Word 34: The one who thinks about the potential levels of the soul sees that the more knowledgeable he becomes, the more prepared he will be to get difficult knowledge

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Word 34: The one who thinks about the potential levels of the soul sees that the more knowledgeable he becomes, the more prepared he will be to get difficult knowledge

Allameh Hassanzadeh said, “The one who thinks about the potential levels of the soul sees that the more knowledgeable he becomes, the more prepared he will be to get difficult knowledge. He will understand that the Nafs also has a level higher than the immaterial level. This means that the Nafs will be immaterial and limitless. In this situation, the person understands the meaning of the prayer from Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) who said, “O Dear God, the One who the abundance of his bestow to his creations only adds on to his mercy and honor[1]”.

After the Nafs become existence, it does not have any perfection and philosophers call it “Hayula intellect”. Meaning that it is just a pure capability (unknown without any perfection and form). The next level of Nafs called “Potential Intellect” by philosophers, “God brought you out of your mothers’ wombs, not knowing anything[2] (An-Nahl:78). It is like Child Nafs who knows the basic principles. For example, a child perceives existence and nonexistence, a child understands the mother’s existence or nonexistence and also a child knows the cause and effect; meaning he/she will turn his/her face when hearing some sound. Gradually, the “Potential Intellect” will gain some perfection and will become “Theoretical Intellect” which starts reasoning. After a while, it will perceive rational things and it is called “Actual Intellect”. It means that with the help of a teacher, book, or thinking, it perceives the rational objects. One of the reasons children like stories is because their intellect is not mature yet. It is recommended to teach children a subject by telling stories about the subject. Of course, we still find many adults who are like children and their intellect is immature. If you try to talk about a philosophy or a mysticism subject, it is like torturing them. “Their eyes humiliated, they will emerge from the graves, as if they were swarming locusts[3] (Al-Qamar:7). “The Day when the people will be like scattered moths[4] (Al-Qari’a:4). They might be very rich but their intellect is immature.

Prophet Muhammad (S) said, “Human has a Nafs that can be purified by knowledge and action and become like angels and on the opposite, if Nafs has engaged in desires (always want more), it would be like insects (His soul will be weak like insects)”. The verse of the Holy Quran introduces the following as fools. “And when it is said to them, “Believe as the people have believed,” they say, “Shall we believe as the fools have believed?” In fact, it is they who are the fools, but they do not know[5] (Al-Baqara: 13). These people will say on the Day of Judgment that “And they will say, “Had we listened or reasoned, we would not have been among the inmates of the Blaze[6] (Al-Mulk: 10).

Human Nafs, unlike animal and angels, has no limit. The Nafs of animals and angels has a limit. Angel Gabriel (A) said in Prophet Muhammad’s (S) ascension (“Me’raj”), “If from now on, I get as close as a fingertip, I catch fire (Meaning I cannot come with you (Prophet Muhammad (S)) to the higher spiritual level) ”[7]. The Holy Quan says about angels, “There is not one of us but has an assigned position[8] (As-Saffat: 164). Humans can go to lower spiritual levels than animals or to higher spiritual levels than angels. A human cannot reach a point to say I am done with gaining knowledge. God said to Prophet Muhammad (S), “ And say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge[9] (Ta-Ha: 114). A wolf would be a wolf in the Hereafter, but a human here could be any animal or could have a higher spiritual level than an angel in the Hereafter.

Allameh Hassanzadeh said, “What we wrote and said and taught and what people wrote and said about me, is a drop from the ocean of knowledge that I have been given”.

Muhammad Mahdi Me’marian

All praise is to God to the extent that He deserves it.                                     

[1] -لاتزیده کثرة العطاء الا جوداً و کرماً

[2] -وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُم مِّن بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا

[3] -خُشَّعًا أَبْصَارُهُمْ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ كَأَنَّهُمْ جَرَادٌ مُّنتَشِرٌ

[4] -يَوْمَ يَكُونُ النَّاسُ كَالْفَرَاشِ الْمَبْثُوثِ

[5] -وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ السُّفَهَاءُ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ

[6] -وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ

[7] -لَوْ دَنَوْتُ أَنْمُلَةً لَاحْتَرَقْتُ

[8] -وَمَا مِنَّا إِلَّا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ

[9] -وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا


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