In His Name, be He glorified!
And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
My Dear, Loyal, Curious Brother, Re’fet Bey!
You ask in your letter about the ten subtle faculties. It is not appropriate to give instruction in the Sufi way at present; there are in any case the works about them written by the learned shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Order. Our duty at the present time is to disclose mysteries, not to relate existent matters. Don’t be offended, I can’t give the details. I shall only say this much:
Imam‑i Rabbani defined the ten subtle faculties as the heart, spirit, inner heart (sirr), khafī, akhfā, and a faculty related to each of the four elements in man, and he discussed briefly the progress of one faculty in each stage of the spiritual journeying.
I myself observe that there are numerous subtle faculties in man’s comprehensive disposition and vital potentialities, of which ten have become famous. The philosophers and literalist scholars made those ten faculties the basis of their theories in another form, and called them the five external senses and five internal senses, these latter being the windows or samples of the ten faculties.
In fact, man’s ten subtle faculties, which are well‑known by both the learned and ordinary people, are related to the Sufis’ ten subtle faculties. For example, if such faculties as the conscience, nerves, emotions, intellect, desires, power of animal appetites, and power of anger are added to the heart, spirit, and inner heart, the ten subtle faculties are shown in another way. There are many other faculties in addition to these, like the sense of premonition, and various motive and appetitive powers. To expound this question completely would be very lengthy, and as I have little time, I am compelled to cut it short.
As for your second question, about the aspect of things which looks to themselves, and the aspect which looks to their Maker (mânâ‑yı ismî and mânâ‑yı harfî), they are explained at the start of all books on Arabic grammar. Moreover, there are ample explanations of them, together with comparisons, in the works of the science of reality called The Words and Letters. Further discussion would be superfluous for someone intelligent and exacting like yourself.
If when you look at the mirror, you look at it for the glass, you will intentionally see the glass; Re’fet will strike the eye secondarily, indirectly. Whereas if your purpose is to look at the mirror in order to see your blessed face, you will intentionally see lovable Re’fet. You will exclaim: So blessed be Allah, the Best of Creators! The glass of the mirror will strike your eye secondarily and indirectly. Thus, in the first instance, the glass of the mirror is ‘the meaning that looks to the thing itself,’ while Re’fet is its ‘significative meaning.’ In the second instance, the glass of the mirror is ‘the significative meaning’, that is, it is looked at not for itself but for another meaning; that is, the reflection. The reflection is ‘the meaning which looks to the thing itself.’ That is, it is included in one respect in the definition it points to a meaning in itself. While the mirror verifies the definition of its ‘significative meaning,’ which is it points to the meaning of another.
According to the Qur’anic view, all the beings in the universe are letters, expressing through their ‘significative meaning,’ the meaning of another. That is, they make known the names and attributes of that Other. Soulless philosophy for the most part looks in accordance with ‘the meaning which looks to the thing itself’ and deviates into the bog of nature. However, I do not have the time now for much talk. In fact, I cannot even write the final and easiest and most important part of the Index. Convey my greetings to your study companions, in particular, Husrev, Bekir, Rüşdü, Lütfü, Shaykh Mustafa, Hâfız Ahmed, Sezâi, the Mehmeds, and the Hojas. I pray for the blessed innocents in your household.
The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!Your brother,Said Nursi