Chapter 3: This world and the hereafter. “Human-level in this world and the Hereafter”
Chapter 3: This world and the hereafter. “Human-level in this world and the Hereafter”
God is the First and the Last
God has different beautiful names[1]. In detail the names of God are unlimited but in general, there are 99 names or 1001 names. What is a name? Name is a limitation of one of God’s attributes. When you consider God with one attribute, it is called name. For example, when you consider God with power, his name will be “Ghadir” in Arabic. When you consider God with knowledge, his name will be “Alim” in Arabic. In one description God’s names are split into two major category names. “Beauty and Glory name”[2]. All names are gathered in the name of “Allah”. In another description, all names of God are gathered in four names “He is the First and the Last, the Apparent and the Hidden, and He is Knower of all things”[3]. Names of God have their manifestations, in other words; all worlds are manifestations of God’s names. “Oh Lord, seek you in your Names that filled everything”[4]. This world is apparent, it is a manifestation of “Al-Zahir” (name of God meaning apparent). The hereafter is hidden, and it is also a manifestation of “Al-Batin” (name of God meaning hidden). Also, this world is a manifestation of “Al-Akhir” (the Last) name of God because it is the lowest level of God’s mercy. The hereafter is a manifestation of “Al-Awal” since we originate from there and that is the highest level of God’s mercy. Everyone that has a life here is a manifestation of “Al-Hay” (name of God meaning alive) and everyone who dies is a manifestation of “Al-Momit” (name of God meaning the inflictor of death). There must be a manifestation for each name of God. It is not possible to have absolute truth without manifestation since it must have manifestation to become absolute truth without absolute limit.
Creation world and Command world[5]
What is the command world? It is a world free from matter and its properties which is called “Mojaradat”[6]. It exists as long as God’s command. “Verily, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be!” — and it is!”[7]. The creation world is different from than command world. For example, it is told to an apple seed to become an apple tree, it needs to be planted in the ground, then watered, care should be taken, and it should receive sunlight so that it gradually becomes a complete apple tree. It will take some time to be. The Command world is free from time. Let me give a simple example to make this clear: you decide to go to a city in your mind but in this world, you need to drive or fly to get to that city which will take some time.
Mulk world and Malakut world[8]
Mulk means dominion, ownership, and governance. Malakut means the same as Mulk, but it is with extreme intensity. Malakut is the reality and truth of this world. “And in this wise, We showed unto Ibrahim the governance (Malakut) of the heavens and the earth, and that he might become of the convinced”[9].
Apparent world and Hidden world[10]
Everything that we see or perceive with our physical senses is called the “Apparent world” and anything that is hidden from our physical sense is called the “Hidden World”.
Physical world and Intellectual world[11]
We perceive this world with our physical senses like seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling but the intellectual world is perceived with our intellect. Meaning that we need to have a body proportional to it and will need to have eyes and ears to perceive intellectual truths. If you would like to see the intellectual world you need to have eyes that can see those truths.
All creatures will go from this world to the hereafter, from the creation world to the command world, from the last to the first, from the apparent to the hidden, from Mulk to Malakut. A tradition says, “after this world, you will have 100 stations which the first of them is your grave”. Some people pass these stations while they are still in this world. Everyone will go towards their perfections. But the point is as a human we need someone as a guide. Prophets came to guide us towards human perfection.
Religion needs to come from the creator not creatures
Humans are very complex and wonderful beings. A man will not be able to offer a humanization program or the way of human perfection. It is necessary to pay attention to a very important point which is that it is only the creator of man who knows what man must be and do in order to reach his perfection. For example, it is the manufacturer of a passenger plane who knows how to work the aircraft properly, so for this purpose, the manufacturer of the device writes the device’s manual to show how it works or the correct way and method of using it. similarly, the creator of humans is who knows what they need and how they need to be to reach their purposes and perfections. So, religion or the way of living needs to come from the origin, and not based on human intellect because intellect itself is also part of creation.
