Word 61: The one who knows the soul as a simple, non-composite reality understands that “The definition of simple realities is not possible except through their concomitant attributes…

Word 61: The one who knows the soul as a simple, non-composite reality understands that “The definition of simple realities is not possible except through their concomitant attributes.” Therefore, intellectual knowledge of simple realities is insufficient. However, intuitive, witnessed knowledge, which is superior to intellectual knowledge, is possible. As is established in Transcendent Philosophy (Hikmat-e Muta’aliyah): “The reality of Existence is the same as individual identity, and it is not possible to conceptualize it or to have knowledge of it except through the manner of witnessed, presential intuition.”

Before anything else, we should define what “Basīt” and “Basā’it” (simple and simples) are.

Basīt is the opposite of Murakkab (compound). A Murakkab is something that is composed of parts, while a Basīt is a thing in which composition has no place.

For example, a human is a compound made of various organs: hands, feet, head, eyes, ears, and so on. They have combined to form a being called a human. Therefore, the human body is a compound.

This composition can be of two types:

A composition of different organs (like the human body).

A composition of different substances, where various materials have come together to form one substance. For example, steel is a compound made of carbon and iron.

Ancient philosophers considered the elements to be water, soil, air, and fire. They believed that everything in the world was composed of these four, and that these four themselves were not compounds.

However, as the scope of research expanded, scholars concluded that these were not true elements; they were compounds themselves. They identified the actual elements as things like gold, silver, and iron. Currently, scientists have identified over a hundred elements that are considered simple and are not composed of different materials.

The key point is that these elements are composed of parts. They are made of atoms. Therefore, they are not truly simple realities.

The “truly simple” (basīt-e haqīqī) are the immaterial beings (mujarradāt). When we speak of “simple” in philosophy, we are referring to these immaterial beings, which have no organs, no parts, and are not composed of different materials.

Of course, the wise people say: “Every contingent being is a compound pair.” This is true of every possible being except for God, the Exalted, who is the “Real Simple” (Basīt al-Haqīqa). Why is a contingent being a compound?

Because it is a compound of existence (wujūd) and quiddity (māhiyyah), it has both an existence and a quiddity, making it a compound. However, when we speak of “simples” (basā’it), which is the plural of “simple” (basīt), we intend to refer to the immaterial beings.

As we learned before, compound beings (murakkabāt) perish and will be destroyed. Why? Because when their constituent parts and members separate, the compound object is destroyed. But if a being is simple (basīt), meaning it is not a compound, then destruction has no place in it. It has no parts or members that can fall apart.

Therefore, death has no place in immaterial and simple beings. And since our soul is immaterial, it is simple, and thus there is no destruction for it. Thus, “I will exist for ever.”

What is death? Death is the separation from the body, not annihilation. A person who dies is not destroyed; they are merely separated from their body, like someone who is sleeping. When a person sleeps, the soul’s control over the body is removed. They can’t move their hands or feet, and they have no awareness, yet they exist and they have dreams where they move with another body. Death is the same; the soul only separates from this body, it is not annihilated. Therefore, decay and destruction have no place in simple beings.

Simple beings also differ from one another. The more an object’s immateriality increases, the more intense, stronger, and greater its simplicity becomes. And the greater its simplicity, the wider the scope of its encompassingness becomes.

For example, Angel Gabriel encompasses all the angels who are in lower level than him, because his simplicity is greater than theirs.

“The real simple is all things existentially.” This is one of the profound mystical truth.

Someone might asks: “Sir, you keep talking about the soul (nafs). What is it?”

We reply that the soul is simple (basīt), not compound (murakkab), so we cannot define it.

It’s easy to define compound things. We define their parts, and that defines the compound whole.

For example, if we want to define an island, we say: “Have you seen dry land?” The person answers, “Yes.” We say, “Have you seen water?” They answer, “Yes.” We then say, “Now, imagine a piece of dry land in the middle of the water; that’s an island.”

Since the person already knows what land and water are, they can understand something that is composed of them. But a being in which composition has no place—a simple being—cannot be defined in this way.

The phrase “The definition of simple realities is not possible except through their concomitant attributes” is a fundamental principle in Islamic philosophy, particularly in the school of Transcendent Philosophy (Hikmat-e Muta’aliyah).

Here’s a breakdown of what this means:

Simple Realities (Basā’it): These are beings or concepts that have no parts or components. They are indivisible. Examples include the soul, pure intellect, and, ultimately, God.

Concomitant Attributes (Lawāzim): These are the necessary effects, qualities, or attributes that arise from the nature of the simple reality, but are not the reality itself. For instance, sight is an attribute of the soul, but it is not the soul itself.

 A concomitant attribute of a thing is something that is not part of its essence, but it is impossible to separate from it. For example, fire and its heat. The heat cannot be separated from the fire, even though fire is a different thing. This is a concomitant attribute of fire. We also have “external concomitants” and “internal concomitants.”

For instance, the quality of “evenness” for the number four. The number four is even, and evenness is a concomitant attribute of the number four that cannot be separated from it, even though it is not the number four itself. This is a concomitant of its essence.

