Irfani (Gnostic) Tafsir (Exegesis) Surah Al-Fath(48)
By Rumi & His Father
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Ma’arif by Baha’ Walad (Father of Rumi)
Section 1, Chapter 47
“[48:1] We opened for you a clear
opening:
Knock on the doors of the Ghayb (Unseen) that we might open!
After all we did crack the hardest stones for water to gush forth from,
and yet we made fire to come out of them as well. If you are a seeker,
we shall indeed be able to break your stone-heart and make the flames
of Mahab-bat (Divine
Love) and the waters of comfort gush forth from
it. Behold the dark beaten dusty soil! How we cracked it open for the
verdant life-giving greenery; similarly we can sprout from the hard
earth of your personal Jihad (Spiritual struggle and striving) the
vernal meadows of the Hereafter.
Then what insufficiency have you seen from our house of benevolence
that you have fallen into hopelessness?
Allahu-La-Ilaha-Illa-Hu (Allahu: no deity
other than Hu (IT, Him))
[2:255] means that Allah is One
and all destinies are ordained by Hu
(IT, Hu)
and none else. Leave your heart with Allah, and loosen and
drop all these plans and whims off your shoulders and shave off all
desires and suggestions. Assume whatever you fear has already come to
pass and assume the brittle crystal of your Wujud (Being) has
already
been shattered, for it will be shattered in due time anyway. Therefore
be busied, first and foremost, with the Divine Presence of Al-Bari’:
The Innovative Creator of all life forms!"
Rumi states:
In this Surah (Chapter), Allah is
enumerating
the blessings and promises granted to Al-Mustafa (The Chosen),
peace be upon him and his noble family:
1. [48:1] We opened
for you a clear opening i.e. the
door you were knocking on, We opened for you so that (you know)
that your invocations are
accepted by us. (Dara: The pronoun ‘We’ is used for the regal modality
of a powerful King and his commanders holding court. A single
man outside knocks on the palace’s courtyard door asking permission to
enter; not only was the permission granted and the door opened but also
whatever the man wished was bestowed.)
2. [48:2] Li (For
the purpose of) Allah forgiving
you those of your sins that have preceded and those delayed (into the
future). The signature proof of true loving friendship is
forgiveness i.e. no matter who you love, his/her foul deeds are not
counted as sins (in your judgment) and his/her faults are not seen as
faults by you—This is the Divine Secret of Maghfira (Forgiveness)!
3. [48:2] And
completed Hu’s (ITs, His)
blessings on
you i.e. to indicate the special-ness of Muhammad! There
are
infinitely numerous blessings from Allah bestowed
on many of his slaves
which remain unfinished or incomplete, but there are
those special slaves for whom the blessings reach their completeness.
This is a sign that Muhammad
was Khas (Ultimately Special Person) i.e. he was more of a special
human being for Allah than any other, and he found the way towards
Allah better than any other, thus reaching
closer to the Haqiqa (Absolute Truth and Reality) with much more
reliance and subsistence upon Allah than any other.
4. [48:3] And Allah
gives you a (unique
distinguished) mighty triumph i.e. the proof of authority and
close
friendship with Allah.
Moreover indicating the source Who
gave Muhammad the authority and Who is his close friend/supporter: The
strength of the spiritual vision to see that all things are from
Al-Haqq
(The Absolute Reality and Truth, Allah). For example, Abraham walked
upon the flames, Moses walked upon the river, Solomon walked in the
air, Noah commanded the storms, David made the steel soft and made the
mountains sing, Jesus reigned over the animal spirits and finally
Muhammad glided aloft to the heavens and there are many other
countless such triumphs due to nearness to Allah. This is so because
all those individuals were agents of Allah, they offered their
servitude
only
for Allah and they saw all affairs as Allah’s affairs, therefore all
things
were subjugated to them (their triumph) and they were subjugated only
to the will of Allah.
[48:2] Li (For the purpose of)
Allah forgiving
you those of your sins that have preceded and those delayed (into the
future).
Ibn Ata Allah said: Upon his ascension to the heavens (Mi’raj),
Al-Mustafa (The Chosen, Muhammad), peace be upon him, reached the
Sidratul-Muntaha, which is placed above the Arsh (Divine
Throne) where
the nest of the Arch Angel Gabriel is located.. The Angel Gabriel who
was all
along with the Prophet stepped away and the Prophet objected: "O my
brother Gabriel are you forsaking me in this awe-inspiring place". A
reply came from Allah:
" In a matter of these two or three steps with
it
(Angel) you became intimately acquainted with it!" This was the sin
that the
verse refers to: [48:2] Li (For the
purpose of) Allah forgiving
you those of your sins that have preceded and those delayed (into the
future). Meaning: "We (Allah) cleansed you from needing all
else,
from needing their friendship and intimacy".
