , the prophet,
72, 151, 153f, 313 n 17, n 18,
315 n 3
Kraus, P. , 319 n 2, 324 n 54
Knh-i-KhwAjah, 279 n 62
LAhtjt, Ab al-Razzlq, 1 1 3-1 14,
171-175, 31 7 n 3
LAhtjt, Shamsuddtn Mulammad,
1 12-1 13, 161-163, 3 1 1 n 9
lthat (sphere or pleroma of the ) ,
59, 60, 63, 244, 3 1 3 n 18,
326 n 71
lapil vvu, 10, 208, 324 n 61
Leisegang, H. , 276 n 39
347
Index
light: auroral, 125f; "victorial,"
55, 130
Light of Lights, 129, 132, 134
Logos and Sophi, 64
Ltus of the Boundary, 145, 234
Macrobius, 93
Maeterlinck, M., 96, 299 n 64,
31 8 n 9
Mahler, G. , 105
Mahryag-Mahrylnag, 47
Maitreya, 89
Majlisi 258, 309 n 4, 330 n 17
Malakat ( world of sphere of the
Soul ) , 55, 59f, 130, 148, 1 65,
177, 191, 192, 207, 208,
21 lf, 244f, 252, 297 n 49,
3 1 1 n 5
mandala, 276 n 39
Mandeans, 103, 192
Mandeism, 278 M 4 7
mandragore, 304 n 3
Manicheism, 280 n 64, 305 n 4,
396 45, 327 M 12
Maryam, 136, 177, 309 n 4
Massignon, L. , 276 M 40, 293 n 5
matter: "immaterial," spiritual,
78, 169f, 206f; material,
see hyle
matriarchal system, 277 n 46
Mazdaism, 6; see also angelology,
eschatology
Mehmet Aga-Oglu, 28 1 n 7 1
Meier, F. , 294 n 2 1
men of the Invisible, 123, 1 51 ,
153, 156f, 31 4 n 28
mlnik ( celestial , subtle state ) , 10
Mlnckl Xrat, 278 n 47
Mlnckl Tazishn, 272 n 6, n 12
metahistory, 48, 60
metamorphosis, 21 8-22 1 , 242f
metals, the seven, 47f, 69
Michael ( archangel ) , 65, 1 91 ,
306 n 9, 314 n 28
Midnight Sun, 7 1-72, 86, 1 5 1
Mtr )}fmld, 69, 1 1 3, 306 n 1 2
Mtr Flndnrl1k1, 1 1 3
Mi'raj ( the Prophet's assumption ) ,
86, 145, 282-283 n 76, 3 1 8 n 8
Mirkhwlnd, 283 n 8 1
miror: symbol of the, 8 1 , 127f,
247, 250, 253, 329 n 10; of the
Philosophers, 204f, 323 n 52;
of the Wise Men, 99f
Mithra, 280 n 64, 289 n 107
Mithraic liturgy, 92
Mithraism, 44
Modi, J. J. , 282 n 73
Mo'n ( Mut. ) , 282 n 75, 293 n
1 1 , 296-297 n 45
Monneret de Villard, U., xviii
More, Henry, 1 64
Moses, 132, 145, 314 n 28
Moulton, J. H. , 274 n 20
Mshunia Kushta, 103, 278 n 47,
303 n 88, 321 n 21
Mufd, Shaikh, 149
Muammad ( the Prophet ) , 62,
244
Mulammad Blqir, ffth lmlm of
Shl'ism, 259, 3 14 n 26,
327 n 18
Mulammad Karim Khan Kirmlnl,
60, 69, 1 16, 222-239, 263,
293 n 6, 301 n 79
Mulsin Fay Klshinr, 83, 1 01 ,
1 14, 1 76-179, 296 n 37,
309 n 4, 324 n 59
mulk ( 'alam al- ) , the visible
sensory world, 19 1f, 248f
mundus imaginali archetypus,
76, 77, 87, 122, 126, 144-147,
1 60f, 172f, 190, 192, 240f,
256f, 262, 267; see also
barzakh, Hnrqalyl, archetype
Images, Malakat, world beyond
Mutakallimnn ( scholastic
theologians of Isl am) , 1 7 1 , 1 7 4
musical relationships, see
Pyhagoras
nafas al-Ramtn, 1 74
Najmuddln Kuhrn, 296 n 45,
307 n l R, 30R n 24
Nn,lrncl<11n Tn11, 2Rn n 94
Index
Naw Rnz, SS
Neryosang ( the Angel ) , 49
rut ( humanity) , SlS n 18;
see also ldat
north, symbl of the, 71 , 72
Nyberg, H. S., 271 n S, 272 M 6, n
8, 277 n 46, 285 M 92, 286 n
94, 291 M 124, Sl S n 19
Occident ( cosmic ) , 75f, 9 1
occultation ( of the ImAm) , 2S8,
