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Precious Treasure - Wisdoms of the Hand of God (yadu'llah)

Wisdoms of the Hand of God (yadu'llah)

Tags: Light of Intellect, Fazl, Hand of God, Right Hand, Yadu'llah, Sadaqah, Bay`at

God has created the heavens and the earth of the personal world from the light of Intellect (nur-i `aql), as He says: "Have you not seen that God has created the heavens and the earth from haqq (True) (i.e., the light of Intellect)?" (14:19).
God, the Wise, moved the light of Intellect seven times with His right hand and thereby, the seven heavens of Intellect came into existence and a command was given regarding every heaven and the lowest heaven was adorned with lamps and made to guard over all heavenly secrets (41:12).
The seven heavens correspond and conform with each other, therefore the nature of their creation is called "tibaqan (in harmony with one another)" (67:3). The holy Qur'an sometimes mentions the heaven of the Intellect in the singular (sama') and sometimes in the plural (samawat), the reason being that in reality the light of Intellect is one, but its manifestations related to the heaven are in seven ranks.
The earth of the personal world is created from the light of Intellect. The earth too is one but like the heaven, its ranks are seven (65:12). It should be noted that just as a world of numbers and things related to it come into existence from the number one, the heaven and the earth of the personal world and all other things related to them come into existence from the light of Intellect (Pearl of Intellect). All this is done by God's hand (dast-i qudrat).
The purport of verse (38:75) is that God created Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him) with both His hands. The ta'wil of this verse is that God employed both the external hudud and the internal hudud in his creation and completion. For, the left hand of God means the external or the physical hudud and the right hand means the internal or the spiritual hudud.
The word "fazl (excellence)" is mentioned in the Qur'an 104 times. Fazl in the language of wisdom is the Pearl of Intellect, also called the light of Intellect. Therefore, it is said: "Fazl is in the Hand of God" (3:73; 57:29).
At the end of some of the surahs of the glorious Qur'an there is an extremely wisdom-filled verse. For example, at the end of Surah of Ya-Sin it is said: "So He (God) is pure from all attributes, in Whose hand is the kingdom of everything and you will return towards it (hand)" (36:83). That is, God is free from everything and every attribute. Therefore, God's hand means the higher ranks of religion, who are given the intellectual and spiritual kingdom of everything by Him (dhat-i subhan). Thus, the kingdom [of everything] is also in the light of Intellect (Pearl of Intellect).
Hazrat-i Musa (May peace be through him) used to perform the miracle of showing yad-i bayza' (luminous hand), which means that he, as God's hand, was performing the miracle of intellect and knowledge (7:108; 20:22; 26:33; 27:12; 28:32).
The word sadaqah is derived from sidq (truth), which is one of the names of the Intellect. In the external world sadaqah is the zakat of wealth and in the internal, it is that of intellect and knowledge, as said in the holy Qur'an: "O you who believe! When you hold a private conversation (najwa) with the Messenger, then offer some sadaqah before it" (58:12). Whether it is sadaqah or zakat, giving and taking it is the hand's act. Therefore, it is said [above]: Attain the place of Intellect, so that there, before holding private conversation with the Divine Word, you may be able to offer the sadaqah of intellect.
It is said in verse (9:111): "Verily Allah has bought from the believers (mu'minin) their lives and their wealth because paradise will be theirs (as the price of this transaction)." The practical ta'wil of this transaction, which takes place between God and a mu'min is also in the world of Intellect. However, since the world of Intellect is the place of oneness (maqam-i wahdaniyyat), therefore only one personality demonstrates the action of both sides there.
The Arabic word bay`at (48:10) means to buy and to sell. Therefore, the purpose of repeating it in the external world is that mu'mins should not forget that God has bought their lives and their wealth. Thus, a representation of the rite of bay`at in the external world is also to be found at the place of Intellect.
God says: "(O Messenger) and make mention of Our servants, Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya`qub, men of hands and eyes" (38:45). In this verse, God has mentioned the luminous hands of the Prophets and Imams, in which the Pearl of Intellect is demonstrated and also their inner or spiritual eyes, which observe this demonstration. Otherwise, every human being has physical hands and eyes.
God says: "(The Qur'an is) on honoured leaves, exalted, purified, (written down) by scribes noble and righteous" (80:13-16 ). These are the leaves of Intellect which are honoured, exalted and purified and the scribes are the Prophets and Imams and their writing is that they move the Pen of Intellect as it ought to be moved, so that the practical ta'wil of the Qur'an may be obtained.
In the meaning of verse (29:48) neither was the holy Prophet reading any heavenly Book nor was he writing its ta'wil in his personality holding the Pen of Intellect in his right hand before the revelation, rather he started to do so only after the revelation of the Qur'an.
In verse (37:93), Hazrat-i Ibrahim (May peace be through him) struck the idols with his right hand. This means that he used the power of the light of Intellect against false and futile statements and here his right hand means the power of the light of Intellect.
