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Qur'anic Minarets - Light from the Qur'anic Minarets Part 1

Light from the Qur'anic Minarets Part 1

Tags: 1, 2, 3

  1. Manar, manarah and minar: mean the place of light, lamp stand, tall pillar, tower, lighthouse etc. The light of a lamp placed in a low place inside a house becomes limited due to obstacles in shedding light and the shadows of the surrounding objects increase. This is why lamps are placed on a lamp stand or niche. Similarly, the electric lights of the bazaar of a city can spread their light only from tall pillars. You may also be aware that lighthouses are built to guide ships on the sea. Most importantly observe the system of nature that God has kept the glowing sun, the resplendent moon and the bright stars on the height of heaven so that they in their respective times may pour the rain of light lavishly on the people of the earth. According to this Divine law, He has thus arranged the system of the city of the Qur'an, placing the great and Perfect Men in the form of various minarets. The hearts of the people of insight become illumined and delighted by the way the light of knowledge and wisdom is shedding from the eminence and excellence of these minarets of guidance.
  2. Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him): In Qur'anic stories, Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him) has the status of the first of the minarets. Very great secrets will reveal to you if the noble verses of the Qur'an related to him are observed with insight. For example, he was God's vicegerent, where? Was it on the external earth, in the world of religion, the personal world or in the earth of the Universal Soul? It is a universal vicegerency, however its meaning is still not clear, it requires more explanation because vicegerency in the Universal Soul is an extremely great thing. It is something from which the Universal Intellect is not separate. Imamat is also included in this very vicegerency. Guarded Tablet is another name of the Universal Soul, in which every living thing is recorded and indeed in which there is the "Higher I" of every individual from the very azal. Thus, God's vicegerent recognising the "Higher I" in [his] rank of the Universal Soul, recognised his Lord. This is indeed the place of perfect recognition.
  3. There are cycles of countless Adams in God's Godhead, but their fundamental stories are alike. The wise Qur'an has described the stories of all the Adams in the story of one Adam only to test people in their knowledge and recognition, just as in describing the common characteristics of human beings they are described as though they are the characteristics of only one human being by using the singular form 'insan' (human being), whereas wherever the word 'insan' is mentioned it is the mention of countless human beings.
  4. Hazrat-i Habil (May peace be through him): There is consummate (baligah) wisdom in the Divine speech (54:5). That is, such a wisdom that raises the meaning of the verse and makes it reach the place of the truth of certainty (haqqu'l-yaqin) and on the other side Divine speech is full of truth and justice (6:115). That is, the secrets of the light of Intellect and the Divine Word are hidden in their most sublime meaning because truth and justice are among the names of the Intellect and the [Divine] Command. Thus, the consummate wisdom of the acceptance of Hazrat-i Habil (May peace be through him)'s sacrifice (5:27) is that he, after passing through many sacrifices (fana's) ultimately merged in God's Face and became the Imam-i Asas, because his physical sacrifice is an example of spiritual sacrifice and in the background of the sacred fire is mentioned the light of the Intellect. However, after some time, Qabil martyred Hazrat-i Habil (May peace be through him) and the light of Imamat became transferred to Hazrat-i Shith (May peace be through him).
  5. Hazrat-i Idris (May peace be through him): In verses (19:56-57) God says: "And (O Prophet!) in the [spirituality of] Book mention Idris also. Verily he was a truthful Prophet and We raised him to the exalted station [of spirituality]." The famous story about Hazrat-i Idris (May peace be through him) is that once the Angel of death, by God's permission, visited him. He told him: Seize my soul so that I should experience the bitterness of death. The Angel of death seized his soul and then let it enter his body. Then he told him: Take me to heaven and show me Hell and Paradise. They went to heaven and passing over Hell they reached Paradise. When they came to the end, the Angel of death said to him: Let us go! Let me take you back to the earth. At this point God commanded: O Angel of death: Now let him remain here because he has undergone the difficulties of the world, the hardship of death and has passed over Hell.
  6. This story is linked with the rule of ta'wil and the `Izra'ili destination of the spiritual path is explained in it, in which the chain of the seizure of the soul continues for some days and the soul that is seized before the physical death, does not return to the body (39:42), and instead fresh soul from outside is cast into it. This is the first merging (fana') and the last one is at a place much higher than this. That is the rank of Allah's Face (wajhu'llah), and the one who merges here (i.e., Allah's Face), on the one hand, returns [to this world] and on the other does not return to this world. An example of returning is that Hazrat-i Musa (May peace be through him) and Hazrat-i Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny) returned to this world from Mount Sinai and the mi`raj (Ascension) respectively. The example of not returning is that the "Higher I" was already in that most sublime place, that is the `arif is already there but by some other name. Now, only the "Lower I" attained the Treasure of recognition. This is the recognition of Hazrat-i Idris (May peace be through him). He was an Imam, and in the chain of Imamat, he is known as Akhnukh.
