Studies in Islamic Mysticism: Appendices: Appendix I. Jílí's <i>‘Ayniyya</i>

Studies in Islamic Mysticism, by Reynold A. Nicholson, [1921], at sacred-texts.com

APPENDIX I

JÍLÍ'S ‘AYNIYYA

Mention has been made (p. 99, note 2 supra) of Jílí's ode entitled al-Nawádiru ’l-‘ ayniyya fi ’l-bawádiri ’l-ghaybiyya. In the Insánu ’l-Kámil he cites 36 of its 534 verses (I. 30, 3; 39, 6 fr. foot; 52, 17; 66, 19; and 76, 15) and describes it as a magnificent and unique composition, too sublime to be fully understood. It is, however, little more than a versified summary of matter set forth in the Insánu ’l-Kámil, though in some instances the author expresses himself with a freedom and boldness which would hardly be tolerated in a prose treatise. As a poem, apart from its ungraceful style, it suffers from expounding a theory of mystical philosophy and cannot bear comparison with Ibnu ’l-Fáriḍ's Tá’iyya—the poetry of pure mysticism. The extracts given below have been copied from a manuscript in the British Museum (Or. 3684; Rieu's Suppl. to the Catalogue of Arabic MSS. No. 245) containing the text together with a commentary by ‘Abdu ’l-Ghaní al-Nábulusí.

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1 (f. 130 b)

v. ٢. Instead of "there is no god but Allah" the poet says, "there is nothing but Absolute Beauty (jamál) and phenomenal beauty (ḥusn)," these being the inward and outward aspects of the Beloved.

p. 144

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2 (f. 139 b)

vv. ٧–٦. The individualisations of the Divine Essence are named "the creatures of God," but in reality they are no other than the Essence itself.

v. ١١. K (1. 76, 16): .

v. ١٣. The MS. and K read .

p. 145

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3 (f. 146 b)

v. ١٦. The MS. reads for .

v. ٢٠. The rhyme in this poem is muqayyad. Even Jílí could not have written here, or , (4, v. ٢٢). He neglects the rule that in this form of Ṭawíl the third foot of the second hemistich should be ̆ ̄ ̆ (not ̆ ̄ ̄).

p. 146

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4 (f. 156 a)

v. ١, variant .

v. ٦. MS. . Cf. p. 123 supra.

v. ٨ foll. The terms "ascent" and "descent" are improperly applied to the spirit, which has its being in God ( in v. ١. means ). In order to distinguish it from God, we say that it is particularised and individualised, i.e. created; and we give the name of "spirit" to this individualisation, by means of which God displays Himself as in a mirror.