All of these are relational (categories), they have no independent essences. Their ruling becomes manifest through the self-disclosure of the substance (jawhar). When the Real (al-Ḥaqq) brings them forth from His unseen (ghayb) and the essences (aʿyān) of the substances become manifest, He subjects them to these relations (see tigi).
It has been said: How many essences (aʿyān) have become manifest? The answer given is: ten essences, or fewer, or more.
It has also been said: What is it like? The answer given is: It comes into being through the combination of different corporeal elements and the infusion of existence and color into them.
It has been said: Where is it? The answer: In space or in a place.
It has been said: When? The answer: When it is in such and such a form.
It has been said: What is its language? The answer: Arabic or another language. It has been said: What is its religion? The answer: This (or that) sharia (the sacred law).
It has been said: Has that which appears from the loins of fathers appeared from it? The answer: He is the son of so-and-so.
It has been said: What did he do? The answer: He ate food.
It has been said: Did he receive any effect from his food? The answer: He was satiated. When Allah brings forth all of these relations (nisba) that befall substances from His unseen, in the created existence there are only the essences of the substances and the relations dependent upon them. The unseen, with all that it contains, as if contains a form corresponding to the one who knows it. Thus, when one knows it by his own self, he also knows it by knowledge. The knower is also a world of the unseen of huwiyya (the reality of "He") and the unseen of the absolute (ghayb-i huwiyya, ghayb-i mutlaq), and thus appears in the form of the world. Its form from the substance is its essence. The number of His names is from quantity; the saying, "He is every day upon a matter" (al-Rahman 55:29) is from quality. (Futūḥāt, TIL, 13-14)
The name "unseen" (ghayb) is used only for the level of unity (jamʿ), and the name "malakūt" (the spiritual realm) is used only for abstract (mujarrad) beings and governing souls (those that administer the world). (Asfār, 329)
The khalifa, that is, the perfect human (insān al-kāmil), is the unseen (ghayb), that is, the inner aspect of the world and its governing spirit (rūḥ). Although the khalifa exists outwardly, in reality (ḥaqīqa) he is the unseen, the spiritual and corporeal great world’s governing spirit. The First Intellect is the first thing the khalifa sees in the world of spirits. The khalifa is the sultan (sultān) of the entire world. For this reason... that is, because the khalifa is the unseen... the sultan... is veiled from the eyes of the people (ḥalq) due to the existence of the species that comes from the meaning of the caliphate itself. When the exposition (bayān) of the connection by which the world is realized is completed, the exposition of the connection that the Real has concealed from us begins. (Sofyavi, 34)
ghayb-i huwiyya and ghayb-i mutlaq: Ghayb-i huwiyya and ghayb-i mutlaq, due to their lack of determination, are the Essence (dhāt) of the Real (al-Ḥaqq). (Kāshānī, 168; Jāmiʿ, 91)
ghayb-i maṣūn and ghayb-i maknūn: Ghayb-i maknūn and ghayb-i maṣūn are the secret and innermost reality (kunh) of the Essence, which none but the Real knows. Therefore, the mentioned secret is hidden from strangers, and concealed from intellect and sight. (Kāshānī, 168; Jāmiʿ, 91)
ghayba-ḥuḍūr (other terms: ghayr; iḥḍār; maqām-i ghāʾib; maqām-i ḥāḍir; shuhūd)
Ghayba is when the servant, without any change in outward appearance, is absent from observing people while his heart is in the state of presence (ḥuḍūr) and witnessing (mushāhada) with the Real. Ghashya is when the heart is absent due to what comes to it, and this state is apparent in the servant’s outward form.
Presence (ḥuḍūr) is when the heart sees what is absent from it with the clarity of certainty, as if it were present. Even though He is absent from the servant, the servant feels himself in His presence. (Lumaʿ, 416)
Sobriety (ṣaḥw) is temporary, while presence is perpetual. (Lumaʿ, 417)
Ghayba is the servant’s being absent from the pleasures of the nafs (the lower self), not perceiving them. That is, in this state, the servant’s pleasures exist within him and persist with him, but since he is in the state of witnessing the Real, he is absent from his own pleasures.
Abū Sulaymān Dārānī said: It was said to Awzāʿī in the market, "We saw your blue-eyed slave-girl in the ghayb-i huwiyya and ghayb-i mutlaq."
