Shams Part 3

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You should know that the letters that are located at their angles, which are the letters of the triangle, are b the ending of the nine numbers that are the first of the letters of the aliphate (abŷad), in this way:
a b ŷ d h w z ¬ Ð y. And the yā’, which is the tenth, serves for invocation, because you will say: “yā Allāh, yā Bā’i£, yā
Ŷalīl, yā Dā’im, yā Hādī, yā Wā¬id, yā Zākī, yā ©āfiÞ, yā Æāhir”, nine names that bring together the nine
letters, together with the invocation that we have already mentioned, and whose beginning is: “My God, I ask You because
You are God…” until the end1, for it is the invocation of this sublime figure.

This is the noble invocation: “In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful, my God, I ask You that You are Allāh, the Sanctified by the exclusive characteristics of Oneness and Eternity, alien to the opposite or the equal, to the contradictory or the equivalent, because You are Allāh, ﴾ there is nothing like Him. He is the Listener, the Seer ﴿2. [I ask you] to bless and save our Lord Muṣṣṇd, Muṣṣṇd’s family and everyone who loves Muṣṣṇd, and to make up for all my shortcomings, thereby obtaining the good of this world and that of the Hereafter, and thus being guarded by Consideration (alri’āya), protected from vices and watched over by the peculiarities of DivineSolicitude 3. O Who always returns to bestow good, O Who is in the truth of the God-fearing, the forgiving, and the good-doing. My God, this is the plea of One who submits to the power of Thy lordship by acknowledging his problem, Thou art the Who knoweth the unseen, Who witnesses the truths of desires before they take place in hearts, and Who fulfills them with the most beautiful of endings. O the Best of objects of desire, may God bless and save our Lord Muhammad, the Beloved of Hearts, and his family and companions with a great blessing!”

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A PARTADO: said 4, God be pleased with him!: “I was in my spiritual retreat and I saw a figure in the shape of a circle, inside of which was the Name of the Majesty (aljāla), which is
Allāh, and from it derived every Name in which there is a letter ‘ayn. There were nineteen names clearly visible
, you will see it drawn on the figure and in total there were twenty along with the Name of the Majesty. When I memorized this figure, I ceased to be in that mystical state and the luminous figure disappeared. So I copied it
on a sheet of paper, went back to my meditation, and said, “It may be from this Name that the ninety-nine Names are derived,” and I began to meditate on it. Then I had a mystical rapture (uj2a), and in it I was told:
“Give thanks for the knowledge you have received through the help of God.” Then I asked God’s forgiveness, exalted be He, I thanked Him and abandoned that idea that had arisen in me.” These are nineteen Names that emanated from the Majesty, and the Majesty apart from them forms the colophon of the twenty Names.

1 See above, p. 98.2
Cor. xlii: 9.3
We read “al’ināyāt”, instead of “algāyāt”, as it appears in the original.
4 Although it is not clarified in the text, T. Fahd believes that the following section comes from the same source as the

previous (“La magie comme “source” de la sagesse”, p. 86). However, an identical account will appear in the twelfth chapter, where it is attributed to ‘Abd Allāh Muhammad b. Ismā’īl al-Ijmīmī (infra, p. 196).

And this is the invocation of this sublime figure. Put it at its right value and extract from it what you want, because in it you will find the way to get what you want to the extent you expect. With it every objective is obtained, for in truth it is red sulphur and the supreme triaca, and he who understands its secret obtains with it what he desires, God willing, exalted be He!

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And [the aforementioned figure] has numerous virtues of which there is no doubt for those who know its mode of use and see its effectiveness, since in it is any earthly or spiritual matter that one wants to achieve. You will purify yourself and facing the qibla you will pray two rak’at, in a clean place and away from people, with pure intention and entrusting yourself to Allah, may He be exalted, either in the middle of the night or at the end of it. The 2ikr of these twenty Names will be with the presence of the heart (¬uÅūr alqalb)1, so that the thought cannot be occupied by anything other than the object of its presence. And one thousand six hundred and thirty-seven times will be recited whoever wants to shorten that number, for he will recite it one hundred and eighty times.

Then, after the invocation is over, he will pray to Allah, may He be praised and exalted, for whatever he needs, so that Allah, may He be exalted, provide him with the means of resolving it, especially in the case that God is asked to facilitate the understanding of a science, for verily, Allah, exalted and glorified be He, through His sublime Name, will open a way for him to his goal. and he will see in it wonderful things, some expressible by words and others ineffable.

Hence, the person who writes this circle and puts it in his possessions in his habitual residence or during the journey, will be sure by the command of God, exalted be He, that no one who can corrupt them will be able to access them.

He who writes it, hangs it on his right arm and marches with him among his enemies, God, exalted be He, defends him from them and causes his intentions to fail. And if he goes before some mighty man of whom he is afraid, he submits to him, humbles himself before him, and God, exalted be He, transforms his tyranny, submits, surrenders to his will, and obeys his requests, so that God spares him his wickedness because of all the wonderful and glorious secrets that reside in it.

Whoever writes the noble Names with rosewater, musk, saffron, and camphor, and gives them to drink [after making a filter with them] to whoever has a bodily disease or a spiritual disease in his body, causes it to disappear, for he confers on its bearer strength in his soul, his body, and his spirit, and the Names will furnish him with respect and magnificence [before the rest of creatures], witnessing that unequivocally.

If they are recited seventy-seven times every day after Fajr prayer, and then it is in the whole of their supererogatory prayers (wird), then they will witness the extraordinary blessings that this confers on them both on earth and on spiritual, so that their aspiration almost never has to do with any of the creatures, for the creatures will submit to him in dedication and affection, so he will love them and they will love him intensely.

Whoever is wronged, oppressed, or offended by any powerful person and wants to take revenge on him, let him recite this invocation and these Names, saying: “O Allāh, O Hearer (Samī’), O Swift (Sarī’), O Resuscitator (Bā’i£), O Creator (Badī’), O Righteous (‘Adl), O Exalter (Mu’izz), O Efficacious (Fa”āl),”

1 Cf. NURBAKHSH, Sufi Symbolism, vi, p. 116: “The state of presence refers to the fact that the Sufi, due to the flooding of the heart by the continuous 2ikr of God, is constantly in the Remembrance of God and is never absent from Him.”

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throughout the first hour of Saturday. Then he will curse those who wronged and offended him, for Allah, blessed and exalted, will avenge him before the end of the week, so that he will submit to him.

And if you want to use it for love and reconciliation among those who hate each other, the twenty Names shall be written, and you shall write beside them the name of whom you want to love you and be subject to your commands and prohibitions [or the names of those whom you want to reconcile]: write their name and your name, dissolve them in water, and give that water to those who hate each other, for they will love each other, God willing, exalted be He! And you shall give the names to drink to whom you will, for he will love you intensely and will never want to be separated from you. You must write them on Sunday at the hour of the Sun or Mercury, after you have perfumed yourself with a pleasant-smelling incense, such as aloewood, ambergris, benzoin, nadd, and mastic, for that will certainly happen, God willing, praise and exalt Him!

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And the twenty Names alluded to are the following. Thou shalt say: “O Allāh, O Hearer (Samī’), O Knower (‘Alīm), O Swift (Sarī’), O Mighty (Wāsi’), O Righteous (‘Adl), O Most High (‘Alī), O Exalted (‘Aþīm), O Exalted (Muta’ālī), O Mighty (‘Azīz), O Resuscitator (Bā’i£), O Efficacious (Fa”āl), O Forgiving (‘Afū), O Recreator (Mu’īd), O Exalted (Rafī’), O Revered (Ma’būd), O Defender (Māni’), O Who favors (Nāfi’), O Bundler (Ŷāmi’), O Creator (Badī’).”

And this is the image of the supreme seal to which allusion has been made. Try to understand that and you will succeed, God willing, praise and exalt Him, for He speaks the truth and shows the right way.

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This is the invocation of the circle, you will say beginning in the Name of God: “In the name of God, Lord, the world of Creation and the world of the Mandate through the theophany of Truth, a symbol that manifests the links with the divinity of the descended Revelation, exalted in authority, being and hidden essence, being that perceived by those to whom you give assurance, even more knowable to those who

1 We chose to reproduce the figure that appears in the base manuscript, in which we see some error (the name alGafūr appears instead of al’Afū, since the circle should contain those names that include the letter ‘ayn). Compare with the version of this figure given in the other three manuscripts, in Appendix II to our edition, p. 489.

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those who you make witnesses, and unknown to those you desire through those signs that are ambiguous, a large number that does not detract from the value of a single one of the unequivocal signs that you consolidated1.

O Knower (‘Alīm), O Sage (©akīm), O Judge (Fattā¬), O Allāh, O Lord (Rabb). I ask Thee, O Hearer (Samī’), O Knower (‘Alīm), O Swift (Sarī’), O Immense (Wāsi’), O Righteous (‘Adl), O Most High (Muta’ālī), O Mighty (‘Azīz), O Forgiving (‘Afū)2, O Resuscitator (Bā’i£), O Witness (Šahīd), O Exalted (Rafī’), O Revered (Ma’būd), O Hinder (Māni’), O Recreator (Mu’īd), O Uplifter (Rāfi’), O One Who gives Himself (Mundafi’), O Gatherer (Ŷāmi’), O Creator (Badī’). I pray to you, my God, for the secret of attribution that links the existence of the necessary [and the contingent]. I pray Thee, O my God, because Thou didst unfold in the heavenly Kingdom (malakūt) of Thy Omnipotence (jabarūt), because Thou didst make manifest in the Omnipotence of Thy heavenly Kingdom, because Thou didst monopolize in the worlds of the Holiness of Thy divine nature (lāhūt), inasmuch as Thou hast concealed from the perception of the intellects in the secret of the Immutability (bahamūt) of Thy Mercy, for how much Thou hast deposited in the secret of Thy mystery and in the facility of pondered existence, and for how many riddles and signs Thou hast selected in the different forms of the quality preserved within the hidden meanings of Revelation. [I ask You] to protect me with Your invincible guardianship from the voices of the Devil, from his songs, his suggestions, and his murmurings, for he turns good into evil, the earth into sea, the sea into land, and profit into harm, and [I ask You to protect me] from the wickedness of his cunning. I ask Thee, my God, to provide me with Thy absolute grace and Thy immense generosity . . . the favors and the gift of disposition in the realm of acts, and to honor me with Thy perfect words in life and in death, that I may draw strength from the paths of divine favors.4 Grant me gnosis, O Compassionate (©annān), O Benefactor (Mannān), O Lord of the two worlds.”

On that with which ‘Īsà, peace and blessings be upon him, he raised the dead at the command of Allah, exalted be He, and that is the Supreme Name. Know the good that awaits you, and you will obtain happiness from it, for its secret is extraordinary and its influence is wonderful. It is the Supreme Name of God, the greatest, the wholesome, the pure, the genuine, the perfect, the preserved, from which the most beautiful Names of God draw light.

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This was narrated by Asad b. Mūsà5, who took it from alKalbī 6, who in turn took it from Abu 1⁄4āli¬7, and said about this preserved and hidden Name that whoever writes it on an empty stomach and with clean clothes on Sunday at sunrise and sprinkle it with Hindu aloe stick and red sandalwood, [writing it] in

1 Cf. Cor. III:7. It is He Who has sent down upon You the Book, in which there are unmistakable signs (verses) that are the mother of the Book and other ambiguous ones. Those who have a deviation in their heart follow the ambiguous… ﴿

2 In the original we read Gafūr (see note 1 on the previous page).
3 Uncertain translation.
4 Uncertain translation.
5 Asad b. Mūsà b. Ibrāhīm (d. 212 h.), author of a Kitāb alsunna (see ISMĀ’ĪL PASHA, Hadiyyat al’Ārifīna, i,

p. 203).
6 Muhammad b. alSā’ib alKalbī (d. 763 CE), author of a polemic Tafsīr of which no more have come down to us

than some fragments (see HAŶŶĪ JALĪFA, Kašf alÝunūn, ii, p. 333).
7 Bā2ām Abū 1⁄4āli¬, successor (tābi’) and transmitter of some traditions borrowed from Ibn ‘Abbās (see ‘ALĀ’ ALDĪN

MUGULTAY, Ikmāl tahdīb alkamāl, ii, p. 345).

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A scroll of gazelle-skin or a clean piece of paper, and he hangs it on his forearm, goods rush to him, and he witnesses by his blessing wonderful things of which there is no doubt. And this is the name by which God sent Mūsà, peace be upon him, before Pharaoh, when he said to him: ﴾ I am Allāh. There is no god but Me: Worship Me! ﴿1 . And with this name Zubayda2 dominated Harūn al-Rašīd, for he did nothing without his advice and opinion.

And if you write it down, fumigate it near the fire and hang the writing in front of the sun facing the place where it rises and sets and without separating it throughout the day from its rays, you will have the acceptance of the people.

And this is the invocation of the circle of letters, the virtue of which we have just explained. Tell:

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“My God, I ask Thee, O Allāh, O Conqueror (Qāhir), O Subsistent (Qayyūm), O Subsistent (Qā’im), O Mighty (Qadīr), O Most Holy (Quddūs), O Able (Qādir), O Mighty (Qadīr), O Near (Qarīb), O Ruler (Qahhār). It is Thou Who strengthens Thy friends with Thy prophets, perfects Thy Prophets by the bearing of Thy trial, and represses evildoers by the expansion of the authority of the imperative of Thy power and Thy dominion. I ask Thee by Thy unshakable and exalted power, by Thy sublime and all-capable bounty, and by the right Thou hast over Thy creation in both the magnificent and the contemptible, to make me mighty among creatures by the dispensation (istignā’)3 of them and the exclusive need of Thee, and to honour me with Thy life which is propagated in the secrets of their intimate consciousnesses, so that I may find refuge in it and focus my attention on You. Cover me with the magnificence of Your affection for Your friends in transit and the state in which they are drawn to You. Establish me firmly at the door of Truth by fortitude and contemplative vision, so that I may be before You at all times. Spread My magnificence in the hearts of believers, so that I may reach the mystery of Thy goodness by the manifestation of the proof and the decisive argument. O Compassionate (©annān), O Benefactor (Mannān), You are the One who makes visible in the hearts of Your loved ones the secret of openness (alfat¬) and theophany (altajallī), You hear what is subtlest and most hidden, and You see with Your sight that it does not sleep or neglect the passage of a black ant over the massive rock under several layers of earth in the darkest night. My God, I pray for the subtleties you have inserted into hearing and sight, for the limits you have imposed on sight, for the realities you have gathered between hearing and sight, for the details you have hidden in sight to take the place of hearing, and for the advantages you have hidden in your ear to replace sight. [I ask you] to provide me with the secrets that embrace the realm of sight, and the contemplation of the lights decreed for the dominion of hearing and sight. Enrich me with Thy luminosity, with the crowning of the mystery of Thy signs, with the perpetuity of the observation of all that is due to Thy most high holiness, and with the perceptions of the ocean that gathers the Names. Help me in the understanding of the claim (al muÐālaba) to the soul with the precision of self-evaluation (almu¬āsaba)4, Thou art the One Who gathers all good and the One Who suppresses all evil, O Lord of the two worlds. I ask Thee, O my God, O Conqueror (Qāhir), O Ruler (Qahhār), O Near One (Qarīb), O Most Holy (Quddūs), O Subsistent One (Qā’im), O

1 Cor. xx:13.
2 The famous spouse of the caliph Harūn al-Rašīd. He died in 831.
3 Sufficiency or dispensation is the state in which the Sufi is free from needing any created being.
4 A claim takes place when the intellect asks the nafs to account for its actions, demanding reparation. The

self-evaluation is the enumeration by the intellect of the errors and faults committed (cf. NURBAKHSH, Sufi Symbolism, v, p. 211213).

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Sustainer (Qayyūm), I ask You to bless and save our Lord Muhammad and his family, and to solve my need, all that I ask and what I do not ask in whatever You please, by Your mercy, O most Gracious of the Merciful!”

Thus we conclude the present chapter, and Allah, may He be praised and exalted, is wiser.

CHAPTER SEVEN
ONTHE NAMES BY WHICH OUR LORD ‘ĪSÀ, PEACE BE UPON HIM, RAISED THE DEAD AT THE COMMAND OF D-IOS, MAY HE BE PRAISED AND EXALTED!

