Precious Treasure - Interrelated Wisdoms

Interrelated Wisdoms

Tags: Bee, Honey, Ta'wil, Wisdom, Oneness, Mountains, Four birds of Ibrahim, Light of Intellect, Earth, Arz, Khabar, Jadhwah, Tree, Personal World, Gems and Pearls, lu'lu', Durr

The Qur'an says: "And (O Prophet!) your Lord inspired (awha) the bee, saying: 'make beehives in the mountains and in the trees and in that which people build, then suck all fruits, and follow the ways of your Lord, made smooth (for you)'" (16:68-69 ). These verses contain the principle of interrelated wisdoms and systematic ta'wil. The principle of systematic ta'wil is that its keys are in the blessed hand of the Imam of the time, who is the mazhar (locus of manifestation) of the Divine light and the successor of the Prophet. Thus, it is the Imam of the time who permits someone to do ta'wil. In such a case, the origin and foundation of ta'wil or interrelated wisdoms is based on spirituality and recognition, the ultimate fountainhead of which lies where the three greatest treasures of God are working together. These treasures have many names and examples and in the above-mentioned verse, their examples are the mountains, trees and tall human buildings and they are the light of Intellect, the Olive Tree and the Divine Word (kalimah-yi bari) respectively. The Olive Tree is in a human form.

Bees are also raised by people, who use a different method of keeping them and the system of ta'wil has no concern with that. The system of ta'wil is in accordance with the natural law. Honey is of two kinds: external and internal. Similarly, Divine bounties are not only in the external world, they are far superior in the internal world (31:20). It is for this reason that God has compared intellectual and spiritual honey, namely ta'wil, with external honey. He has drawn attention towards the sources of this spiritual and intellectual honey, which is extremely sweet, strengthening, healing, soul-increasing and intellect-nourishing. He has addressed the bees of this honey (ta'wil) through wisdom filled indication: first, make beehives on the mountain of Intellect, the Pure Tree and the tallest buildings and then go to My ever-green gardens, which are in the wise Qur'an, the external world (afaq) and the internal world (anfus), [because] all the paths related to the making of honey have been subjugated to you.

Examples:

The wise Qur'an, repeatedly invites people to reflect on everything of the universe and the existents, particularly certain things such as the bees. God, by His perfect power has made the bee's abdomen extremely wonderful and it works unlike any other animal's abdomen. Everything which goes into the bee's abdomen becomes sweet honey, while in other animals, [a part of] it turns into filth. A great Divine secret is hidden in this significant difference between the bee's abdomen and that of other animals.
A very great wisdom is also hidden in the fact that the bees have a queen, who never works herself, but directs others to do the work. The reason for this is that God has endowed the queen with some additional virtues, so that the other bees may be attracted to and follow her and this may be an example of their centre [focus of attention].
If we observe the animal kingdom, we find the best example of harmony, unity and monoreality amongst the bees. For, it is not possible for a single bee or even a few of them to make honey. It is such a difficult task that it can only be done by many bees. There is surely an allusion in their example that it is extremely difficult, rather impossible for one or a few persons to prepare ta'wil (wisdom) in a cogent form and convey it to the people. Rather, a huge army of knowledge similar to the [number] of bees is needed not only in the external world, but also in the internal.
Every wise person should think deeply about the centrality and oneness of the archangels – Jibra'il (May peace be through him), Mika'il (May peace be through him), Israfil (May peace be through him) and `Izra'il (May peace be through him). Why do they work together, despite their separate duties and their own huge armies? The reason is not that they cannot accomplish their duties individually and therefore they need the help of others, rather it is the secret of oneness. They therefore continue to work together under the law of oneness.
The Qur'an says that the angels hold up the Divine Throne. However, this reality is not explained, in order to test our knowledge and recognition and [ensure that we] have recourse to the centre of guidance. It is impossible for the Divine Throne to be like a material thing, which the angels hold up like a heavy object. It should therefore be known that it is the absolute light that is the Divine Throne (`arsh-i Rahman) and it is the Imams (May peace be through him) who are its bearers, one after another. This concept also conveys the example of centrality in that the archangels hold up the Throne one by one, while the rest of the countless angels circumambulate it for the sake of proximity and union.
The souls of all mu'mins are working like bees and the Imam of the time is like the king of the bees (amir al-nahl). The souls' work can be seen when the inner eye is created in a human being. The coming and going of the body takes time, but the soul does not take any time to become present, nor does it always need to ride the subtle particle for it can also come without it.
You can liken the Holy Spirit or any other great soul like it with bees: that it is simultaneously one, many and oneness. By one is meant the leader, by many the army and by oneness is meant that the essence of all of them is one. For example, in the case of numbers from the beginning to a thousand and more, the essence of all of them is [the number] one and that is its oneness, which is hidden in every number.
Bees are also the model of monoreality because they obliterate the differences and multiplicity of every kind of colour, smell and taste of thousands of fruits and flowers and merge them into the oneness of the same colour, one smell and one taste.
God's miracle in the bees' abdomens is that they can prepare honey from every kind of sweet and bitter fruit and flower. This demonstrates that there are bitter fruits and flowers in the gardens related to ta'wil, but the same kind of honey of ta'wil comes into existence from their nectar.
A mountain has many ta'wils. One is the light of Intellect, the other hujjat, the third solidified soul and the fourth is the human head. As it is said about Hazrat-i Dawud (May peace be through him): "And assuredly We gave Dawud grace from Our court, (saying): O mountains and birds, echo his psalms of praise!" (34:10). That is, when Hazrat-i Dawud (May peace be through him) was doing the hidden and open dhikr, the bones of his head and the particles of his soul were reciting in harmony with him.
Regarding the solidified soul, God says: "You see the mountains, you deem them solid, but (on the Day of Resurrection) they will fly like the flight of clouds" (27:88). This describes the state of the solidified souls and what happens to them in their personal resurrection, where the souls fly like scattered clouds. But the journey of the mountain of Intellect is different from this.
Hazrat-i Ibrahim (May peace be through him) slaughtered four birds by God's command. He cut them into pieces, ground them well and divided them into twelve parts and placed them on the twelve mountains of the world. Then he summoned them and they came to him. In reality, these four birds were his closest hujjats (hujjatan-i muqarrab). They were ground in the mortar of the Supreme Name, (i.e., they were trained in the dhikr of the Supreme Name) then they were sent to the twelve hujjats of the islands (jaza'ir pl. of jazirah, island). When they came back, they also brought the twelve hujjats with them, who had three hundred and sixty da`is with them and with whom were all the people of the world. In this case, the ta'wil of mountains is hujjats.
Spirituality and the science of ta'wil are like water and the Qur'anic stories and parables are like the different sized and shaped vessels. The vessel of Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him)'s story is made in such a way as to correspond with the law of wisdom (qanun-i hikmat). Similarly, every Prophet's vessel of parables is different and distinct. However, the spirituality of all the Prophets is the fixed form of the straight path, therefore their spirituality is really one and the same and there is no difference in it.
According to the ta'wili allusion of verses (22:26-30 ) Hazrat-i Ibrahim (May peace be through him) was the meaning or mamthul of the House of God (baytu'llah). If we study verse (22:27) carefully: "And proclaim unto humankind the pilgrimage", it is the same story in which Hazrat-i Ibrahim (May peace be through him) had called the people of the world to him through the four birds. Otherwise, what material means [of communication] existed at that time with which to summon all the people of the world? For, 'people (nas)' means all the people, including the first ones and the last ones, since it is the description of Hazrat-i Ibrahim (May peace be through him)'s personal resurrection.
