requires the removal of correspondence between the world and the Real's identity. No seer has vision[41] except through a correspondence between himself and the seen. Thus, in respect of His identity, none sees the Real but Himself.
The possessor of this knowledge, while witnessing and seeing his Lord, judges that he has not seen Him. His judgment is correct, and his vision is correct. Hence He says, “I turn his sight away from Me.” When He turns his sight away from Him, the Real, through His identity, becomes this servant's sight. If he sees Him in this state, he is among those who see the Real through the Real.
The seer is a servant, the seen is the Real, and that through which He is seen is the Real. This is the most complete vision wherever it occurs. The sound report relates that the servant attains this station in this world's life and in this constitution, which the tranquil, rational soul leaves through death.
He, exalted is He, said, “Eyes do not perceive Him” [al-Anʿām 6:103], multiplying and using a plural, for these are the sights of created being. He did not say, “Sight does not perceive Him.” Although it is a plural of paucity, in every case it is more than one sight.
The poet said concerning plurals of paucity:
Through afʿul, afʿāl, afʿila, and fiʿla, the lesser number is pluralized.
Afʿul is like aklub, dogs; afʿāl like abṣār, sights; afʿila like aksiya, garments; and fiʿla like fitya, youths. Since His identity is single in description, it contains no multiplicity. It is sight within every seer.
Although the essences of seers are many, sight is one in all of them, since sight is the Real's identity. It is therefore valid that sight
Notes
[41]
(The written form in the previous copy was “wa-anna wa-lā ruʾya”; it has been corrected to “wa-lā ruʾya” [and no vision] by comparison with the new edition [vol. 10, p. 241].)
