A052
Surah: 042 - Ayah: 052
Click here to see the translations
42:52
May blessings be on the chosen Messenger of God, who is the most eloquent among Arabs and non-Arabs. He received revelation, i.e. negation-and affirmation. The universal guidance, extensive elaboration and comprehensiveness in the meaning of this negation-and-affirmation are evident from the fact that it has been revealed in the form of a sacred book, called the Wise Qur’an. The same negation-and-affirmation, with its perfect and complete number and quantity, has also been revealed in the form of a word, as well as in the form of a supreme name, or a letter. The same has continued on the blessed tongue of all Prophets and true Imams. Thus the message which the Prophets and the Imams conveyed to the people and the realities which they explained or the chain of guidance which still continues, is like the message of God conveyed by the Holy Prophet. The gist of this explanation is that the reality which the Holy Prophet had received by the name of negation-and-affirmation, or the Holy Qur’an, or a word or the supreme name, etc., is a living light, and the above-mentioned names are its functions. Thus, God says: :And thus we revealed to you a spirit from Our command. You did not know what the Book (Universe) was, nor the faith, but We made it a light by which We guide whomsoever We will of Our servants. Verily you guide to the right path.” (42:52).
God says that the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet's heart from the world of command, in the form of a living spirit and a perfect light, and also says that the Prophet guides on the straight path (42:52). Now it is not correct to believe that God has taken the spirit and the light of the Qur'an back to Himself. Thus it is true to say that, after the Prophet, that Qur'anic spirit and light exist and continue in the chain of the holy Imams, so that there may not be any defect in the system of Divine guidance.
The preceding explanation assures the wise people that the Qur'an, in reality, was revealed to the Prophet in the form of a living spirituality. This spirituality is still preserved intact in its own position, for the spirit and spirituality of the Qur'an are an everlasting miracle. According to the verse (42:52) when it is true that the Qur'an is a spirit and a light, then this means that each Qur'anic verse is full of the meanings and purports of the spirit and spirituality.
Manifestations of Paradise: According to the desire of the onlookers, the luminous scenes of Paradise will continue to change into various types of manifestations. For, it is the world of command where the sway of kun fayakun (Be and it is) continues. It is because of this that, whatever bounty is desired, whatever thing is wished for and whichever state is liked, comes before the eyes of the people of Paradise. It is better and more useful to compare the bounties of Paradise with the bounties of the Noble Qur'an. For among the worlds of Paradise, the world of the Qur'an is the one which manifests in both worlds. The following is an example of the bounties of the Qur'an: If you want to conceive the different manifestations and miracles of Paradise in the Qur'an, you can do so. For instance, the Glorious Qur'an, despite this blissful vastness, manifests in the Mother of the Book (ummu'l-kitab). Not only that, but it first appeared in the dot under the ba of Bismi'llah, which is a living soul and a luminous light (42:52) linked from the extreme height. The Glorious Qur'an is also in the Guarded Tablet (85:21-22). What a great miracle that the Mighty Qur'an is also in the Divine Pen as well as in the Hidden Book (56:77-78)! A perfect and complete revelation and manifestation of it also occurred in the heart of the Holy Prophet (26:194). If a hidden wisdom of the Qur'an is understood or a secret of it revealed, its light comes from the Divine treasures (15:21). That is, in order to shed light on thinking about the Qur'an, God has appointed a light (5:15) and for spiritual help, a special soul (58:22). This light and this soul are, in fact, in the holy personality of the Manifest Imam (36:12). For, just as fish cannot exist without water, light and soul cannot subsist without a perfect personality. There are numerous such Qur'anic concepts, but in Paradise all these are in the form of spiritual and intellectual manifestations and observations.
He writes in the Jamic al-hikmatayn that knowledge of the true religion is the result of the Holy Spirit {nataij-i ruhu'l-qudus). This means that the intellect of the Prophets and their successors, the Imams, is supported and illumined by the Holy Spirit, which according to the Qur'an (42:52), is in the form of light. Nasir therefore refers to it as the "luminous intellect (caql-i nurani)". It is the intellect of one from whose spiritual eyes the veil of negligence has been removed and whose sight has become sharp, as the Qur'an, addressing the Prophet, says: "You were unaware of this. Thus We have removed from you your veil, so your sight is sharp today." (50:22). Once the veil is removed, everything, both in this world and the next, becomes clear to him. It is on the basis of this inner vision (basira), not on hypothetical or conjectural knowledge, that the Prophet and his successor invite people to eternal life. As God says to His Prophet in verse 12:108: "Say: This is my way, I invite unto Allah on the basis of basira (insight), and [also] those who follow me". Thus, the insight and intellect of the Prophet and those who follow him (the Imams), whom God has chosen for the guidance of the people and made intermediaries between Himself and His creatures, are superior to that of other human beings.
