بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَ الصَّلاَةُ وَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ

AL-‘ÂLAM – العالم - 1

(For the literal meaning of ‘âlam please refer to the dictionary.)

Derived from the same root as the word ‘alam (علم ) which means “a mark or sign by which a thing is known.” Beings other than Allah are called ‘âlam since they are a means of their Creator being known.

1. The explanation of the expression رَبِّ الْعَالَم۪ينَۙ1

رَبِّ That is, He Who does tarbiyyah the ‘âlam with all its components, each of which is an ‘âlam, and particles of which orderly move, like stars.

Know that Allah ‘azza wa jalla determined a point of perfection for everything and deposited in each of them an inclination towards it. Everything moves to that point of perfection as though they received a ma’nawî command. In its journey to its perfection point, each thing is in need of what will help it and what will repulse the things that hinder it, and this is the tarbiyyah of ‘Azza wa jalla.

If you look at the universe carefully and reflect, you will see that there are many groups and nations, like the sons of Âdam, individually and collectively employed in the duties their Sâni’ has assigned to them; they strive diligently and obey the laws of their Khâliq. How strange it is that man deviates from the sphere of such general law and order of the universe!

الْعَالَم۪ينَۙ : The ي and ن , the two final letters of this word, are a sign of either a grammatical case ending as in the numbers twenty,عشرين , and thirty, ثلاثين ,2 or being plural because the components of the ‘âlam are numerous ‘âlams, or the ‘âlam is not limited to the solar system. As the poet says:

‌ـاَلْحَمْدُ للّٰهِ كَمْ للّٰهِ مِنْ فَلَكٍ تَجرِي النُّجُومُ بِهِ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ‌ـ

Alhamdulillah, how numerous are His celestial orbits, skies and heavens!

Among them run the stars and the sun and the moon.

The plural form being used for rational beings in the âyah 3 رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ   indicates that balâghat describes all the particulars of the components of ‘âlam as living, rational and speaking through the language of their beings.

The beings are called ‘âlam because they make their Sâni’ known, testify to His existence, wahdah, names and attributes and point to Him. Thus, like the sajda mentioned in the âyah رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِين , their tarbiyyah is also an indication that they are as though conscious.

Signs of Miraculousness 43-44

 

Although the centres of the senses and emotions that are placed in the human head are all distinct from one another, each one governs and controls the body, through the hikmah and qoudrah of As-Sâni’ Al-Hakîm Zuljalâl. In the same way, the universe, which is the great human being, consists of thousands of ‘âlams, like concentric circles, one within the other.

The Twenty-Eighth Subtle Point of The Twenty-Eighth Flash

 

Secondly: In your letter, you mention that about the explanation and tafsir of the phrase

رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ 4

it was said, “There are eighteen thousand ‘âlams.” You ask the hikmah of this number.

My brother, at the moment, I do not know the hikmah of that number, but I can say this much: the phrases of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm are not restricted to a single meaning; rather, they possess universal meanings that comprise a meaning for each of those levels since they address all the levels of mankind. The meanings which are expounded in tafsirs are the particular meanings of that universal law. Each mufassir and each ‘ârif mention one part of those universal meanings. Based on either his kashf, his proofs, or his path, he prefers one of those meanings. Here, in this âyah too, they uncovered a meaning corresponding to that number.

For example, in the phrase, مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ يَلْتَقِيَانِ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخٌ لاَ يَبْغِيَانِ 5, which the people of walâyah significantly recite and repeat in their awrâd, there are particular meanings, such as from the sea of Rubûbiyyah and the sea of ‘ubûdiyyah within the spheres of wujûb and imkân 6, to the seas of the world and the âkhirah, the seas of al-‘âlam al-ghayb and al-‘âlam ash-shahâdah, to the oceans of the North, South, East and West, to the Adriatic and the Persian Gulf, to the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Bosphorus, where the marjân fish7 lives, to the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and Suez Canal, to the freshwater and saltwater seas, to the separated seas of freshwater under the soil layer and the merged saltwater seas over it, and to the small seas called the great rivers, such as the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates and the salty great seas into which they flow. All of these may be intended or meant and may be the literal and metaphorical meanings of the âyah.

In the same way, اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ 8 contains numerous haqiqahs. Ahl al-kashf and haqiqah declare those haqiqahs differently according to their kashf.

Personally, I understand that there are thousands of ‘âlams in the samâwât. Some of the stars may each be an ‘âlam. On the earth, too, each species of creature is an ‘âlam. Each human being even is a small ‘âlam. As for the term, رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ 9 it means that every ‘âlam is administered and governed directly through the rubûbiyyah of Janâb-i Haqq and is under Its tarbiyyah.

