Caskets of Pearls Vol. 1 - Casket of Pearls 17

Casket of Pearls 17

Tags: Hands of God, Dreams, Glad Tidings, La`nat, Curse, Mawla, Syria, Sacred Sanctuary, Hazrat Lot, Fu'ad, Heart, Ears, Eyes, Hudud-i Din

Q161 According to verse (38:75) God created Hazrat Adam (May peace be through him) with both His hands. What is their ta'wil and which place is this?
A161 The two hands of God mean the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul. This sublime stage of the personal world, which is called the place of intellect (maqam-i `aql), is in the forehead of `arifs.

Q162 Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, sent Prophets who gave glad tidings of paradise and warned of hell. How are these tasks accomplished collectively and individually?
A162 The teachings of the heavenly Book and the exoteric guidance of every Prophet are sufficient in order to give glad tidings and to warn people collectively. Individual glad tiding is [in the form of] spirituality and luminous dreams and individual warning is in the form of dark dreams.

Q163 Common people cannot understand the main secret of the subject of cursing (la`nat) in the wise Qur'an. Is it permissible for a person to curse a thing?
A163 No. It is absolutely prohibited, as the holy Prophet says: "A mu'min does not slander, nor curse, nor is he obscene or foul-mouthed".⁴² When somebody cursed the wind in his presence, the holy Prophet said: "Do not curse the wind, it obeys the command of God. When somebody curses a thing that does not deserve it, the curse returns to him".

Q164 The holy Prophet said: "He whose mawla (master) I am, `Ali is his mawla. O Allah! Befriend whoever befriends him, be hostile to whoever is hostile to him, forsake whoever forsakes him and help whoever helps him. O Allah! You are my witness over them".⁴⁴ Would you kindly tell us one wisdom from the depth of this hadith.
A164

This is a Prophetic exegesis of "light upon light".
It is a bright proof of the luminous rope of Allah.
Think more about the meaning of mawla.
God transcends friendship and enmity, but it is certain that the friendship of the Imam is the friendship of God.
It is a treasure of secrets and the garden of paradise. You should strive to attain light by reflecting upon it.

Q165 Although reflection is necessary at every step and every destination of the journey of knowledge and there is no occasion when it has no importance, it is likely that there is also a special place where, due to the sublime places of knowledge and recognition, great secrets are discovered by it. Is such a sublime place for reflection possible?
A165 Yes, indeed it is possible. There is an extremely wisdom-filled verse (34:46), which implies that God expands the guidance(s) and advices of religion and also contracts them. This is the implication of this verse, which is: "Say (O Muhammad): I exhort you to one thing only [which is the compendium of all exhortations] that you stand for Allah's sake, in pairs or singly." [i.e. you accomplish the work of resurrection in this very life and die spiritually and resurrect. This is the meaning of standing.] The meaning of "in pairs or singly" is to go from multiplicity to duality and from duality to unity. Now, this is the most sublime place of the inner eye and reflection to attain the secrets of recognition, as mentioned: "Then reflect carefully."

Q166 According to you, the importance of reflection increases greatly after the spiritual and individual resurrection. If that is the case, could you kindly give us some examples?
A166 By resurrection one attains the light of recognition, in the illumination of which one hopes to attain great and useful results by reflecting on everything, and sometimes treasures are found. Whether you reflect on the Qur'an or on your own self, or on the universe, or on the hudud-i din, everywhere you will find brilliant gems of knowledge and wisdom. During the resurrection, countless wonders and marvels of the external and internal worlds and the great miracles of the Prophets and Imams were experienced. However, those experiences were such that there was no time to reflect on any of those things. The time for reflection comes only when the universal deluge stops. This is further explanation of the above-mentioned verse (34:46). Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!

Q167 In verse (21:71), it is mentioned about Hazrat Abraham (May peace be through him) and Hazrat Lot (May peace be through him): "And We delivered him and Lot to the land [Syria] which We have blessed for the worlds." How can Syria or any other place be blessed at all times for the personal worlds?
A167 This, in reality, is an allusion to the sacred Sanctuary where there is the earth as well as the heaven of the subtle world. The luminous blessings of the sacred Sanctuary continue to reach every personal world through the Prophets and Imams.

Q168 One of the Qur'anic names of the heart is "fu'ad (pl. af'idah)". Why is the heart named so and what is its ta'wil?
A168 It is derived from the root letters fa', hamzah and dal and it is so called because of its tafa''ud, which means to burn, burn up, burn brightly or fiercely, blaze or flame; heat, fever, ardour. It is therefore not surprising if it contains an analogy of the fire of heavenly love and the light of recognition. Certainly this is the case, because the purpose of the Qur'an is that man may actualise his potential and worship God with utmost love. When a true mu'min kindles his heart like a candle with knowledge, good deeds and true love, God will one day grant him a luminous heart [fu'ad = qalb]. This miraculous heart is the Imam of the time, whom the lover used to believe in and recognises with heart and soul. This is the ta'wil of fu'ad.

Q169 In which verse or verses is such a ta'wil found?
A169 The verses in which such a ta'wil is found are: 16:78; 23:78; 32:9; 67:23. For instance, take the first verse (16:78), which says: "And He gave you ears, eyes and hearts that you may give thanks." In this verse, the ta'wil of the ear is natiq, that of the eye is asas and that of the heart is Imam. It is because of such magnificent bounties that the expression of gratitude becomes incumbent upon us, because it is a special favour otherwise even infidels and animals possess physical eyes, ears and hearts.

Q170 Are the favours of God mentioned in the hadith-i nawafil, attainable from Him directly or through the hudud-i din?
A170 There is the ladder (mi`raj) of hudud-i din in order to [ascend and] attain the special closeness of God. There is no ascension without the ladder. This ladder consists of living ranks. Study the wise Qur'an, where there is the mention of ranks (darajat) and ladders (ma`arij). Just as from verse (36:12), it appears that it is God Himself Who records the deeds of the servants, but from verse (82:11), it appears that the task of recording deeds is assigned to certain angels who are called the honourable scribes (kiraman katibin). It becomes evident from this that God, Who is the real King, appoints His personnel for different kinds of work, but He Himself is free from and above [doing] any kind of work.

⁴² Abu `Isa Muhammad Tirmidhi, Jami`u't- Tirmidhi, ed. Salih Al al-Shaykh (Riyaz, 1999), p. 458, Hadith 1977.
⁴³ Ibid., p. 458, Hadith 1978.
⁴⁴ Ibid., p. 845, Hadith 3712; Hakim Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak, ed. M.A. `Ata (Beirut, 1990), III, 118-19, 419, Hadith 5577, 5578, 5594.

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