THE WISDOM OF IBN ATA'ALLAH
(Excerpts Only)
Translation and Commentary by Shaykh
Fadhlalla Haeri
The
Hikam (Wisdom)
Section Thirteen
HIKMA 125
Cling to the attributes of His Lordship and be true to the
attributes of your slave hood.
Allah’s
attributes and qualities are numerous and include Glory, Majesty,
Power, Life and Knowledge. The attributes of the slave are
abasement, impoverishment, weakness, forgetfulness, ignorance,
impatience, etc. If we truly witness our human attributes then His
qualities will be our aim and to be covered by His grace. To
acknowledge and recognise the transient we shall clearly witness the
eternal. To realise our limitations is the door to His vastness and
limitlessness.
HIKMA 126
He
has prohibited you from claiming qualities to be yours, which
belongs to other beings, so would He permit you to lay claim to His
attribute - He Who is the Lord of the worlds?
Allah
has revealed that: ‘ Glory is My habit and Majesty is My cloak, and
he who competes with Me will be cut to ribbons. And he who claims
total freedom from the enslavement of the self will be shackled to
enslavement of creation! Thus whoever is a loyal slave to Him is
free of creation. No just or honest person will claim any worldly
goods which do not belong to him, so how dare one claim Divine
Attributes, such as Majesty, or Glory?
HIKMA 127
How
can norms be broken for you whilst you have not broken the norms of
yourself?
Ignorant seekers who pursue ‘spiritual’ powers desire mystical
experiences and miracles. This pursuit is a distraction along the
path of submission and will only bring about confusion and
destruction. Whoever is fortunate to curb the self and transcend its
veils has indeed performed a great miracle, only then the many
avenues of His gifts and grace will be opened.
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