A099
Surah: 037 - Ayah: 099
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37:99
Dhahib 1 (Goer)
It is mentioned in verse (37:99): "And he said: Verily, I am going to my Lord, He will guide me." In this blessed verse there is a great light and a great secret unveiled for the people of knowledge. That is, Islam is the religion of nature, namely, it is the religion of progress externally and internally. Therefore, it is necessary to act upon the sharicat in the true sense and then to reach tariqat, haqiqat and the desired destination of macrifat. Thus, this is the meaning in the firm resolve of a great muwahhid such as Hazrat Ibrahim: “I am going to go to my Lord.”
Criterion of Hazrat Adam: Every Prophet, by the command of God, guides his community on the straight path, due to which, those fortunate ones who are obedient and pious, continue to progress gradually. For, the true religion is the path to the closeness of God. The sincere and pure intention, speech and action of a believing servant are the movement on this path, and it is also the religious life. By reflecting on numerous wisdom-filled verses of the Qur’an, you can study and see the reality that the supreme purpose of Islam is the closeness to God, for which, to move and to walk is extremely necessary. This is the underlying meaning in the countless words of the Qur’an, such as sirat, sabil, tariq, qurb (proximity, closeness), madhab (37:99), maslak, shara`at, tariqat, minhaj (5:48) which also mean path or way, and hidayat (guidance), hadi (guide), ittiba` (following), siqa (was driven), sa`a (he ran), tamshuna (you walk), sabiqu (vie, outstrip, excel), sari`u (rush!), sabiqun (those who excel), etc..
Sacrifice:
Question: Which son of Hazrat-i Ibrahim was sacrificed according to the story of the Qur’an? Hazrat-i Ismail or Hazrat-i Ishaq? Further please tell us what is the ta’wil in it?
Answer: In the Qur’an (37:99-107) the sacrifice of Hazrat-i Ismail is mentioned. This is only the exoteric aspect of the story. However, in the ta’wil of the great trial of sacrifice both Ismail and Ishaq are included, the explanation of which follows as under:
(a) God had commanded Hazrat-i Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail in His path. The great father and son prepared willingly to comply with His command, and the sharp knife of the father began to move along the blessed throat of Hazrat-i Ismail, but God turned this unique physical sacrifice into a spiritual sacrifice.
(b) God says: “And We ransomed him with a tremendous sacrifice (zibhin azim)” (37:107). That is, the sacrifice of his personality was transformed into a spiritual sacrifice. For the tremendous sacrifice means the spiritual sacrifice which is vastly greater than the physical sacrifice. The gist of the meaning of the spiritual sacrifice of Hazrat-i Ismail is that the covenant for the office of Imamat was taken from him, and its detail is that he underwent various difficult spiritual trials and offered a sacrifice one after the other in all the stations of spirituality, so that the meaning of patience may be true from every aspect in the function of the Imamat, as the Qur’an says: “And We appointed from among them Imams who guided by Our command when they persevered with patience.” (32:24).
(c) It is said that the lamb, which was sacrificed instead of Hazrat-i Ismail was the ‘tremendous sacrifice’, but according to the intellect and wisdom how can it be possible for the lamb to be greater than Hazrat-i Ismail? Therefore, by the ‘tremendous sacrifice’ is meant the spiritual sacrifice, which was offered by Ishaq also, because they were Imam-i mustaqarr and Imam-i mustawda respectively. Each Imam whether mustaqarr or mustawda succeeds to the rank of Imamat after this tremendous spiritual sacrifice.
(d) The spiritual sacrifice of Hazrat-i Ismail was tremendously greater than his physical sacrifice in the sense that the chief of the prophets, Hazrat-i Muhammad, was born in his pure progeny and by virtue of his physical and spiritual sacrifices the religion of Islam became manifest and firm.
