A122
Surah: 006 - Ayah: 122
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6:122
It is a fact that we believe that every true Imam is like Mawla 'Ali (a.s.) himself. Thus, whatever is mentioned in the Qur'an, the Hadith and the Khutbatu 'l-Bayan is not only about Imam 'Ali but also about every Imam. The living and present Imam is therefore the mazhar of the Divine miracles. Thus those fortunate enough to see, have witnessed that for mu'mins, both male and female, the miracle of the light of Imamat starts from the Jama1at-Kanah and then encompasses the entire universe, that is, the inner miracles of this light are countless. One of the great miracles of Mawla is that his sacred light is in every Jamaat-Kanah in the form of his ibdai or luminous body, as the exalted Imam in the previous jamah (attire) has said several times and as the Wise Qur'an, in the language of wisdom, says that the light is there to walk not only in the world, but in the entire universe (yamshi bihi, 6:122, tamshuna bihi, 57:28).
The Supreme Throne is the Imam, because he is the bearer of the light of the Throne; the prosperous House (baytu'l-ma mur) is the Imam because he is the prosperous House of God; Baytu'llah is the Imam because he is the qiblah of haqiqat; the Sacred Mosque is the Imam, because masjid means the place of prostration and in the personal world of the Imam, souls and angels prostrate to God and the Jama1at-Kanah is the Imam because he is the soul of this house and the beloved of the jamaat.
In the verse (6:122), God says: "Is he who was dead and We raised him unto life, and appointed for him a light through which he walks among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge?" The wisdom of this noble verse is understandable only when a wise person knows the real meaning of death and life.
This external life is a kind of death, therefore, every mumin should be born spiritually, so that he may open his eye in his personal world and see the light. Then, in this life he should experience the taste of death and finally, when his inbiath takes place, then, in a real sense, he will be called alive. Thus in the Holy Qur'an are mentioned two kinds of death and two kinds of life.
Among created things, first come minerals, but they are dead. In comparison to them vegetables can be said to be alive, because they have the vegetative soul. But in comparison to the animals they are dead, and animals are alive. But in comparison to the human beings, animals are helpless, as though they are dead. A similar difference is found among the many ranks of human beings, until there comes the rank of the Perfect Man whom God has given true life and a light through which he can walk within, i.e. the personal worlds of people (6:122).
Jism-i nurani or Paykar-i nurani (luminous body): Do all human beings have a luminous body or only some of them? All human beings have a luminous body potentially, but the awliya', i.e. the Friends of God, have it actually. The luminous body of the awliya', by the permission of God, accomplishes great feats. The luminous body, which in the language of the wise Qur'an is called light (6:122), can reach all the people in the whole world, just as the jinn or the devil, through the lightning body can, not only reach their friends, but also penetrate them. This is an example of evil, and in contrast, the example of good is that the Friends of God, in their luminous body, can also go to their friends. This is not only a secret, but it is an extremely great treasure.
Q69 Is it true that there is an answer to every easy or difficult question in the recognition of the personal world? If it is true, please tell us the wisdom of verse (6:122): “Is he who was dead and We gave him life, and appointed for him a light whereby he walks among people as one whose likeness is darknesses from which he cannot come forth”?
A69 When God revives a salik/carif after the spiritual death, the light of the Imam of the time rises in his personal world and in the illumination of that light he walks among those people who are in his personal world in the form of particles. The rest of the meaning is clear from its literal translation.
The view of the Sufis is absolutely correct that it is necessary to die spiritually before the physical death and without this there is no way to recognition. It is only after the spiritual death that the salik becomes truly revived, as mentioned in verse (6:122): "Is he who was dead, then We revived him and made for him a light by which he walks among the people, like him whose similitude is (that he is) in utter darkness whence he cannot come out?" Here arises an important question: How does the one whom God has revived in the light of recognition walk among the people? Is this walking like the walking of other people? Does he walk within (batin of) the people? The answer is that such an arif walks among the souls of the people in his personal world, where there is the recognition of everything. And this is an extremely praiseworthy achievement.
Many blessings and virtues of tasmiyah or Bismi’llah are mentioned in the books of Exegeses and Traditions and in other related literature. For instance, in Kawkab-i Durri (p. 297), it is narrated from Ibn Fakhri that one day the Prince of the faithful, cAli said: “If I wish I can load seventy camels with (the exegesis of) the ba’ of Bismi’llah”. That is, the weight of those books would be equal to the load of seventy camels.
This shows that the tasmiyah has many meanings. The gist of all these meanings is the praise of God’s blessed name and the guidance to remember him. As God says: “And eat not that whereupon Allah’s name has not been mentioned (during slaughtering)” (6:121). Two facts emerge from this verse: one is that just as there are lafzi names (consisting of one word) of God, there are also His kalimati names. For, God considers the whole of the kalimah “Bismi’llahi wa’llahu akbar (with the name of Allah and Allah is great)”, which is recited during the slaughtering of animals as His name, in which there is His lafÎi name as well as the guidance to remember His names. Further, in the beginning of the revelation of the Qur’an, Jibrail said to the Prophet: “Take the name of your Lord and recite it” (96:1). This command was carried out in the form of reciting Bismi’llahi’r-rahmani’r-rahim. Thus it is evident that the entire verse of Bismi’llah is one of the kalimati names of God. For, the name of the Lord, which [the Prophet] had to recite before the recitation of the first Surah (96) of the holy Qur’an was this Bismi’llah.
This verse has been referred 14 times.