Qur'anic Minarets - Topmost Questions Part 3
Topmost Questions Part 3
Tags: Hazrat Adam, Coolness of the eyes, Isra'il, Qiblah, Twelve, Hazrat-i Zakariyya, Pen, Hubut, Ihbitu, Islam
Q.1 You have repeatedly mentioned that prior to Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him), God's select, there have been many Adams in many cycles. You have also mentioned that the Adam (May peace be through him) of the present major cycle was born in Sri Lanka. Would you kindly tell us what was the name of the father of Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him) who was born in Sri Lanka?
A. Adam is a collective appellation, which is applied to every first Perfect Human Being of every major cycle, every natiq and every Imam. The personal appellation of the Adam (May peace be through him) of the present major cycle was `Abdu'llah and his real name was Takhum and his father's name was Bijlah bin Qawwamah bin Waraqatu'r-Ruyadi (Sara'ir, p. 31).
Q.2 It is stated in verse (37:77) that God made only Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s progeny survive, whereas from the verse (11:47) it is evident that there were also the communities (ummats) of the believers with him. Did the progeny of those believers who were promised peace and blessings perish gradually?
A. Not at all, rather as many and their progeny or spiritual particles who were in the ark had the honour of being Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s spiritual progeny, and in the above verse is mentioned the preservation of this progeny.
Q.3 Verse (32:17) mentions: "No soul (person) knows what coolness of the eyes is kept hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do." What does 'coolness of the eyes' mean? Why is the soul mentioned here?
A. 'Coolness of the eyes' means the holy didar of the Imam, which the righteous will be blessed with at the rank of Intellect, and in which all the bounties of paradise are available. The soul (person) is mentioned in this verse (32:17) because this is the story of the rank of intellect, not of the ranks of the soul. That is, this ma`rifat is attained only by the intellect.
Q.4 Every Prophet in his Qur'anic story is the interpreter of all other Prophets and Imams. Similarly, in the stories of the believers of the past, there are numerous examples of those who are going to come, such as the believers who were angels spiritually and human beings physically in Adam's time. Now, please tell us what is alluded to in the name of Isra'il (Jacob) and his children.
A. Isra'il is a Hebrew name, which means `Abd Allah: 'Isra' means servant and 'il' means God. `Abd is a chosen servant and il is Allah. That is to say, a chosen servant of God, and thus Bani Isra'il means the children of the chosen servant of God, by which are meant the spiritual children of the True Guide. This is so that in every place and in every example, the direction of Qur'anic knowledge and wisdom should be towards the believers and the [message of the] Qur'an had to be so. Thus, in the light of this explanation, you must understand that all those miracles, bounties and virtues mentioned in Hazrat-i Musa (May peace be through him)'s story are found spiritually today (2:47, 2:55; 5:12; 17:101), as well as all those bounties mentioned in the other Prophets' stories.
Q.5 Verse (10:87) mentions: "And We revealed to Musa and his brother: Build houses for your people in Misr, and make your houses qiblah and establish prayer and give glad tidings to the believers." Although this is the mention of Hazrat-i Musa (May peace be through him)'s shari`at, see also verses (24:36-37) and please tell us what wisdom is there in the word 'qiblah' and the meanings of "In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted and His name to be remembered therein."
A. Every blessed verse of the Qur'an has countless virtues, the most important of them is that its wisdom-filled guidance has the absolute capacity to make a believing servant merge in God. Thus, 'making physical houses' and 'spiritual house qiblah' alludes to attain the rank of merging in God (fana' fi'llah). This is the reason God, in addition to emphatically commanding the believers to perform collective worship, has also allowed personal dhikr and tasbih in their respective houses. Since the Qur'an commands us to do abundant dhikr (33:21, 33:41; 62:10), it is obvious that a great part of it is only possible to do at home.
Q.6 According to the law of nature there are twelve months in a year (9:36); the inmbi`ath of twelve naqibs happened among the children of Isra'il (5:12); twelve springs gushed forth from the revered rock (2:60) and Hazrat-i `Isa (May peace be through him) used to have twelve hawaris. What is the wisdom in number twelve?
A. Its wisdom is that the natiq, asas and Imam, each has his twelve hujjats in their respective times.
Q.7 It is known to all that a human being consists of the body, soul and intellect. Once you compared the human body to a piece of land, which is chosen and prepared for the royal darbar. The soul is that best dais which is built in the darbar of the body and upon which the throne of intellect is decorated with great glory so that the King may manifest upon it. The excellence and superiority of the intellect is very clear and evident from this comparison. Now, if a believer wishes to see the manifestations of the intellect in every verse of the wise Qur'an, how would it be possible to do so?