(e) Had the sacrifice of Ismail been confined to his physical personality, that is, he was sacrificed at the time when he was prepared, none of those spiritual sacrifices which he offered later on during his life, and those which were offered by the true Imams from his progeny and which continue with the Imamat until the resurrection, would have taken place. Therefore, God in transforming the physical sacrifice into a spiritual one, not only favoured the great father and son, but also abundantly increased their reward. Thus in this sense the spiritual sacrifice is the ‘tremendous sacrifice’.
(f) It should be remembered that for the common people, physical sacrifice i.e. martyrdom is extremely great, for they cannot reach the spiritual sacrifice which is confined to the prophets, the Imams and the true mu’mins of higher rank. However, according to the chosen ones, spiritual sacrifice is exceedingly great.
(g) The word qurbani (sacrifice) is derived from qurban, which is in turn from qurb, (closeness). Thus, qurbani implies a means, which brings a person closer to God. Thus the exoteric and esoteric guidance of the true guide is the greatest sacrifice by which the servants of God become closer to Him.
(h) If you see the ta’wil of the word “zabh (to slaughter)” and “qurbani (sacrifice)” in Wajh-i din, the famous book on ta’wil by Pir Naiir Khusraw, it will be clear to you what the ta’wil of these two words is and in what sense the sacrifice of the natiq is asas, that of the asas is the Imam, and that of the Imam the hujjat, and that of the hujjat is the dai.
(i) It should be known that each natiq takes the covenant from one of his close relatives, who becomes the asas, which from the ta’wili point of view is like slaughtering a sacrificial animal, and appoints him as his successor so that he may bring the mu’mins of the community closer to God. Similarly the asas takes the covenant of Imamat from his heir and makes him the means of divine proximity. The Imam offers the sacrifice of the hujjat, taking the covenant from him and enriching him with spiritual wealth, makes him the fountainhead of knowledge and wisdom, so that he may be the means of macrifat for the servants of God. Similarly the hujjat offers the sacrifice of dai according to his rank. These are the sacrifices of the hudud-i din (spiritual hierarchy) and the sacrifice of each superior hadd is the one under him.
(j) The story of the sacrifice of Hazrat-i Ismail also contains the wisdom that although the spiritual sacrifice is superior and more excellent in every respect, it is impossible for someone to reach the great rank of spiritual sacrifice without material sacrifices. Therefore, every wise mu’min forms a habit of physical and material sacrifices prior to great spiritual sacrifices, so that thereby he may be able to offer the greatest sacrifice.
It is mentioned in verse (37:99): "He (Ibrahim) said: Verily, I am going to my Lord, He will guide me (specially)." This is a very bright example of the spiritual journey. There is no doubt that the straight path is the path of all Prophets and awliya', on which they all walk in their personal worlds, to reach the ultimate destination, which is God Himself.
Q198 Please establish with clear proof that Islam is the religion of progress, which is why the wise Qur’an commands people to vie with one another in good deeds.
A198 Islam is the religion of nature and the best example of nature is the human being.
- Human beings can progress much physically, spiritually and intellectually.
- According to “Guide us on the right path”, all the Muslims of the world continue to pray that may God make them walk on the path of religion until they reach the final destination.
- Note that Hazrat Abraham(c) made it clear that the servant has to go to his Lord (37:99).
- In Islam, the example of the ladder is extremely important because it shows the spiritual journey of the holy Prophet.
- Prophets and Imams, together with the hudud-i din are the spiritual ladders of their own times (70:4).
- Ranks are mentioned everywhere in the mighty Qur’an and ranks are like a ladder in which the indication to progress is conspicuous.
- Had the necessity of ascending the height of spirituality from the lowness of materialism not been there, Allah’s rope would not have come to this world (3:103).
- If human beings were not intended to embark on a spiritual journey, God would not have said that piety is the best provision (2:197). Also words such as: light, guidance, guide, path, return (tawbah, rujuc), following (ittibac), excel, hasten, run, etc. imply the meanings of the spiritual journey.
This verse has been referred 5 times.