بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

AS-SIRÂT AL-MUSTAQÎM - 2

1. The tafsir of the âyahs (4:68-69) indicating the people of as-sirât al-mustaqîm:

In connection with the information about the ghayb given by the âyah at the end of Surah al-Fath through its indicative meaning (ma’nâ al-isharî), it will be briefly discussed since in the following âyah the same information was given through the same indicative meaning (ma’nâ al-isharî).

An Addendum

وَلَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ صِرَاطًا مُسْتَقِيمًا وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللّهَ وَ الرَّسُولَ فَاُولئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اَنْعَمَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَ الصَّالِحِينَ وَ حَسُنَ اُولٰٓئِكَ رَف۪يقًۜا1

To explain this âyah, we shall point out two Subtle Points of the thousands of its subtle points.

First Subtle Point: Just as the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition expresses haqiqahs through its explicit meanings (ma’nâ as-sarîh) and significations, so does it express many indicative meanings (ma’nâ al-isharî) through its styles and forms. Each âyah contains numerous levels of meaning. Since the Qur'an comes from the encompassing ‘ilm of Allah, all its meanings may be intended. It cannot be restricted to one or two meanings, like man's speech, which is the product of his particular mind and personal will.

Thus, due to this mystery, mufassirs have declared innumerable haqiqahs of the âyahs of the Qur'an; there are many more that they have not expounded, and besides its explicit meanings (ma’nâ as-sarîh), many significant branches of ‘ilm are contained in its indications and especially in its letters.

Second Subtle Point: Through the phraseمِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَ الصَّالِحِينَ وَ حَسُنَ اُولٰٓئِكَ رَف۪يقًۜا2, this noble âyah describes that, in mankind, the people of as-sirât al-mustaqîm and those honoured with the true ni’mahs of Allah are the group of Prophets, the caravan of Siddîqîn, the ja’mâah of Shahîds, the class of Sâlihîn and the category of Tâbi’în. Furthermore, after explicitly pointing out the most perfect among those five groups in the Islamic world, it indicates and expresses the imams and leaders of those five groups by mentioning their well-known attributes, and then, with a flash of miraculousness from among the kind of giving information about the ghayb3, it also specifies in one respect the position of the leaders of those groups in the future.

Yes, just as مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ4 looks explicitly to Hazrat Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm, does the phrase 5 وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ look to Abu Bakr the Siddîq. It also indicates that he would be the second after the Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm and the first who would succeed to his place, and the ummah would give the name Siddîq as a special title to him, and he would be seen at the head of Siddîqîn. With the word 6 وَالشُّهَدَاءِ , the âyah mentions Hazrat ‘Umar, Hazrat ‘Uthman and Hazrat ‘Ali Ridwanullahi ‘Alayhim Ajmaîn7, the three of them together. It indicates that the three of them would be honoured with the khîlafah of nubuwwah after the Siddîq, and they would be shahîd and the fadhîlah of being shahîd would be added to their other fadhîlah; it expresses these in a manner that gives information about the ghayb. With the word وَالصَّالِحِينَ8, it indicates distinguished personages like Ashab As-Suffa, Ashab Al-Badr and Ashab Ar-Ridwan. With the explicit meaning (ma’nâ as-sarîh) of the phrase وَ حَسُنَ اُولٰٓئِكَ رَف۪يقًۜا9, it encourages others to follow them and shows the obedience of Tâbi’în to be honourable and agreeable; through its indicative meaning (ma’nâ al-isharî), it points to Hazrat Hasan (ra) as the fifth of the Four Khalîfah in order to demonstare the greatness of the value of his brief duration of khilâfah, which affirms the hadith اِنَّ الْخِلاَفَةَ بَعْدِى ثَلاَثُونَ سَنَةً10.

In Short: Like the âyahs at the end of Surah al-Fath look to the Four Khalîfah, corroborating this, these âyahs look partially and indicatively to their future positions in a manner of giving information about the ghayb. Thus, in the âyahs of the Qur’an, there are so numerous incalculable flashes of miraculousness belonging to the kind of giving information about the ghayb, which is among the kinds of the Qur'an's miraculousness. Literalist ‘ulamâ restricting them to forty or fifty âyahs is due to their superficial view. In haqiqah, they are more than a thousand. Sometimes, there are four or five aspects of giving information about the ghayb in a single âyah.

رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَا اِنْ نَسِينَا اَوْ اَخْطَاْنَا

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

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A Second Explanation Of The Above Addendum

{(*): My brothers have written down both explanations since they found them useful. Otherwise, one of them would have been sufficient.}

The âyahالرَّسُولَ فَاُولئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اَنْعَمَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَ الصَّالِحِينَ وَ حَسُنَ اُولٰٓئِكَ رَف۪يقًۜا corroborates the end of Surah al-Fath’s indication about the ghayb, declares who is meant in the âyahصِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ   and who are the people of as-sirât al-mustaqîm and shows the most luminous, friendly, attractive large caravan of companions travelling the long road leading to all eternity; in a miraculous manner, it intensely urges the people of îmân and conscious people to join, follow and accompany the caravan. Like the âyahs at the end of Surah al-Fath, besides its explicit meaning, this âyah also indicates the Four Khalîfah and Hazrat Hasan (ra), the fifth khalîfah, with indicative (isharî) and allusive (ramzî) meanings that are called Ma'aridu'l-kalâm and Mustatba'atu't-tarakib11 in ‘ilm al-balâghat. It gives information about the matters concerning ghayb in several respects. It is as follows:

Just as this âyah expresses with its explicit meaning (ma’nâ as-sarîh) that the caravan of Prophets, the group of Siddîqîn, the jamâ’ah of Shahîds, the category of Sâlihîn and the class of Tâbi’în are the Muhsinîn12 and the people of as-sirât al-mustaqîm, who, among mankind, are honoured with the exalted ni’mahs of Allah, so does it indicate through the kind of giving information about the ghayb that, in the Islamic world, they are the best and most excellent of those groups; it also point to the group of heirs of the Prophets that sprang from the mystery of legacy of nubuwwah of âkhirzaman Prophet, and to the caravan of Siddîqîn that sprang from the mine of Siddîqiyyah of Siddîq Al-Akbar, and to the caravan of Shahîds, who are tied to the rank of Shahâdah of the Three Khalîfah, and to the jamâ’ah of Sâlihîn, who are connected with the mystery of الصَّالِحَاتِ13 وَالَّذِينَ اٰمَنُوا وَعَمِلُو and to the classes of Tabi’în, who obeyed the mystery of قُلْ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللهُ 14 and who followed the Sahâbah and the Four Khalîfah. So too, through its ma’nâ al-isharî, it informs through the word وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ   that it is Hazrat Abu Bakr As-Siddîq who would succeed to Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram’s (asm) position, would be his khalîfah and famous among the ummah with the title Siddîq and would be the leader of the caravan of Siddîqîn. With the word وَالشُّهَدَاءِ , it informs that three of the Rightly-Guided Khalîfah will be shahîd and three shahîds will be khalîfah after the Siddîq because شُّهَدَاءِ (Shuhadâ) is plural, and the minimum number of the plural form in Arabic grammar is three. It means that Hazrat ‘Umar, Hazrat ‘Uthman and Hazrat ‘Ali (Radhiyallahu Anhum) would be the leaders of Islam after the Siddîq and would be shahîd. And this information about the ghayb exactly occurred as it was informed.

Furthermore, through the phrase وَ الصَّالِحِينَ , it also informs that, in the future, salîh people and the people of taqwâ and ‘ibâdah would be numerous, like Ashab As-Suffa, who were honoured with the praise of Tawrah15 for their obedience and ‘ibâdah. While the phrase وَ حَسُنَ اُولٰٓئِكَ رَف۪يقًۜا praises the obedience of Tabi’în who followed and obeyed the Sahabah in ‘ilm and action, and it shows that to accompany those four caravans on the road to eternity is agreeable and commendable. Although Hazrat Hasan's (ra) khilâfah’s duration was brief, through the decree of the hadith اِنَّ الْخِلاَفَةَ بَعْدِى ثَلاَثُونَ سَنَةً16, and the confirmation of the Prophet’s informing about the ghayb, it points out the importance of Hazrat Hasan's (ra) — whose brief duration of khilâfah confirms the Prophet’s miracoulously informing about the ghayb in the hadith اِنَّ ابْنِى حَسَنٌ هذَا سَيِّدٌ سَيُصْلِحُ اللّٰهُ بِهِ بَيْنَ فِئَتَيْنِ عَظِيمَتَيْنِ17 and who ensured the peace between two huge armies, two great jamâ’ah, and eliminated the conflict between them — very short duration of khilâfah. In order to indicate that Hasan would be the fifth khalîfah succeeding the Four Khalîfah, it points out the fifth khalîfah's name with the word وَ حَسُنَ اُولٰٓئِكَ رَف۪يقًۜا , through a mystery called Mustatba'atu't-tarakib in the ‘ilm of balâghat and through its indicative meaning (ma’nâ al-isharî) from among the kind of giving information about the ghayb.

