Description of the people of haqiqah (the inner truth)

The Second Aspect: Description of the people of haqiqah (the inner truth) and how their station is higher than that of the people of tariqah (the way); and how the people of tariqah are higher than the people of shari`ah (the law)
Know that although shari`ah, tariqah and haqiqah all describe one truth, haqiqah and its people are higher than tariqah and tariqah and its people are higher than shari`ah. Shari`ah is the level of beginnings, tariqah the intermediate stage and haqiqah the final level. Thus, just as perfection of the beginnings lies in the mean and the intermediate, so the perfection of the intermediate lies in the end; and just as the intermediate is not attained without the beginning, so the end is not attained without the intermediate. By this I mean that just as existence of that which is above is not possible without that which is below it ‑ while the reverse is possible ‑ so too existence at the intermediate level is not possible without the beginning, nor existence at the final stage without the intermediate ‑ although the reverse is possible.
Thus shari`ah is possible without tariqah although tariqah is not possible without shari`ah; likewise, tariqah is possible without haqiqah, but haqiqah without tariqah is not. This is because each is the perfection of the other. Therefore, although there is no contradiction between the three levels, the perfection of shari`ah is only possible through tariqah and that of tariqah only possible through haqiqah. Accordingly, the perfection of perfection is the joining together of all three levels, for the sum of two things, or two states when joined together, must be better and more perfect than the two when separate: the people of haqiqah are therefore superior in relation to the people of shari`ah and tariqah.
Our Prophet was the greatest and noblest of the prophets since he brought all three levels together, as his words attest, `I have been given all the names.' We are familiar with the hidden meanings of these words, but there remains one aspect we have not considered, namely that the station of joining ‑ which is particular to the Prophet and those of his people who are seekers of haqiqah ‑ is the most sublime and most noble of stations. The words of the Prophet: `My qiblah (the direction of prayer, namely Makkah) is between the East and the West' also indicate the station of joining ‑ for the East was the qiblah of Jesus and the West that of Moses and between the two was the qiblah of the Prophet. The Prophet joins the two, that is to say, the stations of the two.
At the esoteric level the East is the world of souls and spirits and the West is the world of material bodies and corporeality: between these two states is the joining isthmus, the stations of the Prophet with regard to both the form and the inner meaning. Thus the station of the Presence of Singularity is the station of both Reality and Form; this is like the state of man who joins the two worlds which are inherently manifest in him. There is likewise the state which encompasses the joining of all the meanings of the prophets and messengers, or the state which joins all the forms of the various external codes and methods of worship.
Thus the perfection of Moses and his people was in their perception of the realities of the world of materiality and corporeality together with their different degrees and levels; the perfection of Jesus and his people was in their perception of the realities of the world of the souls and spirits together with their different degrees and levels; the perfection of Muhammad and his people was in their perception of both the realities of the world of spirit and those of the world of materiality. It is for this reason that Allah refers to His Truth and Light (or Reality) as being `neither of the east nor the west.' Allah has also said of His people: `And thus We have made you a middle nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people.'
Moreover, there exists similarity between the two worlds and between the west and the east at the levels of form and meaning. The east with regard to the realm of form refers to the place of rising of the sun, the diffusion of its light and the illumination of the sensory world; with respect to the realm of inner meaning, it refers to the rising of the sun of reality and the diffusion of its light (meaning here the spirits and the souls) in the darkness of the world of corporeality so that the bodies and forms come to life and continue in this light of reality. This state is referred to by Allah when He says, `And the earth shall beam with the light of its Lord.'
The Imam has also said: `It is a light which shines of a morning from before eternity, its effects appearing in the realm of divine unity.' The two states referred to in the ayah and the saying of the Imam are thus connected in meaning. The same is true of the west: at the formal level it refers to the place of setting and eventual disappearance of the light and orb of the sun; at the level of meaning, it refers to the setting of the light of the sun of reality and disappearance of its rays (meaning here its spirtis and souls). Allah thus says, `(the sun) going down into a black sea' and `Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day there are signs for the men who understand.'
There is also a relationship between them in the sense that the light of our Prophet is not solely from the world of the souls and not solely from the world of forms. As Allah has said: `Neither of the east nor the west;' thus he is neither of the people of the senses nor of the people of the intellect, rather he is other than these two and above them, by countless degrees. He is not absolutely of the station of prophets, which is concerned with external authority, and not absolutely of the station of the intimate friends, which is con­cerned with internal authority: rather he is other than these two with respect to their spiritual stations and above them with respect to his gathering and encompassing these differences.
The truth of this statement is manifest in the existence of the various legal systems and methods of worship which have been brought by the different prophets: thus Moses came to perfect the different aspects of the law, adding to this the perfection of some inward elements ‑ this is established in the Torah which sets out the code of laws. Jesus came to perfect the inward, adding to this the perfection of some aspects of the outward ‑ this is estab­lished in the Gospel with the exposition of the divine secrets and mysteries. Our Prophet Muhammad came to perfect both aspects and to join the two levels; hence his words, `I have been given all the names' and 'My qiblah is between the East and the West.'
