URL : God is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs. * To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. * So glory to Him in Whose hands is the sovereignty of all things, and to Him will you all be brought back. * And there is not a thing but its [sources and] treasures [inexhaustible] are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures. * There is not a moving creature, but He has grasp of its forelock. Verily it is my Sustainer that is on a Straight Path.
In my treatise entitled Katre, which is about belief in God, the principal pole of the pillars of belief, I explained in brief the evidence and testimony to Almighty God's existence and Unity made by all beings through fifty-five tongues. Also, in the treatise Nokta, I mentioned four universal proofs out of the evidences of Almighty God's existence and Unity each of which is of the strength of a thousand proofs. Moreover, since I have discussed in around twelve of my Arabic treatises hundreds of decisive proofs showing Almighty God's necessary existence and Unity, I shall be content with those and not now undertake any profound investigations. Only, we shall try to show in this Twenty-Second Word, Twelve Flashes from the sun of belief in God which I have written briefly in other places in the Risale-i Nur.
· FIRST FLASH
The affirmation of Divine Unity is of two sorts. For example, if the goods of a rich man arrive in a market or a town, there are two ways in which it is known they are his. One is briefly and simply, as with ordinary people, which is: "No one apart from him is capable of owning this vast amount of goods." But when under the supervision of a common man such as that much of it may be stolen. Many others may claim ownership of parts of it. The second sort is this: through reading his writing on every packet, recognizing his signature on every roll, and seeing his seal on every bill, the man declares: "Everything belongs to that person." In this way, in meaning, everything shows the important man. In exactly the same way, the affirmation of Divine Unity is of two sorts:
One is the superficial and common affirmation of Divine Unity which says: "Almighty God is One, He has no partner or like. This universe is His."
The Second is the true affirmation of Divine Unity which, through seeing the stamp of His power, the seal of His Dominicality, and the inscriptions of His pen on everything, is to open a window directly onto His light from everything and to confirm and believe with almost the certainty of seeing it that everything emerges from the hand of His power and that in no way has He any partner or assistant in His Godhead or in His Dominicality or in His sovereignty, and thus to attain to a sort of perpetual awareness of the Divine presence. We too in this Word shall mention rays showing this pure and elevated true affirmation of Divine Unity.
A Reminder within the First Point: O heedless worshipper of causes! Causes are a veil; for Divine dignity and grandeur require them to be thus. But that which acts and performs matters is the power of the Eternally Besought One; for Divine Unity and Glory require it to be thus, and necessitate their independence. The officials of the Pre-Eternal Monarch are not executives of the sovereignty of Dominicality, they are rather the heralds of His sovereignty and the observers and superintendents of His Dominicality. And those officials and means are to make known the dignity of power and majesty of Dominicality, so that power should not be seen to be associating in base and lowly matters. Not like a human king, tainted by impotence and want, who therefore takes officials as partners. That is to say, causes have been placed so that the dignity of power may be preserved in the superficial view of the mind. For like the two faces of a mirror, everything has a face that looks to this manifest world, which resembles the mirror's coloured face, and may be the means to various colours and states. And everything also has a face that looks to its Maker, which resembles the mirror's shining face. In the apparent face that looks to the manifest world, there may be states incompatible with the dignity and perfection of the Eternally Besought One's power, and causes have been put to be both the source and the means of those states. But in respect of reality and the face that looks to their Creator, everything is transparent and beautiful. It is fitting that power should itself be associated with it. It is not incompatible with its dignity; therefore, causes are purely apparent and in reality have no true effect.
A further wisdom in apparent causes is this: causes have been put as the aim so that unjust complaints and baseless objections should not be directed at the Absolutely Just One. For the faults arise from them, from their incapacity and lack of ability. A comparison is narrated which is in the form of a subtle example illustrating this mystery:
The Angel Azrail (Peace be upon him) said to Almighty God: "Your servants will complain about me while 1 am carrying out my duty of taking possession of the spirits of the dying; they will be resentful towards me." So Almighty God said to him with the tongue of wisdom: "I shall leave the veil of disasters and illnesses between you and my servants, so that the complaints will be directed at them and they will not be indignant at you." So see, illnesses are a veil; what are imagined to be the bad things at the appointed hour are attributed to them, and what is in reality the good things in the spirits of the dying being seized are attributed to the duty of Azrail (Upon whom be peace}. And so too Azrail is a veil; he is an observer of that duty and veil to Divine power, so that certain states in the taking of spirits which are apparently unkind and which are inappropriate to the perfection of mercy be attributed to him.
Yes, dignity and grandeur demand that causes are a veil to the hand of power in the view of the mind, while Divine Unity and Glory demand that causes withdraw their hands from the true effect.
SECOND FLASH
Look at this garden of the universe, this orchard of the earth; look carefully at the beautiful face of the heavens gilded with stars! You will see that on each of the artifacts spread out and scattered over them is a stamp particular to the Creator of All Things, and on each creature a seal special to the Maker of All Things, and on the levels of being written on the pages of night and day, summer and winter, each published by the pen of power, are inimitable, illustrious signatures of an All-Glorious Maker, an All-Beauteous Creator. We shall now mention a few of those stamps, seals, and signatures by way of example:
For example, of the innumerable stamps, consider this stamp out of many placed on life: "He makes everything out of one thing and makes one thing out of everything." For He makes the innumerable members and systems of animals out of a fluid and also out of simple water which is drunk. Thus, to make one thing everything is surely the work of One possessing Absolute Power. And One Who transforms with perfect order numerous substances from the uncountable foods that are eaten, whether plant or animal, into a particular body, and weaves from them a particular skin, and makes from them simple members, is surely One Powerful over All Things, and One Knowing of All Things. Indeed, the Creator of Life and Death administers life through His wisdom in this workshop of the world through such a miraculous commanding law that to carry out that law and enforce it is particular to One Who holds in the grasp of His power the whole universe.
Thus, if your mind is not extinguished and your heart not blind, you will understand that what makes one thing with perfect ease and order, and makes everything, one thing in skillful fashion with perfect balance and order, is a stamp particular to the Maker of everything and a seal special to the Creator of All Things. For example, if you see that together with weaving a hundred rolls of broadcloth and various other cloths like silk or cambric from one ounce of cotton, a wonder-worker also makes many foods from it like helva and pastries, then you see that he takes a handful of iron and stone, honey and butter, water and earth, and makes some fine gold, of course, you would certainly pronounce him to possess such art that all the elements of the earth are subjugated to his command and all the substances of the earth look to his word. Indeed, the manifestatlon of power and wisdom in life is a thousand times more wondrous than this example.
Thus, one stamp on life out of many.
THIRD FLASH
Look at the living creatures revolving in this flowing universe, in these flowing beings! You will see that on each are many seals placed by the Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One. One of them is this: a living creature, for example, a human being, is simply a miniature sample of the universe, and a fruit of the tree of creation, and a seed of the world, for he comprises samples of most of the realms of beings in the world. It is as if such an animate being is a drop filtered from the whole universe with an extremely fine balance. That means, to create it and be its Sustainer, it is necessary to hold in the grasp of one’s power the whole universe.
Thus, if your mind is not submerged in delusions you will understand that to make a word of power, for example, a honey bee, a sort of minute index to most things, and to write in one page, for example in man, most of the matters in this book of the universe, and to include in one point, for example in a tiny fig seed, the programme of the mighty fig-tree, and to display in a single letter, for example in the human heart, the works of all the Divine Names which are manifest in the pages of the macrocosm and encompass it, and to make written in the human faculty of memory, which is situated in a place the size of a lentil, writings enough to fill a library, and to include in that tiny faculty a detailed index of all events in the cosmos, is most certainly a stamp particular to the Creator of All Things and peculiar to the Glorious Sustainer of the universe.
Thus, if one seal out of many Dominical seals on living beings displays its light and makes read its signs thus, if you were able to consider all those seals at once, and see them, would you not declare: “Glory be to Him Who is concealed in the intensity of His manifestation!”
FOURTH FLASH
Look carefully at the multicoloured, multifarious beings swimming in the seas of the heavens and scattered over the face of the earth! You will see that on each are inimitable signatures of the Pre-Eternal Sun. Just as the stamps on life and seals on living beings are apparent, and we saw one or two of them, so also are there such signatures on the giving of life. Since comparisons bring profound meanings closer to the understanding, we shall demonstrate this truth with a comparison.
For example, from the planets to droplets of water, to fragments of glass and sparkling snow-flakes, a signature from the sun’s image and reflection, a luminous work particular to the sun, is apparent. If you do not accept the tiny suns apparent in those innumerable things to be the manifestation of the sun’s reflection, then it becomes necessary to descend to an infinite foolishness like accepting the actual existence of a true, natural sun in every droplet and fragment of glass facing the light, and in every transparent speck before it.
In just the same way, in regard to the giving of life from among the luminous manifestations of the Pre-Eternal Sun, there is such a signature on each living being that supposing all causes were gathered together and each had the power to act and possessed will, they still could not imitate that signature. For living beings, which are miracles of Divine power, are each in the form of a point of focus of the Divine Names, which are like the rays of the Pre-Eternal Sun. If that strange inscription of art, that wondrous ordering of wisdom, that manifestation of the mystery of Oneness on living beings is not ascribed to the Single and Eternally Besought One, it necessitates falling to the most ludicrous degree of misguidance and foolish sort of superstition like accepting that concealed within each living creature, and even in a fly or a flower, is an infinite creative power, and a knowledge encompassing all things, and even an Absolute Will with which to govern the universe, indeed, the eternal attributes particular to the Necessarily Existent One. Quite simply, it necessitates attributing Divinity to each particle of the flower or fly. For such a state has been given to those particles, and especially if they are seeds, that they look to the living being of which they are a part, and take up a position in accordance with its system and ordering. Indeed, such a particle assumes qualities like looking to all the species to which its living being belongs, and flying with wings in order to be planted in a place suitable to the continuation of its species and planting the species’ flag. Indeed, it holds a position that will continue the transactions and relations connected with sustenance with all the other beings with which that living being is connected and of which it is in need.
