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7:189. Hu, is Al-Ladhi (That Which), created you from a single Nafs (Self), and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might be tranquil (Sakina) with her. When he has sex with her, she bears a light burden and carries it about (unnoticed).

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا فَلَمَّا تَغَشَّاهَا حَمَلَتْ حَمْلاً خَفِيفًا فَمَرَّتْ بِهِ فَلَمَّا أَثْقَلَت دَّعَوَا اللّهَ رَبَّهُمَا لَئِنْ آتَيْتَنَا صَالِحاً لَّنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ

Huwa allathee khalaqakum min nafsin wahidatin wajaAAala minha zawjaha liyaskuna ilayha falamma taghashshaha hamalat hamlan khafeefan famarrat bihi falamma athqalat daAAawa Allaha rabbahuma lain ataytana salihan lanakoonanna mina alshshakireena


Note that the word Al-Ladhi (That Which) is totally unnecessary and additional in this verse. Indeed the verse could have read: Huwa Khalaqakum min… or Hu created you from single… but this standing phrase has been interjected deliberately for reasons:

1.    Haqqi: Hu is the Huwiya (IT-ness) referring to an absolute absence and yet Al-Ladhi (That Which) is the Ta’zim (Aggrandizement) for Hu. Example: Imagine a caveman watching the launch of space shuttle, for the first time and from a close distance. Prior to the launch he was describing the space shuttle to his skeptical cave members. People were not sure about his statements, suddenly the boosters ignite and the shuttle blasts off, the caveman with perplexing amazement points at the air-born shuttle and yells:  Al-Ladhi (That Which)! That amazing thing and the cave members’ jaws drop! In the case of the verse, the verse is describing Hu, which is absolutely absent! And suddenly the verse points at the creation of man and man-woman relationship and child-bearing with such bewilderment, like the caveman watching the shuttle’s lift-off, and the word Al-Ladhi (That Which) appears in the lection of the verse. In other words, yes there is no way I can tell you about this absolutely absent Hu but hey! Look at what amazing things Hu has done, like that thing over there and like this thing over here and so on.
2.    Baqli: Al-Ladhi (That Which) is the Taqdis (Sanctification) of Dhāt (Divine Innate Essence) and Sifāt (Divine Attributes) thus Ishārat (Pointing) at the Ghayb (Absolute Absence) of the Divine Huwiya (IT-ness). (Dara: Al-Ladhi (That Which) has been there from Time Immemorial (Qadim) pointing the comprehensible and observable towards the search-less Hu (IT) whether there was any intellect to be cognizant of this directional Wujud (Being-ness) or not. All that which you read in Qur’an is then the description to use the application of the Al-Ladhi (That Which) to connect intellect's concepts to Hu (IT)!)
3.    Al-Ladhi (That Which) is a primordial Wujud (Being) that connects the creation to the absolute absence of Hu. Without the existence of Al-Ladhi (That Which) no ‘Aql (Intellect), spiritual or corporeal, could have established a connection between the Hu and Hu’s handicraft i.e. the creation.
4.    Why Allah has made these references like Hu and Al-Ladhi (That Which)? Why not direct conversation and interface? Because Allah is the Regal Highness that is Akbar (The Mightiest), ‘Izzat (The Most Powerful) and Jabbar (The Subjugator Conqueror), and the proof of these attributes is the ‘mandatory’ distance a king places between the crown and the subjects. Hu loves to behold Hu’s beauty ALONE, Hu loves Hu as the Singleton Beloved ALONE, Hu does not allow any other presence other than Hu: There is no deity (present) but Hu [3:18]! Yet Hu loves the mankind as well and created people to love them and they love Hu in return: …whom Hu will love as they will love Hu [5:54], therefore Al-Ladhi (That Which) was created so some intellectual connection is allowed, by Allah’s Mercy and Grace, in order for the slaves to know something or to feel something or to see something of Hu.

So when you read the remaining of the verse, be cognizant that the verse is describing the Ta’zim (Aggrandizement) for Hu, who is otherwise impossible to be sensed or described. This verse is not about men and women or the creation of mankind, it is solely concerned about Hu!

Qushairi:
created you from a single Nafs (Self): The breath of life exhaled from a single Nafs (Self) though the resulting Khuluq (Behavior) tremendously varied, their preoccupations contrasting, like a person who although originated from a single fetus his limbs and organs are so varied. So the One who can make the fetus grow from a single cell into a complex human being with awesomely varied members, can form from a single Nafs (Self) such varied Khuluq (Behavior). (Dara: Hu is who created you from one Nafs (F) i.e. Allah is bewildering amazing, that though absolutely absent/Hu has created all human being from a single Nafs (F) and from this 'template' emanated unnumbered people with different behaviors. Here Nafs refers to a unique Self from it forms a genus of people who are capable of different behavior and characteristics. Nafs is a simulator to simulate our personas each distinct and unique, without this Nafs there is no way we could have behaved differently and we all would have been the same molecular machine, same DNA replicas with cosmetic mutations!)

