Word 62: One who possesses determination and turns the soul away from being preoccupied with this worldly realm may at times observe “Tamasul”…
Word 62: One who possesses determination and turns the soul away from being preoccupied with this worldly realm may at times observe “Tamasul” (see a metaphysical reality in different forms, ie, angels) on the tablet of his soul and sometimes perceives realities directly without any symbolism. From this state, he realizes that what occurs to a person in states of sleep, hypnosis, fainting, fear, and near-death experiences is not what is essential for these visions (Tamasul) and perceptions. What truly matters is turning away from the elemental realm and detaching from the attachments of this world. When this detachment occurs in a waking state, it yields the result of thousands of dreams and near-death experiences.
Note No.530 from the “1001 Notes” book of Allameh Hassanzadeh:
From Amali of Shaykh, with his chain of transmission, it is narrated from Hisham ibn Salim, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (Imam al-Ṣādiq, peace be upon him), who said:
Some of our companions said: “May God set you aright! The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, would say: ‘Gabriel said, and this is Gabriel who commands me’ — yet at other times he would fall unconscious.”
Imam al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) replied:
“When the revelation came directly from God, without Gabriel as an intermediary between them, that state (fainting/unconsciousness) would overtake him, because of the weight of the divine revelation. But when Gabriel was between them, that state would not come upon him. In such cases, he would say: ‘Gabriel said to me, and this is Gabriel.’” (Allameh Hassanzadeh-
From this valuable hadith and other traditions that narrate the different states of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) during the descent of revelation, we can infer that his state during revelation without a form was more difficult than during revelation with a form.
Those on the spiritual path understand and grasp this well, for when they experience formless spiritual attractions, they fall into a state of great turmoil and distress. At times, the intensity of the attraction can affect the subject the way a whirlwind affects a blade of straw, in contrast to the state that accompanies the presence of a form.
Perhaps the reason for this is that in the state with a form, a person is engaged with a familiar example from the witnessed world, unlike in the state with a pure abstraction and a reality devoid of a form.
Or perhaps the reason is that the world of sensory perception (the manifest realm) is the realm of separation, while the unseen is the realm of unity. Necessarily, oneness and dominion belong to that which is gathered in unity, while what is multiple is weak. Thus, the more the human spirit turns toward the realm of unity, the greater its awe, for it is confronted with a stronger reality.
Note No.530 from the “1001 Notes” book of Allameh Hassanzadeh:
When the spiritual seeker is captivated by the greatness, majesty, and power of absolute existence, that state is referred to as formless representation. It is also called unveiling without an example. The tenth and nineteenth sections of the book “Daftar-e Del” are dedicated to formless representations and unveilings, as well as the manifestations of names, attributes, and the Essence. You may refer to them if you wish.
Lesson 57 from the “Self Knowledge lessons” book of Allameh Hassanzadeh:
The Rational Soul: A Being Beyond Nature
Another proof that the soul is a being beyond nature comes from Ibn Miskawayh in his book Taharat al-A’raq. He states that the rational soul perceives its essence and needs nothing other than its essence for this perception. It is proven in philosophical texts that every intelligible entity that subsists by its essence is itself the knower of its essence. Thus, the rational soul is intellect, the one who apprehends, and that which is apprehended — meaning it is knowledge, the knower, and the known. And again, it is perception, the perceiver, and the perceived. None of the physical faculties can perceive their essence. Thus, these two things (the soul and the body) are distinct from each other, and the rational soul is immaterial and separate from the physical world and the elemental realm.
Note: It will be explained in later lessons that every intelligible entity subsists by its own essence, just as every knower does.
Note: For a better understanding of this proof, refer to the twenty-second lesson, which is a great help.
The Soul’s Perception of the Unseen
In the proofs presented in previous lessons, we have said that the soul, in a dream state, discovers and perceives hidden topics and truths that it was unaware of in the waking state. It’s quite possible that in a waking state, it would have never even talked about these things or imagined them. As we have said, very few people have not had something astonishing happen to them through the world of dreams during their lives and have not achieved the interpretation of what they saw in their dreams in their waking life, sooner or later.
In truth, if a person is not stubborn and does not act out of malice, he will readily admit that gaining knowledge of the unseen must be the work of a being beyond time and space and that encompasses time and space. If the human spirit were material and physical—in short, from the world of nature—wouldn’t this claimant wonder how it is possible to foretell the unseen and gain access to hidden matters? Nature cannot take a step beyond its own domain, so what are all these understandings and perceptions that are beyond time and space?
Hypnosis as a Modern Proof
Similar to a dream is hypnosis, which in French is hypnotisme. The hypnotist is called a hypnotiseur, and the verb is to hypnotize. This practice has become widespread in our time, and many books have been written about it in different languages. Through this practice, they have gained access to events that they have collected and compiled. From them, they have inferred the independence of the soul and its survival after the body’s dissolution, and they have also used it to prove the reward and punishment for deeds in the next world.
The Frenchman Gabriel Delanne wrote a book called The Return of the Spirits, which was translated into Persian by Reza Gholi Samsami and published in Tehran in 1931. On page 21, he says: “Today it has been definitively proven that the transfer of thought and clairvoyance—whether in a state of sleep or a state of wakefulness—and the witnessing of future events are among the truths and realities about which no doubt or uncertainty remains. All these newly discovered matters are properties and functions of the spirit, and they cannot in any way be attributed to the material body.”
The Mechanism of Spiritual Journey
Know that hypnotism and sleep both stem from one principle, which is, in fact, the withdrawal and inactivity of the external senses from engaging with this realm of nature. When the senses are disengaged from this realm, the soul turns to its own world, gaining knowledge and truths from its true origin and access to hidden matters. When it returns to this side (the waking state), it finds what it observed in the world of dreams in the waking world at the right time. And if a person cannot discover the secret and meaning of their dream, they go to an interpreter, who interprets and analyzes the dream.
Interpretation (ta’bir) means to pass the dreamer from the form to the meaning, and analysis (ta’wil) means to return the dream from its form to its original essence and meaning.
Renowned scholars have written books on the interpretation and analysis of dreams, incorporating sweet subtleties and wondrous details into their interpretations. Indeed, what secrets are hidden in the endless house of existence! The world is a knowledge layered on top of itself. And since such divine observations and spiritual and inner unveilings are gained by withdrawing from attention to the world of nature, who can say, then, that for the soul to be set forth toward the world of life, what need is there for sleep or hypnotism or other means and tools? Why shouldn’t we choose to withdraw on our own and achieve a spiritual journey in a state of wakefulness, just as in a dream or under hypnosis, or even more powerfully than them?
And perhaps what we seek from this person or that, or what we obtain through a medium or tool, we can discover better without a medium, since a medium and its multiplicity can cause mistakes, doubt, and hesitation. It’s best if we can gain access to what we seek on our own, without the need for tools, instruments, or people—for instance, without using a mirror, or making a child a medium, or putting someone to sleep through hypnosis.
Perhaps most people have experienced for themselves that, at times in dreams, a person becomes aware of mysterious matters and of things beyond outward appearance. One realizes with certainty that this is true — even if no one else believes it, he knows within himself: ‘I saw this in a dream,’ though he had no prior outward knowledge of it, but through the dream he came to know that such a thing would occur or that such a reality lay hidden. We have all experienced dreams, and true visions (ruyā-yi sādiqa) have occurred to the majority of people.
Another state that can arise for a person, in which he becomes aware of certain matters, is what is called ‘hypnotism’ or ‘magnetic sleep.’ In this state, the hypnotist places a person into a hypnotic sleep, through which the individual may gain awareness of certain things
Or the state of near-death, which is the moment of death. You may have read in magazines, and this has recently become popular, about people who entered a state of near-death and observed certain things, but did not die and then returned to life (Coma state). They recount the things they saw in that state. In the near-death state, the veils are lifted from a person’s eyes, revealing certain things.
Each person narrates what they saw based on their own capacity. Many of these stories have been told, and you have probably heard them directly from people.
So, sleep, hypnotism, the near-death state, and one more state in which a person might observe things is extreme fear. In a state of extreme fear, a person might see things that are not possible for them in a normal state. In the Sahifa Sajjadiyyah, in a prayer by Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) for the border guards, there is a reference to this point: “O God, remove the thought of their wives and children from before their eyes so that they do not falter when fighting the enemy.”
Various prayers from Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) have been collected in the book “Sahifa Sajjadiyyah”. Among the prayers found in this book is one that Imam Sajjad offered for the border guards and also against their enemies.
So, in a state of extreme fear, a person might see certain things, but none of these states are the essential factor. This means we should not assume that one must see things in a dream, be hypnotized, or enter a near-death state.
If the soul is capable of observing things in these states, then it can also see them in a waking state, on the condition that it can turn away from this realm.
Just as in a dream we turn away from this realm—meaning, due to the inactivity of our senses, the soul turns toward the supernatural—so too in a state of extreme fear, a person’s senses are almost semi-inactivated due to the immense fear that comes upon them, and the soul is not preoccupied with this world.
Hypnosis is the same: the hypnotist puts a person into a state of hypnosis where their natural perceptive faculties cease to function. As soon as these natural faculties stop, the soul begins to have perceptions of the other side. Now, if we can make these faculties stop functioning in a waking state—how? By focusing our attention on the celestial realm, a person can have perceptions, perhaps a thousand times greater than what they experience in a near-death state, fear, hypnosis, or a dream, and be able to establish a connection with the other side.
So, what is the way for this? How can a person connect with the other side and receive from it?
Allameh said, “The one who possesses ‘Hemat’ (the determination)”
Hemat is the determination of will, the unity of will, the unity of wanting.
What does the unity of wanting mean? It means to want something with one’s entire being.
Have you heard what the old-timers say? “He wants both God and dates!”
That is to say, his determination is fragmented. He wants both this and that. This determination is scattered and dispersed. It has no presence; that is, the soul does not want a single thing. Therefore, its powers are scattered, the energy in the soul becomes multiple, and its power weakens.
Why do they say not to be attached to the world? The reason is that it takes away your determination. If you want this and that, and also God, it will not work.
Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) said: “Whoever makes all of his sorrows one sorrow—that is, the sorrow of the hereafter—the Glorious and Majestic God will remove his worldly sorrows. And whoever’s being is overwhelmed by all kinds of worldly sorrows, God does not care in which of its valleys he is destroyed.”
So you see that the people of gnostic knowledge and the people of the heart pay no attention to the world and are unconcerned with it; they take it as it comes. This is because their determination is concentrated in one direction. Their resolve is focused on one place and wants only one thing: to reach the Truth and the Lord.
Even at higher stations, it is said that a person should not pay attention to spiritual matters. That is, they should not worship for the pleasure of worship, or to achieve spiritual unveilings, the greatest name of God, and so on. Their resolve should become a singular will or want.
Then Allameh said, “turns the soul away from being preoccupied with this worldly realm”
We must first become a determined person, because until we have resolve, we cannot detach. No matter how hard we try, we can’t pull ourselves away. Our Master gives an example regarding the soul and the body:
“The soul opens its wings toward above,” “The body has dug its claws into the earth.”
The body has dug its claws into the ground, and the soul is flapping its wings to separate from this realm. On one side, it’s flapping its wings to separate, and on the other, its claws are dug into the ground. Now, if the wing is strong, it will pull the claw out of the ground. But if it’s weak, no matter how much it flaps its wings, it will only get tired, and the claw won’t come out of the ground. The resolve must be singular, and the preoccupation with the world must be minimal.
Allameh Tabatabai (may God be pleased with him) used to say to “Allameh Hassanzadeh” that the more my spiritual vigilance is during the day, the purer and clearer my spiritual perceptions are at night. But if my vigilance is weak during the day, what I see at night is not very clear and is vague.
Just as you’ve noticed, sometimes dreams are clear and sometimes they’re vague. Spiritual unveilings are the same; sometimes they’re transparent and very clear, and sometimes they’re vague.
Have you ever seen a television that sometimes has a clear picture, but at other times it makes a crackling sound and is full of static, making it difficult to see or hear what it’s saying? Spiritual unveilings are exactly like this.
So, how do we turn the soul away from this realm? Do you remember the words from a few moments ago? In “Word 59,” “Allameh Hassanzadeh” quoted Ibn Sina, who said with eloquent clarity:
“The one who, with his thought, turns toward the sanctity of Divine Power and makes the rising of the Light of the Truth perpetual in his inner being is specifically called a gnostic.”
So, how do we turn the soul away from this realm? By focusing our attention on the other side, in the solitude you have with yourself.
We’ve said that it’s good for a person to set aside fifteen or twenty minutes for themselves at night to turn their attention to the hereafter world, either through prayer, remembrance, or contemplation. We don’t mean just a simple remembrance that a person rattles off quickly and gets done with, or a prayer that’s read fast and finished. We mean a prayer with complete attention.
How do they teach a child to speak? They teach them by saying, “Daaad-dyyy.” They don’t just say, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.” The child can’t understand that way. They put the words into the child’s mouth one by one.
This is how you should place a remembrance in the mouth of your heart.
Say, “There is no god but Allah,” and pay attention to the fact.
Say, “Ya Hay” o “Ya Qayum” (“O Living, O Sustainer,”) and pay attention to this reality. You shouldn’t rush through it. Your soul must pay attention, and your heart must be focused. Afterward, the child of the heart will start to speak on its own. The child of the heart will slowly begin to speak. After a while, it will walk on its own. When a remembrance penetrates the heart, you’ll find that it says, “There is no god but Allah,” on its own. You could be in a conversation, but in your heart, you hear the voice saying, “There is no god but Allah,” “O Allah,” “Glorified, Most Holy.” After a while, the heart comes to remembrance; that is, the child of the heart begins to speak.
When a person enters this path and turns their attention toward the sanctum of Divine Power and toward the Exalted Truth, “Tamasulat” (symbolic visions) will gradually begin to manifest in different states.
It’s said that the two states in which this most often occurs at the beginning of the path are: during the recitation of the Quran and during gatherings for supplicating to Aba Abdillah al-Hussein (Imam Hussain (A)). A person receives the most manifestations in these two situations. So, when his connection is gradually established, what does he see from the other side?!
What is a “Tamasul” (symbolic or example vision)? They are symbolic or celestial forms. A person sees humans, angels, or Imams. He hears conversations, sees lights, and witnesses scenes from heaven and hell, as well as other such things that exist. But sometimes he perceives realities without a form. He perceives realities that have no symbolic form. So, what is the nature of this perception? A person must experience these for themselves to understand them—to perceive a reality that has no form.
For example, a person sees the flow of life in this world. Well, how can he say what he saw?! There’s no longer a form or a sound. These types of unveilings are much higher than visions with forms or figures.
In one of the points from the book A Thousand and One Points, “Allameh Hassanzadeh” says: Sometimes spiritual attractions come to a person in a form, and sometimes they approach the seeker without a form. When the attraction comes without a form, it does to the seeker what a storm does to a blade of straw.
That state is something that cannot be expressed; that is, it is beyond verbal communication. This is why, at times, the ancient Sufis would perform spiritual dancing.
Once, “Allameh Hassanzadeh” said in a tone of protest: “Such and such a gnostic performed spiritual dancing (referring to great figures). How is it possible for a gnostic of such greatness to dance? What does it mean for a gnostic to flail his hands and dance in a crowd? Sometimes a person experiences ecstatic states where they lose control of themselves. They leap up and kiss the walls, doors, and the ground, and caress the sun. This is different from a place where people clap and play a reed flute, and this person dances.”
That is, the spirit is so agitated that the body can no longer restrain it. But things like dancing and spiritual music are for the ancient Sufis; even today, there are still dervishes who have displays with drums and reed flutes. But sometimes, when a spiritual attraction occurs, the person loses control of themselves.
We have a tradition from Imam Ali (A) that an arrow was lodged in his foot and caused so much pain that a surgeon could not remove it. The Messenger of God (S) said: “Remove the arrow from his foot during prayer, as he will not notice.” When he went into prayer, the surgeon came and removed the arrow and dressed the wound. When Imam Ali came to himself, he saw that the prayer niche was covered in blood. He asked, “What is this?” They said, “We removed the arrow from your foot, and you didn’t notice.”
Well, what is this? Of course, a person has different states. At one moment, in prayer, he gives a ring in charity, and at another moment, they pull an arrow from his foot, and he does not notice. At one moment, he is so ecstatic that he leaps up. At another moment, he loses consciousness and falls to the ground.
For example, a person saw Imam Ali (A) praying in a date grove. He let out a cry and fell to the ground. The man went to him and found his body was stiff. He went to his house, and Lady Fatima Zahra (A) came to the door. He said, “Your husband, Ali, has passed away.”
Lady Fatima asked, “In what state did he pass away?” The man replied, “I saw him praying in a trance, then he let out a cry and fell to the ground.” Lady Fatima replied, “That’s fine, it’s nothing to worry about.” The narrator notes that she herself was “aware of the states of Imam Ali.” She said, “Imam Ali has many of these states. He is not dead; he will get up again.” The man later says that after a few hours, he saw Imam Ali return to his normal state.
This is the state of someone who has turned his attention to the other side and who has perceptions and sees things from that side. These people are the “Awlyia” (saints). They are not comparable to scholars and scientists. The perceptions, connections, and links that the saints have with the other side are beyond comparison with scholars and people of knowledge. We cannot say that they are all on the same level and that one is just “higher.” It’s not like that. Someone who has become connected with the other side and has these kinds of connections and links is beyond these words and discussions.