Nabi’s invitations are towards news and that is the hereafter where creatures go
Prophets all are Nabi, one of the meanings of Nabi in Arabic is news. Another meaning of Nabi is grown. So, Nabi is a person who is grown by God. “Then her Lord accepted her with goodly acceptance and made her grow up with a goodly growth”[12]. A tradition from Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) says “I am the great news”[13]. Why he is the great news is because he reached the level of the day of judgment. We discussed that before if a man reaches a level, he will be united with that truth. So, his resurrection is raised, or he is himself a resurrection. Why is the hereafter great news for people? Everyone talks about it differently because of a lack of knowledge. To see the day of judgment in this world you need to have a resurrection vision. We are like a baby in a mother’s womb who does not understand what a tree, mountain, marriage, work is. To understand this, one needs to have relevant eyes proportional to the hereafter to see another world.
People are in an intermediate (Barzakh)[14] world. It is a dark barrier between origin and resurrection
Intermediate between two things in Arabic is called “Barzakh”. For example, this wall is an intermediate between me and the outside of the room. Ishragh philosophers call physical objects “intermediates”. They believe physical objects are intermediate between darkness and absolute light or intermediate between existence and non-existence. Resurrection (Qiyamah) already exists but this world is like a barrier. Tradition says “whoever dies, his Qiyamah rises”[15]. “Before them is a barrier(intermediate) until the Day when they shall be raised”[16]. People’s faces are toward this world, they need to turn their face(attention) towards the hereafter. Amir Al-Mu’menin said: “Repentance (Tawbeh) is before you”[17]. Tawbeh in Arabic means return for repentance.
Some people are awake and some asleep in this world
“Dead are they, not alive; and they perceive not when they will be raised up”[18]. “People are asleep and wake up when they die”[19]. “This world is dreaming”[20]. We have discussed that real dreams have meanings behind them, and a dream interpreter leads us towards the true meaning of our dreams. It is known that in dreams, Bread is a blessing, and feces is money. Someone came to me and asked, he saw in his dreams that someone else was looking at him while he was defecating. I replied: that person is trying to find out where you earn your money from. Since this world is like a dream, Qyiamah is the true interpretation of this world. In the hereafter, we will see the interpretation of all figures that we see in this world, like when seeing a dream and having a meaning behind that. People that are asleep in this world can be awakened but people who are dead or pretend to be dead cannot be awakened.
“And thou canst not make them hear who are in the graves”[21]. They are like animals that can listen to your voice but do not understand. Allameh Hassanzadeh said: Here, graves are physical bodies that intermediate body rises from. Our physical body is our grave in which we are buried.
There are two types of death 1-Voluntary death 2-Natural death
We have two types of death, 1- Voluntary death “die before you die”[22] 2- Natural death “wherever you are death will get you”[23]. Prophet Jesus said: “No one will enter the hereafter unless he is born twice”.
Khajeh said: Whoever dies voluntarily will be resurrected to eternal life, meaning whoever cut their love to this worldly life like a dead person, will reach eternal life. Anything that has power and knowledge is alive. A worm also has knowledge and power, he is searching for food, so he is alive, but his life intensity compared to us is very weak. The more knowledge and power, the more intense life is until we reach absolute power and knowledge like Khizr(A) who is a perfect human. Woe to the one who dies a natural death.
The secret of the Day of Judgment is great
Whenever the great Quran interpreter and philosopher Allameh Tabatabaei wanted to talk about resurrection, he made his class private with a few students. He said: People are not ready to hear the truth and reality of the resurrection.
Prophets are not allowed to tell us the truths of resurrection because they are religious companions and resurrection companions are different people. We have two types of prophecies in mysticism: 1- a religious prophecy which tells us the laws of religion like “eating dead meat is Haram” etc. 2- descriptive prophecy who are Guardians of God (Awliya Allah). They are not bringing us the laws of religion but can tell us about the truths. It is worth mentioning that all prophets must be a guardian of God before becoming prophets. Prophecy is a manifestation of Al-Zahir’s name of Allah, meaning prophets are visible between people and clearly invite them towards God and the law of religion. They said to people, O people, I am a messenger of God and came to describe the laws of religion, do not lie, do not steal, do not sin. On the other hand, Awliya Allah are manifestations of Al-Batin’s name of Allah, meaning they will not bring any religion, they will not say I am a Guardian of God (Wali), they even hide themselves from the people. We have many traditions from 14 Ma’sumin (infallible Imams) that says: “Hide our secrets”.