265-267, S24 n 24
okhlma ( vehicle of the soul,
subtle body ) , 92-94, lOS,
187, 1 94, 298 n 56, 299 n 66
Olympiodorus, 299 n 66
operatio secreta Artis, 204,
S2S n 52; see also alchemy
Orient: ishriq, 85; cosmic, 75;
origin, 7 1 ; the Orients and the
Occidents, 1 62-1 6S
Oriental Teosophists
( lshriqiyin ) , 86, 171-175
palm tree, symbol of the, 1S5-1S6,
SOB n 1, n S, S09 n 4, n 5,
SlS n 15
Pand Nimak i Zartusht, 275 n S2,
284 n 84
Paraclete, S28 n 24
paradise ( a Medean word pairi
daeza) , 21 , 148, 149, 276 n 41 ;
absolute, 100; the eight degrees
of, 226f, 2SOf, 2S5f; of
Yima, see Var of Yima
paroui of the hidden ImAm, 70,
89, 178, 2S6, 2S9, 26 1, 26S,
265f, S28 n 24
perception: harmonic, 54f, 71 ;
imaginative, 61 , 78f, 127, 128,
167
Perfect Man, 148, 2S5
peripatetic philosophers, 124, 126,
1 71-175, S04 M 2
PehotQn, 70
Phaedo, 96
Philo, 8, 64
philosophers: Islamic, S04 n 2;
natural ( alchemists ) , 208-210
photisms, 126, S07 n 18
physiology, mystical, xiv, S4, 40,
9lf, 97, 180-184, 287 n 104,
S07 n 19, S26 n 4
pillars of the Earth, 158, SI S M S2
Pistis Sophia, 42
Plato, 122, 129, S04 n 2
Plotinus, 129, S29 n 6
Plutarch, S7, 285 n 92
Poimandres, S4
Pole, 75, 90, S IS n 18, S IS n S2
Poortman, J. J. , 298 n 56
powers: of light, 7, 9, S6, 45;
demonic, 9, lS, 17, 25, S7, 45
Proclus, 6, 92, 9S, 96, 27S n 15,
28S n 82, 298 M 56, S02-SOS n
86
prophetology, 58
psycho-cosmic mountain, SS;
see also Elburz, Qlf
Ptolemy, 19
Pythagoras, 88, 1S4
QAf, cosmic mountain, 71, 74, 140,
157, 26 1, 29S n IS, n 16,
SIS n 21
Qumshahl, MirzA Rii, 1 12
Qutbuddln ShirAzi, 122, 126, 128,
129, ISO, 1S4
Rashnu, 289 n 107
ravin-i rih, 41 , 286 n 97
Ray ( the Rhages of the Book of
Tobias ) , xvii
reversion, the theme of, 71 , 204,
2S6
rising dawn, 27f, 85, 296 n 45
robe, symbol of the, 104, 1S9,
28S n 76, 296 n 45, S06 n 17
RozbihAn Baqii of Shirlz, 150,
SOB n 24, S09 n 4, SS l M 24
Sabeans, lOS
Saddar Bundehesh, 286 M 97,
287 M 104, 288 n 105
349
Index
adruddln ShirAi ( Mul&
adrA) , 55, 56, 1 1S, 122,
164170, 192, 20S, 204, 206,
207, 210, 212, 218, 219, 246,
299 6S, S07 21, S 1 1 8,
S l7 n 12, S26 n 5, n 1 1, M 15
Salln and Absll, 296 n 45
SalmAn PArsi, 258
Saoshyant ( the Zoroatria
Savior) , xiv, 18, S7, 46, 48, 49,
62, 69, S06 n 14; the three
Saoshyant, 291 n 126
SakA .ghl ( Shaikh) , 80, 89,
98, 1 17, 241-268, 298 n 51 ,
S26 n 1
Seraphiel, Angel of Resurection,
65, 95, 185, 187, 196, 198f,
215-217, Sl4 n 28, S25 n
67, n 70
Seven Sleepers ( the ) , 299 n 6S,
S 14 n 2S
seventy, S22 n S6, n S9, S2S n
47, S27 n 12
shadow, 10, S4
Shar BlnQ ( princess ) , xvii
1hahr-i Dukhtartn, 70, 291 n 126
ShahrazQrl, 120f, 122, S05 n 4
Shiyut lt-htyut, 272 n 6,
27S n 14
Shaikhism, 12, 57-59, 77, 86,
1 14117
Shrism, Shi'ites, x, xi, xiii, 57, 89,
149, 179, 2S5, 265, 266,
SOB n 1, S18 n 9, S1 9 n 12
Simnlnl, xviii, S21 n 16
imurgh ( the ) , xviii
Socrates, 129
Sophia, xiv, S6, S7, S9, 41, 50,
56f, 6466, 104, 284 n 87,
285 n 92, 287 n lOS, 292 n
