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Qur'anic Minarets - External and Internal Senses
External and Internal Senses
Tags: External Senses, Internal Senses, Five Senses, Light
- The external senses are five: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. In each of them, there is duality on the one hand and unity on the other. That is, there are two eyes, but the function of seeing is one; similarly, although there are two ears the faculty of hearing is one; there are two nostrils but the work of smelling is one; the mouth and the tongue are also divided into two parts, but the experience of taste is one. In the same way, hands are two but there is unity in their touch. All these signs are for wise people to reflect for a while about their external and internal senses and multiplicity and unity.
- God has distinguished and elevated human kind with a unique faculty such as the intellect. Otherwise, concerning the external senses, animals are far stronger than humankind. For instance, some animals can [easily] see in the night, which humans cannot do, nor do they have the power of smell as some animals do. This fact is according to the requirement of wisdom because animals are confined within the external senses only, whereas humankind is more and more in need of internal senses so that they may be able to attain spiritual bounties.
- The five external senses are an example of the internal senses. Further, they are proof (dalil) of the physical hierarchs (hudud), namely natiq, asas, Imam, hujjat and da`i, who each have two ranks, external and internal just as the external senses are two, one on the right and the other on the left side as mentioned in the beginning. Remember the pleasant point that just as the external senses are in two ranks: animal and human, the internal senses too, are in two ranks: spiritual and intellectual, which can also be called perceptive faculties (mudrikat).
- The real wisdom of the internal senses is that as a result of spiritual progress, the natiq's light becomes the sight faculty of the heart, the asas' light the hearing faculty of the soul, the Imam's light the smelling faculty of the spirit, hujjat's [light] the hidden taste and da`i's [light] the internal touch. This is because the hierarchs of religion (hudud-i din) become the internal senses of the people of haqiqat, as mentioned in verse (16:78): "And He made for you ears, eyes and hearts so that you may be grateful." These are internal senses, namely the hierarchs of religion who are spiritual as well as intellectual, through whom are received such precious bounties that it becomes extremely necessary to thank the generous Lord, otherwise, external senses are possessed even by animals as well as infidels.
- A sacred Hadith mentions: "My servant always seeks My closeness through additional prayers until I love him. When I love him, I become his ear with which he hears, and I become his eye with which he sees and I become his hand with which he grasps and I become his foot by which he walks." By God! This Divine act happens through the hierarchs of religion because God as such is free from and above human organs and limbs.
- In the article "The Concept of the Waves of Light" in "Qur'anic Healing" (Book of Healing) read the extremely wisdom-filled prayer of Hazrat-i Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq (May peace be through him), which is: "O Allah! make for me a light in my heart, and a light in my ear, and a light in my eye, and a light in my tongue, and a light in my hair, and a light in my skin, and a light in my flesh, and a light in my blood, and a light in my bones, and a light in my nerve, and a light in front of me, and a light behind me, and a light on my right side, and a light on my left side, and a light above me and a light below me". (Da`a'im, I, 167). The meaning of this blessed prayer is also similar to that of the 'Hadith of proximity', that it is the light of the hierarchs of religion which works like the luminous senses or the perceptive faculties in a believing servant. God's light of guidance is ordained for this purpose.
- God incarnates neither in a human being nor in anything else, rather He has sent a light from His Presence, whose beautiful and elegant mention is in all the verses of light. The same light performs its work within the staunch believers' [personal worlds] through the Prophets and Imams whose work due to representation is considered God's act.
