Union (jam) and Separation (tafriqat)
God has united all humankind in His call, as He says, “And God calls to the abode of peace”; then he separated them in respect of Divine guidance, and said, “and guides whom He willeth into the right way” (Qur’an, 10:26)
Accordingly, the real mystery of union is the knowledge and Will of God, while separation is the manifestation of what He commands and forbids: e.g., He commanded Abraham to behead Ishmael but willed that he should not do so, and He commanded Iblis to worship Adam but willed the contrary, and He commanded Adam not to eat the corn, but willed that he should eat it; and so forth.
Union is that which He unites by His attributes, and separation is that which He separates by His acts. All this involves cessation of human volition and affirmation of the Divine Will to exclude all personal initiative.
Union is an attribute of God in which Man does not cooperate, because God has no rival in Godhead.
Union can only be referred to as his substance and attributes. God has eternal attributes that are peculiar to Him and subsist through Him; He and his attributes are not two, for His Unity does not accept difference and number.
Union is knowledge of Divine Unity, and separation is knowledge of Divine ordinances; hence, theology in union and jurisprudence is separation. Union is that on which theologians (ahl al-ilm) are agreed, and separation is that on which they differ.”
When speaking of “separation,” Mystics attach to it the meaning of “human actions,” e.g., self-mortification. By “union,” they signify “Divine Gifts,” e.g., contemplation.
Man’s Glory
It is Man’s glory that while his actions exist and mortification is possible, he should escape by God’s goodness from the imperfection of his actions and should find them to be absorbed in the bounties of God so that he depends entirely on God and commits all his attributes to His charge and refers all his actions to Him and none to Himself.
Gabriel told Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) that God has said, “My servant constantly seeks access to me through works of supererogation until I love him; and when I love him, I am his ear and his eye and his hand and his heart and his tongue: through Me, he hears and sees and speaks and grasps.”
Mansur Hallaj has said
“ Thy will be done, O my Lord and Master! Thy will be done, O my purpose and meaning! O essence of my being, O goal of my desire, O my speech and my hints and my gestures! O all of my all, O my hearing and my sight, O my whole and my element and my particles!”
Remembrance is the Key
His own “acquisition” (kasb) is annihilated to have no part in his remembrance, and My remembrance overpowers his remembrance. In remembering Me, he is enraptured by the remembrance (dhikr) of Me, and the relationship of humanity (adamiyyat) is entirely removed from his remembrance: Then my remembrance is his remembrance. In his rapture, he may exclaim like Abu Yazid Bastami,
“Glory to me! How great is my majesty.”
In remembering Me, he is enraptured by the remembrance (dhikr) of Me, and His own “acquisition” (kasb) is annihilated to have no part in his remembrance, and My remembrance overpowers his remembrance. The relationship of humanity (adamiyyat) is entirely removed from his remembrance: Then my remembrance is his remembrance. In his rapture, he may exclaim like Abu Yazid Bastami,
“I have realized that which is within me, and my tongue hath conversed with Thee in secret,
And we are united in one respect, but we are separated in another. Although awe has hidden Thee from the glances of mine eye, Ecstasy has made Thee near to my inmost parts.”
Union is of Two Kinds
1. Sound union is what God produces in a man when he is in a state of rapture and ecstasy, and when God causes him to receive and fulfill His commandments and mortify himself.
2. Broken union is this that a man’s judgment becomes distraught and bewildered so that it is like the judgment of a lunatic: then he is either excused from performing his religious obligations or rewarded (mashkur) for performing them, and the state of him who is rewarded is sounder than the state of him, who is excused.
He has called the state of being inwardly united “union” and the secret conversation of tongue he calls “separation.”
Who is a Sufi?
Abul Hassan Ali ibn Jafar Al-Kharqani, the great Naqshbandi Master, may Allah sanctify his soul & bless his secret, has said:
“The Sufi is not the one who is always carrying the prayer rug, nor the one who is wearing patched clothes, nor the one who keeps certain customs and appearances; but the Sufi is the one to whom everyone’s focus is drawn, although he is hiding himself.”
Further Links
Learn more about Proximity and distance at: P | A | Rustom: Ibn ‘Arabī on Proximity and Distance – Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society
