A036
Surah: 036 - Ayah: 036
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36:36
Regarding "anta's-salamu wa minka's-salamu wa ilayka yarji us-salam, i.e. Thou art the peace, and from Thee is the peace and the peace returns towards Thee", some friends had expressed their desire that this humble servant should explain it. Thus this article is specifically written in response to it. Apparently, raising a question about these sacred words of this prayer, is a logical reality, for, according to the external intelligence, after saying "Thou art the peace" to God, to say "From Thee is the peace" amounts to saying: "Thou art God" and "God is from Thee". But we are fully sure that its tawilic wisdom is something else. And that is, God (dhat-i subhan) is not attributed by any attribute except figuratively. Thus by al-salam is meant al-nur (the light), which is not real but a figurative name of God. For light and darkness are opposite to each other, but the essence of God has no opposite. Other than God, everything has an opposite and the pairs of opposites are created by God, as is mentioned in the verse (36:36). Here this universal principle should be remembered, that, although God is not attributed by any attribute, nonetheless, some names are selected for His Holy Essence, such as Allah, Subhan, Rahman etc., which are not used for creatures, while other names which are not real but figurative names of God are used for creatures, as well. Nur and Salam are among the names which are used in the Qur'an, both for God as well as for creatures. For example, the name "nur" in the verse (24:35) shows God's attribute of guidance and in the verse (5:15), it is used as a name of the Prophet.
Importance of "Two"
Q. 73. One day, in your discourses of knowledge, you said that in the Holy Qur'an, is alluded the importance of "two" after one. We would like to know where this allusion is made in the Qur'an and how and in what sense?
A. In this connection, first of all, we would like to say that God, may He be exalted, is One and also above the one and then to discuss the two. As for the "two", (it should be known that) whatever exists other than God (dhat-i subhan) is in pairs (36:36). This world and the next are two (2:201); jinn and man are two creatures for the worship of Allah, (51:56); good and evil are two means for the trial of man (21:35); also the wisdom in this is that the fruits of Paradise will be given in pairs; spiritual wisdom is taught where two rivers join each other (18:60); east and west are in pairs (55:17).
Heaven and earth are two (24:35); light and darkness are two (35:20); life and death are two (67:2); day and night are two (17:12); the souls of the creatures will be in pairs (81:7), etc.
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There are many wisdoms in the number "two": it is between unity (wahdaO and multiplicity (kathratV. it is the means of beginninglessness and endlessness; pairs are contained in it; opposites are made out of it so that there should be recognition of each other; in it lies the wisdom of negation and affirmation; it is the example of the balance of justice. Finally, there is nothing among creatures, which is devoid of the wisdom or the law of "two". Thus the souls-of the creatures, as it is said, are also in pairs. That is to say that, the soul has two ends, namely, we have two Ts", the "higher I" and the "lower I”.
Note: for details of "higher I" and "lower I", see "Balance of Realities" pp. 47-48.
The Holy Prophet has said in this regard: “Things are recognized by their contraries.” Every wise person with insight can see how excellently this Hadith accords with Qur’anic reality. God says: “He is Subhan (free from everything) Who has created all in pair, from what the earth grows, and from themselves and from those which they do not know.” (36:36).
TWO: After the law of unity comes the law of duality, which God Himself has made, as mentioned in verse (36:36 that God has created everything in pairs without any exception. Also in verse (43:12) there is a wisdom-filled allusion that God has created pairs of everything and made for you ships and cattle on which you ride (also in pairs physically and spiritually). Thus the meaning of two in the spiritual world is the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul, in the cycle of Prophethood it stands for Natiq and Asas and in the cycle of Imamat for Imam and Hujjat, and withevery zahir there is a batin.
This extremely exalted rank which is called the luminous Face of God or the image of Compassionate (surat-i Rahman) is not of today, but has continued from azal. That is, it exists from eternity. Does the Face of God have another name at the place of azal? Yes, it also has another name at this place, which is nafs-i wahidah, Single Soul . Although it has many names, here will explain the wisdom of the Quraanic verses, in which this name is mentioned. The wisdom of one such verse is: He it is Who created you (in the spiritual world at the place of azal) from a single soul (person). Then He, in his infinite mercy created the law of Duality (36:36; 51:49)and ordained for one two “I’s”, of which, by the command of God, one “I” by the name of mustaqarr (permanent) remained in the higher world in the state of azal and ibda and the other entered the arena of trail of this world. The first one is a real and the second is its shadow.
Azwaj (Pairs)
Other than God, nothing is single, therefore all things are in pairs. Thus man also is a pair within himself. That is, he is in paradise as well as outside paradise. (36:36; 55:52; 11:40; 51:49).
There are great wisdoms hidden in the great act of God, that He has created all things in pairs (36:36, 51:49). The wise Qur’an, in its different examples, has also repeatedly drawn attention to the importance and advantage of the law of contraries (3:27, 39:5). This means that satiety and hunger are integral parts, like husband and wife. Thus for perfect health, pleasure, happiness and to accomplish the purpose of life, it is not enough to eat food, but complete hunger before and after it is also necessary, so that according to the law of pairs, every kind of external and internal happiness and every kind of benefit may be attained from both.
God, the One, the Self-subsistent, may He be glorified and exalted, is free from and above every kind of duality and plurality. He, by His perfect power and profound wisdom has created all creatures and existents in pairs. Nothing is exempt from this universal law, as mentioned in verse (36:36): “Purified is He who created pairs of all things, of what the earth grows, and of themselves and of what they do not know”. This is a law which has paramount importance after the law of unity, just as the number (2) is necessary after the number (1) for the existence of all other numbers.
It should be known that, in God’s kingdom sheer non-existence is impossible. That is, a non-existence, which has no quality at all, is impossible. Rather it is a figurative non-existence and its brightest proof can be found from the Qur'an itself. As God has said: “Glory be to Him Who created pairs of all things that the earth produces, and themselves, and that which they know not” (36:36). The point here is that there is nothing that does not have a pair, either vegetable or animal or human or any other thing that is related to the intellect and knowledge. It is obvious from this verse that existence and non-existence are also among those pairs, which are created by God. This means that just as God made existence apparent from non-existence, He extracted non-existence from existence, and kept it hidden. Neither of the two is anterior or posterior, rather they are both on the circle of beginningless without any anteriority or posteriority. However, in view of some expediency, you can present this fact of beginningless as beginning, saying always that God created existence from non-existence. However, not to shed the light of knowledge and wisdom on non-existence, not to try to lift the veil from its reality, not to search for the understanding of “He created life and death” (67:2), that He (God) created life, but how did He create death?; can our partial life and death be a proof of the annihilation and survival of this great universe?; can we or not, from the example of our own life and death, understand the reality of existence and non-existence?; not to ask such questions so that the veil may be lifted from reality would be just a matter of expediency and prudence, but not of reality. This is probably because the world has not reached this level of understanding otherwise it would have been evident that if there is any beginning of time, existent and creature, it is a partial beginning. If we look universally, it would be evident that everything is on a circle, which is created from the alternate coming and going of existence and non-existence, such as the rotation of day and night. It is from this roation that the concept of beginningless and beginning is established.
This verse has been referred 15 times.