Discourse of the Regal Eagle
And when the Eagle heard what Green Ring Dove had mentioned to him and what she conveyed to him of indubitable knowledges, he then said: (Green Ring Dove) has veracity in what had claimed and she has emerged for you (pl.) of what she contains (of knowledge).
I said to him (Eagle): Fly through the atmosphere of your Bayān (Rigour) and elucidate for us your nature. The throne of the eagle shook and while he flapped his wings with joy:
I am the Eagle, for me most-high rank, the goodness, the most beautiful resplendent light
I execute the affairs, orderly, in compliance with wisdom
From the shores of the corporeal realm, my power forbids (or forbidden for me to enter this physical realm or the physical realm come close to me)
I was non-being without any ‘Ayn (Contrast to be seen), until Divine Providence (graceful attention) brought forth my existence, (an existence) with a beginning. And this was so due to IT lucently manifested (Tajalli) ITself to ITself, consequently my existence was prolonged by instrument of IT SEEING ITself.
consequently my existence was prolonged by instrument of IT SEEING ITself: IT shone light upon ITself, So IT sees ITs own Divine Beauty, and such process requires:
1. An Eye to see
2. Light to illuminate
3. Beauty to endue the seeing with Divine Gift of pleasure
From the leftover of 1-3 there was enough light and Eye to focus on a contrast to see the Eagle (Eagle contrasted), and as long as this light shines and this Eye sees the contrast (‘Ayn) then the Eagle prolongs to be.
…
Fly through the atmosphere of your Bayān (Rigour): The Regal Eagle is Al-‘Aql Al-Awwal (Primordial Intellect) as depicted in the Hadith (Prophetic Narration). The Aql is spatial i.e. has attributes of space, as those of our brain and thoughts. They, our minds and thoughts, have spaces within which they do signals, computations, thoughts and imagination and so on. Therefore the Eagle is told to fly i.e. move rapidly within the space of Primordial Intellect. Each motions becomes or rigorously brings forth knowledges or thoughts or rationalizations in most precise accurate manner hence the word rigour. In other words, when a bird flies in the atmosphere of this planet, it produces waves and eddies, sounds and images as the result of its motility. This Eagle in place of waves and sounds and images produces thoughts and knowledges and so on as the result of his motility.
I was non-being without any ‘Ayn (Contrast to be seen): Some entities might not have existence but can be SEEN, we all have experienced that, almost on daily basis when scientists imagine some fact (yet to be observed) or the weather man forecasts the future of the weather. Although the entity is not in existence, yet it has an image that forms in our minds, forms by the optical-like act of increasing its contrast so we can see it before it even becoming. So the Eagle said he was so non-existence that even did not have such an ocular image that could be contrasted and viewed.
(an existence) with a beginning: There are some forms of existence that have no beginning, there is no knowledge that can explain how the entity started. But the Eagle informs Ibn Arabi that he had a beginning. For example the Estranged ‘Anqa’ has no beginning, but Eagle does.
And I become ITs throne by (my) Sarira-t (Divine Observatory): When the light shone and when the Divine Eye saw the contrast that formed i.e. the Eagle, the Eagle itself developed an eye of its own, this de novo eye sees the Divine Knowledges and Divine Secrets like an observatory which is called Sirr in Sufism e.g. Sarira-t is another version of the word Sirr. Therefore people and things can use the Eagles new eye to see things about Allah and feel an ocular form of Divine Presence without actually seeing Allah and that is called the throne: Place a king is being exhibited to honour and adore and fear.
