The Sixteenth Word

The Sixteenth Word

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

Indeed, His command when He wills a thing is, “Be!”, and it is. ∗ So glory be unto Him in Whose hand is the dominion of all things, and to Him will you all be brought back.(36:82-83)

[This Word was written to impart insight and understanding to my blind soul by pointing out four rays from the light of the above verse, to dispel the darkness and afford me certainty.]

First Ray

FIRST RAY

O my ignorant soul! You say: “The oneness of the divine essence together with the universality of the divine acts, the unity of Almighty God’s person together with His unassisted comprehensive dominicality, His singleness together with His unshared all-embracing disposal, His being beyond space yet present everywhere, His infinite exaltedness together with being close to all things, and His being one yet Himself holding all matters in His hand, are among the truths of the Qur’an. But the Qur’an is all-wise and that which is wise does not impose on the reason things which are unreasonable, yet the reason sees an apparent contradiction between these things. I would like an explanation of them which will impel the reason to submit.”

The Answer: Since that is the way it is and you want to be certain and reassured, relying on the effulgence of the Qur’an, we say: the divine name of Light has solved many of our difficulties. God willing it will solve this one too. The way of comparison brings clarity to the mind and luminosity to the heart. So choosing it, like Imam Rabbani, we say:

I am neither the night nor a lover of the night;

I am a servant of the Sun; it is of the Sun that I speak. [^1]

[^1]:Imām Rabbānī, Maktūbāt, i, Letter 130.

Since comparison is a brilliant mirror to the Qur’an’s miraculousness, we too shall look at this mystery by means of a comparison. It is as follows: