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Humans are familiar with comfort and
distress since the inception of life. Striving to ward off the effects of being
in the grip of inconsistent emotions, they desire to unearth the reasons that
cause them. They become incapable of taking initiatives as the urge to remain
in the constant state of ease, also brings along the fear of losing it. Hence,
they set off in pursuit of a power that can ensure them a peaceful life, and it
leads them to the unraveling of the hidden faculties. The Quran refers to this
quest of reality as, 'those who believe
in ghaib,' and explains in various other verses the countless attributes of God
that promises a life devoid of fear.
An individual cannot remain oblivious of
the states of grief and comfort unless they believe in ghaib (unseen). As the
ghaib is reigned by God, the most Benevolent and Magnificent, the believer is
certain that goodness and betterment will be conferred upon them.
"It is not (possible) for a human
being that God speaks to him except by way of revelation, or from behind a
curtain, or that He sends a messenger, and He reveals, with His permission,
what He wills. Surely, He is All-High, All-Wise." (Quran, 42:51)
It is the heart that perceives the
'message'. The Quran refers to this as follows,
"The heart did not err in what it
saw." (Quran, 53:11)
These verses determine the reach of
human senses. When the senses affix themselves onto a certain point, this
affixation is termed as an object, and objects contain shapes and dimensions.
Therefore, the senses assume this object as an entity separate from themselves.
One can only see things, if they assume that the object they are viewing is not
a part of them. This style of perception is illustrated in all the activities
of our lives.
When we distinguish something as an
object, we are in fact referring to the images within us as external objects.
The senses declare their existence and refer to themselves as an, 'I'. In
reality, this 'I' is nothing but a void in its clear and pristine form. The
senses are in actuality pointing towards a sketch devoid of colour. However,
when the senses begin to focus on the colours and elements within the 'I', they
proclaim as, "I did this or that - look at the moon in the distance -
those are stars - look at where I am pointing - they are celestial bodies.''
Thus, all through this process, the senses are constantly experiencing their
own movement between proximity and distance. This method of perception is the
macrocosmic way of seeing things. In other words, the senses declare themselves
as the 'I' in the individual and keep recurring through the indicators.
"There has come upon man a period
of time when he was not worth mentioning." (Quran, 76:1)
There had been a time, when the senses
of Insan were non-recursive.
This brings forth two dimensions that
join into a unit.
1) Senses
2) Recurrence
of senses
The Holy Quran sheds light on it as
follows,
"(O' God!) You make the night enter
into the day, and make the day enter into the night; and You bring the living
out from the dead, and bring the dead out from the living." (Quran, 3:27)
God has defined the rules of the
universal system through this verse. The day and night refer to the
classification of senses. They are in contrast with each other due to spatiotemporal
constraints. These constraints are vital during the day and remain latent
throughout the night.
As example, when Zaid sees himself
conversing with a distant friend in his dream, he does not feel the interspace,
as distance becomes irrelevant in such dreams. Likewise, Zaid goes to sleep at
1 0' Clock, and sees himself travelling to places. He rests at periodical
intervals during the journey and then finally comes home after spending a great
deal of time. As he wakes up from the dream, he sees that the clock shows the
same time. Time is immeasurable in such dreams.
The dreams define the faculties of the
night, wherein space becomes inconsequential, as contrary to the day. The day
and night vary due to time and space, but they are parallel in nature otherwise.
The night is the faculty of Kitab al-Mubeen (al-lawh al-mahfooz) and that of
day is Kitab al-M arqoom. The similarities in them are witnessed in the
manifestations of nature.
Let us consider that Zaid and Mahmood are
both sitting opposite to each other. Their source of vision is the light of a
lamp. It means the light that is moving around from Zaid to Mahmood or from
Mahmood to Zaid is one. But, despite the light being same, their observations
differ. Why? This is because, as their ways of perception are not alike, both
consider themselves as separate entities. The angle of vision that Zaid
perceives of this light will be termed as Zaid's perception. Similarly, the
angle of vision that Mahmood perceives of this light will be called as Mahmood'
s perception. This unravels the law of manifestation that it is one's angle of
vision which projects itself as change in dimension, whereas in actuality,
light is dimensionless.
Each self or individual is connected to
God. It is explained in the Quran as, 'We are closer to him than his jugular
vein.' It is worthy to note that God has used the word 'We' in this verse. This
has been used to highlight the association that God has with every individual
and therefore, it makes everyone distinct.
It is important to comprehend that the
light is unchangeable. The difference in perceptions is due to the individual
interpretations that leave a distinct impression in their respective lives.
This state is termed as martaba in spirituality.
The word mechanism can help explain the meaning of martaba. The names vary from specie to specie, but the mechanism that works in every species is uniform. As example, Zaid and Mahmood are labeled as a part of the human race, whereas mango and almond are labeled as trees but the light that shapes the features of these different species is one and the same. The said mechanism or martaba consists of black dots that serves as the basis of this universe. These black dots are called Tajjali (One of the highest stages of the Divine light).
ALLAH HAFIZ
JAN 2019-QSM
