The Fourteenth Flash (14.Lema, Englisch)

[EMRE]

The Fourteenth Flash

 

[This consists of Two Stations. The First Station is the answer to two questions.]

 

 

 

In His Name be He glorified!

 

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

 

 

 

Peace be upon you, and God’s mercy and blessings.

 

My Dear and Loyal Brother, Re’fet Bey!

 

The answer to the question you ask about the Bull and the Fish is to be found in several parts of the Risale-i Nur. Questions of that sort have been explained in the Third Branch of the Twenty-Fourth Word in accordance with twelve important rules called Twelve Principles. The rules are each guidelines concerning the various interpretations of the Prophet’s (PBUH) Hadiths; they are important principles for dispelling doubts that arise concerning the Hadiths. Unfortunately at the moment there are certain matters preventing me from being occupied with scholarly matters other than inspiration. I therefore cannot reply in accordance with your question. If inspiration comes to my heart, I am compelled to be busy with it. Some questions are answered because they coincide with the inspirations, so do not be offended. For this reason I cannot answer all questions as they deserve. So let me now reply briefly to your question this time.

 

This time you ask in your question: “The hojas say that the earth rests on a bull and a fish. Whereas geography sees it hanging in space and travelling like a star. There is neither a bull nor a fish?”

 

T h e A n s w e r : There is a sound narration attributed to people like Ibn Abbas (May God be pleased with him), that they asked the Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace): “What is the world on?” He replied: “On the Bull and the Fish.” In one narration, he said one time, “On the Bull,” and on another occasion he said, “On the Fish.” Some of the scholars of Prophetic traditions applied this Hadith to the superstitions and stories taken from Isra’iliyat, related since early times. Especially some of the scholars of the Children of Israel who became Muslims, they applied the Hadith to the stories about the Bull and the Fish they had seen in the former scriptures, changing its meaning to something strange. For now I shall write Three Principles and Three Aspects in connection with your question.

 

 

 

* FIRST PRINCIPLE

 

When some of the scholars of the Children of Israel became Muslims, their former knowledge became Muslim along with them and was ascribed to Islam. However, there were errors in that former knowledge of theirs which were certainly their errors and not Islam’s.

 

* SECOND PRINCIPLE

 

On comparisons and metaphors passing from the elite to the common people, that is, on their falling from the hands of learning to those of ignorance, with the passage of time they are imagined to be literally true. For example, when I was a child there was an eclipse of the moon. I said to my mother: “Why has the moon gone like that?” She replied: “A snake has swallowed it.” “It can still be seen,” I said. She replied: “The snakes up there are like glass; they show the things that are inside them!”

 

For a long time I recalled this memory of childhood. I would say, pondering over it: “How could such a false superstition come to be repeated by serious people like my mother?” Then when I studied astronomy I realized that those like my mother who repeated it were supposing a metaphor to be reality. For on the vast circle termed the zodiac, which is the circle of the degrees of the sun, and the circle of the declination of the moon, which is the circle of the mansions of the moon, passing over one another, it gives each of the two circles the form of an arc. Using a subtle metaphor the astronomers called the two arcs “the two great serpents.” They called the points of intersection of the two circles “the head” and “the tail.” When the moon comes to the head and the sun to the tail, in the terminology of astronomy, “an interposition of the earth” occurs. That is, the globe of the earth passes right between the two of them and the moon is eclipsed. According to the above metaphor, “the moon has entered the serpent’s mouth.” Thus, when this elevated and scholarly metaphor entered the language of the common people, in the course of time it took on the shape of a huge snake swallowing the moon.

 

Thus, with a sacred and subtle metaphor and meaningful allusion, two great angels were given the names of the Bull (Thawr) and the Fish (Hut). But on this entering the common language from the elevated tongue of the Prophethood, the metaphor was transformed into the literal meaning, and quite simply they took on the form of a truly enormous bull and awesome fish.