In response, Awzāʿī said, "Is that so? Are my slave-girl’s eyes blue?" Abū Sulaymān commented: Their physical eyes are closed, but their heart’s eye is open. From Awzāʿī’s question, it is understood that he took pleasure in black and gazelle-like eyes, but was absent from the blueness of his slave-girl’s eyes.
Shuhūd (witnessing) is the servant’s seeing his own pleasures (with the Real). This means that the servant benefits from everything with human humility and servitude, not for pleasure. There is a further state of ghayba, where the servant is absent from annihilation (fanāʾ) and the perishing, thinking only of what is everlasting (baqāʾ). Ḥāritha spoke of this kind of ghayba within himself.
Shuhūd is of two kinds: shuhūd of direct vision (ʿiyān), and shuhūd of overwhelming (ghalaba). Here, what is meant is not the shuhūd of direct vision, but that of overwhelming, which is when a person is so absent from things that benefit or harm that he cannot see them. This is not the ghayba of covering and veiling (ḥijāb). (Taʿarruf, 87)
Ghayba is when the servant, due to the influxes (wāridāt) that come to him, is preoccupied with sensation and thus absent from knowing the states of people. Sometimes, due to an influx such as remembering reward or contemplating punishment, the heart loses its sensitivity to itself and others and enters a state of ghayba.
It is narrated that Rabīʿ al-Haytham, while going to Ibn Masʿūd, passed by a blacksmith’s shop. As soon as he saw a piece of red-hot iron at the mouth of the bellows, he lost himself and did not recover until the next day. When he came to, he was asked about the cause of this state. He replied: "I was thinking about the state of the people of Hell in Hell!" This ghayba exceeded its limit and passed into the state of ghashya (fainting) (ghashya). (Qushayrī, 40)
The Sufi is the one who is present with the Real, for he is in His presence. When he withdraws from people, he is with the Real. This means he is as if present in His presence. This occurs when the remembrance (dhikr) of the Real fills the servant’s heart. Then the servant, with his heart, enters the presence of his Exalted Lord. The servant, in his absence from people, is in a state of presence with the Real. If he is completely absent from people, the state of presence is according to the state of ghayba. The meaning of the phrase "so-and-so is present" is: "He is present with his heart in the presence of his Lord, not heedless of Him, not neglecting Him, but always remembering Him." Then, in proportion to the meanings the Real bestows upon him (ihsan), he contemplates the presence of the Real through unveiling. Sometimes, when he returns to the states of the nafs and people, it is also said, "The servant is present." This means, "The servant has returned from the state of ghayba; the state of ghayba has ended." This is called "presence with people," while the first is "presence with the Real." The states of Sufis in ghayba differ. For some, the state of ghayba is not continuous; for others, it is constant. (Qushayrī, 41)
Abū Muḥammad Murtaʿish said: The Sufi is the one whose thought never precedes his step. That is, the Sufi is entirely in a state of presence. Wherever his heart is, his body is there in the ghayb-i huwiyya and ghayb-i mutlaq; wherever his body is, his heart is there. Wherever his foot is, his word is there; wherever his word is, his foot is there. This is the sign of presence without ghayba.
If it is said, "But this definition, 'the Sufi is one absent from his nafs and present with the Real,' is contradictory," we say: No, in reality, the Sufi is present with both the Real and his nafs. This points to the union of unions (jamʿ al-jamʿ). For as long as a person continues to see his nafs, unless he is absent from his nafs, the state of presence without ghayba does not occur. When the state of regarding the nafs disappears, the state of presence without ghayba is realized. This is the same as Shiblī’s saying: "The Sufi is with Allah in both worlds; he sees nothing other than Allah." In summary, the servant’s existence is something other, it is otherness (aghyar). When the Sufi does not see the other, he does not see his own nafs. In the state of negation and affirmation, he is completely annihilated (fanāʾ) from himself. (Hujwīrī, 48-49)
Presence (ḥuḍūr) is when the heart finds presence through certainty, so that its ruling in the state of ghayba is like its ruling in the state of vision (ʿayn)—as if it sees clearly in ghayba. What is meant by ghayba is the heart’s being absent from everything but the Real, to the point of being absent from itself. The sign of this is turning away from the ruling of forms. This is like the Prophet’s being protected from the unlawful. To be absent from the nafs is to find presence with the Real; to find presence with the Real is to be absent from the nafs. (Hujwīrī, 297)
Allah the Exalted said: "And he turned away from them and said, 'Oh, my sorrow over Joseph!'" (Yusuf 12:84). In this context, the ghayba indicated has three degrees: The first is the murīd’s (aspirant’s) ghayba in freeing his intention from attachments and overcoming obstacles to seeking realities.
