Salman Spiritual
Towards the Inner Vision of the Truth
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"Fain would they put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light however much the disbelievers are averse." — Holy Qur'an 61:8

 

:: Post No. 35: The Effusion of Light is Proportional to the Measure of Preparedness ::

Friday, Mar. 7, 2025

 

Ya Ali Madad! This post has two parts.

 

Part 1. Knowledge Section

let us explore the concept of enlightenment from the perspective of capacity of the individual soul.

 

 

Knowledge Section

 

  1. Deeper Meaning of 'Allah O Akbar'
  2. Let us explore a deeper meaning of 'Allah O Akbar' from a Foreword written by Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah (a.s.) for Qassim Ali Jairazbhoy's book titled 'Muhammad: "A Mercy to All the Nations", Luzac, London, 1937, pp. 11-15' (Source: K. K. Aziz, Writings of Aga Khan III, Volume II, p.1045):

    "As he has pointed out, the holy Prophet of Islam is to us the last and greatest messenger from the Creator, and through him man is to find salvation in both this world and the next ... The great religious teachers before and since [Prophet] Muhammad have all limited the area of truth by excluding either some or all of their predecessors. [Prophet] Muhammad, on the other hand, by a full recognition of all his predecessors and by admitting that no people, race, or a nation had been left without some kind of divine illumination, gave his Faith universality in the past, and in fact made it co-existent with human history.

    If now, we turn from its historic background to its doctrine and to its possibility of development in future, we find the same potential universality. Take the central principle of "Allah O Akbar". Here we find on one side divinity, on the other side infinity. For what is the greater — time, space, the starry heavens, intelligence, knowledge? — wherever existence goes there His greatness extends. Greaterness here, to anyone who understands the implication of the Arabic language, does not mean "greaterness" as literally translated into English. It means that everything else is within the womb of the greater—everything else is maintained and sustained by Divine Power, including the furthest spaces of imagination."

    It is quite possible that the tasbi of 'Allahu Akbar' will be recited in the mulaqat. Therefore, it is important to understand the deeper meaning of this tasbi. Esoterically this prayer plays a great role in the spiritual elevation of human beings because it invokes the great help of Hazrat 'Izra'il (upon whom be peace), the angel of death and resurrection. Through this activity, Hazrat 'Izra'il (may peace be upon him) awakens their inner dimension. It is then possible to see the greatness of Allah in a spiritual and intellectual form within one's own soul and intellect, and experience monoreality. This is the reason wise believers engage in the remembrance of God day and night.

     

  3. The Effusion of 'Real' Sciences and Light is Proportional to the Measure of Preparedness
  4. (Source: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination: The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William C. Chittick, State University of New York Press, 1989)
    Ibn al-'Arabi writes:"When the friends of God climb in the ascents of their aspirations (ma'arij al-himam), the goal of their arrival is divine names, since the divine names seek them. When they arrive at the names in their ascents, the names effuse upon them sciences and their own lights to the measure of preparedness which the friends bring. They receive only in the measure of their own preparedness. In this the friends have no need for an angel or a messenger, since these are the sciences of Law-giving (tashri'), but rather lights which allow them to understand that which the messenger has brought in his revelation, or the scripture that has been sent down upon him, or the book, but nothing else. It makes no difference whether the friend knows the book or has heard its details." (p.257)

    From the above paragraph, it is clear that the experience of higher spiritual enlightenment is directly proportional to the degree of preparedness, thus if one is meditating on a divine name, one would experience the sciences and light based on one's own state. Let use an analogy of living in a high-rise building which has 49 floors. On a nice, clear day, the view from the window depends upon the floor that you are on. For example, from a second floor, you may be able to only see the neighboring high-rise building but at the top of building, you would be see a panoramic view of the city. Thus, different people who meditate on the same divine name, each one could experience different intensity of effusion of sciences and light according to his/her level of preparedness.

     

  5. The Mechanism of Effusion of 'Real' Sciences and Light
  6. (Source: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination: The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William C. Chittick, State University of New York Press, 1989)
    Ibn al-'Arabi writes: "When the vision of the Real takes place, it only takes place in a mutual waystation (munaazala) between an ascent and a descent. The ascent belongs to us and descent to Him. To us belongs "drawing close" (tadaani) and to Him belongs "coming down" (tadalli), since "coming down" stems from the high. It is ours to climb (taraqqi) and His to receive (talaqqi) those who come to Him. All of this gives us knowledge of the form in which He discloses Himself to His servants and the fact that it possesses bounds and measure, in order that He might enter along with His servants under the property announced in His words, "We send it not down but in known measure (15:21). "Surely We have created" or made "everything in measure" (54:49)
     
    Vision is a created thing, so it occurs in measure. The variation of self-disclosure is the manifestation of a temporally originated thing to the recipient of self-disclosure, so it occurs in measure." (pp.342-3).

    The servant climbs and the Lord descends till they meet at a certain place. In the analogy of the high-rise building, meetings can take place on different floors. The Merciful Lord discloses himself according to one's own capacity to bear his Light (Noor). Thus, in the mulaqat with Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam, each one of us will be embraced by Noor according to our own measure.

     

  7. Witnessing and Seeing the Real
  8. (Source: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination: The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William C. Chittick, State University of New York Press, 1989)
    Ibn al-'Arabi writes: "Junayd was asked about knowledge (ma'rifa) and the knower ('arif). He replied, "The water takes on the color of its cup." In other words, the container displays its effect in what it contains. ...Whatever may be the color of the cup, water becomes manifest in that color." (p.341).

    Since there are as many cups as drinkers at the Pool [of Kauthar] which will be found in the abode of the hereafter, and since the water in the cup takes the form of the cup in the form and color, we know for certain that knowledge of God takes on the measure of your view, your preparedness, and what you are in yourself. No two people will come together in a single knowledge of God in all respects, since a single constitution is never found in two different people, nor can there be such a thing. When there are two, there must be that through which distinction is made, since the entity of each is immutably established. Were is not so, they could be two. Hence no one ever knows anything of the Real except his own self. (II 597.4,35).

    Lights (al-anwaar) are visible (shahaada), and the Real is a light, so He is witnessed and seen. Mysteries (al-asraar) are unseen (ghayb), so they possess the He (al-huwa), since He never becomes manifest. In respect of the He, the Real is not witnessed, for He is the Reality of the Real. In respect of His self-disclosure in forms, the Real is witnessed and seen, but He is seen only at the level of the viewer. That is what is bestowed by the viewer's preparedness. And his preparedness is of two kinds: an essential preparedness, through which there is all-inclusive vision; and an accidental preparedness, which is the knowledge of God which he earns and by which his soul becomes adorned in respect of his rational consideration. Self-disclosure follows this specific preparedness, and within it there occurs ranking in degrees. (IV 433.33)" (p.342).

     

     

    Part 2. Angelic Salwat
    Let us recite angelic salwats to invoke Divine grace and mercy.

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

    Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad:
    O Allah! Bestow Peace on and through Muhammad and his Descendants

    33 beads recited by Noorallah Juma

    or

    101 beads recited by Noorallah Juma

    Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil 'alamin.
    Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!

     

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

     

    Forty Deeper Spiritual Insights