The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 240
PREFACE-SUB-FOOTNOTE ثُمَّ انْشَأْنَهُ خَلْقًا أَخَرَا 239 This is the stage of baqā [revival], which is attained after the stage of fanā [annihilation]. At this stage, the Holy Spirit is bestowed fully and a spirit of spiritual life is breathed into the person. Similarly, these six stages are comprehended in the Word of God Almighty. First is the stage of letters which are the bearers of the Word of God and are like seeds for the Book of Allah. They do not possess any part of the intended meanings, but they do have a distant capacity to express them. The second stage is that of words, which took a pal- pable shape with that seed. They do not have a close relation with the intended meaning, but are a closer means of expressing them. The third stage is that of incomplete sentences that had not attained the status of the complete message because the Word of God had not yet manifested its countenance fully. However, these sentences had an ample portion of the intended meanings; therefore, they were like limbs for the full Word of God. Depending upon whether they are short or long, they are called āyāt [verses] and sūrahs [chapters]. The fourth stage is that of the complete, elaborate, and discriminating Word which had been revealed completely and incorporates in it all the scholarly points of wisdom, episodes and news of the past, commandments, laws and ordi- nances, limits, promises, warnings and glad tidings, rigidity as well as leniency, harshness and compassion, and verities and subtle points. The fifth stage is that of fluency and eloquence which has been bestowed upon this Word for beautification and embellishment. The sixth stage is that of the blessings, holy impact, and spirit of attraction which is present in the Holy Word and illuminates the entire Word and proves that it is a living and enlightened discourse. Similarly, these same six stages can be seen present in the writing of a wise and eloquent writer, although that writing may not reach 1. Then We developed it into another creation (Sūrah al-Mu'minun, 23:15). [Publisher]