A tradition from Prophet Muhammad(S) says: “God Almighty has hidden three things in three things: He has placed his pleasure in obedience, his anger in his sins, and his guardians and friends in his creatures. None of you should consider obedience light; Because no one knows in which obedience is the pleasure of God Almighty; And no one should undermine any disobedience; For he does not know in what sin the wrath of God is; And let none of you despise the creation of God; Because he does not know which of them is the guardian of God”[24]. As mentioned, prophets are Guardians of God while they are prophets, but they mention secrets of their Guardianship (Wilayah[25]) only with trusted ones, if they do not find those then they will be quiet. “You are only a warner, and to every people, there is a guide”[26]. Guidance belongs to the one in the Guardianship position. A tradition from Prophet Muhammad(S): “O Ali, I am a warner, and you are the guide”. “Verily thou shalt not guide whomsoever thou love, but Allah shall guide whomsoever He will. And He knows best who are the guided”[27]. Allah is the one who guides people by his Wali[28], whoever seeks guidance.
Prophet Muhammad(S) is close to resurrection
A tradition from Prophet says: “I and the resurrection are like two fingers”[29]. (Picture index and middle finger touching each other). Allameh Hassanzadeh emphasized this tradition and the closeness of the prophet Muhammad and the resurrection. Another tradition from Prophet Muhammad(S): “Someone asked when is the day of judgment? Prophet Muhammad(S) replied: I am the Qiyamah (resurrection)”. Meaning resurrection is not going to happen later, it is already happening. “This world is in the hereafter and the Hereafter is surrounding this world”. Heaven, Hell, resurrection already exist, we need to have open eyes in our hearts to see them. So, we shouldn’t consider resurrection as something that will happen many years later.
Days of Qiyamah (resurrection) are different. A truth seeker can potentially reach a level, seeing faces as white and some dark, it is at this level that some of the truths will be clear for him, and he will reach “On a day whereon faces become whitened and faces become blackened”[30]. Some truth seekers will reach a level that sees their life is passed and they have not done any good deeds, so they will regret. “And warn thou them of thy Day of Sighing when the affair shall have been decreed while, yet they are in negligence and are not believing”[31]. A truth seeker will pass each level or day, one by one until they reach “The Day whereon they will appear: naught of them will be concealed from Allah, whose is the dominion to-day? It is of Allah, the One, the Subduer”[32].
Once Allameh Hassanzadeh said: “one of my students saw Ibn Al-Arabi (Great Mystic) after his prayer. My student asked him to teach something. Ibn Al-Arabi said to him, you are the Owner (and the Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e., the Day of Resurrection). I explained to him that: that is true, everyone is the owner of his heaven and hell because everything that one sees is his own doings, and he is the owner of them. Everyone makes their heaven and hell”. It is not suitable to define a specific time for Qiyamah. It is already there; we need to reach that level to see it. A beautiful Persian poem says: “I am a speechless person that saw a dream and people are deaf, I am not able to tell them what I see, and they are not able to hear”. Prophets have two ranks; one is their prophecy, and the other is Guardianship. The important point is that the prophets do not know the resurrection truths in terms of prophecy, but they do know the resurrection truths in terms of their guardianship. Every prophet has a series of knowledge related to his prophethood and some knowledge related to the rank of guardianship.
Resurrection is the day of reward, and this world is the day of action
Here one must act to reap in the Hereafter. Every good deed should be done for God’s pleasure, not because we want to go to heaven. When you see the luminosity of a Salawat in the Hereafter, you say I wish I could send Salawat once, but there is no longer a time for action but a time of reward and harvest. Allameh Hassanzadeh narrated a hadith from Jesus (PBUH): “Millet is the smallest seed but when it grows into a plant then many humans and birds can use it. Actions in this the world are like millet seed and the Hereafter is like the plant”. Allameh Hassanzadeh in Elahi Nameh says: “o dear God, all of my awakening and sleeping are my request from you that “My Lord! Send me back”[33] and it is your acceptance”.
Sleep is the brother of death. We die when asleep and come to life when awoke.
“It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed. Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply”[34].
Prophets are witnesses on the day of the judgment
Prophets are the scales of God’s justice. (Those most like them will be awarded the most) “And on that Day We shall raise up from every nation a witness from their own against them, and We shall bring you (Prophet Muhammad) as a witness against those[35]. “How then shall it be when We bring forward from every nation a witness and bring you (Prophet Muhammad) to witness against those!”[36]. Jesus says: “I spoke to them of nothing except that which You ordered me, that you worship Allah, my Lord and our Lord. I witnessed them whilst living in their midst and ever since You took me to You, You have been the Watcher over them. You are the Witness of everything”[37].