Again Ibn Ata Allah states: Allah afflicted
each prophet with some sin
so that
they each return to Hu/Him weeping and sorrowing. Q: Why was Prophet
Muhammad weeping and
sorrowing to Allah all the time although all his sins were forgiven?
Answer:
Muhammad‘s Mahab-bat (Divine
Love) ranks above all other love in the
universe. (Dara: The love of Muhammad is one such endowment from Allah
that when he is distracted for a few moments, he sorrows for
forsaking his Divine Beloved and paying
attention to something other than Allah)
Again Ibn Ata Allah says: "The past sins" which Allah forgave
Muhammad
were
the slipping of Adam out of the right path and out of Paradise, and
"the
future delayed sins" are those of the future followers of Muhammad. In
other
words, the generations before the advent of the prophethood of Muhammad
and
those after him, can in no way be connected to each other
except through the person of Muhammad! (Dara: By simply
reading the accounts of humanity in the Old and New Testaments
and the pre-Islamic Arab rituals of live daughter burials, one gets the
feeling that humanity was immersed within a deep darkling misanthropy;
the
human being was a beast just like any other animal. The advent
of Muhammad’s prophethood was like a new dawn for Human-ness
(Adamiyat), for Mankind to feel and be true spiritual beings again and
to
relate to each other with love, the discipline of the law and justice
on the
personal and community levels. The chains of contact between the souls,
past
and future, were cut off without a way for the souls to get
close to one another again, except when this new and last prophet
appeared within the sand dunes of Arabia: "We did not send you except
as
a mercy for the multiverse" [21:107].)
Some said that the Istighfar (Seeking Forgiveness) of the Prophet was
during
the Sahu (Alertness) after the Sukr (Drunkenness). Others said the
reverse, that the Prophet asked for forgiveness while in the state of
Sukr (Drunkenness) for being previously in the state of Sahu
(Alertness). Others again said that the Prophet was seeking forgiveness
in both states, since his spiritual eye was on Allah,
therefore he
asked
for forgiveness for being in both states since they both are for
ordinary
slaves, while in such a state the Prophet is beyond any pen and paper
explanations, except for the statements written on the Lauh (Divine
Tablet) which is a Sifat (Divine Attribute) limitless and endless:
The friend’s forehead is the preserved tablet
Upon which secrets of both universe are made plain
Masnavi (Friend here means the Prophet)
People under this rotating sky
With eye-ache beholding much
Only by the grace of Allah these
hard observations were made easy, had
they been told to me when I was younger I could not have possibly
understood them.
I am satisfied with what Allah portioned
as my share
And I have deferred all my affairs to my Maker
That indeed Allah
was good to all in the past
And as such will be good in what is left to pass
These few things I mentioned are the traces of the observations of the
pure ones. I am thankful to Allah for these
since the sure cause
for increase in blessings is gratitude.
The completion of the blessings in ‘[48:2]And completed Hu’s (ITs, His)
blessings on you’ is Mahab-bat (Divine
Love) i.e. the first
blessing
is the success of seeking the Love by becoming a lover and the
completion of the blessing is to become a beloved. So you were
a lover and then became a beloved, you were a follower and then were
followed, you were needy and then ascended to the heavens. You were the
slave of the black and the white and now you are the Sultan (The Ruler)
of black and white. You were a Dhakir (Rememberer)
and now you are a
Madhkur (Remembered). Your name (Muhammad) is upon the high edifices
and
buildings and coins are minted in your name.
‘[48:2]… And Hu (IT, He)
guides you
towards a (unique and special)
straight path’ means the path that ends at al-Haqq (The Absolute
Reality
and Truth, Allah).
‘[48:3] And Allah gives you a
(unique distinguished) mighty
triumph’ means you are able to conquer the whisper of the Jinn
devils
(Jinn, unseen evils) and the human devils i.e. the disbelievers and the
hypocrites. This is a special kind of triumph, unlike other
ordinary triumphs which are subject to eventual cessation and ruin.
(Dara: No defeat was given to this prophetic triumph)
‘[48:4] (Allah) sent down the Sakina
(Tranquility)’ Sakina is that through which triumph appears.