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Know that, God help us to fulfill His obedience, that these Names are of a sublime nature. Al-Jwārizmī1, God have mercy on him, said: “I was searching for the Supreme Name for seven years, until I found a man from China who had compiled something magnificent about these names. And I found them written by him in imyarī scripture, so that no one would understand it who was not worthy to know them.”

‘Aðā’ al-Jurāsānī2, Allah have mercy on him, said: “Whoever fasts for seven days and when he reaches the seventh day writes these names on a scroll of gazelle-skin with musk, saffron and rose water, and then invokes the angels of the quarter in which he is and the quarter (al£āqūfa) is the fourth part of the year and conjures by the names of the winds, as Ibrahīm, the friend of the Clement, named them, peace be upon him!, and after that he mentions his necessity by praying, and if this can be done with running water it is better, and he hangs it on the sun, mentioning what he desires and invoking for this the names of the angels of the quarter, of their helpers, and the winds and stars that correspond to them, [You will get what you want].

Al-Jwārizmī, God have mercy on him, said when he met the Chinese šayj just mentioned and asked him about the Supreme Name of God, who said to him: “You must know, my son, that each of the Name of God, exalted be He, is sublime.” And I said, “Yes, but I’ve learned a lot of those Names.” Then the old man asked me about the £āqūfa of Bal’am b. Bā’ūr, and by the £āqūfa of Yūsuf, and I gave him an account of both. The šayj thought that I did not know the preserved Names, and it was then that he said to me: “Come to me, and I hope by God that no one more worthy than you will come in the future.” I approached him and we continued to mention the Names. Then I asked him about the Names on Mūsà’s staff, but I did not know them.

Al-Khwārizmī said: “That man is the one who dictated the Supreme Name to me, and he said to me: ‘My son, you must know that the highest and most sublime Names of Allah, exalted be He, are these Names, God willing, exalted be He! These are these ancient Names written in foreign characters (al-‘ajamiyya), and some of them in Hebrew, so that no one will recognize them.

1 A character that we cannot identify with certainty. A. Fodor (“The Rod of Moses in Arabic Magic”, p. 9) believes that he is the famous mathematician Muṣammad b. Mūsà alJwārizmī (d. c. 845), while T. Fahd (“La magie comme “source” de la sagesse”, p. 86) believes that he is referring to Fajr alDīn alJwārizmī (d. c. 1270). author somewhat later than the time of al-Būnī, and who will be cited in the ninth chapter (infra, p. 135). On the other hand, in manuscripts C and D we read Ibn al-Jwārizmī.

2 This must be ‘Aðā’ b. Abī Muslim alJurāsānī, author of an unknown Tafsīr who mentions the ¢a’labī (cf. HAŶŶĪ JALĪFA, Kašf alÝunūn, ii, p. 371).

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And they are the glorious Names of whose virtue and blessing Ziyad b. ‘Abd Allāh1, may Allah be pleased with him, who took it from ©amīd b. Abī ¢ābit2, who in turn is based on Abu Khalid3, may Allah be pleased with him!, who said: “I heard a wise man say that the superiority of these Names over all others is like the superiority of the night of full moon over the others nights, and as the superiority of Friday over the other days.”

Al-Jwārizmī said: “I found them written in imyarī script in a place called Qazwīn4, and for one who understands their superiority it is imperative that he hide them and then have fear of God, for they are beneficial to one who is distressed or frightened, or to one who has tremors, colic or palpitations of heart.

And Ziyād b. ‘Abd Allāh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If one fasts for three days and then writes on a clean parchment of gazelle-skin with saffron, and hangs on one who has rheumatism, evil
eye (naṣra), melancholy, etc., he disappears from it immediately.” And in another version it is said that you will write them on the Sabbath for whatever you want, fasting on that day and writing them on agazelle-skin scroll, after you know the zodiacal house (bayt) of the moon, if it is fasta for good and vice versa.

It is said that with them ‘Īsà, peace and blessings be upon him!, raised the dead and healed the blind and lepers at the command of Allah, may He be exalted!, and that they are written in the heaven of the earth on Fridays.

As for their interpretation, for the sages were unanimous, and they are those alfaquis, ulema and sages that the Prince of the Believers gathered for this purpose to Ma’mūn5, until they confirmed their interpretation. Whoever perseveres in his recitation and is in harmony with God, for Allah, exalted be He, causes unusual things to happen to him and causes him to attain whatever he desires and is beneficial to him. Beware of despising them and hold them in the highest esteem. Hold fast to them all your life, make them your treasure and your wird day and night, for you will attain the abode of holiness and possess the levels of the God-fearing.

It is related of AbūlHu2ayl6, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “When ‘Īsà, peace be upon him!, wanted to raise the dead, he prayed two rak’at, reciting in the first the Fāti¬a and the Surah of Prostration7, and in the second the Fāti¬a and Surah of Lordship8. When he finished his prayer, he prostrated himself before God adoring him. Then he invoked with the seven Names heeded (mustajāba), which

1 This may be Ziyād b. ‘Abd Allāh alBakā’ī, d. 183 h. (see ISMĀ’ĪL PASHA, Hadiyyat al’Ārifīna, i, p. 376).

2 Unidentified.
3 Unidentified.
4 A city northeast of Tehran.
5 Abū al’Abbās ‘Abd Allāh b. Harūn alRašīd alMa’mūn (d. 833), seventh ‘Abbasid caliph and youngest son of the

famous Harūn alRašīd.
6 AbūlHu2ayl al’Allāf (d. 226 h.), one of the most influential theologians of the Mu’tazila. 7 Cor. xxxii.
8 Cor. LXVII

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they are as follows: O Perpetual (Qadīm), O Living One (©ayy), O Eternal (Dā’im), O Singular (Fard), O One (A¬ad), O One (Wā¬id), O Everlasting (1⁄4amad).”

Muqātil b. Sulaymān1 (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I searched for forty years for the Names with which our lord ‘Īsà, peace be upon him, raised the dead, until I found them with a man of science and religion.” And it is these Names that we have just mentioned.

And Muqātil b. Sulaymān, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Whoever invokes with them after the dawn prayer (al1⁄2ub¬) a hundred times, asking for whatever matter he wishes, and if it is not attended to, let him curse Muqātil, whether he is alive or dead, having invoked for the destruction of the wicked, tyrants, etc. And when you pray the Fajr prayer, sitting down and before you speak to anyone, say a hundred times: “In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful, there is no power or strength except in God, the Most High, the Exalted. O Perpetual (Qadīm), O Existent (Qā’im), O Eternal (Dā’im), O Singular (Fard), O Odd (Witr), O One (A¬ad), O Everlasting (1⁄4amad), O Living (©ayy), O Subsistent (Qayyūm), O Generous (Karīm), O Merciful (Ra¬īm), O Support (Sanad), O One Who Gives Security (Mustanad), O Who ﴾ Begets neither begets nor is begotten, and has none equal ﴿2, O Lord of majesty and generosity.” When you complete the hundredth time, ask for whatever need it may be, and if you are not answered, curse Muqātil, whether he is alive or dead. And when you invoke with these Names, be careful not to invoke them against anyone and that the invocation will turn against you, for if you invoke and pray, ask for the matter that is suitable for yourself, whether it be an earthly or spiritual matter, or the knowledge of something that is profitable to you, or whatever is like that, for these are sublime, noble, and sacred Names.”

[APARTADO SOBRE EL NOMEN, SUPREMO DE DIOS]

If you want to have the Supreme Name, make a circle like the sun disk inside which are the Names, and you will fumigate it with aloewood, amber and whatever looks like that. This is the image of the circle:

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1 Famous traditionist and exegete of the Qur’an, who died in Basra in 767 AD. 2 Cor. CXII:34.

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This is the invocation of the circle of the Supreme Name, you will say: “My God, I ask You for all that Jibrīl asks of You, peace be upon him, when He prostrates before Your sublime Throne, and by the right (bi-aqq) of Your Name Allāh Allāh, to put Your angels, the servants of Your Throne, at my service, and the assistants of Thy Sovereignty: Kasfiyā’īl, Dardiyā’īl, Sam¬iyā’īl, Sam’iyā’īl, Rūqiyā’īl, Nūriyā’īl, Samkiyā’īl, ÆahÐahā’īl, Ŷabriyā’īl, Dar’iyā’īl, Samsamā’īl, Ï �āÐā’īl, ©armiyā’īl, ÆayÐiyā’īl, Isrāfīl, ‘Azrā’īl, Mīkā’īl, Karmā’ih, Karšā’ih, Sarfiyā’īl, ‘Arqiyā’īl, ¢aÐbiyā’īl, ‘Īniyā’īl. Respond with the noble angels and the spirits of Benignos, peace be upon them, close to God in the Oneness. By the right of the Name of God, the only and magnificent, the holy light which Thou didst make superior to the might, strength, majesty, and greatness of all the Names put together, [I beg thee] to put those noble angels at my service in such a way as to solve my need, which is such and such.” And thou shalt pray for that which pleases God.

Beware of asking for what is not lawful, for Bal’am b. Bā’ūr knew the Supreme Name, and when he called upon him against the people of Mūsà, peace and blessings be upon him, the invocation turned against him, and Allah, exalted be He, denied him the Supreme Name and His refuge through him. For God has already said, exalted be He: Tell them of the case of the one to whom We gave Our Signs and emptied himself of them. Then the devil followed him, and he was among the deviants. If we had willed, we would have had them serve to raise him in rank, but he leaned towards the earthly and followed his desire. It’s like the dog: if you scare it away, it pants and if you leave it too; this is how those who deny the truth of Our signs are. Tell them the story; just in case they reflect ﴿2. Allah is the God in this Supreme Name, beware of despising Him, for He will turn against you and against whoever uses Him in disobedience to Allah, may He be exalted! Hide it from those who are not worthy of it, protect it, and you will get happiness, for it is God’s secret to His friends (awliya’) and His intimates (jā1⁄2a). Many scholars and devotees have already taken an interest in him, and obtained their desires and goals from him. We have summarized what has been said about it, and God guides whom He wills in the right way.

[MAGIC HELMETFOR PROTECTION]

Know that, O may God help us to understand His noble Names, that he who writes a noble, blessed, and secret square, and carries it with him with clean clothes and body, Allah, exalted be He, assists him externally and inwardly, helps him in obedience, and grants him strength and victory over enemies; and a tyrant will not look upon him without respecting him and considering him important. And whoever puts it on his head, 3 humbles himself before him every tyrant and rebellious demon, and God revivifies his exterior and interior and strengthens his heart for external and internal acts. Everyone who carries it with him and fights with his enemy, overcomes him, destroys him, and dominates him by the blessing of God, exalted be He, and the blessing of this blessed square. Whoever enters the battle carrying it with him, will defeat his enemies without any misfortune ever happening to him, God willing, exalted be He!, and if a king leads him, his troops obey him, love him, respect him, and he is helped and assisted to obtain victory4.

1 See above, p. 68, n. 5.
2 Cor. vii:1756.
3 Usually under the turban.
4 We reproduce the following square as it appears in the original, and it is certain that it contains numerous

1. 96

to

b

1. 97

Errors.

111

314 260 116 312 453 226 211 245 228 309 299 219 309 299 219 308 221 260 224 344 252

1270 216 244 281 222 372

117 124 138 463 258 248 218 250 240

25 441 214

25 441 214 244 233 316 330 225 257 232 297 215 266 279 289

Fig. 20

411 282 103 321 214 271 212 262 212 256 246 274 256 246 274 255 229 275 247 212 243 229 222 147 572 17 169

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CHAPTER EIGHT
SON THE FOUR TRIMESTERS AND THE SEASONS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THEM.

You must know, God help us to fulfill his obedience, that this chapter is the axis of this book, for in it there are dark secrets. If you want to work with these names, the noble and blessed quarters (al£awāqīf), the names of the angels who manage time, and the names of the winds and stars, you should know that the year has twelve months, and is divided into four parts, each of which comprises three months. And there are four seasons (fu1⁄2ūl): summer, autumn, spring and winter. Each season of them is called a quarter (£aqūfa), the first quarter being spring, whose beginning is the twenty-fourth of March until the twenty-fourth of June. The second quarter is in the summer, which begins on June 24 until September 24. The third quarter is autumn, which begins on September 24 until December 24. The fourth quarter is winter, which begins on the twenty-fourth of December until the twenty-fourth of March.

THENAMES OF THE ANGELS WHO MANAGE TIME

The name of the owner of the east is Daniyā’īl. The name of the owner of the west is Dardiyā’īl. The name of the owner of the north (alqibla) is Aniyā’īl. And the name of the owner of the south is 1⁄4arfiyā’īl. The owner of the north is the owner of spring, the owner of the east is of summer, the owner of the south is of autumn, and the owner of the west is of winter.

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DIVISIONOF THE [ANGELS] HELPERS ACCORDING TO THE FOUR CARDINAL POINTS

b

c

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The assistants of the owner of the east are Dar¬amiyā’īl, ©arqiyā’īl, and Sam’iyā’īl. The assistants of the west owner are ©abrīqīl, Qa1⁄2mā’īl and Šaw’iyā’īl. The assistants of the northern owner are Fargū’īl, Æājīl, and Alalūl. And the helpers of the owner of the south are Qamyā’īl, Mar¬iyā’īl and ©armakiyā’īl.

TOPART

Below we have gathered the four invocations with the names of their angels and their helpers, and the name of the sun, the moon, the four winds, the name of heaven and earth, and everything else that is necessary. Taste the honey and do not ask the honeycomb for its bees, for it has come to you white and pure.

If you are in the spring and want to solve a problem, call upon the owner of the north saying: “In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful, I conjure you, O Aniyā’īl, and your

helpers Fargū’īl, Æājīl, and Alalūl, and the winds ‘QDDWN, MAŠWL, MASWRA, SM’A, ÆB’TYN, and the sun and moon, YA©FT, S’SMYAH, YWNAR, MYARŶ, ŶRŶLFH, B1⁄4AD and their sisters, and BSYLY1⁄4. In the name of God, by His name be the beginning, Lord of the last life and the first, there is no limit or end to Him, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens, all that is on earth, all that is between the two, and all that is under the earth. God is Sublime, Eternal in favors, Merciful in clemency, Mighty

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unrivalled, invincible conqueror, Just on the Day of Resurrection, there is no god but Him, the Wise, the Generous, the Gracious, the Merciful, ﴾ He is God. There is no God but Him. He is the King, the Most Holy, the Peacemaker, the Believer, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Terrible, the Great. Glory to God above what is associated with Him! He is God, the Creator, the Adjuster. His are the most beautiful Names. He is glorified by all that is in heaven and on earth. He is the Mighty, the Wise ﴿ 1. I ask Thee, O God, O Mighty One, to grant me in this my dwelling place a clemency from Thee, and to solve my need in such and such a matter. You are Capable of all things, there is no power or strength except in God, the Most High, the Sublime. I pray Thee, O God, O Lord, by Thy perfect Name, the Living, the Subsisting, and I bear witness that every thing without Thee is void. O God, I believe in Thee, there is no god but Thee, O Lord, there is no Lord but Thee. I pray Thee by Thy sublime Name which is superior to all Names put together, to put at my service the [angel] owner of this season, and the owner of the hour, the quarter, and the four directions, being of assistance to me in the solution of my problem, by Thy permission, O God, O my God, Thou decidest what is just, and nothing is decreed unto Thee. I conjure you, spiritual angels, to resolve my need, by the right of Him Who holds Power and Omnipotence, by the right of the Living, the Subsistent, the Eternal, the Who does not die, there is nothing like Him, it is the Hearer, the Seer, the One Who has an unforgettable name, an inextinguishable light, a Throne that does not disappear, and a footstool that does not tremble from the descent of the Book on His prophet Muhammad, God bless and save you! I ask Thee, O Allāh, O Allāh, O Allāh, Thou art Allāh, Who is no god but Thee, King of this world and of the Hereafter, I ask Thee to solve my need and put at my service the spirituality subordinated to these names, Thou art Able above all things.”

