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Towards the Inner Vision of the Truth

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"Alif. Lam. Ra. (This is) a Scripture which We have revealed unto thee (Muhammad) that thereby thou mayst bring forth mankind from darkness unto light." — Holy Qur'an 14:1

 

Preparation for Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didars
:: Spiritual and Luminous Nazrana Sparks ::

Spark No. 11 :: The Holy Prophet's Experience of Monoreality

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Ya Ali Madad! Idd-e-Milad un Nabi Mubarak! In preparation for the celebration of the birthday commemoration of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.), I would like to draw upon three of his great spiritual and luminous experiences:

  1. The silence in his heart;
  2. The expansion of his heart; and
  3. His experience of monoreality.

Please refer to spark no.7 to learn about the silence in his heart and spark no.10 to learn about the expansion of his heart. Let us reflect his experience of monoreality by studying the five tawils of the word 'Sidrah':

Tawils of the word Sidrah (Lote-Tree):

  1. "The lote-tree of the utmost boundary is one of the examples of the Universal Soul, who is beyond time and space, as mentioned in verses (53:13-14) "And he (the Prophet) saw Him yet another time near the lote-tree of the utmost boundary." Here there is a special question for the seekers of truth: Whom did the Prophet see? Who had invited him? Obviously he was the seeking the vision of God and this he attained."
    [Source: A thousand Wisdoms, Tawil number 426, page 232]

     
  2. "It is said in verses (53: 15-16): "Close to which is the paradise of abode, while the lote-tree was hiding (a precious thing) and showing." The sacred Sanctuary is the treasure of secrets of both the worlds, where there is everything and no real bounty is outside of it."
    [Source: A thousand Wisdoms, Tawil number 427, page 232]

     
  3. "The lote-tree of the utmost boundary namely, the Universal Soul, who is beyond time and space, is at the end of the spiritual journey and resurrection, and therefore many things come to an end there, such as humanity, multiplicity, duality, doubt, ignorance, separation, death, indigence, humility, fear, etc. Thus the name sidratu'l-muntahaa, or the lote-tree of utmost boundary is in the sense that by reaching it, the above mentioned things come to an end. In this state, space and time are transformed into a non-spatial and non-temporal state (dahr). Also resurrection, man, multiplicity and duality, doubt, ignorance, separation, death, indigence, humility, fear and grief are transformed into the hereafter, angel, unity (monoreality), the truth of certainty, knowledge, union, eternal life, treasure, everlasting honour, peace and permanent happiness, respectively."
    [Source: A thousand Wisdoms, Tawil number 428, page 233]

     
  4. "In connection with mi'raj, it is mentioned in this way: "And he saw that manifestation twice at the lote-tree of the utmost boundary, near which is the garden of abode, when the lote-tree was concealing what it was concealing." (53:13-16)
     

    The great scholars of the people of zaahir (exotericists/literalists) have confessed that they do not know the reality of the lote-tree of the utmost boundary, because to discover such secrets is extremely difficult. However, such secrets of the Qu'ran are certainly in the treasure of the Imam of the time."
    [Source: A thousand Wisdoms, Tawil number 429, page 233-234]

     

  5. "By sidratu'l-muntahaa or the lote-tree of the utmost boundary is meant the Universal Soul at which the spiritual journey of the personal world comes to an end. The word "muntahaa (utmost boundary)" alludes to this meaning. It is a lote-tree in the sense that it has the precious pearls of Divine treasure which are compared to lotes, and these were the extremely precious pearls which are shown and concealed repeatedly.
    [Source: A thousand Wisdoms, Tawil number 430, page 234]

Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah (a.s.), also known as Aga Khan III, has linked the value of soul to the concept of monoreality as follows:

"Once man has thus comprehended the essence of existence there remains for him the duty, since he knows the value of his own soul, of making for himself a direct path which will constantly lead his individual soul to and bind it with the universal Soul of which the Universe, as much of it we perceive with our limited vision, is one of the infinite manifestations. Thus Islam's basic principle can only be defined as monorealism and not as monotheism." [Source: The Memoirs of Aga Khan, p.175]

Monoreality is the gnosis or recognition of God in one's own soul and is the final step in understanding the reality of the statement "Lo! we are Allah's and lo! unto Him we are returning". Monoreality was achieved by our Holy Prophet because he strived to excel in the physical, spiritual and luminous dimensions of his existence. Spirituality is concerned with the development of soul. Luminosity is concerned with enriching the soul with Light, the highest form of intellect. Our Holy Prophet (s.a.s.) was able to see the precious pearls of Divine treasure which were compared to lotes because these were the extremely precious pearls which were shown and concealed repeatedly when he went on mi-raj. These experiences were a validation of the following verse of the Holy Qur'an:

"We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves (in their souls) until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth. Doth not thy Lord suffice, since He is Witness over all things?" (41:53).

Islam is a natural religion and emphasizes the simultaneous development of material, spiritual and luminous dimensions of one's existence which lead to recognition of soul and oneness. The mechanism for developing the soul (Ruh) and enriching it with Light (Noor) is a challenge facing human beings, however, our Holy Prophet (s.a.s.) was able to do this in his lifetime. Therefore, on this happy day of Idd-e-Milad un Nabi, let us offer our thanks to He who is above all else for sending us the greatest role model who brought the Holy Qur'an and Imamat to humanity. Al-Hamdullilah!

Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didar Preparations:
In preparation for Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didars, let us practise our faith with conviction by attending Jamat Khana regularly, submitting dasond, saying three Duas on time, practising bandagi because it is a luminous prayer, reciting angelic salwats, performing abundant dhikr, performing volunteer service, balancing din and duniya, and accumulating material, spiritual and luminous nazranas in our personal worlds. Educational resources for these activities are listed under the knowledge bank link in left side menu.

Dhikr Tasbis for Each Day of the Week:
Please follow these links for dhikr tasbis for each day. These pages contain the text, meaning and mp3 sound tracks. Dhikr tasbis are a magnificient way to reach the stage of constant remembrance and prepare for a spiritual and luminious nazrana in our personal worlds.

Global Prayer:
Ya Ali, Ya NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, grant us, our families, our Jamats, the worldwide Jamat, the Muslim Ummah, and humanity at large, luminous (noorani) and spiritual (ruhani) tayid (help) to advance materially, spiritually and intellectually.

O Mowla make us One global Jamat with One Sound Heart (Qalb-i Salim), bless us with the Golden Noorani and the Golden Jubilee Didars, and empower us to present Material, Spiritual and Luminous Nazranas. Ameen.

Haizinda — Qayampaya
(Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)

Peace, Light, Barakat, Tayid and a 'Golden Noorani Didar',
Noorallah Juma
SalmanSpiritual.com
Friday, March 30, 2007

Spiritual and Luminous Nazrana Sparks: