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Hadith by the Kamil Shaikh How the Souls Made the Choice Between Good and Evil (Khair and Sharr) in the Beginning, in Awwal Only God will know the glory of God. Only God will know His power and His creation. Amin. Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Children of the compassion of my love! Here is some information vital to your wisdom and mine. We must analyze and scrutinize this, using the clarity of the wisdom of your perception, and come to a clear understanding. My children! We are mankind (insan), those who have been created as the most exalted beings by the compassion of Allah’s love. It is our belief that Allahu ta’ala Nayan sent down to the noble Prophet Muhammad 6,666 verses (ayat), which are the divine word of the Thiru Qur’an, (1) and that these divine verses were sent down in the Arabic language to the scripture called Furqan (Islam). And we believe this to be true. However, the inhabitants of ash-Sham (Syria) believed that the Qur’an should be divided into 6,250 verses. In the opinion of the people of al-Kufah there are 6,236 verses. This was also the number in earlier copies of the Qur’an printed in both India and Egypt. People of al-Basrah expressed certainty that there are 6,216 verses. Ibn Mas’ud believed that there are 6,218 verses. According to Isma’il ibn Ja’far’s opinion, the number of verses is 6,214. Some people in Iraq express certainty that there are 6,214 verses, while some residents of Mecca are certain that there are 6,212 verses. (2) Despite the differences in the reckonings regarding the number of verses, there is absolutely no difference of opinion concerning the letters, the sentences, or number of chapters. Therefore, the differences regarding the number of verses have not increased or decreased the contents of the Qur’an by a single letter or word or sentence. Although there is such a divergence in the reckoning of the number of verses, the most common opinion is that it is exactly 6,666. Of these, the most renowned source is the noble lady, Mother ‘A’ishah, the wife of the Holy Prophet . The Qur’an has been subjected to more extensive scrutiny than any other religious text in the entire world. People have gone to the extent of counting the number of alifs (a’s), ba’s (b’s), ta’s (t’s), etc. (3) and even the number of dots (nuqat) and diacritical marks above and below the letters (fathah, kasrah, dammah, etc.), which indicate the correct pronunciation, stress, etc. As a result of all this scrutiny, a vast amount of literature has been written about the Qur’an. Since it has been analyzed so minutely from the very beginning, it is not possible for anyone at any time to change a sentence, a word, a letter, or even as must as a dot or mark. No one can either add or subtract even the minutest particle. In this way, it is protected from alteration by its diacritical marks—which were placed there to show the way to correctly pronounce the words. (4) This we should understand, we who are human beings (insan)—the Qur’an remains unchanged, no matter how many counts are made. Further, my children, the Qur’an tells us how we can bring into practice the meaning contained in its verses. In addition to understanding these meanings, we must also be aware of the explanations resonated by these verses—explanations that reveal the subtle meaning and significance contained therein. Let us now consider a matter arising from one of the explanations in the Qur’an. Both khair and sharr (good and evil) were created for us by Allah Himself, as far back in awwal, the very beginning of creation. Allahu ta’ala Nayan’s divine words tell us this in one of the verses, and we who are insan (mankind), the noblest of His creations, now know this. There are other verses that tell us the same thing. Allahu ta’ala Nayan manifested all the lives and all of everything, as well as all that is good and evil within each of them, in awwal, the time of creation. And with the certitude of our wisdom we now know that everything happens in keeping with this. Further, Allahu ta’ala Nayan manifested the soul, the ruh, (along with its clarity, its light, its appearance, and its resplendence) in the most beautiful form—as good, or khair. He made the soul shine and resplend within Himself at the beginning, in awwal, and then, gathering all the souls in front of Him, He looked at them and said, “I am your Lord, your Rabb who created you, and you are the treasure that is My khair, or good. Will you have certitude in Me? Look at Me and answer.” Thereupon, all the souls (which were His khair) looked at Him and exclaimed, “Ya Rabb! You are our Lord! You are our Allah!” So said all the souls with certitude, in awwal, the time of creation. If we attempt to speak about Allah’s khair and its consequences, we will find it has millions upon millions of