Caskets of Pearls Vol. 1 - Casket of Pearls 49

Casket of Pearls 49

Tags: Qur'an, Alif-lam-mim-sad, Nun, Amr, Azal

Q471 Please explain the wisdom of verses (38:1-2) in which God says: "By Sad and the Qur'an, possessor of dhikr (remembrance). Nay, but those who disbelieve are in false pride and schism."
A471

By the surat-i Rahman [and] the Qur'an, the possessor of the remembrance. [You are right] but the disbelievers are in false pride and schism.
Since the miracle of the surat-i Rahman is in the higher world, therefore, the oath is in relation to its eternal and everlasting miracle, which is in the guarded Tablet (85:22). The Qur'an is the means of dhikr both in the higher world as well as in the lower world. Thus, in the higher world or sacred Sanctuary, the spiritual and intellectual miracles of the glorious Qur'an are extremely effective and unforgettable, as mentioned in verse (54:17): "And We have made the Qur'an easy for remembrance and advice. Are there any that remember?"

Q472 Would you kindly explain the secrets of the disjointed letters in verses (7:1-2) in the light of the charity [of knowledge] that you have received from the Imam of the progeny of the holy Prophet. "Alif, lam, mim, sad. A Book sent down to you - so let there be no straitness in your breast because of it - that you may warn thereby, and (it is) a reminder to the believers."
A472

God willing! God swears by the four miracles of the higher world: By the Pen, the Tablet, the writing [and] the surat-i Rahman and then there is the complement of the oath as mentioned above.
Alif, lam, mim, sad are the treasures of God, which are extremely great and eternal, from which the Qur'an was revealed to the blessed heart of the holy Prophet.

Q473 Please explain to us the wisdom of verses (68:1-2): "By nun, the Pen and that which they (the angels) write. You are not, by the grace of your Lord, mad."
A473

It is related from Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq (May peace be through him), that he said: Nun is a stream in paradise. God commanded it: Freeze! It froze and became ink …. Then God planted a tree. He told it: Be a pen. It became a pen. Then He commanded it: Write! It said: My Lord! What should I write? God said: Write what is going to happen till the resurrection!¹⁰⁷
This, in fact is the story of the personal world of the Perfect Man, who is the tree that God plants with His hand. This tree by God's command becomes the supreme Pen.
The Pen of Intellect is an angel who is both one and many. It is because of this that in the above-mentioned verse the verb is used in the plural (yasturun).

Q474 According to the Arabic language, the word "amr" has two meanings, command and work. Thus, in verse (10:3) it is alluded to the fact that God's amr (command, work) is repeated and continuous. That is, the omnipotent God shows His complete sunnat (law, habit) that has already passed in the perfect ones, in every personal world. Now, please tell us can there be any work of God that has not yet been accomplished?
A474

God does not have any work that has not yet been accomplished. In other words, there is no new work of God, but it is true that His every work is renewed.
The term "renewal of similitudes" informs us that by God's command, every dead thing is revived and every old thing renewed.

Q475 It is said in verse (2:58): "And when He said: Enter this township and eat as much as you wish whenever you like, and enter the gate prostrating." What is this township that the children of Israel were commanded to enter? The phrase 'this township' shows that people used to live in it and people were also commanded to enter it. What is the secret in it? What is the wisdom hidden in entering the gate prostrating?
A475

This is the township of every human being, which we now call the personal world. The children of Israel used to physically live in the personal world (that is, it was potential), but had not yet been able to enter it spiritually (that is, actualise it).
The allusion of "this township" ascertains that it was within their own personality and this is a very great secret.
Entering the gate prostrating means to enter the personal world by true obedience to the bab of the Prophet (asas, imam), where there are the treasures of his knowledge and wisdom.

Q476 Study verses (5:20-26). It is mentioned in verse (5:21) that Hazrat Moses (May peace be through him) said to his people: "O my people! Enter the holy land which God has assigned to you, and do not turn your backs, for then you will turn back as losers." Which is this holy land that the children of Israel were commanded to conquer? Is this the story of the major jihad?
A476

This is the land of the personal world, which is holy in many senses and the conquest of which is the subjugation of the universe.
Indeed, this is the story of the major jihad.

Q477 Verse (5:20) contains the wisdom-filled allusion that among the mu'mins of Hazrat Moses (May peace be through him) and Hazrat Aaron (May peace be through him), those who had entered the personal world had become kings. Is this great providence of God not possible in every age?
A477

Divine providence is always possible, but the great pre-requisite is to enter the personal world.
The gate of the personal world is the Imam of the time, and to enter through him it is essential to have obedience, ardent love and knowledge.
The light of the Imam of the time had risen in the personal worlds of our Pirs and dignitaries. Countless examples of this great event are found in the Qur'an.

Q478 In reply to what God created first, the holy Prophet has said five things:

"The first of what God created is my Light".
"The first of what God created is the Pen".
"The first of what God created is the Intellect".
"The first of what God created is the Tablet".
"The first of what God created is the Soul".¹⁰⁸

Please tell us how five things can be first. Are the Pen and the Tablet without intellect and soul?
A478

These are the eternal names of the one and same reality. It can be mentioned by any of these names. Thus, the holy Prophet has mentioned it by one of them according to the time and place.
The Pen and the Tablet are not without intellect and soul. These are the eternal names of the single light of the Prophet (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny) and `Ali (May peace be through him).

Q479 You had told us that Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny)'s light is the Pen and `Ali (May peace be through him)'s light is the Tablet. Is it not necessary that they should be separate? If the light of the Prophet is the Throne and that of the Imam-i mubin the kursi, are they not two separate things?
A479

After traversing many stages of the personal world one comes to the sacred Sanctuary or the world of oneness, about which the `arifs say that there the same one archangel is both the Pen and the Tablet, the single light of Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny) and `Ali (May peace be through him) and also the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul.
Indeed the Prophet's light is the Throne and `Ali (May peace be through him)'s light is the kursi, but this is one light and one angel who is the Throne as well as the kursi and spiritual heaven as well as the earth.

Q480 According to many people the concept of azal is like the farthest past. On the contrary you say that at the end of the spiritual journey of the personal world azal and the non-spatial world can be observed. Kindly explain this amazing wisdom.
A480

The spiritual journey of the personal world is from the body to the soul, from space to non-space, from the earth to the heaven and from the end to the beginning.
Since this journey is circular, we have to walk in a circle and reach where we had started it.
There is everything in the Imam-i mubin. This can be experienced in the personal world, particularly in the forehead, which is the higher world in which there are the secrets of azal and abad.

¹⁰⁷ Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, al-Mizan fi tafsiri'l-Qur'an (Beirut, 1393-1394/1973-1974), XIX, 376.
¹⁰⁸ Badi`u'z-Zaman Furuzanfar, Ahadith-i Mathnawi (Tehran, 1968), p. 113, 202.

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