If we want to define simple realities, we must define them by their concomitant attributes. We cannot say anything about their essence directly.

For example, if you want to define an orange, You would say: “It’s a fruit that has this color, this taste, and this shape.” You have described its shape and taste, but what is the orange itself? You cannot define the orange itself. You define it by its properties and its effects.

Now, how can a being that has no color, no taste, no smell, and no size be defined? This is no longer definable. We can only say that it is a being that has certain effects, that it encompasses, and that it has knowledge. We can describe its concomitant attributes, but we cannot say what it is in its essence.

What is the Nafs (soul)?

In the early stages of the discussion on self-knowledge, when a person first hears the word “soul,” they constantly ask, “Sir, what is the soul?” They think that the soul can be defined.

However, the soul cannot be defined because it is simple (basīt). We can only describe its concomitant attributes (lawāzim)—the qualities that are essential to it but not a part of its essence. These attributes include: its attachment to the body, its administration and governance of the body, and its role as the cause of the body’s life. We can only speak of its effects.

Why can’t we know simple realities (basā’it) through thought alone?

The definition of thought is: “Al-fikr harakatun ila al-mabadi wa min mabadi ila al-muradi.” This means that thought is a movement toward primary principles (known information) and from those principles to the desired conclusion (the unknown). We take a set of known facts, put them together, and discover the unknown.

But this method doesn’t work for simple realities. This intellectual movement, which we call intellectual knowledge, cannot be used to know simple realities because they have no parts, no composition, and no organs.

Therefore, we cannot know simple realities through logical proof, or contemplation. We can only prove that they exist, just as we proved the existence of the soul.

We have said that we have a soul (nafs) that is immaterial (mujarrad), meaning it is free from the laws of matter. It has no length, width, depth, height, or location. The soul is immaterial and therefore has no size, color, or smell, as it is not matter at all.

We have discussed about twenty to thirty arguments to prove the soul’s immateriality in the initial sessions, which were the introduction to this class.

My Master, Allameh Hassanzadeh, has a book titled “Ganjine-ye Gowhar-e Ravān” (The Treasure of the Jewel of the Soul), in which he has compiled approximately one hundred arguments for the immateriality of the rational soul (nafs-e nātiqah).

From the time of Socrates, Plato, or even Pythagoras and Prophet Idris (peace be upon him), he has collected and categorized every argument that philosophers have made to prove the soul’s immateriality.

One category of these arguments simply proves that, in addition to the body, we have a reality called the “soul.” However, the specific characteristics of this reality are not discussed in this particular section of the proofs.

We have one category of arguments that proves the imaginal immateriality of the soul (tajarrod-e barzakhi-ye nafs), showing that the soul has an imaginal, “barzakhi” immateriality.

Another category of arguments proves the intellectual immateriality of the soul (tajarrod-e ‘aqli).

A third category of arguments proves the soul’s supra-intellectual immateriality (tajarrod-e fawq-e ‘aqli). At this level, the discussion is about the soul being an immaterial reality free from quiddity (māhiyyah) and limitation.

All of these can be proven, but they cannot be defined.

The word “ta’rif” (definition) comes from the root ‘arafa, which means to know. The true knowledge of the soul is knowing the soul itself, not just its attributes. What is the “essence of the soul”?

The path of intellectual thought cannot lead to this understanding. So, how can the soul be known? It can be known through witnessed knowledge (ma’rifat-e shuhudi), which is superior to intellectual knowledge.

So, what exactly is “witnessed knowledge”?

We have two types of knowledge:

Intellectual knowledge (ma’rifat-e fikri), which is based on reasoning, proof, and evidence.

Witnessed knowledge (ma’rifat-e shuhudi), which is a union with the reality of a thing. A person unites with the reality of a thing and, through direct witnessing, comes to know it. This means the veils are lifted, and the person observes the thing directly.

This is not done with our physical eyes, ears, or other external senses. Witnessed perceptions come from our inner senses, because we have an “eye” other than this eye and an “ear” other than this ear. Beyond these five senses, we have five other senses which we can perceive other realities.

For example, consider what you experience in a dream. Your physical eyes are closed, but you see. Your physical ears are inactive, but you hear. This shows that in addition to your outer being, you have an inner being and inner perceptions. And even beyond the eyes and ears you use in your dreams, you have even higher levels of perception.

You must become immaterial to see immaterial beings, because the condition for seeing anything is to have an affinity (sokhnīyyat) with that thing.

So, if you want to see immaterial beings, you must develop an affinity with them. The knowledge of the soul requires witnessed knowledge (ma’rifat-e shuhudi), not intellectual knowledge (ma’rifat-e fikri).

“They know an outer aspect of the worldly life, but they are heedless of the Hereafter.” (Ar-Rum:7)

The Messenger of God (S) said: “O God, show me things as they truly are.”

So, how are things, in reality?

An ‘Aref (gnostic), who has attained witnessed knowledge (ma’rifat-e shuhudi), perceives the true realities of things. This gnostic understands the true nature of this world and its inner, hidden dimension.

There is a book titled “thologia”, which means “Knowledge of Divinity” (Ma’rifat al-Rububiyyah). This book belongs to Plotinus (Aflutin), who came after Plato. It is a book written on the “Knowledge of Divinity” (Ma’rifat al-Rububiyyah). It was translated from Greek to Arabic; I am not sure if it has been translated into Persian. Some gnostics, such as the great mystic Qazi Sa’id Qummi, have written commentaries for it. It is a highly significant book that discusses topics such as the origin and the return, souls, the intermediary world of Barzakh, and other related matters.

In this book, the author says: “During the many spiritual exercises (riyāzāt) I performed, it would sometimes happen that I would be disembodied, separated from my body. I would find myself in a world that was full of light and splendor. After that world, I would be transported and reach the world of pure light, and I would even transcend the world of light.”

In Prayer of “Sha’banie” we say: “O God, grant me the perfect detachment from Your creatures, so that I may reach You completely. Illuminate the eyes of our hearts with the radiance of gazing toward Your Self, so that the eyes of our hearts may tear through the veils of light and reach the fountainhead of Your greatness, and our souls may become attached to the splendor of Your holiness”.

This is what “witnessed knowledge” (ma’rifat-e shuhudi) is—it’s how the soul can be known and seen. However, this isn’t seeing with the physical eye; it’s a special kind of seeing, a “seeing and insight of the heart.” This is what we call witnessed knowledge.

In a hadith from Imam Ali (A), found in the fifth volume of Ghurar al-Hikam, he states: “The one who knows his self has known his Lord.”

We can’t know God except to the extent that He has manifested Himself within us. Therefore, our knowledge of our soul is our knowledge of God’s manifestation. There is no other way to know God.

The more a person advances in self-knowledge, the more they know God, because the self is nothing but a manifestation of God. So, the more you know God, the more you know yourself (this is referring to witnessed knowledge), and the more you know yourself, the more you know God.

This is a topic within mysticism that will be further explored in the future when we delve into the discussions on Tawhid (monotheism) and its manifestations. The question of how the knowledge of the self becomes the knowledge of the Lord (and vice versa) will be discussed in more detail then.

Therefore, simple realities (basā’it)—of which the soul is one—cannot be known except through witnessing. This applies to all simple realities: Gabriel, and every other angel. We can describe some of their attributes, such as saying that Gabriel is the bearer of revelation. What is Gabriel himself? He cannot be known except through the path of intuition and divine vision .

Wahy (revelation) is the highest degree of witnessed knowledge. For this reason, mystics referred to the Holy Quran as the “Complete and Most Perfect Muhammadan Revelation.” It is the most perfect form of witnessing, and any other witnessing or revelation is subordinate to it.

Dear ones, we have previously discussed the topic of existence (wujūd) and its reality, though in a fragmented way. When a discussion of monotheism arises, a person’s capacity for knowledge must be vast for the subject to truly settle in their heart.

As you may recall, we said that the Persian word for existence is hastī, which is the Arabic word wujūd.

What is the opposite of existence? Non-existence (nīstī), which in Arabic we call ‘adam.

Then, we discussed whether non-existence (‘adam) or nothingness really exists. Is there such a thing as non-existence? We concluded no, because if non-existence existed, it would, by definition, be existence. Therefore, non-existence has no existence.

We don’t have nothingness; everything that is, is existence (hastī), and existence has no limits or boundaries. Why? Because an object has a limit only when there is non-existence after it that surrounds it.

However, if we extend “existence” and try to reach non-existence, we can’t, because we’ve already said that non-existence doesn’t exist. So, no matter how far we extend existence, we never reach non-existence. Therefore, existence has no defined boundary, whether in terms of time or space. No matter how far we go, we will not reach non-existence.

This means existence has filled everywhere. Everything we see is existence, but it has different manifestations. In one place, it is light; in another, it is earth; in another, it is water, thought, the soul, or the spirit, and so on, continuing upward to the immaterial beings. So, there is no limit to existence. It is boundless.

We can also ask a question here:

Did anyone bring existence into being? No. Why?

Because if we say someone brought it into being, who would that “someone” be? Would they be something other than existence? Anything other than existence would be non-existence, and we’ve already established that non-existence doesn’t exist at all. Therefore, we cannot say who brought existence into being.

Secondly, if we say that “existence” was brought into being, that would mean there was a time when existence did not exist. But if existence didn’t exist, that would be non-existence, which is impossible. Therefore, we cannot say that anyone brought existence into being.

Can existence be destroyed? No. Because if existence were to be destroyed, it would become non-existence, and non-existence cannot exist. If it did, it would be existence itself.

So, we say: “Existence is the Truth (Haqq).

We say that God is unique. He is one and without equal. God has no partner and no opposite. There is nothing other than Him: “There is no god but Allah.”

Existence has filled everything. We say, “Allahus-Samad” (Ikhlas:2), which is interpreted to mean that God is full and complete (There is no place for independat thing other than Him).

Did anyone bring existence into being? No. “He begets not, nor is He begotten” (Ikhlas:3).

Everything exists by means of existence. In fact, it is seen by means of existence. I can see the speaker because it has existence. If it didn’t have existence, would it be possible to see it? No.

So, existence is light. “God is the Light of the heavens and the earth” (An-Nur:35). Did anyone bring existence into being? No. Can we say that someone brought God into being? No.

Existence is God. Is there anything greater than “existence”? No. Is there anything greater than God? No.

Existence has no limits. In the same way, we say that the Exalted Truth (God) has no quiddity.

What is quiddity (māhiyyah)? Quiddity means “whatness.”

In Arabic, we ask “mā hiya?” which means, “What is it?” For instance, we say, “What is a human?” The definition we create for a human is the quiddity of the human or an object.

When we define quiddity, we are defining the limit of a thing. How? For example, when we want to define a human, we say, “A human is a rational animal.” This definition clarifies its “whatness” and thereby sets its limits.

When we say “animal,” we are limiting it; it is no longer a plant or an inanimate object. We have restricted it to the level of “animal.” Then, we say “rational,” which further restricts it to only those animals that speak.

So, quiddity means limit and measure.

Now, does existence have quiddity? No, because it has no limits. Quiddity is a limit, and since existence has no limits, it has no quiddity.

So, what is existence? We cannot say what it is, because to do so, we would have to state its quiddity and limit it, which is impossible.

Here’s another point about existence: Everyone knows existence. Everyone grasps being and reality. There’s a hadith about God that says, “He is known to every ignorant person,” because everyone has knowledge of existence and recognizes it.

One of God’s names is “Al-Mubin” (The Evident). There is nothing more clear and evident to us than our own existence. “To God belong the East and the West. Whichever way you turn, there is God’s face” (Al-Baqara:115).

The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said: “The meaning of tawhid (monotheism) is that its outer aspect is in its inner, and its inner aspect is in its outer. Its outer is describable and unseen, and its inner exist and not hidden. It is sought everywhere, and no place, not even for a moment, is empty of it. It is present, but not limited, and it is absent, but not lost.”

God is manifest, but He is not limited. Existence is manifest everywhere, but it is not limited to a single thing. We cannot say, “This speaker is God.” The speaker is a manifestation of existence and a manifestation of God, but God is not limited within this speaker to the point that we can say this speaker is God.

God is also hidden; what is hidden is His very essence, because He has no limits. God’s essence is hidden, but He is not lost. The text notes that God is hidden but not disappeared. Existence, even while being manifest, is hidden. This is captured in the saying: “O You who are hidden because of the intensity of Your manifestation.” He is so intensely manifest that people can’t see Him. “He is the First and the Last, and the Outer and the Inner” (Al-Hadid:3).

Someone was taken to a forest to be shown the forest. He looked around and said, “Where is the forest? These trees are in the way and won’t let me see it!” He did not realize that he was already in the forest.

You want to see God? You are a manifestation of God. Everything is a manifestation of God, the Truth. Nothing can hide God from you. Everything that might seem to block your view is itself a manifestation of His appearance. God is Al-Mubin, the Clear and the Apparent. Nothing can cover God. However, God’s essence is hidden because it has no limits and, therefore, no quiddity.

The reality of existence is the reality of God. It is in our minds because our minds have existence. It is in our intellect, in our imagination, and in our bodies. It is both outside of us and inside of us. It has filled everywhere.

Don’t think that when we say God is existence, it means He is a vague or abstract thing. God has a personality. God says, “I am.”

In fact, personality belongs to existence. If other beings have personality, it is because they have existence and because they exist. God is pure knowledge. God is pure power. Because anyone who has power has it due to their existence, those who don’t exist have no power. Those who don’t exist have no knowledge. A thing that doesn’t exist has no life. God is pure life, knowledge, and power. God is a personality.

God is a single, unified identity, but He has no quiddity. All other things have quiddity—meaning a limit and a definition—except for existence itself. “There is nothing like Him” (Ash-Shura:11).

Nothing is like existence, because everything else has a limit and a measure. But God is infinite. Since God has no measure or limit, nothing is like Him.

It’s impossible to imagine God. Why? Because He cannot be contained within our minds. Our minds are a manifestation of His being, and for Him to fit inside them, He would have to become limited.

It’s like saying the entire mosque should fit inside the mihrab (the prayer niche)! The mihrab is only a part of the mosque. Our mind is a manifestation of existence, and for God to enter our mind, He would have to become smaller than it, which is impossible. Therefore, God cannot be imagined.

The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: “Think about everything, but do not think about the essence of God.”

Don’t contemplate the essence of God, because your thought simply cannot reach it. Thought has limits and boundaries, while God is infinite. Thought itself is a manifestation of God. Everyone is submerged in God.

“My mercy encompasses all things” (Al-A’raf:156). Whatever you look at is divine mercy. Therefore, existence cannot be conceived of.

In the story of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), when he went to Pharaoh, he said: “Go to Pharaoh, and say, ‘We are the Messengers of the Lord of the Worlds” (Shu’ra:16). Pharaoh turned to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and asked: “And what is the Lord of the Worlds?” (Shu’ara:21). Pharaoh was not an ignorant person.

