Some of the philosophers use the terms “effusion” and “manifestation” identically and mean “emanation” by both. That is, according to them—God forbid such an assertion!—existence has emanated from God, and what is meant by “effusion” or “manifestation” is that emanation.

Others among them rightly attribute effusion to the Divine Will and Decree, but place several intermediaries of creative effect between God’s initial origination of things and events and their coming into existence.

Still others restrict themselves to the external existence of things and events, and conclude that—God forbid such a conclusion!—the aforementioned Divine effusions occur naturally and necessarily. That is, according to them, God naturally and indispensably originates things and events. Thus, they ignore the absolute freedom of the Divine Will in doing or not doing something.

Others conceive of the Divine Being only as the First Cause, without personal existence, and claim that everything and event emanates from this Being in a certain order.

Still others attribute the initial effusion or, in their terminology, emanation, to an Intellect, which they call the First Intellect, and they talk about a trinity: (1) the Intellect itself, (2) the Intellect’s thought of an initial cause, (3) a second Intellect’s emanation from this thought.

Yet others think of many Intellects (the Ten Intellects), from the first one to the supposed spirits of realms or spheres of existence, and thereafter to the Active Intellect. They also insert a Soul among those Intellects.

All such assertions by philosophers imply a random guessing at the Unseen, and they are impossible to reconcile with the essence of the Religion. Furthermore, they are of no practical use for true or sound knowledge and faith, knowledge of God, or spiritual pleasures.

Even though some Muslim thinkers have, now and then, busied themselves with such matters, neither these philosophies nor similar trends of thought have made any contribution to Sufi life or experience, which is another way of expressing the Islamic life of the heart and spirit. More than that, they have muddied some simple minds, damaged the spirit of some principles of faith, and caused several trends of falsehood to emerge.

We also come across some Sufi guides who are reported to have written or talked about emanations from God and His self manifestation as a visible Being. I think that either such contorted ideas have been inserted into their works by others, or they themselves have approached the matter from a different viewpoint in relation to the Divine Oneness and Will and have lapsed into seeing such approaches as harmless. For neither the Qur’an nor the Sunna contain such considerations, nor did the scholars of the earliest times make any mention of them. For this reason, such philosophical approaches to creation can only represent some contaminated information that has found its way into our religious heritage from the legacies of earlier traditions.

As Bediuzzaman Said Nursi points out, the false doctrine of “only one entity emanates from one entity” lies in the essence of such trends of thought. They regard the All-Independent, absolutely Powerful Lord of the worlds to be in need of some powerless means or intermediaries, and present material or immaterial causes, which are in fact veils before the acts of His Lordship, as if His partners. To explain further, these approaches accept the existence of an Intellect besides God, an Intellect which emanated from Him, and they consider God to be inactive—God forbid such conceptions!—ascribing His dominion over all parts and dimensions of existence and all His acts to different means and causes. This is impossible for any believer in God to accept.

As the explanations of the Qur’an and the Sunna concerning creation are so clear as to cause no misunderstandings, so too are the views and conclusions of true Muslim thinkers and scholars regarding this matter so obvious that they make no way for such misconceptions. According to the Qur’anic way of thinking, or the Islamic viewpoint, whatever exists—with all its punctuation, letters, words, sentences, paragraphs, and parts—has been created by the All-Sublime Creator, and receives from Him whatever it needs to subsist; and all that exists is under the control, direction and disposal of His Will and Power at every second of its life, without excluding the partial, free will of conscious, responsible beings. The creation and direction of all the visible and invisible realms of existence belong to God, Who is the sole Source of all gifts and blessings that reach every existent thing and being. With the exception of some misunderstandings that arise from certain ambiguous expressions, all the explanations concerning this matter agree upon this cardinal truth. Sound minds have thought so, sound senses have received the same sensations, and the order, harmony, and instances of wisdom in existence have always expressed it.

