688 ISLAMIC MYSTICAL LITERATURE
beyond description. 'Nothing had been made
like him. He is the one who hears and sees.'^80
"After the high king fashioned the white dome
in all its beauty, he told Azazi'il,
'Make another sea equal to the one
that I have made.' After the king said this,
Azazi'il was shocked. He could not make
such a creation. And as it is written, 'Those
who won't believe are doomed to nothingness.'^81
'God doesn't lead those lacking faith in him.'^82
THE HIGH KING CREATES MORE
GLORIOUS BEINGS
"The high king wanted to create more beings
and showed this, shouting out his echo ahead
and behind, and when it reached the horizons
of the holy realm, everything rebounded
the echo of the two shouts, and from them
arose six tiers of spirits a thousand times
more delicate and pure. They were embellished
with pearls, corals, and rubies. A light shone
from every joint, a sun from every sinew.
A clear moon sparkled out of its navel.
"The high king glorified himself and from him
all learned to glorify and became glorifiers.
The senior in these six ranks was his Salman.^83
The others said, 'This place is beautiful,
and the form god has given us is beautiful.
If the godhead who created us appeared,
- Qur'an sura 42.
- Qur'an sura 18?
- Qur'an sura 16.
- As the manifestation of the divine Salman resembles Sophia, wisdom, or even the first
human, in gnostic texts.
