Poetry Chaikhana Blog

Ivan M. Granger July 23rd, 2008

The world but seems to be
by Fakhruddin Iraqi

English version by William Chittick and Peter Lamborn Wilson

The world but seems to be
      yet is nothing more
than a line drawn
      between light and shadow.
Decipher the message
      of this dream-script
and learn to distinguish time
      from Eternity.

— from Fakhruddin Iraqi: Divine Flashes (Classics of Western Spirituality) , by William Chittick / Nasr Seyyed Hossein

/ Photo by tanakawho /

There is actually quite a bit being said in this brief poem that gets into both the mystical experience of reality and also certain aspects of Muslim theology.

First, consider the picture Iraqi has drawn for us: We have light and shadow — together making a whole or a circle — and a line drawn between them. The line divides the circle, the wholeness, into two semi-circles. Those semi-circles each have the shape of a bow… two bows.

The image of two bows is important in Islam. In the Quran, the Prophet Mohammed is said to have ascended to heaven where he drew near to God, “two bow’s length away.” The significance of the distance of two bows has been endlessly debated and contemplated in the Muslim world.

So here, Iraqi is expanding on the mystical explanation given by the Sufi philosopher Ibn Arabi that the two bows represent the two aspects of reality: light and shadow, the Bow of Necessary Being and the Bow of Possible-Existence. When the two bows are joined, reality is seen in its wholeness, and one can draw near to the face of God.

This image also suggests that the world itself is not a stable, fixed reality. It does not truly exist in its own sense. It is simply a meeting point between the light and the dark. Just as the present moment is the meeting point between the past and the future. But, if you steady your mind and expand your vision, you can truly discern that line of meeting — and then it no longer divides the two halves; it joins them. It is then that the whole vision comes upon you and you “learn to distinguish time [the separated pieces] / from Eternity [the wholeness].”

In the text of his “Divine Flashes,” Iraqi follows this poem with a note and another brief poem:

Break the code of this line and know beyond all doubt that

All is nothing,
      nothing.
All is He,
      all is HE.

Fakhruddin Ibrahim ‘Iraqi was a fascinating figure who bridged several Sufi traditions and traveled through much of the Muslim world.

Fakhruddin ‘Iraqi was born in Kamajan near Hamadan, in what is today Iran. (The name ‘Iraqi does not refer to the modern country of Iraq, but local region around Hamadan.)

Tradition says that a month before his birth, ‘Iraqi’s father had a dream vision in which the greatly revered Imam ‘Ali (son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad) handed him the child and said, “Take our ‘Iraqi and raise him well, for he will be a world conqueror!”

While still a young boy, ‘Iraqi gained local fame for having memorized the entire Koran and reciting it aloud. He went on to acquire an impressive education in his teens.

This properly devout young man surprised everyone when he abandoned his community and joined a group of traveling Kalandar dervishes. Kalandar Sufis had a bohemian, some would even say heretical, lifestyle and expression of the Muslim faith.

The young ‘Iraqi eventually ended up in Multan in what is modern day Pakistan. There he received formal initiation into the Sufi way under Shaykh Baha’uddin, the head of the Suhrawardiyya Sufi Order, one of the most influential Sufi groups in the Indian subcontinent. ‘Iraqi lived in Multan for 25 years as one of the Suhrawardis, composing poetry. As Shaykh Baha’uddin was dying, he named Fakhruddin ‘Iraqi to be his successor.

When it became known that ‘Iraqi had been named head of the Suhrawardi Order, some in the order became jealous and denounced him to the local sultan who sought to have ‘Iraqi arrested.

‘Iraqi fled the area with a few close companions, and they eventually made their way to Mecca and Medina. Later they moved north to Konya in Turkey. This was Konya at the time of Rumi. ‘Iraqi often listened to Rumi teach and recite poetry, and later attended Rumi’s funeral.

Although ‘Iraqi was nominally the head (in exile) of a large and respected Sufi order, he humbly became the disciple of another Sufi master — Sadruddin Qunawi, who also lived in Konya at the time. Qunawi was the son-in-law of the recently deceased Sufi philosoper Ibn ‘Arabi. Although less known in the West today, Qunawi was perhaps the pre-eminent Sufi teacher in Konya at the time, even better known than his neighbor Rumi.

‘Iraqi was deeply devoted to Qunawi and to the teachings of Ibn ‘Arabi. It was a series of speeches Qunawi delivered on the esoteric meaning of Ibn ‘Arabi’s great works that inspired ‘Iraqi to compose his own masterpiece of commentary and poetry named the Lama’at or Divine Flashes.

When Fakhruddin ‘Iraqi died he was buried near Ibn ‘Arabi’s tomb.

More poetry by Fakhruddin Iraqi

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