A012
Surah: 057 - Ayah: 012
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57:12
In the verses (57: 9,12,13,19,28) the way God, with His glory of mercy has described the light, every mumin is fully sure that this holy light is the Imam of the time, who is the higher I or the higher soul of the mumin men and mumin women. This pre-eternal and post-eternal link of the light and the mu'mlns is also clearly mentioned in the verse (66:8) in the way of wisdom, as God says: "On the day when God will not abase the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands: they will say: Our Nourisher'. Perfect our light for us, and forgive us'. Lo'. Thou art Able to do all things" (66:8).
In this luminous verse the Holy Prophet, the pure Imams and the mumins are mentioned together, with certainty. Thus from the time of prophet-hood onwards, this event has continued to take place in every individual Resurrection of the personal world. For, with respect to both Individual and collective points of view, God perfects His light in this world (9: 32; 61:8). And the light becomes perfect by the external and internal meritorious deeds. Is it possible to say that God's light is different and that of the Prophet different? This is utterly impossible. Rather, the fact is that, the tawil of the light of God, is the light of the Prophet and that of the true Imam; the same is the light of the mumins. If we go still farther, then we will see, that for the entire humanity there is room in the mercy of God, as in the chapter Rahman, is mentioned this law of annihilation and the mercy. All of them have to be annihilated in God's Face. But it should be remembered that this annihilation is of two kinds: one is consciously in the light of marifat, and the other is unconsciously.
One special, main similitude of light Is fire. The things which the fire annihilates are of two kinds. From burning of one kind of things are created light, heat, power, fragrance etc. and from the burning of the other kind, nothing useful comes into existence. In this example (of the fire), a great shortcoming is that the fire and the things which burn in it are consumed in a limited time, whereas, the light and those who burn in it last forever, consciously or unconsciously.
In Individual Resurrection (place of spirituality) the light of mumins, men, and women, runs in front of them and on their right side. (57:12). Why should the light run? For it Is a practical example in which the light covers many cycles. This is a journey of the intellect, knowledge and soul. Seeing them, tl ypocrites, men and women, will say: "Wait for us'. Let us borrow a spark from your light (and make it a complete light in us). It will be said: Turn you back (in the chain of the past) and seek for light (there)" (57:13). If this event would have happened, physically, after the dying of all, then in the language of the Qur'an, it would not have said: Turn back to the world. For, turning back to the world, is denied in the exoteric language of the Qur'an. Rather, this is the individual or personal Resurrection, in which the collective Resurrection is represented. That is to say, that all this happens in the world of similitude. There, it is true to say that whoever receives light, receives it from the time of Adam and from the time of the Seal of the prophets. Thus it should be known, that each of the verses related to the light, is a subject of special meaning and the rest of the verses of this nature are included in it. For instance, if we take the subject of the "light of the mumin men and mumin women", which is the subject of the above-mentioned verse, then the rest of the verses of light clarify this subject according to their respective wisdoms. Thus in this way, everything is mentioned in the Qur'an.
With respect to giving the Book or the Record of deeds, there will be three kinds of people: ashab-i yamin (those on the right hand) who will hold the record of deeds in their right hand; ashab-i shimal (those on the left hand), who will hold the record of deeds in their left hand, and sabiqun (the foremost ones), who will receive the record of deeds from in front and they will be raised to the first and highest rank. The main relation of their record will be with the light of intellect, therefore, they will be called muqarrabin (the closest ones). After them is the rank of ashab-i yamin, who are the people of salvation (ahl-i najat) and whose record of deeds will reach the soul, but they will gradually advance, passing through the stages of soul. The last will be ashab-i shimal, whose record of deeds will be confined only to the body and the external world, while the record of the ashab-i yamin and that of sabiqun will have access to the interior (batin) and the soul and to the interior of the interior and the light of intellect respectively. Thus the ta'wil of the left hand is zahir (external) where the body is; that of the right hand the bat in where the soul dwells; and that of 'in front' is the batin of the batin, where the light of intellect manifests, as God says: "On the day when thou wilt see the believers, men and women, their light running in front of them and on their right hand" (57:12). This light is the real light and also the record of deeds of the sabiqin and muqarrabin. The intellectual journey of this light is circular, and the ta'wil of its running is that, one luminous day of this place which consists of just a few seconds, contains the events of a thousand years of this world.
