YOUR FIRST QUESTION

You ask a confidential question about one of your forebears signing himself, “al- Sayyid Muhammad.” My brother, it isn’t possible for me to give a scholarly answer to this or to research into it. However, I told my companions: “Hulûsi resembles neither the present-day Turks, nor the Kurds. I see other qualities in him.” They agreed with this. We said in  accordance with the saying, “No talent is needed to receive God’s gifts,” the nobility  observed in Hulûsi is a divine gift. Also, as you know, God’s Noble  Messenger  (Upon  whom  be  blessings  and  peace)  has  two  families.  One consists of his descendants, and the other is the family of his prophethood’s luminous collective personality. You certainly belong  to the latter, and I am of the opinion, though unsubstantiated, that in respect of his first family, your forefather’s signature was not without reason.

My Dear Brother!

A SUMMARY OF YOUR SECOND QUESTION

Muhyiddin al-‘Arabi5   said: “The spirit’s createdness consists of its unfolding.” With  this  question  you  are compelling a powerless  wretch  like me to  contest an awesomely   brilliant  scholar  of  reality  and  genius  of  the  occult  sciences  like Muhyiddin al-‘Arabi. However, relying on the teachings of the Qur’an I can attempt the discussion; even if I am only a fly, I can fly higher than that eagle.

My brother! You should understand that Muhyiddin would not deceive, but he could be  deceived. He was rightly-guided, but could not act as a guide in all his works. What he saw was correct, but it was not realit y. The reality of man’s spirit, about which you ask, is explained in the Twenty-Ninth Word, the discussion about the spirit.

Yes,  in  respect  of its  nature,  the  spirit  is  a  law  proceeding  from  the  divine command, but it is a living law clothed in external existence and possessing external existence. Muhyiddin thought of it only from the point of view of its essential nature. His way of the Unity of Existence (Wahdat al-Wujud) considers the existence of things to be imaginary. He  had  wondrous  visions and  unveiled  the realities, but  since  he  had  chosen an independent   way,   he   was   compelled   to   apply,   artificially   and   with   forced interpretations, certain Qur’anic verses to his way and observations, thus marring the clarity of the verses.

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5   Muhyi al-Din ibn al-’Arabi, an eminent scholar and thinker who profoundly influenced the development of Sufism. He was born in Andalusia in 560 A. H. and died in Damascus in 638 A. H. Among his best known works are Fusus al-Hikam and al-Futuhat al-Makkiya.

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