 

* THIRD PRINCIPLE

 

Just as the Qur’an contains allegories and comparisons, and by means of them teaches most profound matters to the ordinary people, so too do Hadiths contain comparisons and allegories; they express most profound truths through familiar comparisons. For example, as we have described in two other places, one time in the presence of the Prophet (PBUH) a deep rumbling was heard. He said: “It is the sound of a rock which has been rolling downhill for seventy years and now has hit the bottom of Hell.” A few minutes later someone arrived and reported that a famous dissembler who had been seventy years old had died, thus proclaiming the reality of the Noble Prophet’s (Upon whom be blessings and peace) most eloquent comparison.

 

For now, Three Aspects will be explained in reply to your question:

 

T h e F i r s t : Almighty God appointed four angels—called the Eagle (Nasr) and the Bull (Thawr)—as ‘bearers of the Divine Throne and the heavens,’ to supervise the sovereignty of His dominicality. He also appointed two angels as supervisors and bearers of the earth, which is the small brother of the heavens and companion of the planets. One of the angels was called the Bull and the other, the Fish. The reason for His giving these names is this:

 

There are two parts to the earth, one is water, and the other is earth. It is fish that inhabit the part that is water, while agriculture, which is the means of man’s life, is with bulls and oxen, which inhabit the part of the earth which is earth, and it is on the shoulders of oxen. Since the two angels appointed to the earth are both commanders and supervisors, they surely have to have some sort of relationship with the bovine and piscine species. Indeed, And the knowledge is with God, the angels are represented in the Worlds of the Inner Dimensions of Things and of Similitudes in the forms of a bull and a fish. And so, alluding to that relationship and supervision and to those two important species of creatures of the earth, the Prophet (PBUH) stated in his miraculous manner of expression: “The earth is on the Bull and the Fish,” thus expressing in a fine, concise sentence a page of profound truths.

 

S e c o n d A s p e c t : For example, if it is said: “What does this government and rule rest on?,” it will be said in reply: “On the sword and the pen.” That is, it rests on the valour of the soldier’s sword and the perspicacity and justice of the official’s pen. In the just same way, since the earth is the dwelling-place of animate beings and the commander of animate beings is man, and fish are the means of livelihood of the majority of men who live by the sea, and the means of livelihood of the majority of those who do not live by the sea is through agriculture, which is on the shoulders of bulls and oxen, and fish are also an important means of trade, for sure as the state rests on the sword and the pen, so it may also be said that the earth rests on the ox and the fish. For whenever the ox does not work and fish does not produce millions of eggs, man cannot live, life ceases, and the All-Wise Creator destroys the earth.

 

Thus, with a most miraculous, elevated, and wise reply, the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) said: “The earth is on the bull and the fish.” He taught an extensive truth with two words, showing how closely connected are man’s life and the life of the animal species.

 

T h i r d A s p e c t : In the view of ancient cosmology the sun travelled, and they defined a constellation every thirty degrees of its journey. If hypothetical lines are drawn connecting the stars in the constellations with one another, when a single situation results, sometimes they show the shape of a lion, sometimes the shape of scales, sometimes the shape of a bull, sometimes the shape of a fish. Names were given to the constellations as a consequence of those relationships. But in the view of astronomy this century, the sun does not travel. The constellations remained idle and without work, for the globe of the earth travels instead of the sun. In which case it necessitates them being formed in small measure in the annual orbit of the earth on the ground instead of those lofty idle constellations above. Thus, the heavenly constellations are represented out of earth’s annual orbit, and each month the earth is in the shadow and likeness of one of the heavenly constellations. It is as if the heavenly constellations are represented in the mirror-like yearly orbit of the earth.

 

Thus in this respect, as we mentioned above, the Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) on one occasion said: “On the Bull,” and on another occasion, he said: “On the Fish.” Yes, indicating a most profound truth which would be understood many centuries later, he one time said in the miraculous tongue of Prophethood: “On the Bull,” because at the time in question, the earth was in the likeness of the Constellation of the Bull. And on being asked one month later, he said: “On the Fish.” For then the earth was in the shadow of the Constellation of the Fish.