[IINVOCATION OF THE ANGEL OF SUMMER]

If you are in the summer season, call upon the [angel] owner of the eastern quarter by saying:

b

“In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful, I conjure you, O Daniyā’īl, and your helpers Daramiyā’īl, arqiyā’īl, ©and Sam’iyā’īl, and the winds KYD©, MSHYMWN, MSHMYWN, MRMWD, ‘ADWD, and the sun and moon, ABAŶWN, NAŶWN, ‘ŶRMYŠ, BRŶLAS, SYLSWF, BHWAN, BL©AN, NYNADRW.© In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful, for God’s sake, there is no power or strength except in God, the Most High, the Sublime. My God, I pray Thee, O Lord, for Thou art immortal Living, Unsurpassable Winner, Creator Who uncreated, Seer without suspicion, Hearer without doubt, Invincible Conqueror, Eternal inconsumable, Near that does not depart, Witness that does not hide, God that does not harm, Ruler that does not oppress, Perpetual that does not feed, Subsistent that does not sleep, Hidden that is not seen, Omnipotent who does not yearn, Sublime who does not desire, Wise who does not learn, Strong who does not weaken, Loyal who does not distance, Righteous who does not harm, Rich who does not impoverish, Inexhaustible treasure, Patient who does not tyrannize, Impregnable who is not dominated, Undeniable Known, Protector who does not despise, Singular who does not form even, Unique who does not duplicate, Generous who does not reject, Hurried who does not forget, Generous who does not deny, Powerful who does not humble himself, Knower who does not ignore, Guardian who does not careless, Eternal who does not extinguish, Undeniable acquaintance, Who answers [prayers] without being satisfied,

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1 Cor. lix:234.

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Permanent without aging, One without equal, Capable without dispute.” Following a different version you will say: b “My God, I ask you, O Lord, O immortal Living One, uncreated Creator, Subsistent who does not sleep, Faithful
who does not distance, Righteous who does not oppress, Hidden without being seen, Impregnable who is not dominated, Undeniably known, Tireless Protector, Hurried who forgets, Generous who does not deny, Mighty who

He does not humble himself, Guardian who is not careless, Eternal who does not extinguish, One to whom nothing resembles Him, there is no god but You, Lord of the two worlds. I ask You by Your power to solve my need and put all spirituality at my service, by the right (bi-aqq) of Your Majesty and the light of Your sacred and hidden face, really that is easy for You. I conjure you, O legion of spirits, by God the Sublime and by His Name preserved and hidden, that you may be my support in the resolution of my problem. By the right of the Owner of the supreme structure, [I conjure you] to come in that for which He calls upon you, hearken, and obey in what He commands you, by the right of the sublime Names of God with which I have conjured you. ©ayā, alwa¬ā, al’aŷal, alsā’a. May God’s blessing be in you and with you.”

[IINVOCATION OF THE ANGEL OF AUTUMN]

If you want to invoke the owner of autumn, invoke the owner of the south by saying:

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“In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. I conjure you, O 1⁄4arfiyā’īl, and your helpers Qamyā’īl, Mar¬iyā’īl and ©armakiyā’īl, and to the four winds, QNDYD, YF’WN, MYSWR, KAFWN, and to the sun and moon, SBAS, T’ABL, HWYFYM, MHWLA,© ALNU,© M¢AL, SBA, BDWR©.
I ask you to go down after me and obey all that I command and ask of you. I ask Thee
, O My God, O Light of light, O Who arranges things, O Knower of secrets, Thou art Allāh, the King, the Conqueror, there is no god but Thee, Thou alone art worshipped, O Allāh, O Allāh, by the right
of these sublime Names Allāh Allāh, the Most High, the Sublime, Allāh Allāh, the Patient, the Bountiful,
Allāh Allāh, the Living, the Subsistent, Allāh Allāh, the One, the Perpetual, the One Who neither begets nor is begotten, and has no one equally. I ask You by Your power and by Your settlement on Your throne
to solve my need and to put at my service the owner of this day, hour, quarter and the four directions, really You can do everything, You decide the Truth and nothing is decreed to You. May they be of help to me
in such and such a matter, O Allāh, O Allāh, You are God, Who is no god but You. I believe in You and
I trust in You, You are God, Whom all Your creatures fear by submitting to You, You are the light of the
heavens, You are the One Who hides without being seen or perceived Your light, O Allāh, O Allāh, O Allāh. Thou
art God, the Victorious, Who rises in His Majesty rising above His throne. None of Your creatures can describe Your sublimity, O Light of light, all who dwell in Your heavens and Your earth receive the
light of Your light, O Allāh, O Allāh, You rise above being associated with something, and You exalt Yourself above having an opposite. O Light of light, all light diminishes before Your light. O King, every king perishes,
but Thou art Eternal, imperishable, Who neither changes nor disappears, O Allāh, O Allāh, O Allāh. Thou
art the Gracious, the Merciful, grant me a mercy with which Thy anger and Thy displeasure with me will end, grant me with it the happiness that comes from Thee, and make me enter through it into Thy Paradise,
in which Thy favorite creatures dwell. O Allāh, O most Gracious of the merciful, I ask you
to solve my need and put at my service the spirituality that will help me in such and such a matter, O Allāh, O Allāh, O Allāh, O Lord of the two worlds. Hurry, O ŠMHWRŠ.”

115

b

1. 102

[IINVOCATION OF THE ANGEL OF WINTER]

If you are in the winter season, call upon the owner of the west by saying:

“In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. I conjure you, O Dardiyā’īl, and your helpers Ŷabrīqīl, Qa1⁄2mā’īl and Sawgiyā’īl1, and the earth winds MŶRD, DR’ADWM, M’MWR and ŶRYDWM, and the sun and moon ŶAD, ŶYADYM, ŶALYTD, SYYN, LATWN, NYŠAR,© M®HBAYN, SMYDRYS. I ask you to solve my need, by the right of that for which I speak to you. My God
, I pray for Your power, O Light of lights, O Knower of secrets, You are the King, the Almighty, the Mighty, the Victorious, to You belong praise, praise, glory and grace. I believe
in You, there is no god but You. I ask thee, O Allāh, O Lord, O Gracious, O Merciful, O King, O Custodian, O Knower, O Mighty, O Wise, O Condescending, O Seer, O Immense, O Innovator, O Hearer, O Sufficient, O Benign, O Grateful, O Deity, O One, O Forgiving, O Patient, O Who Shortens, O Who Extends [Sustenance], O Living, O Subsistent, O Most High, O Sublime, O Holy, O Rich, O Praiseworthy, O Bountiful, O Existent, O Hasty, O Watcher, O Calculator, O Witness, O Compassionate, O Helper, O Protector, O Creative, O Conqueror, O Giver, O Capable, O Sagacious, O Who Gives Life, O Who Gives Death, O Excellent Lord and Excellent Defender, O Preserver, O Near, O Who Hears [Prayers], O Mighty One, O Glorious,
O Lover, O Who Does What He Desires, O Great One, O Exalted, O Benefactor, O Creator, O Truthful,
O Heir, O Resurrector, O Generous, O True, O Evident, O Light, O Guide, O Judge, O Grateful, O Who Forgives, O Who Consents, O Lord of Immense Punishment, O Lord of Power, O Provider, O Lord of unbreakable strength, O Beneficent, O Sovereign, O Almighty, O Perpetual, O Lord of majesty and generosity, O First, O Last, O Manifest, O Hidden, O Holy, O Peacemaker, O Believer, O Watcher, O Mighty, O Almighty, O Splendid, O Producer, O Creator, O Shaper, O Initiator, O Recreator, O One, O Eternal, O Who neither begets nor is begotten, nor is there any like Him, O Allāh, O Allāh, O Allāh, there is no god but
Thee. I ask You, O Lord, by the right of these Names that belong to You, and by the Power You hold, to put at my service the spirituality of the owner of this day, this hour, this quarter and the
four cardinal points, truly You can do everything. I conjure you, O spirits, to be of
assistance to me in solving my problem. Answer, O JYLHWN, remove the veil that is between you and me, for
Him Who said to heaven and earth: ﴾ Come willingly or by force! They answered, ‘We come to you obedient ﴿2.'”

The four quarters were completed with their names. And they have a magic square that is specific to them 3:

1 Note that the names given for this station in the previous section on the helping angels are ©abrīqīl, Qa1⁄2mā’īl, and Šaw’iyā’īl.

2 Cor. XLI:10.

3 We reproduce the following square as it appears in the base manuscript, and it contains numerous errors that we have been unable to correct.

to

b

1. 103

116

5 79 19 25 33 83 52 67 1 77 93 74 7 51 42 29 36 66 12 28 62 97 10 38 86 82 53 89 2 91 52 78 18 40 44 25 94 53 9 81 26 61 45 16 35 37 1 47 63 88 75 3 60 98 64 34 30 49 12 5 81 99 73 64 34 30 49 12 15 81 99 73 21 48 22 14 68 56 95 8 90 55 87 74 31 166 100 69 22 17

[APART ON THE VIRTUES OF SOME OF THE NAMES OF THE GODS]

As for His Names ‘the Gracious’ and ‘the Merciful,’ for they are two glorious and sublime Names, and the invocation with them is powerful, excellent, and beneficial to the needy, and also gives assurance to the fearful. Whoever records them on Friday in the last hour of the day on a ring and wears it, will never find himself in an unpleasant situation. And he who makes frequent use of his invocation (2ikr) is treated favorably in all matters.

‘The Merciful’ (al-Ramen) derives from Mercy (alra¬ma), and likewise the Merciful (alra¬īm). And it is said that God said about kinship (alra¬im)1: “I am the Gracious One and he is the kinship: to whom he keeps his bonds I draw near, and to him who breaks his bonds, I push him away”2. And if you look and investigate, you will find ‘the Gracious’ and ‘the Merciful’ in aliflām mīm, alīflāmrā’, and in the seven ¬amīm.3 Only God knows what is right!

Whoever writes His Name ‘the Gracious’ (al-Ra¬īm), exalted be He!, eight times in a clean vessel when the moon is exalted (saraf), dissolves it with rainwater and drinks from it whoever feels cruelty in his heart4, disappears by the command of Allah, exalted be He! It has a square of four by four squares that if it is written [and dissolved] in water and drunk by those who have a burning fever, disappear from it, God willing, praise and exalt be to him! And it is as follows:

1 According to the ¬adī£ quoted below, the word raʬim (“kinship, relationship”) derives from the divine Name al-Ramān

2 Cf. Abū Dāwūd, no. 1444; A¬mad, 10064. To understand this saying, it is essential to quote the one collected by Bujārī (4455), Muslim (4634) or A¬mad (8017), according to which, the Prophet said: “God brought about His creation, and when He finished, kinship (alraim) arose; Then he grabbed hold of the Clement, and He asked what was the matter. The kinship said: I seek refuge in You from [one who seeks] rupture. And [God] said, Will you be satisfied if I bestow My benefits on him who holds you together, and deprive him who separates you of them? He said, “Yes, O Lord.” And [God] said, ‘So it shall be for you.'” To this, the narrator of the saying (Abū Hurayra) adds a quote from the Qur’an (xlvii:23): ﴾ Is it not true that if you were to rule, you would sow corruption in the earth and cut ties (arʹām)? ﴿.

3 Reference is made to the letters aliflāmmīm with which surahs 2, 3, and 29 to 32 begin; the letters aliflāmrā’ from suras 10 to 15; and “the seven ʬamīm” (al¬awāmīm), surahs 40 to 46. These letters will be dealt with at length in the next chapter.

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4 Lit. “Whoever has a hardness (qasāwa) in his heart.”

Fig. 21

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nm¬r

7 201 49 41 202 10 38 48

39 47 203 9

Fig. 22

He who harmoniously arranges His Name ‘the Merciful’ (al-Ra¬īm) with the moon in its exaltation, is safe from the catastrophes of the age. And whoever arranges it on a silver seal and wears it in a ring is safe from all epidemics, catastrophes, and all evil. It is as follows:

b

my¬r 65 58 63 72 59 68 69 62 70 61 60 67

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the King’ (al-Malik), exalted be He, tyrants let themselves be carried away by Him to protect Him and solve their needs.

Whoever repeatedly recites His Name ‘the Peacemaker’ (al-Salām), Allah, exalted be He, saves him from all catastrophes. And whoever recites it constantly until he is overcome by a spiritual state produced by it, and grabs a snake or a scorpion, will not hurt him at all. And it has a square that if the king takes it with him in war is safe from catastrophic unforeseen events. And it is as follows:

Fig. 24

Whoever repeatedly recites His Name ‘the Guardian of Faith’ (alMu’mīn) 132 times, Allah, exalted be He, saves him from the evil of the plague (Allah’n).

Whoever engraves His Name ‘the Guardian’ (al-Muhaymin) on a seal five times, the moon being in its exaltation, and wears it in his ring, is immune to the wickedness of the devil, of men and jinn.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Mighty’ (al’Azīz), finds himself armed against the enemies of God.

c

Fig. 23

māls 61 29 2 39 3 42 58 28

27 59 41 4

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d

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Almighty’ (al-abbār) is dear to all people.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Great’ (alMutakabbir), is persuasive with his words.

Whoever engraves His Name ‘the Creator’ (al-Jāliq) on a silver ring, the ascendant being one of the triads of fire1 and, wearing it, copulates with his spouse, becomes pregnant with him, Allah willing, exalted be He!

To the one who continually recites His Name ‘the Producer’ (al-Bāri’), Allah, may He be exalted, reveals wonderful secrets and subtle influences.

He who continually recites His Name ‘the Former’ (alMu1⁄2awwir), spiritual forms descend upon him in corporeal figures.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Forgiving’ (al-Gaffār), is safe in the fights from the fury of the eyes [of his enemies].

One who continually recites His Name ‘the Ruler’ (al-Qahhār) represses the desires of his ego.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Giver’ (al-Wahhāb), does not beg Allah for anything that is not granted to Him.

To the one who continually recites His Name ‘Who gives sustenance’ (al-Razzāq), Allah, exalted be He, provides the means of subsistence and provides for him from where he does not expect it.

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To the one who continually recites His Name ‘the Revealer’ (al-Fattā¬), Allah, exalted be He, reveals the means of obtaining blessings externally and internally.

To the one who continually recites His Name ‘the Knower’ (al’Alīm), Allah, may He be exalted, grants the faculty of speaking with wisdom (ikma).

To the one who continually recites His Name ‘Who Shortens’ (al-Qabiå), Allah, exalted be He, provides respect in all the worlds.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘He Who Stretches’ (al-BāsiÐ), expands his inner consciousness (sirr).2

1 See above, p. 51, n. 1.
2 On this kind of spiritual expansion (basÐ), see NURBAKHSH, Sufi Symbolism, vi, p. Question 33.

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Whoever continually recites His Name ‘Who bends’ (al-JāfiÅ) cursing an evil person, is attended to if his 2ikr meets certain conditions.

To the one who continually recites His Name ‘Who Lifts Up’ (al-Rafi’), Allah, exalted be He, increases his ability and raises his rank.

To those who continually recite His Name ‘Who gives might’ (alMu’izz), Allah, exalted be He, makes him strong in this life and in the Hereafter.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘He who humbles’ (alMu2ill), Allah, exalted be He, causes the mighty to humble themselves before Him.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Hearer’ (alSamī’), is attended to in his prayers.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Seer’ (alBa1⁄2īr) and writes it a hundred times on a crystal cup, erases it with rainwater and drinks it at breakfast, sharpens his intelligence and increases his ability to understand.

His name ‘the Judge’ (al©akam) is good for persuasion in the speech before the judges.

To the one who continually recites His Name ‘the Righteous’ (al’Adl), Allah, exalted be He, inspires him in all his circumstances.

To the one who continually recites His Name ‘the Subtle’ (al-La’İīf) when an illness has worsened, Allah, exalted be He, facilitates the healing of it.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Wise’ (al-Jabīr), engraves it on a gem (fa1⁄21⁄2) in the early hours of Friday and puts it on his mouth, he will not be thirsty, and if he puts it in the jar of water and drinks from it, may Allah be exalted, he accelerates his hydration and after that he does not need to ask for water.

b

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Patient’ (al-Allah©), may He be exalted, is safe from disorders and tumults in times of difficulty.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Exalted’ (al’Aþīm), exalted be He, magnifies himself in the eyes of the people.

To the one who continually recites His Name, “Who forgives everything” (alGafūr), Allah, exalted be He, delivers him from the evil of what He fears and from what He sees as a threat.

1 In the original jātim, and we read jam.

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To the one who continually recites His Name ‘the Thankful’ (al-Akūr), Allah, exalted be He, extols His mighty.

One who continually recites His Name ‘the Protector’ (al©afīÞ), is protected from the wickedness of evildoers in all his movements and in all the places where he resides.

One who continually recites His Name ‘Who Gives Death’ (alMumīt) does not feel the discomfort of hunger.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Calculator’ (al-asīb©), exalted be He, has no needs.

Whoever continually recites His Name “the Majestic” (Allah, may He be exalted), finds prosperity in all his circumstances.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Bountiful’ (al-Karīm), may He be exalted, is attended to in his prayers.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘Who answers [prayers]’ (al-Mujīb), exalted be He, will not fall into misfortune unless he finds a way out of it.

To him who continually recites His Name ‘the Immense’ (alWāsi’), Allah, exalted be He, causes the fountains of wisdom to flow from his heart to his tongue.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Wise’ (al-akīm©) is dear to all people3.

Whoever continually recites His name “the Lover” (al-Wadūd) and is king, Allah, exalted be He, enlarges His kingdom4.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Excellent’ (alMujīd) […]5

One who continually recites His Name ‘the Resuscitator’ (alBā’i£), is incited to perform every good deed.

To the one who continually recites His Name ‘the Witness’ (alṛahīd), Allah, may He be exalted, makes him a witness of the Observation (almurāqaba)6 in his spiritual retreat (jalwa), on leaving his retreat (¥ilwa)7 and in all his affairs.

1 This virtue should correspond to the following name: alMujīb. 2 This virtue should be attributed to the name akīm©.
3 It would correspond to the name alWadūd.
4 It would correspond to alWāsi’.

5 By following some of the following virtues with respect to the divine Names with which they correspond, we hereafter correct the original, leaving the name alMujīd without any explicit property in the text.

6 In this case it refers to the observation by God, by which the Gnostic feels observed by Him at various times or in perpetuity (cf. NURBAKHSH, Sufi Symbolism, v, pp. 222, 224).

d

7 On this concept, see NURBAKHSH, Sufi Symbolism, iv, p. Question 27.

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To those who continually recite His Name ‘the Truth’ (al©aqq), God makes His words persuasive and coercive.

[…] it has a square of five by five that whoever engraves it on a marble stone and puts it in the house being Scorpio the ascendant, there is not a snake or scorpion left without leaving it, as well as insects, God willing, exalted be he!

Whoever continually calls on His Name ‘the Mighty One’ (alQawī), [Allah], exalted be He, strengthens his spirit and perpetuates his love.

Whoever continually calls on His Name ‘the Unbreakable’ (alMatīn) is safe from his strength failing.

Whoever repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Helper’ (al-Walī), Allah, exalted be He, protects and helps him.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Praiseworthy’ (al-amīd©) and writes it on a seal as many times as its numerical value, erases it with water and gives drink to the one who suffers from a disease, Allah, exalted be He, cures him of it.

Whoever repeatedly invokes His Name ‘Who keeps track of everything’ (alMu¬1⁄2ī), will be safe from misfortunes.

His Name ‘the Initiator’ (alMubdī’) is beneficial to one who wants to start some matter.

Whoever harmoniously arranges His Name ‘Recreator of Life’ (alMu’īd) in a magic square, the ascendant being one of the transitory zodiacal constellations (munqalib), hangs it to the wind and the person endures it throughout the night reciting it for a fugitive or a traveler, he returns to the place from which he came, God willing, exalted be He!

Whoever repeatedly invokes His Name ‘Who gives life’ (alMu¬yī), Allah, exalted be He, revivifies his heart with the light of gnosis (alma’rifa).

Whoever repeatedly invokes His Name ‘Who Gives Death’ (alMumīt), Allah, exalted be He, causes the evil desires that perish upon him.

He who writes His Name ‘the Living One’ (al©ayy), exalted be He, a hundred and twenty times at the door of a house, when Venus is at its height, whoever dwells in it will be protected from unfortunate accidents, God willing, exalted be He!

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One who continually recites His Name ‘the Subsistent’ (al-Qayyūm), finds within himself pure knowledge and unique wisdoms.

To those who constantly call upon His Name ‘the Finder’ (al-Wājid), Allah, exalted be He, makes him find faith and trust in his heart.

Whoever repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Glorious’ (al-Majid), Allah, exalted be He, raises his rank and flees from the world.

One who constantly invokes His Name ‘the One’ (al-Wā¬id) is repulsed by wealth.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the One’ (Allah), exalted be He, is singled out by the knowledge [he possesses].

Whoever repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Odd’ (alFard) will not befall him, and he will not feel the discomfort of hunger at all.

To those who continually invoke His Name ‘the Eternal’ (al1⁄4amad), Allah, exalted be He, provides spiritual power and Gnostic cognitive capacity (‘irfāniyya).

To the one who constantly invokes His Name ‘the Almighty’ (al-Muqtadir), Allah, may He be exalted, makes all situations easier.

To whom He repeatedly invokes His Name “the Near” (alMuqaddim) God provides the ability to dispose of the forces of the world of causes.

As for His Name ‘the Far One’ (alMu’ajjir), the mystery of His door is closed and the secret of His veil is covered.

One who repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the First’ (al-Awwal) is on his way to the divine gifts.

His Name ‘the Last’ (alĀjir) is a preserved secret and his knowledge is hidden.

To the one who repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Visible’ (Allah), Allah, exalted be He, reveals the truths and hidden aspects of things.

1 V. NURBAKHSH, Sufi Symbolism, iii, p. 123: “The flight (alfirār) of the Gnostics is from the world, from creation, from nafs, from the world to come, and, in short, from everything transitory.”

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One who repeatedly invokes His name ‘the Hidden One’ (alBāÐin) will not come to anyone who does not obey Him and solve his need.

Whoever repeatedly invokes His name ‘the Governor’ (alWālī), may He be exalted, is dear to all.

To the one who constantly recites His Name ‘the Exalted’ (alMuta’ālī), Allah, exalted be He, provides luminous magnificence and everlasting love.

He who repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Gracious’ (al-Barr), is therefore favored in all his situations.

Whoever constantly recites His Name ‘Who accepts repentance’ (alTawwāb), is favored by it. And it has a square of four by four squares that whoever draws it on the palm of
his hand and prays with it to God, he will forgive him.

Whoever writes His name ‘the Avenger’ (alMuntaqim) on a vessel, dilutes it with rainwater and gives it to one who desires to drink wine, will hate it.

His name ‘the Indulgent’ (al’Afū), who fears the punishment of a sovereign or other prey, and recites it the number of times of its numerical value, is safe from what he fears.

Whoever repeatedly calls on His Name ‘the Merciful’ (alRa’ūf), Allah is compassionate to him, and every powerful person who sees him takes his eyes away from him.

Whoever constantly recites His Name ‘King of Sovereignty’ (Mālik al-Mulk) asking for power, Allah, exalted be He, grants it to him.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘Lord of Majesty and Generosity’ (®ūlŶalāl wa lIkrām), will not ask Allah, exalted be He, for anything that He does not grant him.

Whoever repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Equitable’ (alMuqsiÐ) is characterized by austerity and fairness in all his circumstances.

Whoever constantly calls on His Name ‘the Bundler’ (Allah’), when a slave has escaped or an animal has gone astray, Allah, may He be exalted, gives him back what he has lost.

To whom He repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Enricher’ (alMugnī) his means of spiritual and earthly enrichment increase, and his goods increase. And whoever writes it and carries it hanging obtains great benefits in their commercial activity.

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Whoever repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Sufficient’ (alGanī), Allah, exalted be He, exempts him from the need of creatures.

Whoever writes His name ‘the Defender’ (al-Māni’) on the wall that surrounds a city, at one hundred and sixty-one points of the wall1, while the preacher (aljaÐīb) is in the pulpit on Friday, Allah, exalted be He, protects the city from the incursions of the wicked. Some sages placed it on the wall of the fortress of Mārdīn2, and no enemy could take it, by order of Allah, exalted be He!

and

Whoever constantly recites His Name ‘Who afflicts’ (al3⁄4ārr), and then asks Allah to harm an evil person, sees in the sea of his disposition a pretext, and in the land of his disposition a portent.

In His Name “Who favors” (alNāfi’) lies the healing of every disease and the protection of every unfortunate person. Whoever recites it constantly in a dangerous situation, Allah, exalted be He, protects him from it. And if he is in a pure spiritual condition and perseveres in his invocation until it harmonizes with some of his kingdoms, he will not pass his hand over a wounded man unless God, exalted be He, does not erase his injury. And whoever arranges it in a square engraved on a silver seal, while the moon is in its exaltation, whoever wears the ring having a sickness Allah,
exalted be He, will heal him. Do you not see that it alludes to His Name ‘Healer’
(Mu’āfī)?3 And the names of their letters allude to two glorious Names, which
are ‘Deity’ (Ilāh) and ‘Healer’ (Šāfī).4 And this is its square:

Fig. 25

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To whom He constantly recites His Name ‘the Light’ (alNūr) God illuminates his heart. And if we add his name “the Profitable”, it is the cure of all sickness and pain that is due to the cold. And if you put the name on a square and pour water on it, [the square] will be very beneficial for one who has a cold, and it is essential that the water be poured in. Allah, praise and exalted be He, knows better what is right. This is the image of the square as you can see:

Fig. 26

1 AlMāni’ : Mīm (40) + alif (1) + nūn (50) + ‘ayn (70) = 161.

2 A city located in the southeastern part of present-day Turkey, and which in the Middle Ages was located in the region called alJaūra, north of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The impregnable character of its fortress was well known at the time (cf. V. M.INORSKY [C. E. BOSWORTH], “Mārdīn”, in EI 2).

3 It refers to the numerical value of “Nāfi'” (201) being equivalent to that of “Mu’āfī”.

4 The names of the letters of “Nāfi'” add up to 428 (Nūn = 106; Alif = 111; Fā’ = 81; ‘Ayn = 130), and that is equivalent to “Ilāh” (37) + “Šāfī” (391).

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2 49 71 79 52 3 78 68 77 69 51 4

fi’ nā r nū

Majīd 49 ‘ā1⁄2im

199 52
148 58 202

59 147 50

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His Name ‘the Guide’ (alHādī) is a noble Name. Whoever recites it constantly, the light of his heart is increased, and God guides his thoughts towards His gnosis (ma’rifa). And whoever is distressed by some external or internal earthly matter, then let him perform ablutions, and let him pray two rak’at with
the verse of the Throne and the surah of the Cult, and let him continue with his 2ikr until he separates himself from his ego (nafs),

for it will really find the way to what it desires.

One who constantly invokes His Name ‘the Innovator’ (al-Badī’) does not cease to learn new things in the divine sciences and religious secrets.

Whoever continually recites His Name ‘the Heir’ (alWāri£) and wants to inherit from a relative or relative, Allah, exalted be He, grants him the inheritance of whatever he wishes.

One who constantly recites His Name ‘the Perpetual’ (al-Bāqī), may He be exalted, attains prosperity in all his activities.

And to the one who repeatedly invokes His Name ‘the Tolerant’ (al1⁄2abūr), Allah, exalted be He, provides firmness in the face of adversity, important matters and misfortunes, God willing, praise and exalted Him! And God knows better.

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CHAPTER NINE
ONTHE PECULIAR VIRTUES OF THE LETTERS WITH WHICH THE SURAS AND ELOQUENT VERSES OF THE CORANBEGIN.

You should know, O may Allah guide us, about the peculiar virtues of the letters of the aliphate which are found at the beginning of the surahs, and the letters of the aliphate all of them, and the effects which derive from them in their arrangement, what some ulema said, may Allah be pleased with them, about their saying, may He be exalted: ﴾ Alif Lām Mīm 1⁄4ād ﴿1, that its meaning is “I am the God who decides”2. And he said to the ©asan [alBa1⁄2rī]: The alif is the alif of preeternity (alazal), the lām is the lām of eternity without end (praise), and the mīm is from Him to Him (minhu ilayhi), and the 1⁄2ād is the conjunction (itti1⁄2āl) of the one who is united to Him, and the separation (infi1⁄2āl) of the one who separates from Him, for in reality there is no union or separation. These are the different interpretations that circulate around it, but the sources of Truth are preserved from words and interpretations. Each of the Names of Allah, may He be exalted, brings you to one of the levels, and His Name “Allāh” makes you attain all the levels, for it is the Name of the Essence described with the attributes of holiness, and all the other Names refer to it. To whom their meaning is revealed, the meaning of the hidden Names, which are the isolated letters, is revealed.

Understand the signs, do not dwell on the interpretations, and you will be among those who possess certainty. The first of the hidden names is “He” (huwa), it is a name composed of two letters and is the place of the sign that alludes to the Divinity (alUlūhiyya)3, to which all the hidden and manifest Names return.

When Allah, exalted be He, created the letters, created for them the levels of the inner consciousness in Ādam, peace be upon him, which was not lodged in the angels. The letters flowed from the language of Ādam, peace be upon him, in its different ways and types of languages. Then God, exalted be He, put the figure of all the letters in his heart as a spirituality, which is what appears in inner speech and in physical writing. So the letters are found in the heart of man, in his tongue and in corporeal figures, being so by His words: ﴾ 1⁄4ād. By the Qur’an which contains the Remembrance! ﴿ 4. ﴾Qāf, for the glorious Recitation! ﴿5 ﴾ Nūn, By the calamus and what they write! ﴿6.

And the letters indicate that the verses of the Book are the Remembrance for those endowed with understanding. Each letter has three states according to the three vowels: the pronunciation with the vowel a, with the i and with the u, in addition to the letters of accentuated or weak prolongation, similar to the elements, since each

1 Cor. VII:1.
2 Anā Allāh af1⁄2ilu.
3 Divinity is the level that comprises all levels of the divine Names and Atibutos (NURBAKHSH,

Sufi Symbolism, v, p. 346).
4 Cor. xxxviii:1. From this we must understand that the dwelling place of Remembrance is the heart. 5 Cor. L:1.
6 Cor. LXVIII:1.
7 “Li’ūlà alalbāb”, in reference to Cor. xxxix:19, xxxix:22, etc.

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letter corresponds to an element. And there are three worlds: that of Sovereignty (mulkī), that of the celestial Kingdom (malakūtī) and that of the divine Imperative (jabarūtī), and each of the three is corporeal, relative to the soul and spiritual. And these are nine, and nine are the numbers, nine are the spheres1, and nine are the natural qualities together with the senses, the relationship being made manifest.

Dig into the secrets of numbers and letters, and among them you will find resplendent knowledge concerning the grouping and dispersion by virtue of the Mercy and Mercy of ﴾ BismiLlāh al-Ramon al-Ram ﴿, for from ﴾ BismiLlāh to Ram al-Ram al-Ram ﴿ He feeds the universe (alkawn), eating and drinking. Consider the surahs of the Qur’an and you will find that multiplying six by nineteen2 gives sixty plus fifty-four. Sixty plus fifty is one hundred and ten, plus four is one hundred and fourteen, which is the number of surahs in the Qur’an. And six is the perfect number, the number of days in which God, exalted be He, created the heavens, the earth, and all that is between them, and these three are composed of nineteen things: the heavens are nine together with the Throne and the footstool, the earth ten, the [four] elements together with that which is generated from them, minerals, plants, living beings, genies and angels.

And the letters which are at the beginning of the surahs are arranged in five ways: isolated, double, triple, quadruple, and quintuple3. And as for its total sum, it is seventy-eight, fourteen letters not counting the repeated ones.

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The letters are of two types: punctuated and without periods. The punctuated one is relative to Sovereignty (mulkī) and the one that does not carry points is relative to the invisible realm (malakūtī). Then, those relating to sovereignty are of two kinds: with two or with three points. Those that have three dots are the šīn and the £ā’: the šīn indicates the grouping of what is scattered, and the £ā’ indicates the grouping of what is grouped.

Those with two dots are the tā’ and the yā’: the yā’ is a manifestation in the Sovereignty of His right hand (Yamanuhu), and the tā’ is manifested in the heavenly Kingdom (Malakūt). Those that have a single point are the qāf and the nūn: the qāf is manifested in everything whose external appearance comes from it, such as “the Capable” (alQādir) or “the Chálamo” (alQalam); and the nūn is manifested in everything that is evident, since everything that is evident comprises or surrounds that with which it becomes evident, such as sunlight, materials, the nūn of the Calamus and the ink of the writing that makes visible the interior of what it contains.

