Balance of Realities - Realities of kun fa–yakun (Be! and it is there)
Realities of kun fa–yakun (Be! and it is there)
Tags: Kun, amr, universal command, amr-i kull, ibda`, Hazrat Adam, Hazrat `Isa, iradah, mawalid
The command of God, may He be purified, is in the Word “Kun (Be!)”. He alone is the Absolute Sovereign of the world of creation and the world of command. He is above and far away from the act of creation and workmanship. By His command souls and [physical] things pass through the boundary of creation and command. He is the Sustainer of both of them. As He says: “Verily, His are the creation and the command. Blessed be God, the Sustainer of the worlds” (7:54). That is, He alone is the Sovereign of both the world of bodies and the world of souls. His countless bounties and favours are in both of them. He is the Sustainer of both the creation and the command.
By command (amr) are meant the Divine command and those souls who are within the boundary of completion and are subject to (the act of) the Word “Be”. As He says: “The Originator of the heavens and the earth. When a command (amr) is completed, He only says to it: Be! and it is” (2:117). Thus, there is no doubt that God has created the heavens and the earth by the command “Be” through ibda` (origination or instantaneous creation), and when a command (amr) in them reaches the boundary of completion, He says to it “Be!” and it becomes. Just as in different times, after the physical creation and spiritual perfection of Hazrat Adam and Hazrat `Isa, God, the Wise, said to them “Be”, by which they became the command (amr). That is, the Holy Spirit came to them and they joined the world of command. As He says: “The similitude of Jesus with God is as that of Adam. He created him from dust, and then said unto him: Be! and he was” (3:59). In this verse “He created him from dust”, it is alluded that Adam and Jesus had the same nature - physical growth and perfection of the rational soul - in which they are not distinguished from the rest of humankind. Then, by saying to them “Be” it is proof that they became “real existent” (mawjud-i haqq), which shows their distinguished position.
From the above explanation it is evident that the world came into existence by the universal command (amr-i kull) of the Absolute Sovereign. Similarly, even now, when a thing becomes complete in “creation”, then in order to make it a ‘command’, “Be!” is said, by which it becomes the “real existent”.
Now we should explain some realities of the actuality of the Word “Be”, so that the seeker of realities may know that it is the supreme secret in which the entire Divine act is represented symbolically. The Word “Be” is not only in the Arabic language, but it can also be in all the languages of the world. Thus God says: “And Our word unto a thing, when We intend it, is only that We say unto it: Be! and it is” (16:40). Another Qur'anic verse in this regard is: “But His command (amr), when He intends a thing, is only that He says unto it: Be! and it is” (36:82). That is, everything has the natural capacity and the Divine guidance to automatically join the world of command, after attaining physical and spiritual completion. Thus, the joining of a thing to the world of command is the practical command of God, may He be purified. At this place there is the unity of God's Will (iradah), His command (amr) and that, which is commanded (ma'mur). “That is the ordaining of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing” (36:38).
Every thing is given a specific position and a kind of natural guidance by God, according to which it constantly acts. This natural guidance is found in the spheres, the heavenly bodies, the elements and the generated things (mawalid) in the form of nature (tabi`at) or in the form of soul. And according to the order of this natural guidance, all these things gradually advance towards the return (ma`ad) on the path of evolution, one before the other. As God, the Best of Judges, says: “Say: Each one acts according to its position; but your Lord knows very well the one who is best guided (ahda) as to the way” (17:84). Thus, it is not surprising if everything on this path of evolution from the stage of “ahda (the best guided)” onwards, walks and works in a harmony and an order in which the will, the command and the act become one reality.
| Chapter Index | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter |