Although there is no consensus with regard to Sufi cosmology, one can disentangle various threads that led to the crystallization of more or less coherent cosmological doctrines. Reading various authoritative texts, one can see that practitioners of Sufism were not much bothered with inconsistencies and contradictions that have arisen due to juxtaposition and superposition of at least three different cosmographies: The Ishraqi visionary universe as expounded by Suhrawardi Maqtul, the Neoplatonic view of the cosmos cherished by Islamic philosophers like Ibn Sina / Avicenna and Sufis like Ibn Arabi, and the Hermetic-Ptolemaic spherical geocentric world. All these doctrines (each one of them claiming to be impeccably orthodox) were freely mixed and juxtaposed, frequently with confusing results--a situation one encounters in other esoteric doctrines, from Hebrew Kabbalah and Christian Gnosticism to Vajrayana Buddhism and Trika Shaivism. The following cosmological plan is usually found in various Sufi texts: // Cosmology, from the Greek: κοσμολογία (cosmologia, κόσμος (cosmos) order + λογια (logia) discourse) is the study of the Universe in its totality, and by extension, humanitys place in it. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A longstanding school of Iranian philosophy, the Illuminationist Philosophy or hekmat-al-eshraq (Arabic حكمة الإشراق, Persian حكمت اشراق) was first developed by Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, the famous Persian Philosopher. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Sohrevardi. ... Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is an ancient school of philosophy beginning in the 3rd century A.D. It was based on the teachings of Plato and Platonists; but it interpreted Plato in many new ways, such that Neoplatonism was quite different from what Plato taught, though not many Neoplatonists would... Islamic philosophy (الفلسفة الإسلامية) is a part of the Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between faith, reason or philosophy, and the religious teachings of Islam. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The works of Avicenna, the greatest of the medieval Persian physicians, were long used in European medical education. ... BismillahirRahmanirRahim Muhyi l-Din Muhammad b. ... The word hermetic is commonly applied to literary or graphical symbolism that is exceedingly obscure, convoluted, or esoteric. ... Mediaeval drawing of the Ptolemaic system. ... This article is about the overall Jewish mysticisms tradition. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Chinese :   金剛乘   jin gang cheng A mandala used in Vajrayana Buddhist practices. ... Buddhist Flag Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, the teachings of the awakened one) is not a religion, but a way of life, a practical philosophy, and arguably a psychology, focusing on the teachings of Gautama Buddha (Pali: Gotama Buddha), who lived on the Indian subcontinent in or around the... Trika (a concept of Kashmir Shaivism) in Sanskrit means trinity. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Emanationist scheme

Alam-e-Hahoot (Realm of He-ness)

It can also be thought of as the Realm of pre-existence , i.e the condition of the universe before its formation. It is equated with unknowable God’s essence and named Alam-e-Hahut (the world of “He-ness”). Etymologically, the Arabic root word for God with attributes (or Manifest Absolute) is Al-Lah or “the Divinity”, and Hu (“He”) is the root word for Unmanifest Absolute, the naked essence of Godhead that nothing can be said about. Alam-e-Hahoot has similarities to the Christian concept of Deus absconditus, the Hindu notion of Nirguna Brahma and the Kabbalist idea of the En-Sof. In Abrahamic religions, pre-existence is the belief that each individual human soul existed before conception, and at conception (or later, depending on when it is believed that the soul enters the body) God places one of these pre-existent souls in the body. ... Nirguna Brahman, is God without any form in Advaita and without material form in Dvaita schools of Hinduism. ... The tree of life Kabbalah (קבלה Reception, Standard Hebrew Qabbala, Tiberian Hebrew Qabbālāh; also written variously as Cabala, Cabalah, Cabbala, Cabbalah, Kabala, Kabalah, Kabbala, Qabala, Qabalah) is a religious philosophical system claiming an insight into divine nature. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Alam-e-Lahoot (Realm of Divinity)

Realm of Divinity is that region where incalculable unseen tiny dots emerge and expand to such large circles that they engulf the entire universe. This Realm is also known as Tajalliat (The Beatific Vision, or the Circle of the Beatific Vision). These countless circles are the bases of all the root causes of the universe. These very circles give rise to the species (or kinds of non living) of the universe. This whole circle is known as the Ghaib-ul-ghaib (Unseen of the Unseen). It is that ascent for which the human perception could train itself for the cognition of the Extolled Veil and Beatific Visions of the attributes of God that are operative in there. Alam-e-Lahoot has similarities to the Christian concept of Deus revelatus, the Hindu notion of Saguna Brahma and the Kabbalist idea of Kether. Tajalliat (plural of tajalli) or theophanies in the realm of being are manifestations of the divine Truth with regard to infinite perfection and eternal glory. ... Saguna Brahma, in Hindu philosophy, is God or Supreme Consciousness with gunas (qualities or attributes). ... Keter or kether is the Hebrew word for crown, as worn by a king or queen. ...