 

So, indicating to an elevated truth that would be understood in the future, and alluding to the duty of the earth’s motion and journeying, and to the facts that the heavenly constellations are idle and without guests in regard to the sun, and that the constellations that truly work are in the earth’s annual orbit, and that it is the earth which journeys and performs duties in the constellations, he said: “On the Bull and the Fish.”

 

And God knows best what is right.

 

The extraordinary and unreasonable stories in certain Islamic books are either Isra’iliyat, or they are allegories, or they are the interpretations of scholars of Hadith, which certain careless people have supposed to be Hadiths and attributed them to the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace).

 

O our Sustainer! Do not take us to task if we forget or do wrong.

 

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.

 

 

 

THE SECOND QUESTION is about the People of the Cloak.

 

My brother! In regard to your question about the People of the Cloak, only one of the many instances of wisdom concerning it will be explained, as follows:

 

The Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) covering Ali (May God be peleased with him) and Fatima (May God be pleased with her) and Hasan and Husain (May God be pleased with them) with the blessed cloak he wore, and his praying for them with the verse,

 

[And God only wishes] to remove all abomination from you, members of the Family, and to make you pure and spotless,

 

contains many mysteries and instances of wisdom. I shall not discuss the mysteries; one instance of wisdom connected with the function of Prophethood is this:

 

The Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) saw with the eye of Prophethood, which penetrated the Unseen and beheld the future, that thirty or forty years later serious strife would erupt among the Companions and the generation that succeeded them, and that blood would be spilt. He witnessed that the most distinguished among them would be the three under his cloak. So he covered them in the cloak, thus giving the four, plus himself, the title of the Five People of the Cloak, in order to acquit and exonerate Ali (May God be pleased with him) in the view of the Islamic Community, and console and offer condolences to Husain (May God be pleased with him), and congratulate Hasan and proclaim the honour he would acquire by removing through reconciliation serious discord and his supreme value for the Islamic Community, and that Fatima’s descendents would be pure and honoured.

 

For sure Ali was the rightful Caliph, but since the blood that would be spilt was of great importance and since in the view of the Community his acquittal and exoneration were important on account of the function of Prophethood, the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) absolved him in that way. He invited the Kharijites, who criticized him and accused him of error and misguidance, and the aggressive supporters of the Umayyads, to be silent. Yes, the excesses concerning Ali (May God be pleased with him) of the extreme supporters of the Kharijites and Umayyads and their accusations of misguidance, and the truly tragic, distressing events of Husain’s (May God be pleased with him) time together with the excesses and innovations of the Shi’a and the absolving of the two Shaykhs, have been most damaging for the people of Islam.

 

Thus, with his cloak and prayer, the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) absolved Husain of responsibility, saved him from the accusations and bad opinion of the Islamic Community. So too he congratulated Hasan for the good he was to do for the Community by bringing about the reconciliation. And he announced that being known as ‘the Prophet’s Family’, the blessed progeny of Fatima would be highly honoured, like those of Mary’s mother, who said:

 

I commend her and her offspring to your protection from the Evil One, the Rejected.

 

O God! Grant blessings to our master Muhammed, and to his righteous, pure, and pious Family, and to his Companions, noble and select strivers in God’s way. Amen.

 

Second Station

 

This consists of Six of the thousands of mysteries contained in

 

‘In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate’

 

NOTE: A bright light from In the Name Of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate concerning Divine Mercy appeared to my dull mind from afar. I wanted to record it for myself in the form of notes, and to hunt it down and capture it, and circumscribe the light with twenty to thirty Mysteries. But unfortunately I was not able to do this at the present time and the twenty or thirty Mysteries were reduced to five or six.

 

When I say: “Oh, man!”, I mean myself. And while this lesson is directed particularly to my own soul, I refer it as the Second Station of the Fourteenth Flash for the approval of my meticulous brothers in the hope that it may benefit those with whom I am connected spiritually and whose souls are more prudent than mine. This lesson looks to the heart more than the mind, and regards spiritual pleasure rather than rational proofs.

