The Metaphysics of Tawhid & Wilaya-II

Just as every existent in the lower worlds has an intelligible reality subsisting in the higher realms namely the World of Intellects (alam al aqal) which happens to be absolutely perfect, sublime and actual, similarly Man also has an intelligible human reality ( Haqiqat al Insaniya) which is absolutely perfect, sublime and actual without any blemish (nuqs) and potentiality subsisting in that higher world of Immaterial Intellects (Al Uqul al Mujarred); this intelligible human reality ( Haqiqat al Insaniya) is none other than the sublime Muhammadan Reality (Haqiqat al Muhammadiya), which represents the reality of Man in all its perfection, nobility and sublimity. The Muhammadan Reality (Haqiqat al Muhammadiya) is the universal or the immutable source form (al a’yan al thabit) of The Perfect Man (al insan al kamil) and the Perfect Man is the earthly image, reflection or manifestation of the Muhammadan Reality. It has been mentioned in the first part of this discussion that the Muhammadan Reality (Haqiqat al Muhammadiya), which is also the first Primal Entification (Ta’yyun al Awwal), is the manifestation (mazhar) of The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah), and in its inner (batini) aspect it is identical with the The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah) whereas in its external or outer aspect it is the Muhammadan Reality; therefore at the level or station of Primal Entifications which is the level or station of the Immutable Source Forms (al a’yan al thabita), the Muhammadan Reality is The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah), this fact can also be evidenced by the statement of The Prince of the Monotheists, Imam Ali (as) “ نَحْنُ أَسْمَاءٌ الْحُسْنَىٰ ”, translation “We are the Most Beautiful Names of God”; this tradition of the Imam (as) brings to light another dimension of the Quranic verse “ وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا”, translation “And to God belong the most beautiful names, so call unto him thereby” (Sura Al-Araf, verse#180). The Prophet (as) and the Imams (as) are manifestations of The Divine Names & Attributes (Isma wa Sifat al Ilahiya) but not that of the Essence (Dhat), but are not the attributes identical to the essence (ain al dhat); so if the Imams (as) are the manifestations of the attributes, which are identical to the essence, so does that not render them manifestations of the Divine Essence as well? The Imams (as) are not the manifestations of the Divine Attributes (mazhar al sifat) at the level or station of Essential Unity (maqam al ahadiyat), because at this level or station the attributes are identical to the essence, in other words there are no attributes that are distinct and separate from the essence, meaning that at this level the attributes are the essence; nothing can manifest the essence as is mentioned in the Quran “ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ”, translation “there is nothing like unto Him” (Sura Al-Shura,verse#11); The Prophet (as) and the Imams (as) are manifestations of The Divine Names & Attributes at the level or station of Attributive Unity (maqam al wahdaniyat) from which the Essence is veiled and hidden; this fact can also be evidenced by paying attention to the famous Light Verse (Ayat al Nur) of the Quran “ اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ نُورِهِكَمِشْكَاةٍ ”, translation “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche” (Sura Al-Nur,verse#35). Therefore God has no likeness of His Essence or “مِثْلِ”, but He has an example or “مَثَلُ”.

The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah) is the source form of all the other Divine Names & Attributes at the level or station of Attributive Unity (maqam al wahdaniyat), and is also the source form of the Muhammadan Reality from which emanate all the other immutable source forms at the level or station of the Primal Entifications; from these immutable source forms emanate all the lower existents of the celestial and material worlds; therefore everything that exists, beginning from the level or station of Attributive Unity (maqam al wahdaniyat) through the World of Intellects and the lower worlds is a manifestation of The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah), and perhaps this is also the purport of the Quranic verse “ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ”, translation “So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah” (Sura Al-Baqra,verse#115). Alternatively speaking since the greatest manifestation of The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah) at the level of Entifications is the Muhammadan Reality, therefore this reality and its corresponding particular namely The Perfect Man (al insan al kamil) are the Face of God (Wajhullah), meaning a means of recognizing the Divine, as is also stated in a tradition by Imam Al-Baqar (as) “ نَحْنُوَجْهُ اللَّهِ”, translation “We are the Face of God” (Al-Kafi, Kitab ul Tawhid, hadith#351).

