(Dhat). The Essence. This is Allah in Himself without regard to His creations, His Attributes or His Names. The Essence is beyond knowledge or conceptualization. Allah warns us of this aspect of Himself. The Essence is Absolute Blindness, the Hidden of the Hidden, the Unknown of the Unknown. This is the World of Absolute Non-manifestation.
(Laylat al Mi'raj). The Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace), the slave of Allah ('Abdullah), was 'taken' to the Divine Presence on this 'night'. The word 'night' indicates that moment which is outside of time when Muhammad al Mustapha was blindfolded to everything that is other-than-Allah. In this timeless moment he was in a state of utter Unity . He had realized the Unity of Time, Unity of Place and Unity of Essence. In this state of inner unity he was 'taken' to the Divine Presence. He did not 'go' of his own accord, but was 'chosen' to be 'taken' on this 'night'. The Holy Prophet is the Beautiful Model and his Ascension is the ascension par excellence. By following in his footsteps the yearning lovers and devoted followers and bereft slaves hope to follow him to the Divine Presence. The chosen one (al Mustapha) is the Slave and he is also the Beloved of Allah. No one meets Allah by being a lover, only by being the Beloved. The Night of Ascension, the Night when man ascends to the Divine Presence, corresponds to the Night of Power when the Spirit descends to man.
(Ghayb). The Mystery or the Non-Manifested or the Unseen. The Unknowable or the Mystery of Mysteries. The hadith, "Nothing is like Him" refers to al ghayb. It is His Incomparability. It is all that is beyond reach of our vision. Al ghayb is all that Allah veils from you because of you, not because of Him. To attain to 'The Unseen', the slave and lover is told, 'Leave aside your self and come!' And, when he obeys, it is Allah Who Sees Allah.
