Caskets of Pearls Vol. 1 - Casket of Pearls 21
Casket of Pearls 21
Tags: Wings, Suratu'n-Najm, Mi`raj, Sidratu'l-muntaha, Pond
Q201 Please tell us the meaning of "the Best of sustainers" in the following prayer of Hazrat Jesus (May peace be through him): "O Allah, our Lord! Send down to us a table from heaven, that it may be a festival for us, for the first of us and the last of us (of our hudud-i din), and a miracle from You, and grant us (spiritual and intellectual) sustenance, and You are the Best of sustainers" (5:114).
A201 The meaning of "the Best of sustainers" is that Allah grants the spiritual and intellectual sustenance and none other than Him can do this work.
Q202 Please explain the hadith: "O `Ali, indeed there is a treasure for you in paradise and you are its Dhu'l-qarnayn".48
A202 The holy Prophet says to Imam `Ali (May peace be through him): O `Ali, indeed the treasure of the paradise of the personal world is for you and you have two qarns (horns) to blow and raise the resurrection: one is for the first blow and the other for the second blow, but there is no interval between the two blows. There is a continuous voice.
Q203 Please explain the wisdom of the following two ahadith: "Last night I entered paradise and beheld Ja`far flying with the angels and beheld Hamzah reclining on a throne".49 And: "I saw Ja`far bin Abi Talib as an angel flying with angels with two wings".50
A203 It becomes certain from this pure and wisdom-filled teaching of the holy Prophet that the souls of the mu'mins of higher ranks become angels. It is possible that by the two wings is meant the dhikr of two names, because the subtle luminous body is free from physical wings.
Q204 Please explain verse (35:1): "Praise belongs to Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the Maker of angels as messengers with wings, two, three and four."
A204 It can be concluded from the afore-mentioned ahadith and this verse that by abundant dhikr and `ibadat and progress in knowledge and wisdom, male and female mu'mins can become angels. It also became known that the wings of angels are of dhikr-i ilahi (Divine remembrance). Their dhikr is so pure, sublime and miraculous that it continues automatically. However, first try to be enriched with the wealth of the knowledge of certainty.
Q205 The great secrets of the mi`raj of the holy Prophet are mentioned in verses (53:1-18). Would you kindly indicate some of them?
A205 In the first (53:1) verse, God swears by the light of azal (light of Intellect), which scatters countless pearls in the paradise of the sacred Sanctuary by the allusions of its rising and setting. In the second (53:2) verse, it is said as a complement of the oath that the holy Prophet accomplished the duty of guiding people with utmost diligence, and as a result all of us were potentially with him in mi`raj.
In the third (53:3) and the fourth (53:4) verses, the holy Prophet is praised in the sense that his own words were also cast in the mould of revelation. In the fifth (53:5) verse it is mentioned that Allah is the One Who has the supreme power and therefore, He taught His friend in a unique way. The implication of the sixth (53:6) verse is that the holy Prophet became powerful because of the power granted by God and he was at the highest horizon (the place of Intellect).
The eighth (53:8) verse alludes that the holy Prophet became extremely close to God and then attained the rank of fana' (merging). The ninth (53:9) verse says that the concepts of providence (rububiyyat) and servitude (`ubudiyyat) became like two bows (half circles) or nearer still, like the centre of a pair of compasses. The tenth (53:10) verse says that the mi`raji revelation takes place in the state of merging. The eleventh (53:11) verse says that the mi`raj of the holy Prophet was spiritual therefore it was his blessed heart which saw all this and confirmed it. The twelfth (53:12) verse says: Do you dispute with the Prophet about the things that he saw.
The thirteenth (53:13) verse alludes that the holy Prophet had mi`raj twice. The wisdom of the fourteenth (53:14) verse is that he had those two mi`rajes or didars near sidratu'l-muntaha (the lote-tree of the utmost boundary). By sidratu'l-muntaha is meant the Universal Soul. The fifteenth (53:15) verse teaches that jannatu'l-ma'wa (the garden of abode) is near sidratu'l-muntaha. The sixteenth (53:16) verse indicates that the Universal Soul had a Divine wonder in his blessed hand, which was being shown and concealed. In the seventeenth (53:17) verse the inner eye of the holy Prophet is praised because he attained the purpose of the observations of mi`raj entirely and completely. The wisdom of the eighteenth (53:18) verse is that he saw extremely great miracles of his Lord in the mi`raj. These are some of the great secrets related to the mi`raj of the holy Prophet. Al-hamdu li'llah!
