He begins to speak with the tongue of the Real (al-Ḥaqq). For he has become one with the Real. From here, address—in the state of munājāt (intimate supplication)—passes from the second person to the first person; and—in the state of dhikr (remembrance of God)—to the third person. Yet, who is the one addressing, and who is the one addressed? In reality, both have become a single entity. Therefore, it is inconceivable here to imagine another to whom the address is directed.
Indeed, in this ḥāl (spiritual state), the disclosure (exposure) of this thing that occurs in the nafs (the lower self) is in fact forbidden. The one who discloses it begins to utter shaṭaḥ (ecstatic utterances, raving). But is it within his power not to disclose it? This is the crisis of the Sufi. The intensity of ecstasy compels him to disclose it. What is disclosed is a secret between the servant and Allah, for distinction has vanished and ittiḥād (union) has been realized.
In shaṭaḥ, the Sufi senses the presence of a sublime inspirer who inspires and makes him speak. In the state of istiġrāq (absorption), a conversation takes place between the nafs experiencing reverence and the sublime divine ḥikma (wisdom). In this state, the words on the tongue of the nafs acquire a special meaning in accordance with the reality of that moment. Sacred words are heard in the inner self of the nafs. Then, for a time, the nafs adjusts its speech to suit these words. At the threshold of union, the Sufi is caught by traces of shaṭaḥ. This invitation is an encounter (with Allah). By exchanging the period of one for that of the other, it is distributed between two lovers. In the nafs—unaware of the intentions of the Beloved—there arises a desire to speak in the first person. This is the most difficult imtihān (trial) and the final stage of its purification (taṣfiya) for the nafs.
shaṭaḥ/shaṭaḥāt 949
Abū Yazīd said: Subḥānī, mā aʿẓama shāni (Glory be to me! How great is my station!). Then he said: Ḥasbīya min nafsī ḥasbī (I am sufficient for myself, sufficient!). When ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī was asked about the meaning of Abū Yazīd’s saying, "I plunged into such an ocean that the prophets remained on its shore," he replied: If this statement truly belongs to him, it means: They stood on the shore of the ocean to help those fit to cross, to prevent those unfit from crossing, and to save those who were drowning. Indeed, the most exalted ones remain behind when others enter Paradise, so that they may intercede for them.
Shaṭaḥ: Abū Yazīd said: For you to see me is better for you than seeing your Lord a thousand times.
When it was said to Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī: All creatures are under the banner of Muḥammad, he replied: By Allah, my banner is higher than Muḥammad’s banner. My banner is of light; under it are the jinn and all humans who are prophets.
Shaṭaḥ is the word that the tongue, under the compulsion of ecstasy, translates from the ḥāl (spiritual state), and which, being close to claim, overflows from the source of ecstasy. Its possessor is compelled and protected (maḥfūẓ) (forced to utter it under the pressure of ecstasy, but not held accountable due to this compulsion).
Abū Ḥamza (al-Baghdādī) said: A man from Khurasan asked me about amnī (being secure from Allah, trusting in Him). I said: I know a man who has a wild beast on his right and a pillow on his left, and cannot distinguish which to lean on. The man said to me, "This is shaṭaḥ; bring your evidence for it."
When a Sufi was asked a question containing a claim, he would reply: I seek refuge in Allah from the shaṭaḥ of the tongue. (Lumaʿ, 422)
The meaning of shaṭaḥ is the force of the overflowing grace expressed during the articulation of ecstasy, and the strange, astonishing expressions uttered under the intensity of the agitation and galaba (overpowering state). In Arabic, shaṭaḥ means movement. When something moves, one says shaṭala/yeshṭaḥu. (Lumaʿ, 453)
The gnostics, after ascending to the ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of the heavens, have agreed that they see only the One Real (al-Wāḥid al-Ḥaqq). However, among them are those who possess this state as a matter of gnosis and knowledge.
Again, among them are those who experience this state as a matter of taste. Of these, some...