A. This question is related to the very recognition of the holy Qur'an, which is not different from the recognition of God. The way of recognising the Qur'an is self-recognition, by which it will [also] be possible to recognise God and His speech. The glorious Qur'an has three ranks: the first is the zahir, i.e., the physical rank, the second is spirituality and the third is intellectuality, which is at the pinnacle of the ranks and the same is the true paradise.
Q.8 Could you kindly shed more light on the above-mentioned ranks of the Qur'an, particularly spirituality and intellectuality?
A. The zahir of the Qur'an is in front of you. Furthermore, the Qur'an has a great soul (42:52) and a perfect intellect, which is also called light (42:52). The Qur'an was revealed to the holy Prophet's blessed heart in the form of a living soul and light (intellect), but it was not possible to transfer living and moving things into writing. Thus, the holy Prophet had the exoteric aspect of the heavenly Book written down by the scribes of revelation, but its spirituality and intellectuality (i.e., luminosity) were transferred to the holy Prophet's successor. It is therefore said that the light and the Book are two separate things (5:15).
Whoever merges in the holy Prophet's successor through self-recognition will witness what kind of universes there are in the spirit and spirituality and the intellect and intellectuality of the holy Qur'an! Take the example of the mention of earth and heaven in the Qur'an, although it is correct to conceive of the material earth and heaven, but it should always be remembered that this is also the mention of the spiritual world and the intellectual world. Thus, physical, spiritual and intellectual things are simultaneously mentioned in the entire Qur'an.
Q.9 The worshippers of Jerusalem who were yearning to bring up Hazrat-i Maryam (May peace be through her) disputed among themselves about it and finally it was decided that they should all cast their pens in the water. The one whose pen floated on the water would become her guardian. During this dispute, Hazrat-i Zakariyya (May peace be through him)'s pen miraculously remained on the surface of the water, whereas all the other pens drowned. What is its ta'wil?
A. The pen is the name of the light of intellect, which continues to float in the forehead of the holy Imam. Thus, the rising of the pen to the water's surface or floating signifies that the Imam's light surrounds and encompasses the ocean of knowledge. Hazrat-i Zakariyya (May peace be through him) was holding the office of Imamat therefore what competition could there be with his knowledge and wisdom! Thus, Hazrat-i Maryam (May peace be through her) was brought up in knowledge and spirituality by the light of Imamat.
Q.10 There are words such as ihbit, ihbita and ihbitu in the glorious Qur'an, which are derived from hubut. They mean 'go down' (singular), 'go down you two' (dual) and 'go down all of you' (plural) respectively. The word hubut is used in the sense of going down from a height, but what is the wisdom in the Divine command in which He says to the Children of Isra'il: "Ihbitu Misra (go down to a city)", whereas they were not on a physical height?
A. Intellect is the place of oneness, therefore only a single food of 'manna and quails' is given there (2:61). Therefore, how was it possible for the Children of Isra'il of the first rank to always stay at the height of the intellect? They had to descend from there.
Q.11 The book Wajh-i Din is a treasure of ta'wili wisdoms. At the end of Chapter 33, it is written: "No one can recognise the Qa'im, except through five hudud, such as asas, Imam, bab, hujjat and da`i." Why is it so? Why is his recognition not easy and general for all believers?
A. God has kept Hazrat-i Qa'im (May peace be through him), qiyamat and its knowledge a secret like His Supreme Name, in fact even more secret, so that the common people may not know His secrets before time.
Q.12 What is the original meaning of Islam? When was the name 'Islam' given to the true religion? Why?
A. The original meaning of Islam is 'To submit oneself to someone else'. The true religion is called Islam in the sense that whoever accepts it, submits themselves to God. This name of the true religion is from the very beginning because whoever accepts it, submits to God. Under this submission and resignation, other names of Islam can also be correct, but here to put it succinctly, the most comprehensive definition of Islam is to submit one's spiritual face (chihrah-yi jan) to God. The same is the rank of fana' fi'llah wa baqa' bi'llah (merging in God and surviving in Him) and which is mentioned in the verses related to the Face of God and the face of `Arif (28:88; 55:27; 6:79; 3:20; 30:30, 30:43; 2:112; 4:125; 31:22).
7 Jumada II 1410 AH/5th January, 1990 AD
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