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Chain of the Light of Imamat - Usul-i Din (Roots of Religion)

Usul-i Din (Roots of Religion)

Tags: Usul-i Din, Pure Tree, Roots of Religion, Universal Intellect, Universal Soul, Natiq , Asas, Hazrat `Ali

There are four usul or roots of religion: the Universal Intellect, the Universal Soul (Nafs-i kull), Natiq and Asas. The Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul are the spiritual roots and Natiq and Asas are the physical roots.

Usul (sing. asl) mean the roots of a tree, thus usul-i din mean the roots of the tree of religion, as God, in order to teach the seekers of reality, says to His beloved Prophet: "(O Muhammad!) have you not seen how God has struck a similitude of a pure Word (kalimah) to be like a pure tree, whose root is firm and whose branch is in the heaven? It gives its fruit at every season by the leave of its Lord. And God strikes similitudes for men that they may do dhikr of knowledge" (14:24-25). It is evident that two pure things are mentioned in this verse, which are alike in being beneficial and in every other characteristic. That is, the characteristic which is in this holy tree is also in this holy Word. For first, God mentions the pure Word and then compares it with the pure tree and thus makes it clear for the wise that just as this pure tree gives its fruit always and in every season, similarly this Word also gives the fruit of knowledge and ma`rifat all the time. Reflect for a while and question whether there is such a tree in this world which has its root from pre-eternity to post-eternity, and its branch in heaven and its fruit does not have any specific time and season, rather, it continues without being exhausted and is ready every year, every month, every day, every hour, every minute and every second? You will be unable to indicate that such a tree exists in such and such a place in this world. It is necessary to know that there is no such tree in this world, but that it is a similitude, as God Himself says, to make people understand. Thus the meaning (mamthul) of this similitude (mithal) is that the pure Word is the Divine Word and the pure tree is the Tree of Prophethood and Imamat, namely, the Tree of Religion whose four roots are mentioned above.

