ISLAMIC MYSTICAL LITERATURE 669
sin three, mim three, alif three, and lam three,
second lam three, ha two. Nineteen letters.^20THE SEVEN AND THE TWELVE AS
MUHAMMAD AND HIS FAMILY
"The seven are parts of the high king: Muhammad,
Ali, Fatima, Hasan, Husayn, Abdallah,
and Abu Talib.^21 There is nothing above
or beside the seven. With a hundred thousand lights
and sparks and the glow of every color
and type, the seven appear in the white sea.
The other twelve are twelve lights of the people
of the house, lined in a row as incomparable
members of this realm. 'God commands the hosts
of heaven and earth. He is almighty and wise.'^22THE SEVEN AND THE TWELVE AS
HEAVENLY FEATURES
"The seven and the twelve lie hidden in the raiment
of the seven angels, signifying the seven letters
of the Bismillah, namely, Salman, Miqdad,
Abu Zarr, Ammar, Abu Horayra, Jondob,
and Komayl. The seven mantles and curtains
come from the seven and twelve in the same way
that Bismillah is the seven and the twelve.
Seven and twelve secret letters lie hidden
deep in the seven, and from east to west
in the world, no one is reliable but the reader- The sum of nineteen is found by counting the numbers of letters in the names of the letters
in Bismillah. - Muhammad is the prophet, Ali his cousin and son-in-law, Fatima the daughter of Muham-
mad, Hasan and Husayn the sons of Ali, Abdallah the father of Muhammad, and Abu Talib the
father of Ali and uncle of Muhammad. The first five represent the five powers or lights or an-
gels, the last two seem to be later additions. See below. - Qur'an sura 48.