Ibn Arabi has a discussion in which he says that Pharaoh knew that the “Lord of the Worlds” has no quiddity (māhiyyah). Pharaoh did not ask, “Who is the Lord of the Worlds?” Instead, he asked, “What is the Lord of the Worlds?” Prophet Moses (A) said: “He said, “The Lord of the heavens and the earth, and everything between them, if you are aware (24) He said to those around him, “Do you not hear?” (25) He said, “Your Lord and the Lord of your ancestors of old.” (26) He said, “This messenger of yours, who is sent to you, is crazy.” (27) He said, Lord of the East and the West, and everything between them, if you understand.” (Shu’ara:24-28).

Prophet Moses (A) didn’t provide a quiddity for God; instead, he spoke of a divine action, saying that God is the Lord of the heavens and the earth.  Pharaoh didn’t ask what the Lord of the Worlds does; he asked what the Lord of the Worlds is, inquiring about His quiddity. If Pharaoh had asked, “Who is the Lord of the Worlds?”, Moses’s answer would have been the perfect reply. But he didn’t ask “who.” He asked, “What is the Lord of the Worlds?”

When Prophet Moses (A) said, “The Lord of the heavens and the earth,” Pharaoh replied, “Indeed, your messenger who has been sent to you is surely mad!” This meant, “What am I asking, and what is he saying!” Pharaoh was right, in a sense. He had approached the matter from a perspective where he knew the question had no answer.

I am asking you to tell me the quiddity of the Lord of the Worlds, and you are telling me about His work! You are telling me about His actions. I did not ask, “Who is He?” It’s like someone asking you, “What is a human?” and you reply, “A human is the one who built this mosque.” I would say, “I didn’t ask who a human is, for you to say he built the mosque. I asked, “What is a human?”

The jinn would perform tasks and build things for Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him). “They made for him whatever he wished: sanctuaries, statues, bowls like pools, and heavy cauldrons” (Saba’:13). They made whatever Prophet Solomon (A) wanted for him: temples, statues, large basins like reservoirs, and immovable cauldrons. Now, if someone asks, “What is a jinn?” and you reply, “A jinn is a being who built this,” that’s not a proper answer. You have to answer, “What is a jinn?” You must state its quiddity. What kind of being is it?

The Exalted Truth (God) has no quiddity. Pharaoh knew exactly how to approach the conversation to confuse those around him. That’s why he turned to the people and said, “This messenger who has been sent to you is surely mad.” His reasoning was: “A person claiming to be a prophet—I am asking one question, and he is giving a completely different answer!”

Pharaoh became angry and said, “He said, If you accept any god other than me, I will make you a prisoner” (Shu’ara:29). Why? He was saying: “You were unable to define what the ‘Lord of the Worlds’ is. Since you can’t define it, you must worship something that you can define. You must turn to a manifestation. The greatest of all manifestations, and I am the greatest manifestation of it.” This was his argument: “If you take a god other than me, I will imprison you.”

What is the philosophy of idol worship?

It is in human nature which want to connect with one’s deity. To communicate with God (to see Him or hear His voice), a person must leave the world of nature and transcend it to reach a level of witnessing the Truth. Since this is difficult and people are unable to do it, and because their nature desires this, they introduce certain things to serve as a medium between themselves and God. Polytheists do not deny God; they say:

“We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to God” (Az-Zumar:3). “And if you asked them, “Who created the heavens and the earth?” they would say, God” (Az-Zumar:38).

So why do you worship the sun? So why do you worship idols? Because they want something tangible for themselves, something they can see and talk to.

“And We delivered the Children of Israel across the sea. And when they came upon a people who were devoted to some statues of theirs, they said, “O Moses, make for us a god, as they have gods.” He said, You are truly an ignorant people” (Al-A’raf:138).

When Prophet Moses (A) split the sea and crossed it, the Israelites witnessed the miracle. After they crossed, they came upon a group of people sitting and kneeling around idols, worshipping them. The Israelites said to Prophet Moses, “Make for us a god like the ones they have, so that we may worship it too.” Prophet Moses responded, “How ignorant you are! You just saw a divine miracle, and you are still looking for an idol?!”

Why is this? Why have there been so many forms of idol worship in society since ancient times? It’s because humans want to connect with that reality, but they don’t know how to do so. And when the prophets come to teach them, they don’t accept it.

They say that after 950 years of prophethood, the people did not accept Prophet Noah. Yet, they accepted a statue of a calf as a god. All of this goes back to a deviated human nature—a God-seeking nature that has been led astray.

In the final verses of Surah Al-Furqan, God says: “And when it is said to them, “Bow down to the Merciful,” they say, “And what is the Merciful? Are we to bow down to whatever you command us?” And it increases their aversion” (Al-Furqan:60).

When it is said to them, “Prostrate yourselves to the Most Merciful,” they say, “What is the Most Merciful?” They don’t say, “Who is the Most Merciful?” First, these people know God, for they have said, “Allah is the creator of the heavens and the earth.” So why do they then ask, “What is the Most Merciful?” This shows they do not know the Most Merciful.

The verse that comes after it is the answer to this question.

