T he T aw as in
of Mansur Al-H allaj
T r ans lat ed by
Ais ha Abd Ar -R ahman At -T ar j umana
T he T a-S in of the P r ophet ic L amp
1. A lamp appeared from the Light of the Uns een. I t appeared and
returned, and it surpassed the other lamps. I t was a ruling
moon, manifesting itself radiantly among the other moons. I t
was a s tar whose as trological house is in the Empyrean. Allah
named him  unlettered in view of the concentration of his
aspiration, and als o  cons ecrated because of the maj esty of his
blessing, and  Makkan because of his residence in His vicinity.
2. He expanded his breast, and raised his power, and lifted from his
the burden  that had weighed down thy back, and He impos ed
his authority. As Allah made his Badr appear so his full moon
rose from the cloud of Yamćma and his sun arose on the side of
T ihćma (Makka), and his lamp shone from the source of all
divine munifence.
3. He did not report about anything except according to his inner
vision, and he did not order the following of his example except
according to the truth of his conduct. He was in the presence of
Allah, then he brought others to His Presence. He saw, then he
related what he was . He was sent forth as a guide, so he defined
the limits of conduct.
4. No one is capable of discerning his true significance, except the
S incere, since he confirmed its validity, and then accompanied
him so that there would not remain any disparity between them.
5. No Gnostic ever knew him who was not ignorant of his true
quality. His quality is made clear only to those to whom Allah
undertakes to disclose it.  T hose to whom We have given the
Book, and the recognize their sons, even though a party of them
conceal the truth, and that wittingly. (2.46)
6. T he lights of prophecy issued from his light, and his light
appeared from the light of Mystery. Among the lights there is
none more luminous , more manifest or more uncreate-than-
uncreatedness than the light of the Mas ter of Generosity.
7. His aspiration preceded all other aspirations, his existence
preceded non-existence, his name preceded the Pen because it
existed before.
8. T here was never on the horizons , beyond the horizons, nor
below the horizons anyone more graceful, nobler, wiser, more
j ust, kinder, more God-fearing or more s ympathetic than the
holder of this role. His title is Master of Creation, and his name is
Ahmad, and his attribute is Muhammad. His command is more
certain, and his essence is more excellent, and his attribute is
more glorious, and his aspiration is unique.
9. Oh marvel! What is more manifest, more visible, greater, more
famous, more luminous , more powerful or more discerning than
him? He is and was, and was known before created things and
existences and beings. He was and still is remembered before
 before and after  after , and before s ubs tances and qualities. His
substance is completely light, his speech is prophetic, his
knowledge is celestial, his mode of expression is Arabic, his tribe
is  neither of the Eas t nor the West (24.35), his genealogy is
patriarchal, his mission is conciliation, and he has the title of the
 unlettered .
10. T he eyes were opened by his signs, secrets and selves
perceived by his being there. I t was Allah who made him
articulate by His Word, and being the Proof, confirmed him. I t
was Allah who sent him forth. He is the proof and the proven. I t
is he who quenches the thirs t of the vehemently thirsty heart, it
is he who brings the uncreated word that is not touched by what
touches it, nor phrased by the tongue, nor made. I t is united to
Allah without separation, and it surpasses the conceivable. I t is
he who announces the end and the ends and the ends of the
end.
11. He lifted the cloud, and pointed to the S acred House. He is
the limitation, and he is a heroic warrior. I t is he who received
the order to break the idols , and it is he who was sent to
mankind for the extermination of them.
12. Above him a cloud flashed bolts of lightning, and below
him a bolt of lightning flashed, shone, caused rain, and fructified.
All knowledge is but a drop from his ocean, and all wisdom is but
a handful from his stream, and all times are but an hour from his
life.
13. Allah is with him, and with him is reality. He is the firs t in
union and the last to be commissioned as a prophet, the inward
by reality, and the outward by gnosis.
14. No scholar ever attained his knowledge nor did any
philosopher become cognizant of his understanding.
15. Allah did not surrender (His Reality) to His creation,
because he is he, and his being there is He, and He is He.
16. Nothing came out of the M of MHMD, and none entered
into his H, and his H is the s ame as his second M, and his D is as
his first M. His D is his perpetuity, his M is his rank, his H his
spiritual state, as is his second M.
17. Allah made his speech manifest, and enlarged his mark,
and made his proof known. He s ent down the furqan to him, he
made his tongue adequate, and He made his heart shine. He
made his contemporaries incapable (of imitating Qur an). He
established his clarification and exalted his glory.
18. I f you flee from his domains, what route will you take
without a guide, oh ailing one? T he maxims of the philosophers
are like a s lipping heap of sand before his wisdom.
T he T a-S in of Underst anding
1. T he comprehensions of created natures are not attached to
reality, and reality is not attached to created natures . T houghts
(which come) are adherences , and the adherences of created
natures do not attach themselves to realities. T he perception of
reality is difficult to acquire, so how much more difficult is the
perception of the reality of the Reality. Furthermore, Allah is
beyond reality, and reality does not in itself imply Allah.
2. T he moth flies about the flame until morning, then he returns to
his fellows and tells them of his spiritual state with the mos t
eloquent expressions. T he he mixes with the coquetry of the
flame in his desire to reach perfect union.
3. T he light of the flame is the knowledge of reality, its heat is the
reality of reality, and Union with it is the T ruth of the reality.
4. He was not satisfied with its light nor with its heat, so he leapt
into it completely. Meanwhile, his fellows were awaiting his
coming so that he could tell them of his actual vision since he
had not been satisfied with hearsay. But at that moment, he was
being utterly consumed, reduced and dispers ed into fragments,
and he remained without form or body or distinguishing mark.
T hen in what sense can he return to his fellows? And in what
state now that his has obtained? He who had arrived at the
vision became able to dispens e with reports. He who arrives at
the obj ect of his vision is no longer concerned with the vis ion.
5. T hese meanings do not concern the negligent man, nor the
transitory man, nor the man of wrong action, nor the man who
follows his whims.
6. Oh you who are uncertain, do not identify  I am with the divine
 I  - not now, nor in the future, nor in the past. Even if the  I am
was a consummated Gnostic, and if this was my state, it was not
the perfection. Even though I am His I am not He.
7. I f you have understood this, then understand that these
meanings were not true from anyone except Muhammad, and
 Muhammed is not the father of any one of your men, but the
Messenger of Allah and the s eal of the prophets . He abs ented
himself from men and j inn, and he clos ed his eyes to  where
until there no longer remained any veil on the heart nor any
falsehood.
8. T here was a  length of two bows lengths or nearer, when he
reached the des ert of the  knowledge of reality, he reported
from the outward heart. When he arrived to the truth of the
reality he left his desire there and gave hims elf up to the
Bountiful. When he reached the T ruth he returned and said:  the
inward heart has prostrated to You, and the outward heart has
believed in You. When he reached the Furthermos t Limit he
said:  I cannot praise You as You should be prais ed. When he
reached the reality of the reality he s aid:  You are the only One
who can praise Yourself.
He renounced his desire and followed his vocation,  the heart did
not lie about what it saw at this station near the Lote-T ree of
the Boundary. He did not turn to the right to the reality of
things, nor to the left to the reality of reality.  His eyes swerved
not, nor swept away.
T he T a-S in of Purity
1. Reality is something very subtle and minute in its description,
the paths of access to it are narrow, and on them one
encounters sighing fires beside deep deserts. T he stranger
follows these paths and informs about what he has experienced
in the forty S tations such as:
1. manners (adab)
2. awe (rahab)
3. fatigue (nas ab)
4. serach (talab)
5. wonder ( ajab)
6. perishing ( atab)
7. exaltation (tarab)
8. avidity (sharah)
9. probity (nazah)
10. sincerity (sidq)
11. comradeship (rifq)
12. emancipation (litq)
13. setting out (taswih)
14. rest (tarwih)
15. discernment (tamyiz)
16. witnessing (shuhud)
17. existence (wuj ud)
18. enumeration ( add)
19. labor (kada)
20. restitution (rada)
21. dilation (imtidad)
22. preparation (I  dad)
23. isolation (infirad)
24. captivity (inqiyad)
25. attraction (murad)
26. presence (hudur)
27. exercise (riyada)
28. circumspection (hiyata)
29. regret for things lost (iftiqad)
30. resistance (istilad)
31. consideration (tadabbur)
32. perplexity (tahayyur)
33. reflection (tafakkur)
34. patience (tas abbur)
35. interpretation (ta abbur)
36. non-acceptance (rafd)
37. strong criticism (naqd)
38. observation (ri aya)
39. taking a guide (hidaya)
40. beginning (bidaya)
T he las t S tation is the S tation of the people of S erenity of
Heart and purification
2. Each S tation has its own gift of which one part is conceivable
and the other not.
3. T hen the s tranger entered the desert and crossed it and
embraced and comprehended the whole of it. He did not find
anything familiar or useful, either on the mountain or on the
plain.
4.  When Musa accomplished the term he left his people s ince
reality was going to take him as  his . And yet he was satisfied
with indirect information without direct vision, and there s hould
be a difference between him and the best of mankind
(Muhammad). T herefore he s aid:  Perhaps I will bring you some
information. (20.10)
5. I f the Well-Guided was pleased with indirect information how
shall he who searches the route not suffice hims elf with an
indirect trace.