Religion is the way, and the resurrection is the destination
The creatures are seekers toward their Lord, and until a trace of the destination reaches the seekers, their conduct will not change, and no seeker will desire or move until he is aware of the destination. For example, many people who work in a reputable company first heard good things about that reputable company and so they moved and tried to get hired in that company. It is absolutely impossible to seek the unknown, meaning to look for something that you absolutely do not know. “Awareness of destination is knowledge and the desire for it is love”. If the “Lover” (God Almighty) is not absolute beauty, then why do all beings move towards him? If we put good food and bad food in front of an animal, it chooses good food because it seeks perfection. One who uses make-up because they love beauty, or someone who is looking for a good car, a good house, or a good position, seeks perfection. Even uncivilized people share same the characteristic of seeking perfection. Creatures all seek their absolute perfection but do not know it themselves and sometimes deviate from their path and pursue partial perfection.
Allameh Hassanzadeh has a complex sentence which says: “Every place that King of existence walks (God), His armies meaning His Names and attributes will be with Him”. This sentence of Allameh Hassanzadeh is one of the precise mystical sentences. In ancient times we had philosophers that believed that “everything is in everything”, that is, water is in fire and fire is in water, but it is not in appearance. Islamic mystics also believe that God is the owner of all the beautiful Names, and when he steps in one place, all the names and attributes are there, but that creations/place does not have the capability to manifest all these Names and Attributes. Human is the greatest creation and has the ability to manifest all the beautiful Names and Attributes of God. Mr. Motahari said: “There was a painting in a Paris Museum. A man was running away from the bed next to a woman. I asked: What is the story of this painting? They said that this is Plato’s theory. “Man loves everything, but when he reaches it, he runs away from it”. He realizes that it was not the one that he was looking for. A human will not calm down and reach absolute peace until he reaches absolute perfection. If a man becomes the owner of the earth, he would not be happy and will try to become the owner of the universe.
Awareness of the destination is knowledge and love is the fruit of knowledge. Man loves as much as his knowledge. Knowledge is the vision of human intellect based upon which you move and act, and this action causes you to be inspired and your knowledge increases until perfection is reached. Prophet Muhammad(S) said: “Knowledge is the leader of action and action is the follower of knowledge”. Mulla Sadra has a perfect word that says, “Ignorant worshipers and no one else can-do true worship with pure intention except for perfect mystics”. The main purpose of worship is to purify the heart from distractions and to pay full attention to the main source, which is God. Monotheism and complete attention to God is not possible except with knowledge and action. Someone asked one of our Imams: “o Imam, there is one of your followers who reads your narrations and clarifies them for your lovers, but he is not very much a person of worship and prayer (he is ordinary), but there is someone who is very much a person of worship but has little knowledge. Which of them has superiority? Imam replied: the one who has the knowledge and reads our narrations and clarifies them for the people is higher than a thousand devotees’ followers. Knowledge must be accompanied by action, and both are the two wings of human flight, each of which alone is not enough.
What is meant by Hashr (the gathering in the resurrection)
A narration says “A person gathers with the one he loves”[38]. On the Day of Judgment, everyone will be reunited with the ones they love. We discussed in the introduction of self-knowledge that based on the unity of perceiver and perceived law, everything that we do and know will be united with our Nafs and will be with us forever. Reunification has different levels. One of them is action unification. At this level, all actions will be united with us. “Whosoever has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it, (7) and whosoever has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it”[39]. Prophet Muhammad said: “Your deeds will be returned to you”[40]. Heaven and hell in reality are our good or bad deeds. The other level of unification is discussed in Mulla Sadra Asfar’s book in Chapters 10-11.
Knowledge grades
Knowledge has different grades. One of them in Arabic called “Shak” means doubt. Its chances are 50-50 percent. For example, you doubt whether you are in the second Rakat of prayer or in the third Rakat of prayer. This is 50% -50% and no one has more weight. In this situation, Arabs call you to have “Shak”. Another degree of knowledge is that the probability of an event is more than 50%. For example, you think you are most likely in the second Rakat of prayer. In this situation, Arabs call it: “Zan”. All the knowledge that can be achieved by thinking is “Zan”, even if they are strong. “If you obeyed most of those on earth, they would lead you astray from the Path of Allah. They follow only supposition, and they are but conjecturing”[41]. That is why mystics call philosophers that you are specialists.
