BB00075: Suriy-i-Tawhid (Commentary on the Surah of Tawhid)

Introduction

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

All praise be to God Who sendeth down His Command in the Book in a measure beyond reckoning. I bear witness that there is no God but Him, as befitteth His station and as He deserveth, in such wise that none can know how He is save Him alone—glorified and exalted be He above all that they may describe. And I bear witness to Muhammad and the family of God according to what God hath willed and ordained for them—verily He is the Mighty, the Loving.

To continue: I have read thy letter and noted thy gracious supplication, and I now answer what thou hast asked regarding the interpretation of the Surih of Unity. Know thou the truth of what God hath sent down upon thee from the clouds of His grace concerning His unity. For God hath spoken, and His word is the truth, though none hath truly appreciated God as He deserveth.

Introduction

Know thou that this Surih is the spirit of the Qur’an and the cause of the revelation of utterance, and upon it turn all universal causes pertaining to whatsoever beareth the name of a thing. Make thyself ready for the meeting with thy Lord, for the appointed time is near, very near, and the manifestations of the days of Revelation are swifter than all else.

God hath desired naught from the expression of unity save the word of glorification, and from it naught save the word of praise, and from it naught save the word of His oneness, and from it naught save the word of His greatness. For the unity of the Divine Essence, as established in the beginning and end of the Command, is impossible for any created thing to attain, nor can any claim “I am capable of this,” for such a statement would be pure falsehood and manifest untruth, and can only operate within its own rank.

For His Essential Being is pure, primordial simplicity, which by its very essence severs all from the mention of knowledge. And the manifestation of His Essence is eternal effulgence which by its very nature separates all contingent things from the station of utterance. Whoso saith, “He is He,” hath verily attained unto the boundary of possibility in the epiphany of origination; and whoso saith, “Verily, He is Thou,” hath recognized the loci of the Cause within the manifestations of entities. Glorified be God—thy Lord, the Lord of Might—above all that they ascribe unto Him!

Tawhid in the inward ruling

Know, then, regarding the Pre-eternal Essence, that His manifestation is the very same as His concealment, and His concealment the very same as His manifestation. He hath ever been, and there hath been naught beside Him; and now is He even as He hath ever been, and there is nothing with Him. He hath ascribed the Names of His power unto Himself by reason of their nobility and the need of all for them.

The likeness of the Surih of Unity is even as the Ka’bah—the House of God, exalted and glorified—in the world of origination:

“Thou seest no disharmony in the creation of the All-Merciful; return thy gaze: canst thou see any fissure? Then return thy gaze [again]…”

Such is God’s decree in the station of exposition, which the men of the Heights have recognized by the light of certitude.

Tawhid in the outward ruling

And when there shineth the scintillation of the flashes of those words, know thou that Unity—its outward is the very same as its inward, and its inward the very same as its outward—and it hath no orientation save to indicate oneness and to recount singleness. Thou beholdest this Surih as the very Word of Unity: shouldst thou espy therein any matter devoid of the appearance of Oneness, thou art undone—for thou hast gone forth from the ordinance of Unity and veiled thyself from the sign of Singleness.

In that station, all the letters of this Surih are the letter ha’, and all its meanings are the meaning of the alif manifest in the five stations. Yet let it not occur to thy mind that this is a ruling apart from the sensible outward. Understanding cannot comprehend Him, for the letter waw’ is different from ha’, and likewise is the ruling for the remaining letters. Nay, by thy life, if thine eye were like heated iron, thou wouldst see in the outward the same as the inward ruling, even as Ali said in the Tutunjiyyih Sermon: “I saw God and Paradise with mine own eyes.” And the Prince of Martyrs—may my spirit and all within the kingdom of command and creation be a sacrifice for him—said: “Hath other than Thee any manifestation that Thou needest it to manifest Thee?” And the Imam said: “No light is seen except His light, and no voice is heard except His voice.” And verily this is the outward ruling which is the same as the inward, and between them there is no connection nor anything else.

Seven stations of Tawhid

When thou hast understood what We have caused to shine upon thee from the light of the Primal Morn of Eternity upon the dawning-place of thy reality and the mystery of thy heart and the temple of thine oneness manifested unto thee through thee in the secret of thine essence, then know that Unity hath seven manifestations which in truth indicate naught but Him: First is the station of the Point, the station of Muhammad; then the Hidden Alif, the station of Ali; then the Soft Alif, the station of Hasan; then the Unconjoined Alif, the station of Husayn; then the station of the Conjoined Alif, the station of the Proof; then the station of the Letters, the Imams; then the station of the Word, the station of Fatima.

