Caskets of Pearls Vol. 2 - Casket of Pearls 57

Casket of Pearls 57

Tags: Door, Light, Nur, Wahidu'l-qahhar, Vanquisher, Divine shadow, Shadow

Q561 The holy Prophet has said: "I am the city of knowledge and `Ali is its door". He has also said: "I am the house of wisdom and `Ali is its door". What is the relationship of this knowledge and wisdom to the Qur'an? What way has been shown to attain them?
A561

This knowledge and wisdom are directly related to the Qur'an because the holy Prophet himself was the embodied and speaking Qur'an.
The way to attain this knowledge and wisdom is to spiritually merge in the `Ali (May peace be through him) of the time, so that you can access the treasures of the speaking and the silent Qur'an.

Q562 Is the law of a 'gate' or 'door' a universal reality? If the answer is "yes" please give us some examples.
A562

Yes, indeed there is no doubt at all in this law,
Since the heaven has doors (7:40)
Hell has doors (15:44)
Paradise has doors (39:73)
Every house, every house of Allah (places of worship) and everything has a door.
Thus, nobody can refute the fact that the Prophet is the door to Allah's light, the Prophet's door is the asas, the door of the asas is the Imam and the Imam's door is the hujjat, etc.

Q563 It is said in Surah-yi Tur verses (52:1-6): "By the Mount and the Book written down on a parchment unrolled, by the Prosperous House, by the roof raised high and by the surging sea." Please give us the wisdom of these verses.
A563

(I swear) by the mount of soul and the mount of intellect which are in the personal world and by the written book that is in scattered particles and by the Prosperous House and by the raised roof (`arsh) and by the surging ocean.
There are countless miracles of the mount of soul and the mount of intellect in the personal world.
The written book which is based on scattered particles is the speaking Book as well as the record of deeds of the `arif.
Baytu'l-ma`mur, which is the Prosperous House of Allah, is also in the personal world and every day seventy thousand angels circumambulate it.
The roof raised high is the name of the Divine Throne.
The surging sea is the ocean of knowledge, on which the Divine Throne manifests itself. All of these and countless other miracles continue to take place in the personal world.

Q564 You believe that the light of the sublime Imamat that had been granted to Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him) by Allah, the Holy (2:124), did not only manifest in his personality, but was present in his forefathers as well as continuing in his progeny. Please explain how this is possible with some proofs and evidence.
A564

Verse (2:124) says: "He (Allah) said: 'Verily, I make you an Imam for humankind'", that is 'I will make you an Imam and with it I will grant you knowledge of those secrets, which will reveal to you that you were an Imam in the past too and that you will be an Imam in the future as well'. A subtle allusion of this is in the word 'nas (humankind)' which is used here not in its limited but in an absolute sense.
With respect to the light of Imamat there are two well accepted realities: one is abstract light and the other is embodied light or the light in human attire, because whenever light is mentioned it is an allusion to the abstract light or to the body or attire of the light (jamah-yi nur). For example in "Allahu nuru's-samawati wa'l-arz = Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth", is mentioned abstract or pure light and in "Nurun `ala nur =light upon light" is clearly mentioned the attire or embodied light. Depending on his level of recognition, a mu'min will either accept Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him) as an attire of light or the light itself for all time.

Q565 The secrets of Prophethood and Imamat are hidden in the Qur'anic story of Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him). How can lovers (of light) access these?
A565

The foremost pre-requisite for this is true obedience and then the most important thing is luminous guidance and help, followed by careful study of the 69 places where the story of Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him) is mentioned in the Qur'an.
This wisdom-filled and blessed story has several magnificent dimensions. One of these is the extremely comprehensive, meaningful and unique dimension of the progeny of Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him), which includes the prayers which he said for his offspring.
Read religious books related to the story of Hazrat Ibrahim (May peace be through him) Khalilullah in order to understand its wisdom.

Q566 Al-hamdu li'llah! The light of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny) manifests itself in the personal mirror of every Prophet, so please tell us: Are Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny) and his progeny the beautiful names of God for this time or not? Are they the straight path and the rope of Allah or not? Are these blessed personalities the ladder of salvation or not? Are they the Ark of Nuh or not?
A566 Absolutely, since it is they who are everything and it is they who are Allah's great treasures.

Q567 It is said in Surah-yi Nisa' verse (4:97): "Verily, as for those whom the angels take (in death) whilst they are wronging themselves. They (the angels) shall ask: 'In what state were you?' They shall reply: 'We were oppressed in the land'. They (the angels) will say: 'Was not Allah's land spacious enough for you to migrate?'" The exoteric meaning of this verse is clear, but please explain its ta'wili wisdom to us.
A567

Allah's spacious land is the personal world because it encompasses the entire universe and to migrate in it means to enter it by recognising oneself.
It is also a question of how people oppress themselves. The answer is that they oppress their souls through disobedience. If there is truly [external] oppression, how can it be an obstacle in the path of knowledge and worship, [because oppression leads to suffering and humility which in themselves are a source of knowledge and worship]?

Q568 Verse (14:48) in Surah-yi Ibrahim says: "On the day when the earth shall be changed into other than the earth, and the heavens (likewise); and they shall come forth before Allah, the One, the Vanquisher." Which day is referred to here? How will the earth and the heavens change? What is the real secret of Allah, the One, the Vanquisher (wahidu'l-qahhar)?
A568

This is the day of the individual spiritual resurrection. When the `arif observes the personal world, he comes to know that its earth is completely different from the physical earth. It is spiritual and subtle and correspondingly its heavens too, are spiritual and subtle.
The meaning of Allah being the One, the Vanquisher (wahidu'l-qahhar) is that in the final stage of the resurrection He makes all human beings one by force, just as initially they were all one in the form of the Single Person.

Q569 In Surah-yi Furqan verses (25:45-46) there is the wisdom-filled mention of "kayfa madda'z-zill (how your Lord extends the shadow)". Please kindly explain its great secrets.
A569 "Have you not seen how your Lord extends the shadow? If He willed He would certainly have made it stationary. Then We have made the sun a guide to it. Then We draw it back to Us by an easy (gradual) contraction." Secrets of wisdom: This is first addressed to the Chief of the Prophets (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny), then to every Imam and finally to every `arif: Do you not see how your Lord continues to extend and enfold the shadow (which is your spiritual existence) thousands of times at the station of soul and also at the station of intellect. If He wished He could make it a lasting shadow, by which is meant the Imam who is always the Divine shadow. The sun is the guide to it, that is, all the miracles continue to appear because of the light of guidance. The mention of the enfolding of the shadow means that within one resurrection there is the exemplary demonstration of countless resurrections.

Q570 How is Allah's shadow possible, since shadows are dark and Allah transcends darkness?
A570

The shadow of everything is not dark. Some things have dark shadows and some things have bright ones, for example the sun, moon, stars, fire etc., always have luminous shadows. Read the Divine command in verse 16:81: And Allah has made for you shadows (physical, spiritual and intellectual) of every creature He has created. That is, there are luminous shadows of the four lights (Universal Intellect, Universal Soul, natiq and asas) in your personal world.
Since they are the loci of manifestations of Divine attributes, their luminous shadows are Allah's shadow, which in reality is light. [In the personal world] The world of particles is the spiritual shadow of everything as well as its subtle physical shadow.

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