Lamp and the Flame of the Lamp
Q. 61. You have already explained to us that the Spirit of Allah and the light of Allah are the one and the same reality, as is said in the Qur'an (42:52), which implies that the spirit which was revealed to the Prophet was made a light. As a result, can we say that Hazrat 'Isa, who was the Spirit of Allah, was also the Light of Allah, even in the womb of Hagrat Maryam? Further, is it true to say that when Hazrat 'Isa was born, Hazrat Maryam became devoid of the Light of Allah, since the Spirit of Allah was only Hazrat Isa? Please elaborate in this regard.
A. Allah has compared His Holy Light with a lamp. The lamp consists of two things: one is the vessel, which contains oil and wick and the other is the flame, which radiates light, rising from the edge of the vessel. Similarly, even though Hazrat lsa' was attaining his physical perfection in the womb of his mother, his light was shining from the forehead of Hazrat Maryam. Further, light has many dimensions, hence, it is also true to say that the light belonged to both holy personalities. When Hazrat 'Isa was born, only a body separated from body, but the light (spirit) is simple, therefore, it was not possible for it to be separated. So, even though the centre of light was Hazrat 'Isa, a perfect copy of it was left in the blessed forehead of Hazrat Maryam.
Soul of Iman (Faith)
Q. 11. What is the soul of Islam (submission) and Iman (faith)? Where does it reside? Is it speaking or silent?
A. The soul of Islam and Iman is the same soul of the Quran. It dwells in the True Guide. For, it is his Holy Spirit which is full of luminosity (42:52).
Spirit of the Holy Quran
Q. 7. Does the Holy Quran have a great and miraculous soul? If so, where is it? In the Quran or somewhere else?
A. Yes, the Holy Quran has a soul which is living and luminous, namely, it is light. You can see proof of this in the Quran (42:52), that God revealed the Quran to the Prophet in the form of a magnificent living soul and then He made it a light. It is this same light which is also called the Holy Spirit, which as we have mentioned earlier, is preserved in the succession of the pure Imams, after the Holy Prophet.
Proof 9: In verse (42:52) which is related to the subject in discussion, God says: “And thus We revealed (awhayna) to you a spirit of Our Command (i.e. the world of command).” This clearly means that the Holy Spirit in whose spirituality were hidden the above-mentioned three ranks of Prophethood and Messengership, was sent to the Holy Prophet as a revelation (wahy). In other words this Spirit was a Light in whose living and speaking spirituality and luminosity the Holy prophet had traversed all the stages of his spiritual miraj.
This wisdom is the luminous soul or light (42:52) and the light is for the Quran(5:15; 7:157; 57:28), which shines in the forehead of the true Imam after the Holy Prophet, so that even the deepest wisdoms of the Wise Quran may be clear in the illumination of its tayid.
The knowledge of spirit and spirituality is not common and easy, rather it is very special and extremely difficult. Nonetheless, it is not impossible in Islam for the Holy Spirit of the wise Quran, which is also called Light, to be the generating source of spirituality. If, for the sake of knowledge, you want to ask : What is meant by a living spirit of the noble Quran? The answer to this question is that whenever a verse of the Qur’an used to be revealed to the holy Prophet, it used to be in the form of spirit and light. Then he used to recite it and let the scribes of revelation write it down. This means that real spirit and spirituality is linked with the wise Quran (42:52).
Kitabun yantiqu (Speaking Book, i.e. the Imam)
O my cazizan! With the inner eye see the fact in verse (42:52) that the Qur'an was revealed on the heart of the holy Prophet in the form of a Holy Spirit and a Light which gradually came into written form, but the Spirit and Light of the Qur'an were to remain in his heart, so that when the time came it would be transferred to his legatee.
Thereafter, in verse (42:52) it is said about the Holy Prophet: “And thus We revealed to you a spirit from Our command. You knew not what Scripture was, nor what the (final stage of) faith. But We made it (Spirit) a Light whereby We guide whom We will of our servants. And verily you guide unto a right path.” This Divine command means that God says to the Prophet: ‘O messenger, just as God speaks to His selected servants by sending a Spirit from the world of command, He has also sent a special Spirit (i.e. the Hly Spirit) to you from the world of command. Before this you neither knew the book of the Universe nor the stages of faith. But He made this Holy Spirit, which is always with you, into a light. And it is the Light whereby He always spiritually guides those of His servants whom He wills and they guide people by His permission in the form of prophet, Imam, Pīr, etc. Similarly, you personally and through your legatee and his chain of progeny, guide people unto the right path.’
Here the specific principle of Divine wisdom should be remembered that wherever in the Wise Qur'an, God says something to the Holy Prophet about religious matters, He takes into consideration all those means of knowledge, wisdom and guidance by using which he was going to guide the people of the world in the present and in the future, as it is clear from the following examples:
1. In verse (42:52) God says: "(O Prophet!) Verily you guide to the right path." This verse shows decisively that the Holy Prophet will be responsible to fulfil the sacred duty of continuous guidance of Islam till the Day of Resurrection. And it is obvious that this is possible only if he were to do so through the Holy Qur'an and his successor, the Imam of the time. Praise belongs to God, he does so. And this is the reason that today, the Ismailis obey the Holy Prophet through the farman of the Imam of the time.
2. In verse (9:73) God says: "O Prophet! Do jihad against the infidels (with sword) and the hypocrites (with tongue), and be severe with them." It is obvious that this command of jihad is literally given only to the Holy Prophet, but by this God does not mean that he alone will do it against the infidels and the hypocrites, rather in this command are implied all those means of jihad with which he was able to do so, such as the commanders of the army whom the Holy Prophet used to appoint. This clearly shows that the successor of the Prophet, i.e. the true Imam is mentioned in many Qur'anic verses in such a way that the common people are not aware of it. Thus, it follows from this that the veneration of the Imam after the Prophet, is incumbent in Islam.
Part 35
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
In the mighty Qur’an, the word ruh (spirit) is used apparently in singular, but internally in plural as well. The word ruh is also used in the sense of light (42:52), particularly the Divine spirit, which was breathed into Hazrat Adam (15:29; 32:9; 38:72).
It must be noted that the Divine spirit was breathed into Adam through the blowing of the sur and the spiritual resurrection. In every spiritual resurrection the souls of all human beings gather together. Note here the wisdom too, that Adam was the first nafs-i wahidah, in whom all human souls had become annihilated while going to the sacred Sanctuary. Now, Adam in whom the world of humanity was annihilated, himself became a single individual (fard-i wahid) and annihilated himself in God and it is in this state that God created him in His image (surat-i Rahman).
I have already disclosed this great secret of macrifat that you were both masjud (one prostrated to), Adam and the sajidin (ones who prostrate), the angels. In order to understand this proven fact, examine verse (7:11) with the inner eye and carefully reflect upon it. Study verse (32:9) also. Further, according to the hadith: “The souls are assembled armies”,27 all human souls were with Adam. They were his copies as well as his children.
Reflect also on this law of bounty (qanun-i nicmat): Óo manásan apí (No bounty is impossible),28 and on verse (14:34): “And He gave you of all that you asked Him” (14:34).
Q355 What is the extent of the circle of recognition (da’irah-i macrifat)? What things does this circle include? What is the means of God’s recognition? Can the spirit of the Qur’an be recognised? If yes, what is the means of it?
A355
- The circle of recognition is equal to paradise and the universe, but God brings them close in the personal world of His carifs, so that the extremely extensive recognition may be confined and made easy [to attain].
- The recognition of each and every thing is included in this circle (personal world).
- The recognition of one’s own soul is the means to God’s recognition.
- Why can the Qur’an’s spirit not be recognised while it is the light (42:52)? The way of its recognition is the same as that of one’s own soul and God’s recognition. The recognition of the Qur’an is not separate from the recognition of God, the Prophet and the Imam, because it is the speech of God and His hidden light which was revealed to the holy Prophet and the heir to which is the Imam (the speaking Qur’an). Thus, the recognition of the Qur’an cannot be separate from their recognition.
This verse has been referred 26 times.