A028
Surah: 031 - Ayah: 028
Click here to see the translations
31:28
Our physical existence is at the level of any of the numbers: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9, and our soul is at the level of the cipher. But it is not known where this cipher of the soul is. If it is in the proximity and presence of one, then what more does it need? But if it is separated from it, then it is next to nothing. Therefore, we should progress from two to 9 and then annihilate ourselves in the one so that we will be resurrected in the Single Soul (31:28) as all have to be resurrected in it.
In this connection another example which can help to understand this concept is found in the wisdom-filled Quranic concept of creation that God created all human beings with the creation of the primordial man. That is to say that at that time all of them were with the single Soul (nafs-I wahida, i.e. Perfect Man in the form of particles of his spiritual existence, (31:28). All of them were attached to the unity of the single ‘I’. there was no trace and no name of plurality; it was only unity and unity. But later on, all of them appeared from it in the form of plurality. However, God is going to resurrect them again under the ‘I’ of the Single Soul as He had done the first time. It is an excellent Quranic example of monorealism.
Nafs-i Wahidah (Single Sonl): According to the law of creation, the world of particles exists potentially in every individual and in it there are the particles of all people. Thus in the spiritual creation and personal Resurrection of the Perfect Man are hidden the spiritual creation and collective Resurrection of all. As is mentioned in verse (31:28); "Your creation and resurrection is but like (the creation and resurrection of) a Single Soul." But without knowledge and recognition, nobody can duly benefit from the exalted personality of the Perfect Man.
Here arises a question that since the action of the Divine Pen - as the representation of God- was the action of God Himself, then why did this action result in multiplicity rather than in unity. That is to say, why did not unity originate from unity, and why instead did multiplicity emanate from it? The answer is that in reality, multiplicity did not originate from unity, but that rather, it is unity itself which has originated from the unity; for the multiplicity under discussion is, in reality, not a multiplicity but a unity which seems to be a multiplicity, i.e., a unity which appears apparently to be multiplicity. As God says:
And your creation and your resurrection is nowise but as an individual soul (31:28).
This Divine command shows that the unity of all the souls of the creatures subsists in One Soul (nafs-i wahidah) (i.e., the Universal Soul) in pre-eternity (azal) as well as in post-eternity (ahad). For all these souls are as his parts. When he was created, they too were created with him, and when he will rise to the status of the Universal Intellect, they too will rise to the same status. This is the meaning of the above Qur'anic verse.
Single Soul
Q. 28. It is absolutely true that the Supreme Soul, according to one example, is the “ocean of the souls” and according to another example, “the soul of souls”. Further, we would like to know if it has a Quranic name also, so that its understanding may be clearer. Can you tell us something from the Wise Quran in this connection?
A. There are many names of the Supreme or Universal Soul mentioned in the Quran. One of them is “nafs-I wahida (the single soul)” (31:28), in which all souls are gathered together. In the nafs-I wahida, from one aspect, all people were created simultaneously and they will be resurrected in the same way.
The Single Soul (nafs-i-wahida):
The single Soul is mentioned in the Holy Quran in a wisdom-filled way. It is the Universal Soul which is like the fountainhead of souls and the eternal light, as the Wise Quran says: “Your creation and resurrection is but (the creation and resurrection of) a Single Soul” (31:28). That is, the souls of people were created with the Universal Soul in pre-eternity (azal), therefore in the Universal Soul their unity is still like the unity of a single soul. In other words, each one of us still has a higher “I” or higher reality of the soul attached to the Universal Soul, just as it was attached in pre-eternity. In addition we also have a lower “I” or a subsidiary or temporary life which depends on our personality and which can be compared to the reflection of the sun in the mirror.
When the personal resurrection takes place in connection with the spirituality of a mumin then, together with all the souls of the universe which have come to him in the form of particles, he suddenly feels linked with the Universal Soul. This is an example of the collective resurrection in one’s personal spirituality in which all people will find themselves alive in the Universal Soul as alluded to in the above-mentioned verse. The Holy Quran also says: “The mumins are surely brothers” (49:10). Further in a Hadith explaining the same purport, it is said: “Mumins are surely brothers and the Prophet are like a single soul”. It is evident from this that although humanity is scattered at the lower levels, it is united at the higher levels and at the height of the Universal Soul it is like a single soul from pre-eternity to post-eternity. These realities and recognitions can greatly help us to understand monoreality.
Nafs-I Wahidah (Single Soul): It is necessary to know that each of the Prophets and Imams is the Nafs-I wahida or Single Soul (31:28) of his time. That is, a Unique Individual and Perfect Man in whom the Resurrection of the souls of all people takes place, even though the vast majority do not know anything about this great event. There are two reasons for this: one is that an individual is a mu’min, but is weak in knowledge and ibadat, and therefore this burden is not placed upon him (3:27; 27:87). The other is that he is not a mu’min and therefore remains blind to it (17:72;27:66). Alas! If he only knew the Perfect Intellect, the Single Soul!
It is said in the Qur’an: “Your creation and your raising (after annihilation) are like that of one soul”(31:28). It should be remembered that this verse contains great wisdoms. In this verse mention of physical creation of people or the general concept of Resurrection. Instead, this verse mentions collective spiritual creation which is completed on the particles of the world of particles. That is, when the collective Resurrection of souls takes place in the personal Resurrection of the Perfect Man, all people become present in the form of particles in the world of particles. This is their spiritual creation.
