One of the best methods of tracing Arab-Sufi transmission to the
West is through terminology. When a certain word is used with an
esoteric significance, it is generally worthwhile studying it and seeking
a parallel between the two systems. The fundamental word
which we find most used in Masonic exposures is composed of the
three Hebrew letters A, B, L. Transliterated into Arabic letters, this
word proves to be the password of the Sufi society called the Builders
(aI-Bannai; and the Arabic word for Mason is also al-Banna. Far
from endng here, the parallels are only just beginning.
As in the case of the troubadors (TRB, Arabic root), the
Builders (first said to have Bourished under this name in the ninth
century) chose this triliteral word with care, searching the dictionary
for a term which would embrace as many aspects of their organization
as possible. The result, analyzed by inflecting the Arabic
root in the normal manner, provides this list of characteristics of the
school:
ABL = The Builders monk, sexton, etc.; hierophancy
ALB = to gather people together; grouping
LaBA = to stop, to halt at a place
BaLA = to give a thing, to be beneficent
BAL = heart, mind; attention; state; boldness; welfare
Even without other information which exists about this Sufi
school, we can already glean something of their organization and
objectives through this breakdown of their secret word. The first
word intimates initiation, the second the congregation, the third the
stages of the Path of the Sufis, the fourth the giving (of love and
charity) which was their means of expression, the fifth various aspects
of their activities and training. Why was the word written in
Hebrew, and not in Arabic? Some late hand has reshaped the
Arabic origins of the craft into a form more acceptable to people
with a Judeo-Christian tradition; and we can safely assume from
the published materials that it was to just such a community that
the modern form of Masonry as we know it in the West was addressed.
To the Sufi Builders, these three letters symbolized three meditation
postures. The Kufic letter alif was the kneeling position.
Dhu'l-Nun Misri, one of the greatest Sufi teachers, is believed to
have formulated it in this shape. It became powerful in Turkey
during the sixteenth century. Western writers say "it is strangely
like the Masons." It was illustrated by a set square, a primal symbol
of the Masons. In Arabic, again, the word square is RBA-which
summarizes meditation very well in its alternative meaning of "waiting,
restraint."
The second letter, ba, is written in Arabic letters like
a boat with a dot under it. This forms a fairly passable diagram of
its symbol-the level-also used in Masonry. This conveys the emblematic
meaning of "prostration and concentration." The final letter,
lam, is likened to a rope. In shape it is very much like a hook or
curving piece of rope. It means to the Builder "the rope which binds
all in union."
