The Meccan Revelations

Manuscript volume 27 · Page 207

Konya manuscript

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Arabic

بالمواطن يعلمون من حبب ما ذكره إليه وهو النساء والطيب[91] وجعل قرة العين في الصلاة؛ لأنه مصل على شهود من وقف يناجيه بين يديه من حضرة التمثل وموطنه؛ لأن فيه خطابا وردا وقبولا ولا يكون ذٰلك إلا في شهود التمثل؛ فإنه في موطن يجمع بين الشهود والكلام.

(المناسبة ومحل التكوين)

ولما كانت المناسبات تقتضي ميل المناسب إلى المناسب كان الذي حبب عين المناسب، والمناسبة قد تكون ذاتية وعرضية. ولما كان النساء محل التكوين وكان الإنسان بالصورة يقتضي أن يكون فعالا ولا بد له من محل يفعل فيه، ويريد لكماله أن لا يصدر عنه إلا الكمال كما كان في الأصل الذي ﴿أَعْطى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ﴾ [طه: ٥٠] وهو كمال ذٰلك الشيء، ولا أكمل من وجود الإنسان، ولا يكون ذٰلك إلا في النساء اللاتي جعلهن الله محلا والمرأة جزء من الرجل بالانفعال الذي انفعلت عنه، فحبب إلى الكامل النساء.

ولما كانت المرأة كما ذكرت عين ضلع الرجل فما كان محل تكوين ما كون فيها إلا نفسه، فما ظهر عنه مثله إلا في عينه ونفسه، فانظر ما أعجب هٰذا الأمر! فمن حصل له مثل هٰذا العلم فقد ورث النبي ع في هٰذا التحبب بهٰذا الوجه.

(الأنفاس الرحمانية والاسم الطيب)

وأما الطيب فإنه من الأنفاس، والأنفاس رحمانية؛ فإن رسول الله ص يقول:

Notes

[91]

(أُعيد تركيب «يعلمون من حبب ما ذكره إليه وهو النساء والطيب» وفق الطبعة الجديدة؛ فيتصل الكلام بتعيين فاعل التحبيب الذي يشرحه المؤلف.)

English

the settings know who made what he mentioned—women and perfume—beloved to him[91], and placed the delight of the eye in prayer. For he prays while witnessing the One before whom he stands in intimate discourse, from the presence and setting of taking form. There is address, response, and acceptance within it, and this occurs only in witnessing the taking of form, for he is in a setting that combines witnessing and speech.

(Correspondence and the Locus of Generation)

Since correspondences entail the inclination of one corresponding thing toward another, the one who made it beloved was the very corresponding one. Correspondence may be essential or accidental. Women are the locus of generation, while the human being, by virtue of the form, must be active and must have a locus in which to act. For his perfection, he wishes nothing but perfection to issue from him, as with the original, who “gave each thing its creation” [Ta Ha 20:50], which is that thing’s perfection. Nothing is more complete than the human being’s existence, and this comes about only in women, whom God has made a locus. Woman is a part of man through the passive reception by which she came forth from him. Women were therefore made beloved to the complete man.

Since woman, as I have mentioned, is the very rib of man, the locus in which what was generated within her was generated was nothing but himself. His like thus issued from him only within his own entity and self. Consider how wondrous this matter is! Whoever attains such knowledge has inherited from the Prophet, peace be upon him, in this being made to love, from this perspective.

(All-Merciful Breaths and the Name the Good)

As for perfume, it belongs to breaths, and breaths are All-Merciful, for the Messenger of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, says,

Notes

[91]

(The construction “know who made what he mentioned—women and perfume—beloved to him” has been restored according to the new edition. The passage thus connects with identifying the agent of making-beloved whom the author explains.)

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Cairo source reference

Ibn al-Arabi, The Meccan Revelations — Manuscript volume 27 · Page 207 — https://www.futmak.com/english/konya/pages.php?id=8251&text=both