The final boundary of the human knowledge and understanding is called Hijab-e-Mehmood (The Extolled Veil), which is the extreme height of the Arsh (Supreme Empyrean). Nehr-e-tasweed(The Channel of Black Draught/Darkness) whose last limit is in the Realm of Divinity, is the basis of the Unseen & feeds Rooh-e-Azam (The Great Soul).

Alam-e-Jabaroot (Realm of Omnipotency)

The stage when the universe is constituted into features is known as the Realm of Omnipotency. Hijab-e-Kibria (The Grand Veil) is the last limit of this realm. Nehr-e-tajreed (Channel of Abstraction), whose last limit is The Realm of Omnipotency, feeds Rooh-e-Insani (Human Soul) with its information.

Alam-e-Malakoot (Angelic Realm)

When the characteristics of the species and their individuals descend from the Realm of Omnipotency, separate consciousnesses comes into being, this stage is called the Angelic Realm. Its last limit is called Hijab-e-Azmat (The Great Veil). Nehr-e-Tasheed (Channel of Evidence) whose last limit is Angelic Realm, feeds Latifa-e-Qalbi.

Alam-e-Nasoot (Realm of Humans)

When the features further descend and come out of the limits of the Angelic Realm, foundations of the tangible world of matter are being laid, which is known as Alam-e-Nasoot (parallel to the Tree of Life's sephiroth of Malkuth). It includes the material realm (most of which humans can see), and all the normally visible cosmos is included within it. Nehr-e-Tazheer (Channel of Manifestation) whose last limit is Alam-e-Nasoot, feeds Latifa-e-Nafsi. The Human Realm is categorized as supervised by: The Tree-of-Life is a fictional plant (the ancestor of yams, with similar appearance and taste) in Larry Nivens Known Space universe, for which all Hominids have an in-built genetic craving. ... The tree of life. ... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... For alternative meanings, see nature (disambiguation). ...

• One Kitab-al-Mubeen, controlling:

• 300 million Loh-e-Mehfooz, each one controlling

• 80 thousand Hazeere (galaxies), each one containing

• 13 billion star systems, out of which

• 1 billion star systems have life on one of their planets.

• Each star has 9, 12 or 13 planets around it.

On every planet with life on it, life exists in three different planes of existence, the Plane of Angels, the Plane of Jinns and the Plane of Humans. On the other hand, it is surrounded by another realm known as Alam-e-Araf or Barzakh (Astral plane), where humans stay after they die (when the soul disconnects from the physical body). Humans can also visit astral realm during sleep (while dreaming) or during meditation. NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant. ... A star system or stellar system is a system comprised of a star or group of stars, and, perhaps, planetary systems of smaller bodies (such as planets or asteroids), in gravitational association. ... Angels in Islam are light-based creatures, created by Allah to serve and worship him. ... Genie is the anglicized word for the Arabic jinni. In Semitic mythology and Islamic religion, a jinni (also djinni or djini) is a member of the jinn (or djinn), a race of spirits. ... The astral plane, also called the astral world or desire world, is a plane of existence according to esoteric philosophies, some religious teachings and New Age thought. ... A physical body is an object which can be described by the theories of classical mechanics, or quantum mechanics, and experimented upon by physical instruments. ...

Neoplatonist-Hermetic scheme

Ghayb-al-Ghaib

Aql-e-Kulli

Nafs-e-Kulliya

Seven Spheres

External links

• Sufi cosmology and psychology
• Islam Way Online - Your Religion and Spirituality Portal Islamic Cosmology: The Secrets of Creation up to the Court of Greatness
• Creationof The Throne
• Symbolic Cosmology in the Sufi and Baha'i traditions

See also

• Plane (cosmology)
• Gnosticism
• Esoteric Christianity
• Kabbalah