In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
And We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles to drive away the evil ones.1
Oh, modern-educated Sir whose brain has shrunk through studying the
soulless matters of astronomy, whose mind can see
no further than the tip of his nose, and who cannot squeeze the mighty
mystery of the above verse into his constricted brain!
The heaven of the verse may be reached by a stairway of Seven Steps.
Come, let us climb them together!
FIRST STEP: Truth and wisdom require that the heavens have inhabitants
appropriate to them as the earth has. According
to the Shari'a, those various beings are called angels and spirit beings.
Reality requires it to be thus, for despite its small size
and insignificance, the earth being filled with living and conscious
beings, then emptied from time to time and once again
repopulated suggests, rather makes it clear, that the heavens, too,
which possess magnificent constellations and are like
adorned palaces, should be filled with conscious and percipient creatures.
Like men and jinn, those creatures also are the
spectators of the palace of the universe, the observers of the book
of creation, and the heralds of the sovereignty of
Dominicality. For the universe is arrayed and embellished with innumerable
adornments, decorations, and ornaments, and
self-evidently requires the thoughtful gazes of those who will appreciate
it and wonder at it. Indeed, beauty requires a lover,
and sustenance is given to the hungry. However, man and jinn are able
to perform only a millionth of this endless duty, this
grand viewing, this extensive worship. That is to say, endless sorts
of angels and spirit beings are necessary to perform
these endless duties and diverse worship.
According to the indications of certain narrations, and the wisdom in
the order of the universe, it may be said that some
kinds of travelling bodies, from planets to drops of water, are the
mounts of one kind of angel. They mount them with God's
permission and tour and gaze upon the manifest world. And it also may
be said that one type of animal bodies, from the birds
of Paradise called "The Green Birds" in a Hadith, to flies, are the
aircraft for a sort of spirit being. They enter them at God's
command, travel around the physical universe, and observe the miracles
of creation through the windows of the senses of
their bodies.
For sure, the Creator Who continuously creates subtle life and luminous
percipient beings from dense earth and turbid water
also creates types of conscious beings suitable for spirit and life,
from those seas of light and even from the the oceans of
darkness. And He creates them in great abundance. The existence of
angels and spirit beings has been proved with the
certainty of two plus two equals four in my treatise entitled Nokta
(Point), and in the Twenty-Ninth Word. If you wish, you
may refer to them.
q SECOND STEP: The earth and the heavens are connected to one another
like two countries under one government.
There are important relations and transactions between them. Things
necessary for the earth like light, heat, blessings, and
mercy in the form of rain come from the sky, that is, they are sent.
And according to the consensus of the revealed religions,
which are founded on revelation, and the agreement of all those who
uncover the mysteries of the universe, relying on what
they have witnessed, the angels and spirit beings descend to the earth
from the skies. From this it may be understood
through a surmise so certain it can almost be felt that for the inhabitants
of the earth there is a way to ascend to the
heavens.
Indeed, everyone's mind, imagination, and perpetually rises to the skies,
and so also having left behind all heaviness do the
spirits of the prophets and saints rise there with God's permission,
and having stripped off their bodies, the spirits of the dead.
So since those who become light and subtle rise there, for sure, one
sort of the inhabitants of the earth and the air who are
clothed in what resembles a body and are light and subtle like spirits
may rise to the heavens.
THIRD STEP: The silence and tranquillity of the heavens, and their order
and regularity, and vastness and luminosity, show
that their inhabitants are not like those of the earth; they are obedient,
they do whatever they are commanded. There is
nothing to cause overcrowding and disputes, because the country is
vast. Their natures are pure, they are innocent, their
stations are fixed.
On the earth, opposites come together, evils are mixed with good, and
disputes start between them. For this reason, conflict
and suffering are born. And from them examination and competition are
set. And from them progress and retrogression
occur. The wisdom in these facts is as follows:
Man is the fruit of the tree of creation, its furthest part. It is well-known
that the fruit of something is its most distant, most
comprehensive, most delicate, and most important part. Therefore, since
man, who is the fruit of the universe, is a most
comprehensive, most wonderful, most powerless, most weak, and a most
subtle miracle of power, the earth, which is his
cradle and dwelling-place, is the heart and centre of the whole universe
as regards meaning and art, despite being physically
small and insignificant in relation to the heavens; it is the exposition
and exhibition-place of all the miracles of art; and the
display and point of focus of all the manifestations of the Divine
Names; the place of assembly and reflection of unending
Dominical activity; the means and market of boundless Divine creativity,
whose liberality is especially evident in the
numerous small species of plants and animals; the place, in a small
measure, of samples of the artefacts to be found in the
truly vast worlds of the hereafter; the speedily operating workshop
for eternal textiles; the fast-changing place of imitation of
everlasting panoramas; the narrow, temporary field and tillage rapidly
raising the seeds for never-ending gardens.
