Tenth Word
The "Tenth Word" is a masterpiece of dialectical theology (kalam). As an exegesis of the Qur'an, 30:50* it demonstrates numerous rational and empirical proofs for the possibility, necessity, and existence of bodily resurrection and divine judgement in the Hereafter.
* "Look, then, at the signs of God’s mercy, how He restores the earth to life after death: this same God is the one who will return people to life after death - He has power over all things (Qur'an, 30:50)."
Click to listen to Episode 01 (Preamble), Episode 02 (1st-2nd Proofs), Episode 03 (3rd-5th Proofs), Episode 04 (6th-7th Proofs), Episode 05 (8th-10th Proofs), and Episode 06 (11th-12th Proofs), and Episode 07 (Introduction: 1st Indication), Episode 08 (Introduction: 2nd Indication), Episode 09 (Introduction: 2nd Indication-4th Indication), Episode 10 (1st and 2nd Truths), Episode 11 (3rd Truth), Episode 12 (4th Truth), Episode 13 (5th and 6th Truths), Episode 14 (6th Truth), Episode 15 (6th Truth), Episode 16 (6th Truth), Episode 17 (7th Truth), Episode 18 (Side note of 7th Truth and 8th Truth), Episode 19 (9th Truth), Episode 20 (9th Truth - continued), Episode 21 (10th Truth), Episode 22 (10th Truth continued), Episode 23 (10th Truth continued), Episode 24 (11th Truth), Episode 25 (12th Truth), Episode 26 (Conclusion), and Episode 27 (Conclusion).
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Back to The Words.
ROUGH TRANSLATION from the RISALE-I NUR
translated by Dr. Mustafa Tuna
Starting with Episode 17, a rough translation of the section that is being discussed is posted below. This is a work in progress and should not be considered a finalized translation. It is only meant to help with understanding the recorded discussion.
Tenth Word - Seventh Truth
This is the gate of Preservation and the conduct of being the Preserver and it is a reflection of the names the Preserver and the Watchful.
Is it at all possible that [in the presence of] the conduct of being the Preserver that preserves everything whether wet or dry, small or big, ordinary or lofty, in the sky, on the ground, on earth, or in the sea in a state of perfect order and balanced proportionality and that sifts through their outcomes in some way of accounting… the deeds and acts of the like of man who has the great human nature, a rank like that of the supreme vicegerency, and a duty like the supreme trust… that touch upon general lordship will not be preserved, sifted through the sieve of accounting, weighed on the scale of justice, and given due punishment and reward? No… never!..
Yes, the One Who administers this cosmos preserves everything in order and balanced proportionality. Order and proportionality result from knowledge, wisdom, will, and power. Because, we see that every artefact is created in an orderly and balanced way when it comes into existence. Moreover, each of the forms that it changes into throughout its life are orderly, and the collective sum of those forms is also subject to an order. This is due to the fact that we see that the Majestic Preserver preserves many images of the forms of everything the lives of which come to an end upon the completion of their duties and that depart from this realm of witnessing… in memories that are like preserved tablets (Side note: See the side note of the Seventh Proof) and sort of mirrors that reflect similitudes; He engraves and writes most of the biographical accounts of their lives in their seeds; and He makes them last in mirrors pertaining to the outer and inner worlds. For example, the human being’s memory, the tree’s fruit, the fruit’s kernel, and the flower’s seed demonstrate the tremendous comprehensiveness of the law of the Preserver’s conduct.
Do you not see that all of the flowering and fruitful beings of the immense spring, their pages of deeds that are peculiar to each, their laws of constitution, and the similitudes of their forms are preserved by being written in a limited number of small seeds? With a calculation based on those [records], by rolling out their [the flowering and fruitful beings’] pages of deeds and bringing about another immense realm of spring, in [that] second spring, this [preservation] demonstrates the strong degree of comprehensiveness at which the conduct of being the Preserver works.
If this is how preservation takes place in relation to temporary, ordinary, and insignificant things that do not last, can it be possible for the deeds of human beings that yield important fruits in the realm of the unseen, the realm of the Hereafter, the realm of Spirits, and under general Lordship not to be preserved with care and not to be securely recorded with attention? No… never!
Yes, it is understood from the manifestation of that conduct of preservation in this way that the Owner of these existent beings shows great care and concern about securely recording everything that happens in His dominion. Moreover, He demonstrates utmost care in His task of being the Sovereign Ruler. He exercises the lordship of His royal power with uttermost care and concern. This is so much so that He securely records even the smallest event or the tiniest service that is rendered and has them written down. He preserves the images of everything that take place in His dominion in multiple things and multiple ways. This conduct of being the Preserver points out that an important book of deeds will be opened, and especially the deeds of the greatest, the most honored, and the noblest of creatures with regard to their quiddity, that is the deeds of the human beings, which are big, and their acts, which are important, will be subject to an important accounting and will be put on the scale. The pages of their deeds will be laid out.
Is it at all conceivable that man will be honored with vicegerency and the trust, he will be involved in the glorifications and worships of most existent beings and rise to the level of being a secure recorder and observer over them by witnessing the general corpus of the conducts of lordship and announcing the proclamation of essential divine oneness in the circles of multiplicity, but then, he will enter the grave and lie down there, he will not be awakened, he will not be questioned about all his deeds, small or big, he will not attend the Assembly and be brought to see the Supreme Tribunal? No and never.
Moreover, how can man enter into nonexistence and escape or how can he hide under the earth from the Majestic All-Powerful One while all happenings of the past, which are His miracles of power, testify that He is powerful over all possible things of the future (side note), and as it is observed, He ever brings into existence the winter and the spring that are so similar to the Hour of Destruction and the Assembly.
Since an accounting that befits Him is not taking place in this world and the judgement is not being passed, of course, this will move on to a Supreme Tribunal and then to tremendously great felicity.