The £ā’ is also the increment (£amara) of what is between the two proportions of everything that is gradually generated, such as dates or powder. And the šīn is a perfect manifestation that is shown on an apparent hill, and from every grouping the basis of each thing is obtained, for whatever is in it is a base.

1 That is, the seven heavens, the footstool, and the throne.

2 The number 19 because they are the letters that make up the Basmala. The number 6 for the reasons he gives below.

3 That is, in these surahs there are from one to five letters. 4 Uncertain translation.

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And the šīn also informs us of a malignancy, as it takes place in “evil” (alšarr), “dishonor” (alšayn), “hatred” (alšan’ān), “dispersion” (alšatāt), “boldness” (alšabāb) that is the product of madness, and distractions (alašgāl); or an emphasis on the lyrics that are linked to it, as in “passion” (al’išq), “falling in love” (alša’f), “excessive hostility” (alšigār), “intense pain” (al gašāwa), “excessive tyranny” (algašm), etc.

And the meaning of the nūn is a clear external symbol, like the light of sensory perception, the light of the sun, the light of science, the ink of books that makes their contents visible, and the water of the clouds that reveals an essential interior, which is what guards the position of the nūn in its word. the external and hidden meanings [of that word] and all that is between them are found enveloped by it, and therefore its figure is characterized by having three marks, and it is as it takes place in the invariable name with respect to what it denotes, or the invariable mark that reveals the temperaments of men, etc.

And he said to the©asan [alBa1⁄2rī], God have mercy on him: In the Qur’an is the knowledge of everything, and the science of the Qur’an is found in the letters of the beginnings of the surahs, the science of those letters resides in lām alif, the science of lām alif is in the alif, the science of the alif is in the point, the science of the point is in primordial knowledge, the science of primordial knowledge is in preeternity, the science of preeternity is in the caused entities (almašī’āt), the knowledge of the caused entities resides in the concealment of Ipseity (alhuwiyya), and the concealment of Ipseity resides in ﴾ There is nothing like Him ﴿ 2.

And it is said that ﴾ YāSīn ﴿ is one of the Names of God, exalted be He!, like the rest of the letters of the aliphate present at the beginning of the surahs, which are the fourteen luminous letters not counting the repeated ones, and they are: alif, ¬ā’, rā’, Ðā’, kāf, lām, mīm, nūn, 1⁄2ād, ‘ayn, qāf, sīn, hā’, yā’.

And it is said of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah, may He be pleased with him, that he said that the letters with which the surahs begin are taken from the Names of Allah.

And Abūl’āliyasaid: “There is not a letter of them that is not the key to one of the Names of Allah, exalted be He!” The alif is for ‘Deity’ (Ilāh), the lām is for ‘Subtle’ (LaÐīf), the mīm is for ‘King’ (Malik), the 1⁄4ād for ‘Truthful’ (1⁄4ādiq), the rā’ for ‘Lord’ (Rabb), the kāf for ‘Enough’ (Kāfī), the hā’ for ‘Guide’ (Hādī), the yā’ for ‘Wise’ (‘Alīm), the ‘ayn for ‘Knower’ (‘Ālim), the Ðā’ for ‘Gracious’ (Æayyib), the sīn for ‘Hearer’ (Samī’), the ¬ā’ of ‘Praiseworthy’ (©amīd), the qāf of ‘Mighty’ (Qadīr), and the nūn of ‘Light’ (Nūr). And this is the order in which Abūl’Āliya arranged them: a l m 1⁄2 r k h y ‘ Ð s ¬ q n. And he put in the middle some letters as a reference, which are the hā’ and the yā’. Before them he put the letters of ﴾ Aliflammīm ﴿,

1 Translation uncertain.
2 Cor. XLII:9.
3 That is, these letters are part of the hidden Names of God.
4 Abūl’Āliya alRiyā¬ī (s. VIII), a traditionist to whom a commentary on the Qur’an is attributed.

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﴾Aliflammīmsād ﴿ and ﴾ Aliflāmrā’ ﴿, and [afterwards] ﴾ Kāfhā’yā”ayn1⁄2ād ﴿, ﴾ Æā’sīn ﴿, and the ¬ā’ of ﴾ ©ā’mīm ﴿, the qāf of ﴾ Qāf, by the glorious Recitation! ﴿, and the nūn of ﴾ Nūn, For the calamus! ﴿.

And Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with him, said about the meaning of ﴾ Aliflammīm that its meaning is “I am the All-Knowing God”1, and that of ﴾ Aliflāmrā’ ﴿: “I am the God who sees everything”2. So the alif is interpreted as “I” (Anā), the lām is interpreted as the Name Allāh, the mīm is interpreted as “I know” (a’lamu) and the rā’ is interpreted as “I see” (arà). This is its order: ﴾ Aliflam mīm ﴿3 ﴾Aliflammīmsād ﴿ 4 ﴾ Aliflāmrā’ ﴿5; ﴾Alif lāmmīmrā’ ﴿ 6 ﴾Kāf hā’yā”ayn1⁄2ād ﴿ 7 ﴾Æā’ hā’ ﴿ 8 ﴾Æā’sīn ﴿ 9﴾Æā’sīnmīm ﴿ 10﴾Yā’sīn ﴿ 11 [﴾ 1⁄4ād ﴿]12 ﴾©ā’mīm ﴿13 ﴾ ‘Ayn sīnqāf ﴿14 ﴾Qāf ﴿15 ﴾Nūn ﴿ 16. Subtracting the repeated ones are fourteen, fourteen letters remain. Its letters are found in these fourteen suras, and the fourteen luminous letters are taken from these fourteen surahs to which mention has just been made and to which Abū al’Āliya alluded.

And Ibn ‘Abba’s (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The openings of the surahs are the Supreme Name of Allah.

BLESSED KNOWLEDGE: All the divine Names are the number [of rungs] on the ladder to Paradise, from which Knowledge is derived and to which it refers, and through which the created beings (almawŷūdāt) are manifested, for the created beings are a sign symbolizing the most beautiful Names. In them resides the conduct of the spirits in the bodies, and through them the Decree in Creation takes place, for there is no being, whether insignificant or important, high or inferior, which the Names of God, exalted be He, do not contain in essence and meaning. And inevitably the Name of the Divinity comprehends the meanings of the other Names, while the Names serve to interpret their meaning and express it, for [the Name of the Divinity] is the most sublime of the manifest Names according to this theory.

The alif is a firm letter from which the other letters result and from which they derive, since it is their material basis, and its equivalent is the Intellect (al’Aql), the Calamus and the Throne. It is followed by the lām, which is the letter that acts as a union between the superior and the inferior, and its equivalent is the Tablet, the Footstool and the Universal Soul. After the lām is the mīm, which is the letter indicative of Perfection and which corresponds to the Substance (alŷism), since the Intellect is the first created entity, while the substance is the

1 Ana Allāhu a’lamu.
2 Ana Allāhu arà.
3 Cor. II, III, XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXII. 4 Cor. Vii.
5 Cor. X, XI, XII, XIV, XV.
6 Cor. Xiii.
7 Cor. XIX.
8 Cor. xx.
9 Cor. XXVII.
10 Cor. XXVI, XXVIII.
11 Cor. xxxvi.
12 Cor. XXXVIII.
13 Cor. XLIXLVI.
14 Cor. XLII.
15 Cor. l.16
Cor. LXVIII.

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completion of created beings. The rest of the meanings of the letters are embedded in the alif, for in the alif resides the meaning of the Reunion (aljam’) and the Totality (alijmāl), just as the letters are integrated into the Calamo. Understand the meaning of Wholeness and Insertion (altadājul), and precious spiritual secrets will appear before you, thus gaining the ecstasy of their knowledge.

ON THE INSPIRATION AND REVELATION OF THE SCIENCE OF THE NOMENS]

You should know that the saints (alawliyā’), may Allah be pleased with them, spoke about the science of letters and Names in terms of bright lights that were poured out upon them from the source of distinction as certainty and sincerity (alijlā1⁄2) took place in their hearts. They were then distinguished with the knowledge of the Names above the other names of persons for three reasons: the first of which is that they received the understanding of the meanings of the ninety-nine names through provident support (alta’yīd) and inspiration (alilhām) from that which others do not get to know through reflection and argumentation. The second is that they came to know the names hidden beneath these ninety-nine. And the third is that they were distinguished with the knowledge of the Supreme Name.

As for the prophets, peace be upon them, for they had access through the light of revelation (alwaʬy) to those meanings of the ninety-nine Names which the saints did not attain by inspiration. They also knew the science of occult names and had knowledge of the Supreme Name. And He knows only what is in each of these Names He Who holds them and Who attributes their meaning to Himself, and He is God, He alone. And beyond all these Names which Allah, may He be exalted, made known to His prophets and His saints, there is a part of them which Allah reserved in the World of the Unseen (‘ālam algayb) and which is not revealed to any sent prophet or to any angel near.

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It is said that the first thing by which Allah, may He be exalted, distinguishes the servant when He wants to make him His friend and teach him infused knowledge (al’ilm alladunī),1 so that he may be a holy and wise man
, distinguishes him by revealing to him some peculiarities of the science of the ninety-nine Names whose knowledge is not revealed to the wise man by reflection. Then he advances
him to the knowledge of the hidden Names, the first of which is “He” (Huwa), which is a Name composed of two letters, the place of allusion to the Divinity, to which all the hidden and manifest Names refer, just as the manifest refer to the Name Allāh. After that, he teaches him the hidden Names that reside in the isolated letters, and they are the fourteen luminous letters that appear in the
Qur’an at the beginning of the surahs, and which we have just mentioned. And after his understanding, God, exalted be He, gives him the Supreme Name, the one with which if he prays, he is answered, and if he asks, it is granted to him. Most sages believe that knowledge of the Supreme Name is received only by the knowledge of the Supreme Name.

1 On infused knowledge in connection with inspiration, see NURBAKHSH, Sufi Symbolism, v, pp. 166-168.

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of al-JiÅr,1 peace be upon him! [Others believe that] the saint receives it through the inspiration that is poured into the soul of the heart (alrū’) with the wind of Mercy upon the servant of God: to explain the different ways in which the saints receive it is a subject that would lengthen the book excessively, but it is through it that the earth is cleft before them, who walk on water, rise in the air, avert their gaze and the rest of the miracles (karāmāt) by which the saints are characterized. All this is not a written science, but is a particular matter between man and his Lord: to whom God reveals it, knows it.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “All existence is based on the sacred Names of God, exalted be He, the hidden and the manifest, and the hidden Names of God, exalted be He, are the basis of everything in this world, and the Hereafter, they are the chest of its secret and the hidden of its science. From them are derived all the Names of God, exalted be He, and they are those Names by which He executes His decrees, and which He deposited in the mother of the Book.”2

They asked Ibn al-anafiyya©3, may Allah be pleased with him!, about the [meaning of] ﴾Kāf hā’ yā”ayn1⁄2ād ﴿, and he replied to the questioner: “If he were to make known to you his interpretation, you would walk on water without submerging your feet.”

Sahl b. ‘Abd Allāh alTustarī4, God be pleased with him, said: “A man came to Ibrāhīm b. Adham5 and said to him: What do you say about [the meaning of] ﴾Yā’sīn ﴿?; And he said: In ﴾Yā’sīn ﴿ there is a Name that whoever knows it and calls on God with it, may He be exalted, is answered, whether he is a devotee or a sinner. And when it is invoked for something in particular, it has the peculiar virtue for it”6. We will explain it in more detail later in this book of ours, God willing, exalted be He!

PART:

Each of these fourteen letters that are at the beginning of the surahs has a meaning and a secret, that if revealed to the servant by God, may He be exalted, he obtains a charism (karāma) from Him, or he meets al-Jiar, peace be upon him!

And it is confirmed in the “goodbye that the Prophet, may God bless and save him!” said to his companions: “If you meet the enemy at dawn, let your war cry be ﴾ ©a’ Mīm, and you will not be helped.”7

1 In esoteric tradition, one of the four prophets who have ascended to Paradise before dying, along with Idris, Elijah, and Jesus. The belief that He was the depository of the Supreme Name is primarily based on an esoteric interpretation of Cor. xviii:645, according to which Moses would have learned it from him. On the importance of al-Jiḥr in Muslim esotericism, see F. AUBAILLESALLENAVE, “AlKhiÅr, “l’homme au manteau vert” en pays musulmans”, in R. Gyselen (ed.), Charmes et sortilèges. Magie et magiciens, pp. 1135.

2 We do not find this saying among the collections we have.
3 Muhammad ibn al-Anafiyya©(d. 700 CE), son of the celebrated Ali b. Abī Æālib.
4 Influential Sufi authority of the ninth century (d. 896 AD), author of a Risālat al©urūf edited and translated into P.

GARRIDO CLEMENTE, Study, edition and translation of the work of Ibn Masarra de Córdoba. The Science of Letters in Sufism, Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Salamanca, 2007, pp. 89134.

5 One of the most important Sufi saints of the eighth century, and of whom hagiographical sources say that he abdicated the throne of his native city Balkh to devote himself to the ascetic life. It is believed that he died around 162 A.D.

6 Cf. P. G.ARRIDO CLEMENTE, OP. CIT., P. 125. 7 Cf. A¬mad, no 17815.

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©﴾ a’ Mīm ﴿ is one of the preserved and hidden names, and to those who come into contact with its light, Allah, exalted be He, makes them see the unusual and obtains profitable uses from among their secrets.

Sahl b. ‘Abd Allāh al-Tustarī (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The noblest of all letters are nine, with the light of which the other letters are covered with beauty and splendour, and they are these: alif, lām, rā’, ¬ā’, qāf, mīm, kāf, nūn, 1⁄2ād. The visible bodies are indicative of them and their nobility, and correspond to the seven heavens, the footstool, and the Throne. And they are the nine materialized ones that God expressed in the Qur’an with His words: ﴾ Aliflammīm ﴿, ﴾Aliflammīmsād ﴿, ﴾ Aliflāmrā’ ﴿, ﴾Qāf ﴿, ﴾Nūn ﴿, ﴾©ā’mīm ﴿, ﴾ ‘Ayn sīnqāf ﴿, ﴾Kāf hā’yā”ayn1⁄2ād ﴿ and ﴾Æā’sīn ﴿ 1.

[TAFSĪR FROM THE NAME TOLLĀH AND THE LETTERS THAT COMPOSE IT]

And these are the fourteen letters which have been said to be the manifest and hidden Supreme Name, while what the scholars and the principal scholars point out is that the Supreme Name is “Allāh” in the manifest Names, and there is almost unanimity in this. The interpretation of
this Supreme Name is that it draws things from non-existence into existence.

The alif in it is an allusion to the sacred Essence, and the hā’ is a circular letter in welcoming the mystery, which is the secret of the breast (al1⁄2adr), since the breast receives the secret of the divine Science both as a whole and in its parts, for in it is the inspiration of the Messenger of God, May God bless you and save you, according to His words, exalted be He: ﴾ Have we not opened your breast and delivered you from the burden? ﴿2. So the hā’ is the secret of the opening (alšar¬) of the breast.

And since the alif [of Allāh] takes vowel or sukūn, because of its isolated state at the beginning of the Name and because it receives the vowel of the previous word, then it finally meets vowel. And its vowel sound depends on the four desinences: the final vocalization with u, with a, with i, and vowel silence (sukūn), thus affecting the article, and that is because the determination [of the Name] is not necessary. Then he highlights the first lām that has no vowel on the part of the alif, and that takes vowel from the second lām with which it is united, which [second lām] receives the mystery of its sukūn [of the first] and of the sukūn of the alif whose virtue endures. Then the second lām receives this mystery and extols it3, and it turns out that the alif takes vowel from its union with the second lām through the secret of the vowel, which is actually the second lām. And this mystery is received by the second lam by the secret of its height, and then received by the hā’ by the secret of its roundness, so that in it the secret of the vowel and the secret of the sukūn are united, and therefore it is the hidden part of the hidden, as God says, Exalted be He: ﴾ Huwa Allāh ﴿, ﴾ Huwa al©ayy ﴿, [etc.].

1 Cf. P. G.ARRIDO CLEMENTE, Ibn Masarra, pp. 1189.2
Cor. xciv:12.
3 In allusion to the signed alif.
4 That is, as stated above (p. 133), “hu” or “huwa” is the first Hidden Name.

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So the hā’ is the secret of the opening of the chest and the alif is the symbol of the Essence. The first lām corresponds to the Covenant Pledge1 because in it resides the secret of the intercession of the alif. Then the second lām corresponds to Locative Commitment2 because of the secret of the alif that resides in it. The second lām [also] corresponds to the Pledge of Faith [demanded]3 on the Day of Judgment, by accepting the divine commandment through the secret of the intercession of the alif who resides in it. And then the hā’ corresponds to the execution of the Decree on the day of the Rebirth in the Hereafter, with the reunion of the first and the last.

And by means of this divine Wisdom a cycle of fourteen letters is formed, the beginning of which is equal to its end, and its end is like its beginning, because the alif is at the beginning and at the end. The explanation of this is that the [two] alif and the [two] lām are four, which multiplied by three is twelve4, and the hā’ with two gives a total of fourteen in this way [with the separate letters]: A l f l a m l a m a l f h A.

And as [the Prophet] said, God bless him and save him!: “He is the Visible One and there is none above Him. He is the Hidden One, and there is none under Him.”5 And since this is a set of fourteen letters, for the seven heavens and the seven earths, and all the sovereignty and invisible Kingdom there are in them and among them is sustained by one of the mysteries of the Name of God, glorified be His mention, for that is why it is found in every particle of the world, and under each of them resides one of the secrets of God’s Name. And through that secret comes the understanding of Him and testifies to His divine Oneness. 6: God said, Exalted be He, to His prophet Muhammad, God bless him and save him: Do you know anyone who has His name? ﴿7. And he said: ﴾ Say: Allāh; then let them play in their useless talk ﴿ 8.

[APARTADO SOBRE EL NOMEN SUPREMO]

The imam, the knower of God, exalted be He, said the ulema Fajr alDīn alJwārizmī9, may God have him in His glory!, in the sacred territory of Makkah in the year 670: Whoever comes to the gnosis of God, exalted be He!, through the Name whose effects predominate in his mystical state and his spiritual abode, because he has known the Supreme Name that corresponds to him particularly, as he was ‘the most Gracious of the merciful’ (Arṣam alrā¬imīn) to Ayyūb, peace be upon him!, when he said: ﴾ Evil has touched me, but You are the most Merciful of the merciful ﴿10. As it was ‘the Giver’ (al-Wahhāb) to Sulayman, peace be upon him, when he said: ﴾ My Lord! Forgive me!

1 In allusion to the so-called “verse of the Covenant” (Cor. vii:172).
2 Possibly alluding to Cor. xxxiii:1415.
3 V. Cor. xxxiii:23, etc.
4 Multiply by three as the number of letters in the name alif and lām.
5 I do not find this saying, which on the other hand manuscripts A and C attribute to Jesus.
6 That is, by means of the Name “Allāh” His essence is understood, and by its mention the Essence is made effective.

declaration of faith in His Oneness. 7 Cor. XIX:65.

8 Cor. VI:92.
9 See above, p. 108, n.1. 10 Cor. XXI:82.

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Give me a lordship that no one can have after me! Truly You are the Giver ﴿1. And since he was ‘the Best of the heirs’ to Zakariyya’, peace be upon him, when he said: ﴾ My Lord! Do not leave me alone! You are the Best of the heirs ﴿2. And Allah, exalted be He, granted Yaya3, and granted Sulaymān a magnificent lordship, and delivered Ayyūb from his misfortune. So whoever knows the Name suitable for his need and prays with it to God, exalted be He, is heeded and gets what he wants.

There was a certain šayj who when a disciple came to see him wanting to [obtain] the Path (al sulūk), he would make him sit in front of him and recite to him the ninety-nine most beautiful Names of God by observing his face as he recited the Names. In this way it became evident to the šayj which was the proper Name for the disciple, and he commanded him to persevere [in his 2ikr], so that by that Name a door of Mercy would be opened before him, that is, by the Name which He commanded him to recite, for it is the One Name that influences him, through which the Divine Influence takes place in all people. And that was the purpose of the šayj.

The science of the Supreme Name is one of the noblest of sciences, for the Supreme Name b is a pearl hidden and preserved from one who is not worthy of it, for it is hidden in the most precious of hidden jewels and preserved in the divine cupboards. Above it fall the pavilions of
Power, the curtain of Fear hangs beneath it, the sacred enclave of the Invisible Realm (alMalakūt) stretches around it, and around it revolves the sanctuary of the Kingdom of the Imperative (alJabarūt). I will give as an example of this the obscure matters in matters of religion, which are attained only by the most eminent sages who have the support of God.

c

And it is from the greatness of this Name, from its nobility and from its sanctity that the splendid attributes and excellent adjectives with which it is interpreted come. And with it are associated admirable recitations (a2kār) and magnificent praises (amdā¬), which, although they are different from each other, find their point of confluence in Transcendence (altanzīh) and sanctification (altaqdīs). And the measure of the benefit that it procures to hear them [recitations and praises] is the measure of the effects that result from that [Name], because it is thus more grandiose in its remembrance, more sublime for the one who hears or recites it, and more powerful for the one who redounds and inquires into it, since it may be hidden in a composition [of several Names] or explicit, and it is certainly not required that the invocation should be made with him alone, nor is it certain that we should be attended by him alone, but rather accompanied by other noble Names and glorious Attributes, and covered with robes of praise and cloaks of praise. This is made clear by the prophetic traditions, since in this way the prayers are embellished and the “adiah” of Annas predominates, although other authorities also support it5.

1 Cor. xxxviii:34.
2 Cor. XXI: 89.
3 Son of Zechariah the prophet, referring to Cor. XXI:90.
4 Cf. NURBAKHSH, Sufi Symbolism, iv, pp. 260-262: “Transcendence means the singularity of God in the

their Names, their Attributes and their Essence […]. Sanctification means the expression of Transcendence above all that is not worthy of the level of His Divinity.” By both concepts he refers to the Name “Allāh”.

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5 I do not know the meaning of this phrase, and I do not know what tradition it refers to.

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The most unlikely thing is that whoever prays with this Name will not be heeded, because this Supreme Name is not lacking in any of the acts of worship, it is its basis and it is its seal. And He does not accept the dual or the
plural, whereas all Names may be put in the dual and plural, which is a sign that the
other Names take light in the pronunciation of this Supreme Name, and indicates that it is the most sublime
of His Names. Allah said, Exalted be He: ﴾ Allah has the most beautiful Names: Bask Him with them ﴿1,
so that He made all the Names accessory to Him and subordinate to His mention, which indicates that He is the
greatest of them.

Another view is that all the Names [of God] are an attribute of this Supreme Name, whereas this does not presuppose the attribute of any of them, which indicates that it is the Name of the Divine Essence which is not surpassed by the Name of the attributes, for the Name of the Essence is more important than the Names of the attributes, which is manifest and evident. The proof that this is correct is that this Name is the emblem of faith, for it is only through it, as the Prophet said, peace and blessing be upon him: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they say that there is no god but Allah,”2 so none of the others is enough, which indicates that it is the most sublime of the Names of God, exalted be He! And it is salvation from hell, as he said, with him be peace and blessing!: “Whoever dies bearing witness that there is no god but Allāh, having sincerity in his heart, Allah, exalted be He, delivers him from hell.”3 And it is the key to paradise, as he said, with him be peace and blessing!: “Whoever dies knowing that there is no god but Allāh, enters paradise.”4 So with this sacred name you enter paradise, you avoid hell, in it resides faith and Islam, and in it is the prohibition of bloodshed, as he said, with it be peace and blessing!: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they say that there is no god but Allah, and when they say so, the protection of their blood and riches shall be guaranteed by me, except when justified by the law, and their judgment is with Allāh.”5

b

It is also the key of prayer, it is the beginning of the call to prayer and its seal, and no other can replace it. How many litanies, invocations, and healing incantations that have come down to us are based on the Supreme Name, because all prayers, with their different features and the virtues of the Names they include, always begin with the Supreme Name, which is “Allāhumma,” adding to
it the letter mīm, since it gathers all the other Names in its roundness. You will not find any of the prescribed religious activities that are not under its dominion, such as prayer, which is the pillar of
religion. He is distinguished by the fact that he alone satisfies the pilgrim’s ejaculation in Makkah (takbīra ali��rām)
and the rest of the praises (takbīr),6 and the prayer is correct only through him, according to what the ulema of the major cities say (alam1⁄2ār) and the correct tradition of the ancestors (alsalaf). And in the same way the call to prayer begins and ends with him.

1 Cor. VII:180.
2 Muslim, not 29, 30, 32; Bujārī, no 379, etc.
3 A¬mad, no 20996.
4 Muslim, no 38; A¬mad, no 434, 467.
5 Muslim, no. 32; al-Tirmi2ī, 3264, etc. The Prophet ends by reciting: ﴾ You are only someone who awakens the

I remember. You have no power over them ﴿ (Cor. LXXXVIII:212). 6 It refers to the pronouncement of the ejaculatory: Allāhu akbar.

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This Supreme Name implies a noun and a meaning, and as for the noun, it is one of the mysteries which Allah, exalted be He, has reserved in His science. I will
give you an example by which you will understand the distinction I am making: man learns the name of the medicine, and understands its meaning, its category, its power and its uses. So, after
that knowledge, he puts it to use. This is the degree of verbal comprehension, of the verification of meaning and of its corresponding use. When man understands the word and identifies it completely, then he comes to the essence (al-aqīqa). Then there remains the question of its usefulness, so learn its use and use it. There is no doubt that this presupposes the acquisition of profit and profit, and
this is invariably the case.

And the pronunciation [of the Supreme Name] occurs in two circumstances: the first of these is that God, exalted be He, makes it flow in the tongue of one who does not know that it is the Supreme Name. The other is that God, exalted be He, should make Him express Himself in the tongue of One who knows that He is the Supreme Name. Does it matter with either of the two circumstances or is one of them insufficient? Are the requirements met in the first case and not in the second? There is a debate about all this:

It is said that it is sufficient in whatever way one has arrived at the pronouncement of the Supreme Name of God, exalted be He, though its mention is dwarfed if one is not aware that this [Name] is what it is, and that is the lowest degree [of perfection], which is based on the breadth and longing for God’s Mercy, Exalted be He! That by which the servant of God attains perfection is the perception of his essence and nothing else, for it is a blessing and a benefit, the diversity of which taking place according to the levels of perception [of his essence]. The proof of this: is the one to whom God gives the privilege by making this Name in his tongue the same as the one to whom God does not grant it? It is not reasonable to say that they are equal, but that the one who pronounces it has a superiority that indicates the acquisition of his blessing to the extent that it corresponds. So weigh the later levels of Name perception in the same way.

And the knowledge of this Name can be through the transmission of the one who knows it and tells him that it is the Supreme Name, and this is by way of imitative reasoning (altaqlīd), either of a prophet, a saint, an angel, a dream, etc. Or his knowledge may come about through the routine of worship of God and spiritual application therein, until one of the illuminations of God, exalted be He, is poured upon him, which is the Supreme Name. Nor is it implausible that its attainment is by study and research, together with the help of God, exalted be He!

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It is called “Supreme Name” because it indicates its specific Ipseity (huwiyya); and it is also said that this is due to the multitude of its meanings and the absolute character of its dominion (i¬āÐa), since it is the Name that groups and includes all the Names of God, exalted be He! He is also said to be called “Supreme” because his knowledge is based on true mystical gnosis (‘irfān), so according to this theory he can only be known by the prophet or the saint. So his perception is based on a very important condition, and the more important the knower is, the more sublime the Name is. It is also said to be called “Supreme” because of the enormous benefit it brings to the one who invokes

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with him, which is divine attention. And many other things have been said, with the mention of which we shall not lengthen the book, for this is the most important thing concerning the Supreme Name of God.

[ASECTION ON THE SEVEN MISSING LETTERS OF THE FĀTIHA]

You should know that these seven missing letters of the mother of the Book are perceptive of good, and that is very likely because the “£ā’ is a sign of firmness (£abāt) in things, for God said, exalted be He!”: “Its root is firm, and its branches reach heaven.” 1 And he also said, “God gives steadfastness to those who believe by the firm word in the life of this world.” and in the Last ﴿ 2. And he also said to His prophet and His most precious creature: ﴾ Had it not been for the steadfastness that We gave you… ﴿ 3, etc.

c

As for the letter jķīm, for it is a sign of Paradise (alNa’īm) and of the beautiful wrapping, because it is the first letter of ‘the Gardens’ (aljaṇt), and Allah said, exalted be He: ﴾ The Gardens of ‘Adn whose gates will be open ﴿ 4 and also the rest of the Paradise Gardens. And it is one of the letters of Power (aljaabr), and that is why it appears in the names ‘the Almighty’ (al-abbār), ‘the Majestic’ (al-alīl), ‘the Bountiful’ (al-awād), ‘the Glorious’ (al-Majīd) and ‘the Full of Glory’ (al-Māŷid) and the ‘Grouper’ (al-Jami’)

The jā’ is a sign of the Well Granted (aljayr), for God said, may He be exalted: ﴾ in them there will be excellent [virgins] (jayrāt) and beautiful ﴿ 5; and he said: ﴾ if he leaves goods ﴿ 6. And as for ‘the Wise’ (al-Jabīr), he said, exalted be He: ﴾ Allah knows perfectly well what you do ﴿ 7, for ‘the Wise’ is one of His names, praise and exaltation be to Him!

The zay alludes to adornment (alzīna) and beauty (alzahw), for he said, exalted be He!: ﴾ We have adorned the sky of the world with stars ﴿8; and he said, Exalted be He!: ﴾ Men have been embellished with love for all that is desirable… ﴿ 9. And beauty (alzahw) means the appearance of fruits, and it is also said to be the adornment of trees with fruits.

The letter šīn is a sign of the witness (alšahīd) and of the testimony (alšahāda), as he said, exalted be He!: ﴾ God testifies that there is no god but Him; the angels and the possessors of knowledge, acting with equity, say: there is no god, but He, the Mighty, the Wise ﴿10. Contemplation (almušāhada) is direct observation (almu’āyana), and the witnesses ﴾ are alive and receive their provision alongside their Lord ﴿11. And [alludes to] the drink (alšurb), as he said, exalted be He: ﴾ They will drink from a cup in the mixture of which there will be

1 Cor. XIV:26.
2 Cor. XIV:29.
3 Cor. XVII:74.
4 Cor. xxxviii:49. 5 Cor. LV:69.

6 Cor. II:180.
7 Cor. IX:16; LVIII:12, etc. 8 Cor. LXVII:5.
9 Cor. III:14.
10 Cor. III:18.
11 Cor. III:163.

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Kāfūr ﴿1. And [alludes to] the cure (alšifā’), for His saying, may He be exalted: ﴾ And with the Qur’an We send down a cure and a mercy for the believers ﴿2. And he [the Prophet], peace be upon him!: “The purity of my community resides in three things: in a verse of the Book of God, in a spoonful of honey, or in the vessel of one who practices a bloodletting,” and in another version “and in scarification by suction cup.”3

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The Þā’ alludes to the perennial shadow (alÞill) and to victory (alÞuhūr), for he said ﴾ Inperennial shadows ﴿4, and said ﴾ To ascend through them﴿5. And He also said, Exalted be He: ﴾ and the victors were ﴿ 6, so it alludes to the desired success (alÞafar), and among Their names, exalted be He, is the Visible (Allah).

And the fā’ is a sign of the original mark (alfiÐra), the delight (alfākaha) and the crack (alfuṇūr), for he said, exalted be he!: ﴾ The original mark of God, with which he has marked men ﴿7. And he said, exalted be He: ﴾ Creator (fāÐir) of the heavens and the earth ﴿8. And he said, exalted be He: ﴾ Have you seen any cracks? ﴿9. And he said, Exalted be He: “They and their wives will be in the shade.” And he said, Exalted be He: ﴾ They will have the fruits (fākiha) that they choose ﴿ 11. And this is the most important thing concerning those letters.

The £ā’, the zāy, and the jķīm are cold letters whose nature is that of water and the moon, and that is the natural b-quality of perennial shadows and the Paradise of perpetuity. Jā’ and šīn are cold and dry, a natural quality of the earth and Saturn. The Þā’ is warm and humid; and the fā’ is warm and dry, a natural quality of
fire, corresponding to the planets of Mars and the Sun.

[The seven letters] are gathered into seven Names: the first ‘the Steadfast One’ (al¢ābit), Who gives steadfastness to the servants12; [and the rest are] the Almighty (al-abbār), the Shrewd (al-Jabīr), the Pure (al-Zakī), the Visible (al-Ýāhir), the Odd (al-Fard), and the Witness (alšahīd).

The £ā’ appears only in His names ‘the Heir’ (alWāri£) and the Resurrector (alBā’i£) on the last level that participates in the mystery of the peremptory world, for in His Name the Resurrector (al-Wāri£)

1 Cor. LXXVI:5.
2 Cor. XVII:82.
3 Cf. Bujārī (no. 52489), Ibn Maja (no. 3482) and A¬mad (no. 2098), where the Prophet says that purity resides in

a tablespoon of honey, in being bled by a suction cup, or in being cauterized by fire. 4 Cor. LVI:32.

5 Cor. XLIII:32.
6 Cor. LXI:14.
7 Cor. xxx:29.
8 Cor. vi:14; xii:102, etc. 9 Cor. LXVII:3.

10 Cor. xxxvi:545. 11 Cor. LVI:23.
12 Cf. Cor. 14:29.

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Bā’i£) alludes to Reunion, and in His Name ‘the Heir’ (alWāri£) alludes to Extinction. And both Names do not correspond to mystical behaviors (sulūk)1

And in the letters of the aliphate only the “Ţā’ and the šīn” have three points, because of the inclusion of the šin in that which reaches its level and the application of the “Ţā’ in that which is inferior to it, for it has no virtue except in the world of the lower bodies, and is to the earth like the mountains.”

The letter fā’ is a warm letter that acts on those forces in which warm letters act, it is in the fifth degree of warmth, its figure is reflected in the letter yā’ 2, and its square is 80 x 80. They are known only among the Names of Allah, exalted be He, which contain the secret of the fā’ ‘the Creator’ (alFāÐir), ‘the Maker’ (alFā’il) and ‘He Who makes the dawn rise’ (al-Fāliq).

The šīn is a cold letter, its numerical value is a thousand, its secret is the secret of the sīn and its arrangement. There is not one among the letters of the aliphate that has three dots and three forms except 3, for the šīn brings together in its essence the degree of the ones, the tens, and the hundreds. And the šīn takes place in ﴾ God testifies ﴿4, and from it derive three testimonies of faith: the testimony of the angels, the testimony of those endowed with knowledge, and that of those who are on their level. And in the same way it was created on the last level of the Throne (al’Arš), since the Supreme Oneness goes from the Truth to us, and the Oneness that manifests itself in the Effects goes from us to God, exalted be He, so that all Oneness is gathered in the Throne, that is, the lights of Oneness. And that is why the Prophet said about the one who recites “Lā ilāh illa Allāh” that he ascends to the throne, and he is agitated by it. Then he is told “Be still!” and he replies, “when he who utters it is forgiven.”5 And that is that God, exalted His power and exalted Wisdom, knowing that the servants could not form an image in their minds or ponder with their intellects [the divine essence], erected for them a created entity, like them, made it the highest of dwellings and the most magnificent of creations, and made it one of His attributes, saying: ﴾ Owner of the glorious throne ﴿6. It is like the curtains that cover the king whom no one can see, it is that which hears the requests of those who pray and that which executes His authority among the subjects, for [the Throne] is a sign of the presence of the Sovereignty, of its consolidation, and of the power of its government. This was noted by the Messenger of God, may God bless and save him, when he said, “God made a writing and set it upon His throne, and it is, My mercy surpasses My wrath.”7 And he said, God bless him and save him, about Sa’d b. Mu’ā2 alAn1⁄2ārī 8, that the Throne trembled at his death9, a sign that Allah, exalted be He, has him in His glory. And this is a sign of what is manifested through the

1 We believe that it refers to the fact that they are two divine attributes with which the Gnostics cannot adorn himself (tajalluq), as both concepts refer to divine acts that concern the end of the world.

2 A phrase with an uncertain meaning.
3 He refers to the three strokes of his figure.
4 Šahida Allāh…: Cor. III:18.
5 I can’t find this tradition.
6 Cor. LXXXV:15.
7 Bujārī, no 6899, 6999; A¬mad, no. 7187, etc.
8 One of the Prophet’s an1⁄2ār or “helpers” from Madinah, who died of his wounds

received at the Battle of the Trench (Jandaq), in the year 5 of the Hijra. Cf. Bujārī, no. 3519; Muslim, not 4512, etc. 9 Bujārī, no 3519; Muslim, not 4512, etc.

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The verdicts of the One Sovereign on His Throne, that it may be known that the effects of the Omnipotence of the Almighty are manifested on the Throne.

That is why the šīn is the last letter of the Throne (al’arš), since it is the result of the uniqueness of the multiple worlds. And since the decreed order assigns to each throne a footstool, since the šīn is the throne of letters, and this is due to the grandeur of its structure and the elevation of its rank, and the throne of letters is occupied only by the alif, because it is the trunk of the tree of letters, whereas in the šīn there is its terminus and its summit1, for there is no branch behind it except that of its hidden aspect, just as before the alif there is nothing except that from which it proceeds.

And since the figure of the šīn is like the figure of the alif 2, then the formal proportion of the šīn partakes of both, since the alif is buried in three letters in this way: alif lām fā’; and the šīn is divided into three letters: šīn yā’ nūn, its proportion being the same. And although there is besides the šīn some letter composed of three letters, for it is not the Throne of the šīn, because it does not reach the extreme of proportion and solidity, and therefore the šīn begins His words, exalted be He: ﴾ God testifies ﴿3, a sign of the solidity of Oneness and of the absence of attribution in the two dwellings, in the two worlds and in the two origins4.

The sīn is the footstool for the throne of the alif, for everything subtle is a throne and everything that is dense is a footstool. It is not impossible that the footstool is the bearer of the throne, for you will regard the body as the footstool of the throne of the soul, and the truth is that all that is subtle rests on all that is dense. That is why the alif is the most futile and subtle of the letters, because of its absence of ambiguity, because of its execution as a vertical line that has no equal among the units of the letters, since no other can be recognized in it, no other precedes them and none of them follows it at the end of the word. So she is a sign of the First and the Ultimate, except that the world of the Footstool is denser than the world of the Throne. Do you not see that the Footstool is the seat of the Horn, and the Throne is the seat of the lights emanating from all parts of the upper world?

To the alif corresponds the aspect of the units, the tens, the hundreds, and the thousands; and to the šīn correspond two aspects: that of the hundreds, for if we strip the šīn of the points it is a sīn, the sin being three hundred; and that of the thousands. For he who scrutinizes the letter šīn and knows its realities, perceives the wonders of the divine creations and witnesses the mysteries of the dispositions of the letters

And in the same way that the šīn is the last level of the Throne taken as a whole, for the last level of the šīn is the nūn, so it is: šīn yā’ nūn. And the nūn is the one that carries beings, I mean the fish (al¬ūt) that carries the world on its back5. So the nūn is an extension of the šīn and beings are an extension of the nūn, as God said, exalted be He!: ﴾ Nūn, By the calamus and

1 Note that in the Abjīd system, the šīn would be the last letter of the aliphate. 2 I do not know the meaning of this statement.
3 Šahida Allāh…: Cor. III:18.
4 Uncertain translation.

5 On this myth, see M. S.TRECK [A. MIQUEL], “°ĀF”, IN EI 2.

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what they write! ﴿1. And the Calamus is an extension of the hidden aspect of the nūn, which is the visible aspect of the Imperative (alAmr), the hidden part of which is the kāf 2, the sign of the hidden mystery (alsirr almaktūm), which is the secret of the šīn.

And whoever carries with him a writing containing the letter sīn written a thousand times in the first hour of the day that suits his work, because the days contain moments suitable for good and evil, such as the Sabbath and its hour or Tuesday and its hour, and each day is propitious if this is known and understood, for to those who know that moment and apply it, God may be exalted, he facilitates all the good or evil he requests.

The secrets of šīn in the world of bodies are innumerable, unless one who has pain in one of his limbs is not made to be carried away, because he will not overcome that pain by his virtue; and if the šīn is hung over the parturient, then it helps her in childbirth by pain, and in her there is the harm that it is not desirable to discover, since this letter takes place in His Name, exalted be He, ‘the Severe’ (Allah adīd). Then observe the peculiar virtues that it has, for he who knows the rank of the šīn, where is its connection with nature, as a whole, which is the šīn, and folded, which is the ŷā’ and the nūn, what are its natural qualities and in its numerical proportion, is a witness of its secrets, ascertains what concerns it, and knows its influences and dispositions.

The ‘ayn derives from the Height (al’alā’) above which there is nothing and nothing is higher. The rā’ derives from Mercy (ra¬ma), which finds no mercy above it, nor is there anyone who is the object of mercy without it. And the šīn is derived from the Testimony, about which there is no further testimony and there is nothing testifiable apart from it. Observe how you will find in the Testimony a subject and an object of testimony, and in Mercy an object of clemency; and thou shalt find for the Height nothing higher or anything to rule it, because of the dominion of Lordship over Bondage by the imposition of obligatory obedience [to God].3 ﴾ Power belongs to God, to His Messenger and to the believers; but the hypocrites do not know ﴿4. The power of the Divinity is the continuity of Perpetuity and Eternity; the power of the prophets is the existence of the Message; and the power of believers is the existence of Faith. And these are the three grades of šīn in šahida.

APART5: According to what was said in the first place, these seven letters are perceptive of torment, so you will write them down also to cause disturbance. You shall write the seven letters beginning with the šīn, and on the following days the other letters. You will write in the opposite direction what you want, and you will say in your invocation: “… I conjure you] to take revenge on So-and-so son So-and-so, and for such and such.” And you will name the types of torment, suffering and vengeance that you desire, after having written the letters on its figure6, on whatever day and what is desired, you will say in your invocation: “O Severe, O Mighty, O Unique, O Visible, O Heir, O Almighty, O Creator. My God, O Severus, O One after the extinction of His creation according to the Order You desired and the Decree You executed. O He Whose existence has no relation to anything and has no end, O Whom none equals His rank, and there is no end save by His rank ﴾ the

1 Cor. LXVIII:1.
2 It refers to the letters kāf and nūn of the divine Imperative expressed in the kun word “Be!” (Cor. XXXVI:81). 3 Uncertain translation.
4 Cor. LXIII:8.
5 The following section is incomplete, and is repeated, with some variation, in chapter thirteen.
6 It is a wax figure that represents the enemy.

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On this day God will not humble the Prophet or those who have believed with him ﴿1, and humiliation and disgrace will fall on the disbelievers on that day. O Severe in torment and punishment, ﴾ verily the violence of Thy Lord is great ﴿3, ﴾ those who are unfortunate will be in the Fire: there they will breathe sobs and sighs ﴿4, ﴾ verily the tree of Zaqqūm will be the food of the sinner, as molten metal will boil in their wombs, like the boiling of boiling water ﴿ 5. O Mighty One, O Overcomer, O One Who has no like or equivalent and all things belong to Him, Thou art the absolute and eternal Mighty, none is heir to Thy power save Thee, O Visible in the Might, O One Who said, and is the most Truthful of narrators: ﴾ But no, Hell flames by tearing the skin from the head ﴿6, ﴾ There will be no shade or protection from the flames ﴿7. O Heir, Thou art the One upon Whom all Decree and Existence depends, O Who puts an end to created beings and those who are in them, and proclaims ﴾ to Whom belongs the Sovereignty that day: to God, the One, the Victorious ﴿8, everyone who has a prayer for an external or internal matter, whether it is a little or a lot, depends on You alone. My God, bring down upon So-and-so misfortune, perdition, and torment, ﴾ Today you will not ask to perish once, but many times ﴿9. O Almighty, Thou art the One Whose authority is energetic by the dominion of every creature without the need for the warning of a watchman. Thou art the One Who combines the force of nafs and the strength of the heart in the dense entities of the bodies, which can only be caused by Him whose essence is pure, and make of them a piece of Thy Ipseity, a manifestation of Thy Might, and an attribute of Thy Eternity. To You belong Strength, Omnipotence, Power and Respect. By the power of Thy heavenly Kingdom, which Thou didst choose with the quintessence of Thy decree, the designs of Thy divinity, and the illuminations of Thy beacons of light. Only You know the meaning of Your condition and the greatness of Your government. Every movement in the world of Sovereignty, Kingdom and Omnipotence is assisted by one of the meanings of Your names, the Almighty. By the truth of what you chose with the superiority of eternal, glorious, and exalted planning. O One Who benefits the world of man by His activity, by the secret that resides in the world of life linked to the Spirit through the bonds of predestined designs, […] by the solidity of Dominion and the manifestation of Wisdom. Make visible in So-and-so son of So-and-so through the intensity of Your predestination and Your dominion that which numbs his senses in the face of my onslaughts and that which causes his spirituality to perish in my presence, ﴾ Hell is the place that is promised to all ﴿ 10, ﴾ We have created many geniuses and men for Hell ﴿11. O Creator of the heavens and the earth, I pray Thee by Thy power by which Thou didst create heavenly and earthly beings, and by the truth of the first Word with which Thou didst create the heavens and the earth, according to Thy truthful words: ﴾ Then he went to heaven, which was smoke, and to the earth and said: Come to me willingly or by force! They answered: We come to You obediently ﴿1.

1 Cor. LXVI:8.
2 Cor. XVI:27.
3 Cor. LXXXV:12.
4 Cor. XI:106.
5 Cor. XLIV:4143. 6 Cor. LXX:1516. 7 Cor. LXXVII:31. 8 Cor. XL:15.
9 Cor. xxv:14.
10 Cor. XV:43.
11 Cor. VII:179.

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﴿1. Do such and such a thing for me.” And you will mention your problem, being solved if God wills, praise and exalt be He!

1 Cor. XLI:10.

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CHAPTER TEN
: ON THE SECRETS OF THE FITIHA, ITS PECULIAR VIRTUES, AND ITS KNOWN INVOCATIONS

You must know, God help us to fulfill obedience and to understand the secrets of His Names, that whoever has a need and wants to solve it, then let him continually repeat the recitation of these Names and invocation, and it will be resolved, if God, exalted be He, wills. Before that, you will pray two rak’at, and when you finish your prayer you will say:

“﴾ In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful ﴿. Lord, I ask You for [Your name] with which You inaugurated the world of the hidden (‘ālam algayb) through the theophany of Truth, a symbol that manifests the links with the divinity of the descended Revelation, exalted in authority, being and hidden essence, being that perceived by those to whom You give assurance, even more knowable to those to whom You make witnesses, and unknown to those you desire through those signs that are ambiguous, a large number that does not detract from the value of a single one of the unequivocal signs that you consolidated. O Knower (‘Alīm), O Sage (©akīm), O Judge (Fattā¬), O Allāh, O Lord (Rabb). I pray to you, my God, for the secret of the attribution that links the existence of the necessary and the contingent, necessary for the manifestation of the supreme feature in the unintelligible Name, for the solidity of divine realities in the general and the concrete, at the beginning and in the return, through the absolute immensity of Mercy that does not end in the firmness of the Event, and for the vision of Certainty that approaches the closeness of unknown essence1. O Gracious, O Merciful, O Wise, O Knowing, I ask You for enlightenment, joy, help in the predestined, success, protection, custody, refuge, perfection, good sustenance, blessing, hope, good thought in You, and the renunciation of anyone who is not You. In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful, I ask Thee, consistency in Thy Imperative, perfection in Thy generosity and a blessing from Thee, praise be to Thy name and Thy greatness exalted, there is no god but Thee, in Thee we believe, in Thee we trust and to Thee we surrender. I ask You by Your light, O ﴾ King of the Day of Judgment ﴿, to illuminate our eyes with Your light, O Light of light, O Guide of the lost, there is no Guidance besides You: ﴾ Guide us on the straight path ﴿ . Grant that we may dispense with all that is not Thou, O Rich, O Enricher, O God, bearing witness to Thee, O Merciful, ﴾ Peace: the word of a Compassionate Lord ﴿2. My God, I beseech Thee because Thou art the God in the realities of Thy exclusive concern, and because Thou art God, the One who ﴾ there is nothing like Him, is the Hearer, the Seer ﴿3. I ask you to bless our Lord Muhammad and the family of our Lord Muhammad, and to solve my problem, by the truth (bi ¬aqq) of the way of those whom you have favored. I ask you to thank me with the solution of my problem, of all my shortcomings and with that which entails a benefit for me in this life and in the next, being protected by the Custody, safe from misfortunes by the virtues of Request4. O One Who visits with benefits, O One Who is in the truth of the God-fearing, the forgiving, and the devout, do not put us among those worthy of shame in this life and the Hereafter, put us

1 Translation uncertain.
2 Cor. xxxvi:57.
3 Cor. XLII:9.
4 We read al’ināyāt, instead of algāyāt, as we read in the original.