Q206 What is the reason that you do not mention Jibra'il in the secrets of the above-mentioned verses (53:1-18)?
A206
- There is no mention of Jibra'il here.
- Jibra'il is not alone, rather there are five angels of revelation. The highest one is well known by the name of Pen, the next is Tablet, then Israfil, then Mika'il and the lowest is Jibra'il.
- Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq (May peace be through him) says: "Thus, Nun is an angel who conveys [the news] to the Pen and the Pen conveys it to the Tablet, and the Tablet to Israfil and Israfil conveys it to Mika'il, who conveys it to Jibra'il, who conveys it to the Prophets and Messengers".51
Q207 What is the wisdom in the following hadith: "The resurrection will not take place until the sun rises from its west".52 Does this mean that no resurrection has taken place until now?
A207 The ta'wili wisdom of this hadith is that resurrection is a chain of spiritual events and it becomes complete when the sun of the sacred Sanctuary rises from the west, because in the sacred Sanctuary both the east and the west are the same place. This hadith mentions the end of the completion of the spiritual resurrection, because when the `arif reaches it, he/she observes that the east and the west of the [spiritual] sun is the same place. The wise Qur'an, in its wisdom-filled language, says that there is a spiritual resurrection with every Imam (17:71).
Q208 Please explain the wisdom of the following hadith: "`Ali is with the Qur'an and the Qur'an is with `Ali; they will never be separated until they will come to me at the pond".53
A208 This hadith is the exegesis of the verse of the revealed light (nur-i munazzal, 5:15). By `Ali (May peace be through him) is meant the Light of Imamat, which is the speaking Book (23:62; 45:29) and it is necessary for the silent Book to be within it. Thus, it is the task of the Light and the Qur'an to guide the true mu'mins up to the pond of Kawthar, by which is meant the recognition of Hazrat qa'imu'l-qiyamat (May peace be through him).
Q209 What is the far-reaching wisdom of the hadith in which the holy Prophet said to Imam `Ali (May peace be through him): "He who obeys me, indeed obeys Allah and he who disobeys me, indeed disobeys Allah. And he who obeys you, indeed obeys me and he who disobeys you, indeed disobeys me".54
A209 This hadith is a clear exegesis of the verse of obedience (4:59), because by `Ali (May peace be through him) is meant the chain of the Light of Imamat and the possessors of command (ulu'l-amr). In other words, `Ali means the `Ali of the time, who is the Imam of the time. Al-hamdu li'llah!
Q210 The holy Prophet said to Hazrat `Ali (May peace be through him): "You are from me and I am from you".55 What is this relationship? Is it physical, spiritual or luminous (intellectual)?
A210 This relationship, rather oneness is physical, spiritual and luminous (intellectual) as well. Readers are also asked to reflect on this.
48 Hakim Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak, ed. M.A. `Ata (Beirut, 1990), III, p. 133, Hadith 4623.
49 Ibid., III, 231, Hadith 4935.
50 Ibid., III, 217, 231, Hadith 4890, 4933.
51 Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, al-Mizan fi tafsiri'l-Qur'an (Beirut, 1393-1394/1973-1974), XIX, 376.
52 Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, ed. A. al-Nuri et al (Beirut, 1998), III, 13, 277-78, Hadith 7161, 8837.
53 Hakim Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak, ed. M.A. `Ata (Beirut, 1990), III, 134, Hadith 4628.
54 Ibid., III, 131, Hadith 4617.
55 Abu `Abdi'llah Muhammad Bukhari, Sahihu'l-Bukhari (Riyaz, 1999), pp. 143-44, Hadith 893; Qazi Nu`man, Sharhu'l-Akhbar, ed. Muhammad al-Husayni al-Jalali (Qumm, 1987), I, 93-95.
| Chapter Index | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter |