The Bezels of Wisdom

«In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God Who has sent down the [revelations] of Wisdom upon the hearts of the logoi in a unique and direct way from the Station of Eternity, even though the sects and communities may vary because of the variety of the nations» — el prefacio del Fusus abre con la basmala y atribuye la bajada de la Sabiduría a los corazones de los logoi desde la Estación de la Eternidad, aunque varíen sectas y comunidades.

«I said, "All obedience is due to God and His Apostle; it shall be as we are commanded» — la respuesta del prefacio a esa orden.

«I asked of God that, both in this matter and in all conditions, He might number me among those of His servants over whom Satan has no authority» — el prefacio pide quedar entre los siervos sobre los que Satán no tiene autoridad.

«Also that, in all my hand may write, in all my tongue may utter, and in all my heart may conceal, He might favor me with His deposition and spiritual inspiration for my mind and His protective support, that I may be a transmitter and not a composer» — el pasaje donde el prefacio fija la posición del autor: transmisor y no compositor.

«so that those of the Folk who read it may be sure that it comes from the Station of Sanctification» — el prefacio nombra a sus lectores como la Gente y garantiza la procedencia del libro.

«I hope that the Reality, having heard my supplication, will heed my call, for I have not set forth here anything except what was set before me, nor have I written in this book aught but what was revealed to me» — el prefacio niega haber puesto nada que no le fuera presentado o revelado.

«Nor yet am I a prophet or an apostle, but merely an heir preparing for the Hereafter» — el prefacio niega para sí las dos funciones que el libro describe, profeta y apóstol, y se declara heredero.

«It is from God, so hear! And to God do you return! When you hear what I bring, learn» — el prefacio pasa a verso y ordena oír y aprender.

«Then with understanding see the details in the whole And also see them as part of the whole. Then give it to those Who seek it, and stint not. This is the Mercy that Encompasses you; so extend it» — el verso del prefacio manda ver el detalle en el todo y el todo en el detalle, y extender la Misericordia que abarca.

«From God I hope to be of those who are aided and accept aid, of those bound by the pure Law of Muhammad, who accept to be bound and by it bind. May He gather us with Him as He has made us to be of His community» — cierre del prefacio: la esperanza de quedar entre los ligados por la Ley pura de Muhammad.

«May God bless and protect him who provides the aspirations from the treasuries of bounty and munificience, Muhammad and his family» — cierra la doxología del prefacio sobre Muhammad y su familia; el impreso escribe *munificience* y parte la palabra al final del renglón.

«Muhammad and his family. I saw the Apostle of God in a visitation granted to me during the latter part of the month of Muharram in the year 627, in the city of Damascus» — el prefacio fecha la visita del Apóstol en la última parte de Muharram del año 627, en Damasco; la introducción del traductor reimprime este mismo pasaje en la plana 37, así que el ancla se alarga hasta la frase anterior para quedarse en el cuerpo.

«He had in his hand a book and he said to me, "This is the book of the Bezels of Wisdom; take it and bring it to men that they might benefit from it» — en el prefacio, el Apóstol entrega el libro y ordena llevarlo a los hombres, y de ahí sale el título; la plana 37 reimprime el pasaje con *bezels* en minúscula, y el ancla se fija por esa diferencia.

«of this book, even as the Apostle had laid down, without any addition or subtraction» — el prefacio declara haber publicado el libro tal como el Apóstol lo dispuso; la introducción del traductor imprime en la plana 37 *just as* donde el cuerpo imprime *even as*, y la divergencia se consigna sin armonizar.

«The Reality wanted to see the essences of His Most Beautiful Names or, to put it another way, to see His own Essence, in an all-inclusive object encompassing the whole [divine] Command, which, qualified by existence, would reveal to Him His own mystery» — arranque del capítulo I, la palabra de Adán: la Realidad quiso ver las esencias de sus Nombres Hermosísimos en un objeto que todo lo abarca.

«For the seeing of a thing, itself by itself, is not the same as its seeing itself in another, as it were in a mirror» — el capítulo I distingue el verse a sí mismo por sí mismo del verse en otro, como en un espejo.

