Do the divine unity have any aspects?
What glad tidings does it give to the human soul?
In His Name,
Glory be to Him.
There is nothing that does not glorify Him
with praise.
In the Name
of God the Merciful, the Compassionate
There is no god but God, One having no partner;
His is the Kingdom and to Him belongs all praise; He alone gives life and makes
to die; He is living and dies not; in His hand is all good and He is powerful
over everything, and unto Him is the return.
This sentence affirming
the Divine Unity, which it is very meritorious to repeat after the prescribed
prayers at the beginning and the end of the day, and equal in worth to the Greatest
Name of God, comprises eleven phrases. Each phrase carries a distinct message
of good tidings for human beings. In each is displayed and manifested a different
aspect of the Unity of Lordship in a degree equal to the manifestation of one
of the Greatest Names, a ray of the magnificence of the Divine Singularity and
a perfection of the Divine Oneness.
Introduction:
Be certain of this, that
the highest aim of creation and its most sublime result is belief in God. The
most exalted rank of humanity is the knowledge of God. The most radiant happiness
and sweetest bounty for jinn and mankind is the love of God contained within
the knowledge of God; the purest joy for the human spirit and the sheerest delight
for man’s heart is the spiritual ecstasy contained within the love of God. Indeed,
all true happiness, pure joy, sweet bounties and unclouded pleasure are undoubtedly
contained within the knowledge and love of God. The one who knows and loves
God is either potentially or actually able to receive endless happiness, bounties,
enlightenment and mysteries. While the one who does not truly know and love
Him is afflicted spiritually and materially by endless misery, pain and fear.
Indeed, even if a man, powerless and miserable, and unprotected amid other purposeless
human beings in a world filled with wretchedness, were made the ruler of the
whole world, what is this really worth for him? Everyone can understand
how miserable and bewildered a condition man endures, if he does not recognize
his Owner, discover his Master.
If, however, he discovers his Owner and recognizes
his Master, then he will take refuge in His Mercy and rely on His Power, and
that desolate world will turn, for him, into a place of rest and felicity and
become a place of exchange for the Hereafter.
Each one of the eleven phrases in the sentence quoted above affirming the
Divine Unity carries a message of happy tidings for believers. Each message
offers a cure, and from each cure emanates a spiritual pleasure.
There is no god but God
This phrase provides for
the human spirit, which is subject to innumerable needs and prey to the attacks
of countless enemies, an inexhaustible source of help, it opens for it the door
to a treasury of mercy that can secure all its needs. The spirit finds in it
a point of support that shows and makes known to it its Master and Owner, its
Creator and True Object of Worship, Who possesses an absolute power that will
secure the spirit against the evil of all its enemies. In this way, this mighty
phrase saves the heart from utter desolation and the spirit from grievous suffering,
it is forever uplifting and the means of a continual felicity.
(He is) One
This phrase implies the
following happy news, both healing and auspicious: the human spirit, which is
connected to most species in the universe, and is overwhelmed in misery and
confusion because of that connection, finds in the phrase, (He is) One, a refuge
and savior that will deliver it from all that confusion and misery.
This phrase means to man:
God is One, so do not tire yourself out having recourse
to other things; do not demean yourself and feel obliged before them; do not
humiliate yourself before them for security; do not give trouble to yourself
by following them, and do not tremble before them in fear; because the King
of the universe is one, with Whom is the key to, and in Whose hand are the
reins of, all things. Everything is resolved by His command. If therefore,
you have found Him, this means that you have obtained whatever you wish for,
and been liberated from an (otherwise) interminable indebtedness and innumerable
fears.
He has no partner
God is One in that He has
no partner in His Lordship, in His acts and in His creating, as also that He
has no partner in His Divinity and Sovereignty.
A worldly monarch may in
principle have no partner in his sovereignty, but in the execution of his sovereignty
his officials act as his partners and/or as intermediaries between him and his
people. Whereas, God, the Monarch of all times, has no need for partners or
helpers in the execution of His Sovereignty, just as He has, in principle, no
partner in His Sovereignty. Without His command and will, without His leave
and power, not a single thing can interfere with another. Also, since He has
no partner or helper, and there are no intermediaries between Him and His creatures,
everyone can have recourse to Him directly at any time and in any place.
This phrase, therefore,
provides for the human spirit this glad tiding:
A man who has attained belief may, without hindrance,
opposition or interference, in any state, for any desire, at any time and
in any place, enter the Presence of the Majestic, the All-Gracious, the All-Powerful
One of Perfection, Who is the Eternal Owner of the treasuries of mercy and
bliss, and may present before Him his needs. By finding His Mercy and relying
upon His Power, he can attain perfect ease and happiness.
His is the Kingdom
His is the Kingdom of all
the heavens and the earth. So you are owned by Him and working in His Kingdom.