 

 

 

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

 

[The Queen] said: “Ye chiefs! Here is—delivered to me—a letter worthy of respect. It is from Solomon, and is [as follows]:’In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.’”

 

A number of mysteries will be mentioned in this Station.

 

* FIRST MYSTERY

 

I saw one manifestation of In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate as follows:

 

On the face of the universe, the face of the earth, and the face of man are three Stamps of dominicality one within the other and each showing samples of the others.

 

T h e F i r s t is the Great Stamp of Godhead, which is manifest through the mutual assistance, co-operation, and embracing and corresponding to one another of beings in the totality of the universe. This looks to In the Name of God.

 

T h e S e c o n d is the Great Stamp of Divine Mercifulness, which is manifest through the mutual resemblance and proportion, order, harmony, favour and compassion in the disposal, raising and administration of plants and animals on the face of the earth. This looks to In the Name of God, the Merciful.

 

T h e n there is the Exalted Stamp of Divine Compassionateness, which is manifest through the subtleties of Divine beneficence, fine points of Divine clemency, and rays of Divine compassion on the face of man’s comprehensive nature. This looks to the Compassionate in In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

 

That is to say, In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate is the sacred title of three Stamps of Divine Oneness, which form a luminous line on the page of the world, and a strong cord, and shining filament. That is, through being revealed from above, the tip of In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate rests on man, the fruit of the universe and miniature copy of the world. It binds the lower world to the Divine Throne. It is a way for man to ascend to the Divine Throne.

 

 

 

* SECOND MYSTERY

 

In order not to overwhelm minds by Divine Unity, which is apparent in the boundless multiplicity of creatures, the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition constantly points out the manifestation of Divine Oneness within Divine Unity. For example, the sun encompasses numberless things with its light. In order to consider the sun itself in the totality of its light, a most extensive conceptual ability and comprehensive view is necessary. So, lest the sun itself be forgotten, it is displayed in every shining object by means of its reflection. And in accordance with the capacity of each, all shining objects display the sun’s qualities, such as its light and heat, together with the manifestation of its essence. And just as in accordance with their capacities, all lustrous objects show the sun together with all its attributes, so too do the sun’s qualities, like its light and heat and the seven colours in its light, all encompass all the things facing it.

 

And in the same way, And God’s is the highest similitude—but let there be no mistake in the comparison—just as Divine Oneness and Eternal Besoughtedness have a manifestation together with all the Divine Names in everything, in animate creatures in particular, and especially in man’s mirror-like essence, so too through Divine Unity does each of the Divine Names connected to beings encompass all beings. Thus, lest minds become overwhelmed by Divine Unity and hearts forget the Most Pure and Holy Essence, the Qur’an constantly puts before the eyes the Stamp of Divine Oneness within Divine Unity. And that is In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, which points out the three important points of the Stamp.

 

* THIRD MYSTERY

 

What makes this boundless universe rejoice is clearly Divine Mercy. And what illuminates these dark beings is self-evidently Divine Mercy. And what fosters and raises creatures struggling within these endless needs is self-evidently again Divine Mercy. And what causes the whole universe to be turned towards man, like a tree together with all its parts is turned towards its fruit, and causes it to look to him and run to his assistance is clearly Divine Mercy. And what fills and illuminates boundless space and the empty, vacant world and makes it rejoice is self-evidently Divine Mercy. And what designates ephemeral man for eternity and makes him the addressee and beloved of a Pre-Eternal and Post-Eternal One is self-evidently Divine Mercy.

 

Oh man! Since Divine Mercy is such a powerful, inviting, sweet, assisting lovable truth, say: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, adhere to this truth and be saved from absolute desolation and the pains of unending needs. Draw close to the throne of the Pre-Eternal and Post-Eternal Monarch, and through the compassion and rays of Divine Mercy, become the addressee, friend, and beloved of that Monarch.

