It begins with the assertion that the

It begins with the assertion that the
Real created the cosmos as an all-
Inclusive object in which he could con-
Template the entities of his names, but

That until he created Adam and
Breathed his spirit into him, the cosmos
Remained like an unpolished mirror. Here
Ibn al-'Arabi's idea seems

To be that the cosmos as a whole - the
Totality of existent enti-
Ties - manifests all the divine names but

Does so in a diffuse way, whereas man,
As a microcosm endowed with con-
Sciousness, brings them into a unity.