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between the ﴾ who are not the cause of your wrath nor the misguided ﴿. My God, do not put us among those who go astray, those who lead astray, those who are far from Your door, or those who despair to [see] Your face. By Thy Mercy, O most Gracious of the merciful!”

OTRA INVOCATION WITH THE NOBLE SURAH ALFĀTIHA

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You shall say: ﴾ In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. Praise to God, Lord of the worlds ﴿, praise that brings me the acceptance and reward of the Lord of the worlds, ﴾ the Gracious, the Merciful ﴿ , the One Who disperses the climates, the One Who chose Moses as the interlocutor of the one who will raise the bones when they are eatenaway 1, and calls Himself ﴾ the Gracious, the Merciful ﴿, both sacred and noble names, healing of all sickness and suffering. ﴾ King of the Day of Judgment ﴿ , Who has no rival, accomplice, minister or counselor in Sovereignty, but was before the existence of all worlds. You are my prevention and my defense against all demons, my help against the farthest and nearest, and my wall against the different species of them. ﴾ To Thee alone we worship firmly, we are ashamed of sins, we acknowledge negligence, we ask You for forgiveness for all offenses, faults and reprehensible actions, we turn to You in repentance and bear witness that there is no god but Allah, He alone, has no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and His messenger. O God, O Lord of majesty and generosity, You alone, You have no partner, You have no way, You have no equal, and You have no equal. I bear witness that our Lord Muhammad is Your servant and Your messenger, God bless and save him! ﴾ We ask You for help ﴿, [turning] to You for every problem, for every need, and for any earthly and religious affairs. O Guide of the Lost, there is no Guide but You, ﴾ Guide us in the straight way, the path of those whom You have favored ﴿, [that of] the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous, What fine company! ﴿2. In the Name of God, Lord of the first and the last, Creator of those who are in heaven and who are on earth, Resurrector of prophets, of the Messengers and of those who believe in the Truth, Almighty Glorious, Merciful Savior, One Lord in the worlds, the Adored in every place, the Singled One in every tongue, the One Who bestows in abundance, the Eternal, the One Who works perfectly, the Effective, the Ruler of all His creatures, Most Holy 3 times, before Whom the fearful humble themselves, the conceited and the proud submit, ﴾ Allfaces will humble themselves before the Living One, the Subsisting One, and he who bears injustice will have lost ﴿3. O Living One, O Subsistent, O Near, O Far, O First, O Last, O Visible, O Far Away, O Governor, O Most High, O Merciful, O Forgiving, O Avenger, O Forgiving, O Forgiving, O Compassionate King, O Lord of Majesty and Generosity, Ayyūm Ayyūm, Steadfast (Qā’im), Subsistent (Qayyūm), Eternal (Dā’im) Dayyūm. ﴾ Are not hearts soothed by the remembrance of God? ﴿4. O Living One, O Subsistent, Thou seest me, Thou hearest my words, Thou dost mitigate my sufferings. You are my aspiration, my desire

1 In allusion to Cor. xxxvi:78. 2 Cor. IV:68.
3 Cor. xx:108.
4 Cor. XIII:29.

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and my hope; I am the one in need of Thee, for Thou art the Knower of consciousness and intimacy, nothing is hidden from Thee, neither on earth nor in heaven, Thou art the Lord of the Noble Throne, the One Whose knowledge embraces all and takes into account the number of all things. I ask you for a fruitful grace, a precious reward, an authentic certainty and a profound wisdom. O Subsistent, yāh, yāh, O Huwa, O Huwa, I ask you to remove from the veil of the invisible all that is in it, so that it may be a witness of the Eternal Spirit. Ah āh āh, O Huwa, O Living One, O Subsistent, O Light of the heavens, the earth and all that is between them, O Lord of the Sublime Throne. I ask You to bless and save our Lord Muṣmmad, our Lord Muṣmad’s family and their companions, to reveal to me the secrets of Your Names and to subordinate to my will all Your obedient creatures, to bring me back to You in bondage, to provide me with sustenance and to make me see the lights of Your guidance and the knowledge of Your secrets, until I rejoice in the dazzle of the appearance of Thy Subtlety, O the most Gracious of the kind, O most Gracious of the merciful.”

And you shall ask for whatever you desire concerning earthly and spiritual matters, for they will be settled if God wills, praise and exalt be He!

NEWINVOCATION WITH THE BLESSED FĀTIHA, ITS ASCETIC EXERCISE AND THE DEPRECATION (ZAJÙR) OF THE INVOCATION

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Know that, God help us to fulfill obedience and to understand the secrets of His Names, that when you want to make use of this blessed invocation, retire to a pure and clean place, perform the five prayers at their corresponding moments, and recite at the end of each prayer the noble Fatia eighteen times. And you will do that for fourteen days with pure intention. When you finish your prayers, invoke with these words:

﴾ In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. Praise to God, Lord of the worlds ﴿, Who illuminates the gaze of the Gnostics with the lights of certainty, Who attracts the leaders of the Realized with the nets of proximity and reaffirmation, Who opens the bolts of the hearts of the monotheists with the keys of Oneness, and draws them with the nets of the dignity of manifest Victory, • Who has made perfect everything He has created, and Who initiated the creation of man from clay. And He caused His seed to be brought forth from a paltry drop of water ﴿1, the Gracious, the Merciful, the Wise, the Most High, the Everlasting, the Everlasting, the Hearer, the Knower, Who wrote the verses of Oneness with the calamus of Omnipotence on the breasts of the people of Stability and Instruction, and he wrote down the lines of the Guide people on the pages of the Friendship people, not to mention the companions of the Cave and Raqīm2. Who spoke to Mūsà, the Interlocutor, with the words of honour, and ennobled His noble Prophet with honour and feast: “We have given you seven of the most repeated words and the sublime Qur’an” ﴿3. ﴾ King of the Day of Judgment ﴿, Destroyer of the conceited and rebellious, Exterminator of the wicked and transgressors, Destroyer, Who strikes the heads of tyrants, Who brings down the banners of heretics and the

1 Cor. xxxii:67.
2 In reference to Cor. XVIII:9. 3 Cor. XV:87.

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Apostates, ﴾ That is God, your Lord. Blessed be God, Lord of the worlds! ﴿1 O One Who adorns beings with the trappings of the Formation (altakwīn), and Who sends forth the noblest beings of the celestial Realm protecting the flanks of unwavering generosity. O Who spreads the clouds of His indulgence over all creatures, O Who has no partner in Sovereignty and no helper, ﴾ We worship Thee, recognizing in the essence of Thy worship the inability to subsist on our own, ﴾ and to Thee we ask help ﴿, according to the perpetual sustenance in the truths which thou hast decreed. O Lord of immense Fortune, O Master of absolute Favor, O Who will resurrect the bones when they are eaten away, ﴾ Guide us in the straight path ﴿, the way of those who follow the true religion, the way of the steadfast and the well-founded, the way of those whom You look upon with the eye of Your solicitude, the way of those who are the determined ones, the righteous and the peaceable, the way of those who are worthy of the divine temperaments and those who submit to God, the way of those who cling to good guidance and are content with what they have, ﴾ the way of those whom you have favored ﴿, [that of] the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the just, what excellent company! ﴿, ﴾ of those who are not the cause of your wrath ﴿ . Grant upon us on Your behalf the gifts of the truthful, make us witness the vision of the witnesses and the righteous, give us Your help with the angels of victory and certainty, give us control of created beings, celestial entities, and formation. Do not put us among those who are lost, nor those who lead astray, nor among those who are far from Your door, do not put us in the group of those who are led astray.”

THISIS THE INCANTATION AND ITS DEPRECIATION: “O you beings of the spiritual world, possessors of the luminous essences that shine with the favors of Clemency, and of the divine secrets that are in the arrangement of the subtleties of the letters and their hidden details, on which the employment of spiritual beings depends, the spirituality of numbers and the sapiential gifts of their well-kept secrets. Answer, O you magnificent spirits and noble angels, Ŷibrā’īl, Mīkā’īl, Isrāfīl, ‘Azrā’īl and Rūqiyā’īl. Take up the charge of the one who calls upon you and give him help and assistance, with the consent of God and His Messenger. Ahyā, Šarāhyā, Adūnay, A1⁄2ba’ūt, Āl, Šaday, Tašīm. Understand my will, solve my problem, and attend to my commission, by the right (bi-aqq) of Allāh, the One, Who decides, Who provides sustenance, the Wise, the Giver, the Most High, the Sublime, the Deity, the Subtle, the Great. ﴾ Kāf hā’ yā’ ‘ayn 1⁄2ād ﴿ ﴾ ©ā’ mīm ﴿ ﴾ ‘Ayn sīn qāf ﴿ Answer, O angel alAjÅar2, may the blessing of God be with you and in you.”

And when the last of the fourteen nights comes, a great green bird will come to you3 alighting before you. Begin by greeting him, for he is a lofty angel, and dispose of him for whatever you will, after he receives the commission from you and imposes certain conditions on you, among them that you do not lie, that you do not eat anything forbidden or commit any sin, for if you commit yourself to that and are right with him, he will be right with you, He will employ his subordinates helpfully and solve all your needs. Owe

1 Cor. XL:64.

2 We believe that it refers to an angel, as the link of angels with the color green is well recognized in Islamic tradition. But he could also be one of the seven kings of the jinn (cf. DOUTTÉ, Magie & Religion, p. 160), although in the usual list of these seven the name “alAjåar” does not appear, but “al-Abya” and “al-Amar” does.

3 The green bird has a special significance in Islamic esotericism, because according to tradition the spirits of the martyrs dwell inside green birds (or in their crops), which nest in candlesticks that hang from the Throne, and which feed on the fruits of Paradise (Muslim no. 3500; Abū Dawūd no 2158; alTirmi2ī no. 2937, 3002, etc.).

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to fear God, exalted be He, and to keep your secret hidden, and thus you will attain your purpose. Be aware of the power it confers on you.

The incense for this blessed invocation will be of everything that has a pleasant smell, such as aspalate (‘ūd alqāmārī), benzoin, nadd, mastic gum and ambergris if possible, and everything that is desired to have a pleasant smell.

ATHIRD INVOCATION WITH THIS NOBLE SURAH FOLLOWS:

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When you want the affection and sympathy of a king or an authority who has been angry with you, you shall fast on Thursday and Monday and recite this invocation fifteen times when breaking the fast, and in the same manner with the Fajr prayer. You will invoke by begging Allah, may He be exalted, to accept your person into his heart, showing him your love and naming him by your name, for you will certainly perceive a sublime mystery in the rapidity of the answer, and in the friendship and affection obtained by it, that whether a governor or a rebellious tyrant will submit and yield to you, God willing, exalted be He!

And when you need something from people, fast on Thursday and then isolate yourself and perform frequently their recitation1, according to the manner prescribed for affection, with presence of heart and mind fully concentrated, for you will solve your problem more quickly than lightning. His ascetic exercise is nine or seven days [of fasting and continual purity], and he writes together with the surah al-Fāti¬a a magic square, [the sum of the numerical values of its letters] is nine thousand three hundred sixty without basmal, for love and affection. You will put the square in front of you and recite the invocation fifteen times, as mentioned above, when breaking the fast. You will fumigate the square with pleasant-smelling incense in the middle of the night and expose it to the stars until dawn. Then
you will place the square in front of you and read the incantation (al’azīma) fifteen
times, and then you will lift up the blessed square and carry it with you,
prospering your affairs in all that you ask, God willing, exalted
be He!, and placing the spirits at your service, through the blessing of the
Surah al-Fatia, and God willing, exalted be He! This is the image of
square3:

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8949 8956 8950 8943 8944 8953 8955 8946

8951 8942 8948 8957 8954 8947 8945 8952

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AND THIS IS THE ABOVE-MENTIONED INVOCATION OF SURAH FĀTIHA:

You will say: “In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful, praises to God, Lord of the worlds, praise that surpasses that of the most perfect and beautiful of creatures, so that I immerse myself in the sea of light of that praise, immersion that makes me absorbed externally and internally in Power, Respect and Stability until the Day of Judgment, and thus obtain a protection that surrounds me and protects me from all things harmful and misleading. Praise that brings me satisfaction,

1 That is, the recitation of the following invocation.
2 That is, the sum of the letters of the Fate, not including the basmala that precedes it.
3 The number 9360 highlighted above appears to have no connection to the numbers in

Fig. 27

the square or with its perpetual sum (35798).

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compensation, protection, well-being and a wealth with which it does not need any being, neither the first nor the last. Praise that it may bring me a Clemency and a Power with which I may strengthen myself, so that the strength of all the mighty may be insignificant.

﴾ The Gracious ﴿, Who extends His Clemency to all things and with it beholds every living being, and with the Benevolence that is acknowledged to Him, for every principle of His proceeds from it and resides in it by secret and evidence, for the extreme in it is a secret and a proclamation1. I ask you for this secret that you made manifest and that is evident to the eye, that you immerse me in its sea, in an immersion that will not abandon me at any time and be for me a support and a weapon with which I have no need at any time or place, and a garden in which I can be oblivious to the tribulations of men and geniuses.

The Merciful One – Who shows His kindness to me by His mercy and sublime Grace which precede me, for that Mercy and Grace from Him are prior to me in perpetual preeternity. Here I have been absorbed in both since I longed for a science and a conduct in the most extraordinary rose and the most delicious pleasure. I ask Thee, O my Lord, for the abundance of Thy Grace and the permanence of Thy favor with the precedent of Thy Clemency, and so I do not fear the wiles of petty schemers. [I ask you] to cleanse me from all conduct that is reprehensible.

﴾ King of the Day of Judgment ﴿, the One Whose Essence is too great to need an associate or the support of a helper. He dominates all that is in the world of Sovereignty and the Celestial Kingdom with His power that represses all the powerful and the conceited. The Severe One in the oppression of the wicked and the wicked, the Overcomer of constant force, dominion, and oppression over all the conceited powerful and the rebellious and ungodly oppressors. The Destroyer of all the gods associated with Him in His magnificence and His glory, so that they become by His corrective and the force of His punishment mortals along with perishable things. I ask Thee to submit to my will the heart of So-and-so, O Captor of hearts, to envelop him, O Who Shelters, to soften him, O Compassionate, and to soften him, O Who softens [hearts], just as Thou didst soften the iron for Dāwūd, peace be upon him!2 Budū¬ […] times, du¬ūb, wud¬ub. O King of the kings of all the worlds, grant me dominion over So-and-so, son of So-and-so, over his heart and body, until he is one of the most submissive in my possession. ﴾ There is no god but You. Glorified Are You! Truly I have been one of the unjust ﴿3. Lord, deliver me from affliction and grant that your compassion may reach me, O most Gracious of the merciful.

﴾ We worship Thee and ask Thee for help ﴿, for I have Thee in my poverty and my need, there is no god but Thee, O He to Whose magnificence the mighty and the conceited submit, and men and rebellious jinn, the proud and the wicked, are dwarfed before His glory. O Severe in punishment, O Exalted in dominion, O Avenger, Who avenge himself on every impetuous one, support me with Thy help, with help from Thee, and with a manifest victory, so that I may subdue all my enemies from among men and jinn. I pray Thee, my God, by the fire of Thy dominion which Thou hast made manifest, to harm them and thus find their doom, and to guide me in Thy right way,

1 Translation uncertain.

2 In reference to Cor. xxxiv:10. 3 Cor. XXI:86.

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