128; ee al1o Da!nl, Flima,
Spenta Araiti
sophianity, S7f, 64, 68, 104
aophlology1 Mazdean, S6f, 68;
Shi`ite, 59, 6466
aoul, world of the, !45, 247, 248,
!UH 1 88 alo MaltJat
soul of the world, 554
souls: the matter of, 247; origin
of, 247; way of ent t the
world of, 247f
Souls of the Spheres ( angeli
coele1te ) , 55f, 76f, 145, 209,
297 n 49
Spendaratlkl, S7, SB, S9, 68,
104, 284 n 86, 286 n 94
Penta, 271 n S
Spenta Armaiti ( Spendarat,
Isfendaruz ) , Amahraspand,
archangel of the Earh, xiv, 9,
15, 31, S6-S8, 46, 47, 55f,
57, 59, 6S, 68f, 104,
284 n 86, n 88
Sphere of Sphere, 62, 191
Spirit: world of the, 248; "of the
imagination," "of paradise,"
148; Holy Spirit, S09 n 4
spiritual meaning, xiii
Pi8Bitto Pirtuli8, 164170,
S26 M 5, SS1 M Sl
Sraosha ( Ser6h) , the angel,
287 n 104
Steiner, Rudolf, 298 n 55
Strauss, Ricard, 105
Strzygowski, J. , 28 1 n 71
!nfsm, !afs, xi, 64, 1 1 1, 171,
172, 174
Sun rising in the Occident, 89,
267, SS l n S2
Swedenborg, 102, S02 n 82,
S27 n 15, SSO n 16
Tabarl, 7S, 293 n lS
'abarsl ( AbQ MansQr Ali ) , 188,
S09 n 4, S20 n lS
Tabula 1ecreta ( lawh mah/Gz) ,
66, 146
tan i puen ( future bdy) ,
S26 n 4
Taromati ( archdemon ) , S9,
285 n 92
tawhld, S26
Ta'wll ( hereneutics of symbol ) ,
li, i l , 34, 53, 56, 50, 60, 66,
1 84, 180
350
Index
_Teology, attributed to Aristotle,
122, 3( n 2
Theophany, 61 , 63, 66, 68, 137,
15 1f
theosophy, x, xi; Isml'ill,
289 n 1 13; Madean, 92;
Shtite, 58
time, 140, 249, 321 n 16,
33 1 n 25
tomb, meaning of the, 184, 189-
1 91 , 218, 21 9, 249, 321 n 23,
325 n 67
treauries: the six, matrix of the
archetypal by (jum B) ,
187f, 193, 196f, 206, 217f,
322 n 23, 329 n 1 1; the three,
254
Ushah, Ushahin, 280 n 64
Ushidarena ( mountain of dawns ) ,
27f
Var of Yima, 17, 23f, 71, 73,
103, 140, 151, 277 n 46,
290 n 120
vicharishn, 6
Virgin of light, 42, 287 n 104
vio am0ragdiH, 74, 8 1
Vispa Taurvairi ( Omnivictri,
virgin mother of Te
Saoshyant ) , 49, 277 n 46
Vohu Manah ( Vohuman,
Bahman) , Amahraspand, 8, 31 ,
34, 55
Watchers ( Yaqzln, Egregoroa ) ,
15 1-153, 3 12 n 4; the men of
a-Arlf, 150
witness of contemplation ( ahf) ,
123, 306 10
world beyond, 165, 166f, 168
Xshathra V aa ( Shatrvar,
Sharlvar) , Amaraspand,
8, 3 1
Xvaniratha, 17f, 275 n 37
Xvama ( Khorreh, Far) , Light
of-Glory, 13f, 24, 26, 29, 30,
35, 37, 42, 45f, 49, 77, 125,
274 n 30, n 31, 279 n 56,
269 n 105, 297 n 45, 306 13;
Royal Xvanah, 125, 274 n 30
Yahya, Osman, 1 1 1, 315 n 3 1
Yaqtt, 19, 275 n 38, 293 n 1 3
Yazatas ( lza) , 6 , 9 , 274 n 19
Y azdgard III, xvi
Yima, aee Var of Yima
Ya, angel of the fourh Heaven,
151, 153, 3 10 n 14, 3 12 n 8
Zll, son of Slm, xviii
Zamylt, dea tureatm, 9, 13, 24,
28, 32, 37, 46
Zarathustra ( Zroater) , 8, 21f,
32-35, 48-50, 85, 275 n 37,
282 n 76, 284 n 88, 286 n 94, n
96, 306 16
Zaratuht N4meh ( Bok of
Zorouter) , 32f, 282 n 75,
285 n 90
Zit-pram, 33, 273 n 18, 282 n
75, 283 79, 285 n 90
Zaynal-Abidtn KhAn Kirln1,
1 16, 259, 330 n 19
351