6. From the Burning Bush, on the side of S inai what he heard speak
from the Bush was not the Bus h nor its seed but Allah.
7. And my role is like this Bush.
8. S o reality is reality and the created is created. Reject your
created nature, that you may become Him, and He, you - in
respect to reality.
9. I -ness is a s ubj ect, and the obj ect defined is also a s ubj ect in
reality, so how is it defined?
10. Allah said to Mus a:  You guide to the Proof, not to the
Object of the Proof. And as for Me I am the Proof of every proof.
11. Allah made me pass by what is reality
By grace of a contract, a pact, and an alliance.
My secret is a witness
without my created pers onality.
T his is my secret and this is reality
12. Allah enunciated my knowledge with me from my heart.
He drew me near to Him after I had been so far from Him. He
made me His intimate and chose me.
T he T a-S in of the Cir cle
1. T he firs t door represents the one who reaches the circle of T ruth.
T he s econd door represents the person who reaches it, who after
entering it comes to a closed door. T he third door represents the
one who goes astray in the des ert of the T ruth-Nature of the
truth.
2. He that enters the circle is far from the T ruth because the way is
blocked and the seeker is sent back. T he point on high
represents his yearning. T he lower point represents his return to
his point of departure, and the middle point is his bewilderment.
3. T he inner circle does not have a door, and the point which is in
the center is T ruth.
4. T he meaning of T ruth is that from which externals and internals
are not absent, and it does not tolerate forms .
5. I f you wish to understand what I have pointed to here, then
 take four birds and twist them to thee, (2.260) because Allah
does not fly.
6. I t is His jealousy which makes it appear after He hid it. I t was
awe that kept us apart, it was bewilderment that deprived us of
it.
7. T hese are the meanings of T ruth. I t is subtler than the circle of
the origins, and the des ignation of the regions. And subtler still
is the internal functioning of the unders tanding, because of the
concealing of the imagination.
8. T his is because the obs erver observes the circle from without not
from within.
9. As for the Knowledge of the knowledge of T ruth, he does not
know it, because he is incapable. Knowledge denotes a place but
the circle is a forbidden place (haram).
10. S o they named the prophet  Haram because he alone
came out of from the circle of Haram.
11. He was full of fear and awe, and wearing the garment of
T ruth, he went out and cried  Ah!! to all creation.
T he T a-S in of the P oint
1. Finer still than that is the mention of the Primordial Point, which
is the S ource, and which does not grow or decrease, nor
consume its elf.
2. T he one who denies my spiritual state denies it because he does
not see me, and he calls me a heretic. He charges me with evil,
and seeing my glory he calls for help, and it is to the s acred
circle which is beyond the beyond that he cries .
3. He who reaches the s econd circle imagines me to be the I ns pired
Master.
4. He who reaches the thrid circle thinks that I am at the bottom of
all desires.
5. And he who reaches the circle of T ruth forgets me and his
attention is distracted from me.
6.  No indeed, not a refuge! Upon that day the recourse s hall be to
thy Lord, upon that day man shall be told his former deeds and
his latter.
7. But man turns to indirect testimony, he flees to a refuge, he
fears the s parks, and his intention is beguiled and led as tray.
8. I am absorbed in the sea of the depths of eternity and he who
reaches the circle of T ruth is occupied on the s hore of the sea of
knowledge with his own knowledge. He is absent from my vision.
9. I saw a certain bird from the selves of the S ufis which flew with
the two wings of S ufism. He denied my glory as he pers isted in
his flight.
10. He asked me about purity and I said to him:  Cut your
wings with the s hears of annihilation. I f not you cannot follow
me.
11. He said to me:  I fly with my wings to my Beloved. I said
to him:  Alas for thee! Because there is naught like Him, He is
the All-Hearing, the All-S eeing. S o then he fell into the sea of
understanding and was drowned.
12. One can represent the ocean of understanding thus:
I saw my Lord with the eye of my heart
I saw:  Who are You? He s aid:  You!
But for You,  where cannot have a place
And there is no  where when it concerns You.
T he mind has no image of your existence in time
Which would permit the mind to know where you are.
You are the one who encompasses every  where
Up to the point of no-where
S o where are you?
12. A single unique point from the circle denotes the various
thoughts of the understanding. A single point is itself the T ruth
and the rest is error.
13.  He drew near in rising -  then he came again in
transcending. S eeking he drew near; enraptured, he came again.
He left his heart there and drew nigh to his Lord. He was absent
when he s aw Allah, yet he was not absent. How was he pres ent
and not present? How did he look and not look?