meanings. Therefore, while it is necessary to speak about it, we will not expand upon it at this stage, but only try to understand a small part of it. So it was that in awwal the souls, which were khair (good), looked at their Lord and said, “O our Lord! Our Rabb! We have no Lord but You! We have never seen or known anything like You. We will not believe in any Lord other than You. Nor will we have certitude in any other. We have no help apart from You, You who are One, our Lord who created us. It is Your help that will be our plenitude in whatever birth we take or whatever form we assume. You alone will be our Lord, who exists without any equal or any partner.” So said all the souls (which were the good, the khair) with certitude, determination, and faith, as they bowed in humble, reverent worship before their Lord. Upon seeing this, the One who is the Lord looked at them and said, “O souls, you who are My khair (My good)! There are still some important things you have to know about Me. For this reason, in awwal itself I created countless millions upon millions of things called dhat (My essence), sifat (the creations), asrar (My secrets), khair (good), and sharr (evil). I brought you forth from Me in a most exalted mold, so that you might come to know their significance, their resonance, and their good and evil, and also come to know Me and you. Thus I fashioned you as a resplendent light that is My khair so that you will learn the explanations about Me, about you (My khair), and about the delusion (mayakkam) caused by the darkness of illusion (nafsaniyat) stemming from the world I created, with is sharr (evil). Our of My khair (good) I will create My dhat, sifat, sirr, and sharr, (5) bring you forth as My sifat, and place you within them so that you may shine as My sirr (secret) and can understand and know My khair and sharr. “Once you have understood all this, you must (since you are My good), come to know your Lord. Therefore, I will create a form out of the substances of My creation (sifat), and I will install My secret (sirr) within that form. Also within that form I will place you, the soul (which is My khair, or good), the dhat (which is My essence), and the sharr, or evil (which is the dark intoxication of illusion caused by earth). All this I had fashioned earlier, in awwal arwah, the divine realm, the realm of the souls. “O ruh, O soul that is My khair! I will create form, using some of My created things (the five elements) and install you within that form. You must go to the world (dunya), which is My secret (sirr), learn about the things that are My khair (good) and the things that are sharr (evil), and obtain a clear understanding of both.” Allah said further, “O soul, O ruh! You are My good treasure, My khair! Even so, you must try to gain understanding, through the resonance of the explanation provided by the grace of My essence (dhat). Now I am going to show you two things. You must tell Me which of the two you choose.” So saying, Allah placed His secret (sirr) and the evil (sharr) in front of the souls that were His good (khair). When the souls saw this, they asked, “O our Lord (Rabb)! What are these two things?” To this Allah replied, “O souls! (6) One is the dunya, the earth-world, which is My secret (sirr). The other is the glitter of the darkness of illusion, the nafsaniyat, which is the evil (sharr). My secret (sirr) is a dull earthen pot, while the evil (sharr) is a shining copper pot with the glitters of illusion. They were both created by Me in awwal arwah at the same time you were created as the good (khair). Now, which of these two vessels would you like to choose? Do you want the earthen pot that is My secret? Or do you prefer the shining pot made of the glitters that shine in the darkness of illusion?” Upon hearing this, some of the souls pleaded, “O our Rabb! Our Allah! May You explain to us the characteristics of these two and the significance and consequences relating to each of them.” Upon hearing this, Allahu ta’ala Nayan looked at the souls, His khair, and replied, “O souls! Here is the earthen pot. It is My sirr, My secret. With this earth I will create all things—things that are complete. All the secrets of My essence (dhat) are buried within this earth, and with this earth I will manifest all the things that are My sifat (creations). I will protect those sifat, nourish them, and use them to nurture those that are My khair (good). Only those that are My good will have the capacity to realize this secret. If you understand this secret, you will learn all the secrets of My essence and will understand Me and also the good and the evil I created. When those who are the good come to realize both the secret and the evil clearly and understand their meanings, and, upon realizing the secret, if they discard the evil—on that day, they will rejoin Me and come to resplend