Inspired Knowledge in Islamic Thought by Treiger Alexander

Author:Treiger, Alexander.
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)

Appendix A

The Pen and the Tablet

The Pen (al-qalam, Q. 68:1, 96:4) and the Preserved Tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ, Q. 85:22) are important concepts of al-Ghazālī’s theory of prophecy and mystical cognition. It is therefore crucial to analyze them in detail, especially as there is no coherent explanation of their identity in modern studies touching on the subject.

The Pen is one of al-Ghazālī’s terms for the Active Intellect.1 The Active Intellect is, however, not identical with the lowest (tenth) separate intellect (the intellect of the sublunar sphere) – as is the case in al-Fārābī and Avicenna. In al-Ghazālī, it is identical instead with the First Intellect (al-‘aql al-awwal), who is the First Originated Being (al-mubda‘ al-awwal) and the mover of the Outermost Sphere. It is also called Fire, Spirit, Supernal Divine Spirit (al-rūḥ al-ilāhīya al-‘ulwīya), Holy Spirit (rūḥ al-quds), Angel with seventy thousand faces, and Privileged Angel (al-malak al-muqarrab). His proper name is Isrāfīl, and he is identified as the “Vizier” in the Alchemy of Felicity and as the “Moon-angel” in the Niche of Lights.

It would take us too long to document this completely, but the following can be said.2 The identification of Fire, Spirit, Supernal Divine Spirit, and Angel with seventy thousand faces is attested in the Niche of Lights.3 The same work hints at the identity of this entity with Isrāfīl and the Privileged Angel (al-muqarrab).4 Isrāfīl is explicitly said to be the Privileged Angel in Book 32 of the Revival.5 The Privileged Angel (Pers. ferīshte-ye moqarrabtarīn) is called the “Vizier” in the Alchemy of Felicity, which also indicates that his “residence” (mostaqarr) is the Throne.6

The Throne (‘arsh), the Footstool (kursī), and the seven heavens are said to be bodily entities in the Demarcating Criterion, which makes it almost certain that the Throne and the Footstool are heavenly spheres: the Outermost Sphere and the Sphere of the Fixed Stars respectively.7 The Alchemy confirms this, making clear that the Throne (the “private chamber” of the parable) lies beyond the Sphere of the Fixed Stars (falak ol-kavākeb, the “portico” with twelve gates, corresponding to the twelve signs of the zodiac).8 Moreover, as another chapter of the same work makes clear, Isrāfīl is identical to the entity called Angel, Spirit, and Holy Spirit (rūḥ ol-qods). His task is to carry God’s “effect” (athar) from the Throne to the Footstool.9 It seems clear that, in astronomical terms, this entity is closely associated with the Outermost Sphere and is, presumably, also the mover of that sphere, and hence identical with the “Moon-angel” of the Niche.10 This seems to be confirmed by another passage in the Alchemy, which argues that the “deputies of the Vizier are other angels, whose rank is below that of the Privileged Angel.” Since these “deputies” (nāyebān) are located at the level of the “portico,” i.e. the Sphere of the Fixed Stars, it is clear that they (together with the movers of the planetary spheres) correspond to the “Star-angels” of the Mishkāt, and hence the Vizier must correspond to the “Moon-angel.”11

The Pen is identified with Fire most clearly in Book 35 of the Revival.

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