Thus, there are many further mysteries, like the abovementioned indicative pieces of information, but that door has not been opened for now since they are outside our purpose. There are many âyahs of Al-Qur'an Al-Hakîm each of which is from among the kind of giving information about the ghayb in many aspects. This kind of Qur'an's pieces of information about the ghayb are thousands.

رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَا اِنْ نَسِينَا اَوْ اَخْطَاْنَا

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

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2. The comparison between the path of dhalâlah and the path of as-sirât al-mustaqîm:

All True Pain is in Dhalâlah and All True Pleasure in Îmân

A Mighty Haqiqah Wore the Dress of Imagination

O intelligent companion! O azîz, If you want to see full differences between the luminous way of as-sirât al-mustaqîm and the dark path of مَغْضُوبِ18 and ضَّالِّينَ19

Come, take your wahm into your hand! Mount on the imagination! Together we shall go to the darkness of non-existence. We shall visit that vast grave, that city full of the dead.

An azalî Qadîr took us out of that place of darkness with His hand of qoudrah, mounted us on this existence and sent us to this world; the city without pleasures.

Now, we have come to this ‘âlam of existence, this fearful desert. Our eyes have opened; we have looked in the six directions.

Seeking favours, firstly we look before us, but troubles and pains assault us, like enemies. We take fright at that and draw back.

We look at left and right, to the natural elements; we seek their help, but we see that their hearts are merciless and hard as stone. They sharpen their teeth and glare at us. They hear neither pleas nor cries.

Like desperate men, we despairingly lift our gazes upwards. Seeking help, we look at the lofty planets and see that they terrifyingly threaten us.

As if each has become a cannonball; they have come out of their nests and pass through space very fast, but somehow they do not touch each other.

If accidentally one of them confuses its way, Allah forbid, this ‘âlam ash-shahâdah will die with fear. They are tied to coincidence; no good can come out of them.

In despair, we turned back our gaze from that direction, and we fell into excruciating bewilderment. We bow our heads to our chests and look to our nafs; we study it.

Thus, we hear: the shouts of thousands of needs arise from our wretched nafs. The cries of thousands of kinds of poverty arise. While expecting solace, we take fright.

No good comes out of that either. Seeking refuge, we enter into our conscience (Vijdân20), look into it and seek a remedy. Alas, again, we can find none; we have to help it.

For in the conscience (Vijdân), thousands of hopes appear, boiling desires and feverish emotions that stretch out to the universe. All of them cause us to tremble; we cannot help any of them.

Those hopes are pressured between existence and non-existence; they stretch out to azal on one side and eternity on the other; they have such breadth.

If the conscience (Vijdân) were to swallow the world, it would still not be satisfied.

From wherever we sought help on this excruciating path, we encountered trouble. For the paths of مَغْضُوبِ and ضَّالِّينَ are thus. On that path, the idea of chance and dhalâlah is diffused.

We wore that idea; this is how we fell into our present state. Even now, we temporarily forget the beginning and the end, as well as As-Sâni’ and the rising from the dead and assembling for judgment.

It is worse than Jahannam; it is scorching more than Jahannam; it crushes our rûh. We received this state from those six directions from which we had sought help.

This state that destroys and burns the conscience (Vijdân) consists of the compound of fear and dismay, impotence and trembling, anxiety and terror, orphanhood and despair.

Now, we shall take a front line against each of the directions and try to repulse them. Firstly, we have recourse to our own qoudrah, but alas! We see that it is impotent and weak.

