God, First and Last

The pileated woodpecker backlit in morning sun blazes with remembrance of the majesty of God. All manifestations, even unto Paradise, surrender before the Transcendent. In the chapter on “The Fall of Adam” (Sufism, pp. 141-177), William Chittick translates portions of The Refreshment of the Spirits by Ahmad Sam’ani (d. 1140). Adam is revealed as the paradigm for choosing God above all else:

“‘Adam’s unharnessed aspiration placed him like a sultan on the horse of love. He took the arrow of solitude from the quiver of detachment and stretched the bow to its limit. He shot the beautiful peacock of paradise, which was strutting in the garden of the Abode. He knew that this was the path of the detached, the work of those with high aspiration, the court of those brought near to God. Time, space, entities, traces, vestiges, shapes, existent things, and objects of knowledge must be erased completely from in front of you. If any of these clings to your skirt, the name of freedom will not stick to you. As long as the name free does not sit on you, you can never be a true servant of God.’” (Sufism, p. 155; Chittick translating Sam’ani’s Refreshment of the Spirits, p. 120)

In this chapter, Chittick articulates the gift of Adam, especially in leading us toward the secret of Love and into grasping the essential value of free choice.

“If human beings are to aspire to God, they need to be able to differentiate between God and all else. The key to human love and perfection is a discerning heart, one that sees God in the midst of the confusing multiplicity of creation. Adam provides the model for lovers.” (Sufism, p. 156)

Adam disobeyed God at God’s instigation, because God knew that without disobedience Adam would not realize the attributes of distance that allow him to become a lover. The essence of love is yearning and heartache. ” (Sufism, p. 152-3)