 

Indeed, to gather with wisdom around man the realms of beings in the universe, and to make them hasten to meet all his needs with perfect order and favour is clearly one of two situations. Either each realm of beings in the universe itself knows man, and obeys him, runs to help him, which just as it is completely irrational is also impossible in many respects, or an absolutely impotent being like man has to possess the power of the mightiest absolute sovereign, or this assistance occurs through the knowledge of an Absolutely Powerful One behind the veil of the universe. That is to say, it is not that the different beings in the universe know man, but that they are the evidences of a Knowing, Compassionate One being acquainted with him and knowing him.

 

Oh man! Come to your senses! Is it at all possible that the All-Glorious One, Who causes all the varieties of creatures to turn towards you and stretch out their hands to assist you, and causes them to say: “Here we are!” in the face of your needs, is it possible that He does not know you, is not acquainted with you, does not see you? Since He does know you, He informs you that He knows you through His Mercy. So, you know Him too, and with respect let Him know that you know Him, and understand with certainty that what subjugates the vast universe to an absolutely weak, absolutely impotent, absolutely needy, ephemeral, insignificant creature like you, and despatches it to assist you is the truth of Divine Mercy, which comprises wisdom, favour, knowledge, and power.

 

Most certainly, a Mercy such as this requires universal and sincere thanks, and earnest and genuine respect. Therefore, say: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, which is the interpreter and expression of such sincere thanks and genuine respect. And make it the means of attaining to the Mercy, and an intercessor at the Court of the All-Merciful One.

 

Indeed, the existence and reality of Divine Mercy is as clear as the sun. For just as a woven tapestry centred on one point is formed by the order and situation of the threads of its warp and weft coming from all directions, so too the luminous threads extending from the manifestation of a thousand and one Divine Names in the vast sphere of the universe weave such a seal of compassionateness, tapestry of clemency, and seal of benevolence within a Stamp of Mercy that it demonstrates itself to minds more brilliantly than the sun.

 

The Beauteous All-Merciful One, Who orders the sun and moon, the elements and minerals, plants and animals like the warp and weft of a vast woven tapestry through the rays of His thousand and one Names, and causes them to serve life; and demonstrates His compassion through the exceedingly sweet and self-sacrificing compassion of all mothers, plant and animal; and subjugates animate creatures to human life, and from this demonstrates man’s importance and a most fine and lovely large tapestry of Divine dominicality, and manifests His most brilliant Mercy, has, in the face of His own absolute lack of need made His Mercy an acceptable intercessor for animate creatures and man.

 

Oh man! If you are truly a human being, say: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Find that intercessor. For sure, it is clearly, self-evidently, Divine Mercy which, without forgetting or confusing any of them raises, nurtures, and administers the four hundred thousand different plant and animal species on the earth at precisely the right time, and with perfect order, wisdom, and beneficence, and stamps the Seal of Divine Oneness on the face of the globe of the earth. And just as the existence of Divine Mercy is as certain as the existence of the beings on the face of the earth, so too do the beings form as many evidences to its reality as their own number.

 

Like on the face of the earth there is such a Seal of Mercy and Stamp of Divine Oneness, so also on the face of man’s nature is a Stamp of Divine Mercy which is not inferior to the Stamp of Compassion and vast Stamp of Mercy on the face of the universe. Simply, man possesses a comprehensiveness like being a point of focus of a thousand and one Divine Names.

 

Oh man! Is it at all possible that the One Who gives you this face, and places such a Stamp of Mercy and Seal of Oneness on it would leave you to your own devices, attach no importance to you, pay no attention to your actions, make the whole universe, which is turned towards you, futile and pointless, and make the tree of creation rotten and insignificant with decayed fruit? Would He cause to be denied His Mercy, which is as obvious as the sun, and His Wisdom, which is as clear as light, neither of which can in any way be doubted, nor are in any way deficient? God forbid!

