Part 15. Sura “The Star” and the Reality of the Prophet (S). Miraj. Knowing God and the Purpose behind Man’s Creation

Now we have to explain some verses of surah “The Star,” especially this verse: fa kana qaba qawseini au adna – “and [the Prophet] was in two bows or even nearer” (53: 9).

 I should say from the get-go that this verse, plus the 35th verse of surah “The Light” – these two ayats (verses) are central to the Quran in terms of understanding the true position of the Messenger of Allah (S) and his Ahl ul-Beit (A), the People of his House.

 Both ayats are extremely symbolic, encrypted, esoteric, so there is nothing to do without explanatory hadiths from the Family of the Prophet (S). It is simply impossible to comprehend anything. Based on the hadiths, let’s now explain these verses in order to open the veil on this topic slightly…

 Let’s recite surah “The Star” from the beginning:

 “By the star when it descends…” – according to the hadith, the “star” here is the Messenger of Allah (S). “When it descends,” that is, after his death; when he dies. The occasion of sending these verses was that when the Messenger of Allah (S) spoke to the Quraysh about the merits of Ali and his Ahl ul-Bait (А) and that Ali (A) was to be the khalif after him, they said, “He has lost his way and speaks of his own desire,” that is, he tries to make his cousin the khalif over us because of his own whim, and not at the behest of the Creator. And with this surah, Allah refutes what they said:

 “By the star when it descends,

Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, 

Nor does he speak of his own desire.

This is just an inspired revelation,” – that is, what he says about Ali (A) and the Wilaya of his Family is a revelation, not his fantasies, as you think.

 “He was taught by one Mighty in Power,” – that is, Allah (as quoted from Imam Sadiq) –

“The owner of power, and he grew clear to view” – this is again the Messenger of Allah (S), –

 “On the highest horizon.

 then he approached and descended,

and was in two bows or even nearer”.

 Here, each word is loaded with such a mass of meanings that whole worlds are hidden in this one phrase only: fa kana qaba qawseini au adna.

This verse is sometimes translated as follows: “And was at a distance of two bows.” But it would be better to translate “in two bows.” Well, here the question arises: how in relation to Allah can you be “at a distance of two bows”? And what are these bows? Is it an arrow shot or something else? Or did they take two bows, put them next to each other – and here the distance from the Prophet (S) to his Lord was obtained?

 And in general, how can there be any “distance” in relation to the Creator? After all, He is not a material body to be a hundred meters or a hundred kilometers away… Even in the worlds of Dahr, those worlds that are higher than our material world, there are no such things as space and time in our usual understanding. Thoughts in our minds are in the Dahr, and they are outside the realm of time and space. Can we say that a thought is such and such in length? Is it possible to measure how large our thoughts are? What is the distance from one thought to another? How old is each thought? It is clear that these criteria are generally not applicable to that world. So, what about the Creator of all worlds?

A hadith from Imam Ali (A) states that once Musa (A) saw an angel coming from the East and asked him, “Where did you come from?” He said, “From Allah.” Then, another angel came from the West, and Musa asked, “Where did you come from?” He said, “From Allah.” The third one was from the seventh heaven, and the fourth one from the seventh earth, and they all said that they came from Allah. Because the Creator has no place, and He is no closer to one place than to another.

 Then what is “nearness” or “proximity” (qurb) to the Creator in general? What does “drawing closer to Allah” mean? And what is the point of talking about “getting closer” to Him if He is already “closer to us than the carotid artery”? To each single one of us… Allah is equally close and distant in relation to each of us. It is absurd to say that He is closer to me and further from you, or vice versa.

 Therefore, it goes without saying that “two bows” here have no material meaning we are used to. It is a symbol. But the symbol used for what? We can only understand this through the hadiths of the Imams of the Prophet’s Household (A).

 In the book “Amali,” it’s quoted that the Messenger of Allah (S) said, “When I ascended to heaven, I approached my Lord so that between Him and me there were two bows and even nearer. He told me, “O Muhammad! Which of the creations do you love? ˮ I said, “O my Lord! Ali. ˮ He said, “O Muhammad! Look!” And I looked to my left and saw Ali.”

This is the meaning of the 18th verse of the same surah: “He certainly saw the greatest sign of his Lord,” and the greatest sign is Ali (A), as he himself said, “I am the greatest sign of Allah.” And he saw him from the left side because Allah created them of one light and then divided it into two parts, and the right part made Muhammad (S) and the left part made Ali (A). And here is such a moment that “left” in Arabic is yasar, which is the same root with yusr – “assistance,” “help.” So Ali (A) on the earth was assistant and the help of Muhammad (S) in all his affairs, was his brother, his khalif, and his sword, defeating his enemies. And he is the tongue of Muhammad (S), as Allah says in surah “Maryam,” “And We made it easier (yassarna-hu) through your tongue (that is, Ali) that you may give good tidings thereby to the righteous and warn thereby a hostile people” (19: 97). And here yassarna is the same word as yasar and yusr, and “the tongue” is Ali (A), as the 50th verse of the same sura says, “And We gave them (that is, the Prophets) from Our mercy and made Ali for them the tongue of truth.”

 Imam Sadiq (A) was asked, “What means ʻand was in two bows or even nearerʼ?” He said, “As between the handle of a bow and its bowstring.” And then he said, “Between them, there was a veil that shone and shimmered” – that is, it was ready to disappear due to the greatness of light and the proximity of the Messenger of Allah (S) to the action of Allah.

 The verse says: summa dana fa tadalla – “then he approached and descended.” The word dana means approaching through the way up, and tadalla means approaching through the descent down. That is, he had approached his Lord and then looked down at the kingdom of the earth, as a hadith from Imam Sajjad (A) says. He was asked, “Is Allah described through a place?” He said, “He is above this.” They said, “Then why was the Prophet (S) taken up to heaven?” He said, “To show him the kingdom of heavens and what is within them, from His creatures and the beginnings of creation.” He was asked, “Then what do the words mean: ʻThen he approached and descended, and was at a distance of two bows or nearerʼ? He said, “Such is the Messenger of Allah (S): he approached the hijabs (covers, veils) of light and saw the kingdom (malakut) of heaven, and then descended and looked at the kingdom of the earth.”

 Thus, we see here a kind of circular movement: the ascending arc is the ascent of the Messenger of Allah (S) to the hijabs of light, to the maximum proximity to Allah, and the descending arc is the descent to the kingdom of the earth. And it is clear that it is not “descent” in the spatial sense but coverage or reach because where it was, there is no space and time in our usual sense. Thus, the whole creation is encompassed in this circle at once.

 The expression qaba qawsein (was in two bows) means these two arcs – the arc of ascent and the arc of descent. This expression can be translated as “was in two arcs.” The standard bow from which arrows are fired also consists of two arcs: from the end where the bowstring is attached to the place to hold a bow (that is, the middle of the bow), and then – from the middle of the bow to the second end. Ascent and descent, up and down…

 Thus, we understand that the expression “was in two bows” means the whole circle or sphere of the universe: from the First Intellect or the upper right pillar of the Throne, which is the Holy Spirit and the Intellect of Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad (S), to the lower limits of being.

 But what is meant by the addition aw adna, “or even nearer”? “Was in two bows or even nearer”… This means nothing but Muhammad’s own position, that is, the position of the Will of Allah (Mashiyya) or His action (because His will is His action). Muhammad and Ahl ul-Bait of Muhammad (S) are the place of the realization of Mashiyya, just as iron heated in fire is the place of the realization of fire, and it is one with this fire in the process of burning per se: “Whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire” (24: 35).

 This position is indicated in the words of “Dua Rajab” from Imam Mahdi (A): “And thus You have made them (Ahl ul-Bait) the essences of Your Words, the indications to Your Oneness, the signs leading to You, and Your Standings that are non-stop in each place where those who recognize You could only recognize You through them. No difference between You and them save that they are Your servants and creatures.” And this is the position of the Absolute Wilaya over all creation. 