The second is the sālik’s (traveler’s) being absent from the forms of knowledge, the causes of striving, and the laxities of dispensations (gayret).
The third is the ʿārif’s (gnostic’s) being absent from witnessing his own states and from seeing his degrees in the station of union (ʿayn al-jamʿ). (Manāzil, 39)
Shuhūd (witnessing) is to be, at one moment, in a state of watchfulness (murāqaba), and at another, in a state of witnessing (mushāhada). The servant is in a state of presence because he is observing the Real and under His watchfulness. When he loses the states of murāqaba and mushāhada, he leaves the circle of presence and enters the state of ghayba. By ghayba, they mean the servant’s being absent from things with the Real. In this sense, it pertains to the station of fanāʾ (annihilation).
Ghayba is when the servant, due to the influx that comes to him, is preoccupied with sensation and thus absent from knowing the states of people.
Presence (ḥuḍūr) is the state of the heart’s presence with the Real after ghayba. (Iṣṭilāḥ, 532)
What is ghayba? We say: Ghayba is when the servant, due to the influx that comes to him in the state of presence, is preoccupied with sensation and thus absent from knowing the states of people.
ghayb-i huwiyya and ghayb-i mutlaq
If you ask, What is presence (ḥuḍūr)? We say: Presence is the state of the heart’s presence with the Real after ghayba. After this, it is characterized by fanāʾ. (Futūḥāt, II, 129)
According to the Sufi community, ghayba is when the servant, due to the influx that comes to him, is preoccupied with sensation and thus absent from knowing the states of people. In such a case, ghayba can only result from a divine manifestation. It is not correct to say that ghayba occurs according to the influx of created beings, for he has become distant from the states of people and is absent from them. This group is distinguished from others by this state. Without doubt, for all groups, ghayba is the existence of the ruling... (Futūḥāt, TI, 533; Asfār, 251)
To be present in the presence of Allah is to praise and exalt Him, and to sanctify His names (asmāʾ) together with ghayba. This is the case according to the Sufi community. (Futūḥāt, TI, 533)
The station of the absent (maqām-i ghāʾib) is a station reached not by direct vision, but by effect (through report and narration). It is a station from which direct vision is withheld. Its translation is "He" (Allah). It is an address to the generality: He is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, Allah—there is no deity except Him. (al-Hashr 59:22-23)
The station of the present (maqām-i ḥāḍir) is to be absent from otherness in the stations of unveiling and witnessing. Its translation is "You" (the second person singular). (Rawḍa, 203)
The first subtlety of ghayba is the murīd’s being absent from desires and attachments, and from things that prevent him from seeking realities. The second is the sālik’s being absent from the forms of knowledge, the causes of striving, and the laxities of dispensations (ruhsat). The third is the ʿārif’s being absent from everything but the Real. (Rawḍa, 493)
The ghayba of this group is with the Real, having withdrawn from people. Thus, it is possible to ascribe to Him honor and praise. (Asfār, 251)
Know that the state of ghayba only occurs with presence. Thus, the one in whose presence you are, by the intensity of witnessing, brings you into the state of ghayba—just as the intensity of baqāʾ (subsistence) brings about the state of fanāʾ (annihilation). For he has become the master of the moment. The ruling and details regarding presence do not differ for those who are qualified in this matter. Every absent one (in ghayba) is in presence. Every one in presence is also absent. Presence together with the one with whom union is realized is not possible. It is only with the One with whom union is realized, the Unique (aḥad). For the rulings of names and essences are opposed to each other. The ruling is for the one in presence. If the state of presence were realized together with the one with whom union is realized, it would correspond to Him, and this would lead to a rejected, invalid state. Presence with the One with whom union is realized (Allah) is an incorrect view (for presence is duality, union is unity). However, for those who accept the possibility of presence with people, the situation is not so. In correspondence, the ruling of essences and the ruling of names are the same. The difference is in the manifestation of intensity. If you reflect well on this, you will reach the necessary knowledge. (Asfār, 253)
ghaybat al-ʿārifīn 287
Ghayba is when the servant, due to the influxes that come to him, is absent from knowing the states of people. Then he is absent only from others; when the influx grows, he is also absent from himself. Then ghayba lengthens or shortens, but continues. (Jāmiʿ, 254)
(See also: sukr-sahw)