Ruzbihan Baqli
Kazuyo Murata

When God shone forth from the rising place of eternity and disclosed Himself to nonexistence through His knowledge, He did not see anything other than Himself. He marveled at His beauty (jamal). His attributes spread apart from one another. Then He brought His lovers into existence so that they might take pleasure in union with Him and rejoice in His subsistence. Then He desired to create the spirits of His prophets and saints, just as He said, “I was a Hidden Treasure, so I loved to be recognized.” Then He scooped up some water from the ocean of the letters K and N.

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Originally a chapter of Murata, Kazuyo, Beauty in Sufism: the teachings of Ruzbihan Baqli. State University of New York Press, 2017. Republished here with thanks.