Caskets of Pearls Vol. 1 - Casket of Pearls 7
Casket of Pearls 7
Tags: Ar-Raqim, Bounties, Pharaoh's wife, Kursi, Universal Soul, Furqan, Personal World, `inda
Q61 Have you ever seen an amazing and pleasant book or writing in a luminous dream?
A61 Yes, it is an example of ar-raqim (18:9). However, in spiritual miracles there is greater efficacy [as compared to a luminous dream].
Q62 Are the bounties of the Qur'an, the hadith and the farmans of the Imams in paradise?
A62 Indeed, since paradise is the fountainhead of spiritual and intellectual bounties, therefore these bounties are also there. In fact, the principle of seeking bounties is like the will of "Be" in paradise. In paradise when something occurs in the heart, that thing instantly appears in front of you. Thus, paradise is the place where no bounty is impossible. For instance, you can see any Book of a Prophet in its original form. This is the allusion of ar-raqim (spiritual writing).
Q63 Regarding Pharaoh's wife, it is said in verse (66:11): "And Allah cites an example for those who believe, the wife of Pharaoh when she said: My Lord! Build for me a home with You in paradise, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and deliver me from the evil-doing people." The question here is whether this is a spatial and collective paradise where God has a physical house, in which case countless other mu'min men and women would have requested God to grant them the supreme honour of His neighbourhood, or is it related to ta'wil?
A63 The example of paradise is the personal world, which is an individual as well as a collective paradise. It is spatial from one side and non-spatial from the other. Mu'min men and women not only attain a home near God in the personal world, but they also attain the supreme bliss of living together with Him (in His house) by being merged in Him. This is the ta'wili allusion of the above-mentioned verse.
Q64 What is the meaning of kursi? What is the exegesis of "wasi`a kursiyyuhus-samawati wa'l-arz" (His kursi has encompassed the heavens and the earth) (2:255)? Is kursi a body or a soul?
A64 Kursi literally means a dais upon which a royal throne is erected, but here its ta'wil is the Universal or Cosmic Soul. Hence the ta'wil of "His kursi has encompassed the heavens and the earth" is that the entire universe is immersed in the ocean of the Universal Soul.
Q65 Is there only soul in every part of the entire universe including the planet earth? Is the earth immersed in the Universal Soul internally and externally as well as having its own soul?
A65 Yes, the answers to your questions are within them.
Q66 There are doors of mercy and knowledge in the wise Qur'an. The question is: how many times is the word furqan mentioned in the noble Qur'an, and what does it mean?
A66 The word furqan means to distinguish between right and wrong, it is another name of the glorious Qur'an and it also means 'miracle', the light of a mu'min's heart and Divine grace. It is mentioned in seven places in the Qur'an (2:53, 2:185; 3:4; 8:29, 8:41; 21:48; 25:1). By studying the wisdoms of this blessed word, particularly in verse (8:29), we understand that the miracle (furqan), which God appoints for those who fear Him, means the light of Imamat and the esoteric knowledge of the Qur'an.15
Q67 In verse (8:29) God says: "O you who believe, if you fear God, He will appoint for you a furqan (criterion) …". What is this furqan? Can it be a small or trivial thing?
A67 Never. This is a great miracle. This is the light of ma`rifat of the personal world, which due to the light of knowledge and wisdom is a decisive miracle, because esoterically it is linked with all the miracles of Hazrat Moses (May peace be through him) and Hazrat Aaron (May peace be through him), as well as with the wise Qur'an.
Q68 Is the furqan mentioned in the above question the light of Imamat, which rises in the personal world, as mentioned in verse (57:28): "O you who believe! Fear God and believe in his Messenger so that he may give you twofold portion of His mercy and appoint for you a light whereby you may walk …".
A68 Yes, indeed furqan is the light of Imamat, which rises in the personal world, in the illumination of which one has to walk on the straight path, which is also in the personal world.
Q69 Is it true that there is an answer to every easy or difficult question in the recognition of the personal world? If it is true, please tell us the wisdom of verse (6:122): "Is he who was dead and We gave him life, and appointed for him a light whereby he walks among people as one whose likeness is darknesses from which he cannot come forth"?
A69 When God revives a salik/`arif after the spiritual death, the light of the Imam of the time rises in his personal world and in the illumination of that light he walks among those people who are in his personal world in the form of particles. The rest of the meaning is clear from its literal translation.
Q70 Would you explain the ta'wili wisdom of verses (54:54-55): "Indeed, the righteous will be in the midst of gardens and rivers, in a place of truth, near an Omnipotent King."
A70 The ta'wili wisdom of these verses is that those who are truly righteous will be in the gardens and rivers (i.e. the light of the Universal Intellect, Universal soul, natiq and asas) of the spiritual paradise, in the place of truth (i.e. in the rank of true knowledge), being merged in the Omnipotent King (Allah). Here 'near' (`inda) means merging (fana'), because no salik or true lover of God can remain in His special proximity without being merged in Him as mentioned about the wife of Pharaoh.
15 See A Thousand Wisdoms, wisdoms 651-54, pp. 346-348, particularly wisdom 653.
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