The Ninth Issue

The Ninth Issue

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ * آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالمُؤْمِنُونَ

كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللهِ وَمَلاَئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ (a)

An astonishing spiritual question and a state arising from a sublime Divine favour becoming manifest were the [two] causes of my explaining an all-embracing, lofty, vast, universal and extended point about this verse.

This is that the meaning of the following question occurred to my spirit ‘why does someone who denies a particular reality of faith become thereby a disbeliever? And why is it the case that anyone who does not accept [one of the realities of faith] cannot be a Muslim? For it would seem that faith in Allāh and the hereafter alone should drive those darknesses (ẓulumāt) (43) away like the sun! Furthermore, why does anyone who denies any of the articles of faith and any of the truths of faith become thereby an apostate? Why is it the case that

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a In the Name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Compassionate. The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, as do the faithful. They all believe in Allāh, His angels, His scriptures, and His messengers. ‘We make no distinction between any of his messengers,’ they say, ‘We hear and obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord. To You we all return! (Qur’ān: al-Baqarah, 2:285)

43. Darknesses (ẓulumāt): The plural usage reflects the Qur’ānic ‘ẓulumāt’. Darkness, a symptom of fragmentary multiplicity, is never used in the singular in the Qur’ān, whereas light, “nūr” by nature pure, unitary and of Allāh, is always in the singular. 

he falls thereby into a disbelief that is absolute? Why does anyone who does not accept just one of them thereby leave Islām? For if one has belief in the rest of the articles of faith, this must save one from absolute disbelief.

The answer: Faith is a unitary reality the wellspring of which is in its six articles. It cannot be broken up. It is a universal of the type that cannot be divided, and a whole that cannot be split up. For every one of the articles of faith establishes the remaining articles by means of the proofs that establish it itself.

Each of them thereby becomes a greater, extremely powerful proof that strengthens all of the others. Therefore, any superstitious thought that does not shake all of the articles along with all of their proofs will, in truth, be unable to deny and invalidate a single pillar or even a single reality either. And even more, one might be [guilty of] a disbelief of obstinacy by simply shutting one’s eyes under the veil of ‘not accepting’. Thereby, one tumbles down unto absolute disbelief step by step. One’s humanity is blotted out. One falls both physically and spiritually into hell.

With Allāh’s favour, this supreme subtle point will be elucidated in six points by means of abridged outlines and summarised encapsulations just as we have just done so, in very short encapsulations, in the course of our demonstration of the Resurrection in this very Fruit Epistle, where we established that the other articles also prove the reality of the Resurrection.

The First Point: The proofs for faith in Allāh also establish the reality of the other articles, as well as faith in the hereafter, as has been clearly elucidated in The Seventh Issue of The Fruit Epistle. 

Yes, the beginningless, ever-abiding sultanate of lordship and the endless, perpetual sovereignty of Divinity (ulūhiyyah) that directs this boundless universe and all that it contains and all that it requires, quite as if it were a palace, city or country; that causes it to rotate within the orbit of balance and harmonious order and transforms it with wisdoms; that equips and directs particles, planets, flies and stars, directing each as though they were a regular army and that moves them and enlivens them consistently within the sphere of its command and volition, through training and employing them within lofty maneuvers, driving them and causing them to roam and wander and parade in worshipful servanthood. Is it at all possible, and would any intellect accept [this], and is there any possibility at all that the realm of the hereafter not exist, that the endless, eternal, ever-enduring and perpetual kingdom not have an ever-enduring abode, perpetual place, and eternal locus of manifestation? A thousand times far be it [from Allāh]!

Thus, the kingdom and lordship of the Truth, most of His Names, as well as the proofs of the necessity of His existence all testify to the existence of the hereafter and require it, as has been elucidated in The Seventh Issue. See and know how strong the point of reliance of this pole of faith is, and believe in it as if you can see it. Faith in Allāh is inseparable from [faith in] the hereafter.