Seventh Truth - Side Note:
Yes, the past time from the present to the beginning of the creation of the realm mainly consists of actual occurrences. Its days, years, and centuries that have come into existence are each a line, a page, and a book inscribed by the pen of divine determination. The hand of power has written its miraculous signs in them with perfect wisdom and orderliness.
The future time from the present to the Day of Rising, then to Paradise, and all the way to eternity mainly consists of possibilities. That is, the past consists of actual occurrences, and the future consists of possibilities. If the two chains of those two times are held reciprocally, as there is no doubt in any way that the Entity Who brought the past day of yesterday as well as the beings of that day into existence is capable of creating the future day of tomorrow together with all of its beings, in the same way, there is no doubt that the beings and wonders of the past time, which is this arena of amazements, are the miracles of an All-Powerful Possessor of Majesty, and they definitively bear witness that that All-Powerful One is capable of bringing all the possibilities of the future into existence and displaying its amazements.
Yes, in the way that whoever will create an apple, of course, has to be capable of bringing into existence all the apples on earth and the massive spring. He who does not bring the spring into existence cannot bring the apple into existence, because that apple is being woven on that loom. He who brings an apple into existence can bring a spring into existence. An apple is a small similitude of a tree, in fact of an orchard, and in fact of an entire universe. Moreover, from the point of view of its artistry, the apple’s seed that carries the entire life story of the massive apple tree is such a wonder of artistry that He Who brings it into existence in the way that it is would not be incapable of anything. Thus, the One Who creates today can create the Day of Rising, and the One Who will bring the spring into existence can only be Someone Who is capable of bringing the Resurrection into existence. The One Who attaches all the realms of the past time on the reel of time with perfect wisdom and orderliness can of course attach and display another universe on the reel of the future, and He will display. We have definitively proven in several Words, and especially the “Twenty-Second Word” that he who cannot make everything cannot make anything. And whoever creates one thing can create everything. Moreover, if bringing things into existence is attributed to a single Entity, all things become easy like one thing and acquire facility. If it is given to numerous causes and attributed to multiplicity, bringing one thing into existence would become as difficult as bringing everything into existence, and the difficulty of this would reach a prohibitive degree.
Tenth Word - Eighth Truth
This is the gate of the promise of reward and threat of punishment, and it is the reflection of the names the Beautiful and the Majestic.
Is it at all possible that the Artful Maker of these artefacts Who is the Absolute All-Knower and the Absolute All-Powerful will – God forbid – show impotence and ignorance by not fulfilling His repeated divine promises of reward and threats of punishment that all prophets have informed about with broad authentication and all the veracious ones and saints bear witness with consensus? And that is while the things that He promises and threatens with are not at all heavy for his power. They are quite light and quite easy: as easy as the return of the past spring’s beings part identically (side note: like the roots of trees and plants) and part in similitude (side note: like leaves and fruits). As for fulfilling His promise of reward, it is utmostly necessary for us, for everything, for Him, and for the royal power of His Lordship. As for breaking His promise, that contradicts the dignity of His power and conflicts with the comprehensiveness of His knowledge. That is because, breaking a promise is either from ignorance or impotence.
Oh the denier! Do you know what an idiotic crime you are committing with your disbelief and denial in affirming your lying delusional imagination, nonsensical intellect, and deceptive compulsive soul and belying an Entity Who is in no way compelled to breaking or contradicting His promise: breaking a promise does not suit His dignity and stature in any way, and all that is seen bears witness to His veracity and truthfulness! Within your endless smallness, you are committing an endlessly big crime. Of course you will deserve a big punishment. That “a single tooth of some of the dwellers of the Hell is as big as a mountain” is reported as a unit of measurement to understand the magnitude of this crime. Your likeness would be a traveler who closes his eyes to sunlight and looks at the imagination within his head. Like a firefly, he delusionally tries to illuminate his dreadful path with the flashlight of his head.
Since the Sublime Real, Whose veracious, truth-bearing words that these existent beings and truth-speaking, articulate signs that the events of this universe are, has promised, of course, He will do it. He will open a Supreme Tribunal. He will give a most great felicity
Ninth Truth:
This is the gate of giving life and giving death. It is the reflection of the names the Living, the Sustainer, the Giver of Life, and the Giver of Death.
Is it at all possible that a Merciful All-Powerful One and an All-Wise All-Knower Who gives life to the entire earth when it is dead and dry; Who demonstrates His power within that resurrection by resurrecting and dispersing more than three hundred thousand species of creation, each one of them as amazing as the resurrection of humans; Who demonstrates the all-encompassing reach of His knowledge in that resurrection and dispersal, through utmost distinction and differentiation within utmost mixing up and intermingling; Who directs the sights of all of His slaves to eternal felicity by promising in all of His heavenly decrees the resurrection of humans; Who demonstrates the tremendousness of His lordship by causing all existent beings revolve head to head, shoulder to shoulder, and hand in hand within the circle of His command and will and by making them helpers to each other and subjugating them to one another; Who shows how much importance He gives to man by creating him as the most comprehensive, most delicate, most subtle, most pampered, and most supplicant fruit of the tree of cosmos and by accepting him as His addressee and subjugating everything to him… will not bring about the Rising, will not and cannot create the Resurrection, will not or cannot give life to mankind, will not be able to establish the Supreme Tribunal, and will not be able to create the Paradise and Hell? God forbid, never!
Yes, every day, every year, and in every century, the Glorious Disposer of this realm is bringing into existence many similitudes, examples, and indicators of the great Resurrection and the arena of Rising on this narrow and temporary face of the earth. In that regard: We see in the resurrection of the spring that within five to six days, He is resurrecting and dispersing more than three hundred thousand species of small and big animals. He is giving life to the roots of all trees and plants as well as to some animals and He is returning them in the same way that they were. He is bringing others into existence in a form of similitude that reaches the level of sameness. It is such that while the seeds that are only slightly different from one another in material terms are so mixed up, they are being brought to life with perfect distinction and personalization, in such a speed, on such a wide scale, and with so much ease, with perfect orderliness and proportionality, within six days to six weeks.
