Precious Treasure - Bounties of the Intellectual Paradise

Bounties of the Intellectual Paradise

Tags: Hayawan, Paradise, Universal Soul, Sang-i Gil, Sijill, Sijjil, Surah-yi Fil, Mutawassimin, Manna, Salwa, Oneness, Light of intellect, Stone, Mountain of Intellect

First, it should be known that paradise exists in three forms: physical, spiritual and intellectual. A clear proof of this concept is the human personality, which as the model of creation and the quintessence of existents, is the sum of body, spirit and intellect. It is also necessary to give an example of paradise from the human personality, because paradise is created according to the physical, spiritual and intellectual requirements of man, and it is therefore living, speaking and knowing in the highest and the truest attributes of body, spirit and intellect, as God says: "This life of the world is but a pastime and a game. And verily the abode of the Hereafter is true life (hayawan) (and living=haywan), if they but knew" (29:64). Although there is a difference in the meanings of hayawan (life) and haywan (living), but according to the principle of the way the Qur'an is revealed in seven modes (ahruf), hayawan can also be read as haywan and this alludes profoundly to the fact that the abode of the Hereafter is living (haywan) and is in human form. For, the way the life of the Hereafter is given greater preference over the life of this world and the sagacious way in which paradise is praised and described in the word 'hayawan', shows that paradise is like a perfect and complete personality.

Consider this verse: "And when the sky is peeled off" (81:11). By the 'sky' is meant each and everything which belongs to the universe and the existents. Therefore, on the day of resurrection, the heavens, the earth and all their things will be peeled off and will be transformed from dense into subtle. This universe with all its constituents will appear in the form of a physical paradise, in which the world of humanity too, will necessarily be in the subtle body. You may remember that in the Qur'an physical paradise is equal to the length and breadth of this universe (3:133; 57:21). This is the paradise of the subtle body (jism-i latif), also called the body of similitude, (jism-i mithali), and the ibda`i body, and it is the soul of this universe or the Universal Soul in which everything exists under the will of 'Be'.

The Universal Soul has many names. One of its Qur'anic names is the Divine Pedestal (kursi), in which lies the spiritual paradise, as it is said: "His pedestal includes the heavens and the earth" (2:255). Thus, the Universal Soul is God's Pedestal, as well as the paradise of souls in which all kinds of spiritual bounties are provided.

The Universal Soul is God's Pedestal and the spiritual paradise, whereas the perfect or the Universal Intellect is the Divine Throne and the intellectual paradise. However, it should be remembered that the Qur'anic concept of the intellect is such that it unites all things into pre-eternal and post-eternal unity by ending all temporal duration and spatial distances. Consequently, although the universe is spread out in its physical form, in its internal form it is united and centred at the place of intellect, as the wise Qur'an says: "The day when We shall roll up the heavens (i.e., the entire universe) as a recorder (al-sijill) rolls up a written scroll. As We created (the creatures) the first time, We shall repeat it" (21:104). Sijill, which is an Arabicised form of sang-i gil, means a crayon of clay used for writing and signifies the pastel of ink. It should be remembered that a special reason for the usage of [certain] words in the Qur'anic parables is their ta'wili wisdom. Thus, the ta'wili wisdom mentioned in this noble verse is the concept of `aql, which is the concept of the intellectual paradise, in which everything and every bounty of knowledge and wisdom exists, as the Qur'an says: "By the Ink-pot and the Pen and that which they write" (68:1). That is, God swears by the concept of Intellect, the essence of the universe, which contains every thing related to the pen, the ink-pot and the writing of the intellect, for it is because of the intellect that the practical writing of paradise comes into existence and the external and internal existence of the universe is created. Another fundamental ta'wil is: According to the sublime similitude (mathal-i a`la), by the blessed mouth is meant the ink-pot of wisdom, and by the light of Intellect is meant the Divine Pen and by that which is written by the archangels from this ink-pot with this Pen, is meant the Divine Word.

The ta'wil of clay is a mu'min and that of sijjil or sang-i gil, the clay which has become hard like a stone, is a staunch mu'min.

Such a mu'min has two aspects: with respect to belief he is very strong, but with respect to true knowledge he is extremely soft-hearted. Sijjil is very hard as well as very soft so that when it is put in the ink-pot and water poured over it, it dissolves and turns into ink to write with.

We should also think about the surah of Fil (the Elephant) (105) where God destroyed the owners of the elephant with nothing but the pebbles of sijjil. This contains a great secret: just as the Ka`bah exists materially in the external world and the people of falsehood once tried to destroy it in a physical sense, in the same way it exists spiritually in the inner world and the people of falsehood are trying to destroy it time and again. In this attempt, in the form of particles the people of falsehood attack the spiritual house of God, the Perfect Man, in a specific time. But God protects His holy luminous house by sending an army of angels, who pelt the enemies of God's house with the pebbles of the particles of the souls of staunch and devoted mu'mins, men and women. Thus, the enemies of God's house are destroyed.