ONE: Although the symbol of the number one can be used for God. He is that number which has no similitude, thus He created the single soul and from it He created the rest in the sense that the ibda and inbiaath of all of them happened in the same Single Soul (31:28), so that their personal worlds may be complete from every aspect. For, he who enters Paradise, is not alone, Rather, with him are his countless spiritual particles, in which there is a great world of people, just as when you enter the world of dreams, you cannot go alone. Therefore, one is the sign of the single Soul, because it unifies all with itself and it is the Universal Soul and Primordial Adam. Also one is mubdi’ (Originator), Qaim and Universal Intellect, in which is the unity of the world of intellects.
Think about this sufic interpretation of the verse (31:28): “Your (first) creation and your raising alive (from spiritual death = inbi`ath) is like that of a single soul (nafs-i wahidah = Adam)”. When Hazrat Adam was created spiritually, then by casting the universal soul in the mould of his personality, as many copies were made of him as the numbers of his children who had to come to this world. Thus, when the inbi`ath of Hazrat Adam took place, their inbi`ath also took place with him and through his representation. Otherwise, his personal world and his recognition (ma`rifat) would have been incomplete.
Nafs wahidah (A single person)
God says in verse (31:28): “Your creation and resurrection (after death) are but like a Single Soul.” That is, your spiritual creation and resurrection are hidden in the Perfect Man.
Wahidah (A Single Soul)
The Single Soul:
Spiritual progress and the experience of the individual resurrection is extremely difficult, therefore God, by His infinite mercy, has kept the collective Resurrection of the people hidden in the individual resurrection of the Single Soul. Thus, their spiritual birth as well as their resurrection takes place in the same Single Soul, as God says in verse (31:28): "Your (spiritual) creation and resurrection are like a Single Soul." That is, the representative particles of the people of the world become present in the personal resurrection of the Perfect Man.
Q98 A description of paradise is a part of the Qur’an and iman, and since the recognition of its bounties can first be attained in the light of the knowledge of certainty (cilmu’l-yaqin), therefore, please tell us how the bounty of children will be available among the countless and unending bounties of paradise?
A98 The Imams from the progeny of Muhammad(s.a.s) are the treasures of Allah from whom everything, including children, is available to the people of the world. Thus, those mu’mins who have been merged in the Imam of the time and become treasures [in this world] will see its marvels and wonders in paradise, including the fact that they had become the Single Soul (31:28). Thus, they will see their numerous sons and daughters in paradise and be extremely happy.
Q.(e) God will show His signs to the people in the external world (horizons) and in their souls. What would be the role of the Single Soul in this connection? A. The collective resurrection of all (31:28) takes place in the individual resurrection of the Single Soul (Perfect Man).
The following great secret is hidden in verse (31:28) that, when God wants to complete the spiritual creation of a salik, He causes his personal and representative resurrection and enfolds the entire universe in his personal world and then makes thousands of his living and rational copies. This is the reality of the subtle body.
Recognition of the Prophets and Awliya':
Apparently the Prophets and the awliya' are separate from one another, but in the resurrection and spirituality of the Single Soul (nafs-i wahidah) all of them are one (31:28). Since God likes ease for the mu'mins and does not like hardship for them (2:185), He has ordained the same one recognition for all of them. Thus, by the grace of God, whoever recognises his own self (higher soul), recognises awliya', Prophets and the Lord Himself. How can anything be outside such an exalted and all-inclusive recognition!
The perfect model of the personal world is the Perfect Man, whose blessed existence has two aspects: With respect to body and corporeality he is under time and space, but with respect to spirit and spiritually he is non- spatial and non-temporal, so that he may act like a bridge between the spatial world and the non-spatial world and as a staircase between the higher and lower worlds. All Perfect Men from beginning till today belong to different ages physically, but with respect to intellect and soul, the place where all spatial and temporal distances come to an end, they become one single soul (31:28).
Part 11
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
It is mentioned in verse (31:28): “Your creation and your resurrection is but like (the creation and resurrection of) a Single Soul. Verily, Allah is hearer, seer.”
Ta’wili purport: Every individual is potentially like the Single Soul. Thus, the one who truly obeys Allah, actually becomes like the Single Soul.
The hujjat of qa’im, peace be upon them both, said: “A mu’min’s (true believer’s) soul [potentially] is our soul”.2 Thus, true obedience is necessary and essential for the mu’min’s soul to be like that of the Imam. It is also said in the sacred hadith: “O son of Adam! Obey Me [truly], so that I may make you like Myself …”.3
Study the subject of vicegerency in verse (6:165) in the light of ta’wili wisdom. The same is the subject of verse (24:55). The secret contained in these two wisdom-filled verses is that the righteous people, by obeying Allah’s living supreme Name [i.e. the Imam of the time], become like Hazrat Adam. Allah’s living supreme Name is always present in this world.
Praise belongs to God!
Ma`rifat (Recognition) of Prophets and Awliya’: Man `arafa nafsahu faqad `arafa rabbahu (He who recognises his soul recognises his Lord) (Ahadith-i Mathnawi, p. 167). But the question is: which soul or essence? It is the Perfect Soul and the Single Soul (31:28) without which creation (khalq) and Resurrection (ba`th) cannot be recognised. It is implied in verse (7:11) regarding the recognition of Hazrat Adam: “And We created you ( physically), then We completed your (spiritual) form, then We told the angels: Prostrate yourselves to Adam! And they prostrated themselves except Iblis. (And all this happened before your inner eye).” Thus, the recognition of the Prophets and awliya' becomes complete through the demonstration of the Single Soul.
This verse has been referred 29 times.