Can it possibly be that anything will be heavy for the Holy Entity Who does these things, that He will not be able to create the heavens and the earth in six days and resurrect man with a single blast? God forbid!
If a miracle working scribe wrote on a single page three hundred thousand books the letters of which had previously been distorted and obliterated within an hour, without mixing them up, with no mistakes, typos, or missing parts, altogether, and with uttermost beauty… then someone told you: “This scribe will write your book which he had actually authored himself and which had fallen in water anew within a minute from his memory,” can you respond saying: “He cannot do it. I don’t believe.”
Or if you see a miraculous sultan lift mountains by pointing to them once in order to show his capability, to make an example out of it, or for spectacle, replace countries with others, and turn the sea into land… then you see that a large boulder has fallen into a valley and blocked the path of that person’s guests whom he had invited to his feast, therefore they cannot proceed… and somebody tells you: “That person will lift that boulder by pointing to it and cause it to disintegrate no matter how big it is. He will not leave his guests stranded on the path…” Then if you say: “He will not lift it. He cannot lift…”
Or, if a person puts together a huge army without precedence within one day, and someone says: “With one blast from a trumpet, that person summons battalions the soldiers of which are dispersed for rest back together and the battalions enter under his rule…” Then you say: “I don’t believe…” You will understand how nonsensically you would be behaving.
Thus, if you understood these three representations, look: the Eternal Embroiderer turns the white page of the winter before our eyes, opens the green page of spring and the summer, and writes with the pen of power and divine determination more than three hundred thousand species in the best of forms. They are intermingled, but they don’t mix up. He writes them all together; one does not prevent the other. They are different in their constitutions and forms. He never leads them to confusion. And he does not write in error.
Yes, is it permissible even to question how an All-Wise and All-Preserving Holy Entity Who includes the program of the spirit of the biggest tree in a dot-like tiniest seed and preserves it there will preserve the spirits of the deceased ones? Is it permissible to question how an All-Powerful Holy Entity Who causes the globe of the earth spin like a pebble in a sling will lift this earth from the path of his guests who are traveling to the Hereafter or cause it to disintegrate? Moreover, is it permissible to question how a Majestic Holy Entity Who, with the command of “Be! And it is,” registers and places the particles in the battalions of all the corpses in the armies of all animate beings out of nothing, without precedence, and with perfect orderliness can, with one blast, summon the fundamental particles and primary parts of a corpse that have already become familiar with one another by entering under the orderly command of that battalion-like corpse?
Ninth Truth (continued):
Moreover, you see with your eyes how many embroideries that can be the examples, similitudes, and indications of Resurrection He is making in bringing clouds into existence and annihilating them in the atmosphere or in the alternation of night and day in each of the earth’s epochs and centuries that are like the resurrection of the spring. This is so much so that if, in your imagination, you assume yourself to be there a thousand years before this and compare the past and the future, which are the two wings of time, you will see as many examples of the similitudes of Resurrection and the Day of Rising to the number of centuries and days. And after you observe so many examples and similitudes, if you still deny bodily resurrection considering it unreasonable and therefore deeming it unlikely, you too will understand what a lunacy that is. Look what the Tremendous Decree says on this reality that we are talking about:
فَانْظُرْ اِلٰۤى اٰثَارِ رَحْمَتِ اللهِ كَيْفَ يُحْيِى اْلاَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَاۤ اِنَّ ذٰلِكَ لَمُحْيِى الْمَوْتٰى وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“Look, then, at the imprints of God’s mercy, how He restores the earth to life after death: this same God is the One Who will return people to life after death—He has power over all things (Qur’an, 30: 50).”
In conclusion: There is nothing that precludes the Resurrection. And everything entails it. Yes, the so utterly magnificent and perpetual Lordship and the so utterly tremendous and encompassing sovereignty of an Entity, Who gives death and life like giving it to an ordinary animal to this massive earth, which is a place of resurrection for such amazing things, Who makes it a pleasant cradle and a beautiful ship for humans and animals, Who makes the Sun an illuminating and heating lamp for them in this guest house, Who makes celestial objects planes to fly on for the angels, cannot be built on and would not rest upon such temporary, impermanent, unstable, insignificant, changeable, unlasting, deficient, and incomplete affairs of the world. In that case, there is another abode that is permanent, stable, unending, and magnificent as is worthy of Him. He has another kingdom that is everlasting. He makes us work for that. He invites us to there. And all bearers of luminous spirits, all axes of illuminated hearts, and all possessors of enlightened intellects who have transcended from appearance to reality, been honored with the closeness of His presence are bearing witness in agreement that He has prepared a reward and punishment and they are conveying that He is much forcefully promising that reward and much sternly threatening with that punishment again and again, repeatedly.
As for breaking a promise, it is both abjectness and humiliation. It cannot even come close to the sanctity of His majesty in any way. As for failing to fulfill a threat, that is either from forgiveness or from impotence. However, disbelief (kufr) is a crime of an absolute nature (side note), it cannot be forgiven. And the Absolutely All-Powerful One is beyond and sanctified above impotence.
As for the witnesses and reporters, although they have different dispositions, characters,aa and paths to follow, they are unified on this matter with perfect agreement. They reach the degree of broad authentication from the point of view of quantity. They have the power of consensus from the point of view of quality. They are each a star of the humankind, the eye of a people, and the venerable notables of a nation in their ranks. With regard to their significance, they are both the authorities on and the bearers of affirmation in this matter. In a science or craft, two authorities of the matter are preferable over thousands of others. In reporting a matter, two affirmers are preferred over thousands of negators. For example, two men who report the appearance of the Ramadan crescent totally nullify the denial of thousands of deniers.
In conclusion: there cannot be a more accurate report, a sounder claim, a more apparent truth than this in the world. In that case, without a doubt, this world is a cultivating field. As for the place of gathering, it is a threshing floor, a harvest field. And Paradise and Hell are each a storehouse.
Side note: Yes, because disbelief (kufr) reduces existent beings to worthlessness and accuses them of being meaningless, because it is an insult to the entire cosmos and a denial of the reflections of the [divine] names on the mirrors of existent beings, because it insults the divine names and rejects the testimony of existent beings to God’s essential oneness, and because it amounts to a refutation of all created beings… it corrupts human aptitudes in such a way that there remains no capacity for rectification and receiving good. Moreover, it is such tremendous oppression that it constitutes an infringement of the rights of the entire creation and all divine names. So, the preservation of those rights and the incapability of the disbelieving lower soul to receive or do good entails disbelief not to be forgiven. “اِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ ” (Ascribing partners to God is a terrible wrong (Qur’an, 31: 13) expresses this meaning.
Tenth Truth
This is the gate of wisdom, solicitude, mercy, and justice. It is the reflection of the divine names the Wise, the Munificent, the Just, and the Mercy Giver.
Is it at all possible that in the circle of the lands and in the realm of the dominion and domination of a Majestic Owner of Dominion, Who demonstrates such vast wisdom, such obvious solicitude, such overpowering justice, and such ample mercy in this unlasting guesthouse of the world, this non-continuous arena of testing, and this impersistent display house of the earth, there shall not be continuous abodes, eternal inhabitants, lasting stations, and resident creatures, and thus, the reality of this visible wisdom, solicitude, justice, and mercy shall be reduced to nothing.
And can it possibly be that among all creatures, that All-Wise Entity shall make this human being a universal addressee and an encompassing mirror to Himself, have him taste and measure the contents of the treasuries of His mercy, introduce them to him, make Himself known to Him through all of His divine names, love him and endear Himself to him… and then, not send that desolate human being to His eternal lands, not invite him to a continuous place of felicity and make him felicitous.
And is it reasonable at all that He shall put on each being, even if it is as small as a seed, a load of duty as big as a tree, He shall mount on it as many wisdoms as the flowers of the tree and attach as many benefits as its fruits, yet assign to that duty, those wisdoms, and those benefits a purpose facing the world, small as a seed alone? That He shall make each being’s worldly existence, which does not have as much significance as a mustard seed, its purpose. That He shall not make them [that duty, those wisdoms, and those benefits] seeds for the realm of meanings and a cultivating field for the realm of the Hereafter, so that they yield their true and worthy purposes? And that He shall let so many important ceremonies with such importance be purposeless, hollow, and futile, He shall not turn their faces to the realm of meanings and the realm of the Hereafter, so that He would reveal their actual purposes and worthy fruits?
Yes, is it at all possible that by doing these things in this way, which contradicts Reality, He shall make them appear to be qualified with the opposites of All-Wise, the Munificent, the Just, and the Mercy Giver, which are His actual attributes? Never, then again never! And that He shall belie the reality of the entire cosmos which indicates His wisdom, munificence, justice, and mercy, He shall reject the testimony of all existent beings, and He shall cancel the evidential indication of all artefacts of creation?
Tenth Truth (continued)
And could the intellect accept that He shall put on the human being’s head and on the peculiar qualities that are in him as many duties as the number of his hairs, yet in return, He shall give him a worldly reward that is in effect worth a single piece of hair alone? That He shall commit a meaningless act that contradicts His actual justice and stands in opposition to His actual wisdom?
And is it at all possible that He shall prove and demonstrate that He is an absolutely Wise One by attaching on each living being, in fact on each of its organs such as the tongue, and in fact on each artefact so many wisdoms and benefits as the quantity of results and fruits that He attaches on a tree, but then, He shall reduce all of His acts to the lowly degree of absolute futility by not giving lastingness, reunion, and eternal felicity which is the greatest of all wisdoms, the most important one of all benefits, and the most essential of all results, that which renders wisdom wisdom, blessing blessing, and mercy mercy, and the font and purpose of all wisdoms, blessings, instances of mercy, and benefits… And thus, He shall cause Himself look like a person who builds such a palace with thousands of engraved embroideries on each of its stones, thousands of ornaments all around and thousands of precious tools in each of its rooms, but then, he does not build a roof on it… Everything rots and spoils for nothing? God forbid and by no means!
From absolute good issues good. From the absolutely Beautiful One issues beauty. A futile thing does not come from the absolutely Wise One. Yes, whoever embarks on history in his mind and travels toward the past, he will see already dead rest stations, arenas, places of display, and realms to the number of years that are like the rest station of the world, the arena of tribulation, and the display of things that we see. Although they differ from one another in terms of form and qualities, they resemble one another in terms of orderliness, amazingness, and demonstrating the Artful Maker’s power and wisdom. Moreover, he will see in those impersistent rest stations, non-continuous arenas, and unlasting places of display the order of such a vast wisdom, the signs of such an apparent solicitude, the symptoms of such exceedingly overpowering justice, and the fruits of such ample mercy. He will know, on condition that he does not lack inner sight, that there cannot be more perfect wisdom than that wisdom, a more beautiful solicitude than that visible solicitude is not possible, there is no justice that is more majestic than the justice whose symptoms are visible, and a mercy that is more widespread than the one whose fruits cannot even be conceptualized.
If, to suppose the inconceivable, continuous rest stations, lofty places, permanent ranks, lasting abodes, resident inhabitants, and His happy slaves did not exist in the circle of the lands of this Perpetual Sultan Who effects these things, and alters these guests and guest houses, then it would become necessary to banish the realities of wisdom, justice, solicitude, and mercifulness as four metaphysical elements that are powerful and widespread like light, air, water, and earth and to deny their existence which is visible like those apparent elements. Because, it is known that this unlasting world and all that is in it cannot be the place of appearance for their complete realities. If a place that will be a complete place of appearance for them does not exist elsewhere either, then, with a lunacy that reaches the level of denying the existence of the Sun even as we see the light that fills the day, it would become necessary to deny this wisdom that exists in everything and that is before our eyes, to deny this solicitude that we observe in ourselves and on most things at all times, to deny this justice the utterly powerful symptoms of which are being seen (side note 1), and to deny this mercifulness that we see everywhere… and at the same time, it would become necessary to accept that the Owner of these wisdomful executions, munificent acts, and merciful bestowals is – God forbid, and again, God forbid – is a lowly prankster and ruthless oppressor… and that is an endlessly inconceivable assumption and the very reversal of reality. Even the most idiot Sophists who deny the existence of everything along with the existence of their own selves would not readily attempt to conceptualize this.
