Precious Treasure - Divine Treasures
Divine Treasures
Tags: Divine Treasures, Treasures, `inda, Manifest Imam, Pearl of Intellect, Qarun
It is a bright fact of the Qur'an and the religion of Islam that the treasures of all those things that exist in His godhead and kingdom are in the holy presence of God, as He says in the following wisdom-filled verse: "And there is not a thing [without this law] but with Us are the treasures thereof (`indana khaza'inuhu). And We send it not (as a whole) save in a known measure" (15:21).
Many bright realities appear before us one by one in this holy verse, which is full of extremely great wisdoms. For instance:
- Nothing really exists outside the Divine Treasures.
- The pure essence of God is not such that a thing may come out of it or reveal from it, since the attribute of His treasures is that everything reveals from them.
- This verse also shows that God, the Holy, the High, is not Himself a treasure, but He is the True Owner and Absolute King of all treasures.
- Under this fundamental law even the human soul is in the Divine Treasures, and like all other things it has not come to this world totally but partially. That is, a greater part of it is [still] in the Divine Treasures.
The concept of '`indiyyat' (closeness) of God is in the above verse. Closeness of God is not possible in the spatial (makani) state, it is only possible in the intellectual, spiritual and religious state. Therefore, the most important, fundamental and greatest treasures of God are five: The Divine Word (kalimah-yi bari), Pen, Tablet, natiq, asas, just as you can see here that `indana khaza'inuhu consists of five separate parts (in Arabic):
5 = عند + نا + خز + ا + ئنہ
The Manifest Imam (imam-i mubin), i.e., the Imam of the time in every age is the mazhar (locus of manifestation) and representative of the Divine Treasures so that there should be no lack or narrowness in Islam, which is the religion of God and the religion of nature. As said in the Qur'an: "Wa kulla shay'in ahsaynahu fi imamin mubin" (36:12), i.e., 'And We have encompassed everything in the manifest Imam.' Another translation and explanation of this verse is: "And We have enumerated everything in the manifest Imam." That is, 'We have encompassed the particles of all souls in 360 da`is and these da`is in the 12 hujjats of the jazirahs and the latter in the four closest hujjats (hujjatan-i huzur or muqarrab) and the four hujjats We have revived in the exalted personality of the Imam, like the four birds of Hazrat-i Ibrahim (May peace be through him).' This is the enumeration of all things in the manifest Imam. Whenever God wants to enumerate things, He enumerates in this way and encompasses them in one number. A third translation and explanation of the verse is: "And we have made everything a pearl in the personality of the manifest Imam." 'Hasan' in Arabic means pebbles and its ta'wil is the Pearl of Intellect, for a pearl is a precious stone. Everything has to necessarily be in an intellectual form.
Innumerable wisdoms lie hidden in the way the Pearl of Intellect has been compared to a pebble. One of them is that the order of the external creatures starts with stones etc., and that of the internal existents becomes complete and perfect in a stone, namely a pearl, after passing through numerous stages so that the importance of the circle may appear in the concept of creation.
The subject of the Divine Treasures is extremely important in the wise Qur'an. The verse: "The Book is an explanation of everything" (16:89) means that the explanation of some things is both in a direct and indirect way and that of others only in an indirect way. The subject of the Divine Treasures is mentioned in both a direct and an indirect way.
There are many ways of guarding a material treasure. For instance, it is narrated that in the old times some kings used to guard their treasures with talismans. Another way of guarding treasures is to hide them in the cavity of a mountain or in ruins under the ground so that people cannot even imagine that there is a treasure in such ruins. A third way of guarding a treasure is that the building containing the treasure is known to all, but it is protected by powerful guards and its key is in the custody of the treasurer. God has the same habit where His treasures are concerned.
The wise Qur'an is the greatest world (`alam) of knowledge and wisdom. It contains the traces of the religious and spiritual prosperity as well as the destruction of the people of the past. Therefore, let us examine the ruins of the destruction of Qarun (Korah), about which the Qur'an says: "And We gave him so many treasures that their keys would verily have been a burden for a troop of mighty men" (28:76). Qarun was one of Hazrat-i Musa (May peace be through him)'s people. Spiritual wealth had been revealed to him and with whose keys a mighty group of souls had come before him. But Qarun did not know the wisdom of giving the zakat of knowledge, due to which he was ruined. This is an example of the law of God, how and where He hides His higher and lower treasures.
Regarding the Divine Treasures, it is necessary to know the principle that the gate of the treasures of the Divine Word is the Pen, that of the Pen is the Tablet, that of the Tablet is the natiq, that of the natiq is the asas, and that of the asas is the Imam, and that of the treasures of the light of the Imam is his presence in this world!
The gate (bab) of the Imam of the time used to be the hujjat-i a`zam, but now apparently, the Imam does not give this title to anyone nor is there apparently a hujjat other than the heir of the Imam.
London,
25th June, 1984.
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