Caskets of Pearls Vol. 2 - Casket of Pearls 87

Casket of Pearls 87

Tags: Imam-i Mubin, Malakut, Wisdom, Soul, 'al-`alamin

Q861 The gist of Qur'anic teaching is that Allah, the Exalted, has described one single sublime reality through different examples and parables (17:89; 18:54). Could you please explain this to us?
A861

In sha'a'llah! Remember that just as the most important and special centre of human life is the heart, in the same way the most important centre of Qur'anic knowledge and wisdom is the universal of Imam-i mubin (36:12), which is the heart of the Qur'an. Now we should look in the entire Qur'an for the diverse examples of this sublime reality.
Another example of the universal of Imam-i mubin is the law of treasures (15:21), a third example is the Guarded Tablet (85:22) and a fourth is ummu'l-kitab (mother of the book, 13:39).

Q862 In one of your lectures during a session of Wisdom Search you had said that there are special principles in order to understand the Qur'an. The above is the best of those principles, so kindly add more examples.
A862

The fifth example is the Sacred Sanctuary (hazirah-yi qudus), the sixth is the personal world (anfus), the seventh is the enumerated Book (kitab-i ihsa 78:29), the eighth example is that Allah has counted everything in the number one (72:28), the ninth example is that Allah enfolds the universe (21:104), the tenth example is that the universe is gathered in Allah's grip (39:67). These and many more examples are in the praise of the holy personality of the Imam-i mubin.

Q863 The word 'malakut' occurs four times in the wise Qur'an. Please tell us its meaning. What is meant by the 'malakut' of everything being in Allah's hand?
A863

If you want its literal meaning look it up in a dictionary, but if you wish to have its inner meaning then reflect on the Qur'an.
Surah-yi An`am (6:76) states that Allah was showing Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him) the angelic miracles of the heavens and the earth, but where? In the personal world? Where did this chain of events end? In the Sacred Sanctuary (hazirah-yi qudus)?
What is meant by the 'malakut' of everything being in Allah's hand? It is an extremely precious thing which has many names. One of them is called the Hidden Pearl. May Allah bless everybody with high ambition to attain His recognition!

Q864 How is one verse explained by another?
A864

One noble verse (36:83) says that the malakut of everything is in Allah's hand and another verse (67:1) says that the mulk is in Allah's hand. Thus we come to know that amongst the meaning of 'malakut' one is mulk which means 'kingdom'.
This is an example of how one verse is explained by another.

Q865 In Surah-yi Baqarah (2:269) wisdom is praised as follows: "He grants wisdom to whomever He wills, and he who is granted wisdom, has been granted abundant good." Please explain this to us with another verse.
A865

"Allah grants wisdom" [means that] this is His hand's act and is directly related to that unique and extremely precious thing which is in Allah's hand.
Therefore, all those noble verses which are about the praise of Allah's hand are the explanation of this verse. For example: "In Your hand is the good" (3:26), that is, whenever He enfolds the universe evil is ended and in His hand only the good remains.
This means that wisdom is the universal good (khayr-i kull), and is the subjugation of the universe as well as the kingdom of paradise.

Q866 Is there in the holy Qur'an, an invitation to the recognition of the personal world?
A866

Yes indeed this invitation is in many ways, among which one reference is to Surah-yi `Ankabut (29:19): "Do they not see how Allah originates creation (khalqa = insan) and then repeats it?"
This is not only a great invitation to the recognition of the personal world but also its result, that is, the recognition that in the stage of `Izra'il, Allah repeatedly creates the human being and similarly at the stage of Intellect.
In this noble verse al-khalqa means the human being because recognition is related to him.

Q867 In Surah-yi Qiyamah (75:14) it is said: "Nay, man will be a witness against himself." Please tell us its wisdom?
A867

A human being has the capacity to observe himself with the inner eye.
That is, the perfect `arif is an example for all people, therefore it is possible for every person to progress spiritually, to recognise himself or herself and to recognise Allah, In sha'a'llah ta`ala!

Q868 Today we are asking you an extraordinary and amazing question, which is about the concept of universality, what is it?
A868

It is to consider one of the universals with all its parts and then to comment on all its realities and recognitions.
For example, if you wish to say something about the subject of water, you have to keep its entire circle [of existence] in view.

Q869 Does the concept of universality also apply to the human soul?
A869

Why not, since the soul is a universe, that is, it is a personal world and there are countless parts to it which cover all states or conditions.
The soul is the supreme example of Allah's perfect power therefore it is not possible to duly describe the manifestations of Divine attributes which it contains.
We can only say that the soul is everywhere in space and in spacelessness. It follows that one aspect of the human soul, as such, is always in paradise.

Q870 Does the personal world mean the world of humanity? How many times does the word 'al-`alamin' occur in the Qur'an? Which worlds does it refer to?
A870

Yes indeed, the personal world is itself the world of humanity.
The word 'al-`alamin' occurs 73 times in the Qur'an.
'Al-`alamin' means the personal worlds. Allah has sent His beloved Prophet as a mercy for the personal worlds (21:107), because the worlds of minerals, of vegetation and of animals are not worthy of the Prophet's mercy.

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