and that, in this work, we should also acquaint our noble chosen friend Abu Muhammad Abd al-Aziz—may God be pleased with him—with the blessings Mecca bestows: it is the finest means of drawing near through worship and the noblest earthly dwelling among inanimate things. Perhaps the aspiration of longing will move him toward it, and the desire for increase will bring him to it.
For he who was given all-comprehensive words, and who in direct witnessing of his Lord was nearer than two bow-lengths [Qur’an 53:9], received, despite this most perfect nearness and this most abundant and generous portion, the revelation: “And say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge” [Qur’an 20:114].
(The Different Excellences of Places and the Excellence of Honoured Mecca)
A requirement for the knower who witnesses, the possessor of unseen stations and witnessings, is to know that places affect subtle hearts. Even if the heart finds the most comprehensive experience wherever it may be, its experience in Mecca is more radiant and complete. Just as spiritual dwellings differ in excellence, so do bodily dwellings. Otherwise, is a pearl like a stone, except for someone possessed of a state? The perfected possessor of a station, however, distinguishes them, just as the Real has distinguished them. Has the Real equated an abode built of bricks of earth and straw with one built of bricks of gold and silver?[33]
The wise one who has arrived is he who gives everyone entitled to a due their due. Such a person is the unique one of his age and the master of his time. How great the difference between a city inhabited chiefly by desires and a city inhabited chiefly by clear signs! Has not my chosen friend—may God preserve him—agreed with me that our hearts are more fully present in some places than in others?
He used—
Notes
[33]
“Al-masjid” (“the mosque”) has been corrected to “al-asjad” (“gold”) by comparison with the newer edition. This agrees with the mention of silver and the contrast with bricks of earth and straw.
Translator’s note TN383-1: In this discussion of places and the heart, wujud refers to the heart’s finding or spiritual experience, rather than simply to existence. The contrast between a state and a station concerns the capacity to recognize distinctions while experiencing spiritual realities.