In verse (20:69), the rod of Hazrat-i Musa (May peace be through him) used to be in his right hand. The ta'wil of it is that this rod was first related to his right ear in the form of ism-i a`zam (Supreme Name) and dhikr (remembrance), then it came to his inner right hand in the form of the light of Intellect and knowledge.
In verse (111:1) both the hands of Abu Lahab perished and he himself perished. Here the point worth pondering is: why do the hands of Abu Lahab, the infidel, perish first and only then he himself? The reason for this is that the external intellect and the internal intellect are as two hands of man and when they do not serve religion, they perish and thereby the disobedient man also dies spiritually.
Verse (56:77-79 ) states: "That this is indeed a noble Qur'an (when) it is in a hidden Book (kitab-i maknun), which none touches save the purified ones (al-mutahharun)." That is, none touches the spirit of the Qur'an, which is in the light of Intellect with the inner hand except the purified ones.
Verse (9:103) has many ta'wils. One important ta'wil is: "(O the Messenger!) Take a sadaqah from their wealth (a pearl from their spiritual wealth) and thereby purify them (to the utmost end) and give them salawat, for in your salawat there is peace for them." That is, enable them to attain the favour of the Divine Word at this place.
Regarding the descending of salawat to the mu'mins from God's exalted court, He says: "He it is who reveals to you salawat and His angels also reveal to you salawat that He may bring you forth from darkness unto light" (33:43). God's salawat is revealed from the treasure of the Divine Word, which is the basis of the knowledge and wisdom of ta'yid (Divine help).
Knowledge is taught as well as given, but giving of knowledge is higher than teaching, as God says: "But it (Qur'an) is clear signs (i.e., living miracles) in the hearts of those who have been given knowledge" (29:49). This verse is about the pure Imams and reveals the reality that they have been given knowledge in the form of the light of Intellect.
In verse (17:71) God says: "(Remember) that day when We shall summon the people (of every age) with their Imam, whoever is given his book in his right hand – such (fortunate ones) will read their book and they will not be wronged a shred." The question here is: Will this book or the record of deeds be in any physical writing, such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, English etc.? No, not at all. This will be the book of the soul and intellect, which will be easily read by every literate or illiterate person, for this will be the Speaking Book, i.e., the light of the Imam of the time.
It is true that everyone receives his record of deeds only after death. But is it not possible that some may die (with respect to their carnal soul), whilst being alive in this world? I believe after every Prophet, every Imam, every Pir and many mu'mins with high ambition die with respect to their carnal soul, and they attain and read their book of deeds [in this life].
In verse (2:94) God says: "(O Messenger!) Say (unto them): If the abode of the Hereafter with God (`inda'llah) is for you specially and not for others of humankind, then long for death if you are truthful." This verse mentions the death of Prophets and Imams whilst living in this world, in which the carnal soul dies and therefore they become the paradise of their respective times, because the supreme purpose of the concept of paradise is that a great, obedient soul may become a paradise. This paradise belongs exclusively to the one who attains this most exalted status. In other words, this means that the supreme status of paradise is that by God's command a righteous person may become the paradisal existence. Ranks other than this are such, that [common] people who enter them are considered to be in the paradise [of lower ranks].
A wise person can infer that ranks are ordained in the beginning of paradise from the way the commands of sari`u (vie one with another, 3:133), and sabiqu (compete one with another, 57:21) are given [to attain paradise]. The highest rank among these is becoming a living paradise in one's own self, the example of which is the holy personalities of the Prophets and Imams.
Light is not hidden, it is apparent, but it is in the veil of a multitude of lights. The sun is apparent, but since we are very far it appears very small to us with respect to its original size and volume. We can neither see its interior nor its background, for it is like "Light upon Light". This means that the light of the Intellect of the Imam of the time is in the veil of the soul's light and its light is in the veil of the personality's light.
Where the blessed hand of God is mentioned in the Qur'an, it means the same blessed hand mentioned in the verse of bay`at (48:10). A mu'min should not forget the Divine law that when God attributes some magnificent thing to His Holy essence and says that "this thing is mine", it becomes ever-lasting and imperishable and never disappears from the world, such as the Book of God (the Qur'an), the Rope of God, the Light of God, the House of God (Ka`bah), the Religion of God (Islam), the Symbols of God, the Signs of God in the physical and the spiritual worlds, etc. Then how is it possible that the hand of God (yadu'llah) may sometimes exist and sometimes not? This bright proof increasingly strengthens our certainty that the Prophet's true successor (i.e., the Imam of the time) has the status of being God's hand.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!

London,
29th June, 1984.

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