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PURPOSES
BEHIND AND
BEAUTIES
IN
THE CYCLES
OF DEATH AND
LIFE IN
NATURE
In
order to
observe the
functions and
acts of God’s
Lordship as if
through a
telescope,
however little
and dim it may
be, a
comparison
will be
written in
each of the
following five
indications.
These
comparisons
are incapable
of expressing,
or being a
measure for,
the truth of
the acts and
functions of
God’s
Lordship; they
are
permissible
only so far as
they serve to
enable the
reader to
understand
what is meant
by them.
A
flower
passes
away but
leaves
behind
thousands
of
instances
of its
existence
For
example, the
colloquial
meanings of
pleasure and
joy and
gladness are
far from
expressing the
sacred
functions;
they are used
only to serve
as an aid to
reflection, as
a means of
meditation.
Such
comparisons
may also
serve, by
enabling the
reader to
catch a
glimpse of a
comprehensive
law of Divine
Lordship, to
prove the
truth of the
law in the
functions of
Lordship. By
saying that,
for example, a
flower passes
away but
leaves behind
thousands of
instances of
its existence,
we point to a
mighty law of
Divine
Lordship which
is prevalent
in all plants
and flowers of
spring as,
indeed, in all
the creatures
in the
universe.
In
fact, the
Compassionate
Creator
changes the
robe of the
earth every
year by the
same law as
that by which
He changes the
feathered
garment of a
bird. It is
again by the
same law that
He changes the
appearance of
the world
every century,
and He will
also change,
with the same
law, the form
and shape of
the universe
on the Last
Day.
By
the same law
by which He
disposes
particles, He
causes the
earth to
rotate and
revolve like a
Mawlawi
dervish
turning in
ecstasy. He
disposes,
again by the
same law, all
the spheres
and causes the
solar system
to move.
He
renews your
garden and
vineyard every
year and
refreshes them
every season
by the same
law by which
He decomposes
or repairs the
cells in your
body or renews
them. Again,
it is by the
same law that
He renews the
face of the
earth every
season,
arraying it in
a new garment.
The
All-Powerful
Maker revives
every spring
that tree in
front of us
and the whole
of the earth
by the same
law of Wisdom
by which He
revives an
insect, and
again by the
same law, He
will revive
the creatures
on the Day of
Judgment. The
Qur’an
points to this
truth in the
declaration, Your
creation and
resurrection
are as but a
single soul.
(31:28)
The
laws of
Divine
Lordship
operate in
everything
from
particles
to the
whole of
the
universe
Like
those
mentioned,
there are many
other laws of
Divine
Lordship that
are prevalent
in everything
from particles
to the whole
of the
universe.
Reflect on the
might and
comprehensiveness
and unity of
those laws in
the acts of
Divine
Lordship,
then, see how,
being both
comprehensive
and unitary
and
manifestations
of knowledge
and will, they
establish
decisively the
Knowledge and
Will of God as
well as His
Unity.
Most
of the
comparisons
and allegories
we use point
to the
existence of
Divine Laws by
showing a
single
manifestation
of each. By
demonstrating
the existence
of a law
through
comparison or
allegory, the
thesis is
proved as
decisively as
if through a
logical proof.
This means
that most of
the
comparisons or
allegories or
parables can
be regarded as
decisive
proofs.
There
are in
each
flower and
fruit on a
tree as
many
instances
of wisdom
and
purposes
as the
number of
those
flowers
and
fruits.
There
are in each
flower and
fruit on a
tree as many
instances of
wisdom and
purposes as
the number of
those flowers
and fruits.
Those
instances of
wisdom are of
three kinds:
Those
related
to the
Creator
Himself,
demonstrating
the
inscriptions
of His
Names.
Those
related
to
conscious
beings,
functioning
as
valuable,
meaningful
messages
for
them.
Those
related
to the
fruits
or
flowers
themselves,
their
life
and
maintenance,
besides
their
benefits
for
mankind.
