and exalted—longed to see His holy Essence, so He created Adam, peace be upon him, from His light and made him like a mirror in which He beholds His holy Essence. I am that light, and Adam is the mirror.”

Ibn al-Fārid said in his poem al-Sulūk (The Spiritual Journey):

“When you behold yourself, observe whom you see …
Beyond dispute, in the polished mirror.
Is it another who appears there, or are you looking …
At yourself within it as the rays reflect?”

He related:

Ibn Isrā’īl said: “Commands are of two kinds: a command conveyed through an intermediary and a command without an intermediary. The command conveyed through intermediaries is rejected by whomever Allah wills and accepted by whomever Allah wills. The command without an intermediary cannot be rejected. This is His statement, exalted is He: ‘Our word to a thing, when We intend it, is only that We say to it, “Be,” and it is.’”

A mendicant said to him: “Allah told Adam, without an intermediary, ‘Do not approach the tree’—yet he approached it and ate.”

He replied: “You are right. That is because Adam is a perfect man. Hence our shaykh, ‘Alī al-Harīrī, said: ‘Adam, Allah’s chosen one, affirmed divine oneness both outwardly and inwardly. His words to Adam, “Do not approach the tree,” were outward, while His command, “Eat,” was inward; so he ate. Thus it was with His words, exalted is He. Iblīs, however, affirmed divine oneness outwardly. He was commanded to prostrate to Adam, but regarded him as other and did not prostrate. So Allah changed his condition and said: “Get out of it.”’”

Someone said to my master: “My master Hasan, if Allah says to His Prophet, ‘You have no say in the matter,’ what, then, are we?”

My master replied: “It is not as you say or suppose. His words to him, ‘You have no say in the matter,’ are themselves an affirmation concerning the Prophet—may Allah bless