Book of Healing - Qur'anic Healing - Man in the World, World in the Man
Man in the World, World in the Man
Tags: Macrocosm, Microcosm, Personal world, Inner eye, World of imagination, Universe
1. It is known to all that physically man resides in and is confined to this material world. However, very few are aware that this world, in a subtle form, is containable in man. Let us see how it is so. It should be known that the external universe is called macrocosm and man, microcosm. The latter, which we can also call the personal world, is in fact, the compendium of the five worlds: the world of wakefulness, the world of imagination, the world of dream, the world of spirituality and the world of intellect. The diagram of this personal world is shown here.
2. It should be remembered well that the external world is containable in man in many ways. That is to say that, man, according to the command of God, through his word and deed and feelings, first of all creates an individual and personal world out of this collective world, which is called the microcosm or the personal world. This is the world of wakefulness of each individual, in which are included the world of imagination, the world of dream, the world of spirituality and the world of intellect.
3. The external senses, (i.e. sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch) are granted by God, the Exalted, for the purpose that every religious person, according to the requirement of religion, may create a pure and pleasant personal world of perceptible things, which is free from every kind of disease and is perfectly healthy. Thus the five senses are as the five doors, through which an endless chain of subtle things of the external world enters the personal world. This is the caravan of life and also its hustle and bustle.
4. In the personal world, where a great and unique kingdom is going to be established, among the countless services and meritorious deeds of the external senses rendered for it, the sense of seeing surpasses the services of all the other senses. The eye, through its informative study, which together with religious and worldly books, is based on the book of the universe, continues to send to heart and mind the invaluable treasures of knowledge and information. Everything by nature is developing. Accordingly, a true mu'min, through abundant dhikr develops his eye to such an extent, that for a particular time, it unites with the inner eye and becomes one with it. This is true not only of the eye, but of the other senses also. In that state, there is such a resplendent and magnificent manifestation of supernatural wonders and marvels, that the salik is drowned in bewilderment. It is a fact that, in this state, the eye of a true salik becomes the telescope of spirituality and the microscope of reality.
5. The rank of the ear follows that of the eye. The way it works from the material world to the spiritual or supernatural world, is extremely amazing. It is the gate of the souls of creatures. It can hear the voice of angels (41:30). If the spiritual revolution of someone has taken place, what cannot he hear! If the light of God becomes the eye and the ear of a close servant of God, what cannot he see and what cannot he hear! In short, when the veil between is lifted or the wall demolished, the external and the internal senses unite and become one, and start to work for the construction and completion of the personal world on a large scale and thus the great treasures of knowledge and wisdom are obtained.
6. You know that from the world of wakefulness is created the world of imagination. A bright proof of this is that those things which he had seen in his wakeful state are seen in the imagination of man. This means that things, being stripped of the material attire, fly into the world of imagination. The world of dream is created when the imagination, due to inactivity of the senses, becomes frozen for a while. Spirituality is created if the dream is dissolved by enough `ibadat and spiritual exercise. For, the initial spirituality is like a peaceful, pleasant dream, one of whose Qur'anic names is nu'as (slumber) (3:154; 8:11). Finally, from the essence of spirituality is created the world of intellect or the world of command. But, here this point should be remembered forever that, what is the last is also the first and what is in the azal is also in the abad.
7. In the external world, a successful diver by diving into the ocean can, with great difficulty bring out only a few material pearls, but the `arifs of the personal world, by the command of God, have attained not only the pearls of secrets, but have also poured the ocean of the universe itself in the receptacle of their existence, (namely, personal world). And all this, in fact, becomes accomplished by the Hand of God (21:104; 39:67). Thus, this is the meaning of "Man in the World and World in the Man".
8. God, the Omnipotent, in His Godhead and Kingdom, has on the one hand, extended such a spacious and extensive universe and has created so many things in it that, jinn and mankind can neither comprehend it, nor can they enumerate the things in it. But the Powerful King (54:55) Himself, on the other hand, has not only folded the heavens and the earth in His blessed Fist (21:104; 39:67), but has also enumerated them all, one by one, in the number one (72:28) in this state, namely, in the luminous Fist. It should be remembered that this supreme miracle of knowledge and recognition takes place in the personal world or the universal heart and mind of the Perfect Man.
9. The universe has countless meanings, but for the sake of brevity and ease, only twelve of them whose benefit man receives or is going to receive, are mentioned in the diagram above. For instance, take the example of:
(a) The Throne (arsh) - if someone annihilates himself in God, the Elevator of ranks and the Lord of the Throne (40:15), then he practically becomes like a ladder and benefits from the secrets of the treasure of the Throne.
(b) Throne is also the Divine Pen (96:4) and the Dais (kursi) is also the Guarded Tablet (2:255, 85:22). Thus, in this sense, their favours and blessings are directed towards mankind.
(c) There is not only sustenance in heaven, but also everything which has been promised (51:22).
(d) Existents (ka'inat = creatures of God) are created for the sake of the children of Adam, the proof of which is the honour and superiority of the children of Adam over others, mentioned in verse (17:70).
10. (e) The heavens and the earth, namely, the entire universe has a subtle body, which has the fifth nature, which is neither dry nor wet, neither warm nor cold, and whose breadth and vastness is equal to the universe (3:133, 57:21). The same is the universal Paradise, which is for man and can also be brought closer (50:31).
(f) There is knowledge in the exterior and interior of everything (6:80, 7:89), and the universe or `alam is the compendium and whole of all things. Therefore, it is nothing but knowledge. Further, even with respect to its root and measure, `alam is the means or instrument of acquiring `ilm or knowledge, as khatam is the instrument of putting a seal (Qamusu'l-Qur'an, p. 344). Thus, a complete model of the fountainhead of knowledge, which is in the macrocosm, is also in the microcosm, namely, man.
11. (g) The world is the ocean of mercy, as it is the ocean of knowledge, (21:107, 40:7), and its flow is towards the world of mankind through the holy Prophet, the mercy for the worlds.
(h) Among the wonders and marvels and tremendous things of the universe is the subtle body, which is also called the body of similitude (jism-i mithani) (19:17, 17:99, 36:81). This is the ibda`i shirt (16:81), through which Paradise is brought closer.
(i) There are innumerable natural resources of worldly and religious science in the exterior and interior of this universe and the benefit of all of them is directed towards the personal world.
12. (j) The holy Qur'an says that all things in the heavens and the earth, without any exception, are subjugated to real men (45:13). This subjugation is both external and internal. The internal subjugation is that the living quintessence of the universe and the existents, namely the astral body (which is linked with the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul), acts as the other "I" of man. Further, the representative souls of all things work in the personal world of the Perfect Man, the example of which is the Kingdom of Sulayman.
(k) Universal or whole (kull) means the compendium of the universe, as well as the Perfect Man. For, he is the copy of the universe and he also has many copies. Thus, God, by giving one of his copies to every mu'min, has given him everything (14:34).
13. (l) If you study deeply the "Law of Treasures" in connection with the laws of the Qur'an, you can certainly find a satisfactory answer to each of your difficult questions. See how systematic and wisdom-filled is the law that all things are in the treasures of the nearness of God. You can receive the things and bounties of the treasures of God, according to your knowledge and recognition (15:21). I understand that this struggle (for the dissemination of) knowledge is an effective persuasion, which by being based on reality, can draw the attention of the people of wisdom towards inner health.
26 Sha'ban, 1406/6th May, 1986.
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