Tenth Truth (continued)
Side note 1: Yes, justice is of two types: one affirmative and the other, negative. The affirmative is to give the possessor of rights his rights. This type of justice pervasively exists in this world at the degree of intuitive clarity. Because, as it is proven in the “Third Truth,” the Majestic One Who creates from nothing is giving everything that everything asks for with the tongue of aptitude, the tongue of innate need, and the tongue of dire circumstance as well as what is due to them for their existence and life with special balances and specific measures, as observed. In that case, the existence of this type of justice is definite to the degree of [the existence of] existence and life. The second type is negative and consists of the disciplining of wrongdoers. That is, He is giving what the wrongdoers deserve through torment and punishment. As for this kind, true that it does not manifest completely in this world, but there are boundless signs and symptoms that cause the existence of that reality to be sensed. Among them, the chastising blows and tormenting lashes that have descended on the People of Ad, the People of Thamud, and all the way to the recalcitrant peoples of the present time show with a definitive immediate apprehension that an utmostly lofty justice is ruling.
In conclusion: Because there is no parity between these visible conducts such as the broad social life on earth, the rapid separations of death, the sublime gatherings, quick dispersals, tremendous ceremonies, and great manifestations on the one hand and their particular fruits that relate to this realm and that are known to us in this temporal world and short period as well as their insignificant, and temporary purposes on the other, it [the absence of another permanent realm] would be like attaching mountain-like wisdoms and purposes to a small pebble and giving a big mountain a pebble-like temporary and particular purpose. And this would not agree with the intellect and wisdom.
In that case, such disparity between these existent beings and affairs and their worldly purposes definitively bear witness that the faces of these existent beings face the realm of meanings; they yield their befitting fruits there. Their eyes are focused on the divine names. Their purposes look to that realm. They themselves grow under the earth’s soil while their flowers grow in the realm of similitudes. Man cultivates and is cultivated in accordance with his aptitude here and harvests in the Hereafter.
Yes, if you look at the faces of these things that face the divine names and the realm of the Hereafter, you will see that each seed, which is a miracle of power, has as much purpose as a tree. Each flower, which is a word of wisdom, has as many meanings as the flowers of a tree (side note). And those fruits, which are each a wonder of artistry and an ode of mercy, have as many wisdoms as the fruits of a tree. That it is provision for us is one among thousands of its wisdoms that when its duty is fulfilled and it expresses its meaning, it dies and is buried in our stomach.
Since these temporal things yield permanent fruits, leave continuous images, express other eternal meanings, and are engaged in perpetual glorification somewhere else… in that case, the human being becomes a human being by beholding those of their faces that concern this aspect and finds a path to lastingness in that which is temporal… In that case, these existent beings that roll between life and death and gather and disperse contain another purpose. Errors are not to be sought in representations; these states are like those states that are given form and organized for imitation and representation. In the way that gatherings and dispersals are organized at great expense so that images could be taken, composed, and displayed continuously in the cinema, likewise, one purpose of having a personal and social life in this world in a short period of time is so that images would be taken and composed and the outcomes of their deeds are preserved, so that they will then be subject to an accounting in a great place of gathering, be exhibited in a tremendous display house, and their aptitude for a tremendous felicity is shown. Then, this meaning is expressed in the honorable prophetic tradition: “The world is the cultivating field of the Hereafter.”
Since the world exists. And since this wisdom, solicitude, mercy, and justice exist with their imprints in the world. Since everything in the world faces that realm in one aspect, that means, that is the destination. Denying the Hereafter means denying the world and everything in it. In that case, as the appointed time of death and the grave await man, Paradise and Hell are also waiting for and looking forward to him.
Side note 2: Question: If it be asked: “Why do you make parables mostly from flower, seed, and fruit?”
Answer: Because they are the most precious, wondrous, and delicate of the miracles of power and also because, since the naturalists, the misguided, and the philosophers cannot read the fine script written by the pen of divine determination and power in them, they have drowned in them, they have fallen into the swamp of nature.
Tenth Word - Eleventh Truth
This is the gate of humanity. It is the reflection of the name the Real.
Is it at all possible that the Sublime Real and the One Who is truly worthy of worship shall create the human being in this cosmos as a most important worshipful slave before His absolute lordship and general lordship over all realms, as a most reflective addressee of His glorified address, as a most comprehensive mirror for the appearance of His names, in the best form of creation that is the locus of manifestation for the reflection of His greatest name as well as of the greatest level that is in each of His names, as a most beautiful miracle of power, as an examiner who possesses the highest quantity of the best scales and instruments to measure and to recognize the contents of the treasures of His mercy, in a form and with a quiddity that is most in need of His endless blessings, most pained from the possibility of annihilation, most yearning for lastingness, most delicate, most pampered, poorest, and neediest among animate beings, most pained and unfortunate from the point of view of worldly life, and with the loftiest and highest form and quiddity from the point of view of aptitudes, yet He shall not send him to an eternal abode that he has an aptitude for, that he is yearning for, and that he is worthy of and thus, He shall commit an injustice that is ugly in the sight of reality and completely in opposition to His Reality by negating the reality of humanity!