While
I was once
pondering over
multiple
purposes of
such kinds for
the existence
of every
creature, the
following
thoughts came
to me in
Arabic in a
way that forms
the main
themes of the
five
indications to
come,
concerning the
universal
purposes:
All
those
objects
receiving
Divine
manifestations
are
replaced
by new
ones, but
after…
All
that is before
our eyes
consists in
objects in a
flux, mirrors
moving and
acting so that
the
manifestations
of the light
of His
creation,
glory be to
Him, may be
renewed. This
renewal takes
place through
the incessant
changing of
individual
beings of
relative
existence,
that is, all
those objects
receiving
Divine
manifestations
are replaced
by new ones,
but after
their
subtle
meaning
and
metaphysical
identities
have
gained
permanence;
they
have
left
behind
truths
pertaining
to the
Unseen
World
and
forms
recorded
on the
ideal
tablets;
they
have
produced
other-worldly
fruits
and
everlasting
scenes;
they
have
proclaimed
glorifications
of the
Lord
and
manifested
the
requirements
of His
Names;
fifthly,
they
are
replaced
in
order
that
the
functions
of the
Glorious
One
and
the
objects
of His
Knowledge
may be
displayed.
As
pointed out in
those five
paragraphs
containing the
main themes of
the five
indications to
follow, there
are in each
creature,
especially the
living ones,
five different
kinds of
wisdom and
purposes. O
mortal man! If
you desire
that the truth
you possess as
a little seed
may grow into
a permanent
tree (with the
fruits of
purposes which
will be
explained in
the five
indications to
come), try to
acquire the
true faith.
Otherwise,
besides being
deprived of
those fruits,
you will be
pressed into
that seed and
rot away
together with
it.
All
those
objects
receiving
Divine
manifestations
are
replaced
by new
ones, but
after
their
subtle
meaning
and
metaphysical
identities
have
gained
permanence:
That
is, when a
being dies, it
goes, in
appearance, to
non-existence,
but the
meaning it has
expressed is
kept
permanently;
its form, its
nature and
metaphysical
identity, are
all preserved
in the World
of Ideas and
on the copies
of this world
- the guarded
tablets - and
in the
memories,
which are
samples of the
guarded
tablets. Thus,
it gains, in
exchange for
an apparent,
material
existence,
hundreds of
other types of
existence,
immaterial and
related to
knowledge.
For
example, in
order to print
a page of a
book in a
printing
machine, the
types are
first arranged
and after the
page is
printed, the
types are
removed. This
page is later
multiplied to
the number of
the edition,
thus gaining
permanence in
thousands of
forms and,
with its
meaning, in
thousands of
memories,
although the
types are no
longer there.
In just the
same way, the
Pen of Divine
Destiny
determines a
shape, a form
and a period
for the
meanings in
Divine
Knowledge and,
in the case of
vegetation for
example,
Divine Power
gives them
external,
material
existence in
spring. After
their forms
and identities
are
transferred to
the register
of the Unseen
World, Divine
Wisdom
requires that
they should be
replaced with
the new ones
to come in the
next spring so
that they,
too, can
exhibit their
meanings.
¨...
after they
have left
behind
truths
pertaining
to the
Unseen
World and
forms
recorded
on the
ideal
tablets:
That
is, when each
thing,
especially
each living
thing, whether
of particular
or universal
nature, dies,
besides
bringing forth
many truths
pertaining to
the Unseen
World, leaves
on the ideal
tablets in the
registers of
the World of
Ideas all the
forms it has
taken on
during its
life. These
forms serve as
words or
sentences to
make up its
life-history
consisting of
the Divinely
destined
events of its
life, and the
spirit beings
reflect on
them.
A
flower, for
example, dies,
but, besides
depositing in
hundreds of
its seeds the
essentials of
its existence,
it leaves
thousands of
its forms in
little guarded
tablets of the
Unseen World
and in
thousands of
memories - the
miniatures of
the guarded
tablets. It
goes only
after it has
shown to
conscious
beings how it
has glorified
the Lord and
how it has
manifested the
inscriptions
of His Names
through the
forms it has
taken on
during its
life.
Likewise,
being a flower
in the global
pot, spring,
too, decays
and, in
appearance,
goes to
non-existence.