Thus, if such a particle is not an official of a Possessor of Absolute Power, and if its relation with Him is severed, then it is necessary to ascribe to it an eye which sees all things and a consciousness which encompasses all things.
In Short: If the miniature suns and various colours in droplets of water and fragments of glass are not attributed to the sun’s reflection and the manifestation of its reflection, it is necessary to accept the existence of innumerable suns in place of the one sun; it necessitates accepting an utterly impossible superstition. In exactly the same way, if everything is not attributed to the Absolutely Powerful One, it necessitates falling to the degree of accepting a hundredfold impossibility like accepting infinite gods instead of the Single God; indeed, gods to the number of particles in existence.
To Sum Up: From each particle three windows open up onto the Light of Unity and Necessary Existence of the Pre-Eternal Sun:
• First Window: Like a soldier has a relation with each of the spheres of the military, that is, with his squad, his company, his battalion, his regiment, his division, and the army, and duties in accordance with those relations, and actions in accordance with the duties and army regulations, particles too have similar relations.
For example, such a lifeless particle in the pupil of your eye has relations with your eye, your head, your body, your powers of reproduction, attraction and repulsion, with your veins and arteries, and motor and sensory nerves, and with the rest of the human race, and duties in relation to each, which shows self-evidently to eyes that are not blind that it is the work of art and charged official of the Pre-Eternal All-Powerful One, and is under his regulation.
• Second Window: All molecules of air may visit all flowers and fruits. They may also enter them and work within them. If they are not the subject officials of an Absolutely Powerful One Who sees and knows all things, those wandering molecules would have to know all the systems and structures of all the fruits and flowers, and their art, the tailoring of the forms which clothe them, and its perfect and all-embracing art, which are all different. And so each of those particles displays the rays of a light of Divine Unity like a sun. You may compare light with air, and earth with water.
In any event, the original sources of things are these four substances. According to modern science they are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, the components of the former elements.
• Third Window: If you fill a flower-pot with some earth, which is composed of particles and may the means of growth of any flowering or fruit-bearing plant, then put some seeds in it – like the seed of animals does not differ, but is a fluid, the seeds of all the flowering and fruit-bearing plants in the world do not differ from one another either, being composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen; they only differ in regard to the programme of their progenitors deposited in them through the immaterial writing of the pen of Divine Determining.
Thus, if we put these seeds in turn in the flower-pot, you believe as though it has occurred that each plant will appear together with its wonderful forms and shapes and members. If those particles are not charged officials under the orders of One Who knows all the states and conditions of everything, is capable of giving everything a being suitable to it and everything necessary for it, and to Whose power everything is subjugated with perfect ease, then in each particle of the earth would have to be immaterial factories and printing-presses to the number of all the flowering and fruit-bearing plants, so that each could be the source of all those various and different beings whose parts, members, and forms are all distant and different from one another; or else it is necessary to attribute to those beings comprehensive knowledge and a power capable of forming them, so that they could be the means of this.
That is to say, if the connection with Almighty God is severed, it becomes necessary to accept gods to the number of particles of earth, and this is a thousandfold impossible superstition. However, when they are officials, it becomes extremely easy. Just as, in the king’s name and through his power, a common soldier of a mighty king can make a whole country migrate, or join two seas, or take another king prisoner, so too, at the command of the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, a fly did away with Nimrod, and an ant destroyed Pharaoh’s palace, and razed it to the ground, and a fig seed bears the load of a fig-tree.
Moreover, in each particle are two further true witnesses to the Maker’s Necessary Existence and Unity. One is that together with its absolute impotence, each particle performs most important and most various duties. And the other is that together with its lifelessness, each conforms to the universal order and systems, which displays a universal consciousness. That is to say, through the tongue of its impotence each particle testifies to the Necessary Existence of the Absolutely Powerful One, and through its conforming to the order in the world, each testifies to His Unity.
Like in every particle there are two witnesses that He is the Necessarily Existent One of Unity, so too in every living being there are two signs that He is the Single and Eternally Besought One.
Yes, in every living being there are a seal of Divine Oneness and a stamp of Eternally Besoughtedness. For a living being displays together in its mirror most of the Divine Names the manifestations of which are apparent in the universe. Quite simply, like a point of focus, each displays the manifestation of the Greatest Name of Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One. Thus, since it shows a sort of shadow of the Oneness of the Divine Essence under the veil of the Name of Giver of Life, it bears a stamp of Divine Oneness. And since the living being is like a miniature sample of the universe and a fruit of the tree of creation, it shows a seal of Divine Eternally Besoughtedness, which conveys altogether with ease to the tiny sphere of its life its needs which are as many as the universe. That is to say, this situation shows it has a Sustainer Who is such that His looking to it and regarding it takes the place of all things. All things cannot take the place of this regard.
Furthermore, this situation shows that like its Sustainer is in need of nothing, so too nothing diminishes His treasury and nothing at all is difficult for His power. This, then, is a sort of seal of Eternally Besoughtedness.
Thus, in every living being is a seal of Divine Oneness and stamp of Eternally Besoughtedness. Yes, through the tongue of its life, every living being recites:
Say, He is God, the One, * The Eternally Besoughted.30
In addition to these two seals are several more important ‘windows’, but since they have been explained in detail in other places, here the discussion has been brief.