For example, they saw that Fakhr Al-Razi, a Sunni scholar, was crying. They asked him the reason. He replied: For 25 years, I believed in a subject but just now found out that it was not true. My cry is that maybe all my beliefs and knowledge are wrong. Ibn Arabi told him that thinking, and reasoning have this property and you will not rest until you reach intuition level. Thought and reasoning are like saltwater, whatever you drink does not quench your thirst. We must have intuition and see the truth and gain that true knowledge. Therefore, a group of people who think based on reasoning are like this, unless someone has reached intuition and then makes reasoning for that intuition. Intuition is like pure milk that comes from filth (bowels) and blood and quenches the thirst and lets you grow. “And verily there is for you in the cattle a lesson: We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, from betwixt the dung and the blood: milk Pure and pleasant to swallow for the drinkers”[42].
Therefore, the views of Mark, Russell, Hunt, and other philosophers are all based on assumptions and conjectures. Their theories are all different, but on the other hand, the prophets, because they receive revelation from the same source, they all talk similarly. All the prophets acknowledged the previous prophets, but philosophers reject each other’s theories. Prophets are like straight lines that can be placed over each other, but others are like broken and zig-zag lines that do not match.
At a glance, suspicion is related to this world, and revelation or intuition is related to the other world. “Are they not in doubt concerning the Meeting with their Lord? Attention, He encompasses everything”[43]. This is because they believe in just this worldly life. “Then, He shall gather you on the Day of Resurrection, and of this there is no doubt, yet most people do not know”[44]. “Indeed, did you know with certain knowledge (5) that you shall surely see Hell? (6) Again, you shall surely see it with the sight of certainty”[45]. The first effect, which is related to the arrival of the seeker, is faith, and the second effect is certainty. “Indeed, this is the certain truth”[46].
What is the difference between faith and certainty?
A believer is of a higher degree than a Muslim. “The Arabs declare: ‘We believe’ Say: ‘You do not’, rather, say: ‘we submit’ because belief has not yet found its way into your hearts”[47]. Faith is related to the time when there is an unseen. “Who believe in the unseen and establish the (daily) prayer, who spend out of what We have provided them”[48]. When the obstacles are removed, man becomes certain. Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) said: “if all obstacles are removed my certainly will not increase”. The believer does not see the truth but believes in it. “And (remember) when Abraham said: ‘Show me, Lord, how You raise the dead’ He replied: ‘Have you not believed’ ‘Rather’ said Abraham, ‘in order that my heart be satisfied’”[49].
For those who believe in God, God will increase their guidance and ultimately lead them to certainty. “In truth, We tell to you their news. They were young men who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance”[50]. Faith is when a person does not see something but accepts it with all his heart. Faith is a covenant of the heart with verbal acknowledgment and practice of its pillars. We all know that the dead cannot move, and we have many reasons for ourselves, but if some of us are told to sleep beside a dead person they are afraid because the heart has not yet accepted that the dead cannot do anything. If they have faith, they should not be afraid to sleep next to the dead person.
We all accepted Islam for some rational reasons, but do we really believe in it? Do we really believe in the Hereafter? If we really believe in the Hereafter, why is our situation like this? If we know that God sees us in every moment, we could not do many things besides him. It is impossible for someone to sin with full faith, so if someone sins, it turns out that he has weak faith. But when a person reaches the highest level of faith, which is a certainty, the man reaches the level of intuition, and his divine vision will be open.
Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) was asked: “Is it true that Jesus (PBUH) walked on water? He replied, “Yes, when his certainty increased, he also walked in the air” so, certainty also has degrees. Another important point is that knowledge is at a higher level of certainty because certainty has a certain limit, but knowledge does not have a specific limit. The reason is the verse of the Qur’an which says to Prophet Muhammad (S): “Say: ‘Lord, increase me in knowledge”[51]. God instructs the Prophet Muhammad (S) to say: “O God, increase my knowledge”, so knowledge has no definite limit, but certainty has a limit. In other words, a certainty is a form of knowledge. Allameh Hassanzadeh said that “when a person reaches certainty, all of his sins will be forgiven. Someone asked Ibn Abbas, “What if someone has done many good deeds but has a little polytheism to God?” Ibn Abbas replied, “By God, all his deeds will be annihilated.” The person asked again, “What if someone commits some sins for a long time and then attains monotheism and certainty?” Ibn Abbas did not answer. In this case, if one attains monotheism and certainty, all his sins will be forgiven.
