A033
Surah: 055 - Ayah: 033
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55:33
One of the most lovely words, among the wisdom-filled words of the Qur'an, is "sultan" which is mentioned in the Qur'an thirty-seven times and which means argument, proof, authority, overpowering, power and king and its tawil is the Imam of the time, for he is the successor of the Prophet, who was "al-Bayyinah or the Clear Proof" in the time of the prophethood. As God says: "0 group of jinn and mankind, if you have power to penetrate regions of heavens and earth, then penetrate (them)1. You will never penetrate them save with the proof (sultan)" (55:33). That is to say that it is not possible for the jinns and men to get rid of the material world through spirituality and knowledge and penetrate the higher and non-spatial world, except through the Imam of the time, who is the "sultan" with all the meanings mentioned above.
Meanings of Sultan: This blessed word means control, domination, power, evidence, proof, argument and king.
Refer to the booklet "Wisdom of Naming" pp. 36-37 and "Panj Maqalah" V, p. 19. For further details on this subject, see also "The Miracles of Laylatu'l-Qadr" in the "Qur'anic Minarets" and "Qur'an and Flying Saucers" in "Gulha-i Bihishte"(Urdu prose). In short, all those meanings appear from the wisdom-filled way in which the word "sultan" is mentioned in verse (55:33). Thus this wisdom-filled word, in the sense of proof and wisdom alludes to modern science, in the sense of power to atomic energy and in the sense of spirituality, to the hidden sciences and the act of annihilation.
Jinn and Mankind and Science: "O assembly of Jinn and men, if you can penetrate the bounds of the heavens and the earth, do so, but you cannot do so without sultan (domination, power)." (55:33)
God willing, you will discover that in this verse there are extremely great wisdoms in the sense that in the beginning jinns (people of batin) are confined to the earth of the personal world and mankind (people of zahir) to the planet earth. Then God tells both the jinn and men that in order to advance to obtain His infinite bounties, they must use spiritual and material science (sultan = domination, power) and actually subjugate the external and internal universe, for God has potentially subjugated everything to them. Thus first it is the jinns, i.e. the people of batin, who struggle profoundly to follow this command and use the tremendous power of spiritual science (i.e. fast dhikr, revolutionary knowledge and ardent Divine love, etc.) and observe the higher world by freeing themselves and rising above the pull of the earth of animality.
Abwab al-jannah (The eight gates of paradise)
The eight gates of paradise:
O the light of my eyes! Study carefully verse (55:33) in which is mentioned the journey of the spiritual heavens and earth. This journey although it is extremely difficult, is not impossible. You can accomplish this journey through "sultan". "Sultan" means guide, proof, power, overpowering, authority or king, namely the Imam, in whom all useful meanings are encompassed. That is to say that, it is the luminous recognition of the Imam which encompasses everything.
Jinn and Mankind and Science: "O assembly of Jinn and men, if you can penetrate the bounds of the heavens and the earth, do so, but you cannot do so without sultan (domination, power)." (55:33) God willing, you will discover that in this verse there are extremely great wisdoms in the sense that in the beginning jinns (people of batin) are confined to the earth of the personal world and mankind (people of zahir) to the planet earth. Then God tells both the jinn and men that in order to advance to obtain His infinite bounties, they must use spiritual and material science (sultan = domination, power) and actually subjugate the external and internal universe, for God has potentially subjugated everything to them. Thus first it is the jinns, i.e. the people of batin, who struggle profoundly to follow this command and use the tremendous power of spiritual science (i.e. fast dhikr, revolutionary knowledge and ardent Divine love, etc.) and observe the higher world by freeing themselves and rising above the pull of the earth of animality.
[Q]: Would you please explain the wisdom of verse (55:33): "O group of jinn and men, if you can penetrate the boundaries of the heaven and the earth, do so, but you cannot unless you have power"?
[A]: God willing, this great trial is related to the spiritual journey which takes place within man himself. That is, if a salik can ascend the roof of his personal world by the power of knowledge and ibadat, he can definitely obtain the treasures of recognition which are beyond time and space. It is only in the prison of this world that all questions are difficult.
Q260 It is mentioned in verse (55:33): “O company of jinn and men, if you have power to penetrate regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate [them]! You will never penetrate them save with (Our) sanction.” Is this verse related to the external world or to the internal world? Or to both? What does the word “sultan” mentioned in this verse mean? Why is it necessary to go beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth?
A260
- This verse is related to both the external and the internal worlds, because the signs of Allah are in both of them.
- “Sultan” which literally means power, might, rule, dominion, sway, proof, refers to the Imam of the time, whom God has made the treasure of every kind of power, such as ism-i aczam, spiritual resurrection, knowledge, wisdom and proof.
- Spiritual travelling of going beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth takes place within oneself. [In the context of this] The amazing competition among the nations and religions of the world is extremely significant.
- This is the spiritual war and the battle for knowledge in order to subjugate the universe and to see the miracles of God in which the recognition of God is also included. The same is the way of observing the non-spatial world by going beyond space and time. In short, thousands of secrets are hidden in this noble verse.
Q481 The indication of transcending the boundaries of time and space is given in verse (55:33). Would you kindly explain how this is possible?
A481 This procedure is in the word ‘sultan’, which means argument, convincing proof, authority and power. It means to reach the miracles of the forehead, where there are the azali and non-spatial secrets, through tremendous knowledge and the practice of rigorous cibadat in the light of true guidance.
This verse has been referred 5 times.