Seeing that each particle in existence at once opens up three windows and two openings onto the Unity of the Necessarily Existent, and life too opens two doors, you can compare how the levels of beings from particles to the sun spread the light of knowledge of the All-Glorious One.
Thus, you can understand from this the degrees of progress in knowledge of God, and the levels of awareness of His presence.
FIFTH FLASH
If a book is hand-written and in the form of a letter, a single pen is sufficient to write it, while if it is printed, pens, that is, pieces of print, are necessary to the number of the book’s letters, so that it can be printed and come into existence. And if most of the book is written in an extremely fine script within certain of its letters, like the Sura Ya Sin being written within the letters, Ya Sin, then all the small pieces of print are necessary for those single letters, so that it can be printed.
In just the same way, if you say the Book of the Universe is the writing of the pen of power of the Eternally Besoughted One and the letter of the Single and Unique One, you travel a reasonable road so easy to be necessary. But if you attribute it to Nature and causes, you travel a road so difficult as to be impossible, and so full of superstition that no delusion can accept it. Because, for Nature, there would have to be present in every bit of earth and every drop of water and every piece of air millions of metal printing-presses and innumerable immaterial factories, so that they could be the means of the formation of the countless numbers of flowering and fruit-bearing plants. Or else it is necessary to accept that there is in them knowledge encompassing all things and power sufficient for all things, so that they could be the true source of those creatures. For every piece of earth, water, and air may be the source of most plants. Whereas the formation of all plants, whether flowering or fruit-bearing, is so well-ordered, so balanced, and they are so distinctive and different from one another, that a different immaterial factory or different printing-press would be necessary for each and particular to each. That means, if Nature ceases being a pattern and becomes the source, it necessitates there being present in everything the machines for everything else. Thus, the basis of the idea of Nature-worship is such a superstition that it shames even the superstitious. See what an infinitely delirious unreasonableness the misguided favour, and take a lesson!
In Short: Just as every letter of a book shows itself to the extent of a letter and points to its own existence in one way, and it describes its writer with ten words and shows him in many ways - for example: “The one who wrote me has fine hand-writing. His pen is red, and so on” - in just the same way, each letter of the mighty Book of the Universe points to itself to the extent of its own size and shows itself as far as it own form, but it describes the Names of the Pre-Eternal Inscriber as much as an ode and testifies to the One is signifies and points to His Names with fingers to the number of its qualities. That means, like the foolish Sophists who deny both themselves and the universe, it still means not denying the All-Glorious Maker.
SIXTH FLASH
Just as the All-Glorious Creator has placed on the heads of all His beings and on the foreheads of all His creatures the seals of His Oneness, some of which you have seen in the previous Flashes, so too has He placed in most brilliant fashion many stamps of Oneness on all species and numerous seals of Unity on all universals, as far as the various stamps of Unity on the world as a whole. Thus, of those many seals and stamps, we shall show one placed on the page of the face of the earth in the springtime. It is like this:
The Pre-Eternal Inscriber’s raising to life in the spring and summer at least three hundred thousand species of plants and animals with complete differentiation and specification and total order and separation amid infinite intermingling and confusion, is a stamp of Divine Unity as clear and brilliant as the spring itself. Yes, anyone with an iota of consciousness will perceive that to create with perfect order within the raising to life of the dead earth in the spring, three hundred thousand samples of the Resurrection of the Dead, and to write without fault, error, mistake or deficiency, in most well-balanced, well-proportioned, well-ordered, and perfect fashion the individual members of three hundred thousand different species one within the other on the face of the earth, is a seal particular to One of Glory, An All-Powerful One of Perfection, an All-Wise One of Beauty, possessing infinite power, all-encompassing knowledge, and a will capable of governing the whole universe. The All-Wise Qur’an decrees:
So look to the signs of God’s Mercy, how He raises to life the earth after its death; He it is Who will raise the dead to life, for He is Powerful over All Things.31
Yes, surely it is easy to raise men to life for the Creative Power which, within a few days, demonstrates examples of three hundred thousand resurrections in the raising to life of the earth. For example, may it be said to a Displayer of Miracles Who at a sign raised up Gelincik Mountain and Sübhan Mountain: “Are you able to remove from this valley this huge rock which is blocking our path?” In the same way, can it be said in a way that infers doubt to an All-Wise and Powerful One, an All-Generous and Compassionate One, Who created the sky and the mountains and the earth in six days and continuously fills and empties them: “Can you remove from on top of us this layer of earth which was prepared and laid out in eternity and is blocking our way to your banquet? Can you level the earth and let us pass on?”
