the Lectures of Nekounam, may his sanctity prevail (Session 578)
Within the mystical path, the station of Muyanah stands as a summit, summoning the spiritual wayfarer towards the immediate unveiling of the Divine Reality. This station, elucidated as one of the exalted ranks in the chapter of al-aqiq within the noble treatise Manzil al-Sirn, attains its zenith in its third degree, namely Muyanat Ayn al-R. This degree constitutes a pure and manifest visionary experience whereby the wayfarer beholds the truth directly through the luminous reality of their own soul, unmediated by any veil or doubt.
Muyanat Ayn al-R is the third tier among the degrees of witnessing (Muyanah), wherein the seeker observes the Divine Truth with the luminous reality of their soul in a purely manifest manner. As articulated in the lecture: Muyanat Ayn al-R is that which is witnessed as a purely manifest vision.
This unveiling is utterly free from any form of doubt or veil, and the soul, owing to its divine essenceoriginating from the Light of the Truthperceives the Truth directly. This station represents the pinnacle of mystical witnessing, liberating the wayfarer from the bonds of otherness and the limitations imposed by the ego.
Muyanat Ayn al-R resembles the opening of the inner eye, inviting the seeker to contemplate the boundless light of the Truth, as though the soul gazes upon the beauty of the Beloved unfiltered through the mirror of its own existence.
Key Point: Muyanat Ayn al-R is the pure, manifest vision of the Divine Truth through the luminous reality of the soul, entirely free from doubt and veiling, guiding the seeker towards union with the Truth.
The lecture delineates three levels of witnessing: Muyanat al-Abr (vision with the physical eyes), Muyanat Ayn al-Qalb (vision with the eye of the heart), and Muyanat Ayn al-R (vision with the eye of the soul). However, the first, Muyanat al-Abr, which pertains to the vision of the Divine Truth through the corporeal eye and belongs to the encounter with God (liq Allh), is not fully expounded in the primary text. As the lecture remarks: Regarding vision by the eyes, neither the original text nor the commentator elaborated.
This critique underscores that Muyanat al-Abr, by virtue of its profound nature, ought to have been designated the ultimate stage, yet mistakenly appears as the preliminary stage in the primary manuscript, without adequate exposition.
Muyanat al-Abr, associated with the Divine encounter, is emphatically affirmed in the Qurn by over twenty verses, among which is: And for he who fears the standing before his Lord are two gardens (al-Ramn 55:46, trans. ).
This vision is neither logically impossible nor religiously prohibited, but rather epitomises the highest degree of divine nearness. The lecture states: We saw what the creatures heard.
The manifest vision in Muyanat Ayn al-R is attainable solely through Divine love. The lecture emphasises: The ocular vision cannot occur except by love; unless one becomes a lover, there is no manifest vision.
Love is akin to a flame that purges the seekers heart of egoistic entanglements, guiding them towards an intimate, whispered discourse with the true Beloved. This whisper, described as a mystical maghzalah (flirtation), is accompanied by subtle spiritual intimations and affectionate companionship, as though the lover engages in a heartfelt dialogue with the Beloved in the seclusion of the soul.
Love functions as the key that unlocks the shackles of otherness, beckoning the seeker to behold the unveiled beauty of the Divine. Without such love, the manifest witnessing is unattainable, for only the lover surrenders the heart wholly and transcends the self.
Key Point: Divine love constitutes the indispensable condition for manifest vision in Muyanat Ayn al-R, guiding the seeker to an intimate whispering with the Truth and liberation from otherness.
Love of the Truth emancipates the seeker from reliance upon justice, admonition, or expectation of recompense. The lecture, referencing the verse If you love God, then follow me (l Imrn 3:31, trans. ),
remarks: Obeying means loving me, because one does not oppose someone he loves.
The saints, by virtue of their profound love, are protected from sinnot through weakness, but through an inner strength. This love frees them from desire for Paradise or fear of Hell.
This emancipation resembles the flight of the spirit, liberating the seeker from the fetters of the ego and directing the heart solely towards the true Beloved, whose pulse alone stirs the lovers heart.
The lecture conveys the pinnacle of loving courage through the words of Al ibn Ab lib (peace be upon him):
I fear not Your Fire, nor desire Your Paradise... I found You worthy of worship, so I worshipped You.
This statement epitomises the annihilation of ego in Divine love, where worship is not performed out of fear of Hell or hope for Paradise, but solely in recognition of the Divines intrinsic worthiness. This courage is likened to an arrow that pierces the lovers heart, directed exclusively towards the Beloved without distraction.
The lecture elucidates: I found You worthy of worship, meaning You are such that I worship You, not because I desire it.
Key Point: The lovers courage in worship, devoid of fear or desire, performed solely for the Divines worthiness, manifests the highest degree of ego-annihilation.
Arw are indeed purified from the defilement of attachment, veils, and the gaze towards the other.This purification cleanses the souls from the impurity of perceiving the other, so that their gaze is directed solely upon the Truth. The purification of souls resembles the cleansing of the mirror of the heart, whereby every trace of otherness and obscurity is eradicated, allowing the light of the Truth to reflect unimpeded and flawless. The friends of God, due to this purification, maintained a gaze untainted by anything other than the Truth itself.
And they were ennobled by eternal permanence to harmonise with the splendour of the Presence.This permanence is identified with the wajh Allh (Face of God) alluded to in the verse: Kullu man alayh fn * wa yabq wajh rabbika dh al-jalli wa al-ikrm (Ar-Ramn 55:2627; transl. : Everyone upon it [the earth] will perish * And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honour). This permanence corresponds to the eternal life of the soul in the proximity of the Truth, inviting the seeker to engage in a loving dialogue with the true Beloved, as if the soul, within the sanctuary of presence, sits in intimate conversation with the Truth.
Key Point: The purification of souls and their eternal permanence prepare the soul for an amorous communion with the manifestations of the Presence of the Truth, signalling the attainment of the wajh Allh.
The eye of the soul is the Light of the Truth; thus the soul beholds the Truth by the Light of the Truth in an unmediated vision, neither tainted by doubt nor veiled by obscurity.This vision is entirely immediate, for the soul, as the wajh Allh, is united with the reality of the Truth. This vision resembles the encounter of mirror with mirror, wherein the Light of the Truth is reflected in the soul of the seeker, inviting them to an unveiled contemplation of the Beloveds beauty.
And therein is witnessed the dignity, that is, the splendour of the Oneness and its greatness, for dignity is indeed oneness.Dignity is the truth of the singularity of the Truth, impervious to perception of otherness, effacing any trace of multiplicity. This observation reveals the radiance of oneness, as if the seeker is immersed in the ocean of tawd, seeing nothing but the Truth. Dignity functions as a fortress wherein the Truth is safeguarded from the grasp of anything other, and by witnessing it, the seeker attains unity with the Truth.
Key Point: The vision of the Truth by the Light of the Truth is a direct, unmediated witnessing that guides the soul to perceive the dignity and unity of the Truth, wholly free from otherness.
And munght is the amorous discourse by melodies and the contemplation by signs between the lover and the Beloved.This communion is the fruit of an innate inclination and genuine love between the manifestation (the soul) and the origin (the Truth), emanating from the intrinsic attraction between them. This communion resembles a lovers dance of the soul in the presence of the Beloved, where whispered intimations and heartful signals draw the heart toward the Truth.
And it draws hearts toward annihilation in the Presence.This annihilation is the effacement of otherness and the attainment of unity with the Truth, a consequence of the attraction of divine love. Souls, drawn by this attraction, are pulled toward the proximity of the Presence of the Truth and abide therein. This attraction functions like a magnet, pulling the hearts of lovers toward the true Beloved, as if every particle of the seekers being beats in pursuit of unity with the Truth.
Key Point: Amorous communion and the attraction of hearts toward annihilation in the Truth are the results of the intrinsic pull of love, leading the soul to unity with the Truth.
