Discover the meaning of the term Al-imaman (إمامان) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 3 min readThe two persons, one of whom is to the right of the Ghawth, meaning the Qutb, and his gaze is directed towards the heavenly Realm (al-malakut). He is the mirror of what is directed from the polar center to the spiritual world among the influxes that are the substance of existence and subsistence, and this imam is inevitably his mirror. The other is to his left, and his gaze is directed towards the visible world (al-mulk).
He is the mirror of what is directed from him to the perceptible objects among the animal substance, and this one is his mirror and the locus of his manifestation. He is superior to his companion, and he is the one who succeeds the Qutb when he dies.
They are the two elders, one of whom is to the right of the Ghawth, meaning the Qutb, and his gaze is in the heavenly Realm (al-malakut). He is the mirror of what is directed from the polar center to the spiritual world among the influxes that are the substance of existence and subsistence. And this imam is undoubtedly his mirror.
The other is to his left, and his gaze is in the visible world (al-mulk). He is the mirror of what is directed from him to the perceptible objects of the animal substance, and this one is his mirror and the locus of his manifestation. He is superior to his companion, and he succeeds the Qutb when he dies.
The two viziers of the Qutb and the Ghawth. One of them is to his right and his gaze is directed towards the heavenly Realm (al-malakut). He is the mirror of what is directed from the polar center to the spiritual world among the influxes that are the substance toward the visible world, and he is the mirror of what is directed from him to the perceptible objects of the animal substance.
He is superior to his companion and succeeds him if he dies (Al-Ta'rifat, page 36).