Above, we have asked the question: what does “nearness” or “proximity” (qurb) to God mean? And how can you get closer to Him? We will now answer this. Everything that concerns “nearness” or “proximity” to Allah always refers to His action, and not to His Essence, because the Essence of Allah cannot be approached, and He Himself is equally close and equally distant in relation to all creatures. The limit of all creations is Muhammad’s Reality, the limit of Muhammad’s Reality is the action of Allah, and the limit of Allah’s action is this very action, not His Essence. Nothing of the creations has His Essence as its limit and outcome, as Imam Ali said (A), “The limit of creations is the creations themselves.”

 Nearness to Allah is not nearness to His essence but to His highest sign, the greatest ayat, which He established as a reference point for the inhabitants of heaven and earth, just as the pole star is a reference point in space at night. Nearness to them (to Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad) is the nearness to Allah; distancing from them is the distancing from Allah. 

 In the 56th verse of sura “The Crowd,” we read, “So that the soul does not say, ʻWoe to me for what I have violated in relation to janb of Allah! ʼ”.

Janb is literally “side.” But Allah has no side. The side of Allah here means this landmark, this pointer, this star: “By the star when it descends….” And Imam Ali (A) says: nahnu janbu llah – “we are the side of Allah.”

 As for the Prophet (S), he is this highest position, he is this “pole star,” he is the “nearness to Allah,” in relation to which any other nearness is determined. Therefore, in the Miraj, in the position aw adna, “or even nearer,” he was in his true position, from which he had never moved away. Therefore, the Miraj itself matters not in relation to his true position but in regard to his human appearance. This was not the case, as the ignorant think, that the Prophet (S) rose somewhere or flew literally, as if through a hole in the sky. Miraj means that his human position has been expanded to his true one.

 This is similar to how we, humans, share some qualities with beings located below us on the ontological ladder, say, with animals: for example, we eat, drink, move, like them. In this regard, we are also animals. But this is not our true identity. Our true essence is the kingdom of thoughts, the inner world, where a person can perform miraj every day without any obstacles. For animals, it is something wonderful and, overall, unfathomable. Perhaps, if the animal could think, it would decide that we, too, are ascending into the realm of our thoughts through some hole in the sky.

 While plunging into our thoughts, we instantly expand our “animal” state to the true, human one. So is the Prophet (S) in relation to the human being: Miraj is an instant expansion of his state from human to true one – to the position of the Light of Allah. Therefore, in our hadiths, the Imams (A) say that there were many mirajs – not one, but a large number.

And here we come to the question of the purpose of man’s creation. “I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me” (51: 56). In what sense does Allah speak here about worship? Did He create us to bow down to earth? This is not the case. What is true worship? This is the knowledge, maarifat. As Imam Husain (A) said, “Truly, Allah did not create His creatures other than that they might come to know Him. And, when they know Him, they will become his servants and worship him.” He was asked, “What does it mean to know Allah?” He said, “It means to know the Imam of their time, whom they are obliged to follow and obey.”

 Worship cannot be without knowledge. It would be just some kind of body movement, like a person who, for example, was forced to do the prayer, and now he performs specific movements, the meaning of which he does not comprehend. Knowledge is the spirit of worship. Therefore, a mentally disabled person, according to Sharia, does not have a taklif, i.e., the obligation to perform salat (prayer), do fasting, etc. Yes, you can force him, but it will not be of use because he has no ability to know the meaning of worship. On the Day of Judgment, the taklif and trial will be updated for him, but in this Dunya, he does not have any given duty (taklif)…

 Now, what is knowledge? We are talking about knowing God. But how can one even know God to begin with? What does “knowing God” mean? After all, it’s clear that it is merely impossible to know God by Himself. That is: God Himself, as He is in His essence, cannot be cognized in any respect. You can only know what is like you. But God is not like a creature: “And none is like Him” (112: 4). To know means to embrace. But how can one embrace God? To embrace God is to become equal to God. “Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe” (37: 180). That is, no matter how we describe Him, He is pure from this. Whatever we think, however we imagine Him – it will be not Him.

