Balance of Realities - The olfactory sense will discover a new nourishment
The olfactory sense will discover a new nourishment
Tags: Uways-i Qarani, Hazrat Yusuf, Hazrat Ya`qub, rizq, animal soul, rational soul, olfactory sense, five senses
Those who have experienced this reality practically or in the form of knowledge, know that there is the power of the animal soul and the light of the rational soul in the capacity of the five external senses of man. However, due to the smoke of the animal soul, this light cannot show anything, just as in a house where there is a lamp which emits less light and more smoke and at the same time there is the strong and clear light of electricity, it is obvious that the smoke of the lamp will veil the electric light, due to which some of the minute things in the house will not be seen. However, if the lamp which emits smoke is extinguished, not only will the [big] things be seen in their real state, but also the minute things which were invisible due to the murkiness of the smoke. Similarly, if man is able to eliminate the smoke of his animal soul from his external and internal senses, he will not only see the Divine miracles in his inner world (through his internal senses), but through his five external senses also, he will feel the extraordinary and mysterious things of nature, of which every one will show him a new way of thinking about knowledge.
Among the five senses there are the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, one mouth and two hands, whose powers and faculties are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching respectively. Among these, except for the mouth, the rest are in pairs. Nonetheless, in a sense the mouth too, is a pair, although apparently it is not. For, in speech, the mouth is a pair with the nose, but in eating and drinking it is not so. The ta'wil of this is that man’s seeing faculty is of two kinds: one external and the other internal. These two faculties are separate as well as mutually united, as the two external eyes can see separately as well as together. Similarly, the faculties of hearing, smelling and touching are also of two kinds: external and internal. These faculties of internal and external senses can also act together spiritually and physically. However, the way the mouth is paired with the nose in speech, but not in eating and drinking with any other organ, shows that there is speech in both the physical and spiritual states, but there is no eating and drinking in the spiritual world.
It is thus evident that even in the spiritual state, there is a kind of seeing, hearing, smelling, speaking and touching, but not eating and drinking. For, among the organs of the five senses, the mouth is related to eating and drinking of dense things, which do not exist in spirituality. In other words, the purpose for which man eats is taste, strength and health, which are tastier, stronger and healthier in subtlety (spiritual state) than in density (physical state). For instance, in comparison to the flesh of fruits, the juice is more tasty and healthy, for taste and fragrance belong to subtlety, whereas there is only a trace of it in the residue. If the juice is brewed more taste and greater strength will be concentrated in a lesser quantity. We can understand this from the example of some medicines which are prepared by herbalists by extracting their essence from medicinal herbs, instead of grinding them and making them into soft powder in a greater quantity. For, it is the essence that contains everything, not the residue. Regarding the analysis of food, it should be understood that the soul of every food is its smell, and any food that does not have a smell, or does not have the characteristic of emitting the required smell, cannot be nutritious when it reaches the digestive organs. For, it is the smell that turns into soul. Consider medicines, in which those that have more smell are more effective; if they have lost their smell they become useless. Among herbs, those that do not have either a good or a bad smell or any kind of taste, are rarely used in medicine. This is also true of fertilisers for crops. If manure has lost its smell due to exposure to air, rain or sun, it cannot be the best nutrition for crops.
This explanation shows that smell is a very potent thing. It spreads invisibly and merges with the air. The thing that pervades and disappears is like the soul. It is a fact that, if a thing goes in a particular direction, it has [at some point] come from that direction and can do so at any time. The gist of this explanation is that if a person or persons take a few steps towards spirituality, or spirituality due to its cyclical turn encircles them, they can experience astonishing things through the external senses (also). Among them the olfactory sense can provide spiritual or atomic food to the body through breathing. In fact, this spiritual or majestic food will consist of different fragrances that will strengthen both the soul and the body.
The holy Prophet has said: “Inni la-ajidu nafasa'r-Rahmani min qibali'l-Yaman (I find the fragrance of Rahman (Compassionate) from the direction of Yaman).” It is said that during the time of the Prophet, a friend of God named Uways-i Qarani was living in Yaman and the Prophet alludes to him in this Hadith. This is not a mere example bereft of reality rather it signifies that the holy Prophet by saying this reveals the secret that there is support for both body and soul. It is mentioned in the Qur'anic story of Hazrat Yusuf that he sent his shirt with his brothers to his father, Hazrat Ya`qub, so that he may regain the power of his sight. When the caravan departed from Egypt, Hazrat Ya`qub in Canaan experienced the fragrance of Hazrat Yusuf (12:93-94). The intellect being brought up with ma`rifat, knows that the smell received by Hazrat Ya`qub from Hazrat Yusuf and by which he regained his eyesight was a spiritual smell, not a physical one.
In the Qur’anic words such as “Tayyibatin mina'r-rizq (pure things of sustenance 7:32; 8:26)”, by rizq are meant the fragrances or the essences of sustenance, which are used in connection with His chosen servants. They testify that the dignitaries of religion used to receive these things spiritually. Otherwise, if by rizq we mean the pure things [in a physical sense], this will raise the question of the purity or impurity of the sustenance, while apparently, the Prophets, the friends of God and the common people used to eat the same kind of food. Further, if God, the Best of Sustainers, has spoken of rizq conferred on His Prophets and friends, then it is not the rizq or sustenance which is also available to others. However, linked with the end of the worldly rizq or sustenance, this [particular] sustenance will also be discovered. For, the external and internal worlds are linked together and the law is that when one is decreased the other takes its place.
O Allah! Grant us sustenance, for You are the Best of Sustainers! (5:114).
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