Sakina (Tranquility) is what makes the
person who lacks worldly materials believe that he does have them due
to the person's extreme reliance upon Allah’s
generosity.
Sakina is what can change the Zahir (Surface Manifest) of things as
well as their Batin (Deeply concealed innermost core).
‘[48:7] And for Allah are the armies
of heavens and earth’ refers to the
angels who roam around the planet earth as conquerors. Others have
said that the devils are also Allah’s army
and that Allah may want them
to win
battles. (Translation may be incorrect)
‘[48:8] We have sent you (as a
messenger) as an eyewitness and
harbinger of glad tidings and a warner’ means the Prophet was a
professor of Tauhid (Divine Oneness)
in his speech, deeds and Hala
(Momentary
State of the heart) and an eyewitness over humanity in his
speech, deeds and Hala as well. The Prophet was a harbinger of good
news of Allah’s
forgiveness for people and warned them against
religious innovation and misguidance, not on his own accord or volition
rather at the behest of Allah.
‘[48:9] Li (So) you (people) may
believe in Allah and Hu’s (ITs, His)
messenger’ meaning so you call the truthful man truthful. (Dara:
So
Muhammad’s testimony is for the truth of this prophethood and the
veracity of
the belief of the believers) So you will revere whomever I (Allah) have
given
reverence to as I have also given you (believers) respect and honor in
your
hearts and tongues.
‘[48:10] Indeed those who shook hands
(took the oath of allegiance) with
you, they shook hands with Allah for Allah’s Hand is above their
hands’ O Muhammad! humanity is given to you for
safekeeping as a loan,
and the safekeeping agent should not be the middle man in this oath of
allegiance, therefore it is actually the hand of Allah that they
shook
i.e. Allah’s generosity was above their generosity, Allah did them a
favor by accepting their oath of allegiance and they did Allah no
favors.
Some others have said that Allah’s power is over the power of the
people.
(Dara: Allah’s Hand and ‘Above’ are Majaz (The Corridor)
through which
we can traverse to the other universe to view the semantics of the
words ‘Hand’ and ‘Above’. Muhammad was a transient safe-keeper since in
reality the affair was between those people and Allah)
‘[48:25] And were it not for men
believers and women believers
whom you do not know ..’ Sahl Abdullah Tustari said: "The true
believer is the person who perpetually examines his Nafs (Self) and
is
not
ignorant of what is going on in his own heart" (i.e. is he conquering
the city of Makkah to kill for revenge, the pleasure of brutalizing
women
and grabbing booties of war or conquering the holy city to open the way
for millions to visit the House of Allah each
year?). At
such and such time what/why did I do what I did ? What did I say, what
happened
to me and what became of me? And if the believer sees even a slight
change in his (Nafs)
Self, he immediately starts exploring it.
When natural calamities strike or wars are waged, the people of this
earth know for sure that these brutal
hardships are from their own past sins and foul deeds, therefore
they return to Allah
moaning with regret.
Similarly, the believer, when he observes that his eyes are arid and
that the water
of his tears has dried up and he can only see a faint glimmer of the
Nur
(Divine
Light) of Yaqin (Certitude), he knows then for sure that his
Waqt
has died! Thus he bursts into tears weeping until the Sea of Divine
Mercy
boils tumultuously for him. (Dara: Waqt is a category of time, not
past or future, a type of present that has no concept of passage of
time though very brief; the owner of that present-moment can
clearly receive the Nur (Divine Light)
and behold with that light all
that can render for him/her the true realities of life around him/her
in this world and the world after.)
If weeps not the peddler boy
The Sea of Mercy shall not boil
Brother! That boy, is the child of your own eyes
Donate first to sorrows...the charity of your wants
Masnavi
(Dara: The poor homeless peddler boy cries, moans and screams in
front of his affluent customers so that he might sell a little
something to
them; unless he cries sincerely the Sea of Divine Mercy will not
wave for him to get his wish, similarly Azizam (My Dearest) that
peddler boy is the child born from your own eyes i.e. he cries as your
paternal eyes cry for Allah’s Mercy,
therefore have your wants
and
desires and wishes given off as charity to the sorrows of not having
not
wanting and endurance first and foremost. Possibly the translation
needs some correction)
The calamities of life are veils that block and separate (Firaq) the
people of this earth from the Mercy of Allah, and yet
the
calamities
within the heart of the believer (e.g. loss, sorrow, depression,
regret...) are a
sign of emptiness (Faragh) of all
other than Allah!