After the morning prayer, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) approached his companions and asked: “How did you get up in the morning? One of them said, “I woke up in the morning while I was sure.” The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “There is a sign for everything. What is the sign of your certainty?” It seems that I see your throne and if you allow, I can tell you which of your companions is in heaven or hell that the Prophet said, well, you hit the target, be silent and keep your certainty”. Faith and worship are the preludes to attaining certainty.
The important question here is why one should really worship after attaining certainty? Man is a creature who has different levels that he must be a slave in all these levels and worship his Lord. If someone does not worship, apparently, he will not be a slave and he will not be a slave in all levels.
One of Allameh Hassan Zadeh’s masters had a divine vision that a voice was saying that you no longer need to worship. Immediately, Master understood that this intuition was not true, so he replied, “Get lost enemy of God.” One of the great mystics said, “When you reach the position of unity, do not be fooled by the devil who tells you that you have reached the certainty and you no longer need to worship.”
Another secret of apparent worship is that, by this apparent worship, our soul will reach worship level. When the level of worship of the soul is completed, grace reaches our outward world (physical world) from the inward world, that is, the completion of soul worship forces the body to worship. We see a clear example of this in the worship of Amir al-mu’minin Ali (A) even though he reached certainty level.
“Worship your Lord till the certainty (death) comes to you”[52]
Certainty is of a high level, and it is the “Greatest Name”[53] of God if you can reach it. “O God’ I ask you in your name of Certainty”. Sometimes you hear that if someone reaches this level, they can walk on the water, it is true, but it is a trait and feature of certainty and not true certainty itself. You will be able to find more detailed secrets of certainty in “Daftar Del” and “1001 Notes” books of Allameh Hassanzadeh Amuli.
Faith has levels
As we have discussed, the level before faith is the level of Islam, which is submission. The level of faith is related to the human heart, which is a higher degree than Islam. The higher the confidence of the human heart, the stronger the human faith. “Those who believe, and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Is it not with the remembrance of Allah that hearts are satisfied”[54]. “O satisfied soul, (27) return to your Lord”[55]. Faith has different degrees; God says in the Holy Quran: “Believers, believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad), in the Book He has sent down to His Messenger, and in the Book He sent down before”[56]. It says believer, believe!!
“So long as they ward off (the forbidden) and believe, and do good deeds, then they fear and believe, and again, so long as they fear and do fine deeds. Allah loves the generous”[57]. In the narration, we have that Salman (PBUH) was in the tenth degree of faith and Abu Dhar (PBUH) was in the ninth degree of faith.
Faith has conditions
A believer is one who accepts the Prophet Muhammad (S) in all matters of life and is not upset about the judgment of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, and submits to him completely. “But no, by your Lord, they will not believe you until they make you the judge regarding the disagreement between them, then, they will not find in themselves any discomfort concerning your verdict and will surrender to you in full submission”[58].
“Believers, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you (Ahl Al-Bayt)”[59].
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) bought a camel from someone for a specific price, he went to the house to bring the money. The people who were there told the seller “To cancel the deal because the camel is worth more than that”. The Prophet returned with the money to take over the camel, but the seller said, “I did not make a deal with you, and I will not sell the camel to you.” Prophet Muhammad (S) said, “You sold this camel to me.” seller said, “Do you have a witness?” The person who was passing by heard the story and said yes, I witness that the Prophet bought the camel from you. The Prophet said, “You were not there, why do you bear witness? the person replied, “O Messenger of God, you are talking about God, angels, and the unseen worlds, and we acknowledge them, how we will not accept your words because of a camel.
Certainty has levels
Faith, certainty, and knowledge are intuition that comes to Nafs. That is, they are related to the human heart and not too thought. Nafs needs light to see them. A narration says: “The knowledge is light that God enters into the heart of whomever He wills”. Thought and reasoning are related to the physical and worldly life and are different from the soul, so with the disappearance of matter, there is no more thought and reasoning.
