“God is the scribe…, and the world is His ledger.” He wrote with Merciful Breath the many beautiful Names “that are the waves of this deep sea that has no bounds.” Volume XIII of this encyclopedia traces this analogy through the writings of great mystics of the sufi tradition whose many references to God made use of images of pens, tablets and names to describe the creation of all that exists from God. Sufi interpretations of the names and attributes of God-including Will, Power, Beauty, Majesty, and Truth-appear translated for the first time into English here.
According to Ebn 'Arabi, the absolute scribe is one whose link is his Pen, which, in turn, is his Finger, which is his very Essence, that is the Essence of God, apart from which there is nothing else. Every scribe must have a writing instrument, and God is the Scribe from Whom all existent things are propagated, and the world is His ledger, the Composed Book (ketab-e mastur).
Sufi Symbolism I
Sufi Symbolism II
Sufi Symbolism III
Sufi Symbolism IV
Sufi Symbolism IX
Sufi Symbolism V