 So, it is impossible to know God by Himself. His pure Essence is hidden and unknowable for all creatures forever and ever. Then what do we mean by “knowing God”?

 God is not known by His essence – He is known by His actions. The Almighty was aware that it is impossible for us to cognize His Essence and created His sifat, His qualities. By them, we cognize Him. Allah is not known, except as He Himself described Himself, and He did not describe Himself and did not let the creatures understand Himself, except through the sifats (qualities) of His action, and the sifats of the action have effects (athars, signs, results) that indicate them just as fire is indicated by its effects such as heat or combustion.

 How do we know these qualities, these sifats? There is external knowing, and there is true one. The external knowing is that we say, “Allah is the All-Knowing.” This is His sifat. And we will externally, with our language, repeat that Allah is the All-Knowing without understanding what this means. And so it is with all the other sifats. This is external knowing. And there is true knowing, that is, the knowing of the meaning of these words.

 Imagine that a lamp is placed in front of a wall. And they say to the wall that the lamp is “illuminating.” This is its sifat, its quality. The wall also repeats that the lamp is “illuminating,” but at the same time, the interior of the wall remains dark. It is not illuminated from within by this lamp; only its outer side is illuminated. But now let’s take a material that has the ability to fully absorb the fire of this lamp, for example, oil or petrol. We bring the lamp to the oil, and it will light it up. That is, the oil will take all the qualities (sifats) of the lamp into itself: it will become radiant, burning, illuminating, and giving heat. Then we can say that this oil has known the sifats of the lamp both externally and internally. It became an example of the lamp, it acts in accordance with lamp action.

In the same way, for knowing His sifats, the Creator installed them in Muhammad (S) and the Household of Muhammad (S). Therefore, Imam Husain (A) says, “To know Allah means to know the Imam of the time.” In acting by His actions, they point us to the Creator, and through them, we cognize Him. Imam Sadiq (A) says, “Through us, Allah is known and through us, Allah is worshiped, and if it were not for us, there would be no worship of Allah.”

 Now, what is the task of the people who seek knowledge and worship? Our task is to approach their sifats, to be permeated with the light of this lamp as much as possible. This is true knowledge and the spirit of worship, for which Allah created us: “I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me” (51: 56).

 And this is the light of humanity, of the human form, to which they call, and whoever answers their call enters the gates of this form and becomes a man in the truest sense of the word.

 In no case should this be understood that it means Muhammad (S) and the Household of Muhammad (S) are somewhat similar to the Creator in His essence or sifats, or somehow “one” with Him, as the Sufis believe with their “unity of being” (wahdat al-wujud) … Nothing is like the Creator, neither in essence, nor in qualities, nor in being, nor in action, nor in any other way. Allah has no similarity but has a similitude. In Arabic, this is expressed by two words of the same root – misl and masal. So, Allah has no misl, no likeness or similarity: wa leisa ka-misli-hi shai, “there is nothing like Him,” “He has no misl” (41: 11). But He has a masal, i.e., a similitude, an example: wa li-llahi masalu l-aala – “and for Allah is the highest similitude” (16: 60), and this is Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad (S). “Similitude” or “example” here means “sign,” that is, the essence that He established as His viceroy, His khalif for all other creatures. Turning to which, they can know Him.

We said that we know God by His actions and the effects of those actions, and not by His essence. By seeing how beautiful the world is, I understand that it was created by the One Who cannot be disgusting, Who Himself is Beautiful. Through observation that there is such a thing as knowledge in this world and that the whole world was created with knowledge, I understand that the One Who has created it, Himself cannot be ignorant whatsoever, that He is the All-Knowing. Through the statement that this world exists, I understand that the One Who has created it cannot be non-existent, that He also exists. In this way, by His actions and effects, I know Him. “We will show them Our signs in the world and themselves so that they know that this is the truth” (41: 53).