Certainty has three levels: 1- Knowledge certainty 2- Seeing certainty 3- True certainty. “Indeed, did you know with certain knowledge (5) that you shall surely see Hell? (6) Again, you shall surely see it with the sight of certainty. (7) On that Day, you shall be questioned about the pleasures”[60]. In narration we have that pleasure in the above verse is the “Wilayat” level which is the highest level.
An example that mystics believe about levels of certainty is that the smoke that a person sees from a distance makes him believe that there is fire there (Knowledge certainty). In the upper level, a person goes forward and sees the fire and is convinced that it is fire (Seeing Certainty). At this stage, the effect of egoism still remains, that is, the certainty has not yet been perfected, and finally at a higher stage, the egoism disappears and the person himself catches fire and reaches complete certainty.
People think that the Day of Judgment will take place in a far time and place
“Nor do I think that the Hour will come. Even if I returned to my Lord, I should surely find a better place than this”[61]. “Since they disbelieved in it before, guessing at the Unseen from a distant place?”[62]. Resurrection is not a continuation of the time of the world, meaning, it is not to say that there will be a resurrection in a thousand years, Qur’an says: When the event took place. “When the Event (the resurrection) happened”[63]. “When the sun is died out”[64]. It does not say when sun will die out. “When the stars are thrown down”[65]. It does not say when stars will be thrown down.
Resurrection is already happening, but because we live in this world, we do not realize this truth. We will see this truth whenever our divine vision becomes open. “(It will be said): ‘Of this you have been heedless. Therefore, we have now removed your covering. Today your sight is sharp’”[66]. No specific time can be set for the resurrection, the knowledge of which is with God, so we must reach the knowledge of God to see how the resurrection has taken place. Those who reached certainty, know that the Day of Judgment is near timewise. “The Hour is drawing near, and the moon is split”[67]. How near the Day of Judgment is? “The matter of the resurrection shall be like the twinkling of an eye, or even less”[68]. “They see it as being far off; (6) but We see it near”[69]. Amir Mu’minin said, “This world is in the Hereafter and the Hereafter surrounds this world”. This is like our physical body which is surrounded by the soul. People think God is far from them but “Indeed, We created the human. We know the whisperings of his soul and are closer to him than the jugular vein”[70].
The Prophet Muhammad (S) was sitting with his companions, and they all heard a terrible voice (intuition or divine vision). One of the companions asked, “O Prophet of God, what was that voice?” Prophet Muhammad (S) replied that it was a stone that went to hell slowly for seventy years and now it has reached the bottom of hell. Suddenly, the sound of weeping and wailing was heard from the house of one of the hypocrites, who died after seventy years. Meaning, this hypocrite was in hell for seventy years, but he did not see it.
Someone asked Imam Sadiq (as): Please pray that I go to heaven. The Imam said, “You are in heaven now, have you not heard that God said that the love of Ali ibn Abi Talib is heaven? When you come out of this body, you will see that you were in heaven”.
[1] اسماء الحسنی
[2] اسماء جمالی و جلالی
[3] هو الاول و الاخر و الظاهر و الباطن و هو بکل شی علیم
[4] وباسمائک التی ملئت کل شی
[5] عالم خلق و عالم امر
[6] عالم مجردات
[7] إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ
[8] عالم ملک و عالم ملکوت
[9] وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُرِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ مَلَكُوتَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلِيَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ
[10] عالم ظاهر و عالم باطن
[11] عالم حس و عالم عقل
[12] فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا
[13] انا النَّبَإِ الْعَظِيمِ
[14] بَرْزَخٌ
[15] من مات فقد قامت قيامته
[16] وَمِن وَرَائِهِم بَرْزَخٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ
[17] التوبه من ورائکم
[18] أَمْوَاتٌ غَيْرُ أَحْيَاءٍ ۖ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ
[19] النَّاسِ نِیَامٌ فَإِذَا مَاتُوا انْتَبَهُوا
[20] الدنیا حلم
[21] وَمَا أَنتَ بِمُسْمِعٍ مَّن فِي الْقُبُورِ
[22] موتوا قبل أن تموتوا
[23] این ما تکونوا یدرکم الموت
[24] إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ کَتَمَ ثَلَاثَةً فِی ثَلَاثَةٍ رِضَاهُ فِی طَاعَتِهِ وَ کَتَمَ سَخَطَهُ فِی مَعْصِیَتِهِ وَ کَتَمَ وَلِیَّهُ فِی خَلْقِهِ وَ لَا یَسْتَخِفَّ أَحَدُکُمْ شَیْئاً مِنَ الطَّاعَاتِ فَإِنَّهُ لَا یَدْرِی فِی أَیِّهَا رِضَا اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَ لَا یَسْتَقِلَّنَّ أَحَدُکُمْ شَیْئاً مِنَ الْمَعَاصِی فَإِنَّهُ لَا یَدْرِی فِی أَیِّهَا سَخَطُ اللَّهِ وَ لَا یُزْرِیَنَّ أَحَدُکُمْ بِأَحَدٍ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ فَإِنَّهُ لَا یَدْرِی أَیُّهُمْ وَلِیُّ اللَّه
[25] ولایت
[26] إِنَّمَا أَنتَ مُنذِرٌ ۖ وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ
[27]ا نَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
[28] ولی الله
[29] انا و الساعة کهاتین
[30] يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ
[31] وَأَنذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ الْحَسْرَةِ إِذْ قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَهُمْ فِي غَفْلَةٍ وَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
[32] يَوْمَ هُم بَارِزُونَ ۖ لَا يَخْفَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ ۚ لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ ۖ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ
[33] حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ
[34] يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا ۖ فَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَىٰ عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَىٰ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
[35] وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ شَهِيدًا عَلَىٰ هَٰؤُلَاءِ
[36] فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَىٰ هَٰؤُلَاءِ شَهِيدًا
[37] يمَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَمَرْتَنِي بِهِ أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ ۚ وَكُنتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنتَ أَنتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَأَنتَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ
[38] المرء یحشر من احب
[39] فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ
[40] انما اعمالکم ترد الیکم
[41] وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِي الْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ
[42] نُّسْقِيكُم مِّمَّا فِي بُطُونِهِ مِن بَيْنِ فَرْثٍ وَدَمٍ لَّبَنًا خَالِصًا سَائِغًا لِّلشَّارِبِينَ
[43] أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِّن لِّقَاءِ رَبِّهِمْ
[44] ثُمَّ يَجْمَعُكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
[45] كَلَّا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ ﴿٥﴾ لَتَرَوُنَّ الْجَحِيمَ ﴿٦﴾ ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّهَا عَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ
[46] إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ حَقُّ الْيَقِينِ
[47] قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا ۖ قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَٰكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ
[48] الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
[49] وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِن ۖ قَالَ بَلَىٰ وَلَٰكِن لِّيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِي
[50] نَّحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُم بِالْحَقِّ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَاهُمْ هُدًى
[51] وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
[52] وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ
[53] الاسم الاعظم
[54] الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
[55] يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ﴿٢٧﴾ ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً
[56] يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ
[57] إِذَا مَا اتَّقَوا وَّآمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ ثُمَّ اتَّقَوا وَّآمَنُوا ثُمَّ اتَّقَوا وَّأَحْسَنُوا ۗ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
[58] فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
[59] يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
[60] كَلَّا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ ﴿٥﴾ لَتَرَوُنَّ الْجَحِيمَ ﴿٦﴾ ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّهَا عَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ ﴿٧﴾ ثُمَّ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ
[61] وَمَا أَظُنُّ السَّاعَةَ قَائِمَةً وَلَئِن رُّدِدتُّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّي لَأَجِدَنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهَا مُنقَلَبًا
[62] وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِهِ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ مِن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ
[63] إِذَا وَقَعَتِ الْوَاقِعَةُ
[64] إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ
[65] وَإِذَا النُّجُومُ انكَدَرَتْ
[66] لَّقَدْ كُنتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ
[67] اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ
[68] وَمَا أَمْرُ السَّاعَةِ إِلَّا كَلَمْحِ الْبَصَرِ أَوْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ
[69] إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُ بَعِيدًا ﴿٦﴾ وَنَرَاهُ قَرِيبًا
[70] وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ ۖ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