Chapter 4: On the Cause of the Beginning of the Cosmos and the Ranks of the Most Beautiful Names in Relation to the Entire Cosmos
(Opening Poem)
In the cause of the beginning and its governing principles,
The end of the making and its perfection,
And the distinction between the guardians of the heights
In its arising and those who govern it,
Are proofs that point to a Maker
Who has mastered all through His perfect ordering.
(Reference to My Books Anqa Mughrib and Insha al-Dawair, and to the Excellence of Honoured Mecca)
My chosen friend, the saint—may God preserve him—has already learned the cause of the beginning of the cosmos from our book entitled Anqa Mughrib fi Marifat Khatm al-Awliya wa-Shams al-Maghrib, and from our book entitled Insha al-Dawair. We composed part of the latter in his gracious home when we visited him in the year 598, on our way to perform the pilgrimage. His servant Abd al-Jabbar—may God exalt his standing—copied for him the portion I had written. I then took it with me to Mecca—may God increase its honour—in that same year, to complete it there.
This book occupied us to the exclusion of that one and others, because of the divine command that came to us to set it down, together with the desire of some of the brethren and the poor in spirit. They were eager for increased knowledge and wished to receive the blessings of this blessed, noble House, the place of blessings, guidance, and clear signs—