This phrase implies the following joyful and healing news:
O man! Do not imagine that you own yourself, for you
are unable to administer even your own affairs. You can neither maintain your
spirit and body by providing for their needs and securing them against calamities,
nor can you avoid exhaustion and aging since you have no dominion over time
or other erosive factors. Therefore, do not suffer pain and torment without
reason. Somebody else, not you, owns everything. That Owner is both All-Powerful
and All-Compassionate; rely on His Power and do not accuse His Compassion.
Renounce grief and anxiety, and accept relief. Be rid of your troubles and
find serenity.
This phrase also means:
This world that you love,
to which you are connected, and which you see in disorder and are unable to
put right, is the property of an All-Powerful and Compassionate One. So hand
over the property to its Owner, leave it to Him, mind your own duty and do
not interfere with His acts. Do not be troubled by what you are unable to
overcome, and be at ease. The Owner of this property has free disposal of
it and administers it as He wishes. But He is All-Wise, always acts for a
wise purpose, and also He is All-Compassionate. So, whenever you take fright,
say like Ibrahim Haqqi, Let’s see what the Master does; whatever He does is
always best, and observe His acts with complete trust in Him.
To Him belongs all the praise
Only God absolutely deserves
praise and acclaim and only to Him is all indebtedness. His are all bounties
and they come from His treasury. As for the treasury, it is infinite and inexhaustible.
This phrase, therefore, implies this happy news:
O man! Do not be anxious that one day, the bounties
(you presently enjoy) will cease. Know that the treasury of Mercy is inexhaustible.
Nor cry out with anxiety for the possible cessation of enjoyment, every enjoyment
you are granted is the fruit of an infinite Mercy. Now, the tree of that Mercy
is undying, for each exhausted fruit is replaced with a new one. Furthermore,
by reflecting on what you enjoy, in an attitude of thanks and praise, since
every enjoyment is in essence a favor from the Divine Mercy and, in so being,
a hundred times more enjoyable than the enjoyment by itself, you will be able
to increase it a hundredfold. If a glorious king presents you with an apple,
the pleasure you take in being honored by a royal favor will be superior to
the material pleasure of a hundred, even a thousand, apples. Similarly, through
the phrase, To Him belongs all praise, will be opened to you the door of a
spiritual enjoyment a thousand times sweeter than that you enjoy by itself,
since this phrase makes you consider the bestowal of bounty, which in turn
leads you to recognize the Bestower and to reflect on His merciful favors
which are pouring out continually.
He alone gives life
The One Who gives life and
sustains it through provision is He. Also the Provider of the necessities of
life is He, and the sublime aims of life and its important results are related
to Him. This phrase, therefore calls out to mortal and helpless man and gives
him this joyful tiding:
O man! Do not bother to shoulder the heavy responsibilities
of life; do not feel unease because the world is transient. Do not let the
insignificant worldly fruits of life drive you to regret that you came to
this world. Rather, the ‘life mechanism’ in ‘the ship of your being’ belongs
to the One Ever-Living and Ever-Self-Subsistent One, so it is He Who provides
for all of life’s needs and expenditures. Further, there are innumerable aims
in life directing it to many important results, nearly all of which are related
to Him. You are just a ‘helmsman’ on that ‘ship’ of your being, so perform
your duty properly. Obtain your wage and take the enjoyment that comes with
doing so. Ponder how precious that ‘ship’ is and how valuable its benefits;
and consider how generous and compassionate is the Owner of that ‘ship’. So,
rejoice and give thanks and perceive that if you perform your duty righteously,
all the results that life yields will, in one respect, be recorded as your
good deeds to secure an immortal life for you in eternity.
and makes to die
He discharges you from the
duty of life, changes your abode from this transient world and releases you
from the burden of service. That is, he takes you from a transient life to an
eternal one. This phrase, therefore, explicitly says to mortal jinn and man:
Good news for you: death is not annihilation or going
to non-existence, nor is it eternal separation or a chance event without an
author. Rather, it is being discharged from service by the Author, Who is
All-Wise and All-Compassionate; it is a change of abode. It is being dispatched
to ever-lasting happiness, to your true home. It is the door to union with
the Intermediate World, which is the place where you will meet with ninety-nine
percent of your friends.
He is living and dies not
The Undying Object of Worship
and the Everlasting Beloved, One Who possesses a beauty, perfection and munificence
wholly and utterly superior to the beauty, perfection and munificence to be
observed in all creatures that arouse love, and one single manifestation of
Whose Beauty is sufficient to replace all other beloveds, has an eternal life
free from any trace of cessation or ephemerality and exempt from any flaw or
defect. So, this phrase makes this joyful announcement to all conscious beings,
including jinn and mankind, and to people of love:
Here is good news for you! There is an Eternal Beloved
Who will heal your wounds caused by countless separations from the ones to
whom you give your heart. Since He exists and is undying, whatever may happen,
do not worry about those others. Moreover, the beauty and good in them, the
grace and perfection which cause you to love them, are but a dim, shadow-like
manifestation of the Eternal Beauty of the Everlasting Beloved, which has
passed through many veils. Do not grieve, therefore, at their disappearance,
for they are ‘mirrors’ of some sort: through the changing of mirrors the reflection
of that Beauty is renewed and becomes more radiant. When you find Him, you
have found everything.
