The Second Necessity of Wahdâniyyah

It is in wahdah being easiness and freedom from difficulty to the degree of being wâjib, while in shirk being difficulty and hardship to the degree of impossibility. This haqiqah has been decisively and brilliantly proven and explained in many of the risales of what Imam 'Ali Radiyallahu ‘Anh called Siracunnûr1 , especially in the Twentieth Letter in detail, and in the Fourth Subtle Point of the Thirtieth Flash briefly. It has been demonstrated with most powerful proofs that if all things are attributed to a Single Being, the creation and administration of the universe are as easy as that of a tree, the creation and construction (inshâ) of a tree is as easy as that of a fruit, the ibdâ’2 and management of the spring are as easy as that of a flower and the tarbiyyah and administration of a species containing numerous members are as free of difficulty as that of a single individual. If on the way of shirk, they are attributed to causes and nature, the creation of a single individual is as difficult as that of its species, indeed, of many species, the lively actions of ibdâ’ and equipping of a single flower are as difficult as that of the spring, indeed, of many springs, the construction (inshâ) of a fruit and giving life to it are as difficult as that of a tree, indeed, of hundreds of trees and the creation, construction (inshâ), administration, tarbiyyah, management of a tree and giving life to it are as difficult as those of the universe, or even more difficult.

Since the haqiqah of the matter has been proven in Siracunnûr in this way, and since as we see in front of our eyes, there is an endless abundance as well as the utmost degree of art and value. And together with being a strange machine containing numerous miraculous and wondrous pieces of equipment, each living being comes into existence in absolute profusion, extremely easily, without difficulty and with extraordinary speed just like striking a match. It demonstrates necessarily and evidently that such abundance and ease arise from wahdah and from being the works of a Single Being. Otherwise, there would not be inexpensiveness, abundance, speed, ease and value, but rather a fruit that is now bought by five cents would not have been bought for five hundred dollars or would have been so rare to find. And living beings, the creation and existence of which are as easy as the machines working by setting a clock or turning on an electric switch, would be so difficult to a degree of unfeasibility, and some animals who come into existence together with all their equipment and vital conditions in a day, an hour, or a minute, would not have come into existence in a year, a century, or perhaps ever at all.

It is proven in hundred places of Siracunnûr, so decisively as to silence the most obdurate denier that if all things are attributed to the One, Who is Al-Wâhid and Al-Ahad, they will be as easy, swift and inexpensive as a single thing. If a share is given to causes and nature as well, the creation of a single thing becomes as difficult, slow, unimportant and expensive as the creation of all things. If you want to see the proofs of this haqiqah, look to the Twentieth and Thirty-Third Letters, the Twenty-Second and Thirty-Second Words, the Twenty-Third Flash on nature, and the Thirtieth Flash on Al-ism Al-â’dham, especially the Fourth and Sixth Subtle Points of the Thirtieth Flash, which are about the Names of Fard and Qayyûm. You will see that this haqiqah has been proven with the certainty of two plus two equalling four. Here, only one of those hundreds of proofs will be indicated. It is as follows:

The creation of things is either from non-existence or in the way of composition, it is collected from the elements and beings. If it is attributed to a Single Being, that Being must possess an ‘Ilm encompassing everything and a Qoudrah invading and pervading3 everything. And in this way, the giving of external existence to things, whose forms and existences in the form of knowledge are present in His ‘ilm, and bringing them out of presumed non-existence, it is as easy and simple as striking a match or spreading a special chemical over an invisible writing in order to show it, or an easy surgical operation of transferring an image from photographic film to paper; through the command of كن فيكون4 , in a very easy way, As-Sâni’ brings out things, whose plans, programmes and ma’nawî measures are present in His ‘ilm, from presumed non-existence into external existence.

