A248
Surah: 002 - Ayah: 248
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2:248
Sanduq-i Sakinah (Ark of Peace): that is an ark in which there are things which give peace. One may ask what kind of peace can this be? Was this ark only for the Children of Israel? Or is it a permanent and intellectual miracle? Is it possible for a material thing to be a sign and proof of the spiritual kingdom of Imam Talut? The answer is that the ark of peace is encountered first in the stages of spirituality and then in the stages of intellectuality. This peace is not physical but is spiritual and intellectual peace and is the ark is the ark of the gems of Intellect (2:248). It is the permanent miracle of the Light of Imamat. It should be noted that on the whole, the miracles of the Prophets happen in the external world but those of the Imams take place in the internal world. How is it possible for a thing which the angles bear and is the (spiritual and intellectual) inheritance of the progeny of Musa (a.s.) and the progeny of Harun (a.s.), to be material?
cAli Shah Datar (peace be upon him):
The meaning of this holy name is that Hadrat cAli, the Commander of the faithful, is extremely generous. This exalted Imam whose glorious name is cAli Shah Datar is, in reality, Murtada cAli, the king who was very generous. Datar means very generous, benevolent, granter, munificent. Since the Imam and the Prophet are the hands of God, hence He gives His favours to the people through His hands. Thus whatever the Imam, as the hand of God, grants is the most precious of all things and is everlasting. This is the meaning of a Qur’anic verse (2:248), which says that the proof of the Imam being the spiritual king is that the Ark of spirituality comes to the people, in which there will be things of the peace of heart from their Lord. Further, the knowledge and wisdom of the progeny of Musa and that of Harun (Prophethood and Imamat) is in it. The Ark will be carried and brought by angels, that is, it is something spiritual and not material. This is a bright proof of the spiritual kingdom of the true Imam, which accords with verse (4:54) concerning the progeny of Ibrahim.
Q468 What does the ark of peace (tabut-i sakinah) as mentioned in verse (2:248) mean? In what sense was it sakinah (peace of heart) from the Lord? What do the relics of the progeny of Moses(c) and the progeny of Aaron(c) that were in the ark mean?
A468
- The ark of peace means the enfolded resurrection and spirituality.
- The peace from the Lord means the miracle of knowledge and recognition.
- The relics of the progeny of Moses(c) and the progeny of Aaron(c) are the secrets of the light of Prophethood and that of Imamat.
- This means that the real ark is in spirituality, in which are gathered all the gems of the secrets of resurrection and they are of three kinds: secrets of divinity, secrets of Prophethood and the secrets of Imamat.
This verse has been referred 9 times.