Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn 'Arabi
The Blessings and Peace of Allah Upon the Messenger of Allah and Upon his Family and All his Companions

 [Al-Futuhat §130] My faithful brethren- may Allah seal your lives and mine with goodness! - when I heard the saying of Allah I about His Prophet Hûd u, as the latter told his folk who had belied him and his apostleship: (I call Allah to wit‚ness, and do you (too) bear witness, that I am inno‚cent of (all) that you ascribe as partners (to Allah)) (11:54), [I saw that] he called his folk to witness in his regard - although they belied him - that he was innocent of associating any partners to Allah, and that he positively con‚firmed His Oneness; and since he knew that Allah I will sum‚mon human beings before Him and ask them about what he himself knew, either to exon‚er‚ate or convict them, until every single witness bears witness;

[131]    And since it was related that the caller to prayer (mu'adhdhin) is wit‚nessed to by every living and non-living thing as far as his voice can reach, and by everything and every‚one that hears him; hence "The devil flees at the call to prayer, pas‚sing wind"[52] so that he will not hear the caller's call to prayer and then have to witness on the latter's behalf, thereby becoming one of those who contribute to the felicity of the one being wit‚nessed to, whereas he is the absolute enemy and does not bear for us an iota of good - may Allah curse him!

[132]    Now, if the enemy himself is obliged to testify on your behalf to what‚ever you call him to witness regarding your own person, it is even more cer‚tain that your friend and beloved should testify on your behalf - for the latter shares your religion and belongs to your religious community - and it is more certain that you yourself should testify, in this world, for yourself, to Oneness (al-wahdâniyya) and Belief (al-îmân).

  The First Testimony of Faith

[133]    Therefore, O my brethren, O my beloved - may Allah be well pleased with you! - a weak slave calls upon you to wit‚ness, a poor one utterly depen‚dent on His Lord in every glimpse of the eye, the author and maker of this book [al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya ("The Meccan Conquests")]; he calls you to testify in his regard, after calling Allah I to witness, His angels, and who‚ever is present with him and hears him among the believers, that he bears wit‚ness in word and in full conviction (qawlan wa 'aqdan) that:

[134]    Allah the Exalted is One God, without second in His divinity;

[135]    Transcendent above possessing a mate or a son;

[136]    Absolute owner [of all] (mâlik) without partner; absolute king (malik) without minister;

[137]    Creator (sâni') without any disposer of affairs (mudab‚bir) with Him;

[138]    Existing in Himself (mawjûdun bî dhâtihi), without any dependence on, or need for an originator (mûjid) to originate Him. Rather, every existing thing other than Him, depends on Him and needs Him to exist. The whole universe exists through Him, and He alone can be said to exist in Himself.

[139]    There is no outset (iftitâh) to His existence nor end to His permanence. His existence is absolute and unconditioned.

[140]    He is subsistent in Himself (qâ'imun binafsih): not as a spatially boun‚ded substance (jawhar mutahayyiz) - for then place would be assigned to Him; nor as an accident ('arad) - for then permanence would be impossi‚ble for Him; nor as a body (jism) - for then He would have a direction (jiha) and a front (tilqâ').

[141]    He is transcendent (muqaddasun) above possessing directions (jihât) and regions (aqtâr).

[142]    He can be seen with the hearts and the eyes, if He so wills.

[143]    He established Himself over His Throne just as He said and in the mean‚ing that He intended; also, the Throne and every‚thing else was estab‚lished by Him (bihi istawâ),[53] and (unto Him belong the after (life), and the former) (53:25).

[144]    He has no conceivable equivalent whatsoever (laysa lahu mithlun ma'qûl), nor can minds represent Him. Time does not confine Him, nor place lift nor transport Him. Rather, He was when there was no place, and He is now as He ever was.[54]

[145]    He created fixity (al-mutamakkin) and place (al-makân),[55] brought time into existence, and said: "I am the One, the Ever-Living" (anâ al-Wâhid al-Hayy).[56] Preserving His creations in no way tires Him. Attributes which do not describe Him and are devised by creatures do not apply to Him.[57]

[146]    Exalted is He far above being in‚dwelt by originated matters, or indwel‚ling them, or that they be "after Him" or that He be "before them"! Rather, we say: "He was and there was nothing with him." For the words 'before' and 'after' are among the locutions of Time, which He invented.[58]

[147]    He is the Self-Sustaining Sustainer of All (al-Qayyûm) Who sleeps not, the All-Compelling Subduer (al-Qahhâr) Whom one resists not. (There is noth‚ing whatsoever like unto Him) (42:11).

