A004
Surah: 043 - Ayah: 004
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43:4
There is no doubt that exoterically, surah-i Fitihah is the Mother of the Book (umm al-kitab) and esoterically, the Asas, namely, Hazrat Murtada Ali (43:4). For he is the Face of God and the "Pearl-producing Ocean (bahr-i gawhar-zay). Certainly, this hidden pearl itself is the Hidden Book (56:78) and this Sacred ocean is the mother of pearls.
The wise Qur’an is the incomparable wisdom-filled Book of God, the Blessed, the Exalted. This heavenly guide Book, which being based on complete and clear guidance and teachings related to the religious and worldly betterment and success of man, is full of wisdom-filled secrets of every kind of health and soundness. It is not only a belief, but also a fact that the great Qur’an is the eternal speech and eternal treasure of God, the One. That is, where this exalted Book is as the primordial light and secret of secrets in the Word “Be (kun)” and in the Divine Pen and the way it is in the Guarded Tablet with grandeur and luminosity (43:4, 85:22), it is a priceless treasure at every level. Definitely you are aware of the law of treasures (15:21) which, due to its paramount importance, is mentioned time and again, as extremely necessary laws are frequently mentioned. Since everything comes down from the treasures of God, the Exalted, therefore, from the beginning of the history of humanity till today, the way all religious and worldly sciences and arts came into existence initially and the way they expanded and progressed, are all due to the luminous sources of the holy Qur’an.
Q22 Just as exoterically the surah of Fatihah is the ummu’l-kitab (the mother of the Book), esoterically cAli(a.s.) is the ummu’l-kitab. It is mentioned in verse (43:4): “And verily it (the Qur’an) is in the ummu’l-kitab (cAli(a.s.)) with Us, sublime and wise.” Reflecting on this verse, can you say that with God the Qur’an is sublime and wise in the ummu’l-kitab (cAli(a.s.))?
A22 The meaning of the Qur’an being sublime and wise in the ummu’l-kitab with God is that the ummu’l-kitab in reality is the guarded Tablet, which is a living and speaking light in the form of the Perfect Man. The main reason for the wise Qur’an’s being sublime and wise is God’s closeness (cindiyyat) which is granted to the Perfect Man, namely the Prophet and the Imam. When the Qur’an is within (batin) the Perfect Man, it is in the form of light and therefore it is sublime and wise.
The fourth proof is: “verily it (the Quraan) is (in the position of) the mother of the Book with Us, “Ali, the wise.” (43:4). The Holy Prophet has explained this verse by the Hadith: “Ali is with the Quraan and the Quraan is with Ali, and they are inseparable until they come to me at the pond (of Kawthar)”
Thus, it is evident that in reality it is Mawlana Ali who is the Ummul Kitab and in his holy Light are preserved the spiritual forms of all Quraanic realities, because the Guarded Tablet is another name of Ummul Kitab. In Nasikhut Tawarikh (Book 2, V111, pp.644,648) it is mentioned that verse (43:4): “Verily it is in the mother (of the) book with Us,Ali, the wise.”,is among the names of Mawlana Ali. Thus it is evident from the Quraan, Hadith and from the farman of Mawlana Ali himself that it is the light of Imamat which is the Ummul Kitab, the Guarded Tablet and the speaking soul of the Quraan. Had this means not always been there on behalf of God to explain the realities of the Quraan, there would have been a great defect in the religion of Islam, because in the time of Prophethood the questions of the Holy Prophet’s followers were answered either in the form of the evelation of a verse or by the Prophet himself. But the fact is that there is no defect in Islam and every question of the followers of Imamat is answered either in the form of the tawil of the Quraan or in the form of the farmans of the light of Imamat.
The Symbols and Secrets of Ummu’l-Kitab
One of the names of the surah of Fatihah is Ummu’l-Kitab, which means the origin of the Book. This means that all the wisdoms of the wise Qur’an and the book of the universe are condensed in it. Or, in other words, the entire Qur’an is the Divine exegesis of the surah of Fatihah. Both these statements are correct, as God says: “Wa-innahu fi ummi’l-kitabi ladayana la-caliyyun hakim (And it (the holy Qur’an) is in the Ummu’l Kitab (surah of Fatihah) and that the Ummu’l-Kitab (in luminous existence) is with Us, which is the wise cAli” (43:4). Thus it is an accepted fact for the wise people that, if the Qur’an on the one hand is condensed in the surah of Fatihah, on the other it is with the light of Mawlana cAli. For, according to a Prophetic Tradition, the Fatihah is the external Ummu’l-Kitab, whereas the light of Mawlana cAli is the internal Ummu’l-Kitab. For further elaboration of this point, see the last part of discourse 19 of Wajh-i Din.
The Fatihah being the origin of the Book means that it is the gist of the entire Qur’an. That is, what is elaborated in the Qur’an is condensed in it. In other words, the Fatihah is the condensed Book, whereas the Qur’an is the elaborated Book. Thus, the Fatihah is a comprehensive and all-embracing example of Divine guidance and the entire Qur’an is a compendium of the subsidiary examples of this guidance. Further, the Fatihah, in a wisdom-filled way, is a list of necessary realities by carefully looking at which every fortunate wise person can understand what God wants to teach His servants in His cherished Book. This means that one of the beauties of the Fatihah is that it is a complete list of Qur’anic subjects, as shown in the following:
1. Macrifat (Divine recognition)
2. Al-Hamd (Praise and extollation of God)
3. Uluhiyyat (Divinity)
4. Rububiyyat (Divine providence)
5. cAlamin (worlds)
6. Physical mercy
7. Spiritual mercy
8. Kingdom of God
9. Time
10. Religion and Resurrection
11. Ikhlas (sincerity)
12. cIbadat (worship)
13. Isticanat (seeking help)
14. What should we pray for first?
15. Hidayat (guidance)
16. Sirat-i mustaqim (Straight path)
17. Different paths
18. God’s greatest favour
19. The people whom God has favoured
20. What is Divine ghadab (anger)?
21. Deviation.
In addition to these, there are other subjects, which are alluded to in the Fatihah. For instance, why does the dot comes before alif, i.e. why did the Qur’an begin with the dot of Bismi’llah, whereas the al-hamd begins with alif? Why is the first word of the wise Qur’an “bism”? What is the wisdom hidden in the composition of the Qur’anic letters ba’ and sin – making “bis”? What do the nineteen letters of “Bismi’llah” allude to? What do the seven verses of the Fatihah signify? What is the allusion of the quinqueliteral (five lettered) word al-hamd (ARABIC alif, lam, ha’, mim, and dal) in the beginning of Fatihah? However, as these realities are hidden in the depths of wisdom, there is no immediate necessity for ordinary people to search for or enquire about them, nor can this short book contain more elaboration than what has been said. Therefore, God willing, we will confine ourselves to explaining to a certain extent, the above-mentioned subjects only.
This verse has been referred 8 times.