If they are made by the way of construction (inshâ) and composition and by not creating from nothing and non-existence but in the way of collecting from the elements and surroundings, just as in terms of the members of a battalion, who were dispersed to rest, mustering at the call of a trumpet and taking a well-ordered position and facilitating the dispatch and preserving their position the whole army is the power, law and eye of its commander, in the same way, through the principles of His ‘ilm and qadar and the laws of His invading and pervading qoudrah, the particles, which are under the command of As-Sultân of the universe, and the beings, with whom those particles have contact, are mobilized and move like the power, law and officials of that Sultân as a facilitator. In order to form a body of a living being, they enter into a specified measure and proportion, which is a ma’nawî mould of ‘Ilm and Qadar, and there they stop.

If things are referred to different hands and things like causes and nature, then according to the unanimous testimony of all reasonable people, no cause can in any way create from nothing and non-existence. Because since causes do not possess an encompassing ‘ilm and invading and pervading qoudrah, such non-existence would not only be presumed and external non-existence but rather absolute non-existence. As for absolute non-existence, in any way, it cannot be the source of existence. Therefore, causes must compose. But on the way of construction (inshâ) and composition, after collecting the body and substance of a fly or flower from all over the earth and sifting them with a fine sieve, those special particles can come together with innumerable difficulties. And after coming together, since they do not possess ma’nawî moulds and moulds existing in the form of knowledge, in order to preserve a well-ordered position in that body without dispersing, there must be a physical, natural mould, rather, moulds to the number of their members so that the particles, which came together, can form the body of a living being.

Thus, attributing all things to a Single Being is easy to the degree of being wâjib and necessity, and attributing them to numerous causes is difficult to the degree of impossibility and unfeasibility. In the same way, if all things are attributed to the One Who is Al-Wâhid and Al-Ahad, they become extremely valuable, wondrously artful, very meaningful and powerful within infinite inexpensiveness. If on the way of shirk, they are referred to numerous causes and nature, they become extremely valueless, meaningless, powerless and lack art within infinite expensiveness. Because in terms of being a soldier, a man is related (intisâb) to a great commander-in-chief, he relies on him, he also gains the ma’nawî power that can amass the power of the army behind him if it is needed, he also acquires a physical strength thousands of times more than his power, through the commander and army's power being his reserve force, he also gains the power to perform wondrous works because he is not compelled to carry the sources of that significant strength of his and his ammunition because the army carries them, he obtains a power that can perform extraordinary works, therefore, that one single soldier can capture an enemy field marshal and compel all the inhabitants of a town to migrate and capture a citadel. His works will be extraordinary and valuable. If he leaves being a soldier and remains on his own, by losing that wondrous ma’nawî power, extraordinary strength and miraculous force at once, he can perform only minor, insignificant and valueless works according to his personal strength like an ordinary civilian and his works will diminish proportionately.

In exactly the same way, since on the way of tawhîd, everything is related (intisâb) with Al-Qadîr Zuljalâl and relies on Him, an ant defeated a Pharaoh, a fly defeated a Nimrod and a microbe defeated a tyrant… Just as by bearing a tree the size of a mountain on its shoulders, a seed the size of a fingernail becomes a workbench, which is the source and store-house of all members and equipment of the tree, so too, each particle, through that relation (intisâb) and reliance, can perform innumerable duties, which are the forming of shapes and bodies that possess a hundred thousand sorts and arts. The works, which those tiny officials and very fine soldiers display, become extremely perfect, artful and valuable. For, the One Who makes those works is Al-Qadîr Zuljalâl. He put those works in their hands and made them veils. If on the way of shirk, they are referred to causes, the work of an ant would be as insignificant as an ant, and the art of particle would have no value even as much as a particle, and just as everything would degrade in a ma’nawî manner, so would they physically degrade to such a degree that no one would buy the huge world for five coins.

Since the haqiqah is this, and since we see with our own eyes that everything is infinitely valuable, artful, meaningful and powerful, most certainly, there is no way other than the way of tawhîd and there cannot be. If there were, it would be necessary to change all beings and empty the world into non-existence and refill it with meaningless rubbish and filth so that a way could be opened to shirk.

So now you have heard a brief summary of only one of the hundreds of proofs of tawhîd that are declared and explained in Risale-i Nur, which is named by Imam 'Ali Radiyallahu ‘Anh as Siracunnûr and Siracussurc5 . You can make analogies with this for the others.