within Me, the Rabb who created them, once again. “The creations who have this understanding will receive, in the beginning, at the very time of awwal, this earthen pot, which is My sirr, as a secret from Me. Such people (who accept the earthen pot) will undergo untold difficulties in this world, the dunya. They will be slandered and ostracized by those who are evil. And those evil ones will torment My secret (sirr), the grace that is My essence (dhat), you souls who are My good (khair), and Me, their Creator. Because of this, those who choose the earthen pot, (My essence, My secret) may have to pay the price of not even having a place to live in this world, which is My sirr. “I cannot describe to you the extent of the distress and difficulties that will befall those who choose the earthen pot. Those who are evil (sharr) will inflict so much suffering upon them. But those souls, using the grace that is My essence, will bear their afflictions with patience (sabur) and contentment (shakur) and will surrender everything to Me (tawakkul). They are the ones who, in the beginning, in awwal, chose the earthen pot, My secret. Such people will strive hard to shake off the terrible hells that are My evil and the nafsaniyat (dark torpor caused by illusion) associated with it. And they will succeed. The meaning of this, its significance, and its consequences cannot be explained fully at this stage. When you come to understand My secret, My sirr, you will know.” Allah then goes on to explain the souls in awwal arwah, the divine realm, the nature of the shining copper vessel with the glitters arising from the infatuation with the darkness of illusion (maya)—glitters which are this sharr (evil). “O soul (ruh) that is My good (khair)! Look at this copper vessel, which shines with the glitters of the hypnotic fascinations (mayakkam) with the dark illusion called maya. Those who prefer this will, when they go to earth (the dunya, which is My sirr, My secret), be hypnotized by the dazzle of those glitters, and claim that this world belongs to them. Believing this firmly, they will further claim that they are the creators and that the evil actions that flourish in the world are their creation, their essence (dhat), and their attributes (sifat). With pride, they will wear the crown that is the self-gratifying desires (nafs) that glitter in the darkness of illusion. They will revel in the arrogance of ‘I! I!’ and claim the earth, saying, ‘Mine! Mine!’ and dare to set out to rule the world. Further, they will collect all the dazzling glitters of the darkness of hypnotic maya and appropriate them as their own. They will reject and oppose Me, along with the grace that is My essence and the good that is My khair, and will use the evils of the hypnotic darkness of maya to wage war on the good. “Thus claiming to be kings (or even God), they will crown themselves and proudly make millions upon millions of evil pronouncements and explanations. This is what those who choose the copper vessel will do. Not only that, they will set up deities as equals to Me, creating millions upon millions of gods out of gold, silver, tin, bronze, clay, brass, stone, wood, gems, and precious stones. They will create these evil gods on the earth that is My secret, and in this way will claim ownership of this earth, both in the here and in the hereafter and throughout all their births and deaths. They will exhibit millions upon millions of evil tendencies and actions such as these. They will lose all clarity and begin to use falsehood, envy, treachery, arrogance, anger, and intoxicants as the natural instruments for their lives. Such people will rejoice when they see the evil effects resulting from their base desires. Ultimately, they too, like those evil desires, will end up in the seven horrible hells, with all their yearnings glittering within the delusions arising from the darkness of illusion. “O souls! It is impossible to explain this to you fully at this time. Since you are My good, you will come to realize it, to understand Me and My essence, and to realize yourselves.” Having said this, Allah looked at the souls and asked them, “Do you understand? Now which of these two vessels do you choose?” So asked Allah in awwal arwah, the divine kingdom. Then the good souls (7) replied, “Ya Allah! Your secret (sirr) is not, in itself, fulfilling enough for us. Only Your good and Your essence will be our plentitude. Therefore, our wish is to know the earth, which is Your secret, come to understand what is good, realize the nature of Your essence, and return once again to resplend within You. For, as soon as we discover that which we set out to find, we will certainly return to You. We will not have to stay there on earth too long, will we? “Since You are the completeness, You will exist forever—indestructible. So if we succeed in knowing Your