"And how many signs in the heavens and the earth do they pass by? Yet they turn their faces away from them!" Quran 12:105
"Allah swt says, ‘Why do you not look into yourself and meditate upon your own structure?’
The lord of the worlds has recorded many fine points of wisdom and realities of handiwork with the pen of eternal gentleness upon the tablet of this structure. Upon it He has inscribed various kinds of artistry and different varieties of ennoblement. He made the round head, the tent of intellect and the meeting place of knowledge, into a monastery of the senses. If anyone has considered this hollow structure, this compound person, to have any worth, he has done so because of the person’s intellect and knowledge. The worth of a human being lies in intellect and his importance in knowledge, his perfection in intellect and his beauty in knowledge.
Allah swt created the forehead of the human being like a bar of silver. He strung the two bows of his eyebrows with pure musk. He poured the two dots of his eye’s light into two cups of darkness. He made a hundred thousand red roses grow up in the garden of his two cheeks. He concealed thirty-two teeth like pearls in the oyster shell of his mouth. He sealed his mouth with glistening agate. From the beginning of his lip to the end of his throat He created twenty-nine waystations, making them the places of articulation for the twenty-nine letters. From his heart He brought a king into existence, from his breast a royal parade ground, from his aspiration a fleet-footed mount, from his thought a swift messenger. He created two taking hands and two running feet.
All the aforementioned is but the robe of creation and the beauty of the outward realm. Beyond this is the perfection and beauty of the inward realm. For a moment ponder the Lord’s subtleties and kindnesses and the traces of the divine solicitude and care that have arranged this handful of earth. Look at the different kinds of honour and the special privileges of nearness that He has placed within human beings. For He created the whole cosmos, but He looked not upon a single creature with the eye of love, He sent not a single messenger to any existent thing, He sent no message to any creature. When the turn of the children of Adam arrived, He pulled them up through gentleness and caressed them through bounty and quarries of light. He made their inmost mystery the place of His own glance, He sent them messengers, He set angels over them as guardians, He placed the fire of love in their hearts, and He sent them continuous incitements to yearning and motives for desire.
The purpose of all these words and allusions is to show that a human being is a handful of earth. Whatever ennoblement and honour people have received derives from the gentleness and care of the holy Lord. When He gives, He gives because of His own generosity, not because of your worthiness. He gives because of His magnanimity, not because of your prostration. He gives through His bounty, not because of your good works. He gives because He is Lord, not because you are lord of the manor."
Rashid al-Din Maybudi
The lord of the worlds has recorded many fine points of wisdom and realities of handiwork with the pen of eternal gentleness upon the tablet of this structure. Upon it He has inscribed various kinds of artistry and different varieties of ennoblement. He made the round head, the tent of intellect and the meeting place of knowledge, into a monastery of the senses. If anyone has considered this hollow structure, this compound person, to have any worth, he has done so because of the person’s intellect and knowledge. The worth of a human being lies in intellect and his importance in knowledge, his perfection in intellect and his beauty in knowledge.
Allah swt created the forehead of the human being like a bar of silver. He strung the two bows of his eyebrows with pure musk. He poured the two dots of his eye’s light into two cups of darkness. He made a hundred thousand red roses grow up in the garden of his two cheeks. He concealed thirty-two teeth like pearls in the oyster shell of his mouth. He sealed his mouth with glistening agate. From the beginning of his lip to the end of his throat He created twenty-nine waystations, making them the places of articulation for the twenty-nine letters. From his heart He brought a king into existence, from his breast a royal parade ground, from his aspiration a fleet-footed mount, from his thought a swift messenger. He created two taking hands and two running feet.
All the aforementioned is but the robe of creation and the beauty of the outward realm. Beyond this is the perfection and beauty of the inward realm. For a moment ponder the Lord’s subtleties and kindnesses and the traces of the divine solicitude and care that have arranged this handful of earth. Look at the different kinds of honour and the special privileges of nearness that He has placed within human beings. For He created the whole cosmos, but He looked not upon a single creature with the eye of love, He sent not a single messenger to any existent thing, He sent no message to any creature. When the turn of the children of Adam arrived, He pulled them up through gentleness and caressed them through bounty and quarries of light. He made their inmost mystery the place of His own glance, He sent them messengers, He set angels over them as guardians, He placed the fire of love in their hearts, and He sent them continuous incitements to yearning and motives for desire.
The purpose of all these words and allusions is to show that a human being is a handful of earth. Whatever ennoblement and honour people have received derives from the gentleness and care of the holy Lord. When He gives, He gives because of His own generosity, not because of your worthiness. He gives because of His magnanimity, not because of your prostration. He gives through His bounty, not because of your good works. He gives because He is Lord, not because you are lord of the manor."
Rashid al-Din Maybudi
2 comments:
Wow, really lovely and profound. Thank you for posting it, dear Brother :)
Ya Haqq!
Happy New Year to you and your family, brother :) May Allah bless you all with health, happiness, and ever increasing love and wisdom. Ameen.
Ya Haqq!
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