Sublime Realities - Secrets of Prophets and Imams

Secrets of Prophets and Imams

Tags: Hazrat Adam, Law of Creation, Universe, Vicegerent

More and more treasures of the secrets of the Prophets and Imams are hidden in Hazrat Ādam's time and his Qur'ānic story. The proof of this concerning him are the many questions, whose answers can be very revolutionary due to their great importance, such as:
Q. How was the physical creation and spiritual perfection of Hazrat Ādam completed? Reflecting duly on verse (30:30), please tell us, whether there is any alteration or change possible in the Divine sunnat and law of nature (creation)? When did the planet earth come into existence? Whence and how did the primordial man descend on it? Was he only one man? How then did his generation spread in different continents? In which world was Hazrat Ādam's vicegerency? In the external universe, or in the world of religion, or in the personal world? If his vicegerency was only on the surface of the earth, how did the angels prostrate to him? And how did they attain from him angelic knowledge and ma`rifat? Is it true that Satan was deprived of Divine knowledge, which was with Hazrat Ādam, due to his refusal to prostrate to him? Tell us, is the vicegerency of God permanent, or temporary? If it comprises all ages till the Resurrection, please explain how.
God's essence and each of His attributes are eternal (qadīm) and His Word and Act are also eternal. This means that He is always Creator without any beginning and end¹. Thus the concept of creation is like a circle which does not have an end. A bright example of it is in the very story of Hazrat Ādam. He was born in this world, according to the law of creation (3:77; 17:77; 30:30), then he went to Paradise by the command of God, then he came back to this world and then he entered Paradise again. Is it the story of only one Ādam? If yes, then there would have been two laws, one for Hazrat Ādam and the other for the rest. It can never be so. Never. God's sunnat is only one, and so it is certainly the story of countless Ādams, because each Ādam after reaching the highest level of Paradise with respect to the higher "I", remains there, but with respect to the lower "I", comes to this world.
Hazrat Ādam was born according to the law of creation, to understand which the Qur'ānic verses are referred to. The rest of the great secrets related to him in the Qur'ān, are about his spiritual creation. All those secrets are common among all Prophets and Imams with respect to their spiritual completion and perfection, because all the grandeur, eminence, knowledge and excellence which Hazrat Ādam had received was only due to the vicegerency of God. Thus as long as this Divine office is among the people, it has to remain with full glory and without any deficiency. Thus every exalted individual of the chain of the Prophets and Imams is heir to Ādam, vicegerent of the time and treasure of given knowledge. Had it not been God's wisdom and exigency, the objection of the angels in the beginning would have been proven correct that (God forbid) He declared His far-reaching and universal vicegerency, but after some time, it ceased, and was useful neither externally nor internally. How is this possible?
According to scientists the planet earth i.e. our world, came into existence around 4,550,000,000 years ago. Nonetheless, the population on it would have started after a long time. How the primordial Ādam (with respect to the present planet only) came to this world, is an extremely difficult question, but the purpose of the existence of the Wise Qur'ān and the holy Imam is that they will tell us if we are able to ask them. Thus every Perfect Man in his subtle body is a world of particles, in which there are particles, i.e. ibdā`ī seeds of the primordial parents of things of numerous kinds. As in the spiritual deluge of Hazrat Nūh, everything of the world perished, except his personal world, in which all kinds of pairs (i.e. male and female) of all things were preserved (23:27; 51:49). Thus this world has been rehabilitated by Hazrat Nūh.
The first man who, in the beginning, descended to this planet, came from Paradise, subtle world, the world of command, or a planet, where the paradise of the subtle body was prosperous. It was a world of particles, the extract of the universe and existents and the Divine treasure, in which were the ibdā`ī seeds of all things. Just as, according to scientific observations and experiment, man is replete with cells and germs, the experiment of spirituality says that the Perfect Man has the highest rank of (becoming) the world of particles. The particles of this world are the primordial seeds of creation, construction and progress of a planet as well as the fruit of another, just as the fruit of a tree has these two characteristics, that it is a fruit of a tree, and is able to produce another tree.
