Master of the Day of Judgment The master mālik is the one who has sovereignty mulk. The sovereignty of the Real سبحانه وتعالى is His power over creating ibdāʿ. King malik is a more intensive form than master mālik-He سبحانه is both King and Master and sovereignty is His. Just as there is no god but He there is none with the power to create except Him. He is alone in His divinity and singular in His sovereignty. He rules the souls of His worshipers nufūs al-ʿābidīn for He has granted agency to them ṣarrafahā in His service. He rules the hearts of those with deeper knowledge qulūb al-ʿārifīn for He hon- ors them sharrafahā with knowledge of Him. He rules the souls of the seekers nufūs al-qāṣidīn for He holds them in his thrall tayyamahā. He rules the hearts of the ecstatics qulūb al-wājidīn for He bewilders them hayyamahā. He rules the bodily forms ashbāḥ of those who worship Him and He is kind to them with his gifts and favors. He rules the spirits arwāḥ of those whom He loves and He unveils the attribute of His majesty to them and the quality of His beauty. He holds the reins of the masters who profess [His] unity: He turns them about wherever He wills as He wills and He grants them success wherever He wills as He wills. He does not entrust them to themselves for even a moment. He does not transfer power to them in their affair for even the shortest period of time. He is for them in place of themselves and He has annihilated them from themselves to Him. His beneficence rules the hearts of the worshipers and they desire His gifts. His authority rules the hearts of those who declare unity and they are content with His abiding. He teaches the masters who profess [His] unity that He is their Master mālik and their own choosing ikhtiyār drops away from them. They come to know that the servant has no ownership. The one who has no ownership has no power of decision ḥukm and the one who has no power of decision has no free choice. For them there is no turning away iʿrāḌ from obedience to Him no resistance iʿtirāḌ to His decision no working against muʿāraḌa His choosing and no move to taʿarruḌ oppose Him.