Thus, it is because of this immaterial greatness of the earth,2 and
its importance in regard to art, that the All-Wise Qur'an
puts it on a par with the heavens, although it is like a tiny fruit
of a huge tree. It places it in one pan of a pair of scales and
the whole of the rest of the universe in the other. It repeatedly says,
Sustainer of the Heavens and the Earth.
Furthermore, the speedy and constant change and transformation of the
earth, which arises from the instances of wisdom
mentioned above, requires that its inhabitants undergo change in accordance
with it. And, it is because this limited earth
manifests unlimited miracles of power that according to their creation
and unlike other animate beings, no natural limit or
restriction has been placed on the faculties and powers of man and
jinn, who are its most important inhabitants. As a result
of this they have manifested endless progress and endless retrogression.
A great field of trial and examination has opened,
from the prophets and the saints to the nimrods and the devils. Since
this is so, of course, with their boundless evil, the
pharaoh-like devils will throw stones at the heavens and its inhabitants.
FOURTH STEP: The All-Glorious One, Who is the Sustainer, Controller,
and Creator of all the worlds, has numerous
principles and rules, and very many appellations, titles, and most
Beautiful Names, which are all different. Whichever Name
and title necessitated sending angels to the ranks of the Prophet (PBUH)'s
Companions in order to do battle against
unbelievers also required that there should be battle between angels
and devils, and contest between the good inhabitants of
the heavens and the evil inhabitants of the earth. Indeed the All-Powerful
One of Glory, Who holds within the grasp of His
power the breathing-in and breathing-out of the unbelievers, does not
wipe them out with a single command, a single
trumpet-blast. With His title of universal Dominicality and Names of
All-Wise and Controller, He opens a field of
examination and contest.
If the comparison is not mistaken, we see that a king has numerous different
titles and names in respect of the different
areas of his rule. For example, in the judicature he is known by the
name of Wise Judge, in the army as
Commander-in-Chief, in the office of the Shaykhu'l-Islam as Khalifa,
and in the civil service as Sultan. His obedient subjects
call him Gracious Sovereign, while the rebellious call him All-Compelling
Ruler. You may think of further examples.
Thus, it sometimes happens that an exalted king such as that, whose
subjects are all within his power, does not issue the
command to execute an impotent and contemptible rebel, rather, he sends
him to court under his name of Wise Judge. Also,
he knows a both capable and honest official who is worthy of being
favoured. However, he does not favour him with his
particular knowledge by private telephone. Instead, under his titles
relating to the majesty of sovereignty and expedients of
government, he opens a field of competition in order to make public
how deserving the official is of reward, and he gives the
command to his minister and invites the people to watch. He has organized
a welcoming ceremony, and, as a result of a
grand, elevated trial and examination, favours him in a distinguished
assembly; he proclaims his worthiness. And you can
think of further examples in the same way.
Thus, and God's is the highest similitude, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity
and Post-Eternity has numerous Most Beautiful
Names. Through the manifestations of His Glory and the manifestations
of His Beauty, He has many attributes and titles.
And the Name, title, and attribute which necessitate the existence
of light and darkness, summer and winter, and Paradise
and Hell, require also numerous general laws like the law of generation,
those of competition and mutual assistance, and the
making general to a degree also of the law of contest. From the contest
of inspirations and satanic whisperings around the
heart to the contest between angels and devils on the bounds of the
heavens, they require that law to be all-embracing.
FIFTH STEP: Since there is coming and going from the earth to the heavens,
and there is descent and ascent from the
heavens to the earth and important necessities for the earth are sent
from there; and since good spirits rise to the heavens,
for sure, imitating the good spirits, evil spirits too will attempt
to go to the realm of the heavens. For they are light and subtle
in regard to their beings. Furthermore, they will doubtless be repulsed
and expelled, for by nature they are evil and
inauspicious. Also, without doubt, there will be a sign, an indication,
in the Manifest World of this important exchange, this
contest outside the realm of materiality. For the wisdom of the Sovereignty
of Dominicality requires that it should place a
sign and leave an indication for man in particular, whose most important
duty is observation, witnessing, supervision, and
acting as a herald, to these significant disposals in the Unseen. Just
as it has placed the indication of rain to the endless
miracles of spring, and made apparent causes the sign to the wonders
of Divine art, so that it might call the people of the
Manifest Realm to witness them, indeed, attract the attentive gazes
of all the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth to that
wondrous exhibition. That is, it displays the vast heavens as a castle
or city arrayed with towers on which sentries are
posted, so that they may reflect on the majesty of Dominicality.
