A006
Surah: 047 - Ayah: 006
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47:6
In the verse (47:6), is mentioned the recognition of Paradise. This means that the Paradise ought to be recognised in this world, so that, on the Day of Resurrection, the mumin may enter this recognised Paradise. But, as mentioned earlier, recognition without observation is not possible; therefore observation of Paradise is necessary. But it should be remembered that Paradise is not separate from the spirituality of the Qur'an, for the spirituality of the Qur'an contains all spiritual favours; and Paradise also has the same favours. Hence the spirituality itself is Paradise.
Recognition of Paradise
Q. 82. You have just mentioned about the recognition (ma'rifat) of paradise. Our heart is yearning to hear more about the recognition of paradise. Would you kindly add to our knowledge?
A. Ma' rifat (recognition, gnosis) is the supreme and extremely comprehensive term in the religion of Islam, therefore, all attributes and realities are gathered in its meaning. The first example of it is that all the exoteric commandments of Islam are within the circle of shariat: with all these beauties of the shariat. tariqat is its kernel ; haqiqat is the core of the tariqat and marifat is the spirit and light of the haqiqat. Thus the entire living spirit of religion is contained in the marifat.
The second example is that macrifat, in reality, means the recognition of God. This recognition is not possible without the didar (vision) of God in the manifestations of His attributes. This supreme felicity and bliss is attained when the mu'min recognises his own soul and the place where the recognition of soul and the Divine vision are attainable, is paradise. The path of paradise is hidden in the excellent example of the Holy Prophet, to which, only the Imam of the time can successfully guide.
May we be sacrificed for the wisdom-filled Qur'anic words! In each wisdom-filled word are gathered numerous wisdoms! Thus all the above mentioned realities and gnoses are gathered in "arrafaha lahum (He made it (paradise) known to them" (47:6). This explanation shows that ma'rifat, which is paradise, is everything. The condition of attaining it is that, for the sake of the protection and progress of religion, mu'mins should carry out such important sacrifices as those of the martyrs of the past, who laid down their lives for religion.
Recognition and Paradise:
As mentioned earlier, where the recognition of God is attained through the light of recognition, nothing is excluded from that recognition, because it comprises and covers everything and so Paradise is also included in this vast domain. This means that in the manifestations of spirit and spirituality which are observed as a result of successful remembrance and luminous ibadat, Paradise is also included, as God says: “And He will admit them into Paradise which He has (already) made recognizable to them” (47:6). This shows that Paradise must be recognized in this very life so that it may remain for ever after death. Otherwise, it is impossible to recognize it in the Hereafter. It is in this sense that God says in verse (17:72): “And whosoever is blind in this (life), he shall (also) be blind in the Hereafter, and far astray from the (straight path)”. This verse clearly shows the importance of the inner eye and the observation of spirituality and therefore, a mumin must attach himself to the farman of the Imam of the time. It is he who is appointed by God and the chosen Prophet for this supreme rank and by obeying him, a mumin can attain the knowledge of certainty and the light of recognition.
A human being is like a three storey building, in which the body is the lowest storey, the soul is the second and the intellect is the third, just as the Ark of Nuh, may peace be upon him, had three levels, the bottom, the middle and the top. It resembles human existence, for the spiritual ark is in the personal world. Thus in the above-mentioned three storey building, physical bounties are available on the ground level, spiritual bounties in the middle and intellectual bounties in the upper, so that those who strive hard (jihad) for God should be enriched not only with the everlasting wealth of the recognition of self, but also with the recognition of Paradise through these lofty spiritual and intellectual bounties (47:6), since in the light of recognition is found the unity of recognitions.
There is a revolutionary decree about the observation and recognition of Paradise in verse (47:6): "And He will admit them into Paradise which He has (already) made recognised to them." This verse is particularly about the spiritual martyrs, who become martyrs in spiritual jihad during their life-time and observe the magnificent examples of Paradise. The relevance of the subject in this verse concerns jihad in the path of Allah and it is about the martyrs. And as it is known martyrs are of two kinds: spiritual and physical. As for the spiritual martyrs, it is their specific characteristic that they not only die before death and see the personal resurrection entirely, but also recognise Paradise in their personal world, when they observe it.
The blessed and sacred friendship of God is the fruit of absolute obedience and the reward of good deeds. God’s friendship is in the form of closeness to Him, in spiritual ranks and in the form of knowledge and wisdom, because it is a reality and not only in name. It is the spiritual observation of the light of attributes, the fountainhead of knowledge and wisdom and the scene of the real paradise, as the Quran says”and he will admit them in to paradise which they were already made to recognize.” (47:6). Here it is clear that true mu’mins should already recognize Paradise in this life and recognition depends on observation. Thus God’s friendship or closeness, is in the form of spiritual ranks which is the partial Paradise in this worldly life. If the true mu’min observes it with his inner eye and recognizes its bounties, only then will he be able to enter the universal Paradise in the Hereafter. Conversely, if someone is not able to do so, he will not be able to recognize Paradise, which is a reality.
Part 100
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
A wisdom-filled farman of hujjat of qa’im, peace be upon them both, is: “If your heart is pure you will be able to see the supreme Throne in this world. It is not very far”.118
“If you become pure, you will attain paradise in this world. There is great benefit in attaining paradise in this world”.119
The supreme Throne and paradise mean the sacred Sanctuary of the personal world. The recognition of the sacred Sanctuary makes it possible to attain [today] the paradise of tomorrow (47:6). The greatest benefit of the paradise of the sacred Sanctuary in this world is that the hell of ignorance ceases to exist entirely.
It is mentioned in verse (21:69): “O fire! Be cool and [means of] safety for Abraham.” It is an extraordinary wisdom of the Omnipotent God that He did not extinguish the fire, but He made it cool. This cool fire is the most unusual and the greatest miracle, which God made [the means of] safety.
In short, our good opinion about God is that He makes the fire of hell cool and [the means of] safety for His household.
Q156 You say that all recognitions are gathered in one place. If that is so, then certainly they are also gathered in the recognition of paradise mentioned in verse (47:6). Could you provide some examples of this?
A156 Verse (47:6) in which the recognition of paradise is mentioned reads as follows: “And He will admit them into paradise, which He has made recognised to them.” The embodied paradise is the Imam of the time, whose recognition is both apparent and hidden. Apparent recognition is cilmu’l-yaqin (the knowledge of certainty) and hidden recognition is caynu’l-yaqin (the eye of certainty) and haqqu’l-yaqin (the truth of certainty). It is known that the treasure of recognition is found in a hidden way, and that it encompasses the recognition of everything. Thus, the living martyrs whom Allah has enriched with the treasure of recognition are praised in the above-mentioned verse (47:6). Reflect on whether there is anything whose recognition is not included in the treasure of recognition. Can paradise be devoid of the supreme bounty of Allah’s holy didar (vision) and recognition? Is there not the companionship of the natiqs, asases, Imams and hujjats (4:69)? Is the recognition of self not the recognition of everything? Finally, it is my sincere suggestion that when someone reflects on the possibility of the recognition of anything, he or she should do so in the light of the reflection of the above-mentioned verse.
This verse has been referred 21 times.