[148]    He created the Throne (al-'arsh) and made it the boundary (hadd) of istiwâ', and He created the Footstool (al-kursî) and made it encompass the earth and the heavens.

[149]    The Sublimely Exalted (al-'Alî) contrived the Tablet and the Sublime Pen, making them bring about the inscription of His Knowledge concerning His creation until the Day of Determina‚tion and Verdict.

[150]    He contrived the entire universe without precedent. He created crea‚tion then caused what He created to wither.

[151]    He sent down the souls (al-arwâh) into the specters (al-ashbâh) as cus‚to‚dians, and made those soul-endowed specters deputies on earth.

[152]    He made subservient to us all that is in the heavens and the earth from Him, whereof not one atom moves except back to Him and because of Him.

[153]    He created everything without need for it, and no neces‚sity drove Him to do so, but with His foreknowledge that He would create whatever He created.

[154]    (He is the First and the Last and the Manifest and the Hidden) (57:3), (and He is able to do all things) (5:120, 11:4, 30:50, 42:9, 57:2, 64:1, 67:1).

[155]      (He surrounds all things in knowledge) (65:12) (and He keeps count of all things) (72:28), (He knows the traitor of the eyes and that which the bosoms hide) (40:19). (Should He not know what He created? And He is the Subtle, the Aware) (67:14).

[156]    He knew all things before they came into existence, then He brought them into existence exactly as He knew them. He has known them without beginning to His knowledge, and such knowledge in no way becomes newer upon the renewal of origination (tajaddud al-inshâ'). He brought all things to perfec‚tion in His knowledge, then He established them firmly (bi 'ilmihi atqana al-ashyâ'a fa ahkamahâ). Likewise, He has full knowledge of their smallest details (juz'iyyât) according to the consensus and complete agree‚ment of the people of sound scru‚tiny.[59]> (Knower of the invisible and the visible! and exalted be He over all that they ascribe as partners (unto Him)) (23:92).

[156--A]  (Doer of what He will) (85:16), He is therefore willing (murîd) for existent entities in the earthly and heavenly worlds. However, His power is without link to anything (lam tata'allaq bi shay') until He wills it.[60] Like‚wise, He does not will anything until He knows it. For it is impossible in the mind that He wills something of which He knows not, or that one who is endowed with the choice of not doing, should do what He does not want to do. Likewise, it is impossible that all these realities be attributed to one who is not living, and it is impossible that the Attributes subsist in other than an Entity described by them.

[157]    There is not in all existence any observance nor sin, any gain nor loss, any slave nor free man, any cold nor hot, any life nor death, any happening nor elapsing, any day nor night, any moderation nor inclination, any land nor sea, any even nor odd, any substance nor accident, any health nor sickness, any joy nor sadness, any soul nor specter, any darkness nor light, any earth nor heaven, any assembling nor disjoining, any plenty nor scarcity, any morn‚ing nor evening, any white nor black, any sleep nor wakefulness, any visible nor hidden, any moving nor still, any dry nor moist, any shell nor core, or any of all such mutually contrasting, variegated, or similar entities, except it is so willed by the Real> - Exalted is He!

[158]    How could He not will it when it is He Who brought it into existence? And how could the one endowed with free will, bring into existence what He does not want? None can turn down His command, and none can dispute His decision.

[159]    ([He] gives sovereignty unto whom [He] will, and [He] withdraws sovereignty from whom [He] will. [He] exalts whom [He] will and [He] abases whom [He] will) (3:26). ([He] sends whom [He] will astray and guides whom [He] will) (7:155). What‚ever Allah wants, comes into exis‚tence (mâ shâ'a Allahu kân), and whatever He does not wish to be, does not come into existence (mâ lam yasha' an yakûna lam yakun).

[160]    If all creatures convened to want something which Allah does not want them to want, they cannot want it. Or, if they convened to do something which Allah does not want to bring into existence - although they willed it whenever He wanted them to will it - they cannot do it; nor can they even be capable of doing it; nor does He enable them to.

[161]            Therefore, disbelief and belief, observance and sin, are all according to His desire (mashî'a), His wisdom (hikma), and His will (irâda). And He - Glorified is He! - is described as pos‚sessing such will without beginning.

[162]    The universe is in oblivion and nonexistence, although firmly estab‚lished in itself in [the divine] knowledge. Then He brought the universe into existence without reflection (tafakkur) nor deliberation (tadabbur) such as accompany ignorance or un‚awareness and would then presumably provide Him the know‚ledge of what He knew not - greatly exalted and elevated is He above that! Rather, He brought it into existence on the basis of foreknowl‚edge (al-'ilm al-sâbiq), and the exact specification (ta'yîn) of transcendent, pre-existent will (al-irâda al-munaz‚zaha al-azaliyya) determining just how it brought the universe into being with respect to time, place, forms, masses, and color. None exists exerting will, in reality, other than He. For He says:> (And you will not, unless Allah wills) (76:30, 81:29).

[163]    Just as He knows, He determines (kamâ 'alima fa ahkama); just as He wills, He details (arâda fa khassasa); just as He foreordains, He brings into existence (qaddara fa awjada). Likewise, He hears and sees what‚ever moves or stands still and whatever utters a sound in all creation, whether in the low‚est world or the highest. Distance (al-bu'd) does not in any way hamper His hearing, for He is the Near (al-Qarîb). Nor does nearness (al-qurb) veil His sight, for He is the Far (al-Ba'îd).[61] He hears the discourse of the self in itself (kalâm al-nafs fi al-nafs), and the sound of the hidden contact upon its touch. He sees the very blackness in darkness, and water inside water. Neither admixture (imtizâj), nor darkness, nor light veils Him,[62] (and He is the Hearer, the Seer) (42:11).

[164]    He I speaks, not after being previously silent nor fol‚lowing pre‚sumed tacitness, with a speech pre-eternal and begin‚ningless like the rest of His attributes, whether His knowledge, will, or power. He spoke to Musa u. He named it [His speech] the divine Bestowal (al-tanzîl), the Book of Psalms (al-zabûr), the Torah, and the Evangel. [All this] without letters (hurûf), sounds (aswât), tones (nagham), nor languages (lughât). Rather, He is the Creator of sounds, letters, and languages.[63

[165]    His speech is [spoken] without [the organs of] uvula and tongue, just as His hearing is without auditory meatus nor ears, His sight is without pupil nor eyelids, His will is without cogitation (qalb) nor inner reflection (janân), His knowledge is without compulsion (idtirâr) nor examination of any proof, His life is without the vapor which is caused in the cavity of the heart by the admixture of the elements. His Entity accepts neither increase nor decrease.

[166]    Glorified, most glorified is He Who, from afar, comes near! To Him belongs tremendous majesty, surpassing goodness, magnificent generosity! Everything that is other than Him is but an outpouring of His munificence. His grace unfolds it and His justice folds it up again.

[167]    He perfected the making of the universe and made it uniquely excellent (akmala san'a al-'âlami wa abda'ahu) when He brought it into existence and invented it. He has no partner in His domain (milk) nor joint disposer of affairs (mudabbir) in His dominion (mulk).

[168]    Whenever He shows favor He sends comfort and ease; and this is His kindness. Whenever He sends adversity He pun‚ishes; and this is His justice. In no way does He intrude upon another's domain so as to be attributed tyranny and injustice. Nor is anyone besides Him entitled to pass judgment on Him so that He could be attributed apprehension or fear from such. Eve‚rything other than Him is under the authority of His subjugation (qahr) and subject to the disposal of His will and His command.

[169]    It is He that inspires with Godwariness or rebelliousness the souls of those who are legally responsible. It is He that disre‚gards the transgressions of whomever He will, and holds to task whomever He will, both here and on the Day of Resurrection. His justice does not hold sway (yahkum) over His kindness nor does His kindness hold sway over His justice.  

[170]    He brought forth the world as two handfuls (qabdatayn) to which He gave two levels (manzilatayn), saying: "These are for Paradise, and I care not (lâ ubâlî)![64] Those are for Hellfire, and I care not!"[65] No-one raised the least objection at that time. One handful stands under the Names of His adversity (balâ'), and one stands under the Names of His favors (âlâ').

[171]    If He wished that the whole universe be in felicity, it would be so; and [if He wished that it be] in misery, it would not have obtained the slightest degree of felicity. However, He did not wish it so, and it was exactly as He wished. Consequently, people are either miserable or happy, here and on the Day of Return. There is no possibility to change whatever the Pre-eternal One has decided. He has said, concerning prayer: "It is five al‚though it counts as fifty."[66]> (The sentence that comes from Me can‚not be changed, and I am in no wise a tyrant unto the slaves) (50:29) for My authority over the disposal of affairs in My domain and the accomplishment of My volition in My dominion.