The Twenty-Sixth Letter/Fourth Discussion/First Matter

2. Man is a miniature sample of the universe. There is a sample from each of the eighteen thousand ‘âlams in his material body and his rûh. It is as follows:

Thus, man is such an antique art of Janâb-i Haqq and a most delicate and beloved miracle of His qoudrah; He has created man in the form of a place of manifestation for all His Names, an arena for the embroideries of His Names and a miniature sample of the universe.

23th Word-1st Point

 

The large ‘âlam that is called the universe and the small ‘âlam that is its miniature sample and is called man demonstrate the proofs of wahdâniyyah that are written by the pen of Qoudrah and Qadar, both in the universe and in the nafs of man. Yes, within man, there is a sample — in a small measure — of the orderly art in the universe. Just as the art in the larger sphere testifies to As-Sâni’, Who is Wâhid, so does the microscopic art — on a tiny scale — in man indicate As-Sâni’ and demonstrate His wahdah. Furthermore, just as man is a meaningful letter of Ar-Rabb and a well-composed ode of qadar, so is the universe a well-composed ode of qadar written by that same pen of qadar, but on a far larger scale.

The Twentieth Letter-Second Station-Fourth Phrase

 

For, since animals are a tiny index of this ‘âlam and man’s essence is a miniature sample of the universe, it is simply whatever is present in the ‘âlam, a sample of it is present in man.

The Twenty-Second Word/First Station/Third Proof

 

A living being, for example, a human being, is simply a miniature sample of the universe, a fruit of the tree of creation and a seed of this ‘âlam; he contains most of the samples of the species of the ‘âlam. It is as if that living being is a drop filtered from the entire universe with extremely sensitive measures.

The Twenty-Second Word/Second Station/Third Flash

 

Furthermore, just as through his comprehensive life, man is a measuring instrument for the ma’rifat of the attributes and shuûn of the Zuljalâl One and is an index of the manifestation of His Names and a conscious mirror, and so on. He acts as a mirror to the One, Who is Hayy Al-Qayyûm in many respects. In the same way, man is a unit of measurement, an index and a scale to the haqiqahs of the universe.

For example, an extremely decisive proof of the existence of al-lawh al-mahfûdh in the universe and a sample of it is the faculty of memory in man, and a decisive proof of the existence of al-‘âlam al-mithâl and an example of it is the faculty of imagination of man. {Note: Yes, just as the elements in man inform about, indicate and point to the elements in the universe, and his bones inform about, indicate and point to its stones and rocks, his hair informs about, indicates and points to its plants and trees, and the blood that flows in his body and the various fluids that come out from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth inform about, indicate and point to the springs and mineral waters of the earth. In the same way, the rûh of man informs about al-‘âlam al-arwâh, his faculty of memory about al-lawh al-mahfûdh, and his power of imagination about al-‘âlam al-mithâl, and so on. Each of his members and faculties informs about an ‘âlam and testifies to their existence.} And a proof of the existence of rûh beings in the universe and an example of them are the powers (quwwa) and subtle faculties in man, and so on. On a tiny scale, man can display, at the degree of shuhûd, the haqiqahs of îmân in the universe.

30th Flash/6th Subtle Point/The Second Matter of the Fifth Ray

 

Just as man is a small ‘âlam, so is the ‘âlam a large man. This small man is an index and summary of that large man. The great origins of the samples in man will be found necessarily in the large man.

For example, just as the existence of the faculty of memory in man is a decisive proof of the existence of al-lawh al-mahfûdh in the ‘âlam. In the same way, everyone observes in their nafs, by feeling it or by hads, a tool of waswasa that is called lummah ash-shaytaniyyah, which is placed in one of the corners of the heart and is a shaytanic tongue speaking through the promptings of quwwa al-wâhimah and is the corrupted quwwa al-wâhimah. And everyone observes in their nafs that it becomes a small shaytan and acts contrary to the will of its owner and opposed to his desires. It is a decisive proof of the existence of larger shaytans in the ‘âlam.

And since such lummah ash-shaytaniyyah and such quwwa al-wâhimah are a tongue and an ear, they make the existence of an external evil individual who blows in the ear and makes the tongue speak to be perceived.

 The Thirteenth Flash – The Tenth Sign

 

Furthermore, among the many meanings of hamd, the most well-known one is to display the attributes belonging to His Kamâl10.

