BEŞİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL · Dördüncü Madde
Fourth Article
The resemblance of the human body to time and space—that is, to the moon, a year, and a country—and how the soul resembles a sultan within it, and its likeness.
O esteemed one! Know that the people of gnosis have said: The similarity between the human body and the moon and the year is this: Just as there are four seasons in a year, so too there are four humors (aḥlāt-i arbāʿa) in the body. Of these, phlegm is like springtime, wet and cold. Bile is like summertime, hot and dry. Blood is like autumn, warm and moist. Black bile (sevdâ) is like winter, cold and moist.
Another similarity is that childhood years resemble springtime, youthful years resemble summertime, maturity resembles autumn, and old age resembles winter.
Another similarity is that just as there are twelve months in a year, so too there are twelve openings (manāfiz) in the body. Just as there are seven days in a week, so too there are seven of the organs mentioned previously. Just as there are three hundred sixty-six days in a year, so too there are that many arteries in the body.
The resemblance of the body to a country is this: A country has a sovereign (pādisāh). Then it has a vizier, a chief of security, and an official who collects taxes from non-Muslims (cizye-dār). The sovereign also has a grand council, a realm, a horse, subjects, a treasurer, night watchmen, ambassadors, stable boys for his horse, spies, and scholars (ḥukemāʾ). There are artisans within the city. For example, there is an architect, an engineer, a carpenter, a miller, a baker, a physician, a butcher, a goldsmith, and a scavenger—and so on. Just as all of these exist in the human body, so too the human soul is the sovereign of this world. Rational intellect is the grand vizier. The force of anger is the chief of security. The force of desire is the cizye-dār.
The place where this sovereign’s throne is established is the very center of the heart (süveydā). His realm is this open body. His mount is his animal soul (ḥayawānī nafs). His subjects are the organs of the body. His treasurer is the power of retention (māsika). His night watchmen are the two eyes. His ambassadors are the two ears. The stable boys for his horse are the two hands. His spy is the sense of smell. His scholars are the sense of taste.
There are also artisans in the body, such as: the architect is practical intellect; nature is the engineer; attraction (cāziba) is the carpenter; the teeth are the miller; the digestive power is the baker; discernment (tamyīz) is the physician; imagination (tasavvur) is the butcher; and magnification (tabarruk) is the goldsmith, which gives growth and prosperity to the city of the body and enriches it. The scavenger is the excretory system, which removes excess and filth from the city of the body and cleanses it. Like the other artisans of a country, so too are the other powers of the body. As can be understood from these explanations, the human soul is the sultan of the city of the body and the representative (ḥalīfa) of Hazrat Hayy-i Vedūd in the land of the body.
*Nazm*
Adam is the lord of the world; cut off hope from others.
The whisperings of a soft donkey drive the horse away from afar.
In the tongue, the beloved is like a friend within a cage.
He who is unaware of this state wails in separation.
Modern Turkish Translation:
The lord of the universe is man; cut off all hope from others. The whispers of a soft donkey drive the horse away from afar. The beloved in the heart goes away like a friend in a cage. He who is unaware of this laments separation.