 But there is such a moment. By what do I get to know Him better – by this white wall in my room which I am looking at now, or by a rose flower? Both are the effects of His action, His signs, His creations, His ayats. But it is clear that His action is manifested much more perfectly in the rose. A rose is more beautiful, complex, and perfect than a wall. As the Arab poet says in describing the narcissus flower:

“Eyes in their eyelids in the thicket

 Grow, and the Lord has created them beautifully.

 They strive upward with coquettish gaze,

 As if the corners of their eyes were bars of gold,

 On emerald stems announcing

 That there is nothing like Allah.”

 But is there anything more beautiful and perfect than a rose flower? Yes, there are some animals, some of their most beautiful species. Is there anything more perfect than an animal? Yes, these are some people… And so through this ladder of Allah’s creations and signs, we reach His highest ayat, His most perfect sign, above which there is nothing in creation – and this is Muhammad (S) and his most pure Family, that is, Fatima Zahra (A), Imam Ali (A), Imam Hassan, Hussein and nine Infallibles from the offspring of Hussein (A), the last of whom is Mahdi, may peace be upon all of them! Ahl ul-Bait, the Fourteen Infallibles, who in their reality are one inseparable light…

We have reached the limit, the top of the pyramid of creation. This is God’s most perfect sign, in which His action is imprinted in the best and most exalted manner. “And for Allah is the highest similitude” (16: 60); “For Him is the highest example in heaven and on earth” (30: 27); “Say: ʻTo Allah belongs the perfect argumentʼ” (6: 149). In this sense, we have said that His qualities are expressed in them (i.e., Muhammad and his Household). Meaning, not the qualities of His Essence but the qualities of His action. Therefore, Imam Sadiq (A) says, “We are the most beautiful names of Allah.” And Allah says, “Leave those who practice deviation concerning His names” (7: 180) – that is, they are mistaken about them and reject them. And the “names of Allah” here are the same as the “side of Allah.”

 And therefore, the Almighty says, as we have often quoted, “We will show them Our signs in the world and themselves so that they know that this is the truth” (41: 53) – that is, We will show you all these countless signs around the world and in your souls until it becomes clear to you that the Imam is the truth and the greatest, highest and most clear sign of Allah, by which Allah is known. And the expression “this is the truth” here is actually an inaccuracy of translation because the original contains an animate form: annahu l-haqq – “so that they know that he is the truth.” Who is huwa, “he”? 

In sura “Yunus,” ayat 53, we read, “They ask you: is he the truth? Say, Yes, by my Lord, he is the truth, and you cannot weaken him.” And both in Shia and some Sunni hadiths, it is stated that “he” here is Imam Ali (A). Opponents of the Ahl ul-Bait (A) leadership argue that it is about the Quran. But it is evident that this is not the case. The pronoun huwa, “he,” indicates a person. If it was talking about the Quran, it would have to be haza (it). “And you cannot weaken him” – but how can you weaken the Quran? The Quran can be distorted, destroyed, forgotten, but not weakened. You can weaken a person by depriving him of the place that he occupies. But since the position of Ali (A) was granted to him by the Almighty Himself, “you cannot weaken him.” In the end, he will win anyway; this is the Creator’s plan.

 As for us, the descendants of Adam, what are our tasks, knowledge, and worship? We must grow in ourselves this rose of the spirit, this similarity to their qualities – through reflection and following their example in all our thoughts and actions. Man in his spiritual movement, in his true vocation, is this rose, which stretches up from the darkness of the earth to the light of the Sun. This is the white light, refracted in the prism of the worlds but returning to its source. This is what the hadith says, “He who knows himself, knows his Lord,” that is, he who made his soul a reflection of this supreme sign and saw a polar star in its waters – he knew His Lord. He has realized the goal of true worship to Him for which he was created. He has obtained his humanity and entered the gate of his form, which is nothing but the gate of Paradise.

 And all Sharia laws are external manifestations and rays of this form. These are salat (obligatory prayer), hajj, fasting, and so on… Through these external actions, you turn to this inner essence, which is your white light and your Paradise.

