Ta’wil of “And We have encompassed everything in a manifest Imam. This means: (1) We have encompassed all things in a manifest Imam in a spiritual form. Ihsa or encompassing implies not to allow a thing to go out, to confine, togetherness of scattered things and to record and control them, their mutual closeness, etc. (2) We have encompassed all souls and intellects in the manifest Imam of their own time. Imam with nunation (tanwin) means one of the Imams. Whatever is in spirituality is nothing but the intellect and the soul, therefore, by the things are meant the souls and intellects. On the basis of this explanation, if someone says that in the word “ihsa” or `encompassing’ you have established the traces of the whole world, how can all those traces be the intellects and the souls? The answer is that, if there is an image of a stone in spirituality, it also has a soul and intellect. (3) We taught everything ta’wil in the Imam who has the knowledge of bayan or ta’wil. For the ta’wil of casting pebbles is to ask questions and mubin (also) means speaking, i.e. the one who explains. (4) We made everything which was an accident, a substance in the speaking Imam. By pebbles are meant gems, such as ruby, etc. (5) We have encompassed all sciences and macrifat in the Pearl of Intellect, which is with the Imam of the time. (6) We have gathered all things of both the worlds in a non-spatial form in the Imam between the two worlds. Because by kulla shay’in (everything) is meant the things of both the worlds, and mubin also means the one who resides between (bayn) the two. (7) And We have made the whole of everything a pearl in the manifest Imam. (8) And We have gathered all things of both the worlds in the speaking Imam.
In short, among the subtle things there is nothing which is not included in the illustrious person of the Imam of the time. Therefore, there is no room for any doubt in the above ta’wili explanation of the noble verse. There are all kinds of proofs of the veracity of this ta’wil. One of the numerous proofs is that had it been possible for the intellect to exist in this world without a body, it would definitely have existed. For, if someone is able to do his work appropriately and perfectly, he does not need the help of others. From the nature of the particular intellects can be attained some knowledge of their whole. That is, if all the means of perfection of the abstract intellects is the one which now exists, as God says: “Creation by God is the one according to which He has created mankind” (30:30). That is, the previous creation was exactly like the creation which takes place in your time. (In the ta’wil of this verse is hidden an unbounded treasure of the knowledge of tawhid, therefore, all those interested in this knowledge should take benefit from it). Thus, when it is established that the particular intellect is linked to the imperfect man and it deserves to be called the particular intellect only in the body, then it is true to say that the Universal Intellect is linked to the Perfect Man. The same is the case for the particular soul and the Universal Soul. Thus it is established that the Universal Soul and the Universal Intellect are in the Perfect Man and outside the united enclosure of these three, there is nothing. I have written elsewhere in this book about the nature of the spiritual whole and the physical whole, in order to make it easier to understand.
Leave a Response »