(Dara: and made his mate of like nature:  And Hu, amazingly and single-handedly, created from this single Nafs (Self) her Zawj (Similar Replicas) i.e. so from this unique Nafs Allah created a genus and there are members as a PAIR or SIMILAR PAIR e.g. man-woman, parent-child, brother-sister, brother-brother, sister-sister and so on.  And all this points with perplexity towards Hu vis-à-vis the primordial Al-Ladhi (That Which).)

(Dara: in order that he might be tranquil (Sakina) with her: This peace is possible because of this amazing creation of Allah i.e. Nafs (Self) for a man to be tranquil with her, in the pervious phrase from a single Self a genus was built of similar pairs, as an example of Allah's amazing handicraft an example is provided e.g. man at peace with his woman.)

(Dara: For when he has sex with her: Now describing the man woman pair from the last phrase i.e. had this amazing creation of Allah i.e. Nafs was not there the man would not have desired the woman and there would have never been ever any sexual activities amongst human beings.)

(Dara: she bears a light burden and carries it about (unnoticed): Here the Zahir (Surface Manifest) meaning that she carries the baby in early months and it is so light no one may even notice she is pregnant, the Bātin (Deeply Innate) meaning is that the woman carries a Divine Secret that the man does not carry! Her child-bearing is not similar to other animals, her child-bearing does ‘Ishārat (Point) towards a Divine Secret concealed in the other universe.)

Following these observations Qushairi concludes, perhaps the real meaning of Hu as in Absolute Absence:

Vicissitude of examples provided one after the other; perceptual forms are linked to each other, for the scholars/knowers to know that Sakina (Tranquility) for a creature is found alongside another creature not alongside Al-Haqq (The Absolute Truth & Reality, Allah)! Such is the procreation of one creature from another and Al-Haqq begat nothing, for The Sublime Al-Haqq is Quddūs (Sanctified from anything created), Hu provides all the portions of pleasure/provision for the creatures but from other creatures, absolutely cleansed and pure from any object that attempts to revert to return to Hu’s Haqiqa (Absolute Truth & Reality). (Dara: Allah created the mate, Allah created the children, Allah created the parents, Allah created brothers and sisters and so on, such that man can find peace alongside others of his similar kind. Allah even created angels that are called Sakina (Tranquility) or can bring peace to people, but Allah by ITself provides no companionship at close range for any creature, hence Hu i.e. The Absolute Absent!) 


 تفسير لطائف الإشارات / القشيري
قوله جلّ ذكره: { هُوَ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا }.
أخرج النَّسَمة من نَفْسٍ واحدة وأخلاقهم مختلفة، وهممهم متباينة، كما أن الشخص من نطفة واحدة وأعضاؤه وأجزاءه مختلفة. فَمَنْ قَدِرَ على تنويع النطفة المتشاكلة أجزاؤها فهو القادر على تنويع أخلاق الخَلْق الذين أخرجه من نَفْس واحدة.
قوله جلّ ذكره: { لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا فَلَمَّا تَغَشَّاهَا حَمَلَتْ حَمْلاً خَفِيفًا فَمَرَّتْ بِهِ فَلَمَّا أَثْقَلَتْ دَّعَوَا اللهَ رَبَّهُمَا لَئِنْ آتَيْتَنَا صَالِحاً لَّنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ }.
ردَّ المِثْل إلى المِثْل، وربط الشَّكلَ بالشكل، ليَعْلَمَ العالمون أن سكون الخلْق مع الحقِّ لا إلى الحق، وكذلك أنسل الخلْق من الخلق لا من الحق، فالحقُّ تعالى قدوس؛ منه كل حظ للخلق خلْقاً، منزه عن رجوع شيءٍ إلى حقيقته حقاً.



Haqqi:
created you from a single Nafs (Self): This refers to Adam however Allah created all Ruh (Souls) as well from a single soul and that is the soul of Mohammad peace be upon him. Adam is the primordial father of the Mankind in terms of Nafs (Self) and Muhammad is the primordial father of Mankind in terms of Ruh (Soul) as was said by the Prophet: I am like unto your father. And again: First, primordially, what was created by Allah was my Ruh (Soul). (Dara: I cannot find the lection of the latter Hadith (Prophetic Narration) but see below for another version of the Hadith.)

Though my form is that of Adam’s progeny
My spirituality is that of my grand ancestry

(grand ancestry: Muhammad peace be upon him)

 تفسير روح البيان في تفسير القرآن/ حقي
{ هو } اى الله تعالى { الذى } اى العظيم الشأن الذى { خلقكم } جميعا وحده من غير ان يكون لغيره مدخل فى ذلك بوجه من الوجوه { من نفس واحدة } هو آدم عليه السلام فكما ان النفوس خلقت من نفس واحدة هى نفس آدم فكذا الارواح خلقت من روح واحد هو روح محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فكان هو ابا الارواح كما كان آدم ابا البشر لقوله عليه السلام " انما انا لكم كالوالد لولده " وقوله " اول ما خلق الله روحى " فان اول كل نوع هو المنشأ منه ذلك النوع من الحيوان والنبات

كر بصورت من زآدم زاده ام           من بمعنى جد جد افتاده ام


كنز العمال الإصدار 2.01 - للمتقي الهندي
المجلد التاسع >> آداب التخلي
27208- عن أبي هريرة قال: رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إنما أنا لكم كالوالد لولده أعلمكم إذا أتى أحدكم الغائط فلا يستقبل القبلة ولا يستدبرها، وإذا استطاب فلا يستطب بيمينه، وكان يأمر بثلاثة أحجار، وينهى عن الروث والرمة وهي العظم.

Note: From here on is not a part of Haqqi.

Jabir asked the Prophet: Inform me of the first thing Allah created prior to all other things. Prophet replied: Indeed before all things Allah created the Nur (Divine Light) of your Prophet from ITs own Nur, and made this Light to traverse via Hu’s power however where Allah willed, and at that time there were no Lauh (Tablet) no Qalam (Pen) no Paradise no hell no angels no heaves no earth no sun no moon no Jinn and no human being, and when Allah willed to create the people divided this light into four parts:
1.    From first portion created Qalam (Pen)
2.    From the second portion created the Lauh (Tablet)
3.    From the third portion the ‘Arsh (Throne)
And then portioned the remaining fourth portion, again into four portions:
1.    The foundation of the ‘Arsh (Throne)
2.    The Kursi (Chair)
3.    The angels
And then portioned the remaining fourth, again into four portions:
1.    Heavens
2.    The two earths
3.    Paradise and Hell
And the portioned the remaining fourth, again into four portions:
1.    The Nur (Divine Light) of the believers’ eyes
2.    The Nur (Divine Light) of the believers’ heart i.e. Ma’refat (Divine Gnosis)
3.    The Nur (Divine Light) of the humanity and that is the Tauhid (Divine Oneness) i.e. “There is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger”

Note: Shibr Amlasi said with regards to Allah creating the Prophet’s light from ITs own Light: This does not mean that the substance of Muhammad’s light was made up of Allah’s light or essence! It rather means that Allah willed the formation of a Light that was without participation of anything from Allah's Dhāt (Most Innate Essence). (or any other intermediary created object)

In other words when Allah created the Nur (Divine Light) of Muhammad, there was no other entity in the creation or you may say this Light was not entangled with anything else. When Allah created from this light other lights/objects, each time a new creation was added the said light fell into an ever-more superimposed state i.e. imposed by the existence of something a priori, or you may say less pure.

Sufis believe that the human creation is a circle, with Adam being the first point of the circle and going around the circumference all the way to reach to Muhammad who is the last point and indeed the first point too! Since the circle’s first and last points are one and the same. So really Adam and Muhammad where both the first primordial fathers of humanity, however one was the template for Nafs (Self) i.e. Adam and one template for Ruh (Soul) i.e. Muhammad.

Adam being the prophet and Muhammad being the prophet this gives the Ma’refat (Divine Gnosis) for what it means: The last of prophets!

This Light is called Nur-Mahammadi (Muhammad's Light).


كشف الخفاء، الإصدار 4.05 - للإمام العجلوني
حرف الهمزة. >> حرف الهمزة مع الواو*
827 - أول ما خلق اللهُ نورُ نبِيكِ يا جابر - الحديث
رواه عبد الرزاق بسنده عن جابر بن عبد الله بلفظ قال قلت: يا رسول الله، بأبي أنت وأمي، أخبرني عن أول شيء خلقه الله قبل الأشياء. قال: يا جابر، إن الله تعالى خلق قبل الأشياء نور نبيك من نوره، فجعل ذلك النور يدور بالقُدرة حيث شاء الله، ولم يكن في ذلك الوقت لوح ولا قلم ولا جنة ولا نار ولا ملك ولا سماء ولا أرض ولا شمس ولا قمر ولا جِنِّيٌ ولا إنسي، فلما أراد الله أن يخلق الخلق قسم ذلك النور أربعة أجزاء: فخلق من الجزء الأول القلم، ومن الثاني اللوح، ومن الثالث العرش، ثم قسم الجزء الرابع أربعة أجزاء، فخلق من الجزء الأول حَمَلَة العرش، ومن الثاني الكرسي، ومن الثالث باقي الملائكة، ثم قسم الجزء الرابع أربعة أجزاء: فخلق من الأول السماوات، ومن الثاني الأرضين، ومن الثالث الجنة والنار، ثم قسم الرابع أربعة أجزاء، فخلق من الأول نور أبصار المؤمنين، ومن الثاني نور قلوبهم وهى المعرفة بالله، ومن الثالث نور إنسهم وهو التوحيد لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله. الحديث. كذا في المواهب.
وقال فيها أيضا: واختُلِف هل القلم أول المخلوقات بعد النور المحمدي أم لا؟ فقال الحافظ أبو يعلى الهمداني: الأصح أن العرش قبل القلم، لِما ثبت في الصحيح عن ابن عمر قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: قدر الله مقادير الخلق قبل أن يخلق السماوات والأرض بخمسين ألف سنة، وكان عرشه على الماء، فهذا صريح في أن التقدير وقع بعد خلق العرش، والتقدير وقع عند أول خلق القلم، فحديث<صفحة 311> عبادة بن الصامت مرفوعا "أول ما خلق الله القلم، فقال له أكتب، فقال رب وما أكتب؟ قال أكتب مقادير كل شيء" رواه أحمد والترمذي وصححه.
وروى أحمد والترمذي وصححه أيضا من حديث أبي رزين العقيلي مرفوعا: إن الماء خلق قبل العرش.
وروى السدي بأسانيد متعددة إن الله لم يخلق شيئا مما خلق قبل الماء، فيجمع بينه وبين ما قبله بأن أولية القلم بالنسبة إلى ما عدا النور النبوي المحمدي والماء والعرش انتهى.
وقيل الأولية في كل شيء بالإضافة إلى جنسه، أي أول ما خلق الله من الأنوار نوري وكذا باقيها، وفي أحكام ابن القطان فيما ذكره ابن مرزوق عن علي بن الحسين عن أبيه عن جده أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال كنت نورا بين يدي ربي قبل خلق آدم بأربعة عشر ألف عام. انتهى ما في المواهب،
تنبيه: قال الشبراملسي ليس المراد بقوله من نوره ظاهره من أن الله تعالى له نور قائم بذاته لاستحالته (1) عليه تعالى. لأن النور لا يقوم إلا بالأجسام، بل المراد خلق من نور مخلوق له قبل نور محمد، وأضافه إليه تعالى لكونه تولى خلقه، ثم قال ويحتمل أن الإضافة بيانية، أي خلق نور نبيه من نور هو ذاته تعالى لكن لا بمعنى أنها مادة خلق نور نبيه منها، بل بمعنى أنه تعالى تعلقت إرادته بإيجاد نور بلا توسط شيء في وجوده، قال وهذا أولى الأجوبة نظير ما ذكره البيضاوي في قوله تعالى {ثم سواه ونفخ فيه من روحه} حيث قال أضافه إلى نفسه تشريفا وإشعارا بأنه خلقٌ عجيب وأن له مناسبة إلى حضرة الربوبية انتهى ملخصا.
----------------------------
(1) [في الأصل "لاستحاله" وهو خطأ مطبعي واضح. دار الحديث]


Al-Ghazali:
From Imam Al-Ghazali's Jewels of Quran, Chapter 3 Section 6:

This world is one of the stages of our voyage towards Allah. Our bodies, vessels that do the transportation. He who does not organize the daily acquisition of provisions shall not be able to complete this voyage.

Imam Al-Ghazali continues to assert that even marrying and producing offspring is a necessary part of the spiritual voyage!

End.

Dara:

Why?
Human life in this world must continue in order for the individual and the collective journey towards Allah to be possible i.e. to commence, voyage, and reach the final destination.

Voyage of mother of Mary towards Allah would not have been possible unless by the preparation and completion of the voyage of Mary and her son Jesus and her caretaker Zakariah!

Why?
In this world we are discernable from each other; in the Malakut (Realm of Souls) we are indiscernible from each other!

My spiritual journey is entangled with the corporeality of this world, my parents, my woman and my children and so on.

And if you do believe this so, as in the case of any other voyage the collective in the ship each have a different role in the journey.



© 2006-2002,  Dara O. Shayda