Shams al-Ma'arif is a compiled book authored by al-Buni, in which he spoke about the secrets of spiritual work and relied on methods developed by the Arabs, derived from the ancient Egyptians. He claims that he entered the Great Pyramid, but the man spoke about the passage beneath the pyramid and the secret chamber, stating that he entered it and found books there, from which he took four books on the science of fire "The Elixirs," as well as on astrology, and another on the wisdom belonging to Thoth. This man, who authored the work, possessed what is called "the Step," meaning he could travel across countries from one place to another. He lived alone and never married, as he said that marriage distracts from knowledge and the pursuit of wisdom; he was a recluse, as we might say. He was famous for the idea that the letters spoke to him and informed him of their secrets. In his original manuscript of Shams al-Ma'arif, he annexed it with a book called "Manba' Usul al-Hikma" (The Source of the Essentials of Wisdom), as well as other collections in which he spoke about astronomy and the lunar mansions. He attributed to each of the 28 celestial mansions Divine Names and angels that serve them, and the secrets of the science of divination by sand (geomancy), linking them to astrological forms, providing examples that constitute the comprehensive foundations of the science. In his book Shams al-Ma'arif, he gave us practical evidence, but he did not provide extensive examples; rather, he was concerned with collecting the foundations. He distributed the sciences of astrology, geomancy, the principles of numerology, and "Awfaq" or magic squares and how to construct them—meaning how to place specific numbers into specific shapes, attributed in their operation to the secrets of numbers (the Pythagorean school) and Platonic wisdom; that is, transmitted from the Greek, but it was not a blind transmission, rather a transmission with adaptation and development. I had hoped that the brothers here would assist me with more patience so I could explain the foundations of the structure of these sciences and detail them, but I find here perhaps some anger and much resentment. However, I believe it is a period of time that people will cross. In order to begin understanding the book, one must understand the cultural background of its author and his teachers, especially since he mentioned at the end of his manuscript more than 600 sheikhs and teachers in his time whom he visited, learned from, and received knowledge from; we are before a human encyclopedia that walked on two feet. I will attempt briefly to explain the intersections of spiritual science in the perspective of al-Buni. His school is built on the premise that everything is a creation of the Almighty Creator, who is the One God, and that the most important thing created for recording is "Sijillun Marqum" (A Written Register)—meaning a book of numbers or a digitized book. Thus, we say that Nothingness = a gate, which is 0, followed by the First = 1, the beginning of everything; there is the first grain of sand, the first atom of iron, the first angel, the first demon... etc. This is followed by the interaction of the One with itself—call it fission, call it union, call it separation and replication—resulting in 2, which here represents the station of the second body. This is followed by the interaction between 1 + 2 = 3, the first offspring; note the example of IAO. Then the directions begin to appear in 4: 1 + 3 = 4 or 2 + 2 = 4; the four directions: East, West, North, South; Fire, then Earth, then Air, then Water; 1234 or 4321. Here he noted that the science of the Greeks and the ancient Egyptians was based on opposites. Notice with me in the explanation of the book Shams al-Ma'arif that Fire's opposite is Earth, and Air's opposite is Water, and Earth's opposite is Air. The primary process of transformation is how we separate the totality of the universe in a state of balance due to the presence of opposition for every action and reaction. However, to transform matters into wisdom, you need to change the conditions in a moving cycle, transforming Fire into Air as an ally that increases its strength, while it increases its heat. Then Earth and Water are allies; together they create the sea and the clay. Thus, if we reflect on al-Buni's perspective, we have reached the point where we separated the opposites and gathered the affinities, and we return to subject the Fire and Air to the Clay and Water with subtlety, thus obtaining the first living derivatives: Fire transforms into instinctive heat, and Air transforms into a refreshing breath that revives the heat and spreads it through the body. So, what is the body? It is Earth mixed with Water—clay. Upon their entry, we need the final thing: the Divine Breath or the breath of life. The elements then entwine in their second stage: from Water and Earth, by subjecting Air as a drying agent, bones, nails, and hair are formed; and by subjecting Fire to Earth, we find the motivating force, but it is flaming and needs Water, where it transforms into the carrying and moving blood. Here we need a heart to pump, and lungs to draw in air to move, which transforms with Fire into thermal breaths that move the body through the movement of the blood, and a water that dissolves substances, and a liver to distribute, extract elements, and filter toxins. Thus, we need the cross-fertilization of those primary elements to produce effective essences, turning water into an acid, for example, or an alkaline, or otherwise. He links this to higher celestial motors that resemble their subtle forms in humans and other creatures. He connected his school to the school of the Seven Planets, stating that just as there is skin in the sky and movements of the planets, he attributed blood to Mars due to its heat and dryness ("Summer"), and attributed the intellect to the Sun because it is like a king among subjects, and the intellect is like the king, and attributed it to the heart, and attributed it to the limbs. In a wider cycle, he also gave them motors from higher forms, referring here to the Zodiac. Then he moved from there to the circle of the Ether surrounding all those things, and from there to the Circle of the Kingdom (Al-Mulk), then he ascended to the Heavens (Al-Malakut) and found that to open the gates of the Malakut, one must knock on them with Wisdom. Wisdom consists of words that express the subtleties of thought and numbers to count and categorize those subtleties. Here he was confronted by the Torah in the form of Kabbalah, so they studied it and pondered it, then they crossed into the sea of numbers, for it is a universal language; there is no difference in its writing or speech between an Arab and a non-Arab. That is, there is no difference in 1 + 2 = 3 in the pronunciation of its owner, because the idea will reach him through only two pens expressed by mere knowledge of the mathematical form; you do not need languages except to express it. I hope you are with me...
