I have named this treatise THE SOUND OF GABRIEL'S

TreatiseII WING.
THE SOUND OF GABRIEL'SWING The Naration Begins
(4) During the days when I had first emergedfrom the women's
In the nameofGod,theCompassiondte,
theMerciful. chambers and someofthe restrictions ofinfants had been lifted
from me, one night as ajet-black gloom settled over the concave
ofthe cobalt sphere and a darkness that was the right hand of
(1) It is proper to glorify the Self-Subsistent presence
and no non-existence's brother spread over the lower world, I was
other. It is right to laud and magnify the Lord of Divine Might
overcome by a senseof despair resulting from the impact of a
exceedingly. Praise be to the Holy One from whose identity,
dream. Distressed,I took a candle and headedfor the men's part
proceedsthe identity ofall that can be named, and from whoJe
ofour house,and there I wandered that night until the break of
being_.comesthe being of all that will ever 6". Ho-ug" u.rd
dawn. Afterwards I had a desire to enter my father's
benedictionsupon the soul ofour Lord, the ray ofwhose ight of
hhanaqah.n
prrrity shone upon the world and whose beams of revelatiin
lit The khanaqah had two doors,one onto the city and one onto
the horizons of the orient and occident, and upon his
the field and orchard. I went and shut tightly the door to the
Companions and Helpers.
(2). For the- last few days one of those people city. After closing it I went to open the door to the field. When I
whose clarity of looked I saw ten old men of beautiful countenanceseated on a
vision has been marred by the ophthaimia of fanaticism irad
bench. I was so amazed by their magnificence and splendour
been speaking ignorant nonsense about teachers of pasl
and so staggeredby the sight oftheir throne, their beauty, their
generations in order to exalt the position of the lords
and white hair, their garments and trappings that I could not
masters of the Way., In the course of his tirades, in order to
speak.
strengthen his violent objections, he derided the technical (5) In utter amazement and total awe I put one foot in front of
terms of the moderns. Having gone on at great length, he
me and the other behind me. I said, 'Let me be bold and attain
inte{ected an anecdote about Master abu-,Ali Fur-aii,
the felicity of meeting them, comewhat may.' I tip-toed forward
was asked why the Wearers of Blue3 call certain aor.rd. -ho th" and was about to greet the old man who was on the end of the
'sound of Gabriel's wing., He replied, ,Most of the things your
bench when - I must admit in all fairness - he greeted me first
sensespercelve come from the sound of Gabriel,s wing.'And to
in a most kindly-disposed manner and gave me such a warm,
the one who had asked the question he said,,you are Jne ofthe
broad srnile that his teeth sparkled in the pupils of my eyes.
soundsof Gabriel'swing.'
Despite my perusal of his noble features, my initial dread of
This over-zealousscoffercried out in vain bigotry, 'What can
him remained as it had been.
these words mean? The only conclusion ls ttiat tt ey a.e tire
'Please, sir,' I said, 'from which direction have my lords
ravings of a madman!,
(3)- When his audacity reached such proportions, honoured us with their presence?'
I set to work The old man who was on the end ofthe bench answered me,
to bring him down a notch or two. Thiowing ihe mantle of
saying, 'We are a group of abstracted ones, come from the
reraliation over my shoulders and rolling uf the sleeves of
direction of Nakuja-abad."
forbearance, I sat back on the heels of shre-wdnessand took to
This meant nothing to me. 'In which clirne is that?' I asked.
cursing and using vulgar language. .All right,, I said, ,I am
'In the clime to which your index finger cannot point,' he said,
g^orngto set you straight on the sound of Gabriel's
wing. and I realized that this old man was very knowledgeable.
If you are a man and know anything of manliness, you"t
'If you would be so kind,' I said, 'please tell rne where you
better understand.'
spendmost of your time.'

26
 'Our job is tailoring,'he said.'We have all memorizedGod,s
Word, and we are travellers.'
'Why do the eldersseatedaboveyou keep silent?'I asked.
'Becausethe likes ofyou are unworthy to approachthem,,he
said. 'I serve as their tongue, for they will never deign to
addressthe likes ofyou.'
(6) In the courtyard I saw a basin with eleven layers. It had a
little water in it, and at the bottomofthe water w;s a bir offine
sand, around the edges of which a few animals were circlinq.