 Therefore, Heaven and Hell are not “somewhere out there”; they already exist, and, according to the hadiths of the prophetic Household, the one who denies that they already exist is an unbeliever. Moreover, our body, which will end up in Hell or Paradise, also already exists, hidden inside our visible, earthly body. That is why each of us is already in Hell or Paradise but just does not see it. And therefore, Imam Sadiq (A) says, Do not ask Allah to lead you to Paradise – ask that He not lead you out of it. If you follow the Wilayat of Ahl ul-Bait, you are already in Paradise.

 And therefore, the Islamic call to people is not just a call to perform the prayer, keep on fasting, etc. First of all, it is a call to humanity, a call to take a human form, turning to this lamp of all existence and the face of the Creator, the external expression of which is prayer, fasting, and everything else. And it may be that a person performs prayers, keeps fasting, but does not receive anything except punishment, like the Nasibies, the Wahhabis, because they have turned their backs to this lamp. Therefore, any fulfillment of the requirements of Sharia does not bring them the slightest benefit.

 There are two levels of creation: the explicit world and the hidden one, shahada and gaib. And the world of Shahada in relation to the world of Gaib is like a cover on a lamp. Therefore, the world of Shahada is “night,” and the world of Gaib is “day.” The Day of Resurrection is called “day” because it will take place in the worlds of Gaib: the night of the world of Shahada will go away, and the day of Gaib will come. The veil will be removed. The earthly body, which belongs to the material world, and the body of the Barzakh, which belongs to the world of misal, will be left behind. And the body of the Resurrection will remain, which now is hidden within us. And the earth of Resurrection is the world of the World Soul, and the heaven of Resurrection is the World Intellect. The world of Barzakh is hidden inside the Dunya, and the world of Akhirat is hidden inside the Barzakh. Our true reality is there, and we say about it “I”: “my thoughts,” “my body,” “my deeds.”

In relation to our true reality, our earthly body is the resemblance of a mirror reflecting the Sun’s rays. If you break a mirror, it will stop reflecting this light, but the light itself will not disappear anywhere. In all our actions in this world, our true “I” is present, just as the Sun continues to be reflected in a mirror, no matter how we turn it. And these actions in that world will take the form of paradise gardens or hellish fires.

And this is a true person, his original form and Haikel of Tawhid. If this person turns to the Creator, that is, to His greatest sign and His face, which is Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad (S), he acquires the true form of humanity, which is light and Paradise. And if he turns away from them, he takes on a satanic form, which is darkness and Hell.

 And in conclusion, I repeat once again that everything has been said in no case should be understood in such a way that Muhammad (S) and the Household of Muhammad (S) are partners in the Creator’s action and His qualities, or that they are in some way separate of His actions, or that He entrusted them with power over creation and left them independent in this power… As we have already said, this is like an iron glowing in fire: its actions are the actions of fire, and the one who knows this iron knows fire because iron has the same properties: it burns, glows, etc. However, iron in itself is not fire, and only the action of fire is manifested in it, not the fire itself. Iron itself without fire does not hold any of these properties. If you take it out of the fire, it will neither glow nor burn. If Ahl ul-Bait (A) are removed from the Will of Allah, then they will be nothing. 

So, they are a place of His will and action, like iron is the place of realization of fire. And as red-hot iron is an indication of fire, so they are an indication of Allah. He created them and made them a place of His Will’s and Plan’s realization and an indication of Himself. Therefore, they are His face among creatures, by which He is known, just as fire is known through a red-hot iron because it is the place of realization of fire and its action.

We have already said that the closer the center (the Will of Allah), the stronger the obedience to Him and the light of dependence on the Creator. Therefore, they are the most dependent creatures on Allah. This is reflected in the shahada of Islam: ashhadu an la ilaha illa llahu wa ashhadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh – “I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.” The “servant” goes before the “messenger.”

And they, Ahl ul-Bait, fear Allah most of all because they possess the greatest knowledge about Him, and they know that He is Almighty and rules everything as He wishes and changes everything as He wishes. And He informed them that He would never change their position. But they know that it is in His power to change everything, and therefore they fear Him more than anyone else.