Just as it is mentioned with shorter indications in The Tenth Word, [we say here]:

Is it really possible in any way whatever, and acceptable to reason, that Allāh, the One worshipped by entitlement (Al-Ma‘būdu bi’l-ḥaqq), Who made the universe 

as an embodied book of The Eternal One [would not send messengers to explain it?] - for each of its pages conveys as many meanings as there are in an entire book, and every line conveys as many meanings as there are on an entire page. He made it an embodied Qur’ān of the Glorified One, in so far as each of its creational verses, words, letters and points is a miracle. He made it into a sublime mosque of the Merciful One, its interior ornamented with limitless verses and inscriptions of great import, in every corner of which a group of beings occupy themselves with the special mode of worship that corresponds to the vocation of their innate nature.

Is it really possible that Allāh, Who is the One worshipped by entitlement (Al-Ma‘būdu bi’l-ḥaqq), would not send teachers to instruct in the meanings of the great book [of the universe] and interpreters as messengers to interpret the verses of the Qur’ān of the Eternal One?

That he would not appoint imāms for the worshippers in that greatest of mosques with their limitless modes of worship? That he would not deliver Divine edicts into the hands of those teachers, interpreters and imāms? A thousand times, far be it from Him!

The Compassionate and Generous Artful Maker (Aṣ-Ṣāni‘u’r-Raḥīmu wa’l-Karīm) created the cosmos as a place of feasting, and exhibition hall and promenade, and has placed limitless delectable, multifarious blessings therein, as well as limitless, precious and wondrous works of art. He created them all in order to manifest the beauty of His mercy, and the goodness of His compassion, and the perfection of His lordship to sentient beings and in order to push them towards gratitude and praise. 

Now, is it really possible or acceptable to reason that He would not communicate with the sentient creatures in that place of feasting, and that He would not inform them, by means of messengers, of their duties of having gratitude for those blessings and of servanthood faced with the manifestation of His mercy and His having endeared Himself to them? Far be it from Him, a thousand times!

And furthermore, an Artful Maker loves His works of art and also wishes to endear them [to others]. He ornamented this universe with the befittingly brocaded wonders of His artistry in order to show that He wishes this to be met with approval and admiration - a proof of this is His having taken into account the thousands of different tastes that mouths [enjoy]. He wishes to make known and endear His essence to all, by means of every one of His works of art and to reveal to some degree His metaphysical beauty.

[Now, given all this], is it really possible that He would not speak to some of the foremost greats of humanity; those men who are the leaders of all of the life-endowed creatures in the universe, that he would not send messengers to them - the wonders of His art remaining thus unrecognised, His lofty, exalted Beautiful Names unadmired, and His acquainting Himself and His self-endearment unreciprocated? Far be it from Him, a thousand times far be it from Him!

The All-knowing Speaker, responds with His boundless bestowals and His endless beneficence to the endless supplications of all living creatures, which they submit to Him for the sake of the fulfilment of the needs of their innate natures, as well as to all of the prayers and desires that 

they convey in the language of their states.

He responds to them at a time befitting, and in a fashion that gives evidence of intention, volition and will and He speaks to them clearly, both in act and in state. Now, is it really possible or acceptable to reason that He would speak both in act and state with the smallest of living creatures, and would listen to their complaints in His beneficence that wholly fulfils their needs, and see and be fully aware of all of those needs, but that He would not meet with the spiritual leaders of mankind, leaders who constitute the most elect fruit of the universe itself, the stewards of the earth, and the leaders of the majority of the earth’s creatures!? That He would not communicate with them as He speaks to all other living creatures, in speech in act and in state? That He would not send edicts, pages and scriptures to them? Far be it from Him, endlessly far be it from Him.

Thus, faith in Allāh (al-īmānu billāh) establishes the reality of وبكُتُبِهِ ورُسُلِهِ ([I believe] in His Books and His Messengers). That is, it establishes faith in the prophets and in the holy books as conclusively as the proof for faith itself by its definiteness, and by way of its limitless amount of evidence.

