This paper presents an experiential introduction to the reality of mysticism illustrated extensively with quotations from the great Persian Sufi poets. It addresses the nature of mysticism, its subject of study that is the divine essence, its faculty of perception that is the heart and its results in godly action. Ultimately it demonstrates how mystical discourse and knowledge is rooted in the Islamic revelation and the sayings and teachings of the Prophet and his progeny.

Gnosis or mystical knowledge possesses many traits and characteristics that serve to distinguish it from other forms of knowledge. In this paper, we shall attempt to point out some of the most significant of these characteristics, thus distinguishing this particular form of knowledge from others, to the degree possible in such a short work.

I: Direct knowledge

Knowledge that is not directly of God,
Is no more permanent than make-up
But if you carry this weight well,
The burden shall be taken off your shoulders
And joy shall be granted you. ¹

As defined by logicians, knowledge consists of the presence of the ‘form’ of the known before the knower. This definition applies to all conventional branches of science and scholarship. Normal knowledge never constitutes the immediate presence of the essence of the known before the knower. Thus, no scholar or scientist may perceive the object of his study directly, without the mediation of forms. In general, all scientific knowledge is indirect knowledge, in that the scientist always perceives the form of what he is studying, and then, through knowledge of this form, perceives the essence of the object of his investigation. Moreover, this rule applies to Islamic studies as well. Even those fields of learning that are very close to mystical knowledge in their aim and subject matter, such as Islamic jurisprudence or philosophy, are not exempt from this general principle.

Islamic jurisprudence and philosophy are both indirect cognitions of the manifestations of the divine, the difference being that jurisprudence has as its subject ethical and normative signs and manifestations, while philosophy is concerned with natural ones. Knowledge attained in both of these fields is, like all other fields of scholarship, of the mediated type, where the known is perceived by the knower through its form. In this form of knowledge, al-ma‘l£m bi l-dh¡t (the known-in-itself, that is, the idea or form of the object known), is not the same as al-ma‘l£m bi l-‘ara¤ (the object itself), and what is united with the essence of the knower and is added to it is not the objective essence of the known but only an ideal form of it, which, naturally, is something different from it, though, because of the fact that it is a revelation of the object itself, enjoys essential unity with it. In other words, this unity is a unity in the sense of ‘primary predication’ (al-¦aml al-awwal¢), the basis of which is essence (m¡hiyya) and the concept (mafh£m), and not a unity in the sense of ‘common predication’ (al-¦aml al-sh¡’i‘), the basis of which is unity in being.

The significant characteristic of mystical knowledge is that it does not fall within the category of acquired knowledge (ma‘¡rif-i ¦u¥£l¢). It is, on the contrary, a form of knowledge by presence (ma‘rifat-i ¦u¤£r¢), in which it is the essence of the object itself that is perceived and not an idea of it. In other words, in this form of perception, the essence, meaning the objective reality of the known, is identical with the knowledge attained by the knower. It follows, then, that mystical knowledge is immediate and direct perception, without any reliance on intermediation of idea or image. In this aspect, then, it is different from all other forms of knowledge.

Whoever has a mind at rest and a fine lover at his side
Fortune and felicity, joy and happiness are also his.
The gate opening into the shrine of love
Lies far beyond the reach of reason,
Only he who is willing to sacrifice his life may reach it. ²

In the mystical quest for the truth, the aim of the seeker is, first and foremost, to reach a particular destination. Knowledge, then, follows in the wake of this attainment. In the case of ordinary forms of knowledge it is precisely the opposite, in that the aim is to know. Such knowledge may then lead to the attainment of the thing itself, although it is by no means certain that it will do so. To sum up then, knowledge does not necessitate arrival, while knowledge constitutes an inseparable aspect of attainment. In the Qur’an, the word ‘ilm (knowledge) generally refers to mystical knowledge, which signifies arrival at, and the attainment of, the object of knowledge. Thus, from the Qur’anic viewpoint, perfect and fruitful knowledge is that which leads to man’s spiritual development and enables him to reach his destination.

