The Mantle of Divine Majesty

6 Oct

The holy Prophet (s) quotes God’s as saying: “Majesty is My mantle (ridaʾ), and pride is My lower garment (izar). Whoever contends with Me over one of these, I shall cast him into the Fire.”

A mantle conceals the upper part, whereas a garment conceals the lower part. The higher part of the divine mantle is an allusion to Lordship (rububiyya). This mantle of Lordship comprises two sides: the outer side is the aspect of Lordship, and inner side is the pre-cosmic reality of the Cloud (al-ʿamaʾ). This Cloud, or the inner side of the mantle, is where “our Lord was before the creation of the heavens and the earth” according to the Prophetic tradition.

Iblis drew nearer to the veil of divine majesty through his pious devotions, and he beheld the outer face of the mantle of Lordship. This external face of the mantle is a mirror that reflects the true nature of the self within the soul. The divine names that disclose themselves upon the outer face of the mantle are subsumed under the divine Lordship. Having drawn near to the mantle of divine majesty, Iblis swore by it and proclaimed: “Then, by ‘Thy majesty’, I shall cause them to err all together save Thy sincere servants among them.” (Q sad 38:82-83).

Iblis’ true self was reflected in the mirror of the mantle, and he did not wait patiently for God to allow him into its stronghold. Had he done so, he would have attained an exalted status through God, not through his illusory sense of self. But Iblis presumed that his own spiritual advancement, which is symbolized by the rising nature of smoky fire, is better than the lower Adamic clay that finds repose on the earth. Thus he cried out: “I am better than him [Adam]. Thou hast created me from fire, while Thou hast created him from clay.” (Q Aʿraf 7:12). Iblis affirmed his sense of superiority. He deemed the fall of Adam to be a loss of knowledge of the divine names. He did not know that the greatest nonmanifest names of God disclose themselves at the site of servanthood through the Kaf of Ihsan on the surface of this earth.

So beware, dear wayfarer, of your own sense of self and spiritual accomplishment. Beware of imagining yourself to be better than the Adam of your age, and of regarding the earthly nature of your intermediary with disdain. The sails of your lower self are still targets for the arrows of divine majesty. It behooves you to halt at the shores of this ocean and to become absent from your lower self. Do not dare to cross this ocean, for even your thoughts are perilous without divine permission. Only embark upon this ocean if you are clinging to the shield of love that protects you from the arrows of divine majesty. Otherwise, your journey’s end will be rejection and misery.

— Sh. Mohamed Faouzi al-Karkari - Kaf al-astar (with some modification)

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