14. From amazement he passed to lucidity and from lucidity to
amazement. Witnessed by Allah he witnessed Allah. He arrived
and was separated. He reached his Desire and was cut off from
his heart, and  his heart lies not of what it saw.
15. Allah concealed him then made him draw near. He
commissioned him and purified him. He made him thirsty and
then fed him. He purified him and then chose him. He called him
and then summoned him. He afflicted him and then came to his
aid. He armed him and then put him in the s addle.
16. T here was a dis tance of  one bow span and when he
returned he reached his mark. When called he ans wered. Having
seen he effaced himself. Having drunk he was satisfied. Having
come near he was awe-struck. And having separated hims elf
from cities and helpers, he was separated from consciences and
looks and created traces (athar).
17.  Your comrade did not go astray, he did not weaken or
grow weary. His eye did not falter nor was he tired by a  when
of pure duration.
18.  Your comrade did not go as tray, in his contemplation of
Us. He did not pass beyond in visiting Us, nor transgress in Our
message. He did not compare Us to others in treating of Us. He
did not deviate in the garden of dhikr in contemplation of Us, nor
go astray in roaming in fikr.
19. Rather he remembered Allah in his breaths and blinks of
the eye, and was resigned to Him in afflictions and thankful for
his gifts.
20.  T his is naught but a revelation revealed from the Light to
the Light.
21. Change your speech! Absent yourself from illusions, raise
your feet high from mankind and creatures ! S peak of Him with
measure and harmony! Be passionate and lost in rapture.
Discover - that you might fly beyond the mountains and the
fields, the mountains of cognizance and the hills of security in
order to see He whom you regard. And so the legal fast is ended
on coming to the S acred House.
22. T hen he drew nigh to Allah like the one who is going to
enter the I ntention. T hen he announced that it is forbidden. I t is
like a barrier rather than impotence. He passed from the S tation
of Cleansing to the S tation of Reproach and from the S tation of
Reproach to the S tation of Proximity. He went nigh searching
and he returned fleeing. He went nigh invoking and he returned
a herald. He drew nigh answering and returned invested with
Divine Nearness. He drew nigh as a witness and returned a
contemplative.
23. T he dis tance between them was  two bow spans . He hit
the mark of  where with the arrow of  between (ayn and bayn).
He s tated that there were two bow spans to specify the exact
place, and  or because of the un-delineated nature of Essence,
 a little clos er in the Essence of the Essence.
24. T he Mas ter of the Extraordinary Al-Husadin ibn Mansur Al-
Hallaj said:
25. I do not believe that our expression here will be
comprehensible except to the one who has arrived at the second
bow span which is beyond the T ablet of Forms (lawh mahfuz).
26. T here are letters that are used no longer letters of Arabic
or Persian.
27. T here are letters only and that letter is the mim which is
the letter signifying  what he revealed
28. T he mim designated  T he Las t.
29. T he mim is also the s tring of the Firs t. T he firs t bow span
is the Kingdom of Might (j abrut) and the s econd is the Kingdom
of S overeignty (malakut), and the Kingdom of the Attributes is
the s tring of the two kingdom. And the Kingdom of the Essence
of I ntimate (specific) I llumination (tajalli khass) is the arrow of
the Abs olute and the arrow of the two spans.
30. I t comes from the One who kindles the fire of I llumination.
31. He said that the adequate form of speech is that speech
the s ens e of which is drawing near. T he Author of the meaning is
the T ruth of Allah not the method of His creation. T his nearing is
only obtained in the circle of vigorous exactitude.
32. T ruth and the T ruth of T ruths is found in the fines t
distinctions, from previous experiences, by means of an antidote
made by one who loves, in consideration of calamities and the
discernment of distinctions, and it is by a word of deliverance.
T his is the path of the elect in respect to individuals, and the
nearing is seen as a vast area s o that the knower who has
followed the obs erved paths of prophetic tradition may
understand.
33. T he Master of Yathrib, peace be upon him, proclaimed the
glory of the one who possesses the mos t excellent of graces,
inviolable, preserved in a  hidden Book, as He mentioned in a
visible book,  in a Book inscribed on the meaning of the
language of the birds , when He brought us there.
34. I f you understand this, oh lover, understand that the Lord
does not enter into conversation except with His own, or with the
friends of His own.
35. T o be one of His own is to have neither Master nor disciple,
to be without preference or distinction or affectation or counsel,
not having any  his or  from him. But rather what is in him is
what is in him, but without there being an  in him, as a desert
without water in a desert without water, as a sign in a s ign.
