Tadhkirah — Page 86
86 welfare to the utmost degree which cannot be exceeded. Such a person in this manner combines within himself two opposites. He is turned completely towards God and is also completely turned towards God’s creatures. In this way, he becomes a chord between two bows—that of Divinity and that of humanity—having a perfect relationship with both…. Anyone who arrives at this station is turned towards and is pulled in two directions at the same time; one towards God Who is Eternal and the other towards God’s creatures who have been brought into being by Him. The Eternal and the created thus make a circle, the upper side of which is the Absolute and the lower half of which is the possible. In the middle of that circle, the perfect man through his ascent and descent establishes a strong union like a single chord between two bows. That is to say, he becomes a conductor between the Creator and His creatures. First he is invested with the special mantle of ascent, that is, nearness to God and he ascends to the highest pinnacle of that nearness. Then he is brought towards God’s creatures. His ascent and descent are represented in the shape of two bows and the spirit of the perfect man who connects those two becomes the chord between the two bows. The word ‘ q a b ’ is used in the Arabic idiom for the string of a bow. Thus the literal meaning of the verse would be that he approached God and then descended towards mankind and through this ascent and descent became a single chord between two bows. As his facing towards mankind results from [immersing himself in] the holy fountain of divine attributes, his attention towards mankind is the obverse of his facing towards God. In other words, as the Divine Master out of His compassion leans so much towards His creatures, it is as if He is quite close to them. It follows that