And can it possibly be that the True Ruler and Absolute Mercy-giver shall give the human being such an aptitude to carry the greatest trust that the Earth, heavens, and mountains have refrained from carrying, that is to measure and know the all-encompassing attributes, universal conducts, and endless reflections of his Creator with his tiny and particular scales; create him on earth in the most delicate, fragile, pampered, impotent, and weak way; then make him a kind of officer charged with organizing all the vegetal and animal creatures of the entire earth; cause him to intervene in their manners of glorification and worship; to reveal on him as a similitude on a tiny scale of the divine executions in the cosmos; to have him pronounce the glorified acts of lordship with actions and orally to the cosmos; and give him the rank of vicegerency in preference over the angels; yet He shall not give eternal felicity to him, which is the purpose, outcome, and fruit of all of his duties? He shall throw him to a most unfortunate, calamity-stricken, destitute, troubled, wretched lowly degree among all of his creatures; He shall turn intellect, which is a most blessed and luminous gift of His wisdom that serves as an instrument of happiness, into a most ill-omened and dark instrument of torment for that destitute one; and thus, He shall commit a mercilessness that completely excludes His absolute mercy and contradicts His absolute wisdom? God forbid and never!5820
In conclusion: As we had looked at the identification card and record book of an officer and seen in the parable his rank, duty, wage, instructions, and equipment all show us that he is not meant for a temporary battlefield; in fact, he will go to a permanent country and is working accordingly. In the same way, the gnostics and people of openings agree that the subtle faculties in the identification card in a human being’s heart and the distinguishing properties and aptitudes in the record book of his intellect are together and completely facing eternal felicity, he is equipped accordingly.
For instance: If the power of imagination, which is a servant and illustrator of the intellect, is told: “You will be given a million years of life and rule over the world, but you will become nothing in the end.” It will become sad saying “ah!” rather than “oh!” provided that it is not deceived by delusion and the lower soul does not interfere. In that case, even the greatest temporary thing cannot satisfy the smallest human instrument and equipment. It is because of this aptitude that man’s expectations that extend to eternity, thoughts that encompass the cosmos, and wishes that spread through the varieties of his eternal felicity demonstrate that this human being is created for eternity and he will go to eternity. This world is a guesthouse for him. It is a waiting room for his Hereafter.
Tenth Word - Twelfth Truth
This is the gate of messengership and revelation. It is the reflection of “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Mercy Giver.”
Is it at all possible that empty delusional thoughts that have not even as much strength as a fly’s wing shall close the path of the Hereafter and the gates of Paradise that the Noble Messenger (ﷺ), whose words all prophets verify relying on their miracles, whose claim all saints affirm relying on their unveilings and saintly miracles, and to whose truthfulness all purified ones testify relying on their analyses of truth has opened and paved together with the Wisdomful Qur’an that is a miracle from forty points of view and that relies on its thousands of conclusive signs in verses? What right do they have to do that?
It is understood from the previous truths that the issue of resurrection is such a firm truth that not even a force that can lift up, smash, and cast away the globe of the Earth can shake that truth. Because, the Sublime Real is establishing that truth as called for by all of his names and attributes. His Noble Messenger is affirming it with all of his miracles and demonstrative proofs. The Wisdomful Qur’an is proving it with all of its truths and signs in verses. And this cosmos is testifying to it with all of its creational signs and wisdomful affairs. Is it at all possible that the Necessarily Existent Being and all existent beings – with the exception of disbelievers – shall agree on the issue of resurrection, yet doubts that have not as much as a hair’s worth of strength and satanic obsessive thoughts shall shake and uproot that mountain-like firm and exalted truth. God forbid and never!
Beware of assuming that the proofs of resurrection are limited to these Twelve Truths that we have mentioned. No, in fact, the Wisdomful Qur’an itself, as it has instructed us in these Twelve Truths, points to yet thousands more aspects of the matter, and each aspect is a strong evidence that our Creator will transfer us from this transient abode to an everlasting abode.
Also, beware of assuming that the divine names that call for the resurrection are limited only to the names the Wise, the Munificent, the Mercy Giver, the Just, and the Preserver that we have mentioned. No, in fact, all divine names that are manifest in the administration of the cosmos call for the Hereafter, in fact, they require it.
Also, do not assume that the creational signs of the cosmos that indicate the resurrection are limited to what we have mentioned here. No, in fact, most existent beings have aspects and qualities that are like curtains that open to the left and to the right… as one side bears witness to the Artful Maker, the other side points to resurrection. For example, that man is created beautifully in the best of forms shows the Artful Maker, and that he disappears in a brief time along with his comprehensive capabilities in that best of forms shows the resurrection. Sometimes if one side is viewed from two points of view, it shows both the Artful maker and the resurrection. For example, as the ordering of wisdoms, the adornment of solicitude, the fair measurement of justice, and the bestowal of mercy show, if their quiddities are viewed, that they are coming from the hand of power of a Munificent, Just, and Mercy-giving All-Wise Artful Maker… Likewise, if one looks at how, together with the strength and boundlessness of these, those transient existent beings that are their loci of appearance live so little and insignificantly, the Hereafter becomes visible.
In that case, everything is reciting “I believe in God and the Last Day.” with the tongue of their states.
Tenth Word - Conclusion
The previous twelve truths confirm, complete, and strengthen one another. All of them unite and show the result together. Which delusional thought has the capacity to pierce through and penetrate these iron-like, in fact diamond-like impenetrable walls and shake the faith in resurrection that is in its fortified fortress?
The noble verse “مَا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلاَ بَعْثُكُمْ اِلاَّ كَنَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ” (Creating and resurrecting all of you is only like creating or resurrecting a single soul (Qur’an, 31:28)) expresses that the creation and resurrection of all humans is but like the creation and resurrection of a single person in relation to divine power.
Yes, that is the case. I had written in detail about the truth that is expressed in this verse in the discussion of Resurrection in a treatise titled “Nokta” (Point). Here, we will point to its summary through some of its examples. If you so desire, refer to that “Point.”