  1. First root: The Universal Intellect: The Universal Intellect has many names, such as the Real Adam, the First Cause, the Divine Throne, the Pen, the Divine Treasure, God's Kingdom, the Maker of substances, the Causer, etc.
    This root is called the Universal Intellect because it is the fountainhead of intellect and knowledge. All intellects and sciences come under it. There is nothing which it does not know, nor is there any knowledge which is beyond it. It comprises all things. It is called the Real Adam, because it has the knowledge of Names and is the object of the prostration of the angels. It is called the First Cause because it came into existence before anything else, i.e. the Universal Soul came into being from it and the rest of the existents from the Universal Soul. It is called the Divine Throne because nothing is more noble and exalted than it to be the Throne of God. It is called the Pen because God taught through it, as God says: "He taught through the Pen" (94:4). It is called the First, because it came into being before anything else, as the Prophet says: "The first thing which God created is the Pen"; "The first thing which God created is the Intellect"; "The first thing which God created is my light". It is called the Divine Treasure because it contains everything, as God says: "Or (why is not) a treasure sent down to him" (25:8), i.e. why does he not receive ta'yid (spiritual help) from the Universal Intellect. It is called God's Kingdom because in God's Kingdom there is no difference, as He says: "You see no difference in the creation of the Beneficent" (67:3), and hence in it there is no difference. It is called the Maker of substances because it has made all spiritual and physical substances. It is called Causer because it is the Maker of the cause. It is called Praise (hamd) because God is praised and extolled through it
  2. Second root: The Universal Soul: It is called the Universal Soul, because it is the angel who is the source and the return of all souls. It is called the Real Eve because it is the spouse of the Universal Intellect. It is called Pedestal (kursi) because it comprises the heavens and the earth, for as God says: "His kursi has comprised the heavens and the earth" (2:255). It is called the Guarded Tablet because the traces of the creation, written with the pen of Intellect, are preserved in it, for as God says: "Nay! it is a Glorious Qur'an, in a Guarded Tablet" (85:21-22), i.e. it is like the Guarded Tablet for everything. It is called "One Soul" because it makes all souls one. It has many other names, but this much explanation will suffice here.
  3. Third root: Natiq: In every cycle, which consists of six thousand years, there are six Natiqs. The names of the Natiqs in this cycle are: Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, `Isa and Muhammad (s.a.s.). The last of them is Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.s.). Natiq literally means "speaker". In religious terms Natiq means the Prophet to whom a Book is revealed from God and by God's command, he invites the people to Him through his Shari`ah based on this Book. God says about His beloved Natiq: "Nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed" (53:3-4). Also He says: "And with Us is a Book which speaks with the truth (without being read by someone)" (23:62). Such a Book is Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.s.).
  4. Fourth root: Asas: Asas literally means "foundation". In religious terms, it is the title of Hazrat Mawlana `Ali, for it is he from whom the Imamat manifested itself, as the Prophet said to him: "Kunta ma`a'l-anbiya'i sirran wa-ma`iya jahran" (O `Ali! You were hidden with other Prophets and with me you became manifest). That is, Mawlana `Ali was with all Prophets, but ordinary people did not know him but he became manifest in the time of Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.s.). Asas is also called siddiq, the one who confirms or verifies, for Mawlana `Ali used to confirm the tanzil of Hazrat Muhammad through his ta'wil. In connection with this position of Mawlana `Ali, the Holy Prophet had said to him: "O `Ali! You are to me as Harun was to Musa". And God says that Musa said: "And my brother Harun, is more eloquent than I, therefore send him with me as a helper so that he may confirm me. For I fear that they (i.e. the Pharoah and his people) may accuse me of falsehood" (28:34). From the speech of God and His Prophet, it is evident that in every respect, Mawlana `Ali was the helper of the Holy Prophet and confirmer of his tanzil. The confirmation of the tanzil and the Shari`at is possible only through ta'wil, as the Holy Prophet said to the companions: "Indeed, among you is the one who will fight you after me on the ta'wil as I fought you on the tanzil". The Prophet was asked: "Who is he?". The Prophet said: "He is the mender of shoes (khasifu'n-na`l)", that is, the Commander of the faithful, Mawlana `Ali, (who on that famous occasion was mending the Prophet's shoes).
    A thing can only be truly confirmed when its reality becomes fully known, and this cannot be denied by any wise person. In this respect, God says: "Those before them also cried lies and they had not reached a tenth of what We gave them (i.e. the Book): yet they cried lies unto My messengers. How intense then was the denial (nakir)" (34:45). (Nakir is on the pattern of fa`il, in the sense of fa`il i.e. nakir, the opposite of `arif, i.e. non-recognising, ignorant).
    A brief explanation of the above verse is that, apparently, they used to read the heavenly Book, but with respect to its reality or ta'wil, their understanding could not reach even a tenth of it. It was this, i.e. their inability to reach even a tenth of the ta'wil, which in reality amounted to the denial of their Prophets.
    Mawlana `Ali was Asas, to do the ta'wil of the words of God and those of His Prophet and he is always present in this world in a different attire and with a different name. Whatever he says and whatever he does is the ta'wil, for the Qur'an is always in the exalted Imam of the time in a spiritual form, for as the Prophet said: "The Qur'an is with `Ali and `Ali is with the Qur'an". This does not mean that Mawlana `Ali always physically carried the Qur'an around with him, rather, it means something else. You can understand the meaning of this by another Hadith in which the Prophet has said: "I am the city of knowledge and `Ali is its gate". If truly `Ali is the gate of the Prophet, then the Prophet is also within `Ali and all those sciences which the Prophet knew. For the city is within the gate and without the gate, nobody can enter the city. Further, the gate of the city is made when the objective is not to allow everyone to enter it freely. In this case, there is also a strong rampart around the city. I say that, that rampart is also Murtaza `Ali, that is, all those realities and ma`rifats, which were with the Prophet were with Mawlana `Ali, for the Prophet is not among those who forget and the entire Glorious Qur'an was in his blessed heart. As the Holy Qur'an says: "We will make you recite so you shall not forget" (87:6). Thus when the light of Muhammad (s.a.s.) is in the light of `Ali and the light of `Ali is in the Imam of the time, then necessarily the Glorious Qur'an is also in that light. It is more appropriate for the Prophet to conceive the example of this city with knowledge and realities to be prosperous, instead of conceiving it as being deserted. For it is not worthy of God and His Prophet to praise a thing which is going to perish after a short time.
    It is reiterated here that `Ali in the position of Asas and custodian of ta'wil in the form of light is in the Imam of the time and he continues to be the gate of the city of knowledge. Mawlana `Ali in one of his khutbahs says: "If I were to die by death I would never have died, and if I were to be killed, I would never have been killed". This does not mean that Mawlana `Ali considered his blessed body to be immortal, for no body is immortal. Nor does it mean that he is alive in the spiritual world, for there everyone is alive. A wise person does not take pride in an attribute which is found in all. When he wishes to make people aware of his attributes, he shows those which are not found in others.
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