Nurul-samawati wal arz (2)

                           

In the part (1) of this article we have seen that word light/ ‘nur’ used in Quran means a medium through which things may be seen in the right perspective and deeds may be done in the right manner. Allah’s ‘Nur’ is Allah’s such Quality through which Allah make people see things in the right context and do things in the right way. The physical light/ ‘nur’, as we see it in this universe, is not Allah’s ‘Nur’; the Allah’s ‘Nur’ is Allah’s Quality which is not a creation but physical light/ ‘nur’ seen in this universe is Allah’s creation like other creations. "And We have not created/ 'khalaqa' the heavens and earth and that between them except in truth" (al-hijr-85). As physical light is also included in what is between heavens and earth, it means physical light is also khalaq/creation. Allah’s Qualities cannot be seen with human eyes though manifestations of such Qualities may be seen in this universe; it is just like we cannot see artistic skills found in the body of an artist but we can see manifestation of artistic skills in the form of a picture painted by such artist.

However some scholars believe Allah/ Allah’s Qualities may be seen with human eyes, and this belief is usually based on verses of sura ‘Najm’. Let us examine these initial verses of sura ‘al-najm’.

Before examining initial verses of sura al-najm, we need to understand the difference between seeing with eyes and perceiving through physical senses other than eyes. We have already seen in the article “Time and Space-Allah’s eternal Qualities” that Allah may be perceived through human physical faculties other than eyes; perceiving of Allah’s Entity through physical faculties other than eyes is called ‘royat e Elahi’. Quran has distinguished between ‘royat’/perceiving’ and ‘seeing with eyes’.

“And you had certainly wished for martyrdom before you encountered it, and you have [now] perceived it [with physical faculties] while you were looking on/ 'tanzuroun' [with your eyes]” (al-imran-143).

In the above mentioned verse, there is clear distinction between seeing with eyes (which is described with word 'tanzurun'), and perceiving through physical faculties other than eyes (which is described with word 'ra aytumuhu').  The nature/state of ‘royat’/perceiving with physical faculties other than eyes may be better understood by the following example.

Suppose we come from outside in severe cold and enter in a warm room. On entering the room, we will have an immediate sense of coziness. Though we cannot see with our eyes such warmth, we are as certain about the existence of such warmth as we are seeing it with our own eyes. But actually we are not seeing it with our own eyes rather we are perceiving it through physical senses other than eyes. Similarly Allah’s presence/existence may be perceived with physical senses other than eyes and this is what is called ‘royat e Elahi’.

Now we turn to analysis of initial verses of sura al-najm.

“By the star when it descends (1). Your companion [Muhammad (s.a.w)] has not strayed, nor has he erred (2). Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination (3). It is not but a revelation revealed (4). Taught to him by one intense in strength (5). One of soundness, And he rose to [his] true form (6). While he was in the higher [part of the] horizon (7). Then he approached and descended (8). And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer (9). He revealed to     Allah's servant whatever he wanted” (al-najm- 1-10).

A simple reading of these verses reveal that these verses are stating about hazrat Gabriel and our Nabi (s.a.w). These verses are not relating to incident of 'meraj'. These are about event of our Nabi’s (s.a.w) seeing hazrat Gabriel with his eyes. It is evident especially from verses 6, 7, 8 and 9.

The sura further proceeds as follows:

“The mind/fuwad did not lie [about] what it perceived/ raa (11). So will you dispute with him over what he saw/ 'yara' (12)? Indeed, he perceived/ ‘raahu’ him another time (13). At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary (14). Near it is the Garden of Refuge (15). When there covered the Lote Tree that which covered [it] (16). The eye did not turn aside, nor did it exceed the limit (17). Indeed, he perceived/ ‘raa’ one of the greatest signs of his Lord” (18) [al-najm-11-18].

These verses are relating to incident of 'meraj'. We can see no verse stated above mentions about our Nabi (s.a.w) seeing Allah with his eyes. If our Nabi (s.a.w) had seen Allah with his eyes, this fact would have been stated in clear words. On the contrary, verse 11 states that our Nabi’s mind/fuwad lied not in what our Nabi (s.a.w) perceived. In other words, what our Nabi (s.a.w) perceived was endorsed by our Nabi’s (s.a.w) mind as well. As stated above, perceiving through physical senses other than eyes is as much certain as something seen through eyes. This verse is indicating the same fact.

The verse 17 states that our Nabi’s (s.a.w) sight neither got astray nor crossed the limit. The limitation of human sight/eye is that it cannot see Allah (al-anaam-103); this verse states our Nabi’s (s.a.w) eyes did not cross this limit and did not see Allah though our Nabi’s (s.a.w) eyes were focusing in the right way.

The next verse 18 states that actually our Nabi (s.a.w) perceived one of the greatest signs of Allah. In other words, the greatest sign of Allah (royat e Elahi) was not seen through eyes; rather it was perceived through physical senses other than eyes.

We may conclude that Allah cannot be seen through human eyes. The physical light/nur, as we see with our eyes in this universe, is not part of Allah’s Existence; it is Allah’s creation. Allah’s ‘Nur’ is not a creation; it is Allah’s Quality which cannot be seen with human eyes.

NOTE: 
It is a clarification in response to some comments I received regarding this article.
As for jalwa e Haque, we cannot see Allah with our eyes but we can feel Allah's siffat and Allah's wajood through our physical senses other than eyes. Like we can feel someone's love and hatred, we can feel Allah's love and Allah's other qualities/siffat. Like we can feel presence of someone in our proximity through our senses, we can feel Allah's 'Wajood' around us through our senses other than eyes. This is what is called Royat e Elahi or Jalwa e Haque. plz see my article 'Nuru l samawati wal arz' for details. The light/Nur which we may see at the time of Royat e Elahi is not Allah's Entity; light/nur is shown just to create an impression in the observer's mind so that he may perceive Allah's presence through his senses other than eyes. We know people have felt Allah's presence through various mediums; sometimes through fire-as is the case of hazrat Musa (a.s); sometimes through voice-it is the most common medium- and sometimes through light/nur. All these physical  mediums are not Allah; they are only mediums to feel Allah. These physical  mediums are adopted because human physical senses can feel only physical things. It may be appreciated that feeling of Allah's presence (feeling of Allah's 'wajood')/ Royat e Elahi, and comprehension of Allah's siffat (comprehension of Allah's Qualities) are two different things. Royat e Elahi/feeling of Allah's 'wajood' happens only through some physical mediums, as mentioned above; but comprehension (partially) of Allah's siffat may be done through human intellect as well ( Human intellect is considered as non-physical phenomenon, though it may be argued that human intellect is also  a physical medium. Actually I believe that everything created by Allah is physical).