“Blessed is He who placed constellations in the sky, and placed in it a lamp, and an illuminating moon. (61) And it is He who made the night and the day alternate—for whoever desires to reflect, or desires to show gratitude” (Al-Furqan:61-62).

He says: Do you see the heavens in all their grandeur? Do you see the sun and the moon, how far out of your reach they are? He is the Creator of all of these.

He is giving us tangible examples of height and distance, and then He tells us: He is so exalted and so transcendent that you cannot even reach His creations.

Imam Sadiq (A) said: “Do you want to see your Lord?” People said: “Yes.” Then he said, “Look at the sun when it is in the midday sky. You cannot look at it, yet [the grandeur of God] is greater than the sun.”

He says: You do not have access to His creation, so how could you possibly reach the One who made them? He says: You want to understand what the Most Merciful is? You cannot, because His creations have such height and elevation that you cannot comprehend them.

Then He comes closer and says: “He is the One who placed the night and the day in succession. He made the night and the day for your life. He speaks of our own environmental conditions. For whoever wishes to be mindful or wishes to be grateful”.

You cannot comprehend the Most Merciful. You cannot comprehend the essence of mercy itself. If you want to know the Most Merciful, look at the effects of His mercy, because His essence is not knowable. “So observe the effects of God’s mercy” (Ar-Rum:50).

He spoke of the signs on the horizons (the heavens, sun, moon, night, and day), and then said there is another way: “the servants of the Most Merciful.”

He says if you want to see and know the Most Merciful, look at the servants of the Most Merciful and see what they are like. See if you can even know the servants of the Most Merciful, let alone the Most Merciful Himself, for He is superior to all of them. “The servants of the Merciful are those who walk the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, Peace” (Al-Furqan:63).

He says: Go to the servants of the Most Merciful if you want to see the effects of the Most Merciful. Otherwise, the Most Merciful Himself cannot be contained within anyone’s mind.

A point on the spiritual path (suluk): You know that the verses about the servants of the Most Merciful until the end of the surah are a complete guide. Allameh Hassanzadeh recommended reading these verses every night and contemplating them.

“The servants of the Merciful are those who walk the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, “Peace.” (63) And those who pass the night prostrating themselves to their Lord and standing up. (64) And those who say, ‘‘Our Lord, avert from us the suffering of Hell, for its suffering is continuous. (65) It is indeed a miserable residence and destination.” (66) And those who, when they spend, are neither wasteful nor stingy, but choose a middle course between that. (67) And those who do not implore besides God any other god, and do not kill the soul which God has made sacred—except in the pursuit of justice—and do not commit adultery. Whoever does that will face penalties. (68) The punishment will be doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will dwell therein in humiliation forever. (69) Except for those who repent, and believe, and do good deeds. These—God will replace their bad deeds with good deeds. God is ever Forgiving and Merciful. (70) Whoever repents and acts righteously—has inclined towards God with repentance. (71) And those who do not bear false witness; and when they come across indecencies, they pass by with dignity. (72) And those who, when reminded of the revelations of their Lord, do not fall before them deaf and blind. (73) And those who say, Our Lord, grant us delight in our spouses and our children, and make us a good example for the righteous” (Al-Furqan:63-74)

So, witnessing is possible. Witnessing means the state of unveiling and direct perception. Without this, God cannot be conceived with mere thought and contemplation. Any God that exists in people’s minds is a creation of their own minds and imagination. This is a detailed discussion that we will hopefully cover in its proper place.

The reality of existence has no specific determination or limitation; it is simultaneously external, mental, created, eternal, and both immaterial and material. It is also exalted and free from all of these. When we speak of “Truth,” He is “the First and the Last, the Apparent and the Hidden,” (Al-Hadid:3). He is all of these at once!

Whatever we look at is existence. The light shining here is existence, and the objects here are existence, meaning they are Truth. However, God is not limited to these things, so no one should say, “Are you saying this curtain is God?”

We do not say that the Exalted God is limited to this curtain; instead, we say that this curtain is not an independent being separate from God.

It is like the sea and a wave of the sea. Is a wave of the sea anything other than the sea? No.

The wave is the sea that has taken on a specific form and shape. We cannot call the wave “the sea,” but it is not other than the sea.

Similarly, objects are not God, but they are not other than God. This means we should not think of God as standing in a corner somewhere, while I am here.

That would make God like any other being, where we have an earth, a sky, a human, and there is a God.

In our traditions, “numerical unity” is denied for God. They state that God’s unity is not numerical. What does that mean?

It means He is not a single instance that we can count and say, “one God.”

Numerical unity is like a single human being, one person. Can we then say “one God”? No. God’s unity is not a numerical unity. We can not count God like other objects.

The Commander of the Faithful (Imam Ali (A)) said: Whoever describes God assigns limits to Him. Whoever assigns limits to Him counts Him. Whoever counts Him invalidates His eternity. Whoever asks, “How is He?” has certainly described Him. And whoever asks, “Where is He?” has placed Him in a location.

God cannot be counted, because “There is nothing like Him” (Ash-Shura:11).

If we are to say, “one me, one you, one Earth, one Sun, one Moon, one car, and one God,” He becomes like all other beings. For a better understanding, let’s use an example: cells have life; they live, they reproduce, and they die. They have their own life, consciousness, and perception.

Now, imagine one of your cells says your name. It says, “Where is this Mr. X whose cell we are? Can we see him?” Another cell says, “Just as we are here, he is also somewhere else.” How ridiculous would that sound? Another cell says, “We are all a part of him.” When you ask, “So, are you Mr. X?” it says, “No. I am not saying I am Mr. X, but nothing exists other than Mr. X. We are all identical to him, not that he is limited to us.”

The essence of God is identical to Existence; that is, Existence is God. There is nothing but God.

Everything that exists is Truth. However, these are the manifestations of Truth. Truth has appeared in different forms, and beings have been manifested. In any form you can imagine, God has appeared.

He has appeared in the form of the sun, the moon, humans, and land and sea animals. In any form you can imagine, know that He has appeared in it. To someone who says, “Let me see God,” we say, “What do you want to see? Is there anything other than God to see?” There is nothing other than God. However, this requires a God-seeing eye.

Mulana in a poem said: I need an eye that can recognize the King, so that it may know the King in every guise.

It is the King who has appeared in this garment, and it is the King who has appeared in that garment. However, it requires an eye that can recognize the King, a God-seeing eye.

Say it is mental, and it is. Say it is external, and it is. Say it is universal, and it is. Say it is particular, and it is. Say it is temporal, and it is. Say it is eternal, and it is. Say it is contingent, and it is. Say it is necessary, and it is. In whatever form you speak of, the Reality of Existence is manifested. However, you cannot imagine God.

Because imagination is limited. Our mental images have limits and are specific. The Reality of Existence is infinite and has no limits, and therefore, it cannot be contained in our minds.

The Commander of the Faithful (Imam Ali (A)) said: Whatever you imagine of God, God is the opposite of that, because He is greater than it. That is a creation of your mind. The God that exists in people’s minds is a creation of their imagination. The “conceptual God” is a term used by Gnostics, meaning the mental God. It is the mental God of people; it is not God Himself, but something he has created in his mind as God.

Just as the idolaters would carve a stone and say it is God, this person has created something in his mind and calls it God.

So how can one find a way to God? God cannot be contained in our minds. “Glory be to Allah above what they describe” (Al Mu’minun:91). God is exalted above how you describe Him, how you define Him, and how you say He is “this way” or “that way.” Because “this way” or “that way” is for your mind. The Exalted Truth and the Reality of Existence are beyond this.

So, what is the way to reach Existence or God? How can we gain knowledge? After all, something must come into our minds for us to know it.

Narration says: “No matter how great you imagine God to be in your mind, it is a creation of your mind”.

This means that the God a person worships is the God of their own mind. The God he claims to have known is a God that is in his own mind.

The holy Quran says: “Your Lord has said, Pray to Me, and I will respond to you” (Ghafir:60). Why do we pray so much, and our prayers are not answered? Because the Exalted Truth said, “Call upon Me.” You are calling upon the God of your mind. You are calling upon the God that you have created in your own mind.

So how can one reach God? The path to God is blocked. No one can know God except “through the knowledge of His “Hujah” (Proof). I worship a God of whom this man is His Proof. I worship a God of whom this is His representative.

For this reason, the Messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (S), said: Any person who dies without having an Imam (Leader who God chooses), his death is a death of ignorance.

“God be glorified, far above what they allege. (159) Except for God’s sincere servants” (As-Saffat:159-160).

Therefore, it is not possible to know God except through the way of the Imam. Thus, we have many traditions in this regard: “It is through us that God is known.”

Husayn ibn Muhammad, from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad, from Muhammad ibn Jumhur, from Ali ibn Salt, from Hakam and Ismail—the sons of Habib—from Burayd ‘Ijli, who said: I heard from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: “God was worshiped through us, He was known through us, and through us His Oneness—blessed and exalted be He—was affirmed. And Muhammad is the veil and curtain of Al Almighty God. He was the intermediary between God and His creatures. If it were not for us, God would not have been known.” because the knowledge of God is impossible except through the way of the Proof.

Imam al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) said:

Indeed, God is One, Unique, solitary in His Oneness, incomparable in His command. He created creatures and entrusted to them the matter of His religion. O son of Abī Ya‘fūr! We are the ones [He meant]. We are the proofs of God over His servants, His witnesses over His creation, His trustees over His revelation, the treasurers of His knowledge, His face through which He is approached, His eye among His creatures, His speaking tongue, His conscious heart, and His gate that leads to Him. We are the executors of His command and the callers to His path. Through us God was known, and through us God was worshipped. We are the guides to God, and if it were not for us, God would not have been worshipped.

When the death of Prophet Jacob (A) approached, he said to his children, “Whom will you worship after me?” They replied, “We will worship your God and the God of your fathers.”