Secondly, we turn to silence the needs of the nafs. But alas! We see that they unceasingly cry out.

Thirdly, we cry out for a saviour and ask for help, yet no one hears or responds.

We suppose everything to be hostile to us; everything is strange. Nothing consoles our hearts, grants security, or gives true pleasure.

Fourthly, the more we look at the lofty planets, the more they display fear and dismay in our view and give a terror that frightens the conscience (Vijdân), destroys the mind and gives wahm.

Thus, o brother! This is the essence of the road of dhalâlah. On it, we saw entirely the darkness within kufr. Now, come my brother, we will turn to that non-existence.

Again, we shall come back. This time our path is as-sirât al-mustaqîm and the way of îmân. Our proof and imam are ‘inâyah and the Qur'an, the Falcon that flies over the centuries.

Thus, when the rahmah and ‘inâyah of the Azalî Sultân willed our existence, His Qoudrah created us and, as kindness, He mounted us on the law of His Will that arranges and completes everything stage after stage.

Now, He brought us here, compassionately clothed us with the honourable dress of existence and bestowed on us the rank of amanah, the mark of which is du’â and salâh.

On our long road, all the centuries and stages are places for beseeching and supplication. To make our road easy, He gave us a written command from Qadar that is on the page of our foreheads.

Wherever we go, whichever group we are guests of, we are welcomed in truly brotherly fashion. We give from our belongings and receive from theirs.

Love born of trade, they nourish us, adorn us with gifts, and accompany us to bid us farewell and send us to our journey. At the end, we have come to the door of the world; we hear a noise.

Look, we have arrived at the earth and stepped our foot in al-‘âlam ash-shahâdah: the festival of Ar-Rahmân, the noisy house of man.

We know nothing at all; our proof and imam is the will of Ar-Rahmân. Our guide is our delicate eyes. We open our eyes and look at the world. Do you remember our first visit?

We were strangers, orphans; our enemies were many, but we did not know our protector. Now, against those enemies, the nûr of îmân is our strong pillar, point of support and protector; it defeats enemies.

It is îmân in Allah that is the light of our rûh, nûr of our lives and rûh of our rûh.

Now our heart is easy; it disregards the enemies, not even recognises them.

On our first journey, when we entered the conscience (Vijdân), we heard thousands of cries, laments and clamours.

Our conscience (Vijdân) made us fall into trouble because our hopes, desires, dispositions and feelings always desire eternity. But we did not know how to obtain eternity. We do not know the way, so it laments and cries.

However, Alhamdulillah, this time, we have found a point of succour that always gives life to our dispositions and hopes; it makes them soar to all eternity.

Our conscience (Vijdân) shows them the way; from that point, our dispositions help us; they drink the water of life and race to their perfection. The conscience (Vijdân), the point of succour; it is an encouraging and supplicating enigma.

The second pole of îmân is the affirmation of the rising from dead and assembling for judgment and eternal happiness. That shell's pearl is îmân; its proof is the Qur'an. The conscience (Vijdân) is a human mystery.

Now raise your head! Look at the universe; speak a word with it! On our former way, it appeared so dismaying. Now it is smiling, laughing on every side, coyly supplicating and calling.

Do you not see? Our eyes have become bees; they fly everywhere. The universe is their garden, flowers everywhere; each flower gives them pleasurable water.

Each also gives a feeling of familiarity, solace and love. Our eyes take and make the honey of testimony. They make honey flow forth from honey, that mysterious falcon.

As our gaze lands on the movements of the planets, the stars, or the suns, they give the hikmah of Khaliq to their hands. Our gaze takes the essence of warning and the manifestation of rahmah, then flies.

As if the sun is speaking with us, saying, "O my brothers! Do not feel frightened or dismayed. You are welcome! It's good you've come! This place is yours; I am but a beautiful candleholder.

I am like you, but a pure, unrebellious and obedient servant. Out of His pure rahmah, the One, Who is Al-Ahad As-Samad, made me an obedient nûr so that I would serve you. Light and heat are from me; salâh and supplication from you!"

Now, look at the moon! The stars and the seas each say with a language particular for them, "You are welcome! It's good you've come! Don't you recognise us?"

