Salaam Jalal
I wanted to ask about this particular section:
Summary: After the peacock saw the beautiful forms in the mirror he became shy and timid in presence of Allah and in order to show apology and humility prostrated to Allah five times.
My understanding before consulting you was that the peacock saw its own reflection in the mirror, and that its own reflection was itself a reflection of God. So effectively what the peacock saw in the mirror was a reflection of a reflection of God. So I saw this section as a parallel to the Hadith An-Nur where God looked at the Nur Muhammadi while he was in the station of shyness and the Nur Muhammadi sweated with shyness (124,000 luminous drops which became prophets and messengers).
Further above, the word Surata-Hu meant “his form”, but “his” could refer to the Nur Muhammadi or to Allah.
So is it possible that the peacock’s earthly reputation for vanity has got in the way here? In your post on Haya the Sufi manual of Kashani explains that shyness really means awe in the presence of God, a proper sense of his greatness (which would be overwhelming, I think, and cause anyone to prostrate).
My query is this: I’m wanting to present the image in the mirror as a reflection of a reflection of God and would be glad to know if you feel this is a valid understanding of this part of the text.