Recognition of Imam Part III - Key 19 Kingdom of Everything
Key 19 Kingdom of Everything
Tags: Malakut, Spiritual Kingdom, Hazrat Ibrahim
It is said in verse (36:83): “Purified is He in Whose hand is the kingdom (malakut) of everything! Unto Him you will be returned”.
“Malakut” means kingdom, dominion, spirituality, world of souls, wonders and the world of angels; “malakut of everything” means the spirituality of everything, spiritual miracles of everything and the spiritual form of everything that is in the world of command where everything exists in a pure spirituality free from any material or physical state. An example of this state is the world of dream, where all things exist in a spiritual state free from body and matter.
Malakut also means the angelic and spiritual kingdom of everything, because although everything of the universe and existents is in God's hand and will, it appears in the physical and material world and the people can see it, whereas the spiritual existence of things is not such that everyone can observe its wonders. So, with respect to this specific characteristic of spiritual existence, it is said that the spirituality of everything is in God's hand. By “God's hand” is meant the master of the command (ulu'l-amr), i.e., the Imām of the time, because after the Prophet, the hand which takes bay`at (allegiance) from the mu'mins on behalf of God is that of the True Imām.
This means that the spirituality of all things can be observed in the radiance of the light of Prophethood and Imāmat. Then as a result of attaining the realities and recognitions of all things, the return to God, i.e., His recognition (ma`rifat) is possible. This is the meaning of the context of the words in the above-mentioned verse.
The hand of God is mentioned in this blessed universal law. Nonetheless, it is obvious that God's transcendence (subhaniyyat), that is, His being free from any attributes, is also alluded to. Therefore, by God's hand, whether we mean His Will or His Power, its ultimate ta'wīl has to be the ulu'l-amr, the manifest Imam. The malakut of everything is in the light of the manifest Imam and nothing is outside his light.
Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a), in addition to being the ulu'l-amr, the Imam of his time from God, had also seen the malakut (spirituality) of the heavens and the earth. Since he was the Imām of his time and he had seen the world of malakut (spirituality) with his inner eye in his own light, he said in the language of wisdom: He who follows me will be able to see the world of malakut (spirituality) according to his capacity. These realities are mentioned in verses (6:76 and 14:36), but without the powers of faith and certitude, it is extremely hard to believe in them. The realities of a verse of the wise Qur'ān can duly be understood, if the related Qur'ānic subject is deeply studied and the luminous ta'yid of the Imām is granted.
In the context of following Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a) and the observations of the malakut (spiritual world) another verse is: “Lo! Those of humankind who have the best claim to Ibrahim are those who followed him, and this Prophet [Hazrat-i Muhammad] and those who believe (with him); and God is the protecting friend of the believers” (3:68). This means that from among all the people, those who had more characteristics, more friendship and who were closely related in a spiritual and luminous sense to Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a), were those who followed him in a true sense, such as the Prophets and Imāms from his progeny and their real mu'mins, as well as the holy Prophet and the mu'mins from his ummat.
Several wisdoms appear from this verse, which is related to following Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a). The first wisdom is that the real obedience of Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a) Khalilu'llah is to follow him on the spiritual and luminous path, on which he had seen the wonders of the malakut of the heavens and the earth, the living proof of which are all the Prophets and Imāms from his progeny and also the holy Prophet Muhammad(s) and all the holy Imāms from his progeny.
The second wisdom is that, whether it is following Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a) or any other Messenger, it is only in two forms and there cannot be a third form. The first form is direct following and the second is indirect following. Direct following is during his lifetime and indirect following is after his demise, through his Book and true successor.
The third wisdom is that in order to follow Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a) Khalīlu'llāh, the chain of Imāmat continued from his dutiful son Hazrat-i Ismā`īl(`a) till Hazrat-i Abū Talib(`a), without which the real following of Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a) was impossible, because his heavenly Book did not exist in front of the people.
The fourth wisdom is that the holy Prophet, before his annunciation as such, used to follow Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a) through the Imām of that time.
The fifth wisdom is that in the above-mentioned Qur'ānic verse (3:68) it is said that God, may He be exalted, is the walī of mu'mins. Walī means accomplisher, friend, supporter, governor, master etc. However, its real meaning is that God has never left mu'mins without the manifest Imām in any time. Since He has made the manifest Imām encompass and comprehend everything, his presence in every period is indispensable, just as in the material and physical world there cannot be anything without time and space.
The gist of this essay is that when the manifest Imām comprehends everything in his sacred light, then it is true that the malakut or spirituality of everything is also in his sacred light, as it is clear from the example of Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a), who undoubtedly was the manifest Imām in his own time. Thus, all the topics in the holy Qur'ān are connected with the topic of Hazrat-i Ibrāhīm(`a), and his topic is connected with the topic of the manifest Imām.
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