completeness (which is a secret), we too will become the completeness. In that state, we will be able to meet You once again and talk with You—at the very place we emerged from You. “Therefore, we ask You to give us Your secret, that earthen vessel, even though it is not Your completeness, Ya Rabb! We do not want that dazzling copper vessel that glitters in the darkness of illusion.” This was the reply given by some of the souls in the awwal arwah, the divine kingdom. So saying, they asked for and received the earthen pot from their Lord, in awwal, the time of creation. Others among the souls chose to ask for the glittering copper pot that dazzled in the darkness of the delusion caused by maya. From their Creator, they asked for and received, in arwah, the copper pot, and proceeded with it to the earth-world that is His secret. Thus it was that in awwal arwah itself, Allahu ta’ala Nayan gave to the souls whichever pot each one desired and asked for. (E1) He apportioned good (khair) and evil (sharr) among the souls as two distinct things. And so, in accordance with the word of the Thiru Qur’an and with what the souls requested from Allah in awwal, both khair and sharr (good and evil) continue to exert their respective characteristics, existing as Allah’s secret (sirr). The good souls (who preferred the earthen pot), recognize that secret of Allah and resplend and resonate as the good belonging to the essence of Allah. In both this world and the hereafter, these good souls, using the patience, inner patience, and contentment of Allah, attain an exalted state. On the other hand, the souls that chose the evil, using the glitters of the darkness of illusion, shine within that darkness in this world. And so, they will end up burning in the raging fires that arise from those very glitters in the darkness of the seven horrible hells, where, over and over again, they will be transformed into ruhanis and nafsaniyats, (8) glittering in that darkness. In this way, anyone who chose the copper vessel [at that time] will go through many deaths, in a hypnotic state induced by the evil magic of maya (illusion), until finally he changes into a satan, stuck in the hell from which there is no redemption. Such a one will have an aversion to learning about the good (khair), the essence (dhat), and the secret (sirr) of Allah. He will be hostile to all of them, will never accept them, and instead will place his faith only in evil (sharr). If you explain the good to him, he will change himself into satan and oppose it. Therefore, it is not advisable to attempt to explain the good to him. After all, did not Allah Himself explain what was good and what was evil to all the souls in awwal arwah, when they were still in formless state? Now, however, man has come into existence as Allah’s secret, as the exalted creation that is insan, endowed with the grace of His essence. We have appeared in His creation in order to come to know about His essence, His secret, and His good and evil. But even though Allah gave us certain explanations when we were souls in awwal arwah, now, since coming to live in this world, we have forgotten those explanations and their importance. We do not even remember which of the two vessels we chose to bring along with us. This being so, it does not befit man’s wisdom to say, “According to the word of Allah and the sayings in the Qur’an (which descended from Him), He created both evil and good (sharr and khair), and so all our actions came from what God decreed in awwal, the time of creation.” Our attempts to rationalize our own actions like this (at all time and in all situations) is something we should look at carefully with our wisdom. For we ourselves are quite capable of controlling whether we do good or evil. Yet we tend instead to say, “After all, if He created both good and evil, that means He wanted us to do both. And that is what we are doing!” We have been born as the noblest of His creations. So, to do something evil and then condone it in this way does not befit our level of wisdom. Further, as long as we are not aware of how much Allah’s secret, evil and good (His sirr, sharr, and khair) influences or affects each of His creations, it is not right for us to make conjectures regarding how much good and evil has been decreed for each individual. Moreover, we (His noblest creations) indulge in murder, adultery, intoxication, theft, lies, hypocrisy, usury, and millions upon millions of evil actions caused by our yearnings, which are prompted by the barbs of desire and the cravings arising from the darkness of the hypnotic forces of illusion. We act on the evil intentions that feed upon these evil yearnings of ours and then try to place the blame for our actions on the inevitable existence of good and evil. This is not compatible with the wisdom and the exalted state that belongs to man (insan). For Allah has installed within us the exalted wisdom called pahuth arivu (divine analytic wisdom). He gave it to us to help us reflect upon all things (things that are good and things that are evil) and to scrutinize and analyze each one with care. Using this wisdom, we must strive hard to distinguish between the two, act with what is good, and avoid the evil. On the other hand, if we continue to do both, excusing ourselves by claiming that both were created by Him and that everything is destined to happen as it does, this belief is not worthy of the wisdom of man. We should know this. Further, in all situations in this world, we should attempt to identify and learn the qualities, actions, conduct, and behavior suitable to those who have been created by Allah as human beings (insan). It is with this knowledge that we must differentiate between that which is good (khair) and that which is evil (sharr), and know their respective meanings and consequences. We possess the wisdom that enables us to keep what is khair and discard what is sharr. We who are human beings should use that wisdom with awareness and perception. It does not befit our wisdom to resign ourselves to accepting that since both good and evil were created at the very beginning, our actions in this world are preordained, and that we have to simply accept whatever happens. With that kind of thinking, we might believe we can assess a man’s worth in this world by the way his life ended. For example, if he were hacked to death by another, we might conclude (9) that his state, his destiny, and his good and evil had all come about from what was destined for him by Allah in awwal. Or, looking at the state he had reached at the end of his life, we, with our limited wisdom, might say, “It’s a pity what happened to him, but no one could have prevented it. This is all a result of the qualities, actions, behavior, and conduct he practiced in his life.” But how can we possibly assess the content or significance of a man’s life or death? How can we know what a soul originally asked for and received from God in awwal? It is impossible for us to do this. Nor is it proper for us, when we see someone: who is unable to acquire learning, who commits evil as well as good in his life, who is deficient in wisdom, who lacks Allah’s qualities, actions and conduct, who commits robbery and murder and indulges in falsehood, or who commits, in his lifetime, millions upon millions of evil actions that arise from his dark delusions (nafsaniyats)— actions that match the level of his wisdom— to reach our own conclusion and say, “After all, these things are happening in this way because of the good and evil ordained for him by Allah. Nothing good will even come to this person. He will never gain any wisdom. Not everyone receives the fruits of Allah’s good. These are only given to a select few.” Such pronouncements are not justifiable. Khair and sharr do exist for Allah’s creations. Having described His khair and sharr (good and evil) to the souls of His creations, Allah showed them two vessels: the earthen pot that was His secret (sirr) and the glistening copper pot made of the glitters of the darkness of illusion that comes from fascination with that darkness. He also explained to the souls, at the very beginning, the significance and relative merits of the two vessels. Having heard and understood, all the souls affirmed their faith in their Creator and then chose either the good (khair) or the evil (sharr). In accordance with that choice, it was destined, decreed, and created, in the very beginning, in awwal arwah. But, since we have no way of knowing which pot a soul chose, it is impossible for us to form definite conclusions regarding the good and evil of anyone’s life on this earth. Allah is the only one who knows this. He alone knows the state of His creations and the choice made by each soul, and He alone will deliver judgment at the end, according to the good and evil earned by each. Thus it is incompatible with man’s wisdom to conclude, after acting in ignorance, that our actions are a result of the khair and sharr decreed by Allah. And yet there are those who dare to say that such a conclusion is permissible under limited circumstances, if the condition of a person at birth or at death clearly invites such conclusions. For instance, these people think that when a human being is born into this world without eyes, or, if, having eyes, he has no sight, or if he is born with one or both arms missing or with one leg missing, or lame in both legs, or having a nose but no sense of smell, or having ears but no hearing, or having a mouth but no tongue, or having a tongue but no taste or speech, or born with a brain but lacking feeling, awareness, or intellect, or born crazy (E2)—if these defects (either in that person’s speech or in his body or his understanding) were