Since wisdom requires that there should be an announcement for this
elevated contest, there is surely an indication to it. But
- other than shooting stars - no event appropriate to this announcement
is apparent among the events of the atmosphere and
heavens; there is nothing more appropriate than this. For it may be
understood clearly how suitable for the repulsion of devils
are these stellar events, which resemble missiles and signal rockets
fired from the sturdy bastions of towering castles.
Whereas, apart from this purpose, wisdom, and aim, no other purpose
appropriate to these occurrences is known. Other
occurrences are not like this. Furthermore, this purpose and wisdom
is famous since the time of Adam, and has been
witnessed by those who know the reality of things.
SIXTH STEP: Since man and jinn are capable of infinite evil and exertion,
they are infinitely obdurate and rebellious. It is
because of this that the Holy Qur'an restrains them from rebellion
and insubordination with an eloquence so miraculous,
styles so elevated and clear, comparisons and stories so exalted and
evident that they cause the universe to tremble. For
example, observe carefully the awesome warning, fearsome threat, and
severe restraining in the verses:
O you assembly of jinn and men! If you can pass beyond the regions of
the heavens and the earth, pass beyond them! [But]
you cannot pass beyond them, save by [God's] authority. * Then which
of the favours of your Sustainer will you deny? * On
you will be sent a flame of fire, and smoke; no succour will you have,3
which indicates the meaning, "O man and jinn! If you are not going to
obey my commands, come on, pass beyond the
bounds of My realms if you are able!" With a most miraculous eloquence,
it smashes the most conceited obstinacy of man
and jinn. It proclaims their impotence, and shows just how powerless
and wretched they are in relation to the vast grandeur
of the Sovereignty of Dominicality. It is as though it says with that
verse, and the verse,
And We have made them missiles to drive away the evil ones:4
"O man and jinn, proud and obstinate within your baseness, and obdurate
and refractory within your weakness and poverty!
How are you so bold as to oppose with your rebellion the commands of
a Monarch so Glorious that the stars, moons, and
suns obey His commands like soldiers under orders? Through your defiance
you contest an All-Wise One of Glory Who has
obedient soldiers so awesome that, if to suppose the impossible your
devils could withstand them, they would drive them off
with cannon-balls the size of mountains. And with your ingratitude,
you revolt in the realm of a Lord of Glory Who has
servants and troops so fearsome, it is not insignificant little impotent
creatures like you, if you were each infidel enemies the
size of mountains or the earth, they would be able to hurl stars, flaming
projectiles, and molten metal the size of mountains or
the earth at you, and rout you. And you break a law that is such that
those bound by it could if necessary strike your earth in
your face, and rain down on you stars like cannon-balls the size of
your globe."
Yes, in the Qur'an are certain important 'concentrations of forces'
which arise not from the enemies being strong, but from
reasons like the displaying of majesty and the exhibiting of the enemy's
wickedness. And sometimes it mobilizes against the
littlest and weakest thing, the largest and most powerful causes, in
order to show its perfect order, infinite justice, vast
knowledge, and power of wisdom, and holds them above it; but does not
make them fall upon it or aggress against it. For
example, look at this verse,
But if you uphold each other against him, truly God is his Protector,
and Gabriel, and all the righteous among the believers,
and furthermore, the angels, will back him up.5
How respectful it is concerning the Prophet, and how compassionate towards
the rights of his wives! This important
concentration of forces is only to express compassionately the greatness
of its respect for the Prophet and the importance of
the complaints of two weak beings and the observance of their rights.
SEVENTH STEP: Like angels and fish, there are also numerous different
varieties of stars. Some are extremely small, and
some are extremely large. Everything that shines in the sky even is
called a star. Thus, one sort of star the Glorious Creator
and Beauteous Maker created like the embossed decorations on the face
of the delicate heavens, and the shining fruits of
that tree, and the praising and extolling fishes of those seas. And
He made some the places of excursion and thousands of
dwelling-places for the angels. And He made one sort of small star
the means for driving off devils. Thus, these shooting
stars fired to repulse satans may have three meanings:
The First: They are a sign and indication that the law of contest is in force also in the vastest sphere.
The Second: There are vigilant guards, obedient inhabitants in the heavens.
The shooting stars are a proclamation and
indication that there are Divine forces found there who are displeased
at the rebellion of evil dwellers on the earth, and their
eavesdropping on them.
The Third: It is the rejection and repulsion with shooting stars like
missiles and signal rockets of spying satans, which are the
execrable representatives of the filth of the earth, from the portals
of the heavens, so that they do not soil the pure and clean
and the dwelling-place of the pure, the skies; to prevent them spying
on account of evil spirits, and to scare off mannerless
spies.
And so, Astronomer Sir, who relies on the torch in his head like a fire-fly
and shuts his eyes to the sun of the Qur'an! Open
your eyes, put aside the torch in your head, and see within the light
of miraculousness as bright as daylight the meaning of
the verse at the beginning! Take one star of truth from the heavens
of that verse, cast it at the satan in your head, and drive
away your own satan! And we must do the same. Together we should say,
O my Sustainer! I seek refuge with you from the suggestions of the Evil Ones.
And God's is the eloquent proof and the decisive wisdom.
All glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have
taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing,
All-Wise.6
The Addendum to the Fifteenth Word
[The First Topic of the Twenty-Sixth Letter]
In His Name be He Glorified.
And there is nothing but glorifies Him with praise.
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
And if a suggestion from Satan assails your mind, seek refuge with God; for He is All-Hearing and All-Knowing.7
A Proof of the Qur'an against Satan and His Party
This First Topic defeats in argument the Devil, silences the rebellious,
and strikes them dumb by refuting in the most clear
manner a fearsome and cunning stratagem of the Devil, which is to be
'unbiased'. It concerns an event part of which I
described in summary form ten years ago in my work entitled Leme'at.
It is as follows:
Eleven years before this treatise was written in the month of Ramadan,
I was listening to the Qur'an being recited in Beyazit
Mosque in Istanbul. Suddenly, although I could not see anyone, I seemed
to hear an unearthly voice which captured all my
attention. I listened with my imagination, and realized that it was
saying to me:
"You consider the Qur'an to be extremely elevated and brilliant. Be
unbiased for a minute and consider it again. That is,
suppose it to be man's word. I wonder whether you would still see the
same qualities and beauty in it?"
In truth, I was deceived by the voice; I thought of the Qur'an as being
written by man. And just as Beyazit Mosque is
plunged into darkness when the electric switch is turned off, I observed
that with that thought the brilliant lights of the
Qur'an began to be extinguished. At that point I understood that it
was the Devil who was speaking to me. He was drawing
me towards the abyss.
I sought help from the Qur'an and a light was at once imparted to my
heart giving me firm strength for the defence. I began
to argue back at the Devil, saying:
"O Satan! Unbiased thinking is to take a position between two sides.
Whereas what both you and your disciples from among
men call unbiased thinking is to take the part of the opposing side;
it is not impartiality, it is temporary unbelief. Because, to
consider the Qur'an to be man's word and to judge it as such is to
take the part of the opposing side; it is to favour something
baseless and invalid. It is not being unbiased, it is being biased
towards falsehood."
The Devil replied: "Well, in that case, say it is neither God's Word
nor man's word. Think of it as between the two." To
which I rejoined:
"That is not possible either. For if there is a disputed property for
which there are two claimants, and the claimants are close
both to one another and to the property, the property will then either
be given to someone other than them, or will be put
somewhere accessible so that whoever proves ownership can take it.
If the two claimants are far apart with one in the East
and one in the West, then according to the rule, it will remain with
the one who has possession of it, as it is not possible for it
to be left mid-way between them.
"Thus, the Qur'an is a valuable property, and however distant man's
word is from God's, the two sides in question are that
far apart; indeed, they are infinitely far from one another. It is
not possible for the Qur'an to be left between the two sides,
which are as far apart as the Pleiades and the ground. For they are
opposites like existence and non-existence or the two
magnetic poles; there can be no point between them. In which case,
for the Qur'an, the one who possesses it is God's side.
It will be accepted as being in His possession, and the proofs of ownership
will be regarded in that way. Should the opposing
side refute all the arguments proving it to be God's Word, it may claim
ownership of it, otherwise it may not. God forbid!
What hand can pull out the nails fastening that vast jewel to the Sublime
Throne of God, riveted as it is with thousands of
certain proofs, and break its supporting pillars, causing it to fall?"
"And so, inspite of you, O Satan!, the just and the fair-minded reason
in this equitable and rightful manner. They increase
their belief in the Qur'an through even the slightest evidences. While
according to the way shown by you and your disciples,
if just once it is supposed to be man's word and that mighty jewel
fastened to the Divine Throne is cast to the ground, a
proof with the strength of all the nails and the firmness of many proofs
becomes necessary in order to raise it from the
ground and fasten it once more to the Throne, and so be saved from
the darkness of unbelief and reach the lights of belief.
But because it is extremely difficult to do this, due to your wiles,
many people are losing their faith at this time by imagining
themselves to be making unbiased judgements."
The Devil turned and said: "The Qur'an resembles man's word. It is similar
to the way men converse. That means it is man's
word. If it was God's Word, it would be appropriate to Him and would
be altogether out of the ordinary. Just as His art does
not resemble man's art, so also should His Word not resemble man's
word." I replied:
"It may be understood as follows: apart from his miracles and special
attributes, the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) was a
human being in all his actions, conduct, and behaviour. He submitted
to and complied with the Divine laws and commands
manifested in creation. He too suffered from the cold, experienced
pain, and so on. His deeds and attributes were not all
made out of the ordinary so that he could be the leader of his community
through his actions, its guide through his conduct,
and instruct it through all his behaviour. If he had been out of the
ordinary in all his conduct, he could not himself have been
the leader in every respect, the total guide of everyone, the 'Mercy
to All the Worlds' through all his attributes.
"In just the same way, the All-Wise Qur'an is the leader to the aware
and the conscious, the guide of jinn and men, the
teacher of those attaining to perfection, and instructor of those seeking
reality. It is of necessity and of a certainty, therefore,
in the same form as man's conversation and style. For men and jinn
take their supplications from it and learn their prayers
from it; they express their concerns in its language, and learn from
it the rules of social behaviour, and so on. Everyone has
recourse to it. If, therefore, it had been in the form of the Divine
speech which the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him)
heard on Mount Sinai, man could not have borne listening to it and
hearing it, nor made it the point of reference and
recourse. Moses (peace be upon him), one of the five greatest prophets,
could only endure to hear a few words. He said:
"'Is Your speech thus?' God replied: 'I have the power of all tongues.'"
Next, the Devil said: "Many people speak of matters similar to those
in the Qur'an in the name of religion. Is it not possible,
therefore, that a human being did such a thing and made up the Qur'an
in the name of religion?"
Through the light of the Qur'an I replied as follows:
"Firstly: Out of love of religion, someone who is religious may say,
'The truth is thus, the reality of the matter is this.
Almighty God commands that.' But he would not make God speak to suit
himself. Trembling at the verse,
Who, then does more wrong than one who utters a lie concerning God?,8
he would not overstep his mark to an infinite degree, imitate God, and speak on His behalf.
"Secondly: It is in no way possible for a human being to be successful
in doing such a thing on his own, in fact, it is
completely impossible. Individuals who resemble one another may imitate
one another, those of the same kind may take on
one another's forms, those who are close to one another in rank or
status may imitate one another and temporarily deceive
people, but they cannot do so for ever. For in any event, the falseness
and artificiality in their behaviour will show up their
imposture to the observant, and their deception will not last. If the
one who is attempting to imitate another under false
pretences is quite unlike them, for example, if an uneducated man wants
to imitate in learning a genius like Ibn-i Sina, or a
shepherd assume the position of a king, of course, they will not deceive
anyone at all, they will only make fools of
themselves. Everything they do will proclaim, 'This is an impostor'.
"Thus, to suppose - God forbid!, a hundred thousand times - the Qur'an
to be man's word is utterly impossible, no rational
being can accept it as possible, to do so is a delirium like imagining
to be possible something that is self-evidently impossible
like a firefly being seen by astronomers as a real star for a thousand
years; or a fly appearing to observers in the true form
of a peacock for a year; or a bogus common private posing as a famous
lofty field marshal, taking over his position and
remaining in it for a long period without giving away his deception;
or like a slandering, unbelieving liar affecting the manner
and position of the most truthful, trustworthy, upright believer throughout
his life and being completely unruffled before even
the most observant while concealing his fraud from them.
"In just the same way, if the Qur'an is supposed to be man's word, then
it has to be supposed, God forbid, that that
Perspicuous Book, which is considered to be clearly a most brilliant
star, rather, a sun of perfections perpetually scattering
the lights of truth in the heavens of the world of Islam, is like a
firefly, a spurious sham made up by a counterfeiting human.
And those who are closest to it and study it most carefully do not
realize this, and consider it to be a perpetual, exalted star
and source of truth. Together with this being impossible a hundred
times over, even if you went a hundred times further in
your diabolical machinations, O Satan, you could not make such an assertion,
you could not deceive anyone of sound reason!
Only sometimes you trick people by making them look from a great distance,
thus making the star appear as small as a
firefly.
"Thirdly: Also, if the Qur'an is imagined to be man's word, it necessitates
that the hidden reality of a criterion of truth and
falsehood, which is miraculous in its exposition, and through the testimony
of its fruits, results, and effects, is gilded with the
most spiritual and life-giving, the most truthful and happiness-bringing,
the most comprehensive and exalted qualities in the
world of mankind, is, God forbid, the fabrication of a single unaided
and unlearned man's mind. And that the great geniuses
and brilliant scholars who observed that being closely and studied
him meticulously at no time saw any trace of counterfeit
or pretence in him and always found him serious, genuine, and sincere.
"This is completely impossible, an idea so nonsensical as to shame the
Devil himself, like dreaming up an utterly impossible
situation. For it entails supposing one who throughout his life demonstrated
and taught trust, belief, confidence, sincerity,
seriousness, and integrity through all his conduct, words, and actions,
and raised eminently truthful and sincere followers, and
was accepted to possess the highest and most brilliant and elevated
virtues to be the most untrustworthy, insincere, and
unbelieving. Because in this question there is no point between the
two.
"If, to suppose the impossible, the Qur'an was not the Word of God,
it would fall as though from the Divine Throne to the
ground, it would not remain somewhere between. While being the meeting-point
of truths, it would become the source of
superstition and myth. And if, God forbid, the one who proclaimed that
wonderful decree was not God's Messenger, it would
necessitate his descending from the highest of the high to the lowest
of the low, and from the degree of being the source of
accomplishments and perfections to the level of being a mine of trickery
and intrigue; he could not remain between the two.
For one who lies and fabricates in God's name falls to the very lowest
of degrees.
"However impossible it is to permanently see a fly as a peacock, and
to all the time see the peacocks's attributes in the fly,
this matter is that impossible. Only someone lacking all intelligence
could imagine it to be possible.
"Fourthly: Also, if the Qur'an is imagined to be man's word, it necessitates
fancying that the Qur'an, which is a sacred
commander of the community of Muhammed, mankind's largest and most
powerful army, is -God forbid- a powerless,
valueless, baseless forgery. Whereas, self-evidently, through its powerful
laws, sound principles, and penetrating commands,
it has equipped that huge army both materially, and morally and spiritually,
has given it an order and regularity and imposed a
discipline on it that are such as to conquer both this world and the
next, and has instructed the minds, trained the hearts,
conquered the spirits, purified the consciences, and employed and utilized
the limbs and members of individuals according to
the degree of each. To imagine it to be a counterfeit necessitates
accepting a hundredfold impossibility.
"This impossibility entails the further complete impossibility of supposing
that one who, through his deliberate conduct
throughout his life taught mankind Almighty God's laws, and through
his honest behaviour instructed man in the principles of
truth, and through his sincere and reasonable words showed and established
the straight way of moderation and happiness,
and as all his life testifies, felt great fear of Divine punishment
and knew God better than anyone else and made Him known,
and in splendid fashion has for one thousand three hundred and fifty
years commanded a fifth of mankind and half the globe,
and through his qualities of renown is in truth the means of pride
of mankind, indeed, of the universe, God forbid a hundred
thousand times, neither feared God, nor knew Him, nor held back from
lying, nor had any self-respect. Because in this
matter there is no point between the two. For if, to suppose the impossible,
the Qur'an is not the Word of God, if it falls from
the Divine Throne to the ground, it cannot remain somewhere in between
the two. Indeed, it then has to be accepted as the
property of the very worst of liars. And as for this, O Satan, even
if you were a hundred times more satanic, you could not
deceive any mind that was not unsound, nor persuade any heart that
was not corrupted."
The Devil retorted: "How should I not deceive them? I have deceived
most of mankind and their foremost thinkers into
denying the Qur'an and Muhammed." I replied:
"Firstly: When seen from a great distance, the greatest thing appears
the same as the smallest. A star may even appear as a
candle.
"Secondly: Also, when seen both as secondary and superficially, something
which is completely impossible may appear to be
possible.
"One time an old man as watching the sky in order to see the new moon
of Ramadan when a white hair fell on his eye.
Imagining it to be the moon, he announced: 'I have seen the new moon.'
Now, it is impossible that the white hair should have
been the moon, but because his intention was to look for just the moon
and the hair was by the way and secondary, he paid
it no attention and thought that impossibility was possible.
"Thirdly: Also, non-acceptance is one thing and denial is something
quite different. Non-acceptance is indifference, a closing
of the eyes to something, an ignorant absence of judgement. Many completely
impossible things may be concealed within it,
and the mind does not concern itself with them. As for denial, it is
not non-acceptance, but an acceptance of non-existence;
it is a judgement. The mind is compelled to work. So a devil like you
takes hold of the mind of a person, then leads it to
denial. And, showing the false as truth and the impossible as possible
through satanic wiles like heedlessness, misguidance,
fallacious reasoning, obstinacy, false arguments, pride, deception,
and habit, you make those unfortunate creatures in human
form swallow unbelief and denial, although they comprise innumerable
impossibilities.
"Fourthly: Also, if the Qur'an is supposed to be the word of man, it
necessitates imagining to be its opposite a book which
has self-evidently guided the purified, veracious saints and spiritual
poles, who shine like stars in the heavens of the world of
mankind, has continuously instructed every level of the people of perfection
in truth and justice, veracity and fidelity, faith
and trustworthiness, and has ensured the happiness of the two worlds
through the truths of the pillars of belief and the
principles of the pillars of Islam, and through the testimony of these
achievements is of necessity veracious, and pure,
genuine truth, and absolutely right, and most serious - it necessitates
imagining, God forbid, that this Book comprises the
opposites of these qualities, effects, and lights. And that, regarding
it as a collection of fabrications and lies, it is a frenzy of
unbelief that would shame even the Sophists and the devils, and cause
them to tremble.
"And this impossibility necessitates the further most ugly and abhorrent
impossibility that One who, according to the
testimony of the religion and Shari'a of Islam which he proclaimed,
and the unanimous indications to the extraordinary fear
of God and pure and sincere worship which he demonstrated throughout
his life, and as necessitated by the good moral
qualities unanimously witnessed in him, and according to the affirmation
of the people of truth and perfection whom he
reared, was the most believing, the most steadfast, the most trustworthy,
and the most truthful, was - God forbid, and again,
God forbid - without belief, that he was most untrustworthy, did not
fear God, nor shrink from lying. To imagine this
necessitates imagining the most loathsome form of impossibility and
perpetrating the most iniquitous and vicious sort of
misguidance.
"In Short: As is stated in the Eighteenth Sign of the Nineteenth Letter,
the common people, whose understanding of the
Qur'an is gained by listening to it, say, 'Were the Qur'an to be compared
with all the books I have listened to and the other
books in the world, it would not resemble any of them; it is not of
the same sort as them nor or the same degree.' The
Qur'an, then, is of a degree either above all of them or below all
of them. To be below them is impossible, and no enemy nor
the Devil even could accept it. In which case, the Qur'an is above
all other books, and is therefore a miracle. And in just the
same way, we say according to the categorical proof called 'residue',
taken from the sciences of method and logic:
"O Satan and O disciples of Satan! The Qur'an is either the Word of
God come from the Supreme Throne of God and His
Greatest Name, or, God forbid, and again, God forbid, it is a human
forgery fabricated on earth by someone without belief
who neither feared God nor knew Him. In the face of the above proofs,
O Satan, you can neither say that, nor could you
have said it, nor will you be able to say it in the future. Therefore,
the Qur'an is the Word of the Creator of the universe.
Because there is no point between the two; it is impossible and precluded
that there should be. Just as we have proved in
the most clear and decisive manner; and you have seen it and heard
it.
"In the same way, Muhammed (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is either
God's Messenger and the highest of the
prophets and the most superior of creatures, or, God forbid, he has
to be imagined to be someone without belief having fallen
to the lowest of the low because he lied concerning God, and did not
know God, and did not believe in His punishment.9 And
as for this, O Devil, neither you nor the philosophers of Europe and
hypocrites of Asia on whom you rely could say it, nor
could you say it in the past, neither shall you be able to say it in
the future, for there is no one in the world who would listen
to it and accept it. It is because of this that the most corrupting
of those philosophers and the most lacking in conscience of
the hypocrites, even, admit that 'Muhammed the Arabian (PBUH) was very
clever, and was most moral and upright.'