You saw a seal of Divine Unity on the face of the earth in the summertime. Now look! A stamp of Unity is most clearly obvious on the most wise and perspicacious mighty dispositions of the spring on the face of the earth. For that activity is within an absolute extensiveness, and the extensiveness is together with an absolute speed, and that speed is together with an absolute munificence, and together with these an absolute order and perfect beauty of art and exquisiteness of creation are apparent. These form a seal which could belong only to one possessing infinite knowledge and boundless power. Yes, we see that on the earth within an absolute extensiveness is a creation, disposal, and activity. And within that extensiveness these are occurring with absolute speed. And together with that speed and extensiveness an absolute munificence is apparent in the multiplication of individual beings. And together with that munificence and extensiveness and speed, an absolute ease is apparent. And together with that munificence, ease, speed, and extensiveness, to create the absolute order and exceptional beauty of art to be seen in all species and individuals, and the perfect differentiation within infinite intermingling, and the most valuable works within extreme abundance, and the complete correspondence within a most broad sphere, and the most artistic marvels with the greatest ease, and to demonstrate a wondrous art and miraculous activity at one moment, everywhere, in the same fashion, in every individual, is certainly and without doubt the stamp of One Who although He is nowhere is all-present and all-seeing everywhere. Just as nothing is hidden from Him, neither is anything difficult for him. Particles and stars are equal in relation to His power.
For example, in a the garden of munificence of that All-Glorious and Compassionate One, I counted the bunches hanging from a grape-vine of the thickness of two fingers, which I saw to be like one little pip among the bunches of His miracles: there were one hundred and fifty-five. I counted the grapes in one bunch: there were around one hundred and twenty. I thought: if this vine was a tap from which flowed honeyed water and it gave water constantly, it would only just be enough for the bunches which, in the face of this heat, suckle those hundreds of little pumps of the sherbet of Mercy. And it only occasionally obtains a little moisture. And so, the One Who does this must surely be powerful over all things. Glory be to Him at Whose art minds are bewildered.
SEVENTH FLASH
Look! Just as with little difficulty you can see the seals of the Single, Eternally Besoughted One on the page of the earth, raise your head, open your eyes, and look at the great Book of the Universe. You will see that on it as a whole a stamp of Unity is read out which is as clear as it is big. For, like the components of a factory or members of a palace or town, these beings support one another, stretch out their hands to assist one another, and say: “Here I am, at your service!” to the needs and requests of one another. Assisting one another, they work together in order. Joining efforts, they serve animate beings. Co-operating and facing one goal, they obey an All-Wise Disposer. Acting in accordance with a rule of mutual assistance which is in force from the sun and moon, night and day, and winter and summer, to plants coming to the assistance of hungry and needy animals, and animals hastening to the assistance of weak, noble men, and even nutritious substances flying to the assistance of delicate, weak infants and fruits, and particles of food passing to the assistance of the cells of the body, they show to anyone who is not altogether blind that they are acting through the strength of a single, most generous Nurturer, and at the command of a single most wise Disposer.
Thus, together with testifying decisively that this mutual support and assistance, this answering one another’s needs, this embracing one another, this subjugation, this order, is administered through the organization of a single Disposer and that they are being impelled through the direction of a single Nurturer, this universal providence and favour within universal wisdom which is to be seen plainly in the art of things, and the all-embracing mercy which shines within the providence, and the sustenance spread over that mercy and scattered so as to answer the needs of all living beings needy for sustenance, form a stamp of Divine Unity so brilliant that anyone whose mind is not altogether extinguished will understand it and anyone who is not altogether blind will see it.
Yes, a veil of wisdom demonstrating intention, consciousness, and will, has covered the whole universe, and upon that veil of wisdom has been spread a veil of favour and providence displaying beneficence, adornment, embellishment, and benevolence, and over that adorned veil of favour a garment of mercy showing flashes of making known and loved, of bestowal and the granting of gifts has enveloped the universe, and spread over that illuminated veil of universal mercy is a table of general provisions showing kindness and bestowal and benevolence and perfect compassion and fine nurturing and Dominical favour.
Indeed, these beings from particles to suns, whether individuals or species, or large or small, have been clothed in a magnificent shirt of wisdom embroidered with fruits and aims, benefits and purposes. And over that shirt displaying wisdom, a garment of favour adorned with flowers of grace and beneficence has been cut out in accordance with the stature of everything; and over that decorated garment of favour, a table of general sustenance has been set up, lit up with flashes of love, bestowal, affection, and the granting of gifts, to which the decorations of mercy have been attached, and which, together with bestowing those illuminated and jewel-encrusted decorations, is sufficient for all the groups of living beings on the face of the earth, and meets all their needs. And so, this matter points to and shows as clearly as the sun, an All-Glorious Provider Who is All-Wise, All-Generous, and All-Compassionate.
Is that so? Is everything in need of sustenance?
Yes, like individual beings are in need of sustenance and the necessities for the continuance of life, we see that all the beings in the world, and especially living beings, whether universal or particular, wholes or parts, have many desires and needs, material and otherwise, for their existence, their lives, and the continuation of their lives. But their wants and needs are for such things that their hands cannot reach the least of them and their power is insufficient for the smallest of them. However, we see that all their wishes and material and immaterial sustenance is given to their hands From where he could not imagine,32 from unhoped for places, with perfect order, at the appropriate time, in a suitable fashion, with perfect wisdom. And so, does this want and need of creatures and this unseen help and assistance in this way not show an All-Wise and Glorious Nurturer, an All-Compassionate Beauteous Disposer?