Then, is it really in any way possible or acceptable to reason that Muḥammad (‘alayhisṣalātu wassalām) could be anything other than Allāh’s most selected creation, most perfect messenger and greatest prophet? Far be it from him, one hundred thousand times!

For it is he who knew that Majestic Artful Maker (Aṣ-Ṣāni‘u Dhu’l-Jalāl), Who fills and shakes the entire universe by means of the reality of the Qur’ān, and made Him known, and that loved Him and made Him loved, and that thanked Him, and 

caused others to thank Him in the most perfect way, and that engendered the earth with speaking سبحان الله, الحمد لله and الله أكبر so loudly that the very heavens heard it, and that gathered a fifth of humanity in quantity and a half of humanity in quality and humanness behind him across one thousand three hundred years in a way that would enkindle the land and the sea into ecstasy, and that responded to all manifestations of lordship of that Creator with all-embracing, universal worship, and that called to, addressed, taught and guided the universe and all ages, through the suras of the Qur’ān for the proclamation and realisation of all of His Divine purposes, and that revealed the dignity of man, his value and his vocation and that was ratified by his thousand miracles. [Could Muḥammad (‘alayhisṣalātu wassalām) be anything other than all this?] Far be it from him, one thousand times!

Thus, the reality of أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله along with all of its evidence proves the reality of أشهد أن محمدًا رسول الله.

Now, is it really possible that the Artful Maker of this universe would make His creatures to speak with one another in hundreds of thousands of languages, and that He would know of their conversations and listen to them, but that He would not speak Himself? Far be it from Him!

Moreover, is it really acceptable to reason that He would not apprise us of His Divine purposes for this universe by means of a Divine edict, and would not send a book like the Qur’ān to unveil the mystery of the universe and to give the real answer to of all questions the three most dangerous and universal - namely, ‘where do all creatures come from’, ‘where do they go?’ and ‘why does caravan after caravan

come here in this way, stay a short while, and then leave?’. Far be it from Him!

Then, is it really possible in any way whatever that the Qur’ān could not be the speech and edict of that Beginningless Speaker (Al-Mutakallimu’lAzalī) and that Eternal Artful Maker (Aṣ-Ṣāni‘u’s-Sarmadī)!? Absolutely not, and far be it from Him, a hundred thousand times!

For it is the Qur’ān that has lit up thirteen centuries, and that every hour flows upon hundreds of millions of tongues reciting with perfect reverence, and that is recorded upon the hearts of millions of memorisers with perfect hallowing, and that regulated the qualitatively greatest group of humanity with its laws, and that trained, purified, refined and instructed their nafs, spirits, hearts and intellects; the book the miraculous inimitability of which The Book of Light has demonstrated forty facets, and of which the wonder-working and extraordinary Nineteenth Letter has elucidated one of the types of its miraculousness for forty different groups, and for every different stratum of mankind, establishing conclusively that it is the Speech of Allāh, and that Muḥammad (‘alayhisṣalātu wassalām) by his one thousand miracles is one of the miracles of the Qur’ān. Thus, faith in Allāh demonstrates by means of all of its proofs that the Qur’ān is the Speech of Allāh.

Moreover, is it really possible that the Majestic Sultan would leave the heavens and the stars empty, He Who continually fills and empties the face of the earth of living creatures and Who populates our earth with sentient beings in order to make Himself known such that they worship and glorify Him? Is it really possible that He would not create inhabitants befitting them and that He would not lodge them 

in those heavenly palaces!? That He would leave the sultanate of His lordship in His greatest kingdom without servants, and without splendour, and without officials, and without messengers, lieutenants and overseers, and without witnesses, and without worshippers, and without citizens?

To the number of angels, far be it from Him!

Is it really possible in any way whatever that a Wise Ruler and a Compassionate All-Knowing [Being] would not have the actions of man pertaining to the universe recorded? That He would not have their actions recorded so as to reward or punish them? That He would not write their evil deeds and good actions upon the Tablet of Destiny? As many letters as there are written upon destiny’s Preserved Tablet, far be it from Him!