There is no essential (bi dhat) and direct (bila wasta) manifestation of the Divine Essence which manifests or discloses itself in the form of the Divine Names & Attributes indirectly through the medium or mediation of The Greatest Veil (Al Hijab Al Akbar) or The Holiest Emanation (Al Faydh Al Aqdas). The first name to emanate from The Holiest Emanation (Al Faydh Al Aqdas) is The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al Ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah) which contains within itself all the other Divine Names & Attributes in an integrated, unifies, simple and undifferentiated form. The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah) acts as the source form for all the other Divine Names & Attributes that emanate from The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah, but this emanation (sudur) adheres to a certain determined pattern of preference or priority, such that The Names & Attributes of Beauty (Asma wa Sifat al Jamaliya) hold precedence in emanating from The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah, followed by The Names & Attributes of Glory (Asma wa Sifat al Jalaliya). The first and foremost amongst the The Names & Attributes of Beauty (Asma wa Sifat al Jamaliya) to emanate from The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah (Al Ism al Azam al Jam’i Allah) are His Names “The Merciful” (Rehman) and “The Compassionate” (Rahim), as is apparent in the oft-repeated verse of the Quran “بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ”, translation “In the name of Allah , the Entirely Merciful, the Compassionate”. The nearer a Divine Name is to The Holiest Emanation (Al Faydh Al Aqdas) the more intense is its esoteric (batin) and hidden (ghayb) aspect, and the weaker is its exoteric (zahir) and manifest (shahud) aspect; also the nearer a Divine Name is to The Holiest Emanation (Al Faydh Al Aqdas) the more perfect is its attributive unity (wahdaniyat). The farther a Divine Name is from The Holiest Emanation (Al Faydh Al Aqdas) the more intense is its exoteric (zahir) and manifest (shahud) aspect, and the weaker is its esoteric (batin) and hidden (ghayb) aspect; also the farther a Divine Name is from The Holiest Emanation the more imperfect is its attributive unity (wahdaniyat). When it is said that the Divine Name Allah is The Greatest and All Comprehensive Divine Name so that does not mean that the other Divine Names are not comprehensive, because each Divine Name is comprehensive of all the other Divine Names, but if all the Names are comprehensive of all the other Divine Names then why is it that each Divine Attribute has a specific Name?; this is due to the fact that every Divine Attribute has a particular form in which it is entified, and therefore bears the Name of the form in which it is entified. So the Divine Names & Attributes of Beauty (sifat al jamal) have the apparent (zahir) form of Beauty but they are also the Divine Names & Attributes of Glory (sifat al jalal) in their esoteric aspect (batin). Similarly the Divine Names & Attributes of Glory have the apparent form of Glory but they are also the Divine Names & Attributes of Beauty in their hidden or esoteric aspect.

The Holiest Emanation (Al Faydh Al Aqdas) is an unseen reality; this unseen reality manifests itself (zuhoor) in the form of the Divine Names & Attributes (Asma wa Sifat) at the level or station of attributive unity (wahdaniyat); in other words this unseen reality reflects or discloses itself in the mirrors of the Divine Names & Attributes; now the mirror and the reflection therein are indistinguishable and inseparable from one another, therefore the Divine Names & Attributes act as manifestations (mazahir) of the Holiest Emanation (Al Faydh Al Aqdas) at the station of attributive unity (wahdaniyat), but in reality they are the Holiest Emanation (Al Faydh Al Aqdas) in an entified (ta’yyun) form. Similarly the Divine Names & Attributes manifest (zuhoor) themselves in the form of The Immutable Source Forms (al a’yan al thabita) at the level or station of The Primal Entifications; the Divine Names & Attributes reflect or disclose themselves in the mirrors of the Immutable Source Forms, therefore the source forms act as manifestations (mazahir) of the Divine Names & Attributes in the Realm of Intellects, but in reality the immutable source forms are the Divine Names & Attributes in an entified (ta’yyun) form. To simplify things it can briefly be stated that the Divine Names & Attributes are the entified forms of the Holiest Emanation, and the immutable source forms are the entified forms of the Divine Names & Attributes. It is exactly because of this reason that the first immutable source form namely the Muhammadan Reality is not only the manifestation of The Greatest And All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah but is also itself The Greatest And All Comprehensive Divine Name in an entified form, and hence the statement of the Imam (as) “ نَحْنُ أَسْمَاءٌ الْحُسْنَىٰ ”, translation “We are the Most Beautiful Names of God”. Just as the first immutable source form namely the Muhammadan Reality is the entification or entified form of The Greatest And All Comprehensive Divine Name’Allah, similarly all the several immutable source forms that emanate from the Muhammadan Reality are entifications or entified forms of a specific Divine Name & Attribute; but the Divine Names & Attributes are sub-divided into The Names & Attributes of Beauty (Asma wa Sifat al Jamaliya) and The Names & Attributes of Glory (Asma wa Sifat al Jalaliya); therefore the immutable source forms that emanate from the Muhammadan Reality some are entifications or entified forms of The Names & Attributes of Beauty (Asma wa Sifat al Jamaliya) and some others are entifications or entified forms of The Names & Attributes of Glory (Asma wa Sifat al Jalaliya). Now everything that exists in the lower worlds is a particular reflection or manifestation of either an immutable source form which is an entification or entified form of The Names & Attributes of Beauty, or it is a manifestation of an immutable source form which is an entification or entified form of The Names & Attributes of Glory; so for instance the beasts of prey such as a lion, a tiger and a wolf and also existents such as fire and lightning are particular manifestations of the immutable source forms that are entifications or entified forms of The Names & Attributes of Glory (Asma wa Sifat al Jalaliya) whereas all beautiful existents, human or otherwise, animate or inanimate are particular manifestations of the immutable source forms that are entifications or entified forms of The Names & Attributes of Beauty (Asma wa Sifat al Jamaliya).

All realities endure or continue in existence or subsistence due to the Endurance (Qayyumiyat) of the Immutable Source Form of the Perfect Man (insan al kamil) namely the Muhammadan Reality which in its turn endures due to Divine Endurance as is stated in the Quran “ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ”, translation “Allah – there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence” (Sura Al-Baqra,verse#255).The outer aspect of this Muhammadan Reality is known as Prophecy (nubuwwat wa risalat) and the inner aspect of it is called Divine Vicegerency & Authority (khilafa wa wilaya).