So, sometimes, it’s a state where a person sees a hadith being read to them, or they see a hadith themselves, and they observe things in symbolic visions. They meet with the spirits of prophets, angels, saints, and the companions of the Imams, and so on. The things on this path are so numerous that a person cannot count all that he sees. He gains knowledge and receives insights from them, and connects with scholars.
But at other times, there is no symbolic vision in between; it is the unveiling of realities. He tastes and witnesses formless realities, which are very heavy.
Allameh Hassanzadeh in “1001 Notes” said, Everyone sees dreams in their life. Once, in the world of dreams, I received a golden tablet from a lithly hand, on which was written in the most beautiful, luminous, and shining script, with gold water: “O Hasan, take the Book with power.”
I also once saw my late master, Ayatollah Hajj Sheikh Mohammad Taqi Amoli, who, among other gifts and presents, said to me: “The Oneness of God is to forget all but God.” And another time in the world of dreams, my late master, the comprehensive scholar of rational and transmitted sciences, Aqa Sheikh Mohammad Hossein, known as Fazel Touni, said to me: “The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: ‘The knowledge of wisdom is the core of knowledge. ‘“.
Dreams of this kind, where verses and traditions were cast upon me, have happened before, and I have separately recorded them in my memoir. However, none of them were as astonishing to me as these two events: one night in a dream, I saw a manuscript with a specific name, a certain kind of cover, and some damage. The very next day, a traveling bookseller brought me that book, and in reality, the description of the book in the dream and in wakefulness was the same. I have written the details of this in the memoir as mentioned earlier.
And another time, when the first volume of the book Taklamah Minhaj al-Bara’a was finished, the commentary on sermon 236 was complete, the end of which reads: “Protect the furthest borders of Islam.” The book was ready for printing when one of my acquaintances fell ill and wrote to me, asking me to visit. He also mentioned a dream he had about me.
I went to visit him, and he said to me, “Sir, I saw you in a dream, and we had traveled together until we came out of a tunnel. Next to that tunnel was a very beautiful meadow and a delightful place. You went there and sat down, busy with writing. I looked at your hand to see what you were writing, and this phrase caught my eye: ‘Protect.’“ I have written the details of this in the second volume of Taklamah Minhaj al-Bara’a.
Imam Sajjad (A) said: “God invites His saints to asceticism so that their hearts may be free for Him.” This means they should have no worldly preoccupations, and their hearts should be completely for God, so that their determination may become a singular resolve.
We’ve read a lot that “knowledge of the self is knowledge of the Lord.” But how? Does this mean that by reading the book, we come to know God? Is knowledge of the self a path of intellectual reasoning and proofs? That intellectual knowledge of the self gives you only an intellectual knowledge of monotheism.
But the knowledge of the self mentioned in the saying, “Whoever knows himself has truly known his Lord,” is experiential. When a person knows himself experientially, he gains knowledge of his God. Belief in God differs from knowledge of God.
Most people do not know God; they have belief, even scholars—that is, those who are not “people of experiential witnessing.” They only know that a God exists, even if they are an Ayatollah. If they have not reached a state of experiential witnessing, they only have a belief in God—that a God exists, and He is powerful and exalted.
Knowledge of God is obtained when a person achieves knowledge of himself experientially. So, how can one reach this experiential state? How do we gain knowledge of ourselves? By what path is knowledge of the self achieved?
The answer is: “Who am I?” That is the beginning of the path of self-knowledge. But when does this question genuinely arise so that a person truly says, “Who am I?” When he truly sees himself as lost.
Self-knowledge is achieved through complete attention to the Exalted Truth, God. This is because we are so immersed in the world of nature that we consider all things to be independent. If you ask someone, “Who are you?” they say, “I am myself,” because they consider themselves independent. If you ask, “What is a wall?” he says, “A wall is a wall.” But a monotheist does not say, “I am myself.”
So, the only way is to pay attention to God. Be mindful that the more you focus on God, both in private and in public, the more you’ll achieve self-knowledge.
Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that a particular action or a particular remembrance will get a person there. The key to all actions is attention. The only thing that will get a person there is attention to monotheism, attention to the Truth. These practices and remembrances are all just tools to help a person turn their attention toward the other side.
May the Glorious God grant all of us the success of being in His presence and perceiving His presence.
Muhammad Mahdi Me’marian
All praise is to God to the extent that He deserves it.
