(Al Haba). 'The fine dust suspended in the air'. Al haba is a symbol of the universal plastic substance or the prima materia. This symbolism illustrates the double nature of the Spirit. Dust becomes visible only when a beam of light is refracted off it and the beam of light becomes visible only when it is refracted off the veil of dust. The created Spirit is like that beam of light, needing the universal plastic substance which is the cosmos.
(Anqa/Simurgh). The mythical griffon or phoenix which dwells on Mount Qaf. It is the greatest of birds and lives at the world's end. It symbolizes the wind in and with which Allah spiritually opens the material bodies of the world. It is a symbol of the spirit of the saint or the saint himself. Like this legendary bird which is purely a name without a form, al 'Anqa sometimes represents the primordial dust through which everything becomes manifest.
(Ruh). The Ruh is that centre within man which is attracted and drawn back to its Source. The spirit endeavours to pull the heart towards Allah, while the lower self exerts a downward pull on the heart. The human spirit is also Allah's Spirit because Allah breathed His Spirit into man. In being both 'uncreated' and 'created' the Ruh makes its descent. On the Night of Power, "Therein descend the angels and the Spirit, by Allah's permission" (Qur'an 97:4). The 'uncreated' spirit is equated with the Reality of Muhammad and the 'created' spirit extends from the Divine Throne down to the Perfect Man. The Ruh cannot be seen except by the man who has outstripped 'both the worlds'. The spirit is neither within nor without the body, neither detached from it or attached to it. It is both within and without, detached and attached. The luminosity which radiates from a man depends upon the degree of activity of his Ruh.