«The Reality gave existence to the whole Cosmos [at first] as an undifferentiated thing without anything of the spirit in it, so that it was like an unpolished mirror» — el capítulo I describe el Cosmos primero como cosa indiferenciada sin espíritu, a modo de espejo sin pulir; los corchetes son del traductor.

«It is in the nature of the divine determination that He does not set out a location except to receive a divine spirit, which is also called [in the Qur'an] the breathing into him» — el capítulo I remite al soplo coránico; la nota al pie da la sura XXI:91.

«There is only that which is receptive and the receptive has been only from the most Holy Superabundance [of the Reality], for all power to act [all initiative] is from Him, in the beginning and at the end. All command derives from Him, 2 even as it begins with Him» — el capítulo I atribuye toda iniciativa y todo mandato a la Realidad; la nota remite al Corán II:210.

«Thus the [divine] Command required [by its very nature] the reflective characteristic of the mirror of the Cosmos, and Adam was the very principle of reflection for that mirror and the spirit of that form» — el capítulo I hace de Adán el principio mismo de reflexión del espejo del Cosmos.

«while the angels were only certain faculties of that form which was the form of the Cosmos, called in the terminology of the Folk, the Great Man» — el capítulo I reduce los ángeles a facultades de la forma del Cosmos, llamada por la Gente el Gran Hombre.

«Each of these [cosmic] faculties or powers is veiled [from knowing the whole] by its own self [being limited by its relative individuality], so that it cannot know anything that excels it» — el capítulo I declara velada a cada facultad por su propia individualidad.

«This [knowledge] cannot be arrived at by the intellect by means of any rational thought process, for this kind of perception comes only by a divine disclosure from which is ascertained the origin of the forms of the Cosmos receiving the spirits» — el capítulo I niega que a ese conocimiento se llegue por proceso racional: viene por develamiento divino.

«The [above-mentioned] formation is called Man and Vice-Regent [of God]. As for the first term, it stems from the universality of his formation and the fact that he embraces all the realities» — el capítulo I nombra esa formación Hombre y Vicerregente, y funda el primer término en la universalidad de su forma.

«For the Reality, he is as the pupil is for the eye through which the act of seeing takes place. Thus he is called insan [meaning both man and pupil], for it is by him that the Reality looks on His creation and bestows the Mercy [of existence] on them» — el capítulo I juega con la palabra árabe que dice a la vez hombre y pupila: por él la Realidad mira su creación.

«He is Man, the transient [in his form], the eternal [in his essence]; he is the perpetual, the everlasting, the [at once] discriminating and unifying Word» — el capítulo I reúne en el hombre lo transitorio y lo eterno, y lo llama Palabra que discrimina y unifica.

«It is by his existence that the Cosmos subsists and he is, in relation to the Cosmos, as the seal is to the ring, the seal being that place whereon is engraved the token with which the King seals his treasure» — el capítulo I compara al hombre con el sello del anillo con que el Rey sella su tesoro.

«So he is called the Vice-Regent, for by him God preserves His creation, as the seal preserves the king's treasure. So long as the king's seal is on it no one dares to open it except by his permission, the seal being [as it were] a regent in charge of the kingdom» — el capítulo I explica el título de Vicerregente por la función del sello sobre el tesoro.

«The latter is nothing other than the coming into operation of the undifferentiated form's [innate] disposition to receive the inexhaustible overflowing of Self-revelation, which has always been and will ever be» — el capítulo I define ese soplo como entrada en operación de la disposición innata a recibir el desbordamiento de la Autorrevelación.

«Even so is the Cosmos preserved so long as the Perfect Man remains in it. Do you not see that when he shall cease to be present in it and when the seal [on the treasury] of the lower world is broken» — el capítulo I ata la duración del Cosmos a la presencia del Hombre Perfecto y al sello del tesoro.

«thereof becoming reunited with every other part, [after which] the whole will be transferred to the Final Abode where the Perfect Man will be the seal forever» — el capítulo I lleva el sello hasta la Morada Final, donde el Hombre Perfecto lo será para siempre.

«All the Names constituting the Divine Image are manifest in the human formation so that this information enjoys a degree by which it encompasses and integrates all existence» — el capítulo I hace de la formación humana el lugar donde se manifiestan todos los Nombres.