Henry Corbin Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Henry Corbin Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Spiritual Body and Celestial

These texts tegether |erm a pregess|en |rem ene atave te

Th|s br|e| |yr|ca| cen|ess|en prempts us te reect en twe

Aga|a,|aetherwerds, thebe|ags aadtheth|ag, hav|ag bea

endars e| h|stery ( a|theugh

Retreat aa the psycha<asm|c meuata|a ac-

re|at|ensh|p e| 8penta Arma|t| w|th the

s temembtthe eschate|eg|ca| |mp||cat|eas e|the

What |s gtasped |a th|s v|s|ea |s eace aga|a the Eveat e|

Earth, whese persea

Ia |act, the |aterregat|ea eacedes |er the |mag|aat|ve

eat|at|ea wh|ch |sthecead|t|eae|eatth|y humaa|ty, ameaa|ag

tak at the summ|t e| the cesm|c meuata|a e| Oa|,

ags e| 8ha|kh 8arkar Agha g|vea |a

The authet, as we|| as h|s |mmed|ate

We ate aewab|ete gaspthe|u||s|ga|caacea|theceac|se

( aad ptec|se|y the |act that they ate set as|de as

Let us eater st||| mere deep|y |ate th|s 8ha|kht med|tat|ea,

dy aad the he|| e|the maa w|theut |a|th et kaewledge

Ot aga|a, th|s say|ag wh|ch cea-

Onecaa a|seundetstaadhewthe|dea e|thece|est|a|bedyet

y|ag m|s term here just as

( g ) FROM T HE S AME WORK

at|eas, etc. , a|| e| them se||-subs|steat |a suspease, that

maus Images and Fetms ate net the P|aten|c

ain we fnd the same ocean, which i s made of

cause |t |s the archetype e| a|| the Perms e| the |ad|v|dua|s

Th|s |aterwer|d ceata|as the Threae ( 'arsh, the supreme

'That |s the subt|e wet|d,' he sa|d te me, 'a wet|d |etevet

Amp|e cemmentary en th|s has

andthe|rsp|r|tua| een are se |ntense, that||

s h|s ua|ertuaate mauat, yau w|||uadetstaad

You might also like