And these seven have manifestations in the station of revelation: of the Essence, Attributes, Deeds and Worship, which yield from the Word twenty-eight stations, corresponding to the letters of existence through which all being, both unseen and seen, is established. And none hath any portion therein save as God hath ordained for them. Verily, He is the Mighty, the Exalted.

Seven more stations of Tawhid

When thou hast understood these seven ordinances, then be thou assured that the unity of all other existences is but a shadow of a shade in relation to the manifestation of the station of the Word in the station of the shadow, naught else. And verily it hath infinite ranks which none can reckon save God, as one of the possessors of wisdom hath said:

“The paths to God are as numerous as the breaths of creation.”

Yet they are encompassed by certain stations, among them the rank of the Prophets and Successors, who stand in the station of the manifestation of the Word in the station of the Point; then the believers among mankind, who stand in the station of the Hidden Alif radiating from the Word; then the angels, who stand in the station of the unity of the Soft Alif; then the believing jinn, who stand in the station of the Unconjoined Alif; then the pure believing animals, who stand in the station of the Conjoined Alif; then the plants, which stand in the station of the Letters; then the minerals, which tell of the station of the Word.

And for each of these ranks among its people flows the horizontal chain and the right of shadowhood in relation to the countenance of the Essential, and the absence of connection between the station of effect with the station above it.

Were I to remove the veil from the face of these matters, it would cause some people to exit from unity and others to enter into it, but God hath not willed this for this Day, for Ali ibn Al-Husayn said: “I conceal the jewels of my knowledge lest the ignorant should see them and be led into confusion.” And before him in this matter Abu’l-Hasan unto Husayn, and the Successor before him, Hasan declared: “If I were to reveal the essence of knowledge that I possess, some would say ʿYou are among those who worship idols.’ Muslims would deem my blood lawful to shed, considering their most reprehensible acts as virtuous.”

And the Messenger of God said:

“If Abu Dharr knew what was in Salman’s heart, he would kill him.”

Yet it is incumbent upon all to acquire knowledge of it through our allusions which are expressed through clear exposition and which speak with the highest proofs possible to attain. None is permitted to lift the veil from the temples of faith.

Seven further stations

In this Surah, the Word of Identity is the station of the Point, which is “He.” Then the Name of Glory is the station of the manifestation of the Hidden Alif which points to God, glorified be He. Then the Name of Unity is the station of the Flexible Alif which points to God, glorified be He. Then the Unconnected Alif is the station of the Name of Glory before the manifestation of the Divine Eternality. Then the Connected Alif is the station of the the Name of Divine Eternality which points to God, glorified be He. Then the station of the Letters is the station of the Names of Transcendence. Then the station of the Word is the station of establishing Divine Unity, that “there is none like unto Him.”

Thus did the Imam say:

“We are God’s Most Beautiful Names, without knowledge of whom God accepts no one’s deeds. Through us is God worshipped and through us is God known,”

etc.

And Husayn, in his interpretation of this Surah, said that the meaning of “He is God” and the meaning of “One, the Eternal”—Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyih was asked about “the Eternal” and he said: “Ali said the interpretation of ʿthe Eternal’ is: no name, no body, no likeness, no similitude, no form, no image, no limit, no bounds, no position, no place, no where, no how, no here, no fullness, no emptiness, no standing, no sitting, no stillness, no motion, no darkness, no light, no spirit, no self, no place is void of Him yet no place contains Him, no color, no thought of heart, no scent of fragrance—He is beyond all these things.”

The commentary

(“Qul”)

This is the meaning of the reality that no meaning of allusions can equal, nor can any ruling in the evidences match it. None can encompass its knowledge save he who knows the domains of the divine attributes and reaches the depths of true knowledge. For there one witnesses the decree with clear vision for the elucidation of the exposition.

This is the meaning of the Command in the First Word, which was the word “Say: God encompasses His Word through His wisdom.” But in the outward path, these seeds of meaning are not devoid of saying either from your Lord to your Lord, or from your Lord to yourself, or from yourself to your Lord, or from your Lord to another, or from yourself to another, or from the station of limitation which is other than you to another.

These are the highest meanings, all of which return to a single ruling: that God has described Himself through these Names that you might call upon Him through them as He deserves. The letter Qaf points to His power, which nothing in the heavens or earth can frustrate. The letter Lam points to the banner of His sovereign Self-Subsistence which encompasses all created things. Its number is the number of “In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate” and the Most Exalted Name, for it is the first name God chose for Himself.

Know then what I have made known to you of the manifestation of meanings—is the first station of distinction between the Beloved and the lover. Then know that this Name is, in terms of numerical value, equal to the number of God’s Name “the All-Sufficient,” and it is the red elixir in the station of vengeance.

This Name appears in the Qur’an in nine places, concerning which the Prophet has said: “Whosoever recites these verses seventy times for any need, God will fulfill his need forthwith.” These verses, after the Bismillah, are: “Sufficient is God as a Guardian,” “Sufficient is God as a Helper,” “Sufficient is God as a Reckoner,” “Sufficient is God as One Who knoweth,” “Sufficient is God as a Protector,” “Sufficient is God as a Witness,” “Sufficient is thy Lord as a Guide and a Helper,” “Sufficient is He as One Who is aware of the sins of His servants,” and “Sufficient was God for the believers in their fight. And God is All-Powerful, All-Mighty.”

And if thou hast an enemy, prostrate thyself at the end of night upon clay from Husayn’s grave and say in thy prostration one hundred times:

“O Subduer of the oppressors! O Subduer of the tyrants! Verily, such and such a person hath wronged me, so take from him my right, and God will exact vengeance from him forthwith. Sufficient is He as a Guardian for the believers.”

(“Huwa”)

Each letter of these letters possesseth a meaning, to which I now allude with a hint of reality. It is the Greatest Name and the mystic symbol: none hath ever invoked God therewith—purely for His countenance—but God hath answered him; on condition, however, that he behold the Name of the Unseen in the third word of the Name which God created in four parts, as the Imam hath said:

“Verily God, blessed and exalted be He, created the names of letters unvoiced, unspoken in utterance, unembodied in form, unlike aught else, uncolored in hue, removed from all directions, beyond all bounds, veiled from the imagination of every thinker, concealed yet unconcealed. He made it a perfect Word of four parts together, none preceding the other. Of these He manifested three names which creation needed, and concealed one—the Hidden and Treasured Name. These names which appeared—the Manifest is God, blessed and exalted be He. And He, glorified be He, subjected to each of these names four pillars, thus making twelve pillars. Then He created for each pillar thirty names as deeds attributed to them.”

(“Allahu”)

After this cometh the Name of Majesty—al-Jalalah—the Name of the Identity that ruleth over whatsoever is subtle or gross. Its numeric value is sixty-six by the great reckoning, twelve by the middle, and three by the small.

(“Ahad”)

Then followeth the Name of God, al-Ahad—the Name of Oneness to which our Master ʿAli (peace be upon him) alluded in his supplication:

“O God, cause me to enter the ocean of Thy Oneness and the surging deep of Thy Unicity.”

What is intended is not the Divine Essence, but the manifestation of Oneness unveiled in the realm of Lahut. Its value is thirteen by the great reckoning, and four by both the middle and the small.

(“Allahu”)

Thereafter cometh the Name of God, the Most Great—concerning whose meaning I have aforetime intimated somewhat of its ordinances. And this Name, in the rank of Identity, is set behind the court of the Pre-eternal Nearness, in relation to the Name al-Awwal (the First), by a single veil.

(“al-Samad”)

Then there is the name of God, al-Samad, whose meaning signifies that all are cut off from the path—nothing enters into it and nothing emerges from it, and He is the Most Great, the Most High.

The Imam hath expounded, in his interpretation of “As-Samad” as recorded in Al-Kafi from Jabir, who said: “I asked Abu Ja’far concerning the nature of Divine Unity, whereupon he stated that God, blessed and exalted be He, through His Names by which He is invoked, and exalted in the heights of His Essence, is One, unified in His unity through His unification. He then caused this to flow through His creation. Thus He is One, All-Compelling, Most Holy, whom all things worship and unto whom all things turn, and He encompasseth all things in knowledge.”

And verily its numerical value is one hundred and thirty-four by the greater reckoning, and by the middle reckoning seventeen, and by the lesser reckoning eight (14). Recite it at all times, for it hath a hidden influence before God. These five Names are the stages of unity for the people of Paradise in the station of description. When thou dost consider them together with the three Names of transcendence, thou shalt plainly behold the gates of Paradise.