36. Public discourse trans lates its meanings transplant his
wishes, and his wish is seen from afar. His path is hard, his
name is glorious, his form is unique, his knowledge is denial of
knowledge, his denial is his sole truth, his sin is his source of
confidence. His Name is his Path, and his outward characteristic
is his burning, his attribute is Desire.
37. T he Road (s har ) is his characteristic, the truths (haqa iq)
are his arena and his glory, selves are his portico, S haitan is his
teacher, every sociable being became his familiar animal,
humanity is his conscience, obliteration is his glory, effacement
is his subject of meditation, the bride is his garden, and
effacement of effacement his palace.
38. His Masters are my refuge, their principles are my alarm,
their volition is my request, their aid is my stopping place, their
sorrows are my grief.
39. T heir leaves are a drinking place, their sleeves are nothing
but dust, their doctrine is the cornerstone of their state, and
their state is impotence. But any other state would be an object
of anger for Allah. S o this is enough and success with Allah.
T he T a-S in of Bef ore E ndless-T ime and
E quivocat ion
(for he who unders tands, in the unders tanding
of the unders tanding relative to public
discourse as to what is legitimate in regard to
intentions.)
1. T he Mas ter Abu l-Mughith, may Allah be merciful to him, said:
 T here is no established mission except that of I blis and
Muhammad, peace be on him, only I blis fell from the Essence
while Muhammad perceived the Essence of the Essence.
2. I t was said to I blis:  Prostrate yours elf! and to Muhammad -
 Look! But I blis did not prostrate hims elf, and Muhammad did
not look, he did not turn to the right or the left,  his eye s werved
nor, nor swept astray.
3. As for I blis, having announced his mission, he did not return to
his first power.
4. And when Muhammad announced his mission he returned to his
power.
5. With this statement,  I t is in You that I am transported and on
You that I fling mys elf, and also,  Oh You who turn the hearts 
and  I do not know how to praise You as You should be praised.
6. Among the inhabitants of heaven there was no unitarian or
worshipper like I blis.
7. For I blis there appeared the Divine Essence. He was prevented
from even a blink of the eye of awareness, and he began to
worship the Adored One in ascetic isolation.
8. He was cursed when he reached the double is olation, and he was
questioned when he demanded the ultimate solitude.
9. Allah said to him:  Prostrate yourself!! He s aid:  Not before
another than You. He s aid to him:  Even if my curse falls on
you? He s aid:  I t will not punish me.
10.  My denial is to affirm your purity and my reason remains
disordered in You. And what is Adam compared to You and who
am I , I blis, to differentiate from You!
11. He fell into the S ea of Majesty, he became blind, and said:
 T here is no path for me to other-than-You. I am a humble
lover. He s aid to him:  You have become proud. He said:  I f
there was one glance between us, it would have been enough to
make me proud and imperious , but I am he who knew You in
Before Endless-T ime, " I am better than Him" because I have
served You for a longer time. No one, in the two types of beings,
knows You better than I do! T here was an intention of Yours in
me, and an intention of mine in You, and both of them preceded
Adam. I f I prostrated before another than You or if I did not
prostrate it would be necessary me to return to my origin, since
You created me of fire, and fire returns to fire, according to an
equilibrium and choice which are Yours .
12. T here is no distance from You for me, since I became
certain that distance and nearness are one.
For me, if I was left, your desertion would be my companion, so
how much more are des ertion and love truly one!
Glory to You in Your Providence and in the Essence of your
I naccessibility for the pious worshipper who does not prostrate
before any other than You.
13. Musa met I blis on the s lope of S inai and said to him:  Oh
I blis, what prevented you from prostrating? He s aid:  That which
prevented me was my declaration of a Unique Beloved, and if I
had pros trated I would have become like you, because you were
only called upon once to  look at the mountain and you looked.
As for me, I was called upon a thous and times to prostrate
myself to Adam and I did not prostrate mys elf because I stood
by the I ntention of my Declaration.
14. S ayedina Musa s aid:  You abandoned a Command? I blis
said:  I t was a tes t. Not a command. S ayedina Mus a said:
 Without sin? But your face was deformed. I blis replied:  Oh
Musa, that is but the ambiguity of appearances, while the
spiritual state does not rely on it and does not change. Gnosis
remains true even as it was at the beginning and does not
change even if the individual changes.
15. S ayedina Musa s aid:  Do you remember Him now?  Oh
Musa, pure mind does not have need of memory - by it I am
remembered and He is remembered. His remembrance is my
remembrance, and my remembrance is His remembrance. How,
when remembering ours elves, can we two be other than one?
My service is now purer, my time more pleasant, my
remembrance more glorious, because I served Him in the
absolute for my good fortune, and now I serve Him for Himself.