EIGHTH FLASH
Any sort of seed sown in a field shows that the field must be at the disposal of the seed’s owner, and that the seed too is under the disposal of the one who has control of the field. In just the same way, the arable field of beings known as the elements and their universality and comprehensiveness despite their sameness and uncomplex nature, and the plants and animals – these fruits of mercy, miracles of power, and words of wisdom known as creatures – and their spreading to most places and settling everywhere despite their similarity and resembling one another, show that they are under the disposal of a single Miracle-Displaying Maker in such a fashion that it is as if every flower, fruit, and animal is a seal, stamp, and signature of the Maker. Wherever they are found, each says through the tongue of disposition: “Whose-ever seal I am, the place I am found is also of his making. Whose-ever stamp I am, this place is a missive of His also. Whose-ever signature I am, this land is also of his weaving.” That means, to be Sustainer of the least creature is particular to the One Who holds all the elements in the grasp of His power. And anyone who is not blind can see that to regulate and govern the simplest animal is particular to the One Who has all beings in the grasp of His Dominicality.
Indeed, through the tongue of similarity to other individuals, each individual being says: “Only one who owns my species can be my owner. It cannot be otherwise.” And through the tongue of spreading over the face of the earth together with other species, each species says: “Only one who owns the whole face of the earth can be our owner. It cannot be otherwise.” And through the tongue of being bound to the sun and other planets and mutually supportive with the skies, the earth says: “Only one who is owner of the whole universe can be my owner. It cannot be otherwise.” Yes, supposing someone was to say to a conscious apple: “You are my work of art.” Through the tongue of disposition, the apple would reply: “Be silent! If you are capable of forming all the other apples on the earth; indeed, if you can have disposal over all my fellows, the other fruit-bearing trees, spread over the earth, and all the gifts of the Most Merciful proceeding from the treasury of Mercy in boatloads, then you can claim to be my Sustainer.” The apple would say that and aim a slap at that foolish person.
NINTH FLASH
We have pointed out some of the seals, stamps, and signatures which are on particulars and parts, universals and wholes, on the world as a whole, and on life, living beings, and raising to life. Now, we shall indicate one of the countless stamps on species.
Indeed, since the countless fruits of a fruit-bearing tree are administered from one centre, in accordance with one law and a single way of raising, the difficulty, hardship, and expense are transformed into ease. And it is so easy that the numerous fruits that are raised become equal to a single fruit. That means multiplicity and numerous centres require the equivalent, in regard to quantity, of the whole tree’s difficulty, expense, and equipment for a single fruit. The difference is only in regard to quality. Like to manufacture all the military equipment necessary for a single soldier all the factories required for the whole army are necessary. That is to say, if the matter passes from unity to multiplicity, the difficulties increase, with regard to quantity, to the number of individuals. Thus, the extraordinary ease clearly to be seen in all species is the result of an ease and facility arising from unity.
In Short: Just as the conformity and similarity in basic members between all the individuals of a species, and all the species of a type of being, proves that they are the works of a single Maker, because the unity of the pen and oneness of the seal requires that, so too, this observed absolute ease and lack of difficulty requires at the degree of being necessary that they are the works of One Maker. Otherwise difficulties rising to the degree of impossibility would doom that type of being and that species to non-existence.
To Conclude: If all things are ascribed to Almighty God, they become an easy as a single thing, while if they are attributed to causes, they become as difficult as everything. Since it is thus, this extraordinary profusion observed in the universe and boundless abundance before our eyes displays a stamp of Unity like the sun. If these fruits which we obtain in such plenty and abundance were not the property of the Single One of Unity, even if we gave the whole world, we still would not have a single pomegranate to eat.
TENTH FLASH
Just as life, which displays a manifestation of Divine Beauty, is a proof of Divine Oneness, and a sort of manifestation of Unity, death, too, which displays the manifestation of Divine Glory, is a proof of Divine Unity.
For example, And God’s is the highest similitude, like by showing the sun’s light and reflection, the bubbles on a large flowing river sparkling in the sun and transparent objects glistening on the face of the earth testify to the sun, on those groups and tribes of bubbles and transparent objects passing and disappearing, the magnificent continuation of the sun’s manifestations and the uninterrupted and continual display of its light on the successive groups and tribes of bubbles and transparent objects which follow on after them, testifies decisively that the little images of the sun and the lights and flashes which appear and sparkle, flare up and die away, and are changed and renewed, are the manifestations of an enduring, perpetual, elevated, single Sun whose manifestation is undying. That is to say, just as through their appearance and becoming visible, those shining droplets demonstrate the sun’s existence, so too, with their disappearance and extinction, they demonstrate it’s continuation, permanence, and unity.
