Temple and Contemplation brings together for the first ... - ImagoMundi

THE REALISM AND SYMBOLISM OF COLOURS
garment woven of the archangel's hair". Oilier traditions express the
same secret (sirr) link by saying that the castle of al-Hasan in paradise is of
emerald green, while the castle of al-Husayn is of red hyacinth. It
becomes more and more clear how the title of his book was imposed on
our author.
3. Next comes the esoteric dimension of the ta'wil of the colour red (batin alta'wil,
II, chapter VII): for the conclusion reached by the first phase of the
process, the ta'wil of the exoteric dimension, contains in its turn its own
esoteric meaning. The ta'wil of the exoteric dimension of the colour red led
us back to the fourth or lower left-hand pillar of the cosmic Throne of
Mercy, that is to say, to the hypostasis of Nature (red light). On the other
hand, what is called the esoteric dimension of Nature or the esoteric
dimension of a heaven is the angel of that nature or that heaven. In the
archangelic tetrad that supports the cosmic Throne, it is the archangel
Gabriel who is the angel of our world of Nature. Such a hermeneutic
accords perfectly with the role ascribed to the archangel Gabriel by the
philosophers and theosophers of Islam. As we saw, he is the Tenth
hierarchic Intelligence, and he is the demiurge of our world. (Here again,
tradition offers us a delicate symbol: "The red rose is an effusion of the
archangel Gabriel"). By the same token, it is he who, on the mystical
Sinai, is the goal of the pilgrim in Suhravardi's romances of initiation. In
this way, a strict correspondence between the tetrad of theophanic universes,
the archangelic tetrad, and the tetrad of the walayah is established;
and we can see how in each tetrad there is an anamnesis of the colour red.
Our shaykh indicates other possible interpretations. This esoteric dimension
of the ta'wil of Nature, typified in the colour red, could also be the
Imam of the Resurrection (Qa'im al-Qjyamah); or his companions battling
at his side; or the walayah itself inasmuch as it is an elixir poured out over
the bodies which are human hearts; or it can be the gnosis (ma'rifah) and
the sciences of love ('ulum al-mahabbah). Does not the Imam Ja'far speak of
love as a "Fire that unexpectedly invades the depths of the heart and
consumes all that is not the beloved object"? There is certainly no need to
reject any of these symbolisms; but the one initially offered has the
advantage of applying in all respects from one hermeneutic level to another.
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32 It is worth emphasizing that our shaykh is remarkably aware of the danger inherent
in the ta'wil when it is used by the ignorant: "I cannot provide a more extended
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THE REALISM AND SYMBOLISM OF COLOURS
4. A further step permits us to accomplish the ta'wil of the esoteric
dimension of the colour red (ta'wil al-batin, II, chapter VIII). In the third
phase of the process, our shaykh has unveiled to us the esoteric dimension
of the ta'wil of the exoteric dimension, that is to say, of the ta'wil which
formed the first phase of our hermeneutical operation. This ta'wil led us
back, in the first phase, to the world of Nature; and, as we saw in the third
phase, the esoteric dimension of this Nature is the angel Gabriel. Now he
offers us the ta'wil of the esoteric dimension, that is to say, of the dimension
discovered during the second phase in the person of the Imam Husayn (cf.
the schema above). This fourth phase is decisive for Shiite spirituality, for
it brings about a radical interiorization of Imamology. In the second
phase, the esoteric dimension (batin) of the colour red was shown to us in
the person of the Imam Husayn, the "prince of martyrs" (lower left-hand
pillar of the Throne of the walayah). The third phase showed us the
esoteric dimension of the ta'wil of the colour red, that is to say, the esoteric
dimension of Nature; and this dimension is the angel of this Nature, the
angel Gabriel. Now, corresponding symmetrically to this third phase
which disclosed the "esoteric dimension of the ta'wil", the fourth phase
consists in accomplishing the "ta'wil of the esoteric dimension" of the
colour red, the dimension that the second phase disclosed to us in the
person of the Imam Husayn. To whom, then, does the present ta'wil lead
us? To the Imam within, the secret personal guide of each of us, to the rabb
or lord, of whom each faithful vassal is the knight. 33
commentary now, or, rather, such commentary is not permitted. For there is always
a tendency in the hearts of men to deviate from the truth. Once they have under-
Stood the matter of the ta'wil and the batin in all their aspects, they start doing the
ta'wil of all religious laws in conformity with the object of their desires; they lead
themselves and others astray." On the other hand, there are the doctors of the Law,
the fuqaha', who deny the ta'wil and the esoteric dimension. Both these categories of
person should be reminded of the tradition attributed to the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq:
"There are people who believe in the exoteric while denying the esoteric. This does
not profit them in the slightest, for there is no exoteric faith save through an esoteric,
and vice versa, no esoteric faith save through an exoteric." This simultaneous dual
affirmation of the zahir and the batin expresses the whole spirit of Shiite gnosis. One
can never say to symbols: "Vanish, you have been explained!" Does the colour red
vanish once we have explained its genesis and symbolism?
33 It should be observed, in the diagram given above at the start of the present section
of this essay, what correspondences are indicated by the direction of the arrows.
There is a ta'wil of the zahir and a ta'wil of the batin; there is a batin of the zahir and a
batin of the ta'wil, and so on. The relationship between the batin of the ta'wil and the
ta'wil of the batin indicates the relationship between the Angel Gabriel and the inner
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