For instance,وَ ِللهِ الْمَثَلُ اْلاَعْلٰى (And to God is the highest similitude (Qur’an, 16: 60), let there be no defect in the example, in the way that the Sun’s reflection gives the reflection that it easily gives to one particle also to innumerable transparent things with the same level of ease thanks to the secret of “luminosity…”
And thanks to the secret of “transparency,” the small apple of the eye of a small particle is equivalent to the vast face of the sea with regard to receiving the Sun’s mirror image…
And thanks to the secret of “orderliness,” as a child maneuvers the ship-shaped toy in his hand, so can he maneuver a huge dreadnought …
And thanks to the secret of “obedience,” as a commander mobilizes a single soldier with the command of “March!” so does he mobilize a huge army with the same word…
And thanks to the secret of “equilibrium,” a scale in space – let’s assume that it is so truly sensitive and so big that it can sense two walnuts put in each of its pans and fit and weigh two suns – with the same force that lifts up one of the two walnuts in its two pans to the heavens and lowers the other to the ground, if two suns are present, it would lift one up to the Throne and lower the other to earth.
Since among these ordinary, deficient, transient contingent beings, the biggest thing becomes equivalent to the smallest thing thanks to the secrets of luminosity, transparency, orderliness, obedience, and equilibrium… and boundless, uncountable things appear to be equivalent to a single thing… Of course, thanks to the secrets of the luminous manifestations of the Absolutely All-Powerful One’s essential, endless, and utmostly perfect power, the transparency of the dimension of things that relate to the Realm of Domination, the orderliness that issue from wisdom and divine determination, the perfect obedience of things to the creational commands that govern them, and the equilibrium between the possibility of contingent beings, which means that their existence and non-existence are equivalent, little and much, big and small are the same for Him. With a single blast, he can resurrect all humans like a single person.
Furthermore, the degrees of strength and weakness that a thing possesses are due to the penetration of its opposite in it. For example, the degrees of heat are due to the penetration of coldness. The degrees of beauty are due to the penetration of ugliness. The stages of light are due to the penetration of darkness.
However, if something is essential, not accidental, its opposite cannot penetrate it. Because, that would require the combination of opposites and that is inconceivable. In that case, a thing that is elemental and essential has no degrees.
Since the power of the Absolutely All-Powerful One is essential, it is not accidental as is the case for contingent beings, and since it is at the degree of absolute perfection, it is inconceivable for impotence, which is its opposite, to penetrate it. In that case, the creation of a spring is as easy for His Majestic Entity as a flower. If it is referred to causes, a flower would become as burdensome as a spring. And giving life and resurrecting all humans is as easy as giving life to a single soul.
Tenth Word - Conclusion
Our statements about the illustrative imagery and truths about the issue of resurrection from the beginning to this point are from the outpouring of the Wisdomful Qur’an. It is limited to preparing the lower soul to capitulate and the heart to accept. The real word belongs to the Qur’an. Because that is the word and the word is its. Let’s listen:
فَلِلّٰهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْباَلِغَةُ
“…The conclusive argument belongs to God alone (Qur’an, 6: 149).”[1]
فَانْظُرْ اِلٰۤى اٰثَارِ رَحْمَتِ اللهِ كَيْفَ يُحْيِى اْلاَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا اِنَّ ذٰلِكَ لَمُحْيِى الْمَوْتٰى وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“Look, then, at the imprints of God’s mercy, how He restores the earth to life after death: this same God is the one who will return people to life after death—He has power over all things (Qur’an, 30: 50).”
قَالَ مَنْ يُحْيِى الْعِظَامَ وَهِىَ رَمِيمٌ قُلْ يُحْيِيهَا الَّذِۤى اَنْشَاَهَاۤ اَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلْقٍ عَلِيمٌ
“…He says, ‘Who can give life back to bones after they have decayed?’ // Say, ‘He who created them in the first place will give them life again: He has full knowledge of every act of creation (Qur’an, 36: 78-79).”
يَاۤ اَيُّهاَ النَّاسُ اتَّقوُا رَبَّكُمْ اِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ السَّاعَةِ شَىْءٌ عَظِيمٌ يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّاۤ اَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَتَرَى النَّاسَ سُكاَرٰى وَمَا هُمْ بِسُكاَرٰى وَلٰكِنَّ عَذَابَ اللهِ شَدِيدٌ
“People, be mindful of your Lord, for the earthquake of the Last Hour will be a mighty thing: // on the Day you see it, every nursing mother will think no more of her baby, every pregnant female will miscarry, you will think people are drunk when they are not, so severe will be God’s torment (Qur’an, 22: 1-2).”
اَللهُ لاَۤ اِلٰهَ اِلاَّ هُوَ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ اِلٰى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَمَنْ اَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللهِ حَدِيثاً
“He is God: there is no god but Him. He will gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. Whose word can be truer than God’s? (Qur’an, 4: 87).”
اِنَّ اْلاَبْرَارَ لَفِى نَعِيمٍ
“The truly good will live in bliss “(Qur’an, 83: 22).”
وَاِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِى جَحِيمٍ
“And the wicked will burn in the Fire “(Qur’an, 82: 14).”
اِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ اْلاَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهاَ وَاَخْرَجَتِ اْلاَرْضُ اَثْقَالَهَا وَقاَلَ اْلاِنْسَانُ مَالَهَا يَوْمَئِذٍ تُحَدِّثُ اَخْباَرَهَا بِاَنَّ رَبَّكَ اَوْحٰى لَهَا يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصْدُرُ النَّاسُ اَشْتاَتاً لِيُرَوْا اَعْمَالَهُمْ فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْراً يَرَهُ وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرّاً يَرَهُ
“When the earth is shaken violently in its [last] quaking, // when the earth throws out its burdens, // when man cries, ‘What is happening to it?’; // on that Day, it will tell all // because your Lord will inspire it [to do so]. // On that Day, people will come forward in separate groups to be shown their deeds: // whoever has done an atom’s-weight of good will see it, // 8but whoever has done an atom’s-weight of evil will see that (Qur’an, 99: 1-8).”