16.  I lifted greed from everything which prevents or defends
for the sake of loss as well as gain. He isolated me, made me
ecstatic, confused me, expelled me, so that I would no mix with
the s aints. He put me far from others because of my jealous for
Him alone. He deformed me, because He amazed me, and
amazed me becaus e He banished me. He banis hed me becaus e I
was a servant and put me in a forbidden state becaus e of my
companionship. He s howed my lack of worth because I praised
His Glory. He reduced me to a s imple robe of ihram because if
my hijya. He left me because of my union, He unified me
because he cut me off. He cut me off because He had prevented
my desire.
17. By His T ruth I was not in error in respect to His decree, I
did not refuse destiny. I did not care at all about the deformation
of my face. I kept my equilibrium throughout these s entences .
18. I f He punishes me with His fire for all of eternity I would
not prostrate mys elf before anyone, and I would not abase
myself before any person or body because I do not recognize
any opposite with Him! My Declaration is that of the S incere and
I am one of those s incere in love.'
19. Al-Hallaj said:  There are various theories regarding the
spiritual states of Azazyl (I blis before his fall). One said that he
was charged with a mission in heaven, and with a mission on
earth. I n heaven he preached to the Angels showing them good
works, and on earth preaching to men and j inn showing them
evil deeds.
20. Because one does not recognize things except by their
oppos ites , as with fine white s ilk which can only be woven using
black fabric behind it - so the Angel could s how good actions and
say symbolically " I f you do these you will be rewarded." But he
who did not know evil before cannot recognize good.
21. T he Mas ter Abu  Umar Al-Hallaj said:  I deliberated with
I blis and Pharon on the honor of the generous. I blis said: " I f I
had prostrated myself I would have los t my name of honor."
Pharon said: " I f I had believed in this Messenger I would have
fallen from my rank of honor."
22. I said: " I f I had disavowd my teaching and my speech, I
would have fallen from the hall of honor.
23. When I blis said: " I am better than him," then he could not
see anyone other than himself. When Pharon said " I know not
that you have other Divinity than me," he did not recognize that
any of his people could dis tinguish between the true and the
false.
24. And I said: " I f you do not know Him, then know His signs,
I am His sign (tajalli) and I am the T ruth! And this is because I
have not ceased to realize the T ruth!"
25. My companion is I blis and my teacher is Pharon, I blis was
threatened with the fire and did not retract his allegation. Pharon
was drowned in the Red S ea without retracting his allegation or
recognizing any mediator. But he said: " I believe that there is no
Divinity but He in whon the tribe of I srael believe, " and don t
you see that Allah opposed Jibril in His glory? He s aid: " Why did
you fill your mouth with sand?"
26. And I was killed, crucified, my hands and feet cut off
without retracting my assertion.
27. T he name of I blis was derived from his first name, Azazyl
in which were changed: the  ayn representing the amplitude of
his endeavor, the zay, representing the growing frequency of his
visits, the alif - his way in His rank, the second zay - his
asceticism in His rank, and the ya - his wandering walk to his
agony, and lam - his obstinacy in his pain.
28. He s aid to him: " You do not prostrate, oh contemptible
one!" He said, " S ay rather - lover, for a lover is despised, so you
call me despicable. I have read in a Manifest Book, oh All-
Powerful and S teadfast, that this would happen to me. S o how
could I lower myself before Adam when you created him of earth
and me from fire? T hese two oppos ites cannot agree. And I have
served you longer, and have a greater virtue and a vas ter
knowledge and a more perfect activity.
29. Allah, may He be prais ed, said to him: " The choice is mine,
not yours." He said: " All choices and my choice its elf are yours ,
because You had already chosen for me, oh Creator, I f you
prevented me from prostrating before him You were the caus e of
the prevention. I f I err in speech You do not leave me because
You are the All-Hearing. I f You had willed that I prostrate before
him, I would have been obedient. I do not know anyone among
the Wise who knows you better than I do."
30. Do not blame me, the idea of censure is distant from me,
reward me then, my master, for I am alone.
I f, in being a promise, Your promise is truly the T ruth in
principle, the principle of my vocation is strong indeed.
He who wishes to write this declaration of mine, read it, and
know that I am a martyr!
31. Oh my brother! He was called Azazyl because he was
dismissed, dismissed from his primitive purity. He did not return
from his origin to his end, because he did not go out from his
end, he left, cursed from his origin.
32. His attempt to go out miscarried becaus e of the fixity of
his kindling. He found himself between the fire of his resting
place and the light of his high position.
33. T he source on the plain is a low-lying lake. He was
tormented by thirst in the place where there was abundance. He
cried his pain because the fire burned him, and his fear was
nothing but simulation and his blindness is vanity and - here he
is!
34. Oh my brother! I f you have unders tood, you have
considered the narrow pass in its very narrowness and you have
represented the imagination to yourself in its very unreality, and
you have returned distressed and full of anxiety.
35. T he mos t alert of the Knowers remained s ilent on I blis and
the gnos tics did not have the s trength to explain that which they
had learned. I blis was stronger that them in adoration and
nearer than them to the Pres ence of the Essence. He exerted
himself more and was more loyal to the covenant and was closer
to them than the Adored.
36. T he other Angels prostrated before Adam for support, and
I blis refused, because he had been in contemplation for a long
time already.
37. But his case became confus ed and his thought went
astray, so he s aid: " I am better than him." He remained in the
veil and did not value the dust, and brought damnation on
himself for the After-Endless-T ime of After-Endless-T ime.
T he T a-S in of the Divine W ill
1. Here is the representation of the volition of Allah. T he first circle
is the Decree of Allah (mashi a) and the s econd is His Wisdom,
and the third is His Power, and the fourth is His Before-Endless-
T ime Knowledge.
2. I blis said:  I f I entered the first circle I would have to undergo
the test of the s econd, and if I passed into the s econd I would
have to undergo the test of the third. And if I passed into the
third I would have to undergo the test of the fourth.
3. S o - no, no, no, no, and no! Even if I rested on my first no I
would have been cursed until I uttered the s econd, and rej ected
until I uttered the third so what does the fourth matter to me?
4. I f I had known that prostrating would have saved me I would
have prostrated. But I knew that after that circle were other
circles. I said to mys elf in conjecture,  if I come out safe from
this circle, how will I come out of the s econd, the third, and the
fourth?
5. S o the Alif of the fifth La is  He, the Living God.
T he T a-S in of the Declar at ion of Unity
1. He is Allah the Living.
2. Allah is One, Unique, Alone and testified as One.
3. Both are One and the profession of Unity of the One are in Him
and from Him.
4. From Him comes the dis tance that separates others from His
unity. I t can be repres ented thus:
5. T he knowledge of T awhid is an autonomous abstract cognizance,
and is represented thus:
6. T he T awhid is an attribute of the created subj ect who
pronounces it, and it is not an attribute of the Obj ect professed
as one.
7. I f I being created say  I  did I make Him also s ay  I  ? My T awhid
comes from me then, not from Him. He is free (munazzah) of
me and my T awhid.
8. I f I say  T he T awhid returns to the one who professes it then I
make it a created thing.
9. I f I say  No, the T awhid comes from the Obj ect it testifies to,
then what relation attaches the unifier to his profession of Unity?
10. I f I say  T hen the T awhid is a relation which attaches the
Object to the subj ect, then I have turned this into a logical
definition.
Diagr ams : The T awhid is separate from Allah,
and this symbol of wahdahiya is represented
by alif with several dals in it. T he alif being the
Essence and the dals the Attributes.
T he uniqueness: The primordial alif of the
essence with the other alifs, which are the
created forms, subsists on the primal alif.
T he T a-S in of the S elf-Aw ar enesses in
T aw hid
1. T he attribute of the T a-S in of the s elf-awareness in T awhid is
such:
(Alif - the Unity, T awhid. Hamza - the self-awarenesses, some
on one side s ome on the other.  Ayn at beginning and end - T he
Essence.)
T he s elf-awarenesses proceed from Him and return to Him,
operate in Him, but they are not logically necessary.
2. T he real subject of the T awhid moves across the multiplicity of
subj ects because He is not included in the s ubj ect nor in the
obj ect nor in the pronouns of the propos ition. I ts pronominal
suffix does not belong to its Object, its possessive  h is His  Ah
and not the other  h which does not make us unitarians.
3. I f I say of this  h  wah! the others say to me,  Alas.
4. T hese are epithets and specifications and a demons trative
allusion pierces this so we could s ee Allah through the
substantive conditional.
5. All human individualities are  like a building well-compacted. I t
is a definition and the Unity of Allah does not make exception to
the definition. But every definition is a limitation, and the
attributes of a limitation apply to a limited obj ect. However the
obj ect of T awhid does not admit of limitation.
6. T he T ruth (Al-Haqq) itself is none other than the abode of Allah
not necessarily Allah.
7. S aying the T awhid does not realize it because the s yntactical role
of a term and its proper sense do not mix with each other when
it concerns an appended term. S o how can they be mixed when
it concerns Allah?
8. I f I saw  the T awhid emanates from Him then I double the
Divine Essence, and I make an emanation of itself, co-existent
with it, being and not being this Essence at the same time.
9. I f I say that it was hidden in Allah, and He manifes ts it, how was
it hidden where there is no  how or  what or  this and there is
no place ( where ) contained in Him.
10. Because  in this is a creation of Allah, as is  where.
11. T hat which supports an accident is not without a
substance. T hat which is not separated from a body is not
without some part of a body. T hat which is not separated from
spirit, in not without some part of a spirit. T he T awhid is
therefore an assimilant.
12. We return then, beyond this to the center (of our Object)
and is olate it from adjunctions, assimilations, qualifications,
pulverizations and attributions.
13. T he firs t circle (in the next diagram) comprises the actions
of Allah, the second comprises their traces and thes e are two
circles of the created.
14. T he central point symbolizes the T awhid, but it is not the
T awhid. I f not, how would it be s eparable from the circle?
T he T a-S in of the Dis connect ion-F r om-
F or ms
1. T his is the circle of the allegory and this is the figure which
represents it:
2. T his is the whole which can give us phrases and sentences, and
to the adepts, cults and s ects, doctrines and methods.
3. T he firs t circle is the literal sense, and the second is the inner
sense, and the third is the allusion.
4. T his is the totality of things, created and composed, answered,
trodden upon, seized on, contradicted, deceived and stupefied.
5. He circulates in the pronoun  we of subjects of persons. Like an
arrow he penetrates them, provides for them, surprises them,
and overturns them, and He amazes them in crossing them.
6. Here is the totality of created substances and qualities. Allah has
nothing to do with these fables.
7. I f I say:  He is He, that statement is not the T awhid.
8. I f I say that the T awhid of Allah is valid, they will tell me -  no
doubt!
9. I f I say  without time, they will say:  Then is the meaning of
T awhid a s imile? But there is no comparison when describing
Allah. Your T awhid is without relation to Allah or to creation,
because the fact of expressing the number of times introduces a
limiting condition. I n so doing you have added a s ens e to
T awhid, as if it were contingent. However the contingent is not
an attribute of Allah. His Essence is unique. And both T ruth and
what is unreal cannot emanate from the Essence of the Essence.
10. I f I say:  The T awhid is the word itself," the word is an
attribute of the Essence not the Essence itself.
11. I f I say:  Tawhid means that Allah wishes to be One the
diving volition is an attribute of the Essence and volitions are
created.
12. I f I say:  Allah is the T awhid of Essence proclaimed to
itself, then I make the Essence T awhid which can be spoken by
us.
13. I f I say:  No, it is not the Essence, then do I say that
T awhid is created?
14. I f I say:  The name and the obj ect named are One, then
what sense does T awhid have?
15. I f I say:  Allah is Allah then do I say that Allah is the
Essence of the Essence and that He is He?
16. Here is the T a-S in which treats of the denial of secondary
causes: and thes e circles with  no written in them are its figure:
17. T he firs t circle is pre-Eternity, and the s econd intelligibles,
the third is that of dimensions and the fourth of the cognizable.
18. T he Essence is not without attributes.
19. T he firs t seeker opens the Door of Knowledge and does not
see. T he second opens the Door of Purity and does not see. T he
third opens the Door of Comprehension and does not see. T he
fourth opens the Door of Meaning and does not see. None s ay
Allah in His Essence nor in his volition, nor in speech nor in His
He-ness.
20. Glory to Allah who is holy and by His sanctity inaccessible
to all the methods of the gnos tics and to all the intuitions of the
people of revelations.
21. Here is the T a-sin of Negation and Affirmation, and this is
its representation:
22. T he firs t formula treats of the thought of the common
people and the s econd of the elect, and the circle which
represents the knowledge of Allah is between the two. T he  no s 
which are enclosed by the circle are the negation of all
dimensions. T he two  ha s  are s et like pillars of the two sides of
T awhid which holds it up. Beyond them the dependencies begin.
23. T he thought of the common people plunges into the sea of
images and the thought of the elect into the s ea of
understanding. But these two seas dry up and the ways which
they marked are effaced, the two thoughts disappear and the
two pillars fall and the two worlds of being peris h and proofs and
knowledge vanish.
24. On the s ide of the pure divinity of Allah, He remains ,
transcending all dependent things, praise be to Allah who is not
touched by any secondary cause. His proof is strong, and His
power glorious. He, the Lord of S plendor and Glory and Maj esty.
T he Unaccountable One with arithmetical Unity. No definition nor
counting nor beginning nor end touches Him. His existence is a
marvel since He is removed from existence. He alone knows
Himself, Master of Maj esty and magnanimity. Creator of souls
and bodies.


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