Kamal al-Inqi’a’ (The Utmost Detachment)

A Theological Commentary on the Climax of the Shaʿbaniyya Supplication: The Fifteen Degrees of Detachment and the Piercing of the Veils of Light

Contents

Chapter One

• The meaning of detachment and the difference between severance and withdrawal
• The stages of spiritual detachment, from sin to the self
• An analysis of Supplication 28 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya and sincerity in detachment
• Detachment by divine decree, will, volition, knowledge and beyond knowledge

Chapter Two

• The philosophical and Quranic distinction between radiance and light
• The primal source of illumination and the heart’s inner warmth
• Responding to objections concerning anthropomorphism and the denial of divine attributes in discussions of the Lord’s light
• The effect of experiential knowledge on the heart’s capacity

Chapter Three

• A commentary on Zaynab al-ʿAttara’s monotheistic account of the vastness of the worlds
• The Commander of the Faithful’s (AS) sermon in al-Khisal on the qualities and attributes of the seventy thousand veils of light
• A speculative map of the universe: from the seven earths to the Throne and the Footstool
• The meaning of piercing the veil: passing beyond luminous barriers on the way to God

Chapter Four

• The reality of “the Source of Majesty” in the words of the infallible Imams (AS)
• The wayfarer’s spirit and its attachment to the highest realm and the sacred precincts
• A commentary on the phrase “وَ أَلْحِقْنِي بِنُورِ عِزِّكَ الْأَبْهَجِ”
• The intimate supplication and the effacement of manifestations in the overwhelming presence of divine Majesty

Chapter Five

• A comprehensive analysis of the astonishing hadith of Durrat al-ʿAzima
• The creation of the twenty and hundred seas from sacred lights
• Ibn Sina’s ʿAyniyya ode and the mysteries of the spirit’s descent and ascent
• The eternal mystery of “He is above all that is above, and His knowledge is beneath all that is beneath”

Golden passages from the book

Perfect detachment: effacement of the self and return to the zero point of the divine will
“To attain perfect detachment is to be severed from oneself and to perish to oneself. One’s very sense of self must fall away, so that one may return to one’s beginning, one’s zero point and origin: entering the realm of the divine will by which one was created, through a will beyond description. We did not exist, and the Lord willed us into being… In the end, perfect detachment means being severed from one’s own existence. Only what one knows of oneself remains—and that which is from us but is neither existence nor anything at all is with Him alone, prior to His names and attributes.”

The fifteen stages of breaking with all that is other than God: the spiritual journey toward casting off every bond
“Detachment from what? Pure and perfect knowledge: detachment from sins and loathsome things; from permissible things; from the promptings of the ego; from attachments; from time and space; from limits, boundaries and constraints; from body, soul and every layer of being; from signs and intermediaries; from names and attributes; and, finally, from my very self… A person may overlook imperceptible obstacles; naming the stages awakens the seeker and inspires the gnostic’s yearning.”

The essential difference between radiance and light: the primal source of inner vision
“Radiance ranks above light, and light is counted among the offspring of radiance! Radiance stands to light as the sun does to the moon. If radiance is understood as rays, light is the brightness produced by those rays. Radiance is the primal source of the heart’s illumination, brilliance and warmth, all of which are necessary for the heart to behold the highest realm. Until the heart’s eye is illumined, it cannot see. A darkened heart is imprisoned in darkness; but through the light of God, one seeks the vision of God.”

The Vast Geography of Divine Knowledge and the Soul’s Roadmap of Ascent
“In the vast geography of divine knowledge, ratification, decree, predestination, will and volition are pathways leading to divine knowledge. Beings appear in this world by travelling the path of knowledge as far as divine ratification. Existence has an identity up to the realm of volition; before that, existence is nonexistent, though its identity as knowledge endures, while the Essence of Majesty transcends both existence and knowledge… The wayfarer to God, detaching from every realm, draws near to the very centre of their identity, until, at last, even that identity falls away.”

Piercing the Veils of Light: Passing Through the Seventy Thousand Veils of Majesty
“The vision and piercing of the veils of light through the heart’s eyes, illumined by the divine radiance, show that an eye lit by divine radiance can see beyond ordinary sight. Such eyes pierce the very heart of the veils of light—veils that served as a pathway to the Mine of Grandeur. The veils of light are not there to be gazed upon, but to be passed through! A heart not illumined by divine radiance will remain lost among them.”

The Mine of Grandeur: The Soul’s Bond with the Well-spring of Majesty
“Divine Grandeur has a mine, and divine sanctity possesses might. Everything in the universe has a mine and a foundation; the mine of anything is its innermost essence, its very heart, and the centre from which it flows. The Mine of Grandeur is the heart of Grandeur, the place where divine Majesty pulses and radiates forth. The vision that connects with the Mine of Grandeur sees its horizon of insight stretch into eternity, and the human soul becomes a mine of divine unveiling and witnessing.”

The Souls’ Attachment to the Might of Sanctity and the Most Radiant Reality
“وَ أَلْحِقْنِي بِنُورِ عِزِّكَ الأَبْهَجِ فَأَكُونَ لَكَ عَارِفاً وَ عَنْ سِوَاكَ مُنْحَرِفاً… Join me to the most joy-giving, most delightful radiance of Your might, so that I may know You alone and turn away from all besides You. The joy-bestowing light of the might of the One Lord intoxicates souls with everlasting bliss, removes every barrier to nearness, and binds the heart’s innermost attachment exclusively to His Most Holy Essence.”

The Eternal Reality of the Prophetic and Alid Light in the Hadith of Durrat al-ʿAẓīmah
“Before creating the heavens and the earth, God created a mighty pearl in which the light of the Prophet and Ali (AS) was placed. From that pearl, He then brought forth a hundred seas of knowledge, generosity, bounty and grandeur. When the Messenger of God was asked, فما فوق العرش؟ he replied: «الله تعالی و هو فوق الفوق و علمه تحت التحت». Knowledge of these luminous realms tears through the veils of material illusion and joins the wayfarer to the source of eternal grace.”