79
Al-Tawwāb
----
(Spelled Tauba in the Ruhaniat’s papers)
Ya Tawwāb, (pronounced Tauba) O
Relenting, as given by the Sufi Ruhaniat International and by Hazrat Inayat
Khan, number 79 in that list, is usually translated as repentance.
In Jilani, Secrets of Secrets, in his definition of Tassawuf, the first letter t (tâ’), symbolize the word tawba or tawwab, repentance. He says that: “It’s the fist step to take in the path. One must take a step inside and one outside. The one towards the outside in the repentance, is done with words, actions, feelings: to place our life away from sin, of bad actions and to turn towards obedience; to run away from revolt and conflict to search agreement and harmony. The one towards the inside in the repentance is done with the heart. This is the cleansing of the heart from materials desires that are conflicting and for the heart to assert total desire for the divinity”.
The dictionary definition of relenting or relent points to the Latin lentare to bend, from lentus soft, pliant and slow. It says also to become less severe, harsh, or strict usually from reasons of humanity and to cease resistance. A Synonyms is to abate, that is to die (down or away). To relent means also to soften up, to let ourself being touched, to come back on decision.
The dictionary definition of repenting is to be sorry, to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life, to feel regret or contrition, to change one's mind.
In his Book of Sufi Healing16, published in 1985, Shaykh Hakim
Moineddin Chishti defines Tauba as both “The Acceptor of Repentance” and “The Relenting.” In Pearls
of the Faith16, published in 1882, Sir Edwin Arnold defines Tauba as “The
Relenting.”
In Ar-Râzî book5,
Al-Tawwab is described as the one that never stops from coming back. In the
holy Koran 2,37 (Puis Adam reçut de son
Seigneur des paroles, et Allah agréa son repentir car c’est Lui certes, le Repentant, le Miséricordieux1;
(Al-Qur’an
In Ar-Râzî book5, Traité sur les Noms Divins, Taba is to come back from ‘Âba coming back and ‘Anâba coming back many times. Each one of these verb means Ra.Ja.’a to come back. Al-Tawwab in relation to Allah means that He comes back to his servants giving them all blessings. He favors them of His help after abandoning them, give them after deprivation, is indulgent after threatening them, deliver from tests and give them blessings. Repentir for the servant express coming back to divine service, adoration. There is a second sense of Allah coming back (taba) to His servants and help them to repent until they repent because Allah is the one that does not stop from coming back (tawwab) and is all merciful. Allah being tawwab express the intensity of his help that is given to his servants for their obedience. The coming back (tawba) of Allah to the servant express the acceptance of the coming back or repentance of the servant.
In “Les Noms Divins en Islam” by Daniel Gimaret2, he says that in his most ordinary use, taba/yatubu is said of man to signify his repentance (tawba) or more literally his return to God. Because Tawba, is equivalent to ruğū. Qusayri shows the similarity that unites taba, aba, tāba, anaba all synonyms of rağa’a. In fact, anybody that repents from his faults, of his disobedience to the Law, can be considered as coming back to God, after awhile, being far from Him. The worst people are even invited to come back to God (sourate 11, aux v.3 “Demandez pardon à votre Seigneur; ensuite, revenez à Lui…. ; And ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him. ”; 52 “O mon people, implorez le pardon de votre Seigneur et repentez vous à lui….; And, O my people, ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him”; 61 “Implorez donc Son pardon, puis repentez vous à Lui. Mon Seigneur est bien proche et Il répond toujours aux appels ; so ask forgiveness of Him, then turn to Him. Surely my Lord is Nigh, Answering.”; 90 “ Et implorez le pardon de votre Seigneur et repentez-vous à Lui. Mon Seigneur est vraiment Miséricordieux et plein d’amour ;. And ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him. Surely my Lord is Merciful, Loving-kind .”) in vertu of the doctrine of fitra that wants that at the beginning all men were created in the true religion (cf. Cor. 30,30 “Dirige tout ton être vers la religion exclusivement pour Allah, telle est la nature d’Allah a originellement donnée aux hommes…..; So set thy face for religion, being upright, the nature made by Allah in which He has created men. There is no altering Allah’s creation. That is right religion – but most people know not”). This is there in fact a use of taba often used in the Koran.
The Koran applies this “coming back” signified by taba not to man but to God. In the same way that man come back to God, God comes back to man. There is only a grammatical difference, in the first case taba is followed by ila, in the second case, it is followed by ‘ala
Tawwab
is present in ten versets, almost always in
association with rahim (cf. 2,37 “Puis Adam agréa son repentir
car c’est Lui certes, le
Repentant, le Miséricordieux “Then Adam received
(revealed) words (kalimat) from his Lord, and
He turned to him (mercifully).[1]Surely
He is Oft-returning (to mercy) (tawwaabu), the
Merciful.” (Al-Qur’an
2:37)”; 2,54 ”…C’est ainsi qu’il agréa votre repentir ; car c’est Lui, certes, le
Repentant et le Miséricordieux ! ”; 2,128 ”Notre Seigneur ! Fais de
nous Tes Soumis, et de notre descendance une communauté soumise à Toi. Et
montre nous nos rites et accepte de nous le repentir. Car c’est Toi certes
l’Accueillant au repentir, le Miséricordieux.” “Our Lord, and make
us both submissive to Thee, and (raise) from our offspring, a nation submissive
to Thee (Muslimathallaka)[2], and
show us our ways of devotion and turn to us (mercifully) (tub alaina); surely Thou art the Oft-returning (to mercy) (tawwaabu), the Merciful.” (Al-Qur’an
2:128) ; etc…)
This coming back of God towards man, is the forgiveness that He grants. In four versets (3,128 “Tu n’as Muhammad aucune part dans l’ordre divin, qu’Il accepte leur repentir (en embrassant l’Islam) ou qu’Il les châtie, car ils sont bien des injustes. And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. He forgives whom He pleases and chastises whom He pleases. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”; 9,106 ” Et d’autres sont laissés dans l’attente de la décision d’Allah, soit qu’Il les punisse, soit qu’Il leur pardonne. Et Allah est Omniscient et Sage. And others are made to await Allah’s command, whether He chastise them or turn to them (mercifully). And Allah is Knowing, Wise.”; 33,24 ”afin qu’Allah récompense les véridiques pour leur sincérité, et châtie, s’Il veut, les hypocrites, ou accepte leur repentir. Car Allah est Pardonneur et Miséricordieux. That Allah may reward the truthful for their truth, and chastise the hypocrites, if He please, or turn to them (mercifully). Surely Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.” and 73 ”afin qu’Allah châtie les hypocrites, hommes et femmes, et les associateurs et les associatrices, et Allah accueille le repentir des croyants et des croyantes. Allah est Pardonneur et Miséricordieux. That Allah may chastise the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women and the polytheistic men and the polytheistic women, and Allah will turn (mercifully) to the believing men and the believing women. And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful”; 9,26 ”Puis, Allah fit descendre Sa quiétude sur Son messager et sur les croyants. Il fit descendre des troupes (Anges) que vous ne voyiez pas, et châtia ceux qui ont mécru. Telle est la rétribution des mécréants. Then Allah sent down His calm upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and sent hosts which you saw not, and chastised those who disbelieved. And such is the reward of the believers.” -27 ”Après cela Allah, accueille le repentir de qui Il veut, car Allah est Pardonneur et Miséricordieux. Then will Allah after this turn mercifully to whom He pleases. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”) . Tāba ‘alā is opposed at ‘addaba (to chastise).
In some verses, this divine pardon is shown in response to man’s repentance, the one who comes back to God, God comes back to him, the two coming back to each other are like in a dialectic relationship. It is not that God makes his pardon dependant on the repentance of man, not at all. In the majority of case, la tawba of God, real or supposed is happening freely, without merit. In the verses where taba ‘ala is opposed to ‘addaba, it is considered possible that one or the other, God chastise the evil doer or that He comes back to them.
In 20,121 ”Tous deux (Adam et Eve) en mangèrent. Alors
leur apparut leur nudité. Ils se mirent à se couvrir avec des feuilles du
paradis. Adam désobéit ainsi à son Seigneur et il s’égara. So they both ate of it, then their
inclinations became manifest to them, and they began to cover themselves with
the leaves of the garden. And Adam disobeyed his lord, and was disappointed .” -122 ”Son Seigneur l’a ensuite
élu, agréé son repentir et l’a guidé. Then his Lord chose him, so He turned to him and
guided (him).”, God forgive Adam
without previous repentance on his part. In 9,15 ”Et il fera partir la colère de leurs coeurs. Allah acceuille le repentir de qui Il veut. Allah est Omniscient et
Sage. And remove the rage of their hearts. And Allah turn (mercifully) to
whom He pleases. And Allah is Knowing, Wise.” and 9,27 ”Aprés cela Allah, acceuillera
le repentir de qui Il veut, car Allah est Pardonneur
et Miséricordieux. Then will Allah after this turn mercifully to
whom He pleases. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”, it is said that God come back to whom He wants.
For Halimi2, tawwab means God give His favor to
the man or woman when he or she stops to disobey God and regret his or her
sins. For Hattabi, there is that reciprocity that
when man or woman repents, God accept his or her repentance.
Another explication of the word imagine an inverse process, God is tawwab, not because He accept repentance, but because He determines it. In the dialectic relationship comparable to the one before, the divine tawba would not be a consequence, but a cause of the human tawba. Koran 9, 118 (He came back towards them, so that they can come back to Him, Puis il agréa leur repentir pour qu’ils reviennent à Lui, car Allah est L’acceuillant au repentir, le Miséricordieux). For some this means that God create repentance in man. Gazali2 said that for God to be tawwab is simply to ease the path of repentance for men , by His signs, His warnings they finish by understand the dangers of sin, take fright and come to repent.
A third interpretation2 is to understand the divine tawba independently of all human repentance, simply by the fact for God to give His favor to men after showing His severity, to make them come back from difficulty to facility, and from harshness to good life.
All agrees (Gimaret2) that God accepts repentance
if it is sincere (If he includes regret (nadam) for
what was done and resolve (‘azm) not to do it again.
The Koran1 has many references to this name in 2:37 ”Puis
Adam reçut de son Seigneur des paroles, et Allah agréa son repentir car c’est
Lui certes, le Repentant, le Miséricordieux.”,128 ”Notre
Seigneur! Fais de nous Tes Soumis, et de notre descendance une communauté
soumise à Toi. Et montre nous nos rites et accepte de nous le repentir. Car
c’est Toi certes l’Accueillant au repentir, le Miséricordieux.” ; 160 ”sauf ceux qui se sont repentis, corrigés et declares:
d’eux Je reçois le repentir. Car c’est Moi, l’Accueillant au repentir, le Miséricordieux.
“Except those who repent and amend and make manifest (the truth), these it is
to whom I turn (mercifully); and I am the Oft-returning (to mercy), the
Merciful.” (Al-Qur’an
2:160)”; 4:64 ”Nous n’avons envoyé de Messager que pour qu’il soit obéi, par la
permission d’Allah. Si, lorsqu’ils ont fait du tort à leurs propres personnes
ils venaient à toi en implorant le pardon d’Allah et si le Messager demandait
le pardon pour eux, ils trouveraient, certes, Allah, Très Accueillant au
repentir, Miséricordieux ; “And We sent no messenger but that he should be
obeyed by Allah’s command. And had they, when
they wronged themselves, come to thee and asked forgiveness of Allah, and the
Messenger had (also) asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah
Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.” (Al-Qur’an 4:64).”; 9:104 ”Ne savent-ils pas que c’est Allah qui
accueille le repentir de Ses serviteurs, et qui reçoit les Sadaqat,
et qu’Allah est L’Accueillant au repentir et le Miséricordieux.
