Coolness of the eye - The Concept of Creation - Line or Circle?
The Concept of Creation - Line or Circle?
Tags: Circle of creation, Creation, Soul, Next World
In connection with this subject, the first question that arises is the title itself. That is, what is an example of the concept of creation? Is it like a line or a circle? The difference between a line and a circle is very clear. A line has two points which indicate that there is a beginning and an end. A circle however, is continuous and has no point which indicates that there is a beginning or an end.
If in answer to the above question we say that God started creation at a particular point in time as an act which had not come forth from Him before, then it implies that creation is linear and non- existent before the initial beginning and after the final end. But this concept is totally wrong for it creates thousands of insolvable questions. For instance, is it right to fix a time for the Omnipotent God in which He was called Creator, without there being anything created? To call Him the Benevolent Sustainer when there was nothing to sustain? To have the attributive names of the Beneficent and Merciful only in name, but not in actuality? How can it be possible for these attributes of God to be potential before being actual? Almighty Allah is free from any of these attributes. For both His essence and attributes are eternal and there is no change in them. All His attributes are always in the same state and in this sense He is not contingent but eternal.
If we compare the concept of creation with a circle and accept that the attribute of creation of God is actually as eternal as His essence, then such questions do not arise. Let us therefore try to furnish the proofs for the soundness of this concept from the Holy Qur'an and from the external and internal world.
One of the wisdom-filled meanings of the Wise Qur'an is that, if there are several alternatives of action or knowledge available, then we should always choose the best of these. As evidence, you can see the word "ahsan" (the best) in the Holy Qur'an, particularly in verses (7:145; 39:55). There may be differences in translation, therefore it is necessary to reflect upon them. However, the best (ahsan) concept of creation is similar to the form of a circle. For this form has no defect and is adorned with all the beauties of intellect, logic, knowledge and wisdom.
Had the Godhead, kingdom and the creative act of God not been in the form of a circle, without any beginning or end, then only circular forms would not appear in the Wise Qur'an and in the external world. That is, everything seen in the law of nature would not have been of circular form and instead, importance would have been given to other forms. But it can be seen that all things and their movements in space and time are circular, such as the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, stars, water, air etc. The law of circles, which is found in the Qur'an, is such that in the rotation of the day and the night, neither is anterior or posterior. Both of them are on the globe of the earth simultaneously, like two arcs or half circles which together make a complete circle, as shown in the following diagram:
It is said in the Qur'an: "It is You who makes the night enter the day and it is You who makes the day enter the night, and it is You who brings forth the living from the dead, and it is You who brings forth the dead from the living" (3:27). This meaning is also clear from the verse (36:40) that neither is the night anterior to the day, nor the day anterior to the night, but that everything rotates in a circle.
This universal law of day and night and life and death shows that temporally, neither the world of command (the next world) nor the world of creation (this world) is prior to the other. Like the day and the night, both exist simultaneously on the circle of existence. It should be noted however, that the next world has priority over this world in status and excellence. That is, the next world is prior to this in status, but not in time. Thus, if in the foundation of the law of nature, the world of command and the world of creation, like the day and night continue to be born from each other and create the great circle, then what remains without a circular form? This reality supports the concept that the act of creation is circular with no beginning and no end. As God says : "And We bring these days (time) to men by turns" (3:140). In this Divine law, not only are the limitless ages represented by the circle of the rotation of days, but so are all the people of the scope of existence. In this Divine law is also implied that fortune and misfortune also come in the rotation of time through the ages.
A special form of the circles of endlessness in the Wise Qur'an is that sometimes things are mentioned which begin in the physical world, reach the spiritual world and then come back to the physical world. For example, in the story of Hazrat Adam is mentioned that he was born in this world, was then ushered into paradise, then was sent back to this world and so one circle was completed. Sometimes things are described which start in the spiritual world, come to the physical world and then go back there. For instance, see: "He (Musa) said: Our Lord is He Who gave everything (of the world of command) a form in the world of creation, then He guided it (to its original place)" (20:50, purport). But the circle is not always mentioned in the same verse, for it is also found in more than one verse. As in the verse (17:85) it is indicated that the soul has come to this world from the world of command and in verses (89:27-30) its return to that world is noted. Thus the coming of the soul to this world is one arc and its return to the world of command is another arc, which together make a circle.
The sages of religion say that nothingness is another name of ibda` (Zadu'l-Musafirin of Hakim Pir Nasir-i Khusraw) and that there has never been, nor is, nor will there ever be such a thing as absolute nothingness. That is, in the eternal kingdom of God, there is on the one hand the world of command in which there is the rule of the word "Be", which is the means of manifestation of things by ibda`, and on the other there is the world of creation, in which the creation of God continues. This logic clearly shows, that in the kingdom of God there has never been a time without creatures.
Hazrat Mawlana Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, salawatu'llahi `alayhi, says: "There is a fundamental difference between the Jewish idea of creation and that of Islam. Creation according to Islam is not a unique act in a given time, but a perpetual and constant event". In this blessed farman of the exalted Imam "perpetual and constant" means without beginning and end, an example of which is the circle of perpetuality.
These are also circles:
In this world, as well as in the very existence of man, there are certain things which do not appear to be in the form of circles. But if we examine their functions with reflection, we discover that they also function like a circle. For instance, take a bridge which links two cities. From one side of it people go and from the other they come, and so it is also an example of the law of perpetuality. Similarly, there is the respiration of man, which is like a bridge of life and survival, built between the two worlds through which people come and go. There is also the muscular expansion and contraction of the heart which, although itself functioning like a pump, the circulation of blood is circular. The purpose of this is that people of intellect may reflect on this secret of nature and ponder why everything is related to a circle and why the same things appear again repeatedly.
Someone may say that man, i.e. the soul, comes to this world again and again. Another, rejecting this, may say: No, the soul comes only once. Both these statements are incomplete. I will explain something from the treasure of the holy and pure Imam which, God willing, will be of very great significance. It is that in one respect the soul comes to this world again and again, and in another respect it does not come at all.
Can you tell me the distance between this world and the next? Where is the next world, or the higher world and what is it? Is it a material world or is it spiritual? It is useless to discuss the soul's repeated coming to this world, without acquiring knowledge of the answers to these fundamental questions about the next world. Thus it should be known that this world is the body and the next world is the soul. In this one sentence all questions are answered. Reflect on this and be certain. Remember forever that what is visible to the physical eyes is this world and the world which is seen with spiritual eyes is the next world. A trivial example of this reality is the world of dreams.
In this material world there have been and are now many fortunate people who, walking in the illumination of the light of guidance, have observed and can observe the next world in this life. This is like someone, who living in this world, has gone to or experienced the next world. Every Perfect Man (insan-i kamil) is in this position. When it is possible to experience the spiritual world while living in this world, (which is in itself a miracle) then what marvels are in store in the next world! There, every mu'min will exist in a subtle body which is miraculous and totally different from this body. In front of his external and internal eyes there will be both this world and the next. In such a state, why should he come to this world imprisoned in a physical body and why not in a subtle body or juththah-i ibda`iyyah? This is the reality of the soul. In one respect man not only comes to this world again and again, but has always been here. In the other respect he does not come here, in the sense that he does not become imprisoned in a physical body, as in the present physical life. For he has greater delight, pleasure and happiness in the spiritual bounties. This same reality is presented in another example. According to a sound Hadith: "The mu'min sees in the illumination of the light of God", and by the illumination of the light of God are illumined the heaven, the earth, this world and the next world. So, if the mu'min is in this world he can also see the next world, and if he is in the next world then, in addition to it, he can also see this world. If a mu'min is weak in this world in the sense that he cannot see the next world now, God willing, he will not remain so indefinitely.
Words such as Rasul (Messenger), Nabi (Prophet) and Imam (Guide) are special and the ummat has no share in them. But the word mu'min is common between the Messenger, the Imam and the ummat. Thus it is a universally accepted fact that the successful Muslims, i.e. mu'mins, can see both the worlds with the eye of the Divine light, by the mediation of the Messenger of God and the True Imam.
The principal difference between the universals and the particulars is that every universal can carry opposite meanings, accounts or attributes, but the particular is not capable of this. For instance, if we say that water is cold as well as hot, this is true about water as a whole, whereas it is false about a glass-full of water. The reason for this is obvious, in that the part does not have the greatness and the vastness of the whole. Similarly, if it is said that day and night exist simultaneously, it is true about the planet earth on which there is night on one side and day on the other, but it is not true about a limited region. There are numerous such examples. Thus it is necessary to acquire the knowledge of the universals, as Hakim Pir Nasir-i Khusraw, may God sanctify his secret, says:
- Tu ba-kull bina nah i zan-gah tu bi-rah mandah i
Tu ba-kull bina shawi jan-u jasad yaksan-i tustYou do not see the whole, therefore you have gone astray;
If you see the whole, your soul and body will have equal importance. (That is, if the soul today is in dense body, tomorrow it will be in subtle body. And without this the soul has no life).
This revolutionary secret of the Wise Qur'an should duly be reflected upon: "Is he who was dead and We raised him to life and granted him a light in the illumination of which he walks among the people, like him whose likeness is that one in utter darkness whence he cannot come forth?" (6:122). There is a dire need here to think with sound intellect, that if the above-mentioned person was given an ordinary life as given to others and walked physically among people as others did, then why are life and light mentioned as a prerogative and a favour and why is there the mention of his superiority over the others? Thus you should know that the supreme status of man is mentioned here, by attaining which he can walk among the people spiritually. It is not a mention of physical walking at all. This status is held by the Perfect Man even now and the rest, in order to attain it, need to obey him.
In the light of the realities mentioned in connection with this subject, the important fact that there is still a great deal to learn about the concept of creation becomes evident. For it is generally understood that those whom God has physically created are already complete, whereas the fact is that, contrary to this, after physical creation, begins the spiritual completion, the condition of which is obedience to God, the Messenger and the Master of the Command (of God).
Wa-bi'llahi't-tawfiq (And success is by God).
Khanah-yi Hikmat,
Karachi,
15/12/82.
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