Look through the mystery of mutual help and listen through the signs of the order! Each says, "We are all servants, mirrors of the Rahmah of Zuljalâl One; do not worry, do not be afraid of us!

Let the outcries of the earthquakes and the cries of events not scare you; let them not give you waswasa! For within them are the reverberates of dhikr, the clamour of tasbîh, the outcries of supplication and beseeching.

Zuljalâl One Who sent us to you holds their reins in His hands. The eye of îmân reads on their faces the âyah of rahmah, each of which is a voice.

O mu’min with an awakened heart! Now, let our eyes rest a little; in their place, we shall hand over our sensitive ears to the blessed hand of îmân and send them to the world to listen to a delightful melody.

Each of the sounds that were imagined to be the universal mourning and lamentations of death on our first way is now, on this way, a solace and salâh, supplication and entreaty, the voice of tasbîh.

Listen! The clamours in the air, the chirping of birds, the nice sound of the rain, the shout of the seas, the crashing of thunders, the knocking of stones are meaningful solaces.

The songs of the air, the outcries of the thunder, the melodies of the waves are dhikr declaring Grandeur. The songs of the rain, the twittering of birds are tasbîh declaring Rahmah, metaphors expressing a haqiqah.

The sounds of things are all sounds of existence: "I too exist," they say. The silent universe suddenly starts to speak: "Do not suppose us to be lifeless, O chattering man!"

The pleasure of a ni’mah or a bestowal of rahmah makes the birds speak. They applaud rahmah with their different and tiny voices, land on ni’mah and fly with shukr.

Allusively they say, "O my brothers in the universe! How fine are our circumstances; we are tenderly nourished and happy with our situation." With their sharp beaks, they scatter voices full of supplication to the sky.

As if the entire universe is a lofty music; the nûr of îmân hears all the dhikr and tasbîh. For the hikmah rejects the existence of coincidence, the order repels the union of the ideas that gives wahm.

O my companion! Now, we leave this ‘âlam al-mithâl, step down from imaginary wahm, stop in the arena of mind, weigh up and measure those ways.

Our first excruciating way, the way of مَغْضُوبِ and ضَّالِّينَ ; it inflicts an excruciating feeling, severe pain, on the conscience (Vijdân), in its deepest place. Consciousness shows this, but we opposed consciousness.

We are desperate and needy to be saved from it.  It must be extinguished or numbed; if not, we cannot endure it. No one can bear the cries and laments.

The way of Islam is healing (Shifa). The way of the desires of the nafs numbs the feelings; it requires diversion; it requires falling into ghaflah; it requires preoccupation; it requires entertainment. Captivating desires.

So it can deceive the conscience (Vijdân) and put the rûh to sleep, so pain would not be felt. Otherwise, that excruciating pain burns the conscience (Vijdân); the laments cannot be endured, and the pain of despair cannot be borne.

That means, however far one deviates from as-sirât al-mustaqîm, to that extent this situation affects him and causes the conscience (Vijdân) to cry out. Within every pleasure is a pain, a taint.

It means that civilisation’s glitter, which is the mixture of fancy, desires of nafs, entertainment and dissipation (safahat), is a deceitful medicine for the devastating trouble arising from dhalâlah, a sleep-inducing poison.

O my azîz friend! On our second way, on that luminous path, we felt a situation in which life becomes a source of pleasure and pains become joys.

Through that, we understood that it imparts a situation to the rûh varying in degree according to the strength of îmân. The body receives pleasure through the rûh; the rûh receives pleasure through the conscience (Vijdân).

An immediate pleasure is contained in the conscience (Vijdân); a ma’nawî Jannah is contained in the heart. To think of it is to open it up; as for consciousness, it is the secret’s mark.

Now, the pleasure increases, however much the heart is aroused, the conscience (Vijdân) is stimulated, and the rûh is caused to feel. Its fire transforms into nûr, its winter into summer.

In the conscience (Vijdân), the doors of Jannahs open up, and the world becomes a Jannah. Within it, our rûhs fly and become beautiful falcons, the wings of which are salâh and supplication.

O my azîz companion! Farewell for now. Let us offer a du’â together, then we shall part to meet again…

اَللّٰهُمَّ اِهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ آمِينَ

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