Know they not that Allah is He Who accepts repentance from His
servants and takes the alms, and that Allah – He is the Oft-returning (to
mercy), the Merciful?”, 24:10 ”Et, n’étaient la grâce d’Allah sur vous
et Sa miséricorde… ! Allah est Grand Accueillant au repentir
et Sage! ” ; 49:12 ”Car Allah est Grand Accueillant au repentir,
Très Miséricordieux. “And
keep your duty to Allah, surely Allah is oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.” ((Al-Qur’an
49:12)” ; 110:3 ”alors, par la louange, célèbre la gloire de
ton Seigneur et implore Son pardon. Car c’est Lui le grand Accueillant au repentir.
“Celebrate the praise of thy Lord and ask His protection.[3]
Surely He is ever Returning (to mercy).” ((Al-Qur’an
110:3)”.
“Except those who afterwards repent and act aright; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (Al-Qur’an 24:5). “And were it not for Allah’s grace upon you and His mercy- and that Allah is Oft-returning (to mercy) Wise!” ((Al-Qur’an 24:10).
In Asma’ul Husna, The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen4, Ya Tawwab is The Acceptor of Repentance, The Forgiver, The Cause of Repentance, The Merciful. Bawa seems to integrate the three approaches to the definition of tawwab as from a response of God to man’s prayer, as determined by God, God being the cause of repentance and finally independently.
In Shems Friedlander6, Al-Hajj Shaikh Muzaffereddin, Ninety-nine names of Allah At-Tawwab is The Acceptor of Repentance. He says that he who repeats this Name many times, his repentance will be accepted: Ya-Tawwab.
Samuel Lewis offers many definitions of Tauba as repentance in the esoteric papers of the Sufi Ruhaniat International.
In the Bestowal of Blessings8, Murshid Samuel Lewis says: “The beginning of exoteric as well as of esoteric religious feeling comes in repentance. The difference is that the exotericists depend much upon emotion, upon some state of mind while to the esotericist repentance means the melting of the heart. The ‘doing better’ of the esotericist then is not to choose to do some acts and refrain from others; it is doing acts in accordance with heart-feeling and thinking in harmony with heart feeling, so that the heart may become alive. It is this attitude which leads to broadness of vision, to a greater horizon and purer conception of self, a conception which includes something of the not-self in it. In other words, spiritual betterment is concerned with the love-aspect of life and blooms in deeds of beneficence; it is greater than morality.”
And again in The Bestowal of Blessings8: “For that and other reasons the wise do not retain harsh feeling and try to exhibit compassion. It is not man’s place to forgive until there is repentance and after that he should never fail to forgive. If one only knew the value of repentance, how important it is. Forgiveness is of God and man can only grant it, the Sufis say, when it is asked of him. Even the good people must pass the gate of Tauba (repentance) to enter the spiritual path, to travel the way of the heart.”
In the Commentary on the “ The Inner Life ” of Hazrat Inayat Khan by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis10, he says: “This does not mean that the Inner Life is reserved for the good and pure. If this were so there would be no turning away from what is evil or what is incomplete. When one takes the Bayat one lays himself before Allah Who is the All-Merciful, All-Compassionate, and by keeping one’s heart on Allah one need not have this dualistic attitude any longer. Tauba, or repentance, does not mean the dualistic contriteness; it means turning from self-hood to God-hood.”
In the “Gayaniat” Commentaries on The Gayan: Notes From the Unstruck Music of Hazrat Inayat Khan by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti) 11, he says:” When there is repentance of heart, the Divine Grace is offered which purifies all sin.”
In the Commentary on Mental Purification12, Samuel L. Lewis says: “The traditional Sufism placed repentance, that is to say tauba or turning from egoicity to God, first. Indeed all religions teach that in theory. In practice, some theology, some ritual, some forms, have been placed first, consciously or unconsciously, and then the desired end is not gained. There is a theory and no realization because the ego remains. Even the denial of this is no good; denial is not repression. The ego loves to be considered whether in a positive or negative sense. So long as it occupies the stage there is a self-gratification.”