 

Oh man! You should know that there is a way to ascend to the throne of Divine Mercy, and that is, In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. If you want to understand how important this way of ascent is, look at the beginning of the one hundred and fourteen chapters of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition, and at the beginnings of all estimable books, and at the start of all good works. And a clear proof of the God-determined grandeur of In the Name of God is that the very foremost Islamic scholars like Imam Shafi’i (may God be pleased with him) said: “Although In the Name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate is one verse, it was revealed one hundred and fourteen times in the Qur’an.”

 

* FOURTH MYSTERY

 

To declare: “You alone do we worship” in the face of the manifestation of Divine Unity within boundless multiplicity is not sufficient for everyone; the mind wanders. It is necessary to possess a heart as broad as the globe of the earth in order to observe the Unique and Single One behind the unity in the totality of beings, and to say: “You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help.” As a consequence of this, so that the Seal of Divine Oneness should be apparent on all species and realms of beings just as it is shown clearly on individual objects, and that they should call to mind the Unique and Single One, it is shown within the Stamp of Divine Mercy. Thus everyone at every level may turn to the Most Pure and Holy One, and saying: “You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help,” address Him directly.

 

It is in order to express this mighty mystery and clearly point out the Seal of Divine Mercy that the All-Wise Qur’an suddenly mentions the smallest sphere and most particular matter when describing the vastest sphere of the universe, for example, the creation of the heavens and the earth. And so that the mind does not wander, nor the heart drown, and the spirit may find directly its True Object of Worship, it opens the subject of man’s creation and man’s voice, and the subtle details of the bounties and wisdom in his features, for example, while mentioning the creation of the heavens and earth. The verse,

 

And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and in your colours

 

demonstrates this truth in a miraculous fashion.

 

Indeed, within innumerable creatures and an infinite multiplicity, there are sorts and degrees of Stamps of Divine Unity like concentric circles from the greatest Stamp to the smallest. But however clear that Unity is, it is still a unity within multiplicity. It cannot truly address observers. It is because of this that there has to be the Stamp of Divine Oneness behind Unity. So that unity does not call to mind multiplicity, and directly before the Most Pure and Holy One a way may be opened up to the heart.

 

Furthermore, in order to direct gazes towards the Stamp of Divine Oneness and attract hearts towards it, a most captivating design, shining light, agreeable sweetness, pleasing beauty, and powerful truth, which is the Stamp of Divine Mercy and Seal of Divine Compassion, has been placed on it. For sure, it is the strength of that Mercy which attracts the gazes of conscious beings, draws them to It, and causes them to reach the Seal of Oneness and to observe the Unique and Single One, and from that to manifest the true address in You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help.

 

Thus, it is through In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate being the index of the Sura al-Fatiha and a concise summary of the Qur’an that it is the sign and interpreter of this mighty mystery. One who acquires this sign may travel through the levels of Divine Mercy. And one who causes this interpreter to speak may learn the mysteries of Divine Mercy and see the lights of Divine Compassion and pity.

 

* FIFTH MYSTERY

 

There is a Hadith which goes something like this:

 

“God created man in the form of the All-Merciful One.”

 

It has been interpreted by some Sufis in an extraordinary way inappropriate to the tenets of belief. Some of them who were ecstatics even considered man’s spiritual nature to be ‘in the form of the All-Merciful’. Since ecstatics are mostly immersed in contemplation and confused, they are perhaps to be excused in holding views contrary to reality. But on consideration, those in their senses cannot accept their ideas which are contrary to the fundamentals of belief. If they do, they are in error.

 

Indeed, the Most Pure and Holy Deity, Who administers with order the whole universe as though it was a palace or house, and spins the stars as though they were particles and causes them to travel through space with wisdom and ease, and employs minute particles as though they were orderly officials, has no partner, match, opposite, or equal. So also according to the meaning of the verse:

 

There is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He hears and sees [all things],

 

He has no form, like, or peer, there is nothing resembling or similar to Him. However, according to the meaning and manner of comparison of the following verse,

 

And His is the highest similitude in the heavens and the earth, and He is Exalted in Might, Full of Wisdom,

 

His actions, attributes, and Names may be considered. That is to say, there is allegory and comparison in regard to His actions. One aim of the above-mentioned Hadith is as follows: “Man is in a form showing the Divine Name of All-Merciful in its entirety.”