It is for the reasons set forth above that mystical insight gives birth to wisdom, which is profound and comprehensive understanding of the truth. An understanding able to reveal all aspects of the truth, its roots, results and manifold relations with other realities can only be gained by attaining the truth itself. In abstract knowledge, which is perception of the form of an object, also known as acquired or formal knowledge (since it relies on form and idea), the final result is a picture of reality that is, in some cases, partial and incomplete. In many instances, then, this image-making process produces a picture of reality with color and properties very different from those of the original object. As a result, it not only does not reveal reality, but also becomes a veil that hides the truth from the perceiver.

What do you seek in formal studies?
How long will you pursue it?
Seek such knowledge that will free you
From all material attachments.
Seek that knowledge which illuminates the heart,
Turning the breast into Mount Sinai.
A knowledge that mastered,
Turns your heart into the Protected Tablet.
Seek that knowledge that cannot be found in books,
Is intuitive, not conveyed by words;
A knowledge that does not bring you low,
making you a slave of natural laws.
A knowledge that shall show you the way,
Reveal to you the eternal secret,
A knowledge which is not argumentative,
Entirely excellent, not discursive.
The knowledge that shall give you new life,
Believe me, is the science of love. ³

Thus, the truth and spirit of wisdom is mysticism, and the fruit of real mysticism is perfect wisdom:

Who can tell what goes on in
The hearts of those tormented by spiritual desire?
Who can take revenge from heaven
For the spilt blood of the wine-jar?
Except for the wise wine living in the vat,
Who can reveal to us the secret of wisdom.
Let the drunken Narcissus be put to shame
By the languishing gaze of wine-lovers,
If it dares to bud again.

This is the same wisdom that has been referred to by the Qur’an as ‘the great benefit’ (khayr-i kath¢r) ⁴ and is the best present that the prophets have made to mankind, and the best teachers of which have been the same divinely inspired prophets, the best of whom is Muhammad, may God bless him and his progeny.

He it is Who raised among the illiterates an Apostle from among themselves, who recites to them His communications and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom (al-hikma). ⁵

The subject of mystical knowledge is the holy essence of the supreme Truth (dh¡t-i aqdas-i °aqq muta‘¡l), while in all other forms of learning, even in jurisprudence and philosophy, it is God’s signs and manifestations that are being investigated. For in all such sciences and disciplines, one or another of God’s effects or manifestations is subjected to scientific or scholarly investigation and analysis, while the object of mystical knowledge is the holy essence of God Himself. Here, all His effects and manifestations are seen to be dissolved therein and serve merely to reflect His holy essence.

When the mystic saw Your face
Reflected in the cup,
The laughter of the wine
Inspired in him
A false expectation.
One brief reflection of your beauty
In the mirror
Gave birth to so many patterns
In that mirror of illusions. 

The ‘false expectation’ mentioned above is that of attaining the ‘true knowledge’ referred to by the Prophet when he said, "We cannot truly know You (m¡ ‘arafn¡ka ¦aqqa ma‘rifatika)". It is also the subject of the request Moses makes of God: "O Lord, may I see you?," to which God answers, "I cannot be seen (lan tar¡n¢)". ⁶ It is also the phoenix that, according to °¡fe¨, cannot be trapped.

The phoenix is not to be caught,
Dismantle your trap!
In his abode, traps yield nothing.
When at the feast,
Drink a few cups and leave.
Do not set your heart
On everlasting union.

If, however, the attainment of perfect knowledge of God, which entails removal of all veils and boundaries that separate the seeker from the Beloved, is not possible, the removal of the ‘self’, which is the greatest of veils, is possible. It is this station of knowledge, consisting of the annihilation and dissolution of the individual self in God and its rebirth in the Divine, that is the goal of the mystic.

If we can kiss the threshold of the Beloved,
We can raise our head to the sky.
My bowed frame may seem worthless to you,
But it is from the bow that the arrow
May be shot, piercing the eye of the enemy.
The clothes worn by the dervish are not
The finery found at the royal court,
All I have is a patched and ragged robe
Which one can set on fire without remorse.
If the door leading to the great joy
Of union with You is opened,
Seekers shall prostrate themselves before that threshold,
Dazzled by that vision. 

That ‘bowed frame’ from which one can aim an arrow at the eye of the enemy is no other than the soul that has undergone mortification and has submitted to God’s will. As the result of this submission and mortification, it has gained the power to turn its back on everything except God, and this is identical with the aforementioned station of annihilation (fan¡’).