In
the Sangatha Commentary on Cosmic Language9 of Pir-o-Murshid
Hazrat Inayat Khan by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis, he says:” So it is
that Tauba, repentance, does not mean so much contrition as turning in the
direction of God, feeling God, relying upon Him. Then the magnetism may be
restored. And also if we rely on God as a Reality, we shall not be drawn so much
into negatives; it will not happen so often. ” And again:” There are detailed
records of the life of Mother Krishnabai of Anandashram in southern
In the Sadhana: The Path Of Attainment, Githa Commentary series 2 of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti) 13, Samuel Lewis says:” Therefore in Sufism the first step was Tauba (Shuva in Hebrew) which means turning and also repentance. Although for all spiritual development repentance is requisite, with respect to Sadhana Tauba is better understood as turning, turning toward the one in success, whatever be that success. And if there has been constant failure and that is succeeded by surrender to a person, coming to someone for advice, that is the first step toward success, that is the beginning of a new journey, a turning, a tauba toward a new way in life.”
In the Commentary on Sangatha in Naqshibandi14: Symbology, Series 3 of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis, he says: “Peter denounced Christ at night, which means during the period of spiritual darkness. He denounced him three times, meaning in body, mind and heart; but the heart could not hold fast against truth and then the cock crowed, which means that at a certain point the heart could stand it no more and felt the cry calling it to taubah or repentance. This symbol of the cock stands out in Sufi poetry and is explained in the lessons on Omar Khayyam as well as in the mystical studies on the Christian religion.”
Finally
in the Sangatha9 (3-3) Samuel Lewis says: “Ruku‘
standing bent, with both hands resting upon the knees and the head bent towards
the ground, morally expresses the recollection of one’s sins and repentance
thereof in shame. Philosophically it is the surrender of our animal existence
to the angelic. And spiritually it symbolizes the lower and higher part of the
body uniting in one, making the syllable called Mim,
the manifestation.”
In conclusion just putting sentences taken from the text
above to clarify Tauba: Even the good people must pass the gate of Tauba
(repentance) to enter the spiritual path, to travel the way of the heart. The
traditional Sufism placed repentance, that is to say tauba
or turning from egoicity to God, first. In Sufism the
first step was Tauba (Shuva in Hebrew) which means
turning and also repentance, turning or tauba toward
a new way in life. Tauba or repentance means the melting of the heart. The
‘doing better’ of the esotericist then is not to
choose to do some acts and refrain from others; it is doing acts in accordance
with heart-feeling and thinking in harmony with heart feeling, so that the heart
may become alive. Tauba, or repentance, does not mean the dualistic
contriteness; it means turning from self-hood to God-hood. When there is
repentance of heart, the Divine Grace is offered which purifies all sin. So it
is that Tauba, repentance, does not mean so much contrition as turning in the
direction of God, feeling God, relying upon Him. God is tawwab, not because He
accept repentance, but because He determines it. In the same way that man come
back to God, God comes back to man. In other words, spiritual betterment is
concerned with the love-aspect of life and blooms in deeds of beneficence; it
is greater than morality. Sadhana Tauba is better understood as turning, turning
toward the one in success, whatever be that success. Tauba (tawba) or more
literally is his/her return to God. In fact, anybody that repents from his
disobedience to the Law can be considered as coming back to God, after awhile,
being far from Him.
In the translation by Hazrat Inayat khan from the esoteric point of view of relenting, to cease resistance, to bend, this must be taken as the process of transmutation of the ego, the path of love, the path of fana fi Sheikh and fana fi Rassoul. Such path brings forth ceasing of resistance naturally because for the lover, he/she cannot but think of the object of his/her love without any need for effort or resistance. Then the unity of being in the presence happens naturally as the false ego abates or dies down and one reintegrate unity with the One.
As Hidayat Inayat Khan said in his introduction to Zikar16,
it is only when “I” am not, without wanting too, that God manifests His
presence. The process of relenting, bending or repenting is a continuous
process as well, with each breath: Ya Tawwāb.
Again as Hidayat said, Allah is always there16. Just relent (to die down or away) the ego, a process
called sublimation of the nafs, lower self or ego according to Hidayat, to
enter in His exalted presence.
This
quilted text was put together by Jean Pierre to help explain the meaning of Tauba
as part of his meditation on the ninety nine beautiful names of Allah.
