Practical steps for the seeker to move from outward ritual ( ) to inner reality ( Academia.edu Scholarly Context Authorship: While widely attributed to Hamzah Fansuri , some scholars note that certain copies of the Bayan Alif
: It details the origin of human existence and the "Seven Earths," explaining the stages of descent and ascent in the spiritual realm. kitab bayan alif
One of the most profound expositions in such a book would concern the Alif’s phonetics. The Alif is a harf madd (a letter of prolongation) that carries no inherent consonantal sound. It is pronounced by simply opening the mouth and releasing breath—the first sound an infant makes. In Sufi terminology, the Alif is the (the Breath of the Merciful). It is the silent, sustaining breath through which the cosmos exists. Practical steps for the seeker to move from