Caskets of Pearls Vol. 1 - Casket of Pearls 29


Casket of Pearls 29

Tags: Hazrat Maryam, Sur, Divine shadow, Days of Allah, Spirit, Soul, World of creation World of command, Best Names of God

Q281 Once you said that the sur is blown in order to breathe the Divine spirit into a perfect human being. That is, the breathing of the spirit and the blowing of the sur take place simultaneously. Therefore, the resurrection is also mentioned with the breathing of the spirit. Would you kindly give us an example of this event?
A281 It is mentioned in verse (66:12): "And Maryam, daughter of `Imran, who guarded her private parts, therefore We breathed therein something of Our Spirit". Maryam (May peace be through her) was a hujjat and the example of all hujjats in her time. This means that the hujjats have to necessarily undergo resurrection, because all esoteric sciences lie in it and without it, there is neither wisdom nor recognition.

Q282 If the Qur'anic extollation of Maryam (May peace be through her) is that of a hujjat, please tell us from where does the hujjat receive spiritual light?
A282

  • It has been said:

Az dil-i hujjat ba-hazrat rah buwad
Ou ba-ta'yid-i dilash agah buwad69

From the heart of the hujjat to the Imam there is a path
And he (Imam) is aware of [giving] ta'yid to his heart.

  • Hakim Pir Nasir-i Khusraw says in his famous Diwan:

Bar jan-i man chu nur-i imam-i zaman bitaft
Laylu's-sarar budam-u shamsu'z-zuha shudam70

When the light of the Imam shone upon my soul,
Even though I was dark as night,
I became the shining sun.

Q283 It is mentioned in verse (105:1): "Did you not see how your Lord dealt with the people of the elephant?" Had the incident of the people of the elephant not taken place fifty days prior to the birth of the holy Prophet? Why is there such a wisdom-filled allusion in this verse, as if the Prophet had himself witnessed the destruction of the people of the elephant?
A283

  • There are numerous secrets of this kind in the great Qur'an indicating that the Prophets and awliya' see important events related to religion in the mirror of spirituality.
  • In 31 places in the Qur'an, the question "Did you not see?" is mentioned, the purpose of which is to draw the attention of the people of recognition to the spiritual observations of the holy Prophet.

Q284 It is mentioned in verse (2:243): "(O Messenger!) Did you not see those who went forth from their homes, for fear of death? And they were thousands, then Allah said to them: Die, and then He brought them back to life. Verily, Allah is gracious to people, but most of them are not grateful." There seems to be a great secret of recognition in this verse, would you kindly explain it to us?
A284 God willing!

  • When the sur is blown and the resurrection starts to take place, the representative particles of people go forth from their bodies for fear and run to the place of resurrection and seek refuge in the one who undergoes it.
  • Divine mercy lies in the fact that all of them should die unconsciously and are then revived.
  • How great is God's favour towards the people of the world!
  • This is a very great revolutionary secret; therefore, all of you should try to understand its reality.

Q285 Would you kindly explain the ta'wili wisdom of verse (25:45): "Did you not see how your Lord extends the shadows? If He willed He would certainly have made it still (the eternal shadow). Then We made the sun a guide to it. Thereafter We seize it to Ourselves, drawing it gradually."
A285

  • Here the external shadow is a veil and the internal shadow is the veiled one.
  • The shadow that is in the veil is the Divine shadow, i.e. the shadow of the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul in the sense of souls and intellects, which God spreads out and makes eternal and everlasting, such as the people of paradise, and also seizes them to Himself. By the sun is meant the light of Intellect, through which every kind of favour is provided.

Q286 Please explain to us what is meant by "the days of Allah" in verse (14:5): "And We certainly sent Moses with Our signs (saying): Bring forth your people from the darknesses unto the light, and remind them of the days of Allah; verily in this are signs for every patient and grateful (person)".
A286

  • These special days of Allah mean the hidden resurrection of the personal world and its seven minor cycles, which have been mentioned repeatedly.
  • With respect to reminding about these spiritual and luminous days, there are three levels of certainty: `ilmu'l-yaqin (knowledge of certainty), `aynu'l-yaqin (the eye of certainty) and haqqu'l-yaqin (the truth of certainty).
  • The living and luminous days of Allah are the Prophets and Imams. The manifestation of their sacred light in the personal world is its resurrection that contains all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom.

Q287 Which Imam has made the following sacred farman: "Whatever is said about God is about us and whatever is said about us is about those of our Shi`ahs who have surpassed [others]".71
A287 Hazrat Mawlana Imam Baqir (May peace be through him) said this. These are the great secrets of the hidden treasure.

Q288 You have written a book in the form of questions and answers on the subject of soul. With reference to verse (17:85): "Say: The spirit is from the command of my Lord". Would you kindly tell us in what sense the spirit is from the command of the Lord?
A288

  • The special or original spirit is from the world of command.
  • The higher end of the spirit is in the higher world.
  • The everlasting link of the spirit is with the Word of Command, i.e. "Kun! (Be!)", therefore there is always renewal in it.
  • This is why the spirit in paradise is perpetually a new creation.
  • The great soul is present everywhere.

Q289 Where are the world of creation and the world of command mentioned in the holy Qur'an? What is the difference between them?
A289

  • They are mentioned in verse (7:54): "Beware that the (world of) creation and the (world of) command belong to Him (Allah). Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds".
  • The difference between the two is that in the world of creation (physical world) it requires time for things to be created, whereas in the world of command (spiritual world) everything comes into existence instantly by the command of "Be!" The blessings of God are everlasting and never come to an end. Since blessings are forever, therefore the human soul too, is forever. Al-hamdu li'llah!

Q290 Please tell us the ta'wil of verse (7:180), as explained by the Imams from the progeny of the holy Prophet. The verse is: "And to Allah belong the best names, so call Him by them, and leave alone those who use profanity in His names: soon shall they be requited for what they were doing".
A290

  • Hazrat Mawlana `Ali (May peace be through him) has said: "I am the best names by which God has commanded to call Him".72
  • Hazrat Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq (May peace be through him) says: "By God! We are the best names of God".73
  • Everything of God is living and speaking with the perfect Intellect and the perfect Soul, thus, according to this law the Imam of the time is the supreme Name and the best Name.

69 Khayr-Khwah-i Herati, Tasnifat, ed. W. Ivanow (Tehran, 1980), p. 3.
70 Nasir-i Khusraw (Pir), Diwan-i Ash`ar, ed. Nasru'llah Taqawi (Tehran, 1988), p. 273.
71 Ja`far b. Mansuri'l-Yaman, Ta'wilu'z-Zakat, MS. fol. 140.
72 Muhammad Salih Kashfi, Manaqib-i Murtazawi, translated into Urdu by Sharif Husayn as Kawkab-i Durri (Lahore, n.d.), p. 200.
73 Fayz Kashani, as-Safi fi tafsiri'l-Qur'an (Tehran, 1977), I, 76.

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