Everyone who is able to observe carefully will feel and see that everything—from the multicolored faces of flowers, which send smiles to passers-by, to the swaying of trees in the manner of brides, from the frightening roars of thunderbolts to the delicate, penetrating songs of birds and insects echoing in our souls, from light, heat, gravity, electricity, and chemical processes to biological activities, from humans’ observable potential and abilities to their feelings and conscious, spiritual activities—all indicate and bear witness to the Existence of God and His absolute dominion over all things and events. Everyone will feel and see this truth and quiver in awe.

If humans can evaluate the sounds and scenes which come to their ears and touch their eyes by passing through the sensitive filters of the conscience—the sounds and scenes from the terrifying roars of the seas to the enchanting howls of the forests, from the contemplative silence of bays and coves to the awe-inspiring stature of mountains, from the flirtatious gestures of multicolored flowers to the loving kindness of birds and insects, from the world that is a book to study, an exhibition to watch, a palace to visit, and a field to sow and harvest, to humans, who are honored with abilities, to numerous subtle purposes for and instances of wisdom in the existence of all these things—then they will be able to feel and understand that all these have originated from the Sacred and Most Sacred Source of effusion through the Knowledge and Will of God, and go into raptures at the knowledge of the love of God and yearn for Him and for the spiritual pleasures that invade their spirits.

In short, whether spiritual or material, animate or inanimate, large or small, every existent thing or being has come into existence through an effusion from God and continues to exist through constant manifestations that originate in Him, thus pursuing a fixed goal. Coming into existence from non-existence depends on a certain effusion and manifestation, and taking care of everything or being that has been sent into existence is dependent upon another, different effusion and manifestation. Furthermore, the opening of ways to belief, knowledge of God, and love by means of the Prophets is the result of another gift of effusion—while it is yet another gift of effusion that the same truths brought by the Prophets are presented by saints, verifying, saintly scholars, and true guides to the level of comprehension of every age according to changing time and conditions. It is also another, particular effusive gift that all the means and possibilities down to the slightest ones are used to form a pool of mysteries and enable everyone to benefit from them.

The Creator has boundless gifts that come in effusion,

And in every effusion is a different manifestation.

Whatever we see is a mystery throughout,

Every mystery is clearer than the other for those who are aware of it.

Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Your Presence and arrange for us in our affairs what is right and good!  Our Lord! Grant us a way out and salvation in our affairs!  Bestow your blessings and peace on our master, Muhammad, and on his Family, and Companions, all of them!

Those who “rely on God, embrace the struggle, and yield to wisdom” will eventually be victorious. Victory will come to them sooner or later, in this world or the next. Yet, humankind is, by nature, impatient, and people wish that all good things they yearn for should be fulfilled at once and all the bounties promised should be delivered without delay. When this does not happen, they mostly end up in hopelessness and pessimism. If they do not have strong faith, they tend to prioritize their own will over divine will and let themselves into thoughts and feelings that would hardly please God.

It is our heartfelt prayer that God Almighty’s glorified blessings and divine favors be constantly poured down on believers. May God support them with divine assistance at all times and may He never leave them unattended or alone. Such thoughts result from a believer relying on God and expecting assistance and beneficence from Him; this is perfectly understandable. But we should take divine will as basis in everything we do and keep it before and above our wishes and desires all the time. Relying on divine will in all our thoughts and actions is a sign of being pleased with God as our Lord.

It is our deep-felt yearning to see believers rejoice after centuries of mourning and enjoy divine mercy. How much we wish their misery ends, that they pull themselves together! That the serene periods of the past lived once again—perhaps not in its entirety, but at least in its partial shadow. How much we wish that the ultimate truth, justice, and freedom would rule over the world once more.

These are what we dream to realize; we keep ourselves busy to attain them on the one hand, while praying to God for them on the other.

Still, there may be cases where our carnal souls might slip selfish things into these wishes; wishes that are by all means innocent, justified, and proper. Even when we ask God to pour down His favors on believers, we may be attributing a share of it to our egos. Carnal or satanic drives may be found even in the deeds we believe we have performed in the name of God. We can hardly be sure about their evil schemes or ruses. How can we be sure, considering even a noble prophet like Joseph, peace be upon him, said, “I do not claim myself free of error, for assuredly the human soul always commands evil” (Qur’an 12:53). He is saying that we should not trust our carnal souls. Whoever feels secure with his evil-commanding soul will be deprived of his security.

This does not mean that we should refrain from pursuing our own will in the name of believers and humanity. Of course, everyone wishes that believers should be able to eliminate the problems that have been rending their hearts for many centuries. It is every believer’s desire to see the sun dawn on the world of the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the deported. They ardently beg God to this end. Believers ask only from Him, relying on the sheer expanse of God’s mercy and the vastness of His grace. They sincerely believe that their prayers will be answered, and springtime will follow winter. Still, they never forget that divine will is essential and never fail to pay due respect to His manifestations and disposals.

In particular, those who have devoted themselves to the cause of promoting faith should take divine will as basis and stay on this course for the entirety of their life. The primary source where we can learn about divine will is the divine revelation, followed by the Prophetic tradition. No task is more crucial for them than to understand, make sense of, implement, and communicate to others this divine message. As mentioned in a noble saying of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, the transient qualities of the world are not even worth a wing of a mosquito. What value can be attributed to the world when weighed against God’s good pleasure and gratification, seeing Him and attaining the eternal happiness He promised? They continually pray, “My God, please fill our hearts with the love and ardor of meeting You, Your Beloved Prophet, and the people you love, and help us reach contentment.” In my opinion, the people who are determined to rebuild monuments of their spirits in this world should nurture no other goal.

Nevertheless, those who adore this world may be unaware of your true intentions, and wrongly assume that you are after worldly desires just as they would do. “Do they have eyes on ruling the country? Are they after fame? Are they after a luxurious life in palaces?” they may ask. Bear with, and excuse, them for such misguided assessments and ignorance. Even, pray to God for their guidance to the truth, and leave to God those who are not capable of guidance. Do not occupy yourselves with them. What matters is that those who shoulder the efforts to glorify the Word of God should continue to walk on their own path without the slightest deviation and take divine will as basis in all their errands. Those whose abilities and capabilities have not been dulled completely may wobble around, try to walk on narrow pathways, or crawl along hilly lands in fits and starts for some time, before eventually returning to the straight path delineated by the Prophet, the Master of All of the Blessed.

In the language of Sufism, farq (distinguishing) has been interpreted as making a clear distinction between unity and multiplicity. To give a longer and more explicit definition, distinguishing means the discernment of the created, despite having perfect knowledge of the Creator, and despite being among people at the same time as being in God’s company. Absorption is marked with knowledge and love of God the Almighty and spiritual pleasures, while it is a distinctive sign of distinguishing that an initiate who has it tries to lead others to the same horizon of knowledge and love of God and spiritual pleasures. For this reason, it has been said that one who does not have distinguishing is imperfect in servanthood to God, and one who does not feel absorption lacks in perfect knowledge of God. This is why one should have both distinguishing and absorption, each of which has a significance of its own. As mentioned before, in the account of absorption, You alone do we worship (1:5) is said to indicate distinguishing, and You alone do we ask for help (1:5) absorption.

Absorption is a subjective state of pleasure, while distinguishing is objective and occurs totally based on the Shari‘a. In absorption, one is under a greater influence from one’s spiritual state and inner depth than from one’s reason and logic, but in distinguishing, reasoning according to the Shari‘a is essential. One can pass into the state of absorption from the state of distinguishing. However, to turn back to the latter from the former means becoming distinguished. Those who remain in absorption are immersed in spiritual pleasures according to the capacity of their spirits and know nothing else. Isa Mahwi expresses this as follows:

One who exists in his non-existence
does not know non-existence while he exists;
Strangers to this state are unaware of the pleasure
in communion with the Beloved.

If one remains in the rank of absorption and is unable to turn back to distinguishing, this means that one has not been able to perceive well what Prophethood is. Ascending is progress, but descending among people after having completed ascension is perfection. An initiate has individual pleasure in absorption and can be an individual mirror to the Divine truths, but distinguishing after absorption denotes a determined attitude, pleasure shared with others and it denotes serving as a comprehensive mirror. Those who have attained such a station are with God and with people; and they discern Him in His manifestations in everything, feel unity in multiplicity, and look at multiplicity from and through unity.

Concerning the relation between distinguishing and absorption, we should also point out the “differentiation in absorption.” This means that heroes of spiritual state and pleasures can discern and observe the All-Holy One Who manifests Himself differently in different mirrors. As for the differences among the mirrors—things or beings and events that receive and reflect God’s manifestations—these are caused by the varying capacities of the mirrors to receive the manifestations.

Distinguishing after absorption is a more sound and perfect state than the former one—distinguishing before absorption. It is the state in which travelers to God cut their heart-felt relations with all else save the Single, Unique One and completely turn to Him to be annihilated in Him. Like annihilation in God and subsistence by God, those who have attained this rank do not discern the world and the things in it, although these exist before their eyes. They live in immersion, with observations made with their insight into the Divine Attributes and Essential Qualities in all things and events, and are lost in the manifestations of unity in the mirrors of multiplicity. Like the stars, which, although they are always there, become invisible when the sun rises—we should set forth for God the most sublime of examples—the heroes of this rank cannot see anything else other than Him from their observatory in the atmosphere of the manifestations of the Essential Qualities and Attributes of the Holy Existence Who is manifest enough to be recognized before all else.

From another perspective, an initiate in absorption is freed from corporeality and the animal dimension of his or her being, or dies with respect to his or her carnal ego, while in distinguishing he or she rises to the level of life that is lived at the level of spirit and heart and gains a new existence with an ego refined or restored by the All-Merciful. In this rank, he or she confesses, “I have lost my carnal ego and attained a new ego from the All-Merciful,” and always expresses the fact that “There is no agent save God,” without excluding the part of their free will in their acts. Being aware of the realities of the Existence and Knowledge that are contained in the degree of certainty based on experience, he or she is enraptured with the observation of the dominion of the All-Living, Self-Subsisting One over everything.

We should point out that, despite all considerations of annihilation and ecstasy, distinction is essential to distinguishing. Heroes of distinguishing are alert at every step of their journey to the fact that, though it is the Creator of causes alone Who creates both humanity and their deeds, they have free will, even though it consists of a relative inclination. They remain mindful that they have been given free will so that they are responsible and accountable for their sins and errors.

With respect to distinguishing, some people have gone to extremes and become mired in deviations. According to these people—may God protect us from believing in such a thing—every person is the creator of his or her own deeds, and human free will has an absolute effect on human actions. Some others hold exactly the opposite view and assert that human free will can play no part in human actions at all in the face of the absolute Divine Will. They suppose that human beings are like dried leaves blown around by winds in the face of an overwhelming, all-compelling will. Those who have adopted the Straight Way, and who have been favored with true perception of the mystery of the Divine Will in Its relation with human free will, have admitted that everything occurs by God’s Will and Power without human free will being excluded. God takes human inclinations or free choice into consideration when determining and creating the actions of humans. Such a belief supports with prayers their inclinations to do good, while also helping them to struggle against their inclinations to do evil by asking God for forgiveness.

The first of the three groups mentioned generally consist of naturalists, materialists and some rationalists who attribute every thing and every event to “natural” causes. They do not admit that anything else exists except what they can see with their eyes and hear with their ears.

Overpowered by the spiritual state in which they find themselves and the pleasures they feel, the second group negate free will and display fatalism, making out that people are like senseless objects.

As for the third group, in addition to seeing God’s Wisdom and authority, creativity and disposal in everything, in their consciousness that stems from their belief, and with their conscious perception, they admit that they have been endowed with a free will, which in reality consists in an inclination. So, without ever confusing the parts of the Divine Will and their own choices with each other in their acts, they are aware of what is meant when they say “I have done it.” In whatever kind or degree of pleasure and immersion they find themselves, they never lose their conviction of this fact.

Our Lord, do not let our hearts swerve after You have guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Your Presence. Surely You, only You, are the (Munificent) Bestower. And bestow blessings and peace on our master Muhammad, the master of those who ever turn to God in contrition, and on his Family and Companions, the noble, honorable and godly ones.