They have become utterly annihilated and have been submerged in pure singularity (fardāniyya-i maḥḍa). At this point, their intellects have ceased to function entirely, and they have fallen into ḥayra (bewilderment). Here, there remains no place where they could even remember anything other than Allah, not even themselves. According to them, there is nothing but Allah. They have fallen into a state of sakr (spiritual intoxication), and the power of their intellects has rejected everything other than Him. Among them, one has said, “Ana al-Ḥaqq (I am the Truth),” another has uttered shaṭaḥ/shaṭaḥāt.
“Subḥānī mā aʿẓamu shānī (Glory be to me! How great is my station!),” and another has said, “Mā fī jubbatī siwā Allāh (There is nothing under my cloak but Allah).”
The words spoken by lovers in the state of sakr have been concealed and not narrated. When they emerge from the state of ḥāl (spiritual state) and return to the dominion of the intellect, which is Allah’s measure on earth, they realize that this is not true ittiḥād (union), but rather something resembling ittiḥād. The words spoken by lovers at the peak of their love, such as “I am the one I love, and the one I love is me,” are of this kind. The following example is not far from this: A person suddenly encounters a mirror, and upon looking at it, sees only the mirror (at first not perceiving his own image in it), thus imagining that the form he sees, which is actually the mirror itself, has united with him. (Mishkāt, 59)
The origin of love comes from pre-eternity. In the Arabic word “yuḥibbuhum (He loves them),” the dot of the letter bāʾ and “yuḥibbūnahu (they love Him)” (al-Māʾida 5:54) have been sown as seeds in its soil. No, if the dot had not been cast upon “hum (them),” “yuḥibbūnahu” would not have emerged. When the narcissus of love grows, the seed and the fruit take on the same color.
If “Subḥānī (Glory be to me)...” has been uttered, it is for this reason.
These words are either those of the dot or the Lord of the dot, or such claims are made through the fruit; yet the fruit is the same as the seed. (Sawāniḥ, 93)
Shaṭaḥ consists of words that carry the scent of selfhood and claim. These are states rarely seen among the people of realization. (Iṣṭilāḥ, 530)
Shaṭaḥ is to openly express the rank Allah has granted, to state something that is true, but to utter it with the intention of boasting. When one is commanded to do so, it is not for boasting, but to openly declare the divine command. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I am the master of the children of Adam, but there is no boasting” (Tirmidhi, Manāqib, 1; Ḥākim, II, 660). That is, he meant: I do not intend to boast over you with this knowledge. Rather, I inform you of this for your benefit and so that you may understand the rank of your Prophet with Allah and His favor toward you. If one is not commanded, to utter shaṭaḥ is a slip (zalla) of the people of realization. (Futūḥāt, II, 381-382)
Shaṭaḥ and tāmāt are among the most severe things that trouble the common people. For they contain the remembrance of union with love and the pain of separation. The common people are concerned with what is apparent before them, and their inner selves are filled with desires and love of forms. Therefore, nothing moves their hearts except what is already established in their nafs (the lower self). The fires of shahwa (passion) are kindled in their hearts, and thus they cry out. All of these are forms of corruption. Sometimes shaṭaḥ carries claims related to love for Allah, which is greatly harmful. (Qudāma, 11) shaṭaḥ/shaṭaḥāt 951
As for the words of some shaykhs that, in outward appearance, contradict the sharia (and are called shaṭaḥāt)... Some people remain at the level of tawḥid (the oneness of God) of existence. Examples include the saying of Ḥusayn Manṣūr Ḥallāj, “Ana al-Ḥaqq (I am the Truth)!” and Abū Yazīd Bisṭāmī’s “Subḥānī mā aʿẓamu shānī (Glory be to me! How great is my station!)” and similar statements. The most preferable and appropriate way is to interpret these as pertaining to the tawḥid of witnessing, thus removing any contradiction with the sharia. For, in their view, everything other than the Essence of the Real (al-Ḥaqq) was veiled from them, and under the dominance of this state, they uttered these words, affirming no existence other than the Real. (Maktūbāt, 1, 56)
The meaning of the statement “Ana al-Ḥaqq (I am the Truth)” is this: The Real is He, not I. Because that person does not see his own self, he affirms Him. Otherwise, he does not say he is the Real because he sees himself as a being separate from the Real. For such a statement would be kufr (disbelief). The absence of affirmation does not necessarily entail negation, nor can it be said that this is the very tawḥid of existence. But it can be said:
The absence of affirmation does not necessarily require negation. For this station is the station of bewilderment. Here, all judgments have fallen away. In the phrase “Subḥānī...” sentence, it is not the speaker who is being glorified, but the Real. For the self has completely fallen from his view. No judgment applies there.
Such words and similar ones appear from those who are at the station of ʿaynu’l-yaqīn (the eye of certainty). This is the station of bewilderment. When one ascends from this station to the degree of ḥaqq al-yaqīn (the reality of certainty), they refrain from such words and do not exceed the bounds of moderation. (Maktūbāt, I, 57)
It should be known: Everything from the rulings of sakriyyah (the state of spiritual intoxication) pertains to the station of walāya (friendship with God), and everything from the rulings of sahw (sobriety) is connected to the station of prophethood. The most perfect of the awliyāʾ (friends of God) in following the Prophets (peace be upon them) have a share in this station by way of following and through sobriety.
The Bisṭāmīs prefer sakr over sahw. For this reason, in one of his shaṭaḥāt, Abū Yazīd Bisṭāmī said: “My banner is higher than Muhammad’s banner.” (In this statement,) by his own banner he meant the banner of walāya, and by Muhammad’s banner, the banner of prophethood. He preferred the banner of walāya, which is oriented toward sakr, over the banner of prophethood, which is oriented toward sahw. The view of some Sufis that walāya is superior to prophethood is of this kind. This is because they see walāya as directed toward the Real (al-Ḥaqq), and prophethood as directed toward creation. There is no doubt that what is directed toward the Real is superior to what is directed toward creation.
Some Sufis, regarding the orientation in this statement, have said: The walāya of the Prophet is superior to his prophethood. In my humble opinion, such statements are far from the Shādhiliyya
and boasting. For the orientation in prophethood is not only toward creation. On the contrary, along with this orientation, it is also toward the Real. For their inner selves are with the Real, while their outward aspect is with creation. That which is oriented only toward creation...