First wisdom: The purpose of this blessed heavenly durud is to bring forth mu'mins (male and female) from the darkness(es) of the remaining negligence and ignorance, to the practical and real light of dhikr-u ibadat, knowledge and recognition and this purpose can be fulfilled when the mumins are actually in the illumination of light. (57:12, 19; 66:8).
To die the death of living martyrs before the physical death and to merge with the light is the return (57:12-19; 66:8). It is that supreme bliss which is mentioned in the in the Quraan in different examples, as in verse (9:111) it is said that Allah purchases from mumin’s their souls and their properties in return for which they will be given Paradise. Now, according to this decree, just as the physical jihad is obligatory and martyrdom possible, so also is the spiritual jihad obligatory and spiritual martyrdom possible.
“O Allah! make for me a light in my heart, and a light in my ear, and a light in my eye, and a light in my tongue, and a light in my hair, and a light in my skin, and a light in my flesh, and a light in my blood, and a light in my bones, and a light in my nerve, and a light in front of me, and a light behind me, and a light on my right side, and a light on my left side, and a light above me and a light below me”. (Da`a'im, I, 167).
The above-mentioned blessed prayer, on the one hand, reveals how great the need of the waves of light is for the health and soundness of the human intellect, soul and body; and on the other hand it can be estimated that this wisdom-filled prayer, although initially it is like a belief, hope and concept, gradually becomes a practical reality for a mu'min. As it reveals from verse (57:12), when the light of faith becomes perfect, it runs in front and on the right side of the mu'min men and mu'min women. In that state, every such mu'min becomes a proof of the above prayer. That is to say, he becomes surrounded from six sides by the circle of the waves of light. For, the appearance of light from the front is the sign of perfection. It is the wisdom-filled principle of the wise Qur’an that it mostly covers lower and subsidiary teachings by speaking about the highest teaching.
Nur as-samawat (The light of the personal world, in which there are the Throne, the Dais, the seven heavens and the seven earths)
It is a miracle of spiritual science that every difficult problem can be solved easily in the perspective of the personal world. Thus, the absolute light definitely belongs to God, because it is He Who is its creator and possessor, and it also belongs to the holy Prophet, as mentioned above. According to "light upon light", it also belongs to the Imam and as a result of obedience and annihilation it also belongs to the people of faith. These four relations of the light are established according to Qur'anic proofs. This means that this pure light of God, the Prophet, the true Imam and the people of faith (57:12; 66:8) shines in the sacred Sanctuary of the personal world as mentioned in the verse of misbah (24:35).
Nuruhum (Their light
It is mentioned in verse (57:12): "The day you will see the mu'mins, male and female, their light running before them and on their right hands." This extremely great miracle is related to the personal world, where all individuals are encompassed in a single person, because their representative resurrection takes place in him as the Single Soul (31:28).
The most decisive Quraanic verse are those in which light is prominently mentioned. Thus in reality light belongs to God, the Prophet and the Imam, but by the fulfillment of the condition of obedience, it also belongs to the mumins (see verses 57:12; 66:8). Now, in order to draw your full attention, a question is posed: What are the acts included in the domain of light and what are not? You cannot say that light cannot be shed on the secrets of azal and abad, nor can you say that its domain is limited, while the illumination of light is all-reaching and all-embracing. This shows that light is designed for the observations of every level and for perfect marifat.
Q325 Verses (57:12; 66:8) mention the light of the people of faith, [indicating] that the inner and spiritual resurrection takes place in this very life, in which their light runs in the sacred Sanctuary. Whose light, in reality, is this?
A325
- This sacred light in which the people of faith have merged through obedience, love and affection belongs to God, the Prophet and the Imam. Through being merged, the light now also belongs to them.
- This is such a spiritual reality that it is renewed in every resurrection.
- It is such a great secret that God has kept it in a veil, as mentioned in verse (32:17): “No soul knows what delight of the eyes are kept hidden for them, as a recompense for what (good) they had been doing.”
This verse has been referred 37 times.