Words such as tur, jabal, jibal, rawasi, a`lam, (all of which mean mountain(s)), refer to the light of Intellect, therefore the many things which a mountain produces, such as precious stones, minerals, stones, fountains too, mean the light of Intellect. For instance, the ta'wil of clay is a mu'min and the ta'wil of 'Adam (May peace be through him) was created from clay' is the spiritual creation of Adam (May peace be through him), which started from the rank of a mu'min. In other words, he was a mu'min in the beginning then he was gradually elevated.
God has said: "Indeed I am going to appoint a vicegerent of (mine) in the earth (fi al-arz)" (2:30). See also this verse: "Verily We inherit the earth and all who are on it (`alay-ha = `ala al-arz), and unto Us they will be returned" (19:40). In the former verse, it is 'in the earth (fi al-arz)' and in the latter it is 'on the earth (`alay-ha = `ala al-arz)'. What is the ta'wili secret in this? Its ta'wili secret is that the former verse is related to the earth of religion and mu'mins are the earth of religion, because the ta'wil of clay is a mu'min. Thus, the earth of religion or the earth of ta'wil is mu'mins. Since God's vicegerent is both amongst the mu'mins and in their heart (batin), therefore, 'in the earth' is very appropriate here. The latter verse is related to 'the earth of the world' on the surface of which people live and they are not 'in' it, therefore, with respect to the physical position of the people who live on its surface, it is very true and correct to say those 'those who are on it (man `alay-ha)'.
It is not a wonder if a student asks the following question: There are numerous such verses in the noble Qur'an, in which the relation of human beings with the physical earth is expressed by saying 'fi al-arz (in the earth)' or 'fi-ha (in it)', as it is said: "From it We created you and into it (fi-ha) We return you, and from there We bring you forth a second time" (20:55). Please explain the ta'wil of this verse. The answer to this question is that the mu'mins' spiritual position is God's earth, from it all people are created and all are returned unto it and all of them will be resurrected there.
The ta'wil of land is materiality and that of ocean is spirituality. God says: "It is He Who has subjugated the ocean to you that you may eat fresh meat from there and bring forth from it ornaments (pearls, etc.) which you wear" (16:14). Its ta'wil is that God has subjugated spirituality to you through the Imam of the time, so that you may acquire knowledge from it and bring forth the Pearl of Intellect from its depth.
The Qur'an says: "My Lord! Vouchsafe me wisdom and unite me to the righteous ones (al-salihin) and make for me a tongue of truth in the later generations" (26:83-84 ). The greatest secret of monoreality lies in these verses, in which God expresses Hazrat-i Ibrahim (May peace be through him)'s prayer. Its ta'wil is: My Lord, grant me a treasure of the word 'Be' and unite me to the righteous ones, i.e., keep me alive forever in the chain of light and make my tongue the Perfect Men's tongue of truth, the tongue of the Prophets until the final Prophet, and after him the Imams' tongue.
In verse (19:50) God says: "And We made for them a sublime tongue of truth". That is, We made them alive forever in the light of Intellect, so that they may explain the sublime realities to their successors, as the Prophet, according to the Divine Command is witness (shāhid or shahīd) over the just ummah (i.e., the Imams, 2:143). It is not possible for someone who is absent to be witness, only someone who is present can be a witness. This shows that the Prophet witnesses the Imams and the Imams are witnesses over the people of their respective times and therefore, on the Day of Resurrection, God summons the people of the time with their respective Imam (17:71).
The Imam of the time can and does give a spark of light to every mu'min and this Divine law and habit has always continued. This spark is from the fountainhead of the light of Intellect, not from a low level, as the Qur'an says: "He (Musa) said to his people: Bide you (here). Verily, I see in the distance a fire; peradventure I shall bring some information (khabar) from there or a brand (jadhwah) from the fire that you may warm yourselves" (28:29). The gist of its ta'wil is that when the True Guide succeeds to the rank of light, the mu'mins receive two great benefits from this: khabar (information) and jadhwah (firebrand). Khabar means knowledge and guidance, and jadhwah means ism-i a`zam; and 'to warm from the fire' means to benefit from the ism-i a`zam or the Supreme Name.
In verse (5:54) God says: "God will bring a people (in the personal world) whom He loves and who love Him, humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, struggling in the way of Allah, and fearing not the blame of any blamer." This is the mention of the spiritual army of God, the Prophet and the Imam, through whose help the personal worlds always attain victories.
The light of guidance in the world of religion in a sense travels from the past towards the future, while contrary to this external time travels from the future to the past. This means that the light of guidance travels towards the future, recording all the events and conditions of the past, since the Divine treasures contain everything and nothing is excluded from them (15:21).
The beehives of the bees of ta'wil, such as the pure tree (14:24), the tree of mount Sinai (23:20), the blessed Olive tree (24:35), the tree of the blessed place (28:30), the tree under which the mu'mins gave the oath of allegiance to the Prophet (48:18), are the many trees of the world of spirituality and the world of the Qur'an. There are other such trees [in the Qur'an], but all of them are the same one tree.
God mentioning the event of the Pharoah's wife, Asiyah (May peace be through her) as a parable, says that she prayed: "My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Your neighbourhood in Paradise…" (66:11). This concept is very thought provoking, that in paradise some or all the people will be God's neighbours and God will be their neighbour. This is indeed true, otherwise Asiyah (May peace be through her)'s prayer would not have been included in the Qur'anic law. However, despite accepting these words, a wise person can ask the question: How is it possible that God can be the neighbour of all? The answer to this question is that this is not a physical concept, it is an intellectual matter, and in the personal paradise of the Intellect, every greatest bounty can be attained. The concept that just as everybody has a personal world in his batin (heart, mind), similarly he will have a personal world in paradise, is extremely useful.
Special importance is given to the word "lu'lu' (pearl)" in the glorious Qur'an and this has been used as an example within an example. This word is mentioned six times in the Qur'an, once in the form of the word durry (durr+y) (24:35) and nine times as hilyah (ornaments). Lu'lu' and durr both mean a pearl. They also mean a precious stone. Although pearls are produced in the depths of the oceans and precious stones in the heart of mountains, in many senses they are one thing and the different forms of one essence.