This truth is also established in the Qur'an, by the latter's inclu­sion of both the laws and the secrets. In truth the very name of the book ‑ al‑Qur'an ‑ is significant: linguistically qara'a can mean a picking up or gathering together. The Commander of the Faithful ('Ali) has said: `I am the Qur'an speaking and I am the Book of Allah which unites.' He is the one who unites the two levels and the two states of the outward and the inward. One of the gnostics has composed the following lines: I am the Qur'an and the seven oft‑repeated verses, and the spirit of the spirit and not the spirit of empty vessels.
He is referring here to this all‑encompassing station of joining which is the Muhammadi state. Another gnostic of excellence has expressed this same meaning in his writings: `Just as the perfection of Moses was an absolute perfection of a specific kind, so he inclined to the perfection of the most inferior part of man, namely the body; it is for this reason that the Torah is full of refer­ences of use to man in his daily life and his means of subsistence. Since Jesus was of a greater perfection than him, his perfection lay in a part of man more noble than the body, namely the soul: thus it is that the Gospel is full of references to the Day of Resurrection and the Day of Judgment.
Since Muhammad attained absolute perfection of a specific kind, his absolute perfec­tion was in the human side of his character. As for his composite perfection, it is the perfection of all matter and form, and this is the path of excellence ‑ this is precisely the hidden meaning contained in the abolition of monasticism in his religion. Thus the fuqaha' (those trained in jurisprudence) and the Muslim scho­lars are similar to Moses in their perfection of the outward dimen­sions whereas the Muslim philosophers and their like amongst the intellectuals are similar to Jesus in their perfection of the inward dimensions; the gnostics and men of realization are simi­lar to Muhammad in their perfection of both the. inward and the outward dimensions and by their acting according to the three levels mentioned above (shari`ah, tariqah and haqiqah). This idea is reinforced by the words of the sultan of the gnostics, the Commander of the Faithful: `Shari`ah is a river and haqiqah a sea: as for the fuqaha; they keep to the banks of the river; as for the philosophers, they dive for pearls in the sea; as for the gnostics, they ride in boats to safety.' If this is understood, then the reader will realize that the peoples of the shari`ah, tariqah and haqiqah correspond to each of these three levels: the people of shari`ah are like the fuqaha' and those of their states; the people of tariqah are like the scholars and philosophers and those of their stations; the people of haqiqah are like the gnostics and those of their station. Similarly Moses and his people, Jesus and his people, and Muhammad and his people each correspond to one of these stations.
Thus the station of joining is particular to the gnostics and men of realization from amongst the people of Muhammad ‑ namely the people of reality. These people are higher, greater, nobler and more excellent than the other two levels. Moreover, here lies the core of our investigation. The gnostics are at times in the arena of Allah and His angels ‑ in accordance with His words, `Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels and those possessed of knowledge, maintaining His creation with justice' ‑ and sometimes in the arena of Allah alone ‑ in accordance with His words, `and none knows its interpretation except Allah, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge.'
It is for this reason that they are classed as the elite of the elite, the intimate ones and those who go before. It is they who are referred to in the last of each of the following (three‑tiered classifications), namely, `the common people, the elite and the elite of the elite,' `the people of the right, the people of the left and the intimate' and `the oppressor of his self, the one of moderate temperament and the one who goes ahead doing good works.' Further proof of their elite position is to be found in Allah's words, `We believe in it, it is all from our Lord; and none of them is mindful except those with understanding.' Those who thus say `everything is from our Lord' are the ones of realization and are no other than the elite referred to above; in contrast the Ash'arites, who believe in absolute predestination, veil them­selves from this station.
Witnessing that all is from the One True Lord is realization that imperfection on His part is not admissible since His sanctity, incomparability and exaltedness over anything created are con­nected with the concept of pure divine unity. This unity is totally removed from the duality of the phenomenal and may be de­scribed as the unity of action, of attribute and of essence. No persons other than these attain to this degree although the Ash'arites do not believe in it. Allah's words, `and none do mind except those having understanding' is further proof that this meaning is intended - namely that this vast and noble secret is only known, as is fitting, to those of His slaves who have understanding.
Thus, having demonstrated that the stations of the people of haqiqah are higher than the people of tariqah and shari`ah in all respects, let us begin with our study of the third aspect, which is a description of how the divine code is dependent upon the intellect and how the intellect is dependent upon this same code and how each is dependent upon the other. It will be a demonst­ration and proof which will prevent the ignorant man from im­agining that the divinely revealed laws contradict the intellect and that the methods of reasoning are opposed to this divine code.
Many have made this mistake, with the result that they have themselves gone astray and have also led astray many other servants of Allah who were devoid of knowledge. This is referred to by Allah when He describes them and their adversaries during the difficult moments of the Day of Judgment: `Our Lord! Show us those who led us astray from among the jinn and the men that we may trample them under our feet so that they may be of the lowest.' There are many examples of this nature in the Qur'an ‑ and Allah is more knowing and of greater wisdom. He it is Who declares the Truth and Who guides to the right path.