THE SPIRIT 85

 

of Prakriti, the universal * plastic ” Substance,! and this
amounts to saying that Buddhi, though supra-individual
in its nature, is “ created,” for every ‘“creature’ parti-
cipates in the passivity of Substance.

The Sufi term for universal Substance or the
Materia prima is al-Haba. This designation of it goes
back to the Caliph Ali, the Prophet’s spiritual successor,
and signifies literally the *“ fine dust’’ suspended in the
air which becomes visible only by the rays of light it
refracts. The symbolism of al-Haba illustrates the
double nature of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit which
illumines al-Haba and thus corresponds to the ray of
light refracted by fine dust. Since the dust only becomes
visible to the extent that it refracts light, the ray only
shows as such on the screen of the dust. Undifferenti-
ated light symbolises the uncreated Spirit while the light
determined as a ray on the other hand symbolises the
created Spirit, which is in a sense ““ directed * like a ray.
As for the fine dust which is the symbol of al-Haba this
is a principle of differentiation which is invisible as
such. This means—and it conforms to the symbolism
of the light—that Substance has no true existence and
can be grasped only through its effects. The most
“gross” of its effects is precisely manifestation in
quantitative mode, the picture of which is given as
clearly as possible by the multitude of the dust
particles. As for the dust lit up by the ray of light it is
nothing other than the world.

1. Substance—or the Materia prima—also has the name Hayula derived
from the Greek word * Hyle.”