According to one Tradition, God has created the true religion on the pattern of this external world. Just as there are treasures in this world, there are Allah's treasures in the world of religion. God's extremely unique precious stones are hidden in those treasures and they are those of the light of Intellect, knowledge and wisdom, and the spirit and spirituality.
A pearl is hidden in an oyster shell, which is concealed in the ocean's depth and even when it is brought out, it is kept hidden by some means in the protection of a jeweller, in a royal treasure, or in the house of a rich man. Similarly, the pearls of God's secrets are hidden in His treasures and in this sense the Pearls of Intellect are called 'the hidden pearl'. The important point that the hidden Pearl is linked with the hidden Book should not be forgotten.
In the holy Qur'an when God compares the highly sublime realities with the precious gems of this world, He has kept in view their internal wonders and marvels in addition to their external beauties. For instance, the creation of mountains countless years before the creation of gems in specific parts of the mountains, the concept of the mineral soul, etc. [are such inner marvels and wonders].
Everything has a soul and so too gems have a soul. For instance, a ruby comes into existence in a kind of white stone. It is obvious that no material seed can penetrate the mountain's heart. However, it is true that the soul can reach there and hence it is the mineral soul which gradually transfers the white stone into a red ruby. In fact, this is a great miracle of the soul by which it transforms a stone into a gem. Similarly, nature's miracle in coral (55:58) is that it is the example of how the vegetative soul turns into the mineral soul, whereas a pearl is an example of the animal soul transforming into the mineral soul.
The light of Intellect is undoubtedly the world of symbols (mamthul), therefore all the things of the world indicate the latter through symbols. In particular gems and pearls which are the most precious, finest things of this world by their external, material, finite and transitory beauties indicate the internal, spiritual, intellectual, infinite and everlasting virtues and perfection of that light, so that the people of the world may recognise the treasures and precious pearls and gems of light, and in a true sense, may struggle constantly to attain them.

London,
13th July, 1984.

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