Caskets of Pearls Vol. 1 - Casket of Pearls 20

Casket of Pearls 20

Tags: Earth, Sun of Intellect, Sacred Sanctuary, Exalted Roof, Guarded Roof, Islam, Ark, Table

Q191 What is the wisdom in drawing attention to the easts and wests of a blessed earth while praising it? Which earth is that? (7:137)
A191 Since that blessed and sacred earth is the paradise of recognition, the Light of lights (nuru'l-anwar), i.e. the sun of Intellect rises and sets with many meanings and allusions (isharat), or in other words, it is the earth of the sacred Sanctuary, which God has kept in the blessed forehead of the manifest Imam. Although it is only one place that is both the east and the west, it is called easts and wests due to the abundance of its meanings.

Q192 How does the sun of Intellect rise and set with abundant meanings and allusions?
A192 For example, it appears from the rising and setting of the sun of Intellect that innumerable things manifest from the veil of the unseen and then they disappear. This is the example of rising and setting. Now, let us see the allusion of rising and setting that is in the birth of minerals, vegetables, animals and human beings and also in certain events and matters, such as bringing Hazrat Joseph (May peace be through him) out of the well, the release of Hazrat Jonah (May peace be through him) from the stomach of the whale, the extracting of pearls from the ocean by the jinns for Hazrat Solomon (May peace be through him), etc.

Q193 Could you tell us some other names of the sacred Sanctuary?
A193 God willing!

Paradise brought near (26:90; 50:31; 81:13),
Mount Judi (11:44),
the exalted place (19:57),
the Station of Abraham (May peace be through him) (2:125; 3:97),
the ancient House (22:29, 22:33),
the prosperous House (52:4),
the Qiblah of angels,
the farthest Mosque (17:1),
the place of Intellect,
the place of mi`raj,
the mount of Sinai (52:1),
the sacred valley of Tuwa (20:12),
`Illiyyin (83:18),
the place of treasures (15:21),
Imam-i mubin (36:12),
matwiyyat (rolled up, 39:67), etc.

Q194 What does the exalted roof (52:5) mean and what is the ta'wil of the guarded roof (21:32)?
A194 By the exalted roof is meant the throne of the personal world, which is the sacred Sanctuary, because in the meanings of throne, the roof is also included. The ta'wil of the guarded roof is the guarded tablet, because whatever is under this roof (Throne) is always guarded. Thus, the roof of the personal world where there is didar (Divine vision) is the Throne, and the laden ark that is on the ocean is also the Throne.

Q195 What is the real meaning of these verses (51:20-21): "And there are signs in the earth for those people who have certainty (muqinin) and within yourselves (personal world). Do you not then see?"
A195 By the earth is meant the (universal) earth (i.e. macrocosm), in which the earth of the Universal Soul is the greatest thing, because it is the heaven of heavens as well as the earth of the Universal Intellect and together with it the intellectual heaven too. Subhana'llah!

Q196 What is the ta'wili secret of verse (51:22): "Wa-fi's-sama'i rizqukum wa-ma tu`adun?"
A196

First translation: "And in the heaven is your sustenance and whatever is being promised you."
Second translation: "And it is the higher world where there is your (spiritual) sustenance, and that (i.e. resurrection) which has been/is being promised you."
Third translation: "And it is the Single Soul (shakhs-i wahdat) in whom there is your inner (batini) sustenance and that (spiritual resurrection) which is being promised you."

Q197 What is the wisdom-filled allusion in verse (5:48): "To each one of you We appointed a law (shari`at) and a way (minhaj)"?
A197 The wisdom-filled allusion in the above is that just as shari`at and tariqat are necessary, haqiqat and ma`rifat are also necessary, because they are also from Allah. For, in the same verse, God says: "Therefore vie with one another in good deeds." Qur'anic wisdom says that there is no good deed away from the straight path and from the beginning to the end of this path, there are only good deeds in order to act upon which, a mu'min has to progress gradually until he becomes fana' fi'llah.

Q198 Please establish with clear proof that Islam is the religion of progress, which is why the wise Qur'an commands people to vie with one another in good deeds.
A198 Islam is the religion of nature and the best example of nature is the human being.

Human beings can progress much physically, spiritually and intellectually.
According to "Guide us on the right path", all the Muslims of the world continue to pray that may God make them walk on the path of religion until they reach the final destination.
Note that Hazrat Abraham (May peace be through him) made it clear that the servant has to go to his Lord (37:99).
In Islam, the example of the ladder is extremely important because it shows the spiritual journey of the holy Prophet.
Prophets and Imams, together with the hudud-i din are the spiritual ladders of their own times (70:4).
Ranks are mentioned everywhere in the mighty Qur'an and ranks are like a ladder in which the indication to progress is conspicuous.
Had the necessity of ascending the height of spirituality from the lowness of materialism not been there, Allah's rope would not have come to this world (3:103).
If human beings were not intended to embark on a spiritual journey, God would not have said that piety is the best provision (2:197). Also words such as: light, guidance, guide, path, return (tawbah, ruju`), following (ittiba`), excel, hasten, run, etc. imply the meanings of the spiritual journey.

Q199 Please tell us a special wisdom and depth of this hadith: "The example of my ahl-i bayt among you is like that of Noah's ark. He who embarked on it is saved and he who lagged behind, drowned".⁴⁷
A199 Hazrat Noah (May peace be through him)'s external ark is a parable (mithal) and the internal ark (light of Imamat) is its meaning (mamthul), because the deluge was not only physical, but also spiritual, to deliver from which the light of Imamat acts as an ark. The same light (of Imamat) is also the Throne of God on the water (11:7). Thus, with all these meanings, the ahl-i bayt of the holy Prophet are like Hazrat Noah (May peace be through him)'s ark.

Q200 This great question is related to verses (5:112-115). What was the nature of the table that the disciples had requested and for which Hazrat Jesus (May peace be through him) had prayed? Was it a table of physical foods or a compendium of spiritual bounties?
A200 The disciples of Hazrat Jesus (May peace be through him) were not so ignorant as to ask for worldly foods from heaven. They were the miracles of the personal world and the sacred Sanctuary in which there was every kind of food for the soul and the intellect. These special things are such that they are necessary for the hudud-i din from the first to the last.

⁴⁷ Hakim Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak, ed. M.A. `Ata (Beirut, 1990), III, 163, Hadith 4720.

Chapter Index

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter