in the forms of creation, and it has a face toward the Essence through which it appears to the Essence. The creature knows the Essence only from behind this isthmus, which is Divinity. The Essence rules over the creature through creation only by this isthmus, which is Divinity.
We realized it and found it to be nothing other than the Most Beautiful Names by which we call upon Him. The Essence has no compulsion within the world except through these Divine Names, and the world knows nothing of the Real except these Most Beautiful Divine Names. They are the very entities of the Presences in this chapter. We have thus informed you, with restraint and brevity, what divine compelling power is. God “speaks the truth, and He guides the way” [al-Ahzab 33:4].
The Presence of Acquiring Supreme Greatness, Belonging to the Name the Supremely Great
Assuming greatness is for one in whose self subsists
greatness: so be a servant assuming greatness through Him.
He exults and struts among the enemies with his own self,
stripped of his own greatness, clear-sighted,
like Abu Dujana when he brandished his sword,
walking with it among the enemies, strutting proudly.
(Rising Above the Inadequate Conception)
The possessor of this Presence is called the Servant of the Supremely Great. It is an unusual, unfamiliar name: people know only the Servant of the Great. God, mighty and majestic, said, “Thus God seals every heart that assumes greatness and compels” [Ghafir 40:35]. He did not say “great.” The great one does not acquire the assumption of greatness; rather, one lower in rank acquires it. The servant acquires supreme greatness through that which is the Real’s attribute. Supreme greatness belongs to God, not to the servant, so he is praised and thanked for his supreme greatness and his assumption of greatness.
And the acquisition—
