Shah Ni’matullah Vali’s commentary on Fakhr al-Din ‘Iraqi’s *Flashes*
Iraqi: So he [i.e., Muhammad, namely, the Muhammadan Reality or image of God that is at the core of everyone] is the treasury of the treasure of Being, and key to the treasuries of generosity, the Qiblih[i.e., direction of prayer] of (both) the perceiver of existence and the existent.
Shah Ni’matullah’s commentary: He is the master of both realms
The manifestation of the Essence and the Attributes of Majesty
Allah (تعالى) by means of his [i.e. the Prophet’s] tongue said, “I was a hidden treasure and I loved that I be known, so I created creation, in order to be known.”
He is the treasure-house of the treasure of
“I was a hidden treasure…”
O friend, seek from him the treasure of the Names.
[Allah], (تعالى) by means of the tongue of His beloved, said concerning him, “If it had not been for you [i.e., O Muhammad], indeed I would not have created the universe.”
Iraqi: [Muhammad is] …the key to the treasuries of generosity, and the Qiblih of (both) the perceiver of existence and existent…
Ni’matullah: And the universal purpose for the creation of the world is his becoming manifest; and the ultimate cause for it is the illumination and the being illumined of the holder of the banner of praise and [of] the possessor of the praised station. The banner of praise is the very essence of praise; and that is the most complete of all praiseworthy qualities. And correct praise is that which is protected form ambiguity. This is the meaning of the very essence of praise, which is expressed as ‘the banner’.
The place of return of all that is praise worthy is Him
The return of all to Him is good.
The station of ‘praised’ is the place of return of all stations, and is the place
of viewing the Names of God which are particular to stations. This station is suitable for a possessor of perfection who is the compendium of the speech [i.e., the Names] of the Omniscient King. As he (ﷺ) said, “I was brought all the speech.”
I’ve gotten permission from Dr. Alan Godlas (Abdul Haqq), who is a professor at the University of Georgia for Islamic and Sufi studies, to repost his Facebook postings on Islam and Sufism. All translations are done by Abdul Haqq Godlas unless otherwise noted.