ABSTRACT
The disagreements that occur between the visionary and the scholar are caused by their failure to understand each other's languages, for each has his own distinctive way of expressing things. I do not know whether you have heard the story of the three people -one a Persian, one a Turk, and the other an Arab-who were discussing what they should eat for lunch. The Persian said, "Let us eat angur"; the Arab said, "No, let's have 'anab"; and the Turk said, "As for me, I would prefer uzum." Now all three words mean "grapes," but since they did not understand each other's languages, they argued until each of them had to fetch what he desired and they realized they had all wanted the same thing. 81
Different languages express the same thing in different ways. The philosophers, for example, have their own language and terminology; so do the mystics, the fuqaha, and even the poets. The ma'sumin82 (upon whom be peace) also have their own language, and we must examine the language of each of the other four groups to see which is closest to the language of the ma'sumin and also to that of the Qur'an. The matter to be expressed is the same: no rational human being who believes in the divine unity will disagree that God Almighty exists and that He is the origin of all existence: all creatures are the outcome of this origin. No rational person will believe that a man dressed in jacket and trousers, or in turban and cloak, could be God; such a man is a created being. When it comes to interpreting the relationship of God and His creation, however, and choosing terms to express it, disagree-
ments arise. Let us see, then, why the mystics express mallers in a certain way, what prompts them to do so.
