Question:
Salaams,
Hope you are all in the best of health. I just would like to know the significance of Cader Idris in Wales, UK? I have heard that MSN has said they is a group of Jinns there that are all Naqshbandi’s. But I was wondering what else about the special mountain.
JazakAllah Khair!
Answer:
wa `alaykum salam,
No doubt the specialness of Cader Idris finds expression in the popular belief that death, madness or poetic inspiration – the latter particularly esteemed among the Celts – follows a night spent upon its height. The association of madness (the condition of the majnun) with this mountain indeed suggests that it is haunted by the Jinn. It is perhaps more appropriate to say “guarded” by the Jinn, since according to Welsh legend, the mountain is properly the seat (cader) and stellar observatory of the giant Idris; and here is to be found another remarkable confluence of Celtic mythology with the living reality of Islamic esoterism, since according to the latter, the spiritual government of the cosmos is under the authority of the Prophet Idris, peace be upon him.
Aside from the characterization of Idris as a giant – a not uncommon description of antediluvian humanity – this confluence is confirmed by the astrological context. Among other crafts, Idris – peace be upon him – is consistently remembered as the originator of `ilm al-raml or “terrestrial astrology.” More importantly, Idris is counted among the Living Prophets, and so places where his spirituality is focused are relatively rarely recognized, since terrestrial centers of spirituality are most commonly recognized in the form of tombs. That these centers are not merely repositories of physical remains is obvious when there exists more than one “tomb” for certain saints. In the case of Idris, his most widely recognized “tomb” is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the explanation for which I mentioned in my earlier post. Here it should be mentioned that the building of the Great Pyramid has sometimes been attributed to giants, and that it likewise has a stellar dimension, to the extent that some researchers have interpreted its function as a kind of stellar observatory. There is, however, no doubt that a pyramid is constructed to embody the symbolism of the mountain.
Long ago it was suggested to me that just as the name Idris is proper Arabic, the word cader is really the Arabic qadir. While not overlooking the significance of the Welsh word, making this association depends upon the Arabic letter qaf with which the word qadir begins; and so it it is appropriate to recall that qaf is itself the name of the Polar Mountain of Islamic cosmology. Qaf likewise is the first letter of the word qutb or Pole, that is, the function at the summit of the saintly hierarchy that belongs cosmically to the Prophet Idris, peace be upon him. Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the main stellar alignments belonging to the Great Pyramid is directed towards the Pole Star through the northern “ventilation shaft.” There is more: according to Arabic gematria, the word qaf has the numerical value of 181, which is precisely the value of the word maqam that is used to denote the tomb or “station” of the saint. Clearly the meaning of the Welsh word cader is relevant in this last context.
Shaykh `Abdul-Wahid Yahya has referred in his writings on sacred science to the “secondary Poles” or aqtab: “et ces sept Pôles terrestres sont un reflet des sept Pôles célestes, qui président respectivement aux sept Cieux planétaires;” but only now is it possible to indicate how this seven-fold reality specifically relates to the United Kingdom. Sultan ul-Awliya Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani – may Allah sanctify his secret! – very recently revealed that there are seven spiritual centers in Great Britain alone, but did not name all seven. He did specify Edinburgh in Scotland by name, and in the days following, explained further that Edinburgh is the location of the “Moonlight Center.” Here, then, is a clear indication that this septenary of centers shares a correspondence with the “sept Cieux planétaires” with their Poles.
While the Sultan ul-Awliya did not mention any location in Wales by name, the mountain of Cader Idris points so clearly to the Pole of the solar sphere that it must be included among the candidates for the seven spiritual centers. In any case, it is Edinburgh – a city dominated by a hill known as Arthur’s Seat – with its Moonlight Center that has a primary role in the destiny of the English-speaking world, in accordance with the proximity of the lunar sphere to the mundane world.
And Allah and His Prophet and His Knowers know best!
Mahmoud Shelton
