A037
Surah: 033 - Ayah: 037
Click here to see the translations
33:37
Kalimah-i Bari: By this term is meant the Divine command which is expressed by the word "Be (kun)". There are three forms of Divine command: Will (iradah), speech (qawl) or word (kalimah) and action (fil) or mazhar (person of manifestation). In other words, we should say command of will (amr-i iradi), command of speech (amr-i qawli) and command of action (amr-i fili). Command of will is in the world of ibda, command of speech is the Qur'an and the command of action is in the Imam of the time. It is in this third sense that the holy and pure Imam of the time is called waliyy-i amr or sahib-i amr (the custodian of command), as mentioned in the Qur'an: "wa-kana amru'llahi mafula (i.e. the command of God has already been brought into action)" (33:37). That is, the demonstration of the renewal of the Universal Command with all its results, exists in the personal world of the Imam-i mubin, therefore, he is called the mazhar-i amr, or amr-i fili or waliyy-i amr. He can also be called amr-i mujasssam (Embodied Command). It should be remembered that where the command is a word, it is in the language which is spoken in the personal world of every person, because the conversation of spirituality and the record of deeds is in each person's own language.
Q.2. When God and His angels send salawat upon mumins, does it come to them directly or does it come to them through the mediation of the Prophet and his progeny? If it comes to them directly, in what sense is the Prophet regarded as a mercy for all the worlds? Or, if it comes through the mediation of the Prophet and his progeny, has it not already been in the source of mercy, i.e. the light of Muhammad, from the very beginning? In other words, did salawat not already exist in the Prophet?
A.2. Had it been possible for God and His angels to send salawat on mumins without the mediation of the Prophet, it would also have been possible for God and His angels to send them the other things of the Qur'an and Islam. But this is impossible. Thus the fact is that, not only the Divine salawat, but every spiritual favour of God is also received through His treasures, namely the Holy Prophet and his true successor. Also, it should be noted here that the Divine and angelic salawat for mumins is already in the source of mercy (light of Muhammad (s.a.s.)) from the very beginning. Therefore, when it comes to mumins from the light of guidance, i.e. the Prophet or the Imam of the time, it is said that it came down from God. And this is true because in reality His act has already been done, for as He says: "And the act of God has already been done" (33:37). But it is only due to man's inaccessibility that it is yet to happen. Thus we are compelled to say "becomes" or "will become" for what has already been done. This point is very important in connection with understanding Qur'anic wisdom.
God says: “And the command (the word “Kun”) of God is already fulfilled” (33:37). This means that whatever happens to man after his death, from the command of “Be”, whether big or small, is not new. For everything is the same and has already appeared. Qiyamat (Resurrection) is not a new event nor is Paradise a new place. Nevertheless, for the renewal of thigs, it is a natural law that they rotate of the great circle of space and time, which has neither a beginning nor an end.
Amr Allah (Command of God, act of God)
It is said in verse (33:37): "And the (eternal) command of God has been accomplished." That is, He does not have any new action to perform. It is only the chain of the renewal of similitudes which continues without any beginning or end and which has to be so.
It is related that the Prophet said: "I enjoin upon those of you who have faith in God and in me and have declared me to be truthful, the wilayat of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali bin Abi Talib. For, truly, devotion to him is devotion to me, a command my Lord has given me and a covenant which He has made with me and has ordered me to convey to you from Himself." The greatest wisdom in this luminous teaching of the Holy Prophet is that belief in God and the Prophet is the first stage of religion, that affirmation of the Prophethood and Messengership is the second stage, and that affirmation of the wilayat of Mawla Ali is the third stage. Another wisdom is that the word "wilayat" has many meanings, and a third wisdom is that God took a covenant from the Holy Prophet, the seal of the Prophets, about the wilayat of Mawla Ali. This point is so important and useful that it is only by understanding this that many of the secrets of the Wise Qur’an are revealed. For instance, it says in verse (33:7): "And when We took a covenant from the Prophets and from you (O Muhammad) and from Nuh and Ibrahim and Musa and Isa, son of Maryam, We took from them a solemn covenant." A sound Hadith is the logical and intellectual interpretation of Qur’anic verses and so it is clear that the above Hadith is an explanation of this Qur’anic verse, and that God took a covenant from all the Prophets that they should make people aware of His command about the Imamat.
1. The command of God has already been uttered and His act has already been done and His promise has already been fulfilled (33:37; 8:44) and none of them is awaited. That is, no command of God is unsaid and no act of His is unaccomplished. If this is the case why did the prayer and the search become necessary? According to this eternal law, has not the table of the intellectual and spiritual bounties been revealed forever? Can an act of God be unaccomplished? Answer: Undoubtedly the command of God has already been uttered. His act has already been done, His promise has already been fulfilled and the table of inner bounties has already been revealed forever, yet word, deed and prayer are necessary, particularly the prayer of the True Guide. Because, although God has granted every kind of bounty (14:34), due to (lack of ) good deeds veils have been created, thus true knowledge and good deeds are extremely important in order to remove these veils. In the light of this discussion, we want to say that Pir Nasir-Khusraw is among those great sages and ‘arifs for whom the table of intellectual and spiritual bounties is always spread. Thus from that heavenly table, Hazrat Pir made available another table, which is the wisdom-filled collection of his precious works.
This verse has been referred 6 times.