evident soon after he was born into this world, then these people feel justified in saying, “The responsibility for what happened lies with Allah. These shortcomings are what that person brought with him at birth, and since it was his destiny to be born in this way, it cannot be cured in this world. At his birth we saw this with our own eyes—so these defects must have been imprinted on him as his destiny (nasib). When we see that there is no way he can be relieved or cured, we feel entitled to declare that this was his fate.” Again, at the end of a person’s life, on his deathbed, these people might say that this state shows how much good and evil he sought and acquired in this life, and that this kind of death came to him as a consequence of that. They might even say, “Since his death happened in this way, this was his destiny. This is surely the fruit of what he brought with him from the beginning, in awwal.” However, my children, in keeping with the manner in which Allah created things, and according to the word of the Qur’an, good and evil were created by Allah, and therefore only Allah can assess the good and evil of an individual. It is impossible for us to make any such assessment. It is wrong for us to say that whatever someone brought with him from the time he was created cannot be erased, or that he will never reach any clarity of understand, or that not everybody can acquire the benefits and wisdom of khair (good). Any attempt to draw such conclusions is not in keeping with the wisdom of a human being. How can we know whether a person will or will not undergo a transformation during his life, when we do not even know what we ourselves brought with us from the time we were created , in awwal? Therefore, it is unjustifiable for one person to pass judgment on another’s state, since it is something he has not yet understood. First we must carefully analyze our own selves and come to know ourselves. Only after having conducted a thorough self-scrutiny may we be able to make any sort of assessment, near the end of someone’s life, regarding his good and evil. When the soul (which is His khair, the good) has expressed its certitude of faith in Allah as its Lord, and Allah showed it the khair (that is His secret) and the sharr (the evil), and explained the significance of each—at that time (awwal arwah, the time before creation) He asked the soul, “Which of the two do you want?” And even though all the souls were khair, only some elected to choose the good (khair), while others asked for the evil (sharr). And so, on that very day in awwal, Allah decreed what fruits and benefits would be due to each. Thus He willed it and thus He created it. And it would be the destiny of each human being to follow that decree. Their actions would fit the destinies they brought with them from awwal. But it is not ours to know what those destinies were. So it is wrong for us to pass judgment or form conclusions about how much merit anyone brought with him from awwal, or even how much we ourselves brought with us. Further, since good and evil come mixed together in life, it is all the more impossible to deliver any kind of verdict. From this explanation, may we, this very day, realize the true meaning of the verse in the Qur’an that says, “Khair and sharr are in Allah’s hands.” Thus good and evil manifest in this world, in the noble creations called insan (blessed with divine analytic wisdom) strictly in keeping with the explanation their souls received from Allah when they were in the divine Kingdom, arwah. Since He is the One who created good and evil, they both belong to Him. He alone knows. Of the many explanations given to us by Allah in the Qur’an, khair and sharr (good and evil) constitute but one verse. Their meaning is known only to the One who created them. It is not we who will judge. In addition to this one verse (ayat), 6,665 other verses were sent down from Allah. All of us should ponder deeply on why Allah gave us these verses, and why He sent down the appropriate prophets for each period in history. These 6,665 verses were given to us so we could learn clearly how to accept all that is good (khair) and act upon it, while discarding all evil (sharr) from our actions. We were given the capacity to know the difference. We were not, however, given to know what we chose, at the time of creation, to bring here with us. Allah alone knows. This is the resplendent explanation given by the Thiru Qur’an. Further, considering the larger number of such verses (ayat) that have been sent down from Allah in the Qur’an—we should not attempt to offer conclusions about matters we do not understand. Instead, we should realize that there is so much more we still have to learn about the essence (dhat) and the secret (sirr) of Allah, about His creations (sifat), and about His good (khair) and evil (sharr). We who