For it is He Who wrote out the universe as a book and Who records, within their each kernel, the entire life-history of every tree; Who writes down all the life-duties of every plant and flower in every one of their seeds, and Who perfectly registers the every life-event of every sentient being in their mustard-seed-like memories; and Who preserves every action and every happening that takes place within all of His kingdom and within the realms of His sultanate, capturing them by means of a great number of photographic apparatuses; Who created the immensity of paradise and hell, the Bridge and the Ultimate Balance in order to manifest and realise the justice, wisdom and mercy that are the most important foundations of lordship.

Thus, the reality of faith in Allāh also conclusively proves by means of all of its evidence the reality of faith in the angels and faith in destiny; and every one of the articles of faith 

prove one another true, in the same way that the sun points to the day and the day points to the sun.

The Second Point: All of the claims of all of the heavenly scriptures and scrolls, foremost amongst them being the Qur’ān, as well as those of all of the prophets, foremost amongst them Muḥammad (‘alayhisṣalātu wassalām) revolve around five or six fundamental foundations; all of the heavenly books and scrolls endeavour always to instruct in and prove those foundations.

Every one of the proofs and evidences that testify to their prophethood and truthfulness are oriented towards those foundations, strengthening thereby their truthfulness. Those foundations are faith in Allāh and in the hereafter and the rest of the articles. There is no way then that the six articles of faith can ever be disconnected from one another.

Each of them proves the verity of all of them and indeed, necessary entails and requires the other. These six articles make up a whole and a universal that cannot be split apart. Their being divided is outside the realm of possibility.

This is just as in the case of the Ṭūbā Tree, its roots in the sky, every one of its branches, fruits and leaves depends upon the universal and endless life of that vast tree itself. Anyone then unable to deny that vital life of the tree that is strong and as manifest as the sun, will also be unable to deny the life of a single one of the leaves attached to it. Were he to deny this, that tree would refute and silence that denier with every one of its branches, fruits and leaves. Faith along with its six articles is likewise the same.

Within the introduction to this station, I had intended to elucidate the six articles of faith in six points with every point 

comprising five subtle points, amounting in total to thirty six subtle points, and I had wished to answer in detail the dire question that appears in the introduction, yet certain obstacles got in the way of my doing so.

Yet I am presuming that the intelligent do not require any further clarification, for the first point serves as a sufficient criterion, and I think it has been adequately perceived that any Muslim who denies a single of the truths of faith lands himself in absolute disbelief.

For whereas Islām mentioned these realities in full, the other religions only mentioned them in summary form. The articles are chained together. Any Muslim, who does not recognise or believe in Muḥammad (‘alayhisṣalātu wassalām), does not recognise Allāh in His attributes, nor does he know the hereafter. The true faith of a Muslim is founded upon proofs so powerful and unshakeable that there can be no excuses for denial. It is as if the mind is compelled to accept.

The Third Point: I once said الحمد لله (alḥamdulillāh) and then sought for a blessing that could be equivalent to its limitlessly vast meaning. Suddenly, this sentence occurred to me:

اَلْحَمْدُ للهِ عَلَى الْإِيمَانِ بِاللهِ، وَعَلَى وَحْدَانِيَّتِهِ، وَعَلَى وُجُوبِ وُجُودِهِ،

وَعَلَى صِفَاتِهِ وَأَسْمَائِهِ حَمْدًا بِعَدَدِ تَجَلِّيَاتِ أَسْمَائِهِ مِنَ الْأَزَلِ إِلَى الْأَبَدِ (a)

I looked at this [and found that] it was its exact equivalent, in the following manner: (44)

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a 'Praise be to Allāh for faith in Allāh, for His unity, for the necessity of His existence and for His attributes as name, as much praise as there are manifestations of His Names, from beginningless eternity to endless eternity.



44. This part - that points to the faith being a very great blessing - has been started to be written but not been able to finish.