Between the universe and man there is an extremely firm and unbreakable pre-eternal (azalī) and post-eternal (abadī) link. That is, man is the precious fruit of the tree of the universe and the universe is the tree grown from the seed of the fruit of human perfection. According to another example, this world is a silent man and man is a speaking world. According to a third example, this world is like a place where precious things, such as gold and pearls are scattered everywhere and man is like a treasure in which all this wealth is gathered systematically. Thus the unity and integrity of the universe and man is like this.
You might have studied the article of the "Removal of Time". It is a very great revolutionary secret². See verse (7:172) in which the event of "alast (Am I not?)" is mentioned.
Q. In it, who are meant by the children of Ādam?
A. They are the Prophets and Imams, because it is they who possess all the virtues and excellences of Hazrat Ādam and are exalted and distinguished with the luminous crown of Divine vicegerency. Here there is another extremely important question, which is: When did the covenant of alast happen and from whom, where and how is it taken?
A. It is taken during the spiritual revolution of every Prophet and every Imam, in which through the sūr of Israfil, the people of the age are brought together in the world of particles where the Lord takes from them the covenant of His Providence, while they are in the form of particles.
Q. What is the meaning of this part of the verse: "wa-ashhadahum `alā anfusihim?"
A. It has the following meanings:
1. And He showed them their souls.
2. And He made them witness over themselves.
3. And He showed them the vision of their higher "I".
4. And He annihilated them in the Face of God, because it is the highest degree of the Lord's providence. They were `ārifs.
See verse (4:54) in which it is mentioned that the progeny of Ibrahim have the Book, wisdom and great kingdom on behalf of God.
Q. Who were meant by the progeny of Ibrahim (a.s.) during the time of Prophethood and who are meant by them now? How do they possess the Book, wisdom and great kingdom?
A. It is obvious without any doubt that by the progeny of Ibrahim are meant the Holy Prophet and his progeny, and the Book is the Qur'ān, wisdom is its living soul, which is hidden in the Divine teacher and great kingdom is the religious and spiritual kingdom of the rank of Imamat.
Q. Here it is necessary to reflect carefully why in many places in the Holy Qur'ān, wisdom is mentioned connected to the Book, but as a separate thing, while apparently wisdom is within the Book?
A. This wisdom is the luminous soul or light (42:52) and the light is for the Qur'ān (5:15; 7:157; 57:28), which shines in the forehead of the true Imam after the Holy Prophet, so that even the deepest wisdoms of the Wise Qur'ān may be clear in the illumination of its ta'yīd.
The kingdom which God has called "great" cannot be a worldly kingdom, rather it is the extremely great kingdom of spirituality, which God grants to the true Imam of every age. It is the same greater vicegerency mentioned in the Qur'ān in the story of Hazrat Ādam, and also about Hazrat Dā'ūd that he was the vicegerent of his time (38:36), and then Hazrat Sulaymān became his heir (27:16). This clearly means that Hazrat Sulayman was not only the king of the spiritual kingdom, but he also held the rank of vicegerency of his time.
You can accept that the inner and spiritual kingdom of the Imam of the time in many meanings, is like that of the kingdom of Sulayman (a.s.). But it should be remembered that the real kingdom of Hazrat Sulayman was in spirituality and whatever was in the external world, was a veil. Perhaps you realise today why the exalted Imam is called "Shāh" (king). Now you must see in the mirror of the Qur'ān with insight how great is the excellence, perfection, glory and majesty of that sovereign of spirituality who is the vicegerent of God, the vicegerent of the Prophet and the Imam of the time.

Nasīr al-Dīn Nasīr Hunzā'ī
London,
18th December, 1986.

Notes:
^1. Just as God always creates innumerable people, He also creates countless worlds (30:30).

^2. The Qur'ānic mention of the event of alast (Am I not?, 7:172) is like the removal of time. That is, in this event the spirituality and luminosity of Prophets and Imams is mentioned together and the time between them is removed.

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