 

For sure, as we explained before, just as the Divine Name of All-Merciful is manifest through the rays of a thousand and one Names on the face of the universe, and is apparent through the innumerable manifestations of God’s absolute dominicality on the face of the earth, so also is the complete manifestation of the Name All-Merciful apparent in a small measure in man’s comprehensive form, like on the face of the earth and the face of the universe.

 

A further indication is this: the evidences to the Necessarily Existent One of places of manifestation like animate creatures and man, who are proofs of and mirrors to the All-Merciful and Compassionate One, are so certain, clear, and obvious that just as it may be said of a shining mirror which reflects the image of the sun: “That mirror is the sun,” indicating to the clarity of its brilliance and evidence, so also it has been said and may be said: “Man is in the form of the All-Merciful One,” indicating to the clearness of his evidence and completeness of his connection. It is as a consequence of this mystery that the more moderate of those who believed in ‘the unity of existence’ said: “There is no existent but He,” as a way of expressing the clarity of this evidence and perfection of connection.

 

O God! O Most Merciful One! Most Compassionate One! Through the truth of ‘In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate’ have mercy on us as befits Your Compassionateness, and allow us to understand the mysteries of ‘In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate’ as befits Your Mercifulness. AMEN.

 

* SIXTH MYSTERY

 

O unhappy man struggling within a boundless impotence and endless want! You should understand just what a valuable means and acceptable intercessor is Divine Mercy. For Divine Mercy is the means to an All-Glorious Sovereign in Whose army both the stars and minute particles serve together in perfect order and obedience. And that All-Glorious One and Sovereign of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity is self-sufficient, He is utterly without need.

 

He is rich without limit being in no respect needy of the universe and beings. The whole universe is under His command and direction, utterly obedient beneath His majesty and grandeur, submissive before His sublimity. That is Divine Mercy for you, Oh man! It raises you to the presence of the One absolutely lacking any need, the Eternal Sovereign, and makes you His friend, addressee, and well-loved servant. But just as you cannot reach the sun, are far from it and can in no way draw close to it, although the sun’s light gives you its reflection and manifestation by means of your mirror, in the same way you are infinitely distant from the Most Pure and Holy One, the Sun of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, and cannot draw close to Him, but the light of His Mercy makes Him closer to us.

 

And so, O man! He who finds this Mercy finds an eternal unfailing treasury of light. And the way to find it is through following the Practices of the Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace), who was the most brilliant exemplar and representative of Mercy, its most eloquent tongue and herald, and was described in the Qur’an as a ‘Mercy to All the Worlds.’

 

And the means to this embodiment of Mercy who is a Mercy to All the Worlds is to utter the prayer calling down God’s blessings upon him. Indeed, the meaning of this prayer is Mercy. As a prayer of Mercy for that living embodiment of Divine Mercy, it is the means of reaching the Mercy to All the Worlds. So, make this prayer the means to the Mercy to All the Worlds for yourself, and at the same time make him the means to the Mercy of the Most Merciful One.

 

The whole Muslim Community in all their great numbers uttering this prayer which is synonymous with Mercy for the Mercy to All the Worlds proves in brilliant fashion what a valuable Divine gift is Divine Mercy, and how broad is its sphere.

 

T o C o n c l u d e : Just as the most precious jewel in the treasury of Mercy and its doorkeeper is the Prophet Muhammed (Upon whom be blessings and peace), so too is its first key In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. And its most easy key the prayer for the Prophet.

 

 

 

O God! Through the truth of ‘In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate’ grant blessings and peace to the one whom You sent as a mercy to all the worlds as befits Your Mercy, and in veneration of him, and to all his Family and Companions. And grant us Mercy so as to make us free of want for the mercy of any other than You from among Your creatures. AMEN.

 

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us. Indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.

 

 

 

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