are mankind (insan) should learn this, and learn it right here during this life on earth. We and all of our fellow beings should realize this. This is why Allahu ta’ala Nayan kept on sending down to the noble Prophet , one after another, the verses that are His khair (good), the verses that are His sirr (secret), and the verses that are His dhat (essence). These verses are the 6,665 verses created by Allah as His khair (good) in awwal. And even though there were some souls, in arwah, who preferred the sharr (evil) and came to the world with the evil implanted within them, it is not possible for us, here in the world, to identify which souls chose evil. For this reason, Allah explains in one of His verses, “O insan, you who are My creations! It is I that created both khair and sharr (good and evil). I alone understand their effects and final results. You will not understand it. Khair and sharr were created by Me; I alone will deliver judgment regarding them. It is impossible for you to know that.” The other 6,665 verses were sent down so we could understand the significance of both good and evil and learn the consequences that go with each. Having created these explanations in awwal arwah, Allah kept sending them down, verse by verse, to the holy Prophet . We who are human beings, blessed with divine analytic wisdom should understand this. My children, we do not know the destiny that was laid down for us in awwal, the time of creation. Allah is the only One who knows that. Since it is He that reviews the sum total of our good and evil and delivers judgment, it is not for us to pass judgment. We are insan, the most exalted among Allah’s creations. Divine analytic wisdom (pahuth arivu) resplends within us. Divine luminous wisdom (pēr arivu) resonates within us. According to the resplendence of that resonance, every one of us, who are His creations, should adopt the good (khair) in all of our actions in this birth and strive hard to conduct our lives in a way that excludes all that is evil (sharr). The strength of our efforts will determine the relative proportion of our good and evil, which will be explained to us by Allahu ta’ala Nayan at the end. And this will be our judgment. This is what should be understood by all of us on this earth, we who are insan, endowed with exalted wisdom. In addition to the verse we have discussed, there are 6,665 other verses that resonate the actions of Allah, which are His khair (good). So, instead of trying to assess how much good someone did in his life (saying it was just this much and no more), our aim should be to learn Allah’s secret (sirr), which is His good (khair), my children! Al-hamdu lillah. All praise belongs to Allah. May Allah help us. Amin, Ya Rabbal-‘alamin. As-salamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi Wa barakatuhu kulluhu. May it be so, O Lord of the universes. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessings of God be upon you. [We have translated this book to the best of our ability and to the extent of our wisdom. Those with more wisdom may have a deeper understanding of the truth within these pages.] FOOTNOTES 1) The primal scripture; the inner Qur’an inscribed within the heart of man. All the secrets and essences of the three worlds have been buried within it by Allah. 2) [The reason for the variance in the number of verses (ayat) is due to the different ways in which each group counted, often combining verses, thus resulting in a smaller total. But nothing—not even one word—has been actually added to or subtracted from the Qur’an itself.] 3) [The first three letters of the Arabic alphabet.] 4) Originally the Qur’an did not have any diacritical marks, so people did not know how to pronounce the Arabic and were reciting it incorrectly. The diacritical marks were introduced to protect the Qur’an from being recited in a way that would give it the wrong meaning. 5) Dhat: God’s essence, His grace; sifat: God’s attributes, or creations; sirr: God's secret hidden within man; sharr: evil. 6) [M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was asked whether the gathering of the souls (known as khair) included all souls or only the souls of the sixth kind of life, the light-life, the life of man. His response:] First the rays fell out without form, like water that falls on a hot iron and sprays out in different directions. They fell into six different places, and depending upon where they fell, they became lives of either earth, water, fire, air, ether, or the sixth life, the soul of man. Allah then called the lives back into Him and He sent them out once again. But before sending the six lives out a second time, He assembled only the human lives (the light lives) and asked them, “which do you want, the earthen pot or the copper pot?” The question was put to them alone, not to all six kinds of lives. 