In verses (11:82; 15:74), it is said that the township of the disobedient people of Hazrat-i Lut (May peace be through him) was destroyed by raining pebbles of sijjil, layer on layer upon it. Its ta'wili aspect is that such an event had also taken place in the Perfect Man's personal world, in which the disobedient people were destroyed spiritually and the souls of the mu'mins had participated as the Divine force in this destruction. In this context, an important point regarding sijjil is "layer on layer (manzud)", the ta'wil of which as mentioned earlier is that there are many other souls in a mu'min's soul.

Verses (15:75-77 ) say: "Indeed in this are signs for mutawassimin (those who understand the main purport) and it (township) is on a permanent road (sabilin muqim), and indeed in it there is a sign for the mu'mins". Here by the mutawassimin are meant the Prophets and the Imams, who know that the spiritual miracles mentioned are observed on the path of spirituality, whereas for mu'mins, there is only one miracle in it. To say that there are [many] miracles for the mutawassimin and only one miracle for mu'mins, implies that the former are distinguished from and superior to the mu'mins who are mentioned above.

One needs to cross many distances in search of worldly bounties, but contrary to this, intellectual and spiritual bounties are such that they come in front of the mu'mins if the condition of knowledge and practice is fulfilled. All this is due to the intellectual paradise, which is always in God's hand, with many supreme names and sublime similitudes. For instance, the following Divine commandment: "Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the kingdom and He has power over everything" (67:1). The ta'wili wisdom of this verse is that all the blessings of the true kingdom, which are spread through the wide and spacious universe and through all time, are centred and united in the light of Intellect. This is that paradise, which despite being far flung, is brought near, as the wise Qur'an says: "And the paradise is brought near for the righteous ones, no longer distant" (50:31). That is, the paradise or spiritual kingdom, which is spread through the length and the breadth of the universe, will be presented in the essence of the Universal Intellect, which contains the gems of the intellect and knowledge of all times, as the Qur'an says: "Have We not established for them a secure sanctuary, where the fruits of everything are brought as a provision from Our court? But most of them know not" (28:57). This "Secure Sanctuary" is the light of the Imam of the time, which is the place of honour and security. God's main and fundamental miracle in it is that the fruits of intellect, knowledge and soul of all things from every place and every time of the first, the last, the apparent and the hidden are drawn to and contained. In this way, the people of recognition may constantly receive this provision from the exalted court of God. Here, the point worth pondering is: Where are the fruits of everything in this world and how is it possible for everything of the heaven and the earth to be fructified? Indeed it is true that everything contains a soul of its own and [a kind of] knowledge, as the bearers of the Throne in the light of perfect recognition said: "Our Lord! You have encompassed everything in mercy and in knowledge" (40:7). Thus, two concepts are established regarding everything, one is mercy and the other is knowledge. In other words, everything is like a tree in which its fruit (soul) is its mercy and the kernel of the fruit is the quality and form of knowledge. Hence, the fruit of everything reaches God's House in the form of spirit and knowledge.

The first and foremost and the most exalted among the bounties mentioned in the Qur'an, are those of the intellectual paradise, followed by those of the spiritual paradise and those of the subtle body. The bounties of the subtle body are mentioned in the holy Qur'an under the title of "al-manna wa al-salwa (manna and quails)" and "al-tayyibat (pure things)". These bounties of the subtle body in the form of subtle food are given to the Prophets, Imams and when necessary to some mu'mins too, as said in verse (23:51): "O you messengers! Eat of the good things (al-tayyibat), and do good deeds." God would not have given them this specific command as a favour had these good things been among those which can be eaten even by the common people. This shows that these good things are the food(s) of the subtle body. The food of the subtle body [as is evident in the manna and the quails] is of two kinds: in the form of the vegetative soul and of the animal soul. The soul of every vegetable, such as a flower, herb or fruit, is in its fragrance, some of which are familiar and some unfamiliar. As for the animal soul, certainly, it is the soul of the lawful birds.

The recognition of the human self (soul) is so important and so great that it eventually turns into the recognition of God. It is obvious that the recognition of the Divine Treasures, such as the Pen, the Tablet, the Angel, the Prophet, the Imam and other realities cannot be excluded from such a recognition. Nonetheless, one can ask this question here: How is it possible to recognise the thousands of important things mentioned in the Qur'an one by one? The short and precise answer to this question is that the wise Qur'an does not really mention many things. There are but many examples, each of which describes only one and the same reality, namely oneness. The greatest and the most important example of this reality is that the innumerable things of the universe and the existents are one in God's hand, pre-eternally and post-eternally, as the wise Qur'an says: "On the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be His handful and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand" (39:67). The fact that this reality continues from eternity (azal), should be duly noted, because God has not left any of His works undone for the future, nor does He have any past or future. Therefore, rest assured that this is the mention of the light of Intellect, which is in God's hand, in which both the heavens and the earth are the same one light, as said in verse (21:30): "Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We parted them, and We made from water every living thing." This is the description of the personal world, where there is only one light with thousands of names and in which the heavens and the earth, namely, the entire universe is one. Thus, God brought the Pearl of light into motion, whereby the heavens and the earth came into existence separately, although no decrease and change took place in the original light. That is, even now the universe is one with respect to light without the heavens and the earth being separated. The ta'wili wisdom of making every living thing from water is that, God breathed the spirit of recognition into each and everything of the personal world from the knowledge of this light of Intellect.