In exactly the same way, just as through their existence and lives these flowing beings testify to the necessary existence and Oneness of the Necessarily Existent One, so too with their deaths and disappearance, they testify to the Necessarily Existent One’s Pre-Eternity, Everlastingness, and Unity. Yes, the beautiful creatures and fine beings which are renewed and restored within the decline and disappearance that occur through the alternation of night and day, winter and summer, and the centuries and ages, surely point to the existence, continuance, and Unity of an elevated, eternal possessor of continually manifested Beauty. And so too the deaths and disappearance of those beings together with their apparent and lowly causes show that the causes are nothing and a mere veil. This situation proves decisively that these arts, these inscriptions, these manifestations are the constantly renewed arts, the changing inscriptions, the moving mirrors of an All - Beauteous One of Glory, all of Whose Names are sacred and beautiful; that they are His seals which follow on one after the other, and His stamps that are changed with wisdom.
In Short: Just as the mighty Book of the Universe teaches us the creational signs concerning Divine existence and Unity, so too it testifies to all the attributes of Perfection, Beauty, and Glory of that All-Glorious One. And they prove the Perfection of the Divine Essence faultlessly and without defect. For it is obvious that perfection in a work points to the perfection of the act which is the source and origin of the work. And the perfection of the act points to the perfection of the name, and the perfection of the name, to the perfection of the attribute, and perfection of the attribute to the perfection of the essential qualities, and the perfection of the qualities point necessarily and self-evidently to the perfection of the essence possessing those qualities.
For example, the inscriptions and adornments of a faultless palace which are perfect show behind them the perfection of a master builder’s acts. And the perfection of the acts shows the perfection of that effective master’s titles and names, which demonstrate his rank. And the perfection of the names and titles show the perfection of the other attributes qualifying the master builder’s art. And the perfection of the art and attributes show the perfection of the abilities and essential capacity of that craftsman, which are called the essential qualities. And the perfection of those essential qualities and abilities show the perfection of the master’s essential nature.
And in exactly the same way, these faultless works observed in the world, which manifest the meaning of Do you see any flaw?,33 this art in the well-ordered beings of the universe, point observedly to the perfect acts of an effective possessor of power. And those perfect acts clearly point to the perfect Names of a Glorious Author. And that perfection necessarily points to and testifies to the perfect attributes of the Beauteous One signified by the Names. And those perfect attributes certainly point to and testify to the perfection of the Perfect One qualified by those attributes. And those perfect qualities point with such absolute certainty to the perfect Essence of the One possessing those qualities that they show that all the sorts of perfection to be seen in the whole universe are but signs of His perfections, hints of His Glory, and allusions to His Beauty, and pale, weak shadows in relation to His perfection.
THE ELEVENTH FLASH,
WHICH HAS THE STRENGTH OF SUNS
As is defined in the Nineteenth Word, our master Muhammed the Trustworthy, Upon whom be blessings and peace, is the supreme sign of the mighty Book of the Universe and the Greatest Name of that mighty Qur’an, the seed of the tree of the universe and its most luminous fruit, the sun of the palace of the world and the radiant moon of the world of Islam, the herald of the sovereignty of Divine Dominicality, and the wise discloser of the talisman of the universe, who flies in the levels of reality with the wings of Prophethood, which takes under its shade all the Prophets, and of Islam, which takes under its protection all the world of Islam; who took behind him all the Prophets and Messengers, all the saints and veracious ones, all the purified and the scholars, and demonstrated Divine Unity with all his strength and opened up the way to Divine Oneness; has any doubt or suspicion, then, the power to close and be a veil to the belief in God which he demonstrated or to the Divine Unity which he proved? Since in the Nineteenth Word and Nineteenth Letter with Fourteen Droplets and Nineteen Signs from the water of life of that clear proof’s knowledge we have defined and described briefly and to a degree that miracle-displaying being together with the varieties of his miracles, we shall here content ourselves with this indication, and conclude with a benediction for him:
O God! Grant blessings to the one who demonstrated Your necessary existence and Unity, and testified to Your Glory and Beauty and Perfection; the verified and veracious witness, the verifying articulate proof; the Lord of the Prophets and Messengers, the bearer of the mystery of their consensus, affirmation, and miracles; the leader of the saints and veracious ones, the holder of the mystery of their accord, verifications, and wonder-working; the one with evident miracles, clear marvels, and decisive evidences which corroborated and affirmed him; who displayed exalted purity in his self, elevated morals in his duty, and lofty qualities in his Shari’a, perfect and free of all contradiction, to whom according to the consensus of the revealed and the Revealer and the one who revealed it to him, Dominical Revelation descended; the traveller through the Worlds of the Unseen and of the Inner Dimensions of Things; the observer of spirits, who conversed with the angels; the sample of the perfections of the universe, both in regard to individuals, species, and realms of beings; the most luminous of the fruits of the tree of creation; the lamp of truth; the proof of reality; the embodiment of Mercy; the exemplification of love; the discloser of the talisman of the universe; the herald of the sovereignty of Dominicality; the sign that the elevatedness of his collective personality was before the eyes of the world’s Creator at the creation of the universe; the possessor of a Shari’a that indicates through the breadth of its principles and strength that it is the order of the Orderer of the World, drawn up by the Creator of the Universe.
Yes, the One Who ordered the universe with this perfect and total order is He Who ordered this religion with its most fine and beautiful order, our master, we are the community of the sons of Adam, our guide to belief, we are the community of believers, Muhammed ibn Abdullah ibn Abdu’l-Mutallib, upon him be the most perfect blessings and most complete peace as long as the heavens and earth subsist, for he is the veracious and verified witness who summoned the leaders of witnesses and instructed the peoples of mankind throughout the centuries and all the regions of the world in elevated fashion with all his strength, with complete seriousness and utter steadfastness, and with the power of his certainty and perfect belief, testifying:
“I testify that there is no god but God, the One, He has no partner.”
THE TWELFTH FLASH,
WHICH HAS THE STRENGTH OF SUNS
This Twelfth Flash of the Twenty-Second Word is such an ocean of truths that all the previous twenty-two Words are only twenty-two drops of it, and it is such a source of lights that they are only twenty-two flashes of that Sun. Yes, each of the twenty-two Words up to here are a flash of the stars of the verses shining in the skies of the Qur’an; each is a single droplet from the river of a verse flowing from that Ocean of Discernment between Truth and Falsehood; each is one pearl from a single of its verses, all of which are chests of jewels in the sublime treasury of God’s Book. Thus, the Word of God, which is in small part defined in the Fourteenth Droplet of the Nineteenth Word, has been revealed from the Greatest Name, the Sublime Throne, and the Greatest Manifestation of Dominicality, and it repeatedly states with all its strength within a breadth and elevatedness that binds pre-eternity to post-eternity and ties the ground to the Divine Throne, and with the certainty of all its verses: There is no god but God!; it calls the whole universe to witness and makes it testify. Yes, altogether the world hymns: There is no god but God!
Indeed, if you look at the Qur’an with the eyes of a sound heart, you will see that its six aspects are so brilliant and transparent that no darkness, no misguidance, no doubt or suspicion, no trickery could enter it or find a fissure through which to enter the sphere of its purity. For above it is the stamp of miraculousness; beneath it, proof and evidence; behind it, its point of support, pure Dominical revelation; before it, the happiness of this world and the next; on its right, questioning the reason and ensuring its confirmation; on its left, calling on the conscience to witness and securing its submission; its inside is self-evidently the pure guidance of the Most Merciful; and its outside, observedly, the lights of belief; and its fruits, with all certainty, the purified and veracious scholars and saints, who are adorned with all the human perfections and attainments. If you fasten your ear to the breast of that tongue of the Unseen, you will hear from afar a most familiar and convincing, an infinitely serious and elevated heavenly voice decked out with proof which repeats There is no god but God. It states this with such certainty that it says it at the degree of ‘absolute certainty’, and illuminates you with a ‘certainty at the degree of knowledge’ which is like ‘certainty at the degree of witnessing.’
In Short: Both the Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and the Most Firm Distinguisher between Truth and Falsehood were suns. One, the tongue of the Manifest World, pointing with the fingers of Islam and Prophethood and confirmed by all the Prophets and purified ones within a thousand miracles, demonstrated this truth with all his strength...
And the other, like the tongue of the World of the Unseen, indicating with the fingers of right and guidance under the confirmation of all the creational signs in the universe within forty aspects of miraculousness, shows the same truth with all seriousness. Is that truth then not clearer than the sun and more brilliant than sunlight?
Oh, obdurate little man sunk in misguidance!34 How can you oppose these suns with the lamp of your head, dimmer than a firefly? How can you show disdain for them? Are you trying to extinguish them by puffing? Pooh to your denying mind! How can you deny the words and claims which those two tongues of the Manifest and Unseen Worlds speak in the name of the Sustainer of all the worlds and Owner of the universe; which they speak on His behalf? Oh, you wretched one, lower and more impotent than a fly! Who are you that you attempt to give the lie to the universe’s Glorious Owner?
Conclusion
O friend, whose mind is alert and heart, attentive! If you have understood this Twenty-Second Word from the beginning up to here, take the Twelve Flashes together in your hand, and finding a lamp of truth as powerful as a thousand electric lamps, adhere to the below-mentioned verses of the Qur’an. Mount the steed of Divine assistance, ascend to the heavens of truth, rise to the Throne of Divine knowledge. Declare:
I testify that there is no god but You, You are One, You have no partner.
And, saying,
I testify that there is no god but God, He is One, He has no partner; His is the dominion and His is the praise; He gives life and gives death, and He is ever-living and dies not; in His hand is all good, and He is powerful over all things,
proclaim His Unity over the heads of all the beings in the universe in this mighty mosque of the world.
Glory be to You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.
O our Sustainer! Do not call us to task if we forget or fall into error. Our Sustainer! Lay not a burden on us like that which you laid on those before us; Our Sustainer! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have the strength to bear. Blot out our sins. And grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Protector; help us against those who stand against faith. * Our Sustainer! Let not our hearts deviate now after You have guided us, but grant us mercy from Your presence; for You are the Granter of bounties without measure. * Our Sustainer! You are He that will gather mankind together against a Day about which there is no doubt; for God never fails in His promise.
O God! Grant blessings and peace to the one whom You sent as a Mercy to all the worlds, and to all his Family and Companions. And have mercy of us and have mercy on his community, through Your Mercy, O Most Merciful of the Merciful. Amen.
And the close of their prayer will be: Praise be to God, the Sustainer of All the Worlds!
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