The secondlevel had many luminous buttons on it, after the
fashion of the Maghrebi turban sashes worn by the sufis,
whereas the first level had no button at all. On each of [the
remaining seven ofl the upper nine levels ofthe basin a brieht
button was fastened.With all ofthis, the basin was rounder
than a ball and had no opening. There was no crack or crevice
on the surface. The eleven levels had no colour and were s<.r
translucent that what was in their cavity was plainly visible
Although no hole could be made through the nine upper levels,
one could easily pierce through the lowest level.
(7) I asked the old man what this basin was.
'The first layer,' he said, 'whose body is greater than any of
the other levels, was arranged and put together by the old man
who is seated at the highest level. The secondwas done bv the
secondone.the third by the third, and so on down to me. These
nine comrades and companions produced the nine layers by
their own labour and handicraft. The two bottom levels, along
with the bit of water and sand, were produced by me. Since
their foundation is stronger, their handiwork cannot be rent or
pierced, but what I have made can be.,
(8)'What is the relation between these elders and vou?, I
asked.
'The elder who has his carpet in the highest place is the
master teacher and tutor of the secondelder, who sits beside
him. He has signedthe secondelder'sorder of investiture,the
secondhas signed the third's, the third rhe fourth's.and so on
down to me. The ninth elder signed my order of investiture,
gave me my mantle of office and instructed me.,
(9) 'Do you have children and property and things like that?, I
asked.
'We have never had spouses,'he said, ,but eachoneofus has a
son.Each ofus also has a mill and we have appointedour sons
28
to supervise the mills. We have never looked at the mills since
we built them, but our sons maintain them in good running
order by keeping one eye on the mill and the other on their
fathers. My mill consists of four levels, and my sons are too
numerous for even the cleverest to calculate. Every time I
acquire a few more children, I sendthem to my mill and charge
them with running the establishment for a stipulated time.
When their time is up they cometo me and never part from me
again. Other children I have acquired since go there, and so
forth. Since my mill is a dismal place and fraught with dangers
and pitfalls, none of my children who has served his time and
left there is ever inclined to return. The other elders have but
one son each,and he is responsiblefor the mill and is constantly
occupiedwith his work. Each oftheir sonsis stronger than all of
my children, and my mill and sonsare aided by their mills and
sons.'
(10)'How is your constant regeneration accomplished?'I
asked.
'My state is never altered,'hesaid,'andI haveno spouse,but
I do have an Abyssinian slave-girl. I never look at her or make a
movement, but she is placed at the centre ofthe mills and her
gaze is fixed on the mill and the turning ofthe centre-post.As
the stones revolve, the turning appears in the pupils of her
eyes. Whenever, in the course of a revolution, her gaze falls
upon me in direct opposition, a child by me comesto be in her
womb, without any movement or change occurring in me.'
'How is this oppositionofher gazeto you given form?'I asked.
'What I mean by these words is no more than a compatibility
and receptivity,' he said.
'How is it that you descendedinto this Alcnogoft,'I asked the
old man, 'since you claim never to move or change?'
'Naive child,'he said,'the sun is alwaysin its sphere.Yet, il a
blind man cannot feel or perceive the sun's attitude, his lack of
sensation doesnot mean that the sun doesnot exist or that it is
standing still in its place. If the blind man's handicap is
removed, he has no right to chide the sun for not existing in the
world prior to that or for not shining on him before, becauseit
was always constant in its motion. The change will have been
his, not the sun's. Likewise, we have always been on this bench:
the fact that you did not seeus doesnot mean that we were not
here, nor does it mean that we have changed or moved. The
29
 changehas beenin you.'
(11) 'Do you worship God?'I asked.
'No,' he said, 'our total absorption in the act of witnessing
existence (shuhnd\ leaves us no leisure for worship. If we were
to worship, it would not be by the tongue but by a limb that
knows no movement.'
(12) 'Teachme tailoring,'I said.
_ -He smiled and said,'Goodness!This cannot be done by the
likes ofyou. This knowledge is not possiblefor your species,for
our tailoring cannot be translated into act. Nonetheless. vou
can.be taught enough of the scienceof tailoring thai if your
frock or cloak needspatching you can do it., And that muci he
taught me.
(13) 'Teachme God'sWord,,I said.
'It is unlikely that you could learn much of God'sWord while
you are in this city, but I will instruct you in as much as
possible.' Quickly he took my tablet and taught me a strange
alphabet by means of which I would be ubl" to l"u.r, .iy
chapter I wanted. 'Without comprehensionofthis alphabet.' hL
said.-'noone can acquire the mysteriesof Cod'sWord as they
sholld be. Anyone who is acquainted with the workings ofthis
alphabetwill obtain eminenceand stamina.,
After that I learned the scienceof alphabetical numerology.