Therefore, within the scantiness the believer sees the overflowing of
Allah’s
offerings, and within the greatness of material wealth the
believer sees the scantiness of Allah’s blessings. As the people fear
the
scantiness of the life of this world, the believer fears the
overwhelming
gain from this world.
Within the heart of the wise a thousand sorrows
If a single stick is missing from the heart’s meadows
Masnavi
Meaning a few/little can kill a multitude!
‘[48:26] When within the hearts of
those who disbelieved the
Hamiyya formed’, Hamiyya means obeying the wants of the Nafs
(Self)
as the
disbelievers follow their own desires out of envy to hurt the
believers and based upon
their pleasures they teach obedience to the
desires of the Nafs (Self). Little they know that these believers
cannot be swayed, since they connect the Fani (Evanescing) pleasures
with
the Baqi (Everlasting) pleasures.
The pleasure that is dead and not growing
One moment pleasing and the next ending
Ahoy! Ignorant forsake that pleasure! come to see
Pleasures connected from sempiternity to eternity
Like the example of a person who forcibly snatched forty kilos of wheat
seeds from his friend, and while his friend cried for justice, he
planted the seeds in order to harvest new seeds for his friend so that
the friend does not run out
of seeds!
Once there were two rings, one made from ordinary steel and the other
from
pure gold. The steel ring had the insignia of the king embossed on
it and the golden one had no emblem at all. The steel ring asked the
golden ring: Do you have such designs on you? The golden ring answered:
No! The steel ring then concluded: Then I am better than you. The
golden ring asked: What is your name? The steel ring answered: Steel.
The golden ring then said: That regal insignia made you escape from the
lowly name of steel. The steel ring replied: No! The golden ring said
again: I was demoted from being precious simply because I have no
emblem on me. The steel ring said: Definitely not! The golden ring then
concluded: Sit down and think: Who does the the money belong to and
who does the
eye belong to?
Dara: Jānam (My Love) sit down and think which one are you? The
worthless
ring with the insignia of a king or the precious golden ring with much
value in and of yourself?.
Sahu (Sobriety, Alertness)
Kashani (Misbah Al-Hidaya)
Sahu is the return of the cognitive powers of discernment i.e. the Jam’
(Togetherness)
and Farq (Partition)
are again two separate modalities
i.e. here/us vs. Allah
are seen as two distinguished entities. The
Salik (The
Traveler) at the outer-limits of his Hala (Momentary State
of the
Heart) reaches a level that is completely conquered by the rays of
the
Dhat (Divine Essence) and ceases to be all together! Then Allah grants
him a subsequent regeneration i.e. a new being so he would not be wiped
out by the powerful Divine Flashes. Therefore all the human
attributes that have evanesced and left him return again in order for
him
to be able to continue life as a human being on this planet.
Sukr (Drunkenness)
Kashani (Misbah Al-Hidaya)
Sukr within the Irfan (Gnosis) of the Sufis means the removal of the
Tamayyuz (Discernment) between the Zahir (Surface Manifest,
corporeality, biology, psychology) and Batin (Deeply concealed
innermost core) due to the seizure of the rays of the Aql (Intellect)
by the
radiation of the rays of Dhat (Divine Essence). (Dara: Tamayyuz is a
cognitive power that simulates multitude and dualities i.e. ‘I’ am a
different entity than the laptop in front of me at this moment. When
this cognitive power is wiped out then the person is in the state of
Sukr or drunkenness no longer able to discern things from one another)
Ansari
Farhang-eh Istilahat-eh Irfani
If I am asked: What is the Sukr (Drunkenness)? I would reply: It is the
ceasing of
the Tamayyuz (Discernment) to the point that one cannot tell the
difference between the hand and the foot, the good from
bad and the bad from the good. The drunken is the person who does not
differentiate between the lover and The Beloved i.e. all he can see is
That Beloved. Some are made drunken by the Wine (Knowledge)
and some
are made drunken by the Saqi (The Cupbearer in this case Al-Alim who
serves them knowledge), the first person is Fani (Evanesced)
the second
is Baqi (Everlasting). One cannot have true being-ness except by Sukr
(Drunkenness) and one cannot have true non-being-ness (From his own
Self and this world) except again by the Sukr.
©
2007-2002, Dara O. Shayda, Dr. Hind Rifai