The haqiqah of this matter is as follows: Allah Subhânahu created man and made him a comprehensive exemplar that gathers the universe in himself and an index of the book of the ‘âlam that comprises eighteen thousand ‘âlams, and into his essence, He entrusted a sample from all those ‘âlams, in which one of the Names of Taâ’lâ manifests.

If man spends all of what is bestowed on him for the purpose and hikmah of their creation and spends them for performing shukr al-‘urfî that is included under the title of “hamd,” and if he obeys Sharî’ah that removes the rust of nature, then each of those samples opens a mishkât11 and a window to the ‘âlam to which they belong and becomes a mirror to the attribute of Allah that manifests in that ‘âlam and to the name that manifests from that attribute. Thus, in this way, with both his rûh and material being, man becomes a summary of al-‘âlam ash-shahâdah and al-‘âlam al-ghayb, and what is manifested in these ‘âlams manifests in him.

Man becomes a place of manifestation for the attributes of Allah belonging to His Kamâl through offering hamd. This is indicated by what Muhyiddîn al-'Arabi said in explanation of the hadith:كُنْتُ كَنْزًا مَخْفِيًّا فَخَلَقْتُ الْخَلْقَ لِيَعْرِفُونِى 12  That is, I created creation to be a mirror in which I might observe My Jamâl.

Signs of Miraculousness-42

3. There is neither overcrowding nor collision between ‘âlams:

Know that there is neither overcrowding nor collision between al-‘âlam of light, al-‘âlam of heat, al-‘âlam of air, al-‘âlam of electricity, al-‘âlam of gravitation, al-‘âlam of athîr, al-‘âlam al-mithâl and al-‘âlam al-barzakh. Those fellow ‘âlams exist together with you wherever you are, without mixing or hindering each other. In the same way, numerous vast ‘âlams can exist together in this narrow ‘âlam of the earth.

Just as the air does not hinder our walking, nor does water prevent us from travelling, and glass does not obstruct light from passing through, the solids do not obstruct the penetration of X-rays, the nûr of the mind and the rûh of malâikah, and in iron, there is no barrier for the motion of heat and the flow of electricity; nothing hinders the circulation of gravity, the motion of the rûh and its servants and the flow of the nûr of the mind and its instruments. So, this dense ‘âlam cannot prevent nor hinder the rûh beings from their rotation, the jîn from their motion, the shaytan from flowing, or the malâikah from their journey.

Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri (301) 

4. Each ‘âlam has a samâ:

The Second Question: Two important matters will be explained in connection with the Second Question because the sciences of geography and astronomy have criticised the âyah and even tried to deny it foolishly since they have been unable to ascend to the samâwât of the Qur'an with their very short laws, narrow principles and tiny scales, and since they have failed to discover the seven levels of meanings in the stars of âyahs.

First Important Matter: This is about the earth having seven layers, like the samâwât. This matter appears to be untrue to the philosophers of the present time. Their sciences about the earth and samâwât do not accept it. And using this as a pretext, they raise objections to certain haqiqahs of the Qur'an. We shall concisely write a few points about this.

The First: Firstly, the meaning of the âyah is one thing, and the parts of the meaning and confirmations of it are another. Therefore, its meaning cannot be denied if one of the many parts of the universal meaning cannot be seen. Seven confirmations of the numerous parts of the universal meaning of the âyah concerning the seven levels of the samâwât and the seven layers of the earth are clearly apparent.

Secondly, the âyah does not explicitly state that the earth has seven layers. اَللّٰهُ الَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمٰوَاتٍ وَمِنَ اْلاَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ (to the end of the âyah). The âyah explicitly states, “He created the earth like the seven samâwât and made it a dwelling place for His creatures." It does not state that I created it as seven layers. The earth and samâwât are compared from the aspect of their similarity in being a creature and being a dwelling place for creatures.

The Second: Although the globe of the earth is tiny in comparison to the samâwât, as it serves as the exhibition, display, gathering place and centre of countless artful creatures of Allah, the globe of the earth is the heart and the ma’nawî centre of the samâwât and is equivalent to the vast and endless samâwât as the heart is equivalent to the body. For this reason, it has been understood from the âyahs of the Qur'an that the globe of the earth too has seven layers, as was accepted from early times, the earth having seven {Note: The tawâfuq of seven repetitions of the word 'seven,' together with the wordسَبْعَ , is very beautiful here.} climates; also the well-known seven continents, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the two Asias and the two Americas; also together with the seas, the East, West, North and South, the well-known seven continents of this face and on the face of the New World; also the different adjacent seven layers from the centre to the outer crust, which have been established by science; also the famous seven universal elements called the "seven levels," which comprise the seventy simple, particular elements that are the source of life for living beings; also the seven levels and ‘âlams of animals, vegetables and minerals, which are called “mawâlid salâsa13” together with water, air, fire and earth called the four elements; also the ‘âlams of the earth having seven levels, which are the ‘âlams and dwelling places of jinns, ifrîts and other various conscious and living creatures, as has been established by the testimony of the numerous people of kashf and shuhûd; also the seven levels indicate the existence of seven further globes of the earth resembling our globe of the earth and that they are the dwelling places of living beings.