  7. Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him): In verses (71:26-28) it is mentioned: "And Nuh said: O my Lord! Do not leave a single dweller from the disbelievers on the earth. Verily, if You leave them, they will lead astray Your servants and they will not beget except immoral ingrates. O my Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and he who enters my home as a believer, and the believing men and believing women, and do not give the unjust increase save in perdition."
  8. It is better for you that in Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s story, you accept the watery deluge as a symbol (mithal) and the spiritual deluge as the symbolised (mamthul) so that the path of knowledge may be even and the door of wisdom may open. Whichever Prophet's time it may be, the Divine law (sunnat) functions the same way in it. Thus, when the deluge of spirit and spirituality took place in Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s personal world, the believers had already entered the Ark of the Divine mission but the disbelievers due to remaining outside were drowned and perished. This was their spiritual perdition [and not a physical one]. This was the very purpose of Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s prayer that no disbeliever should remain in the earth of his personal world, so that only the generations of the people of faith may thrive there.
  9. Some Questions: Why is Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him) called the second Adam? What wisdom is hidden in the holy Prophet comparing his ahl-i bayt with Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s ark? What allusion is possible in the Divine Command to Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him): "And you make the ark according to Our (universal) realities and Our revelations." In this story what are the meanings of the oven (tanur)?" (11:40). Why was it necessary to have pairs of all kinds, animals, etc.? (11:40) Can there be a secret or an allusion that with the subsiding of the deluge the ark came to rest on Mount Judi? It is said: 'O Nuh, come down with peace (salam) from Us and blessings (barakat) which will descend on you and on the communities from those with you" (11:48). Please tell us: What is called salam? What are barakat? And who are the communities (umam) who might have embarked on the ark with Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him), even though apparently there was only one community of believers?
  10. Answers:
    1. Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him) is exoterically called the second Adam, because subsequent to the deluge, the world was populated by his progeny and the progenies of those who were with him. However, its esoteric reason is more correct, which will be mentioned later in connection with the answers to these questions.
    2. The wisdom in the holy Prophet's Hadith: "My ahlu'l-bayt are like Nuh's ark" is that there is an Imam with every Prophet, whose recognition alone is the ark of salvation. Thus, with Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him) the Imam [in the position of the] asas was Mawlana Sam (May peace be through him).
    3. The wisdom in verse (11:37): "And you make the ark according to Our (universal) realities and Our revelation" is that the ark of the Imam's recognition must be based on two kinds of arguments, from the [external] universe as well as from the revelation.
    4. An oven is the place where a fire is kindled. It means the remembrance (dhikr) of a believer who walks on the spiritual path, as it is mentioned in the Qur'an (11:40): "And the oven gushed forth", that is, the dhikr intensified and from which the spiritual deluge started instantly.
    5. The meaning of keeping a pair of male and female from all kinds of animals is that without the law of duality and the principle of contraries, the ark of knowledge and recognition cannot be prepared. Also, the purpose of doing so was the renewal of similitudes of the creation and population of the world in Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s personal world.
    6. Yes, the secret and allusion in resting the ark upon Mount Judi [after the physical deluge subsides] is that as a result of the spiritual deluge, the ark of dhikr and recognition rests upon the Mount of Intellect, in which there is countless Divine generosity and kindness.
    7. Salam is the name of ta'yid and barakat means ta'wils, and the ummats which were with Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him) were the Prophets and Imams, each one of them together with his believers was an ummat.
  11. Hazrat-i Hud (May peace be through him): Just as Mawlana Hunayd (May peace be through him) was Hazrat-i Adam (May peace be through him)'s muqim Imam and patron, Mawlana Hud (May peace be through him) was Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him)'s muqim Imam and patron. It should be noted here that according to the exigency of wisdom, some Prophets were also linked with the chain of Imamat. You can study the cycle of the Prophethood of Ismaili history.
  12. It is mentioned in verse (7:65): "And We sent Hud, their brother to cAd. He said: O my community, worship God. You have no other God but He. Will you then not fear and worship God?" In this verse 'worship Allah' is a fundamental command that every Prophet conveyed to his community at the start of inviting his people to religion. Since the Prophets themselves used to worship God in the illumination of the light of recognition, they therefore had a sure guarantee that whoever truly obeyed them would be enriched with the everlasting wealth of recognition. Hazrat-i Hud (May peace be through him) and many other Prophets in their respective times, as a rule and principle, said to their community: "I am your trustworthy and true well-wisher" (7:68). That is, act according to my advice, so that I may deliver some trusts to you. In short, the light that appears to the Prophets is compared to fire for the reason that a spark is brought from somewhere to kindle a fire for the family and the companions' benefit. See that this is the wisdom of the Qur'an itself: [for example] "a brand" (20:10); "a flaming brand" (27:7); "a burning brand" (28:29). Thus, we have to reflect very carefully here.
  13. Hazrat-i Hud (May peace be through him) said: "O my community! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him (that is, come close to Him). He will send you the torrential heaven (of spirituality)" (11:52). Divine advice and guidance are for all people, particularly for those believers who are on different levels of the spiritual path, because although reaching a certain spiritual destination by advancing from an ordinary state is progress, however according to the monists (believers in one God alone) whatever distracts you from God, is your idol. As Imam al-Baqir (May peace be through him) says: "All that which distracts you from observing God's theophany is your Satan and idol." This shows that the holy Qur'an in its advice and guidance does not confine itself to only inviting to Islam [i.e., initial teachings], but also there is the light of the destinations of spirituality for the believers until they reach God.
  14. It is mentioned in verses (26:123-124): "cAd belied the Messengers when their brother Hud said to them: 'Will you not fear'." Belying one Messenger is tantamount to belying all Messengers. The first reason is that all of them are like a Single Soul and the light of Prophethood is the same. Therefore, belying a later Messenger automatically becomes belying all former Messengers. The second reason is that where the Messengers testify and help each other according to the covenant which God has taken from them (3:81), if some people belie one Messenger there, it becomes the perpetuation of belying all the other Messengers.
  15. Hazrat-i Salih (May peace be through him): God says in verse (7:73): "And to thamud (We sent) their brother Salih. He said: O my community! Worship God. You have no other God than He. Indeed, a clear proof from your Lord has come to you. This is the she-camel of God, a sign to you; so leave her to eat in God's earth, and do not touch her with evil, lest a painful chastisement seize you." The Divine mission starts with God's worship (`ibadat) in the light of recognition (ma`rifat) because when worship is mentioned in the law of religion, it means that which is perfect and [performed] in the light of recognition, as God says; "I did not create jinn and humankind but to worship Me (i.e., I created them for the sake of My recognition)."
  16. A camel is an example of a natiq and a she-camel is that of his asas (hujjat). The same example applies to every other Prophet and his hujjat and every Imam and his hujjat. Further, in the personal world, the example of a camel is the intellect and [that of] the she-camel is the soul. Thus, Hazrat-i Salih (May peace be through him)'s hujjat was like a miracle in spiritual knowledge. It was God's command to let him freely continue the work of dacwat in its earth. "Let the she-camel eat freely" means to let the hujjat explain knowledge everywhere to the people because to eat and feed is an example of explaining knowledge, in which there is spiritual nutrition and pleasure.
  17. Hazrat-i Salih (May peace be through him)'s she-camel had appeared from a rock of a mountain, the ta'wil of which is that intellectually every Prophet and every Imam's hujjat is born from the rock of light. What is the secret in the fact that the she-camel was born pregnant and simultaneously had given birth to a child? When Hazrat-i Salih (May peace be through him)'s hujjat, after being to the mountain of the Intellect came back, he had become capable of giving birth to his successor in knowledge and he did so actually. What wisdom is there in there being turns for water: one day the she-camel used to drink the entire water of the well and give so much milk that it used to be satisfactorily available to all and the following day the people were using it? Water means knowledge. Thus, the day the water of knowledge was under the hujjat's control, he was presenting even the exoteric knowledge as esoteric knowledge by transforming it into the latter, whereas on the day it used to be the turn of the masses, that is, under their control they used to waste the time of knowledge in uncouth questions and childish debates.
  18. It is mentioned in verses (54:29-30): "But they called their companion (Qadad) and he took her and hamstrung her (she-camel). How dreadful was My chastisement and My warning!" That is, Hazrat-i Salih (May peace be through him)'s hujjat had four naqibs or da`is, on whom were based the hujjat's dacwat activities, just as the she-camel can stand and move on her four feet, however, the adversaries created such conditions that the work of dacwat stopped completely or that the hujjat and his four da`is were martyred.

Thursday, 17 Dhu'l-hijjah 1409 AH/20th July, 1989 AD

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