"Since this matter is restricted to these two sides, and the second
one is impossible and no one at all claims it to be true, and
since we have proved with decisive arguments that there is no point
between them, for sure and of necessity, in spite of you
and your party, Muhammed the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace)
is the Prophet of God, and the highest of the
prophets and the best of all creatures."
Upon him be blessings and peace to the number of angels and jinn and men.
* * *
A SECOND, SMALL OBJECTION
OF SATAN
Not a word does he utter but there is a sentinel by him, ready [to note
it]. * And the stupor of death will bring the truth
[before his eyes]: "This was the thing you were trying to escape!"
* And the Trumpet shall be blown: that will be the Day
whereof Warning [had been given]. * And there will come forth every
soul: with each will be [an angel] to drive, and [an
angel] to bear witness. * "You were heedless of this; now have We removed
your veil. And sharp is your sight this Day!|" *
And his companion will say: "Here is [his record] ready with me!" *
"Throw, throw into Hell every contumacious
rejecter!"10
One time while reading these verses from Sura Qaf, the Devil said to
me: "You consider the most important aspects of the
Qur'an's eloquence to lie in its clarity and fluency of style. But
in this verse it jumps from one subject to another. It jumps
from death agonies to the Resurrection of the Dead, from the blowing
of the Trumpet to the Last Judgement, and from that
to the entry into Hell of the unbelievers. What fluency of style remains
with this extraordinary switching about? In most
places in the Qur'an, it brings together subjects that bear little
relation to each other like this. Where is its eloquence and
smoothness with such discontinuity?"
I answered as follows:
"After its eloquence, one of the most important elements of the miraculousness
of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition is its
conciseness. Conciseness is one of the strongest and most important
elements of the Qur'an's miraculousness. Instances of
this miraculous conciseness of the Qur'an are so numerous and beautiful
that exacting scholars are left in wonder at it. For
example:
Then the word went forth: "O earth! swallow up your water, and O sky!
withhold [your rain]!" And the water abated, and
matter was ended. The ark rested on Mount Judi, and the word went forth:
"Away with those who do wrong!" 11
"It describes the Great Flood and its consequences so concisely and
miraculously in a few short sentences that it has caused
many scholars of rhetoric to prostrate before its eloquence. And, for
example:
The Thamud rejected [their prophet] through their inordinate wrongdoing.
* Behold, the most wicked man among them was
deputed [for impiety]. * But the apostle of God said to them: "It is
a she-camel of God. And [bar her not from] having her
drink!" * Then they rejected him, and they hamstrung her. So their
Lord, on account of their crime, obliterated their traces
and made them equal [in destruction, high and low]! * And for Him is
no fear of its consequences.12
"In these few short sentences and with a miraculousness within the conciseness,
fluency, and clarity, and in a way that does
not spoil the understanding, the Qur'an relates the strange and momentous
events concerning the Thamud people, together
with the consequences and their calamitous end. And for example:
And remember Zun-Nun, when he departed in wrath: he imagined that We
had no power over him. But he cried through the
depths of darkness: "There is no god but You; glory be unto You; I
was indeed among the wrongdoers." 13
"Here, many sentences have be 'rolled up' between the words "that We
had no power over him" and "but he cried out in the
depths of the darkness," but these omitted sentences neither spoil
the understanding, nor mar the fluency of the style. It
mentions the most important elements in the story of Jonah (upon whom
be peace), and refers the rest to the intelligence.
"And for example, in Sura Yusuf, the seven or eight sentences between
the words "Send me" and "Joseph, O man of truth!"
14 have been skipped in conciseness. And it neither impairs the understanding,
nor mars the smoothness of the style. There
are a great many instances of this sort of miraculous conciseness in
the Qur'an, and they are very beautiful indeed.
"However, the conciseness of the verses from Sura Qaf are particularly
wonderful and miraculous. For they each point out
the truly dreadful future of the unbelievers when each endless day
will last fifty thousand years, and to the grievous, dire
things that will happen to them in the awesome revolutions of the future.
It conveys the mind over them like lightening,
presenting that long, long period of time to the mind's eye as a single
present page. Referring the events which are not
mentioned to the imagination, it describes them with a most elevated
fluency and smoothness of style.
When the Qur'an is read, listen to it with attention, and hold your peace: that you may receive mercy.15
"And now if you have anything to say, O Satan, say it!"
Satan replied: "I cannot oppose what you say, nor defend myself. But
there are many foolish people who listen to me; and
many devils in human form who assist me; and many pharaohs among philosophers
who learn things from me which flatter
their egos, and prevent the publication of works like yours. Therefore
I shall not lay down my arms before you."
* * *