As you know, at the end of some of the surahs of the Qur'an, there are allusions to great secrets, for instance, the surah of Qasas, in which it is said: "Everything is perishable except His face. The Command (hukm) is His and towards Him you will return" (28:88). That is, where the universe and the existents are one light in God's handful (39:67) everything there perishes and the Divine vision takes place. As for the individual merging (fana') of a person, it is to observe this inner reality. However, without tasting [experiencing] the death of the carnal soul (3:185; 21:35; 29:57), it is not possible to observe this reality during one's life-time.

Worldly things are of two kinds: the higher and the lower. When things merge [in higher things], they [too] become higher. For instance, some of them by burning transform into light or fragrance or energy etc., and some others become food for the plants, animals or human beings. In both cases, there is betterment and progress for these things. This example is from the external world. The result of the merging of the internal world is extremely great where, as mentioned above, everything goes into God's handful and transforms into the light of intellect and knowledge. In addition to this, see verses (55:26-27 ): "Everything on it is perishable; there remains only the face of your Lord of might and glory". The ta'wil of these verses is that all the creatures and existents of the personal world merge in the light of Intellect and there remains only the face of God, Who has might and glory and in Whose hand is this light [of Intellect]. This Divine law always continues to occur. Reflect on verse (40:85): "The Divine law ever continues in His servants and there the disbelievers are in loss." Ta'wili purport: God's habit (law) always continues in the spirituality of His selected servants (the Prophets and Imams), and the disbelievers are in loss at this place, because they do not recognise the Perfect Man, in whose person the Divine law remains hidden.

In this context if we accept that everything has already merged in the light of Intellect, does it mean that the intellectual existence of a stone is also in the world of the light of Intellect? Yes, it is true. In this connection, see verse (2:74), in which it is mentioned that the streams of knowledge and wisdom are gushing from an intellectual stone. In fact, wherever a stone or a mountain is mentioned in the wise Qur'an, intellectual gems are also presented with the beauty and elegance of wisdom. See the following examples:

The personal worlds of the Prophets and the Imams are under the same law of spirituality. If we accept the reality that God manifested His glory on Hazrat-i Musa's intellectual mountain and smashed it into pieces, we have to accept too that this miracle of the Divine law occurs to every Perfect Man, so that a world of knowledge and wisdom may be built from these innumerable pieces of the intellect. (7:143).
Since mount Sinai of the intellect being smashed into pieces has been used as an example, hence wherever 'mountain' is mentioned it refers to these pieces. Further, where it was said to the bee that it should build its habitations in the mountains (16:68), it means that the honey of ta'wil is obtained from these pieces of the mountain of intellect.
It is said in the Qur'an: "And among the mountains are streaks, white and red of diverse hues and (others) raven-black" (35:27). This verse alludes that the intellectual mountain (i.e., the Pearl of Intellect) represents the pearls and gems of all kinds and all colours.
It is said in the Qur'an: "And God has made for you the shadows of that which He has created and of the mountains has made for you places of refuge" (16:81). This shows that there is a hidden house for everyone in the mountain of Intellect.
God says: "If We had caused this Qur'an to descend upon a mountain, you (O Muhammad) would certainly have seen it humbled and rent asunder by the fear of God" (59:21). The glory which God had manifested upon the mountain of Intellect was in the form of knowledge and wisdom, therefore this mountain (of Intellect) was smashed into pieces. Thus, the Qur'an in its spiritual and intellectual state, is the same manifestation of God, which smashes the mountain of the personal world into pieces.
See verse (13:31): "If there were a Qur'an with which mountains were moved, or the earth were cloven asunder, or the dead were made to speak". Indeed, this inner miracle of the Qur'an occurs in the world of similitude (personal world), in which the mountain of Intellect moves by God's hand.
God says: "And (We created) a tree that springs forth from Sinai (i.e., Olive tree) that grows oil and relish for the eaters" (23:20). The olive tree means the Perfect Man who represents God's face, by Mount Sinai is meant the Mountain of Intellect and by the Olive oil is meant the Divine Word and relish is the interpretation and explanation of the Divine Word. The word "relish" (sibgh) implies to dip and colour bread in it, which alludes to dive in the depth of the Divine Word and attain some result.

London,
8th July, 1984.

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