In His Hand is all good
That is, He possesses all
good, and only He guides you to do good. Also, He records on your behalf any
good, righteous deed that you do. Thus, this phrase announces to jinn and mankind
this happy news:
O you helpless ones! When you move to the grave do not
cry out in despair: “Alas! Everything we owned is destroyed and all our efforts
have come to nothing. We have left that wide, beautiful world and entered
this narrow grave.” Everything of yours is preserved: all your deeds were
written down and every service you rendered was recorded. The One of Majesty,
in Whose hand is all good and Who is able to do whatever is good, has summoned
you in order to reward your service: He will keep you under the ground temporarily
and then will bring you to His Presence. How fortunate you are that you completed
your duty and service; your labor has ended, you are on the way to ease and
mercy. Having gone through your period of toil, you are going to receive your
wages.
The All-Powerful One of
Majesty, Who preserves seeds and grains, which are the records of the activities
and the deposit-boxes of the services done in the last spring, and unfolds
and publishes them the following spring in the most dazzling, abundant and
benevolent manner, is undoubtedly preserving the results of your deeds also,
in the same way, and will likewise reward your service in the most abundant
manner.
He is powerful over everything
That is, He is the One and
Singular and He has power over everything. Nothing is difficult for Him. To
create a whole spring is as easy for Him as to create a single flower, and He
creates Paradise with as much ease as He creates the spring. The countless creatures
that He continually brings into existence every day, every year, every century,
bear witness with innumerable tongues to His limitless Power. Thus, this phrase,
too, implies these glad tidings:
O man! The service you offer and the worship you perform
do not go for nothing. A world of reward, an abode of bliss, has been prepared
for you. In place of this transitory world of yours, an everlasting Paradise
is awaiting you. Have faith and confidence in the promise of the Majestic
Creator, Whom you know and worship. It is inconceivable that He should break
His promise. In no respect is there any deficiency at all in His Power. Impotence
can never interfere in His works. As He creates your small garden, He can
also create Paradise for you. And He created it and has promised it to you.
Since He has promised, He shall certainly admit you to it.
We plainly observe how every
year on the earth He revives most speedily, yet with perfect order and ease,
hundreds of thousands of species and groups of animals and plants. Such an All-Powerful
One of Majesty is most certainly able to carry out His promise. Further, since
He creates every year samples of Paradise, which He has promised through all
His revealed books; since all His acts and functions are performed with truth
and seriousness, and, as we witness in all His works, all perfections point
to and testify to His infinite Perfection, with no flaw or defect at all in
Him, and since the breaking of a promise, lying, falsehood and deception are
the ugliest of qualities, then most decidedly will that All-Powerful One of
Majesty, that All-Wise One of Perfection, that All-Compassionate One of Grace
fulfill His promise. He will open the gate to eternal happiness and admit you,
O people of faith, into Paradise, which was the original home of your forefather,
Adam.
And unto Him is the return
Human beings are sent to
this world of trial and examination with important duties and business and to
do some particular services. After they have completed their duties, they will
return and meet once more with their All-Munificent Master, the Majestic Creator,
Who sent them out in the first place. That is, they will leave this realm of
transience, be delivered from the turbulence of cause-and-effect cycles and
from the obscure veils of intermediaries, and will be honored in the eternal
abode in the Presence of their Compassionate Lord and meet with Him without
veil before His Seat of Everlasting Kingdom. Everyone will find out directly
who his creator is, the Worshipped One, Lord, Master and Owner. Thus, this phrase
implies the following news, much happier than all the rest:
O man! Do you know where you are going? To where you
are being impelled? You are going to the sphere of Mercy, to the peaceful
Presence of the All-Beautiful One of Majesty. A thousand years of happy life
in this world cannot be compared to one hour of life in Paradise, and a thousand
years of life in Paradise cannot be compared to one hour’s vision of His Countenance
of utmost beauty. The loveliness and beauty in all the creatures of this world,
including those worldly loved ones by which you are so fascinated and stricken,
are merely a kind of shadow of a single manifestation of His Beauty and of
the loveliness of His Names; and the whole of Paradise, with all its charm,
is merely a manifestation of His Mercy, and all longing, love and attraction
are merely a flash from the light of His Love. You are going into the Presence
of the One Eternally Worshipped and Everlastingly Beloved, and are invited
to Paradise, which is His eternal feasting place. Since this is so, enter
the grave not with tears but with a smile.
The same words also give
this glad news:
O man! Do not be apprehensive, imagining that you are
going to extinction, non-existence, nothingness, darkness, oblivion and decay
and dissolution. You are going not to extinction but to permanence. You are
being impelled not to non-existence, but to eternal existence. You are entering
not the world of darkness but the world of His Light. You are returning to
your true Owner, to the Seat of the Eternal King. You will not drown in multiplicity,
but you will take your rest in the sphere of unity. You are bound not for
separation, but for union.
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