 Maybe someone will ask, “But what about the verses of the Koran saying that the Messenger of Allah (S) is the same person as you are?”

 The answer to this is yes; he is the same person in his earthly reality. He has a speaking soul, eats and drinks, walks in the markets, has two eyes, two ears, ten fingers, etc. But in his true reality, he is incomparably higher, and we can easily understand this if we ponder over such suras of the Quran as “the Star,” “the Light,” and others.

 If you look at minerals and compare them to plants, you will see that plants have what minerals do not, and this is the vegetable soul. Therefore, they stand on a different, higher level of being. If you compare plants with animals, you will see that animals have the animal soul, thanks to which they are able to move and feel. Plants don’t have that kind of soul. If you compare animals with humans, you will also see that humans have something that animals do not have, and this is the speaking soul, thanks to which they understand and speak. Therefore, all their actions for animals are a kind of miracle and something incomprehensible.

 Now, if we extend this chain further, we will see that Prophets are also one step above humans because they have the spirit of prophecy. Therefore, they are capable of actions that people think are incredible and wonderful. Finally, Ahl ul-Bait, the Fourteen Infallibles, stand even higher so that they have qualities and abilities that the Prophets just do not possess. And this is the Holy Spirit, which is their Intellect, and the fact that they are the Light of the Creator, endowed with unity with His Will.

 As we can see, each of these degrees has the same thing that the lower degree has, and in addition, something else that the previous degrees do not have. Therefore, Muhammad (S) is undoubtedly a human, but in addition to this, he is much higher than a human.

 Therefore, an ordinary person can never become a Prophet, and a Prophet can never attain the position of Ahl ul-Bait. This is similar to how a tree can never become an animal, no matter how it is watered or fed.

 And here, we must briefly say a few words about the general structure of the universe to clarify what it looks like, according to the proper understanding of Islam. The universe’s design is in a way that each successive degree is created from the radiance of the light of the previous degree. Note: not from this light itself, but from its radiance. This can be explained by the example of light falling on a wall. The first wall reflects the light as much as possible. If the reflected light from this wall falls on the second wall, then its strength will be much less. Then, bouncing off the second wall, it falls on the third, from the third – on the fourth, and so on. And this is how the hierarchy of creation is arranged from the Light of Muhammad (S) to Sijjeen. The entire creation is a system of such reflecting walls or mirrors, and the light of each subsequent step is the reflected remnant of the previous light (and in the worlds of darkness, we are no longer talking about the reflection of light but about the reflection of darkness, that is, about the shadows of light).

 Therefore, a plant will never become an animal; an animal will never become a human; a human will never become a Prophet; a Prophet will never reach the position of Ahl ul-Bait (A). As the Quran says, “And there is not a thing, but that with Us are its depositories, and We do not send it down except according to a known measure” (15: 21).

 It is true that everything was created from the original Light, which is the Light of Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad (S), but not that all creations are just different manifestations of the same light. So then there would be no difference between the Prophet and the animal, Hell and Paradise, intellect and ignorance, Satan and angels: all these would be just different manifestations of the same, between which there is no essential difference, like waves on the surface of the ocean.

 And even worse than this is the Sufi doctrine of “wahdat al-wujud,” which not only considers all creations to be one in essence but also considers this essence to be divine. That is, all creations appear here as waves on the surface of the ocean, and the ocean itself becomes nothing more than God. And supposedly, the one who frees himself from the illusion of waves and reaches the ocean itself, dissolves in God and perceives the “truth” (fana fi-llah). This doctrine is nothing more than pure blasphemy and the complete opposite of everything the Quran and Sunnah talk about.

 The true position, which corresponds to the Quran and hadiths, is that there is a hierarchy of the universe, a ladder of creations, within which exists various degrees, and each step can’t transcend its boundaries and reach the position of another step. Thus, there is no “unity of being” even within creation, not to mention the unity of creation and the Creator.

The first volume of Amin Ramin’s “Man in Islam” can be purchased on Amazon at this link.

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