“And We delivered the Children of Israel across the sea. Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, defiantly and aggressively. Until, when he was about to drown, he said, “I believe that there is no god except the One the Children of Israel believe in, and I am of those who submit.” (90) Now? When you have rebelled before, and been of the mischief-makers? (91) Today We will preserve your body, so that you become a sign for those after you. But most people are heedless of Our signs (92)” (Yunis:90-92).

At the moment Pharaoh was about to drown, he believed, and his belief was sincere. Whether it was accepted or not is a separate, detailed story. The key point is that when he wanted to declare his belief, what did he say? He said, “I believe in the God in whom the children of Israel believe.”

This is because Pharaoh himself worshipped many gods. If he had just said, “I believe in God,” they would have asked, “Which God? You have so many.” Instead, he believed in the God whose Proof is this man.

Then a call came: “Now? Now you believe?! Now that you’re about to drown! Before this, you were disobedient!”

What matters is that he believed correctly, because he said, “I believe in the God in whom the children of Israel believe.” Therefore, it is not possible to know God except through the way of the Proof.

Perhaps someone might say: A dispute arose over the caliphate after Prophet Muhammad (S) passed away. So what if Ali had become the caliph? Why are you so strict about this?

We say: The discussion is not about that; It is about the Proof of God, because they are the divine Proofs. Without them, God cannot be worshipped.

Ishaq ibn Rahawayh said: When Abū al-Ḥasan al-Riḍā (peace be upon him) arrived in Nishapur and was about to depart from it to go to al-Ma’mūn, the scholars of ḥadīth gathered around him and said:

“O son of the Messenger of God! You are leaving us without narrating to us a ḥadīth from which we may benefit.” At that time, he had seated himself on the camel. He raised his head and said:

“I heard my father, Mūsā ibn Ja‘far, say: I heard my father, Ja‘far ibn Muḥammad, say: I heard my father, Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī, say: I heard my father, ‘Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn, say: I heard my father, al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī, say: I heard my father, the Commander of the Faithful ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (peace be upon them all), say: I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) say: I heard Gabriel say: I heard God, the Mighty and Majestic, say:

‘There is no god but Allah is My fortress; whoever enters My fortress shall be safe from My punishment.’”

When the caravan passed on, he called out: “…with its conditions — and I am one of its conditions.”

And in other words, the authority (Wilayah) of the Household of Muhammad is a condition for monotheism and the oneness of God.

Imam said, “I am one of the conditions of monotheism.”? This means that anyone who says, “There is no god but Allah,” is not a monotheist unless he accepts my authority, because I am the Proof of God and he accepts my God. This is because any God that is in your mind is false. The God of your mind is a God made by your mind; He is not God.

“God be glorified, far above what they allege. (159) Except for God’s sincere servants” (As-Saffat:159-160). These are the people who can describe God. So, to describe God, one must cling to the sincere ones, who are the divine Proofs.

Presential witnessing is a form of unveiling where the veils are removed from a person. Unveiling has different levels.

Sometimes you have a dream, which is a type of unveiling where a reality is unveiled to you. We are not talking about these, or you have a representation in which you see something; we are not talking about these either. The highest rank of unveiling is the witnessing of the Reality of Existence, where, when the veil is removed, the oneness of existence enters a person’s witnessing.

In a divine tradition, the Exalted Truth said: “I am not contained in the heavens or the earth, but I am contained in the heart of the believing servant.” That is his witnessing.

What a person sees then is “meeting with God.” This presential witnessing is at this meeting.

Of course, the witnessing of oneness also has levels, and the level mentioned here could be called the “witnessing of the Essence.”

Some of the things that gnostics say, a person must reach on their own. For it was said that it is impossible to imagine Him, and you cannot gain knowledge of Him through thought, contemplation, and so on. This must be reached and observed through witnessing.

In the path of witnessing, all religious duties and obligations must be performed. However, you must also come out of this cloud of delusions and fantasies that have enveloped you, because you know that a person is constantly lost in thought. You have seen people talking to themselves on the street—they are thinking out loud. When I was a child, I saw a man on a quiet street who would talk out loud, then stop and argue for a few minutes, and then start walking again. All humans fantasize about themselves.

Push away these veils of fantasy and step outside of yourselves. Look at the world with a primitive gaze. What does a primitive gaze mean? Imagine that you have just been created and have never seen anything before. You have not seen a human, nor light, nor the sky, nor the earth. You have not seen water, nor an ant, nor a bird, nor a tree, nor a stone, nor dirt.

Look at everything as if you are seeing it for the first time. Spend a few moments like this, and a sense of awe will overcome you about what is going on in this world. “A bird flies in the air—what is this?” “A human is approaching—who is this?” You look at the water and ask, “What is this?” “What is light?” Because we have seen these things so often, they have become normal for us. Imagine that you have never seen them before. Then you will see what wondrous divine beauty is manifested in the world. You will see all ugliness as beautiful and no longer see anything as ugly. At that point, ugliness will have no meaning for you. Just get yourselves out of these delusions. Look at everything and imagine that it is the first time you are seeing it. Practice this, and you will see that the world is a different world. Hopefully, you will be able to gain a glimpse and a share of this presential witnessing.

Muhammad Mahdi Me’marian

All praise is to God to the extent that He deserves it.