He means this.— However, due to his noble character, he greeted me before I could greet him, and smiled at me gently. —He is indicating that the gate of knowledge and spiritual effusion has been opened.— He smiled in such a way that all his molar teeth became visible before my eyes. Despite his noble character and exemplary personality, the heyba (awe-inspiring presence) he possessed had a strong effect on me. I asked him: These gentlemen who have honored me—where did these ten intellects come from? A shaykh sitting somewhere in the row replied to me: We are a detached community. We have come to you from the place where there is no 'where' (no location or spatiality). I did not understand what he meant and asked: From which region is the city you came from? In response, he said: From the place where the index finger cannot point. Then I understood that this person is a shaykh-i muttaliʿ (a shaykh possessing knowledge of the beyond).
I asked this shaykh what his karāma (saintly wonders) were and where he spent his time. He said that his profession was tailoring. —By tailoring, he meant that, when required, he could assume the form of the hayūlā (prime matter) prepared for him. Tailoring is the profession that gives the shirt its shape, and it is the name of the activity that imparts that form to the shirt. This tailoring is the proper arrangement of the marātib-i wujūd (the hierarchy of being). —Each of us memorizes the words belonging to the Lord's sovereignty. —Here, he means the knowledge received from Allah.— We are constantly traveling. —By this, he means the benefit they provide to existing beings.
I also asked him: Why do you show those silent shaykhs standing above your head? He replied: Because people like you cannot converse with them. —Not every intellect can approach them. —I am their tongue. —Every spiritual effusion your capacity can receive, I convey to you through my own attribute as their intermediary. —They do not speak with people like you. (Jibrīl, 143)
I looked, and what did I see! Ten shaykhs with beautiful countenances, standing in a row! Their states, majesty, ʿazama (grandeur), and exaltedness pleased me. I described their beauty, loveliness, and forms with great ḥayra (wonder) until my tongue grew weary. In great fear and awe, I brought one man forward and left another behind—here, he is alluding to the ten intellects and their arrangement; it is said that these ten intellects are ten angels.
I asked the shaykh standing somewhere in the row: How did these shaykhs become attached to you? He replied: Know that the shaykh who carries his prayer rug on his chest—by this shaykh, as we have described, he means the Akl-ı Evvel (the First Intellect)—is the teacher and nurturer (educator) of the second shaykh sitting beside him. —He means that this is the cause of the existence and manifestation of the Akl-ı Sānī (the Second Intellect). This continues up to the Akl-ı Fāʿil (the Active Intellect). The second has recorded the name of the third shaykh in his register, the third has recorded the name of the fourth, and so on, until this chain reaches me. My name has been recorded in the register of the ninth shaykh. —This expresses that his own existence is due to that one.— He gave me a cloak and taught me knowledge.
I asked him: Do you have wives, children, property, or possessions? He replied: We have no wives. —Their lack of spouses can be considered as being mujarrad (immaterial) from the material world. Here, the author...