Thus, it is confirmed that seven sorts of levels of the earth exist in seven ways. The last meaning, the eighth, is important from another point of view, so it is not included in these seven.

The Third: Since the Absolute Hakîm does not waste and create useless things; and since the existences of creatures are for conscious beings and find perfection, rejoice and are saved from futility through conscious beings; and since we see with our eyes that the Absolute Hakîm and Qadîr Zuljalâl inhabits and beautify the element of air, the ‘âlam of water and the layer of soil with innumerable living beings; and since dense matters, like earth and stone, do not prevent the movement of matters, such as electricity and X-rays, just as air and water are not an obstacle to the movement of animals; indeed, Al-Hakîm Zulkamâl, the Undying Sâni’, will not leave empty and uninhabited the seven adjacent comprehensive layers from the centre of our globe to the outer crust, which is our dwelling place and centre, and the broad spaces, ‘âlams and caves of those layers. He has, indeed, inhabited and beautified them and created conscious creatures appropriate to those ‘âlams and settled them there.

Those conscious beings must be from among the species of malâikah and rûh beings; therefore, the densest and hardest layer even will be to them as the sea is to fish and the air to birds. For those conscious creatures, even the terrifying heat at the centre of the earth must be like the sun's heat for us. Since those conscious rûh beings are created from nûr, fire is like nûr for them.

The Fourth: A comparison mentioned in the Eighteenth Letter about the depictions of the people of kashf on the strange wonders of the earth's levels that are outside the bounds of reason. A summary of it is this:

The globe of the earth is a seed in al-‘âlam ash-shahâdah; in al-‘âlam al-mithâl and al-‘âlam al-barzakh, it is of a vastness equivalent to that of the samâwât, like a huge tree. The level of the globe of the earth specific to ifrîts that was seen by the people of kashf as a breadth of a thousand years is not in the seed of the earth belonging to al-‘âlam ash-shahâdah; what they saw is rather a manifestation of the branches and levels of the earth in al-‘âlam al-mithâl. Since a seemingly insignificant level of the globe of the earth has such a vast manifestation in another ‘âlam, indeed, it can be said that it has seven levels that are equivalent to the seven levels of the samâwât. In order to call to mind the aforementioned points, the âyahs of the Qur'an indicate that the tiny earth is equivalent to the seven levels of the samâwât by showing in a miraculously concise way.

Second Important Matter:

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمٰوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَاْلاَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ14  

(to the end of the âyah...)

ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى اِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّيهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمٰوَاتٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ15

Many âyahs, such as these, proclaim the samâwât to be seven. It is appropriate to write here only a summary of this matter, which, on the front during the first year of the First World War, we were compelled to explain very briefly in the tafsir Isharat al-I'jaz16. It is as follows:

Earlier philosophy regarded the samâwât as nine; considering the seven samâwât together with the ‘Arsh and Kursî — the terms that belong to Sharî'ah — they depicted the samâwât in a strange manner. The glittering expressions of the genius philosophers of earlier philosophy held mankind under their influence for many centuries. To such a degree that many mufassirs were compelled to make the explanation of the explicit meanings of âyahs in a manner that aligns with their approach. In this way, the miraculousness of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm was veiled to an extent. As for the modern philosophy called modern sciences, instead of the ifrât of earlier philosophy, about the samâwât that cannot pass or end and be destroyed or censured, it fell into tafrît and quite simply denied the existence of the samâwât. The former fell into ifrât, and the latter fell into tafrît; therefore, they were unable to demonstrate haqiqah in its entirety.

As for the sacred hikmah of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm, it cast aside such ifrât and tafrît and went on istiqâmah and said that As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl created the seven levels of samâwât. The moving stars wander in the samâwât, like fish, and offer tasbîh to Allah. It is said in a hadith: اَلسَّمَاءُ مَوْجٌ مَكْفُوفٌ That is, "Samâ is a sea whose waves are settled."