اَلْقَارِعَةُ مَا الْقاَرِعَةُ وَمَاۤ اَدْرٰيكَ مَا الْقَارِعَةُ يَوْمَ يَكوُنُ النَّاسُ كَالْفَرَاشِ الْمَبْثوُثِ وَتَكوُنُ الْجِبَالُ كَالْعِهْنِ الْمَنْفوُشِ فَاَمَّا مَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَهُوَ فِى عِيشَةٍ رَاضِيَةٍ وَاَمَّا مَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَاُمُّهُ هَاوِيَةٌ وَمَاۤ اَدْرٰيكَ مَاهِيَهْ نَارٌ حَامِيَةٌ
“The Crashing Blow! // What is the Crashing Blow? // What will explain to you what the Crashing Blow is? // On a Day when people will be like scattered moths // and the mountains like tufts of wool, // the one whose good deeds are heavy on the scales // will have a pleasant life, // but the one whose good deeds are light // will have the Bottomless Pit for his home— // what will explain to you what that is?— // a blazing fire (Qur’an, 101 :1-11).”
وَ ِللهِ غَيْبُ السَّمٰوَاتِ وَاْلاَرْضِ وَمَا اَمْرُ السَّاعَـةِ اِلاَّ كَلَمْحِ الْبَصَرِ اَوْ هُوَ اَقْرَبُ اِنَّ اللهَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
All that is hidden from view in the heavens and earth belongs to God. The coming of the Hour of Judgement is like the blink of an eye, or even quicker: God has power over everything (Qur’an, 16: 77).”
Let us listen to all the clear verses of the Qur’an like this and say “We believe and affirm.”
اٰمَنْتُ بِاللهِ وَمَلٰۤئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ اْلاٰخِرِ وَبِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ مِنَ اللهِ تَعَالٰى وَالْبَعْثُ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ حَقٌّ وَاَنَّ الْجَنَّةَ حَقٌّ وَالنَّارَ حَقٌّ وَاَنَّ الشَّفَاعَةَ حَقٌّ وَاَنَّ مُنْكَراً وَنَكِيراً حَقٌّ وَاَنَّ اللهَ يَبْعَثُ مَنْ فِى الْقُبوُرِ اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لاَۤ اِلٰهَ اِلاَّ اللهُ وَاَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُولُ اللهِ اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰۤى اَلْطَفِ وَاَشْرَفِ وَاَكْمَلِ وَاَجْمَلِ ثَمَرَاتِ طُوبَاۤءِ رَحْمَتِكَ الَّذِى اَرْسَلْتَهُ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ وَوَسِيلَةً لِوُصُولِنَا اِلٰۤى اَزْيَنِ وَاَحْسَنِ وَاَجْلٰى وَاَعْلٰى ثَمَرَاتِ تِلْكَ الطُّوبَاۤءِ الْمُتَدَلِّيَةِ عَلٰى دَارِ اْلاٰخِرَةِ اَىِ الْجَنَّةِ اَللّٰهُمَّ اَجِرْناَ وَاَجِرْ وَالِدَيْناَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَادْخِلْناَ وَادْخِلْ وَالِدَيْناَ الْجَنَّةَ مَعَ اْلاَبْراَرِ بِجَاهِ نَبِيِّكَ الْمُخْتاَرِ اٰمِينَ
I believe in God, in His angels, in His books, in His messengers, in the Last Day, in divine determination, and in that good and bad is from God exalted is He, that life after death is real, the Paradise is real, the Fire is real, that intercession is real, that the “denied and the denier [angels of interrogation in the grave” are real, and that God gives life to those in the graves. I bear witness that there is no god but God, Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is God’s messenger. Oh God, send Your blessings on the finest, the noblest, the most perfect, and the most beautiful of the fruits of the Tuba Tree of Your mercy whom You sent as a mercy to the Realm and as the means of our arrival at the most ornate, the best, and the most majestic fruits of that Tuba that indicates the abode of the Hereafter, that is the Paradise. Oh God, give us and our parents relief from the Fire and let us and our parents into the Paradise with those who are truly good by your Chosen Prophet’s side. Amin.
Oh brother who has studied this treatise with a fair mind! Do not say: “Why do I not understand this Tenth Word all at once?” And do not be upset for not understanding it completely. Because, a genius of wisdom like Ibn al-Sīnā (Avicenna) has said اَلْحَشْرُ لَيْسَ عَلٰى مَقاَيِيسَ عَقْلِيَّةٍ (The Resurrection is not a rational matter.) and judged: “We believe in the resurrection, but the intellect cannot proceed on this path.” Furthermore, all scholars of Islam have agreed on the judgement that: “The Resurrection is a transmitted matter. Its proof is received through transmission. It cannot be reached through the intellect.” While this is the case, of course such a profound and metaphysically elevated path cannot in effect become the commonly shared highway of the intellect at once. We should thank a thousand times that with the outpouring of the Qur’an and the mercy of the Mercy-giving Creator this profound and elevated path is bestowed in this century whose imitation has broken and submission has spoiled. Because it is sufficient to save our faith. We should be pleased with as much as what we understand and try to increase that with further study.
The secret of why the Resurrection is not reached with the intellect is this: Because the tremendous Resurrection happens with the manifestation of the Most Tremendous Name, the tremendous Resurrection is proven and a conclusive conviction and verified faith is attained about it by seeing and showing the tremendous acts that become apparent with the manifestation of the Sublime Real’s Most Tremendous Name and the most tremendous degree of every divine name. Otherwise, if the intellect is left on its own with its narrow and small principles, it would fall powerless and be compelled to imitate.
[1] This and the following translations from the Qur’an are from M. A. S. Abdelhaleem, The Qur'an: A New Translation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).