(“lam yalida”)

This is His exalted Word: “He begetteth not,” whose numerical value is one hundred and fourteen.

God hath intended by this word to sanctify His Essence from the description of causation, in refutation of those who made the Essence the Cause of causes. For the cause is His creation, and He hath no cause, even as He hath caused the tongues of His chosen ones to proclaim. Were the Essence to be the cause, this would necessitate conjunction and similarity. Glorified and exalted be He! He hath originated the Will from nothing through itself, and made it the cause of all else, without anything proceeding from His Essence unto it. Glorified and exalted be He far above what they who liken Him to His creation say concerning His knowledge!

(“wa lam yulad”)

Then His exalted Word: “nor is He begotten,” whose numerical value by the known greater reckoning is one hundred and twenty. The intent thereof is His sanctification from any connection or conjunction with all things, in refutation of those who imagine a connection between Truth and creation. Exalted be God above this! Nothing emergeth from Him even as nothing entereth into Him. He is pure Truth, absolute pristine Essence, the very essence of camphor, and all else is creation. Between them there is no connection, nor is there aught else besides them.

Verily, they who imagine concerning the judgment of the Essence the word of connection, it is as though they have associated partners with their Lord and denied the word of unity in this Surah. No portion of knowledge have they, and if they repent not unto their Lord, their abode shall be the fire of hell, though today they perceive it not.

(“wa lam yakun lahu kufuan ahad”)

Then His mighty and exalted Word: “nor is there any equal unto Him”—three hundred and eleven. God hath sent down this word and its like in the Qur’an to sweep clean hearts and imaginings, and to dispel the falsehoods of souls and bodies, for they have imagined in the forms of darkness that which hath no reality in the writing of the most high. Otherwise, God hath no equal nor partner that must needs be denied. Rather, this pure sanctification and absolute transcendence in the station of negation before God is like the description of the servant in the station of attribution, as in His exalted Word “Say: He is God, the One,” without any aspect of partnership or unity.

Just as God hath revealed in His word “God, the All-Compelling” for the affirmation of hearts, and His words “God, the All-Sustaining” were revealed to establish hearts in the recognition of His all-sustaining nature. Likewise did God reveal the words “and there is none like unto Him” to address whatever vain and false imaginings might arise in minds. For verily God, exalted and glorified be He, is far more mighty, glorious and great than to be known through attributes or exalted through falsehood, since light and darkness are alike before Him, both being created within His dominion, both pointing to the perfection of His handiwork, and both returning to the bounds of His creation. As Ali stated in the Orphaned Sermon: “If you say ʿfrom what is He?’ then He is distinct from all things, for He is He…”

It is incumbent upon the servant to exalt his Creator and sanctify his Lord above every attribute, whether known or unknown to His creation, for these are utter non-existence and pure falsehood before Him. The same applies to power and similar praised attributes and most beautiful names. Such is the judgment of the people of the utterance.

Thus did Ali, peace be upon him, say:

“The beginning of religion is the knowledge of God; the perfection of knowing Him is to testify to His unity; the perfection of His unity is to deny Him attributes, as every attribute testifies that it is other than that which is described, and that which is described testifies that it is other than the attribute. The two testify to comparison, which is impossible for the Pre-existent. So whoever describes God has limited Him; whoever limits Him has numbered Him; whoever numbers Him has invalidated His eternity. Whoever asks how?’ has sought to describe Him; whoever asks in what?’ has contained Him; whoever asks on what?’ has shown ignorance of Him; whoever asks where?’ has excluded Him; whoever asks what is He?’ has described Him; whoever asks to what?’ has given Him a purpose. He is Knowing when there was nothing to be known, Creator when there was nothing created, Lord when there was nothing to be lorded over. Such is our Lord, far above what those who describe can describe.”

When you understand what I have taught you of the sprinklings from the ocean of abstraction and drops from the depths of unity, you will know that when you recite the Surih of Unity, your Lord describes Himself to you through you, by what He has originated within you, through what He has manifested to you through your own essence, without manner or indication. Were you to look with true vision and were God to remove the veil from the face of your heart, you would behold the stations of the people of the eight Paradises in this Surih, and the portion of each one of them, and what God has ordained for them of eternal, never-ending bounty. But today you are not worthy of that. Seek forgiveness of God your Lord. For the like of this let the workers work. Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe. And peace be upon the Messengers. And praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.