Hundred Questions - The Status of an `Arif
The Status of an `Arif
Q64 When a person reaches the ultimate stage in ma`rifat, attains the light and becomes like a pir, a Prophet and the Qur'an, can he at this time say: 'ana'l-haqq' (I am the Truth; I am God) or not? If he can reach that ultimate stage, what is his relation to the Imam? Despite having the same divine light which is in the Imam he cannot proclaim himself as an Imam but with respect to light he has the same status as that which an Imam or Prophet has. Then why can he not proclaim his Imamat? Is this merely for the reason that he was not born in the nurani family? If so, what kind of justice is this? If God is Pure, Beneficent, Merciful and Just, why is there this preferential treatment between these two mazahir (loci of manifestation)?
A64 It is true that a true mu'min in the light of the guidance of the true guide reaches the perfection of ma`rifat, and it is also true that he attains the light. However, in this he merges in the source of light, not that he attains a light separate from this. For light is indivisible, as shown in the diagram given in A. 63. It is also a fact that a pir in following the spirituality of the Prophet, advances farther and farther, and there is no doubt that during this he also achieves the complete spirituality of the Qur'an. However, how can you say that crying 'ana'l-haqq' is also a necessary miracle in this connection, whereas in fact it was the result of the personal emotion of Mansur-i Hallaj? You should not try to examine the ma`rifat of every `arif on the standard and norm of this 'ana'l-haqq' only; rather you should try to assess his position on the basis of knowledge and ma`rifat as a whole.
The relation of the `arif with the Imam is that he merges in the light of the Imam. Here the divine light (which he receives) is not something separate from the Imams; rather he merges in the divine light (which is in the Imam) through the Imam himself. Thus where did another light come from, or when did the original light divide into two parts that the `arif would claim on that basis that he has also become an Imam? This part of the question is simplistic. Think carefully, if a piece of iron is able to be fire while living in the fire, this does not mean that it can also claim to be fire once it is separated from the fire. If it does, this claim is not right, for if the iron is fire it is because of and by means of the fire, and its claim of being fire is correct only while it is in the fire.
Another example of an `arif is that of a poor man who becomes a king's friend. The king gradually divulges all the secrets of the kingdom to him, the purpose of which is to make him a confidant, not to enthrone him immediately. In this case if the poor man wants to be a separate king, it is wrong. However, if he thinks that he has become so close to the king that he has become his soul and is his other guise, the poor person can think that he, being merged in the king's soul, has become the king. Otherwise not, when being separated from the king.
| Chapter Index | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter |