Both Hakim Sana'i in the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah* and Farid al-Din Attar in *The Conference of the Birds* formulate absolute Divine Unity (*Tawhid*) as a reality transcending numerical representation. Sana'i's description of God being beyond numbers ('one within one is one') directly informs Attar's description of the Valley of Unity, where all numbers dissolve into the absolute One. However, while Sana'i focuses on the epistemological limits of the human intellect (*'aql*) in comprehending this unity, Attar emphasizes the mystical journey and the spiritual experience of the wayfarer traversing the valley.

Comparison of Divine Unity in Sana'i's Hadiqah and Attar's Valley of Unity

In the fourth section of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Hakim Sana'i outlines the theological concept of *Tanzih al-Qidam* (the sanctification of Divine pre-eternity). He argues that God's eternal nature (*qidam*) is completely independent of, and transcendent over, time (*dahr*) and the physical universe (*tab'*). Sana'i refutes materialist (*Dahri*) views that deify time or nature, declaring both to be deficient, incomplete, and powerless without the Divine Word. By asserting that God's essence is neither bound by beginnings (*bidayat*) nor endings (*nihayat*), and cannot be perceived by the sensory or colored eye (*dideh-ye rang-bin*), Sana'i establishes that absolute pre-eternity belongs to God alone.

Sana'i's Concept of Divine Pre-Eternity and the Transcendence of God over Time and Nature

In the fifteenth section of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah* (the Chapter on Sanctification), Hakim Sana'i explains the concept of Divine incomprehensibility and transcendence over human thought (*khatir*) and imagination (*wahm*). To illustrate the limitation of human intellect in comprehending the Divine Essence (*dhat*), he introduces the metaphor of a blind man and his mother (*madar-e a'ma*). Sana'i argues that just as a blind person is absolutely certain of their mother's existence yet remains entirely unable to visualize or imagine her physical form ('how-ness' or *chuni*), so too does humanity know and affirm God's existence with certainty while being fundamentally incapable of comprehending or defining the Divine 'how-ness'. This metaphor highlights the strict boundary between knowing that God exists and knowing what God is, emphasizing that God transcends all anthropomorphic descriptions, categories, and rational boundaries.

Sana'i's Metaphor of the Blind Man and His Mother regarding Divine Incomprehensibility

In Section 51 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sana'i explains the contradiction between the material world and the divine realm. He argues that duality (*du'i*), exemplified by worldly distinctions and desires, is a construct of the rational intellect (*aql*) rather than divine unity (*tawhid*). To attain spiritual oneness (*yeki'i*), the seeker must relinquish attachments to temporal status, represented by crowns and belts, as the material and spiritual abodes are mutually exclusive.

Sana'i's Concept of the Contradiction of the Two Abodes in the Hadiqat al-Haqiqah

In Section 41 of the 'Hadiqat al-Haqiqah', Sanai explains that spiritual detachment (Tajrid) is a mandatory step before attaining divine unity (Tawhid). He describes Tajrid as the journey's provision and the counterpart to Tawhid, arguing that a seeker cannot comprehend unity without first stepping away from material attachments and renouncing worldly creation.

Sanai's Concept of Tajrid as a Prerequisite for Tawhid

In the third section of *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Hakim Sana'i outlines the doctrine of absolute Divine Unity (*Tawhid*) through the lens of divine transcendence (*tanzih*). He argues that God's oneness (*Ahadiyat*) and self-sufficiency (*Samadiyat*) transcend both rational comprehension (*'aql*) and sensory perception (*wahm*). Sana'i asserts that quantity, multiplicity, and descriptive inquiry (asking 'how, why, when, or where') are entirely inapplicable to the Divine Essence. By declaring that God is beyond numbers ('یکی اندر یکی یکی باشد') and that intellectual doubting is a path of misdirection ('به چراگاه دیو بر ز یقین'), Sana'i establishes a foundational Sufi epistemological principle: that the divine reality can only be approached through certainty and spiritual realization, not through speculative reason.

Google

## Original content
<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right; line-height: 2; margin-top: 0.5rem;">

احدست و شمار از او معزول 
صمدست و نیاز ازو مخذول
آن احد نی که عقل داند و فهم 
و آن صمد نی که حس شناسد و وهم
نه فراوان نه اندکی باشد 
یکی اندر یکی یکی باشد
در دویی جز بدو سقط نبود 
هرگز اندر یکی غلط نبود
تا ترا در درون شمار و شکیست 
چه یکی دان چه دو که هردو یکیست
به چراگاه دیو بر ز یقین 
چه و چند و چرا و چون را هین
نه بزرگیش هست از افزونی 
ذات او بر ز چندی و چونی
از پی بحث طالب عاجز 
هل و من گفتن اندرو جایز
کس نگفته صفات مبدع هو 
چند و چون و چرا چه و کی و کو
ید او قدرتست و وجه بقاش 
آمدن حکمش و نزول عطاش
قدمینش جلال قهر و خطر 
اصبعینش نفاذ حکم و قدر
هستها تحت قدرت اویند 
همه با او و او همی جویند
جنبش نور سوی نور بود 
نور کی ز آفتاب دور بود
با وجودش ازل پریر آمد 
به گه آمد ولیک دیر آمد
در ازل بسته کی بود علمش 
یک غلامست خانه زاد ازلش
از ابد دور دار وهم و گمان 
که ابد از ازل گرفت نشان
کی مکان باشدش ز بیش و ز کم 
که مکان خود مکان ندارد هم
خلق را زین صفت جهانی ساخت 
تا زبهر خود آشیانی ساخت
با مکان آفرین مکان چه کند 
آسمان گر بر آسمان چه کند
آسمان دی نبود امروز است 
باز فردا نباشد او نوزست
در نوردد ز پیش ستر دخان 
یوم نطوی السماء رو برخوان
عارفان چون دم از قدیم زنند 
ها و هو را میان دو نیم زنند
نه به ارکان ثبات اوقاتش 
نه مکان جای هستی ذاتش
ای که در بند صورت و نقشی 
بستهٔ استوی علی العرشی
صورت از محدثات خالی نیست 
در خور عز لایزالی نیست
زانکه نقاش بود و نقش نبود 
استوی بود و عرش و فرش نبود
استوی از میان جان می خوان 
ذات او بستهٔ جهات مدان
کاستوی آیتی ز قرآنست 
گفتن لامکان ز ایمانست
عرش چون حلقه از برون در است 
از صفات خدای بی خبر است
در صحیفهٔ کلام مسطور است 
نقش و آواز و شکل ازو دور است
ینزل الله هست در اخبار 
آمد و شد تو اعتقاد مدار
رقم عرش بهر تشریف است 
نسبت کعبه بهر تعریفست
لامکان گوی کاصل دین این است 
سر بجنبان که جای تحسین است
دشمنی حسین از آن جسته ست 
که علی لفظ لامکان گفته ست

</div>

## English translation
He is the One, and number is dismissed from Him;
He is the Self-Sufficient, and need is rejected by Him.
Not that One whom intellect and understanding can comprehend,
Nor that Self-Sufficient whom sense and imagination can know.
He is neither much nor little;
He is One in One, simply One.
In duality, there is nothing but error;
There is never any mistake in Unity.
As long as you have number and doubt within you,
Whether you know it as one or two, they are both the same.
Lift up from the pasture of the demon, by certainty,
The questions of 'what', 'how many', 'why', and 'how'.
His greatness is not from abundance;
His Essence is beyond quantity and quality.
For the sake of the helpless seeker's debate,
Saying 'is it?' and 'from whom?' is permitted.
No one has described the attributes of the Originator, the 'He':
How many, how, why, what, when, and where.
His 'Hand' is His power, and His 'Face' is His eternity;
His 'Coming' is His decree, and His 'Descending' is the bestowing of His gifts.
His 'Two Feet' are the majesty of His wrath and authority;
His 'Two Fingers' are the execution of His decree and destiny.
All existents are under His power;
They are all with Him and seeking Him.
The movement of light is toward light;
How can light be far from the sun?
With His existence, eternity past came but yesterday;
It came in time, yet it came late.
How could His knowledge be bound in eternity past?
Eternity past is but a houseborn slave of His.
Keep fancy and doubt away from eternity future,
For eternity future took its sign from eternity past.
How could He have a place, of more or less,
When place itself has no place of its own?
He made a world for creation from this attribute,
So that He built a nest for Himself.
What can place do with the Creator of place?
What can heaven do, even if it is upon heaven?
Heaven was not yesterday, it is today;
Again tomorrow it will not be, it is new.
The veil of smoke will be rolled up from before;
Go and read: 'The Day when We roll up the heavens.'
When the mystics speak of the Eternal,
They split the 'Ha' and 'Hu' in half.
His times are not established by physical elements,
Nor is space the location of His Essence's existence.
O you who are bound by form and design,
Captive of 'He established Himself upon the Throne.'
Form is not devoid of temporal creations;
It is not worthy of the Eternal Glory.
Because the Painter was, and there was no painting;
There was 'istawa' (establishing), and there was no Throne or Earth.
Read 'istawa' from the depths of your soul,
Do not consider His Essence bound by spatial directions.
For 'istawa' is a verse of the Quran;
To say 'spaceless' is of faith.
The Throne is like a ring outside the door;
It is ignorant of God's attributes.
It is written in the scroll of the Word;
Form, voice, and shape are far from Him.
'God descends' is in the traditions;
Do not believe in actual coming and going.
The designation of the Throne is for honor's sake;
The attribution of the Kaaba is for description.
Say 'spaceless', for this is the root of religion;
Nod your head, for it is worthy of praise.
The enmity toward Husayn arose because Ali uttered the word 'spaceless'.

بخش ۳ - فصل وحدت و شرح عظمت / Section 3 - Chapter on Unity and Description of Grandeur

Root URL: https://ganjoor.net/
Source URL: https://ganjoor.net/

This Reference node represents the source used by the Literature-to-1Cademy migration agent.

Learn Before

Related

Learn After