Here, we shall prove this haqiqah of the Qur'an very briefly through seven rules and seven aspects of meaning.

The First Rule: It is established by science and hikmah that the limitless space of ‘âlam is not an infinite emptiness but filled with a matter that they called athîr.

The Second: It is established by science and reason and even by the observation that a matter filling the space exists, which is the bond between the laws of the lofty celestial bodies, such as attraction and repulsion, and the conductor and transmitter of powers in matters, such as light, heat and electricity.

The Third: It has been demonstrated through experiments that the substance of athîr exists in various shapes and forms, similar to other substances, while it continues to be athîr. Just as gas, liquid and solid, three kinds of things, such as steam, water and ice, come into existence from the same substance. In the same way, there is no rational obstacle to the existence of levels of the substance of athîr; it cannot be objected to in any way.

The Fourth: If attention is paid to the celestial bodies, it will be seen that there is a difference in the levels of those lofty ‘âlams. For example, the level at which the vast cloud-shaped sphere known as Nahr us-samâ and Kahkashân and called the Milky Way is located certainly does not resemble the level of the fixed stars. It is as if the level of fixed stars has ripened and matured like the summer fruits, while the infinite stars that appear in the form of a cloud in the Milky Way are newly emerging and beginning to mature constantly. According to an accurate opinion, the level of fixed stars is also different from the level of the solar system, and so on. Seven distinct systems and levels can be comprehended through perception and hads.

The Fifth: It is established by hads, perception, deductive reasoning and experience that if a material is given an arrangement and a form and if other artefacts are made from that material, various levels and forms certainly emerge from it. For example, when a diamond mine is about to be formed, both ashes and coal and various forms of diamonds emerge from the material. And for example, when a fire is about to be formed, it separates into levels of flame, smoke and embers. And for example, when water and oxygen are combined, levels like water, ice and steam are formed. It means that when a single material is formed, it is divided into levels. In which case, since the qoudrah of Al-Fâtir started to form the substance of athîr, It indeed created the seven sorts of samâwât from it as different levels through the mystery.

فَسَوَّيهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمٰوَاتٍ17

The Sixth: The previous proofs necessarily indicate both the existence and the multiplicity of the samâwât. Since the samâwât are indeed numerous, and through the tongue of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, Mukhbir as-Sâdiq18 stated that they are seven; indeed, they are seven.

The Seventh: Since in Arabic, terms such as ‘seven’, ‘seventy’ and ‘seven hundred’ express multiplicity, these comprehensive seven levels may consist of multiple levels.

In Short: Al-Qadîr Zuljalâl created and formed the seven samâwât from the substance of athîr and arranged them in a subtle and wondrous order and sowed the stars in the athîr. Since the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition is an azalî khutbah addressing all the classes of mankind and jinn, each class of mankind will indeed receive its share from each of the âyahs of the Qur'an, and the âyahs of the Qur'an will contain various and numerous meanings, both implicit and indicative, in a way that will satisfy the understanding of each class of mankind.

Yes, the breadth of the Qur'anic address, the vastness of its meanings and indications and the Qur'an flattering and conforming to all the degrees of understanding from the most ignorant ‘awâm to the most elevated khawass show that each of its âyahs has an aspect looking to each class of mankind.

Thus, because of this mystery, seven classes of mankind have understood the seven different levels of meaning from the universal meaning of the phrase "seven samâwât." It is as follows:

From the ayah فَسَوَّيهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمٰوَاتٍ , a short-sighted and narrow-minded class of mankind understands the layers of the atmosphere, while another class of mankind, dazed by astronomy, understands the famous stars known among people as the Seven Planets and their orbits. Yet another group of men understands seven other samâwî globes that resemble our globe that serve as homes of living beings. Another group of men understands the separation of the solar system into seven levels and also seven other solar systems in addition to our system. And yet another group of men understands the separation of the substance of athîr into seven levels during its formation. Another class of broad-minded men considers all the visible skies gilded with stars as a samâ, says that it is this samâ of our world and understands that there are six levels of samâwât besides it. And the seventh class of mankind and its highest group do not consider the seven samâwât to be restricted to al-‘âlam ash-shahâdah but rather they understand that there exist seven samâwât, each of which is an encompassing container and roof of al-‘âlam of the âkhirah, al-‘âlam al-ghayb, al-‘âlam ash-shahâdah and al-‘âlam mithâl, and so on.

There are many further particular meanings in the universality of the âyah, such as the abovementioned seven meaning levels of the seven levels of samâwât. Everyone receives their share according to their degree of understanding, and everyone finds their rizq from that samâwî table.