The beauty of the Beloved is not hidden behind veils,
But you must settle the dust of the road, if you wish to see it.
If you desire the joy of being in His presence
And to have a soul which is in harmony,
This may be granted to you as a blessing by the enlightened ones.
But as long as you desire the lips of the beloved and the cup of wine,
Do not imagine that you can reach higher.
O heart, if you only become aware of the light of guidance,
Like a candle, laughing, you can lose your head.
If you heed this royal advice, O °¡fe¨,
You may tread upon the royal highway of Truth.

You can never make the dead listen to you. When the deaf run away from you, you cannot get them to listen to you. ⁷

Those infidels are the ones whose hearts, ears and eyes have been sealed by God. They are the ignorant, and inevitably, they shall be the losers in the hereafter. ⁸

When this ‘heart’, which is the center of man’s true life, stops functioning, his powers of sight and hearing and the other powers and faculties of his real life also cease working, just as it has been pointed out in the above verse and in other Qur’¡nic verses. On the other hand, when the ‘heart’ is alive and vibrant, man’s real life flourishes and his other faculties become lively, sharp and vibrant. It is in this condition that man becomes ready to accept the Truth that his inner being is illuminated by remembrance of God, and the way leading to union with the holy essence of the Almighty God is opened to him:

Verily in this Book there is a reminder for the one who has a heart, who has hearkened, and is a witness to the truth. ⁹

In the holy Qur’¡n, the loss of the ‘heart’ is equated with final and ultimate loss and is regarded as the greatest of all defeats and deprivations:

Those infidels are the ones whose hearts, ears and eyes have been sealed by God. They are the ignorant, and inevitably, they shall be the losers in the hereafter. ¹⁰

They could not hear or see. They are those who have lost themselves. And what they had falsely imagined, they could not get or benefit from. ¹¹

Thus, it is in the heart that God is remembered and contacted and it is also the center of man’s spiritual life and of his power of intuition and spiritual insight. This Qur’¡nic concept is one of the central themes of Islamic mystical literature, expressed in various forms. For example, in the following verses, R£m¢ states it in this manner:

If the mirror of the heart is cleansed
You shall behold otherworldly images in it;
You shall see the painting and the Painter;
You shall see the rug of creation and the Weaver ¹²

°¡fe¨ says:

For years the heart asked me for the magic cup;
What it already possessed, it begged from a stranger.
The gem that is free from the veil of time and space,
Pleaded with lost souls, wandering by the seashore.

The physical senses have no role whatsoever in this mode of perception:

There are five senses other than the material ones.
They are like gold, while the ordinary senses are like copper.
In the market of the experts,
How will they buy the copper senses at the same price
As the golden ones? ¹³

Your imagination, thought, sense and understanding
Are like that wooden stick that the child fancies as his horse. ¹⁴

Nor can ordinary reason be of any assistance on this path:

Your amorous look proved such heady wine to lovers
That knowledge became foolish and reason lost its senses.
I wandered far and wide to ask the wise
The cause of the pain of separation.
But faced with this question, the judge of reason
Was turned into a mindless fool. (°¡fe¨)

What an amazing science is the astronomy of love,
Whose highest heavenly sphere is the lowest earthly plain!

In other words, in the science of love, in order to ascend to the highest point, one must descend to the lowest; that is, it is only by humbling itself that the soul may attain dissolution and annihilation in the divine Essence. It is impossible to reach high mystical states unless the individual self humbles itself before God and carries out His commands unconditionally, and this is not possible unless one thoroughly submits to the authority of His representatives and carries out their commands without hesitation.

Spill wine on the prayer rug,
If the sage so commands.
For the seeker should not be ignorant
Of the customs and ways of the stages
Upon the spiritual path.
Do not go near the neighborhood of love
Without a guide,
For I tried to do it by myself a hundred times
Without success.

Intellectual knowledge is all loss,
Hang on to love, the real knowledge.
This knowledge frees you
From multiplicity,
While that knowledge steals your soul.
This knowledge puts you upon the path
That frees you from all idolatry,
Whether open or hidden.
This knowledge is free of how and why
For its source is the Most High. (Shaykh Baha’e)

In the holy Qur’an, where the word ‘ilm (knowledge) is used to signify the kind of insight that leads to seeking and action, reference is to mystical knowledge. For example, consider the following verses:

It is only the wise who fear God. ¹⁵
When the Qur’an is recited before those who have already accumulated knowledge, they shall prostrate themselves and say: "holy is our Creator, verily His promise has been fulfilled." Then, they shall put their foreheads to the ground and their humility shall be increased. ¹⁶
God shall raise those who have faith and have gained knowledge to exalted stations. ¹⁷

In many Qur’anic verses the terms ‘reason’ (‘aql) and ‘understanding’ (fiqh) are used in such a manner as to indicate mystical insight and are therefore accompanied by such concepts as guidance toward man’s aim in life, self-purification and right action. For example, we have the following verses:

Have they not traveled upon the earth, so that they may possess wise hearts and attentive ears? Verily, it is not eyes that are blinded, but hearts that are in breasts. ¹⁸

We have sent to Hell many men and jinn who did not use their hearts to know and their eyes to see and their ears to hear. They are like animals, maybe even more misled. They are the unheeding. ¹⁹

No one can believe in God unless He wills it. And none can contemplate Him until He has purified them. ²⁰

The reason for the fact that impurity is the result of a lack of contemplation (ta‘aqqul) is that this form of contemplation is the path of purity, and those who try to travel this path without sincerity and purity will reap nothing but impurity from it. Mystical insight is a fruit of the purity referred to in the above verse, a purity that is accompanied by right action and practice. In any case, in the verses mentioned above, and in similar ones, contemplation, jurisprudence and knowledge refer to mystical insight, and are therefore accompanied by practical effects. It is for this reason that this form of contemplation and understanding is considered by the Quran as a function of man’s free will, and its loss is judged as the greatest sin committed by evil-doers. The denizens of Hell are quoted in the Quran in the following manner:

The evil-doers in Hell said: "If we had listened and thought we would not now be among the residents of hell." Thus they confessed their sin. Shame and damnation be upon those who live in Hell. ²¹

In Persian mystical literature this characteristic of mystical knowledge has received special attention and has been the subject of beautiful verses. For example, Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi discusses this issue on a number of occasions, the following being one instance:

The knowledge of the men of spirit carries them,
While the knowledge of those who are in bondage to the body
Is a burden to them.
When the heart attains knowledge it gains a friend;
When the body acquires knowledge it only accumulates a burden.
God said, "They bear books like a burden,"
So, knowledge that is not of Him, is no more than a burden.
Knowledge that does not come directly from God
Will be no more permanent than makeup,
But if you carry this burden well,
It will be taken off your shoulders
And you shall be granted joy and happiness.
Do not carry about the burden of knowledge for selfish ends
So that you shall ride the chariot of knowledge.
When you ride the mount of knowledge
The burden shall drop off your back.
How are you going to free yourself from your
Selfish desires, without the aid of divine knowledge,
O you who are content to know only His name and not Himself?

The poem continues until we reach the following lines:

Like iron, abandon yourself.
By self-control, turn yourself into a spotless mirror.
Rid yourself of all your particularities,
So that you may behold your pure essence.
You shall behold the knowledge of the prophets in your heart,
Without the help of books, schools or teachers. ²²

It should be pointed out here that the fact that mystical knowledge has a practical nature does not mean that those who gain it inevitably and invariably continue their journey upon the spiritual path. In other words, it does not cancel the seeker’s free will and force him to ascend the higher rungs of the spiritual ladder, achieve proximity to God, and finally attain union with the Divine. On the contrary, in spite of having attained even the highest levels of spiritual illumination the seeker faces the ever-present danger of a sudden fall. In fact, the plunge from the heights of such spiritual knowledge is extremely terrible and painful, and is generally fatal and irreversible. If those who have succeeded in attaining the heights of spiritual knowledge, and before whose eyes the veils that hide profound and occult truths have been drawn aside, turn their backs on all that they have seen and tasted and descend from those exalted heights, their chances of salvation shall be slim indeed. Moreover, the higher the station they may have attained the more painful and devastating the fall shall be. The glorious Qur’an gives a number of instances in this regard, two of which are discussed below.

1. The first account concerns Bal‘am bin Ba‘awr¡’, a Jewish man of great learning who had reached very high levels of mystical insight, so much so that he is referred to as "he on whom We bestowed our signs." However, he ultimately turned his back on the Goal and, in spite of all the divine signs that had been granted him, retreated from the path he had traveled and therefore suffered a fall so terrible that it is referred to in the Qur’¡n as ‘mixing forever with the earth.’

