Texts of Islam

Oriental Mysticism: Part II: Chapter I.

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This is a scholarly exposition of Sufi Islamic theology, drawn from Palmer's 1867 academic study, presenting the Sufi understanding of God's nature and omnipresence through a systematic, quasi-philosophical framework. The central argument is that God is infinite, illimitable, and immaterial — not merely unbound by time and space, but actively pervading every atom of creation equally, such that God is simultaneously nearer to all things than any measurement of proximity can capture. Palmer explains the Sufi concept of "proximity to God" as something categorically beyond human rational comprehension, accessible only to the spiritually initiated ("the Illuminati"), who perceive that saints, sinners, prophets, and brutes are all alike before God. The text is distinctive for its use of physical analogies — the interpenetration of earth, water, air, and fire in a vessel, and the soul's diffusion through the body — to argue that divine omnipresence is not a theological paradox but a logical extension of how subtle substances pervade denser ones. A notable claim is the leveling implication of this doctrine: true proximity to God is not a reward for wisdom or virtue but a universal constant, and "distance" from God is purely a matter of a person's failure to acknowledge His omnipresence. The piece is written for a Western scholarly audience and frames Sufi metaphysics with frequent Quranic citations, treating it as a coherent philosophical system rather than mere mysticism.

Oriental Mysticism: Part II: Chapter I.

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