- The affirmation of Prophethood in comparison to that of walayat, that is, the Imamat of Mawlana `Ali (May peace be through him), is easier for the people and the latter is difficult. Similarly, the observation of initial lights with the eye of certainty (`aynu'l-yaqin) is easy, but to hear the voices of souls from "udhnun wa`iyah, 69:12" (i.e., "retaining ear", which is the rank of asas) is extremely difficult, rather impossible unless the personal resurrection takes place. Yes, it is true that when Hazrat-i Israfil (May peace be through him)'s sur is blown and the souls are gathered, the door of inner hearing opens. In comparison to the asas' recognition, the Imam's recognition is more difficult, because spiritual fragrances are experienced after hearing spiritual voices. In this connection study the following chart:
| Natiq | Asas | Imam | Hujjat | Da`i |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeing? | Hearing? | Smelling? | Tasting? | Touching? |
| All spiritual scenes | All spiritual voices | All spiritual fragrances | Every spiritual food | All sensory things |
| See: Verses of vision | Verses of audition | Verses of spiritual smell | Verses of spiritual food | Verses of spiritual touch |
| Vision | Speech | Yusuf's smell | Manna and quail | Hidden Book |
| Manifestations | Spiritual recitation | Fragrances | Jesus’ Table | Pearl of Intellect |
| Result? Recognition | Result? Recognition | Result? Recognition | Result? Recognition | Result? Recognition |
- According to surah of Tin (95:1-8) human beings' circular journey is between the Higher and the Lower worlds. In this connection, as an example first of all they are a mineral, vegetable, then they come to the rank of an animal, and then they enter the ranks of humanity, which include not only the different stages of the father's loins and mother's womb, but also many stages of growth and development. They are a universe of cells, a collective compendium of vegetative, animal and human souls, a world of particles, a specimen of all the hierarchs of religion, that is, they find within themselves all the physical and spiritual hierarchs and recognise them. What a great grace and benevolence of God that He has entrusted the work of the external and internal or perceptive faculties in the believers' spirituality to the natiq, asas, Imam, hujjat and da`i!
- The ultimate internal senses of a human being are the Intellect, Soul, Jadd, Fath and Khayal because it is through these perceptive faculties that God, the Sustainer of the world, taught the Perfect Human Being, as mentioned in the verse (96:3): "Read and your Lord is the most generous Who taught by the Pen (i.e., the Intellect)." Here, the Pen means the Intellect. The Pen and the Tablet are inseparable. Its wisdom is therefore that God taught the Chief Human being, namely the Perfect Human Being (insan-i kamil) through the Universal Intellect, the Universal Soul and three other angels. These are the five intellectual senses. Remember that in the name "al-akram" is mentioned the knowledge and recognition of the Throne (`arsh = Pen).
- Note carefully that all secrets, miracles, wonders and marvels and the most sublime internal senses are hidden in the forehead of the Prophets and Imams, such as the secret of Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him)'s paradise, Hazrat-i Idris (May peace be through him)' exalted station (18:57), Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s ark and mount Judi (11:44), Hazrat-i Hud (May peace be through him)'s heaven which pours abundant rain (11:52), the secret of Hazrat-i Ibrahim (May peace be through him)'s malakut (6:75), Hazrat-i Lut (May peace be through him)'s blessed earth (21:71), the meaning of Prophets' having hands and eyes (38:45), the place where the eleven stars and the sun and the moon prostrated to Hazrat-i Yusuf (May peace be through him) (12:4), Hazrat-i Shu`ayb (May peace be through him)'s baqiyyatu'llah (that which is left by Allah, 11:86), Hazrat-i Musa (May peace be through him)'s Tur (Sinai, 19:52), Hazrat-i Dawud (May peace be through him)'s vicegerency (38:26), Hazrat-i Sulayman (May peace be through him)'s kingdom (38:35), Rabwah (the highest place for Hazrat-i `Isa (May peace be through him) and Hazrat-i Maryam (May peace be through her) (23:50), and the place of mi`raj (ascension) of the holy Prophet Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny) is the forehead, so that there should be no scarcity in the treasures of recognition of the personal world.
- Just as the heart is the fountainhead of the external senses, similarly, the centre of the intellectual faculties (mudrikat-i `aqli) is Hazrat-i Qa'imu'l-qiyamat (May peace be through him), for it is the same sublime personality who is the heart of all the hierarchs. Thus, whatever the holy Prophet saw on the night of ascension, he saw with the heart (53:11), which is the rank of the Qa'im (May peace be through him) (8:24). The greatest favour of the Lord of the worlds is that He granted the believers such a miraculous and unique heart (8:24; 23:78), which is full of wonders and marvels and key wisdoms, so that the locked door of every precious treasure of knowledge and recognition may open [for the believers].
10 Jumada I 1410 AH/10th December, 1989 AD
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