Tell them the story of the man on whom We bestowed Our signs but he then withdrew from them and turned his back upon them. He was then misled by Satan and joined those who are lost. If We had wished, We could have raised him by those signs, but he turned toward the earth, mixed with it, and pursued his base desires. He is like a dog that barks whether you attack it or leave it alone. This is an example of those who turn their backs upon Our signs and reject them. Recount these stories to the people, perhaps it will make them reflect. ²³

2. The second story involves the followers of Jesus Christ. Although things work out well for them in the end, it points out the fact that infidelity to the truth on the part of those who have attained genuine and high levels of spiritual knowledge is extremely hard and painful.

His disciples asked him, "O Jesus, son of Mary, can your God send us a table full of food from the sky?" He answered, "Be pious if you have faith." They answered, "We wish to eat from that table so that our hearts are pacified by the truth, that we may have faith in the existence of God and bear witness to it." Jesus, son of Mary, then prayed thus: "O Lord, send us a table of food from the sky, so that it may be a feast for all, whether those who came before us or those who may come after us, and to be a sign of You. Provide for us, since You are the best of providers." God answered: "Verily, I shall send down to you this table laid with food, and after that if any of you should disbelieve, I shall punish him more severely than any other human being on this earth." ²⁴

The severity of the punishment for disbelief, that God promises shall follow the divine feast proves what was indicated above; namely, that the more profound the spiritual truths revealed, and the higher the level of certitude attained, the greater shall the damage and pain also be in case of a fall.

V: Mystical knowledge and love

Mystical knowledge is attachment, not description (it falls within the category of love, not representational knowledge).

That science which can give you new life,
Believe me, is the science of love. (Shaykh Bah¡’¢)

In ordinary forms of (representational) knowledge, the relationship between the knower and the known is that of perception and description (¦ik¡yat), and therefore does not require any form of unification or identification between the two. It can be likened to the relationship between a mirror and the objects it reflects. Mystical knowledge, however, requires such identification, since it is attachment and does not consist of perception and description. That is, the mystic disappears in his Beloved and this dissolution and annihilation, which is identical with attachment to the Beloved, is the real nature of mystical knowledge. This attachment and annihilation is that which is understood as love. The reality of love, then, is none other than annihilation and dissolution of the individual self in the holy essence of the Supreme Truth through losing oneself entirely in one’s love for Him. Attachment to any other thing is nothing but illusion and fantasy, and love for anything else is not true love but a passing infatuation:

This cry of the flute is not wind, but fire.
May he perish who is not ablaze with it. (R£m¢)

And:

There is no room for contraries in the hermitage of the heart.
Only when the demon has left will the angel come in. (°¡fe¨)

It is for the above-mentioned reason that mysticism can be defined as the science of becoming like the known to such a degree that one attains complete identification with it. At this stage the seeker is annihilated and dissolved in it. The ladder by which the seeker ascends towards this annihilation and dissolution in God is love. This ability to become like the Beloved, to love, and to liberate the soul from the material body, is a very special characteristic of man, something that no other creature, not even angels, possess. The source of this love and spirituality is none other than the ‘breathing’ mentioned in the Qur’¡n: "I breathed my spirit into him".²⁵ It is indeed this divine breath that is the cause of this tumult and uproar, and which drives man towards the Beloved.

I do not know who is inside this weary-hearted breast,
For though I am silent, He is in uproar and tumult. (°¡fe¨)

This is the same divine inspiration that has raised man from lifeless earth to the unique station of God’s viceroy on earth, dressed him in the robe of honor, and made him worthy of veneration by angels.

Last night I saw angels knocking on the door of the tavern,
kneading the clay of man and soaking it in a wine cup.
Residents of the most holy and chaste heaven
Became drinking partners with me, a humble beggar.
Heaven could not bear the burden of trust,
So I, a madman, was chosen. (°¡fe¨)

Angels are manifestations of reason, and thus do not partake of love. With man’s creation, love entered the world and gave it vitality, warmth and movement. In the realm of reason things are undifferentiated and uniform. What exists and must exist exists and what does not exist and must not exist does not exist. That is all. But that being which is intermingled with nothingness arises out of non-existence and soars towards infinite being, is love. It transcends reason. It is in the realm of love where the visible and the invisible, the outward and the inward, matter and spirit, mix and God manifests Himself in the form of His Names. It is here that the universe comes to life, is filled with vitality, need and desire, giving rise to a movement that begins from the boundaries of non-existence and extends into infinity. In the words of °¡fe¨, it is love that has set the world aflame, filling it with passion, fervour and ecstasy.

In pre-existence the rays of Your beauty dawned,
So, love appeared and set the whole world ablaze.
Your visage revealed itself for an instant,
And seeing that there was no love in angels
Was so offended that it turned into a flame and set man afire.
Reason wanted to light a lamp from that fire,
But the lightening of zeal threw the world into disarray.
The pretender wanted to enter the abode of the mystery,
But a hand emerged from the invisible realm
And pushed the uninitiated away. (°¡fe¨)

Thus, angels, who are manifestations of reason, failed to understand the secret of Adam’s creation, and God revealed this secret through the science of Names. The divine Names, as explained in numerous narrations, ²⁶ are the holy spirits of the prophet Muhammad and his progeny. These are the manifestations of the divine Essence and perfect representations of divine love in the world of creation. It is indeed for this very reason that the way to pay back the Prophet Muhammad for his mission and teachings is love for him and his descendants. For the soul of external religious observances (shar¢‘a) is none other than the inner spiritual path (§ar¢qa). It is in this inner spiritual realization that the external observances bear fruit. Without this inner insight, man is nothing but a lifeless corpse. Finally, the inner path is true love alone and can be summed up in total obedience to the authority and guidance of Muhammad and his progeny.

Without exertion you will get nowhere on this path;
If you want to be rewarded, obey the master. (°¡fe¨)

Angels know nothing of love, do not waste your breath,
Get a cup of wine and pour it upon the dust of man. (°¡fe¨)

Notes:

1-Mawl¡n¡ Jal¡l al-d¢n R£m¢ (d. 1274), perhaps the greatest Persian Sufi poet. Born in Balkh in present-day Afghanistan, he moved to Konya in Anatolia where he founded a Sufi brotherhood. He was buried in Konya and his tomb has become a major Sufi centre of learning and practice. He is best known of two works of poetry, the didactic anecdotal collection of stories, the Mathnav¢, and his collection of mystical odes dedicated to his inspiration Shams-i Tabr¢z¢, known as the D¢v¡n-i kab¢r-i Shams-i Tabr¢z¢. See the recent work of Franklin Lewis, Rumi: past and present, East and West, Oxford: Oneworld Publications 1999.

2-Shams al-D¢n Mu¦ammad °¡fe¨ Sh¢r¡z¢ (d. 1389), great Persian lyric poet and master of the ghazal form. See A.J. Arberry, Classical Persian Literature, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1958, pp. 329-63.

3-Shaykh Bah¡’ al-D¢n Mu¦ammad ibn °usayn al-‘ªmil¢ (d. 1621), Safavid polymath and Shaykh al-Isl¡m in Isfahan under Sh¡h ‘Abb¡s I. For a study of his literary achievements, see C.E. Bosworth, Bah¡’ al-D¢n al-‘ªmil¢ and his literary anthologies, Manchester: Manchester University Press 1989.

4-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-Baqara 2: 269.

6-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-A‘r¡f 7: 143.

7-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-Namal 27: 80

8-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-Na¦l 16: 108-109

9-Qur’¡n, S£rat Q¡f 50: 37

10-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-Na¦l 16: 108-109

11-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-H£d 11: 20-21

12-R£m¢, Mathnav¢, daftar II: 73-74

13-R£m¢, Mathnav¢, daftar II: 49-50

14-R£m¢, Mathnav¢, daftar I: 3445

15-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-F¡§ir 35: 28

16-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-Isr¡’ 17: 107-109

17-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-Muj¡dila 58: 11

18-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-°ajj 22: 46

19-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-A‘r¡f 7: 179

20-Qur’¡n, S£rat Y£nus 10: 100

21-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-Mulk 67: 10

22-R£m¢, Mathnav¢, daftar I: 3446-3461

23-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-A‘r¡f 7: 175-176

24-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-M¡’ida 5: 112-115

25-Qur’¡n, S£rat al-°ijr 29: 15 and S£rat ¯¡d 72: 38.

26-That is, a¦¡d¢th or reports from the Prophet and the Sh¢‘ite Im¡ms.