A021
Surah: 012 - Ayah: 021
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12:21
Wisdom 25: In the previous majlis (gathering) of knowledge, our dear azizan of Gilgit asked some important questions. One of them which needed more explanation was: In verses (12:21-29), it is said that Hazrat Yusuf's shirt was torn from behind. The external reason is known to all, but we would like to know its ta'wil or esoteric wisdom.
Answer: The ta'wil of this event is such that the spiritual Beloved Who is the paragon of beauty (King of the kings of the beautiful ones) of both the worlds, Who is our Beloved and the Sovereign of others is not in need of our love, rather we are in need of loving Him. Therefore, we want to stop Him in the palace of remembrance, but He does not stop. Yet one day His holy hem comes into our hand, if not from the front, from behind, and due to the struggle between our attempt to stop Him and His attempt to turn away, the subtle shirt is torn from behind. This is a bright proof of the fact that it is we who had started to play the musical instrument of love, and we were the ones in need of love who used to get together and weep. Yet, He was not paying any attention to us. But, now thanks be to God, the lovers have crossed the stages of trials, have become successful and received the fruit of love. And all this happened in such a strange way that the unique and everlasting treasure of elegance and beauty, for which we were yearning so deeply, is, by God, our own soul of soul and higher "I"! We also shed tears now, but that is in order to assimilate the immense happiness granted by Him and this is perhaps the best way to do so. Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!
Hazrat Yusuf and Ta’wil: Hazrat Yusuf was a Prophet and also an Imam. God taught him taw’wil by initially helping him to complete the journey of spiritual stages step by step. He was then given the khilafat or vicegerency of the earth of God (earth of the Universal Soul) in his personal world, so that he might be able to do the ta’wil of the exoteric sayings in the light of the luminous and wisdom-filled observations of the higher world (12:21). Thus he who has not duly recognized himself cannot do ta’wil. Those whom the Imam of the time made his soldiers for the sake of the war of ta’wil, can do ta’wil according to their status. For ta.wil is intellectual warfare in which the army of knowledge is indispensable.
It is said: "And thus We gave a firm place to Yusuf in the earth (i.e. personal world) that We may teach him the ta'wil of all sayings" (12:21). That is, God gave him a place in the earth of spirituality and particularly the earth of the Universal Soul, thus he received the science of ta'wil (given knowledge or 'ilm-i laduni), Otherwise, how was the ta'wil related to giving him a place in Egypt? It should be remembered that the Universal Intellect is the heaven and the Universal Soul, the earth. They are together as well as separate (21:30).
This verse has been referred 4 times.