«For the angels did not grasp the meaning of the formation of God's Regent nor did they understand the essential servitude demanded by the Plane of Reality. For none knows anything of the Reality save that which is itself implicit in the Essence» — el capítulo I explica por qué los ángeles protestaron: no captaron la formación del Regente ni la servidumbre esencial.

«The angels do not enjoy the comprehensiveness of Adam and comprehend only those Divine Names peculiar to them, by which they glorify and sanctify the Reality, nor are they aware that God has Names of which they know nothing and by which they cannot glorify Him, nor are they able to sanctify Him with the [complete] sanctification of Adam» — el capítulo I limita a los ángeles a los Nombres que les son propios.

«Will You put in it one who will work mischief in it» — el capítulo I cita la objeción coránica de los ángeles sobre Adán; la nota al pie da la sura II:30.

«meaning [his] rebellion, which is precisely what they themselves evince, for what they say of Adam applies equally to their own attitude toward the Reality» — el capítulo I vuelve la objeción contra quien la hace: lo que dicen de Adán vale para ellos.

«If they indeed knew their own [essential] selves they would know [their limitation], and if that were so, they would have been spared [their mistaken utterance» — el capítulo I ata el error de los ángeles al desconocimiento de sí mismos.

«Indeed, how can we make claims concerning something the reality of which we have not experienced and concerning which we have no knowledge, without exposing ourselves to ridicule» — el capítulo I pregunta cómo reclamar lo que no se ha experimentado.

«Know that the universals, even though they have no tangible individual existence in themselves, vet are conceived of and known in the mind; this is certain. They are always unmanifest as regards individual existence, while imposing their effects on all such existence» — el capítulo I define los universales: sin existencia individual y sin embargo eficaces sobre toda existencia.

«They are manifest as being individual beings and they are unmanifest as being [purely] intelligible» — el capítulo I reparte manifiesto y no manifiesto entre lo individual y lo inteligible.

«THE CLASSICS OF WESTERN SPIRITUALITY A Library of the Great Spiritual Masters» — la portadilla de la serie declara su programa editorial: una biblioteca de los grandes maestros espirituales, y es la serie la que coloca este volumen bajo el rótulo *Western*.

«President and Publisher Kevin A. Lynch, C.S.P. EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Richard J. Payne» — la plana del comité editorial nombra al presidente y editor de la casa y al director editorial de la serie.

«Seyyed Hossein Nasr—Professor of Islamics, Department of Religion, Temple University» — entre los consultores editoriales de la serie figura un especialista en islam; el guion largo del impreso separa nombre y cargo.

«Other volumes in this series Julian of Norwich • SHOWINGS Jacob Boehme • THE WAY TO CHRIST» — la lista de volúmenes hermanos abre la serie con Juliana de Norwich y Jacob Boehme: el Fusus entra en un catálogo de místicos cristianos, judíos y musulmanes.

«Cover Art The artist, Gloria Ortiz, is a native of Cali, Colombia» — la plana de derechos acredita la portada a una artista radicada en Manhattan.

«Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-83892 ISBN: 0-8091-233 l-2(Paper) 0-8091-0313-3 (Cloth)» — la página de derechos imprime el número de catálogo y los dos ISBN, rústica y tela; la capa de texto parte el primero.

«RALPH AUSTIN was born in 1938 in Willerby, England. He holds an Honours degree in Classical Arabic and a Ph.D. in Islamic Mysticism, both from the University of London» — la solapa titulada *Editor of this Volume* da la formación del traductor: licenciatura en árabe clásico y doctorado en mística islámica por Londres. Es solapa editorial, no voz de la obra.

«Since 1963 he has taught Arabic and Islamic Studies in the School of Oriental Studies at the University of Durham, firstly as lecturer and currently as senior lecturer» — la misma solapa lo sitúa enseñando árabe y estudios islámicos en Durham.

«In 1971 he produced a translation of two of Ibn al-'Arabfs autobiographical works, together with introduction and notes, entitled Sufis of Andalusia, published by George Allen & Unwin» — la solapa registra su traducción anterior de dos obras autobiográficas de Ibn al-'Arabi bajo el título *Sufis of Andalusia*.

«TITUS BURCKHARDT, the son of the famous Swiss sculptor Carl Burckhardt, was born in 1908 in Florence» — la solapa titulada *Author of the Preface* presenta al prologuista como hijo del escultor suizo Carl Burckhardt.

«He translated several mystical works from Arabic into French [Ibn al-'Arabfs Wisdom of the Prophets, Abdul-Karlm al-JIlfs The Perfect Man, The Leters of a Sufi Master» — la solapa enumera sus traducciones al francés, entre ellas la versión parcial del propio Fusus; el impreso escribe *Leters* con una sola te.

«It may well be asked why anyone should enter a magic web to follow the train of thought which, since it is both mystical in nature and Arabic in style, will always remain very foreign to our own» — Titus Burckhardt abre su prefacio planteando la objeción que él mismo se hace: por qué un lector no arabista habría de entrar en este libro.

«the reply may be given: because ''truth is one" and it is spiritually comforting to discover it hidden under the most diverse appearances» — Burckhardt responde con la unidad de la verdad y el consuelo de hallarla bajo apariencias diversas; el entrecomillado interno es del impreso.

«The only books worth our attention are those which spring from the heart and in turn speak to the heart» — Burckhardt cita como dicho de los sufíes la regla sobre los libros que nacen del corazón.

«'Heart' can be understood as the very center of our psycho-physical being, as the meeting-place of soul and mind or, more precisely, as the focal point where the mind, which in itself is all knowledge or light, is reflected in the mirror of the soul» — Burckhardt precisa qué entiende por corazón: el centro del ser psicofísico, donde la mente se refleja en el espejo del alma.

«Ibn 'Arab! names some 27 prophets, all of whom are mentioned in the Koran» — Burckhardt anticipa la estructura del libro: veintisiete profetas, todos coránicos; el impreso corrompe el nombre del autor en *Ibn 'Arab!*.

«Water derives its color from the vessel that holds it," Sufi al-Junaid maintains» — Burckhardt atribuye a al-Junaid la sentencia del agua que toma el color del vaso, y la usa para la ley de la revelación que se ciñe a su receptáculo.

«according to the Koran, each prophet, including Christ, is a messenger sent by God to a particular people» — según Burckhardt, el Corán hace de cada profeta, Cristo incluido, un mensajero enviado a un pueblo.

«The Koran places the prophets outside history, within the framework of the unitarian message of Islam» — Burckhardt sostiene que el Corán saca a los profetas de la historia y los pone dentro del mensaje unitario del islam.

«The Bible stories linked to various prophets reappear in part in the Koran, but reduced to their essential features and, as it were, crystallized into symbolic accounts» — Burckhardt describe qué le pasa al relato bíblico al reaparecer en el Corán: reducido a lo esencial y cristalizado en cuento simbólico.

«It is of equal importance to Sufic spirituality in which different prophets correspond to various spiritual types and, consequently, to different avenues of approach to God» — Burckhardt enlaza el tema profético con la espiritualidad sufí, donde cada profeta corresponde a un tipo espiritual y a una vía de acceso.

«draw a comparison between Ibn 'Arabfs study of the prophets and the representations done by Christian sculptors on the portals of the Gothic cathedrals, notably the northern doorway of Chartres which dates from the same period as Bezels of Wisdom» — Burckhardt propone el cotejo con la escultura del portal norte de Chartres, contemporánea del libro.

«In Christianity especially, a prophet is one who foretells the future and, more exactly, announces the coming of Christ» — Burckhardt distingue el sentido cristiano de profeta, el que anuncia la venida de Cristo, del sentido coránico.

«since on the Christian side, the statues look to the central figure of Christ. Moreover, they are all located on the North side of the sanctuary so as to recall that their place is in the shadow of the Old Testament, before the rising of the spiritual Sun who is Christ» — Burckhardt marca la diferencia del cotejo con Chartres: allí las estatuas miran a Cristo y están del lado norte, a la sombra del Antiguo Testamento.

«Ibn 'Arabfs study of the prophets goes beyond the official theology of Islam and does not hesitate to shatter it with such ideas as absolute divinity, which is unattainable, on the one hand, and relative divinity on the other, which does not exist—since it is not of God outside the polarity between Creator and creature» — Burckhardt sostiene que el libro rebasa la teología oficial del islam con la pareja de divinidad absoluta inalcanzable y divinidad relativa; el impreso corrompe el nombre en *Ibn 'Arabfs*.

«His study also contains his theory of prototypes or unchanging essences, which have no existence in pure Being but nevertheless refract it in the form of innumerable possibilities» — Burckhardt resume la teoría de los prototipos o esencias inmutables: no existen en el Ser puro y sin embargo lo refractan.

«His thought has a special stamp and lacks a certain cohesion because it is a blending of intellectual speculation, in the true sense of the word speculate: to reflect on intellectual reality beyond the reach of the senses; this reflection is accompanied by ecstatic visions» — Burckhardt señala la falta de cohesión del conjunto y la explica por la mezcla de especulación intelectual y visión extática.

«Now speculation is answerable to objective knowledge, while ecstatic vision derives from subjective and mystical inspiration» — Burckhardt distingue las dos fuentes de conocimiento que se cruzan en el libro, y añade que la inspiración no es por ello irreal.

«This is true of the first chapter, dealing with Adam, in which the first sentence—very long with many interjections—summarizes the entire Sufic theory on God's manifestation in the world» — Burckhardt señala el capítulo de Adán, cuya primera frase condensa según él toda la teoría sufí de la manifestación.

«I was a hidden treasure who longed to be known; therefore I created the world» — Burckhardt traduce el dicho divino del tesoro escondido, que dice bien conocido en el esoterismo musulmán, y lo pone como base del arranque del libro.

«In order to avoid all misunderstanding we should point out that the works written by Muhyi al-Dln Ibn al-'Arabl do not have the unqualified approval of all Sufis or Moslem contemplatives» — Burckhardt consigna que la obra no cuenta con la aprobación unánime de los sufíes ni de los contemplativos musulmanes.

«there is a quality much like heady wine and certain Sufic masters are afraid of its effect on novices» — Burckhardt reporta el reparo de ciertos maestros sufíes ante el efecto de esos libros en los novicios.

«When I was 24 and living in Fez, in the old quarter where traditional style and clothing were still in evidence, I counted among my friends several members of the Sufic classes» — Burckhardt introduce su recuerdo personal de Fez a los veinticuatro años como testimonio de la recepción del libro entre sufíes.

«Both groups frequently spoke with great veneration of the writings of Ibn 'Arab! whom they called ash-Sheikh al-akbar [the supreme master» — Burckhardt reporta la veneración con que artesanos y letrados de al-Qarawiyin hablaban del autor bajo el título de maestro supremo.

«One day while browsing among the bookshops opposite the great mosque and university, I discovered a copy of the seven-volume work, Futuhat al-Mekkiyah [Revelations Received at Mecca], the greatest and most elaborate of the writings of Sheikh al-akbar» — Burckhardt narra el hallazgo de las Futuhat en siete volúmenes en las librerías frente a la gran mezquita de Fez.

«It is much too advanced for you. What you need is a primer [of the spiritual life]» — en la anécdota de Burckhardt, el derviche Mohammed ben Makhluf le niega el libro por avanzado y le receta una cartilla; el corchete es del traductor del prefacio.

«Whom was it written for then?" "For men who can see through walls but do not do so, nor even wish to» — el cierre de la anécdota de Burckhardt: el libro está escrito para quienes pueden ver a través de los muros y no lo hacen.

«The work was probably composed largely in Damascus where Ibn al-'Arabi spent most of the last ten years of his life. Fortunately, a manuscript copy of the work exists which bears his signature of approval» — R.W.J. Austin sitúa la composición en Damasco y consigna que existe una copia manuscrita con la firma de aprobación del autor.

«Being a synoptic work, the style is very concentrated and condensed, making it a peculiarly difficult work to translate into another language in a way which makes some sort of sense to the non-Arabic speaking and non-Muslim reader» — Austin declara el muro de su propia tarea: el estilo sinóptico y condensado vuelve la obra peculiarmente difícil de verter.

«brings together in a wonderful synthesis a multitude of spiritual traditions and esoteric lore, both Is» — Austin describe el libro como síntesis de una multitud de tradiciones espirituales y saberes esotéricos; el tramo se corta en el guion de fin de plana, y la palabra sigue en la plana 20.