When I had mastered it I filled my tablet with as much of i'lie
Creator's Word as was feasible for my mind and ability. More
miraculousthings appearedto me than couldever be dorrn
in words. Whenever an unexpectedproblem aroseI presented ""t
it
to.the old man and through his expositionthe problem was
solved. Once the 'blowing of the spirit, hafth-i r;h) was being
d.rscy-ss_eda The old man implied that it was acquired througi
the Holy Spirit.
(14) A question arose on the aspect of relativity (.wajh-i
mundsabet). In answer he showed how everything that joes
into the four corners of the lower world comes about from
Gabriel's wing. I asked him to qualify this proposition. He said,
'God has several Great Words. They are luminous from the
Splendour ofhis August Face,and someare higher than others.
The first light is the Highest Word, than which there is none
greater. Its relation in light and brilliance to the other words is
like the relation ofthe sun to the stars. This is what the prophet
meant when he said, "Even if the face of the Sun were
30
uncovered,it would fall short of lthe brilliance ofl God." From
the rays ofthis word another word lcomesto be], and so on until
the perfect number is reached. These words are the
Incoherents.
(15) 'The last of these words is Gabriel, and the spirits of
human beings are from this last word, as the Prophet said in a
long narrative on human nature, "God sends an angel who
blows the spirit into it." In the Divine Word it is said:
It is he who hath madeeverythingwhich he hath createdexceeding
good; and first created man of clay and afterwardsmade his
water;andthenformedhim into
posterityofan extractofdespicable
propershape,andbreathedofhis spirit into him. (Koran,32:7-9)
Concerning Mary it is said: "We sent our spirit unto her"
(Koran, 19:17), and this is the word Gabriel. Jesus was called
"God's spirit" and also the "word":
Verily Christ Jesus,the son of Mary, is the apostleof God,and his
Word,which he conveyedinto Mary, and a spirit proceedingfrom
him. (Koran,4:171)
Since he was called both "word" and "spirit" and since mankind
is all of one species, anyone who has a spirit has a word,
although both names stand for one reality by being so closely
interconnected.
(16)'From the last Great Word there come more lesser words
than can be counted, as is alluded to in the Divine Book:
If whatevertreesare in the earth werepens,andhe shouldafter that
swell the seainto sevenseasof ink, the wordsof Godwouldnot be
exhausted.(Koran,31:27)
And:
Ifthe seawereink to write the wordsof my Lord,verily the seawould
fail beforethe wordsofmy Lord wouldfail. (Koran,18:110)
Theseare all createdfrom the rays ofthe Great Word that is the
first one of the great class, as is said in the Torah: "I created
from my light the spirits of those who long." This light is the
Holy Spirit. What is told about Sulayman Tamimi amounts to
the same thing: when someonecalled him a sorcerer,he said, "I
am not a sorcerer but rather one of God'swords."
(17) 'God has intermediate words also. The Great Words are
those that are called "those who precede,and those who govern
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 alfairs" (Koran, 79:rt-5) in the Divine Book. .,Those who
precede" are Great Words, and "those who govern affairs,, are
the angels that move the spheres, the intermediate words. ..We
range ourselves in order" (Koran, 3?:165) is an allusion to the
Great Words; "we celebrate the divine praise,, (Koran, 82:166)
ie an allusion to the intermediate words. For tlxis reason those
who "range themselves in order" always precede in the
Glorious Koran, as "those who rank themselves in ord.er and
those who drive forward and dispel',.(Koran, BT:1-2)This is too
profound to be discussed here. ..Word,, in the Koran has
another, secret meaning, as in *when the Lord tried Abraham
by certain words" (Koran, 2:124), which will be explained in
another place.'
(18) 'Tell me of Gabriel's wing,' I said.