PS: 15 One must first
understand that the ninety nine beautiful names of Allah are not always the
same in the many lists that have been published throughout the centuries. However,
according to Gimaret2, Tauba with 44 others beautiful names are
found in all lists. The list from
Walīd according to Ar-Râzî5 is one where most names are to be
found in the Koran and so, Ar-Râzî5 considered it. But the fact that
the Walīd list imposed itself before any other does not mean that is more
canonic. The Sufi Ibn Barragan2, combined the lists and published
130 names. Ibn Arabi2 follows Walīd list, but made changes from
Majid to Baith to place names from other lists.
--------------------------
1. Le Saint Coran.
2. Les noms divins en Islam, Daniel Gimaret, exégèse
lexicographique et théologique, 1988, Editions du cerf.
3. Mureeds’
Manual of the Sufi Ruhaniat International.
4. Asma’ul
Husna, the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.
5. Ar-Râzî, traité sur les noms
divins, by Maurice Gloton, Editions Al Bouraq.
6. Ninety-nine
names of Allah, Shems Friedlander with al-Hajj Shaikb Muzaffereddin.
7. Sufficient
Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truth, Al-Ghunya li-Tālibī
Tarīq al-Haqq, Volume Five, Shaikh ‘Abd Al-Qādir
Al-Jīlānī.
8. THE BESTOWAL OF BLESSING, by
Murshid Samuel L. Lewis, Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti
(One
Who is Drawn to God by Grace), Sufi Ruhaniat International papers.
9. SANGATHA Series 3, Sangatha Commentary on COSMIC LANGUAGE of Pir-o-Murshid
Hazrat Inayat Khan by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)
10. COMMENTARY ON “ THE INNER
LIFE ” OF HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN BY MURSHID SAMUEL L. LEWIS SUFI AHMED MURAD CHISTI
11. “GAYANIAT” Commentaries
on THE GAYAN: Notes From the Unstruck Music
of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)
12.
Commentary on Mental Purification by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed
Murad Chisti)
13.
SADHANA: THE PATH OF ATTAINMENT Githa Commentary series 2 Commentary on Githa
SADHANA: THE PATH OF ATTAINMENT Series 2 of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat
Khan by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)
14. Commentary on Sangatha
NAQSHIBANDI: SYMBOLOGY Series 3 of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan by
Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)
15. THE 99 NAMES OF GOD, by Scott Sattler,
Revised
16. The Wisdom of the Sufis. Hidayat Inayat Khan
17. Maulana Muhammad Ali , The Holy Qur’an, Arabic text, English Translation and
Commentary, Ahmadiyyah
Anjuman Isha’at Islam,
Lahore, Inc. USA, 1995.
18. Bowl
of Saki for July 23 by Hazrat Inayat Khan, Commentary
by Hazrat Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)
------------------
WARMTH MELTS, WHILE COLD FREEZES. A DROP OF ICE IN A WARM PLACE SPREADS AND COVERS A LARGE SPACE, WHEREAS A DROP OF WATER IN A COLD PLACE FREEZES AND BECOMES LIMITED. REPENTANCE HAS THE EFFECT OF SPREADING A DROP IN A WARM SPHERE, CAUSING THE HEART TO EXPAND AND BECOME UNIVERSAL, WHILE THE HARDENING OF THE HEART BRINGS LIMITATIONS.--Hazrat Inayat Khan18
Commentary by Hazrat Samuel L. Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti):
This shows the operation of Ishk. The expansive effect of Ishk, altering coarser vibrations into finer ones, creates what is called spirit. Spirit and matter are one, but the force of Ishk is lessened as it is removed from its source, which is the Throne or Heart of God (*Arsh*). Through Ishk ice melts, flowers grow, animals gain strength and all power of man comes. So to conceive that "Allaho Akbar" has one effect and "Ishk Allah" has another is blindness, except that "Allaho Akbar" seems to touch the physical body quicker and the heart more slowly while "Ishk Allah" touches the heart more quickly and the physical body more slowly. But in the end they meet, the purpose is the same -- the spiritualization of the field of endeavor. When the Divine Breath and Divine Efflux touch a sphere, they bring life, love, power and inspiration, breaking all hardness of heart, mind or body.