But, in
exchange for
itself, it
leaves behind
as many truths
pertaining to
the Unseen
World as the
number of its
seeds, as many
ideal
identities as
the number of
its flowers,
and as many
instances of
wisdom as the
creatures
contained in
it. Also, it
makes room for
the next
spring so that
it, too, may
come and
fulfill its
function. In
short, spring
is stripped of
a garment of
apparent
existence in
exchange for a
thousand
garments of
immaterial
existence.
¨...after
they have
produced
other-worldly
fruits and
everlasting
scenes:
That
is, the world
is a factory
or an arable
field where
the products
proper for the
market of the
Hereafter are
obtained. As
proved in
several of The
Words, just as
the deeds of
the jinn and
mankind are
being
transferred to
the market of
the Hereafter,
so too, the
other
creatures of
the world
perform many
functions for
the sake of
the Hereafter
and thereby
produce many
kinds of ’crops’.
It may even be
said that the
earth, this
Divine ship,
which, through
its revolution
around the sun
at a very
great speed,
draws the
periphery of
the Place of
Mustering,
makes this
movement so
that its
inhabitants
may reap the
harvest of
their work in
the Hereafter.
It is actually
so, because,
for example,
the people of
Paradise will
desire to
narrate to
each other
worldly
experiences
and take great
pleasure in
watching them
as though on a
cinema screen.
That being the
case, as
indicated in
the Quranic
verse, (they
recline) face
to face on
couches raised,
(15:47) they
will talk
about the
events of
their worldly
life and the
images of
those events
will be
present as
ever-lasting
scenes.
The
world, thus,
functions as a
factory where,
in order that
those
everlasting
scenes may be
formed,
beautiful
creatures
appear one
after the
other and then
disappear. In
today’s
civilized
world, for
example,
strange and
spectacular
things and
events are
filmed and
thus given a
kind of
permanence for
future
generations.
Similarly, the
All-Wise Maker
of the
creatures
records, as a
requirement of
His Names, the
All-Wise, the
All-Com-passionate
and the
All-Loving,
the outcomes
of the
functions
fulfilled by
the worldly
creatures for
the sake of
the Hereafter
and gives them
permanence as
ever-lasting
scenes of the
Eternal World.
¨...
after they
have
proclaimed
glorifications
of the
Lord and
manifested
the
requirements
of his
Names:
That
is, the
creatures
glorify God in
many different
ways through
the stages of
their life. As
they glorify
the All-Wise
Maker to the
number of the
members of
their bodies,
they also
display,
through their
life and
existence, the
requirements
or functions
of Divine
Names, i.e.
compassion
required by
the Name, the
All-Compassionate,
provision by
the Name the
All-Provider,
favor by the
Name the
All-Favoring,
and so on. A
man eats
delicious
fruits and
those fruits
decompose, and
apparently die
away, in his
stomach. But,
besides the
taste they
produce in the
mouth, they
give some kind
of pleasure to
all the cells
of the body
coming from
the activity
of
appropriating
them and
become the
means of many
purposeful
functions such
as the
nourishment of
the body and
the
maintenance of
life. As
sustenance,
they
themselves are
promoted from
the level of
plant life to
that of human
life. It is
just in the
same way that
when the
creatures are
concealed
behind the
veil of death,
they entrust
to the Names
themselves the
works and
inscriptions
of many Divine
Names, thus
obtaining
permanence. I
wonder, then,
whether it is
reasonable to
lament over
the death of a
creature that
has gained,
through death,
thousands of
kinds of
permanent
existence in
return for a
transient one.
One should
think that
(Divine)
Compassion,
Wisdom and
Love have
required it to
be so; the
preference of
the reverse
would mean to
refuse
thousands of
benefits to
avoid a single
discomfort;
such avoidance
would result
in thousands
of kinds of
harm. To
conclude, the
Names, the
All-Compassionate,
the All-Wise
and the
All-Loving, do
not contradict
death and
decay, rather
they
necessitate
them.
¨
they
are
replaced
in order
that the
functions
of the
Glorious
One and
the
objects of
His
Knowledge
may be
displayed.
That
is, the
creatures,
particularly
the living
ones, shed
their apparent
existence
after they
have left
behind many
permanent
things.
The
Necessarily-Existent
Being feels,
on account of
the functions
of His
Lordship and
in accordance
with His
Holiness and
His absolute
independence
of all created
things,
infinite love
and affection,
and limitless
pride, so to
speak, endless
sacred delight
and pleasure,
and boundless
Divine cheer
that, through
the amazing
activity
required by
those
functions, the
creatures are
set moving in
continuous
changes and
transformations
from the
visible,
material world
to the World
of the Unseen.
Each
mortal
creature
strips off
a single
existence
but, in
return,
gains a
thousand
kinds of
permanent
existence.
Being
in a
continuous
flux and
restless
movement,
required by
the functions
of God’s
Lordship, the
creatures
impress the
people of
misguidance
with wails of
death and
separation,
whereas they
impress people
of guidance
with voices of
Divine
remembrance
and
glorification.
For this
reason, each
creature
leaves, before
departure from
the world,
numerous
meanings,
qualities and
states by
means of which
the permanent
functions of
the
Necessarily-Existent
Being may be
manifested.
That creature
also leaves,
through the
forms and
states it has
undergone
throughout its
life, an
expanded
existence
which
represents its
external,
material
existence in
the spheres of
Divine
Knowledge like
the Manifest
Record, the
Manifest Book
and the
Guarded
Tablet. As a
result, each
mortal
creature
strips off a
single
existence but,
in return,
gains a
thousand kinds
of permanent
existence.
Consider
another
example: Some
raw materials
are put in a
factory. They
burn away
there but,
consequently,
many valuable
chemical
substances are
precipitated
in the factory’s
stills. Also,
the factory
works with the
thermal energy
produced as a
result of this
process and
manufactures
the desired
product. The
combustion of
raw materials
thus results
in many new
things of
greater value
coming into
existence. If
this is so, is
it at all
reasonable to
complain about
the
consumption of
those raw
materials, to
wail that the
manufacturer
has shown no
mercy to those
lovely
materials? It
is in just the
same way that
- God’s is
the highest
comparison -
the All-Wise,
All-Compassionate
and All-Loving
Creator, as a
requirement of
His
Compassion,
Wisdom and
Love, sets the
factory of the
universe in
motion to
employ each
mortal
existent as a
seed to grow
into many
kinds of
permanent
existence,
making it the
object of His
functions of
glory, the
means for His
purposes of
Lordship, the
ink for the
Pen of His
Destiny, and a
shuttle for
the textiles
of His Power,
in short, for
these and many
other sublime
purposes
unknown to us,
He keeps the
universe in
constant
operation. He
sets particles
in restless
motion, the
elements and
plants in a
continuous
flux, the
animals in an
endless
procession and
the planets in
a ceaseless
revolution,
thus making
the universe
speak and
write
expressively
of His signs.
He has made,
on account of
His Lordship,
air, light,
water and soil
each an
imperial
medium for the
operation of,
successively,
His commands
and decrees,
His Knowledge
and Wisdom,
His bounties
and Mercy and
of His
preservation
and revival,
using them for
the life of
earthly
creatures.
Know
for certain
that the
bright,
sublime truth
pointed out in
the foregoing
lines can be
discerned only
through the
light of the
Quran and
acquired
through the
power of
faith.
Otherwise,
that eternal
truth will be
replaced by a
dense,
dreadful
darkness. It
is because of
this that for
the people of
misguidance,
the world is
only a place
of death and
separations
and where
everything
goes to
absolute
non-existence.
The universe
means for
them, a kind
of hell and
everything in
it is
enveloped,
after a
twinkle of
existence, by
an overall
non-existence.
Both the past
and the future
are, for them,
engulfed by
layers of the
darkness of
non-existence;
only in the
twinkle of the
present can a
tragic life of
existence be
found. But,
for the people
of guidance
all time is,
thanks to the
Quran and
the light of
faith,
illumined by
the light of
existence, by
means of which
they gain
eternal
happiness.
In
conclusion:
I
pronounce in
the manner of
the poet,
Niyazi Misri:
When
my soul
is
annihilated
in God
And
the cage
of my
body
breaks
into
pieces;
When
my
tongue
is
reduced
to
silence,
I
call: O
Truth, O
Existent
One, O
Ever-Living,
O
Worshipped
One
O
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