[172]    All this is because of a reality that sights and insights (al-absâr wa al-basâ'ir) are utterly unable to see, nor can mental powers and minds stumble upon its knowledge except through a divine bestowal and token of the All-Merciful's generosity towards him whom He nourishes among His servants, and who was fore-chosen for this at the time he was summoned to witness. He then came to know - when He was given to know - that the Godhead (al-ulûha) devised this allotment and that it is one of the refinements of the One Who is without beginning.

[173]    Glory to Him besides Whom there is no effecter (fâ'il), nor any self-existent being (mawjûd li nafsih)!> (And Allah has created you and what you make) (37:95), (He will not be questioned as to what He does, but they will be questioned) (21:23),> (Say--For to Allah belongs the final argu‚ment--Had He willed He could indeed have guided all of you) (6:149).[67]

The Second Testimony of Faith

[174]    Just as I have called upon Allah and His angels, as well as all His creation and yourselves, to testify in my regard to my declaration of His oneness, likewise, I call upon Him - glorified is He! - and His angels, as well as all His creation and your‚selves, to testify in my regard to my firm belief in the one He elected and chose from the very time he existed. That is: our master Muhammad r whom He sent to all people without exception,> (a bearer of glad tidings and a warner) (2:119, 34:28, 35:24, 41:4)> (And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a light-giving lamp) (33:46).

[175]    The Prophet r thus conveyed fully all that was revealed to him from his Lord, discharged His trust, and acted faithfully (nasaha) toward his Com‚mu‚nity. He stood, in his farewell Pil‚grimage, before all those present among his followers, address‚ing and reminding them, deterring and caution‚ing them, giving them glad tidings and warning them, promising and threat‚ening them. He showered them with rain and made them tremble with thun‚der. He did not address anyone specifically at the exclusion of others in his ad‚mo‚nition. He did all this after permission from the One, the Everlasting I. Then he said: "Lo! Have I conveyed the message?" They replied: "You have conveyed the message, O Messenger of Allah!" So he said: "O Allah! Bear witness."[68]

[176]            Likewise, [I call upon all] to testify that I firmly believe in everything that the Prophet r brought - that which I know and that which I know not. Among the things which he brought is the decree that death comes at a time specified in the presence of Allah I and that, come that time, it is not delayed. I, for my part, firmly believe this, without the slightest reservation nor doubt.

[177]    Just as I firmly believe and declare that the interrogation of the two examiners in the grave is true; the punishment in the grave and the rais‚ing of the bodies from the grave are both true; the review in the presence of Allah I is true; the Basin is true; the Balance is true; the flying (tatâyur) of individual Records in every direction is true;[69] the Bridge is true; Paradise is true; Hell‚fire is true;> (A host will be in the Garden, and a host of them in the Flame) (42:7) truly; the agony of that day is true for one group; as for an‚other group,> (the Supreme Horror will not grieve them) (21:103);[70]

[178]    The intercession of the angels, the Prophets, and the Believers, followed by the taking out of the Fire, by the most Merciful of those who show mercy, of anyone He wishes, is true; a group of the grave sinners among the Believers shall enter Hellfire and then exit it through intercession and gratification truly; eternal and everlasting world-without-end (al-ta'bîd) in the midst of the pleasures of Paradise is true for the Believers and those who affirm Oneness; eternal and everlasting world-without-end in the Fire for the dwellers of the Fire is true; and all that was announced by the Books and Messengers that came from Allah - whether one came to know it or not - is true.

[179]    This is my witness in my own regard, and it is the responsibility of each and every person that it reaches, to bring it forward if asked about it, whenever and wherever he may be.

  Final Supplication

[180]    May Allah grant us and grant you the greatest benefit with this faith. May He make us adhere to it firmly at the time of journeying from this abode to the abode of true life. May He replace for us this abode with the abode of munificence and good pleasure. May He intervene between us and a dwelling with (raiments of pitch) (14:50). May He count us in the troop that take their record with the right hand and return from the Pond fully sated, those in whose favor the Balance weighs down and whose feet stand firm on the Bridge. Truly He is the Munifi‚cent (al-Mun'im), the Giver of All Good (al-Mihsân)!

[181]      (All praise to Allah, Who has guided us to this. We could not truly have been led aright if Allah had not guided us. Verily the messengers of our Lord did bring the Truth!) (7:43).

FOOTNOTES