,The
.. 'Gabriel has two wings,'he replied. right wing is pure
light, the totality of which is an abstraction of the relation
between his being and God. The left wing has traces of
darkness, like the dark spots on the surface of the moon thai
resemble peacock's feet. That is a sigrr that his being has one
side-to-wardnot-being. Ifyou look at the relation ofhis being to
God's being, it has the attribute of His being. When you look at
the realization of his essence (istihqd.q-i dhdt), it \s the
realization of non-existence and a concomitant to possible
existence Qazim-i sluayad.-brid). Theee two intrinsic meanings
stand on the level oftwo wings: the relation to God on the rigit
and the- mental positing of the realization (i,tibdr-i istihqaq, ia
the soul on the left, as God says: ,,he maketh the angelJ his
messengers, furnished with two, and three, and four pairs of
wings". {Koran,35:1) The two are mentioned first because2 is
the closest of all numbers to l, then 3, then 4. Thus, having two
wings is nobler than having three or four. The harmonics olthis
in the sciences of realities and apocalypses is more than most
can understand.
(19) 'When a ray falls from the Holy Spirit, it is the type of
word called a lesser word. Don't you see that God has said: ,,He
made the word of those who believed not to be abased, and the
word of God was exalted'? (Koran, 9:40) Even the infidels have
words because they have souls, but their words are mixed with
80und.
'From his left wing, which has a bit of darkness on it. a
shadow falls. The world of vainglory is from that, as the
Prophet said, "God created creation in darkness and then
sprinkled some of his Light on them." The words "created
creationin darkness"referto the blacknessofthe lelt wing,and
the words "then sprinkled someof his Light on them" refer to
the ray of the right wing. In the Glorious Book God says:"He
hath ordainedthe darknessand the light". (Koran, 6:l) The
darkneesconnectedto the words"hath ordained"is the world of
vainglory, and the "light ' that comesafter the darknessis the
ray of the right wing, becauseevery ray that falls into the
vaingloriousworld comesout ofhis Light.
'Then he sprinkledsomeofhis light on them,"and"unto him
ascendeth the goodwords".(Koran,35:11)This light toois from
that ray. The words "a parable representing a good word"
(Koran, 14:24)meanthat the leeserword is iuminous.If this
lesserword did not exist, how would anyonebe ableto ascendto
the presenceof God?An indication of the fact that the '\rord"
and "spirit" both have the samemeaninglies in the texts "unto
him ascendeththe goodwords"(Koran,35:11)and "the angels
ascendunto him, and the spirit'. (Koran, 70:4) Both are
retuming "unto him," i.e.,to God.
'The "soul at rest" means the same thing, as in the text
"return unto thy Inrd, O soul at rest, well pleased, well
pleasing".(Koran,89:28)
'Therefore the vainglorious rflorld of sound and shadow is
Gabriel'swing, that is, his left wing, while enlightenedsouls
are from hi8 right wing. From the right wing are the realities
that are cast into the conscousmind (kha,wd.tir6) (aein the text
"in the hearts of these hath God written faith, and he hath
strengthenedthem with his spirit" [Koran, 58:22]),the holy
proclamation (as in the text "now hast thou verified the vision;
thus do we reward the righteous"[Koran, 37:105]),and other
things. The Wrath, the Awful Cry and the events fofthe Last
Dayl are fforn the left wing.'?
(20) I asked the old man, 'What form does Gabriel's wing
have?'
'My untutored one,'he said,'don't you know that all theseare
symbols?If taken at face value, all the Incoherents produce
nothing.'
'Ie there no word in closeproximity to night and day?'I asked.
'My unenlightenedone,'hereplied,'don'tyou know that the
words ascendto God's Dresence.as He has said. "Unto him
ascendeththe goodwords"?"In God'spres€ncethere is neither
daynor night."8Inthe presence ofthe Diyine thereis no [serial]
time.'
'What is ttre city God has spokenof in the worde ,,O Lord,
bring us forth from this city. whoseinhabitantsare wicked,'?i
(Koran,4:75)
'That is the world of vainglory, which ie the dominion of the
lesserword. The lesserword too is a city unto itselfbecau€ God
hae said:
This is a part ofthe historiee ofthe citiee, which we relat€ unto thee. Of
them there are some standing, and others which are utterly
demoliehed.(Koran, 11:100)
'That which is standing is the Word, and that which is
demolished is the temple of the Word, which is perishable.
An1'thing that is untouchedby time is untouchedby place,and
what is outside of thes€ t$'o are God's Greater and Lesser
Words.'
(21) Then, as day was breaking in my father'a khanaqah, the
outer door was closedand the door to the city was opened.As
merchantsbeganto paesby, the group of old men disappeared
from beforemy eyes.In my perplexity and regret at the lossof
their companyI sighedand moaned.But it wasofno use.

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