7) All human souls are Allah’s khair. However, the good souls (the ones that chose the earthen pot) are the ones that say, “That which is khair for me is only Allah. My only possession is Allah. That is what is khair for me.” These are the souls that accept only Allah, and go in search of the truth. 8) Ruhanis: Elemental spirits arising from desires. There are six kinds of lives within man. One is the human life which is the light-life, the soul (ruh). Associated with this are the other five, the lives of earth, fire, water, air, and ether. These constitute the ruhanis. When the four hundred trillion, ten thousand intentions and thoughts within man take form, they are called ruhanis. After a person dies, it is his desires, his ruhanis, that bring him back to be born again. Nafsaniyats: The dark hypnotic fascinations (mayakkam) that formed in the womb of maya (illusion); the delusion arising from the darkness of maya; the desires and aspirations of the lower self that cause evil actions. 9) People do offer such opinions in the world. They associate a quick and easy death with a good life, and a death preceded by prolonged illness and suffering with a life full of evil. In this way, the world judges these things by what they see, but a wise man knows that since his is not God he cannot pass any judgments regarding the life and death of others. A wise man’s duty is simply to give a proper burial to a man who has died, not to debase him or give him an exalted title. He will simply say, “Allah alone knows his state. That is His work, not mine.” ENDNOTES 1. Allah said, “Those who choose the copper pot and live a life of enjoyment in the world will have a house in hell. Those who choose the earthen pot will undergo untold difficulty while in the world, but they will have a dwelling place, undiminishing wealth, and limitless joy and freedom here with Me. They will live forever here. “Those who choose the copper pot will be praised and respected in the world. If they should drop the copper pot and cause a dent, that dent can be repaired. Or if the pot is thrown down on the ground, it can be mended again. All this is possible. To such people the world will be heaven. They will be happy during their short stay in this world, but after that, for a long, long time, they will suffer in hell. Of those who choose this copper pot, it will be very, very rare to find one person who might decide to change (from the copper pot) and come back to Me. “But the one who chooses the earthen pot will live with Me forever. To him, the world will be a place of hell. When he comes back to Me, he will experience heaven. However, existing in this world will be very difficult for him. The world will not accept him. He will have to endure being drenched in rain. He will have to stand in the sun without shelter. He will have no house of his own. He will not have even a mat to sleep on. He will even experience difficulty getting his daily food, because in the hell of this world it is very hard to find food that is permissible (halal). It will not be easy for him to find his pure food, his rizq. He will undergo many, many sorrows and difficulties. “One who chooses the earthen pot must be extremely vigilant. Even though he is tired and hungry and thirsty, he must walk very carefully. If he is careless and drops the pot, it will break. If he stumbles against a stone and falls, the pot will break. Or if he is hasty or angry and drops the pot, it will break. “I have given him this earthen pot. He must return it to Me intact, without even a crack. This is the treasure I have entrusted to him. If he can return it to Me without breaking it, he will have a place with Me in heaven. But on earth, his life will be one of hell.” Then the souls asked, “For how long must we live in the world?” Allah answered, “Your life on earth will be only one week long. If you can somehow protect this pot and successfully finish your one week’s term on earth, you can live for millions of years with Me. In spite of all the difficulty you will face, if you can acquire and practice My qualities and eat only My food for your one week on this earth, you will have millions upon millions of years with Me in heaven. Where I am, in akhirah—that is heaven. “On the other hand, if you choose the copper pot and you do not acquire My qualities and actions, you will enjoy heaven in the world. You will have enjoyment for one week in the world, but for the millions upon millions of years in the hereafter, you will suffer in hell. “This is the meaning of the two vessels. Now, which of the two do you want?” Then the good souls said, “Ya Allah, it is only one week! I will survive somehow or other and then come back. Give me the earthen pot. I will endure that one week somehow and come back to You.” But some souls replied, “I like the copper pot. I want to take that.” Still other souls pleaded: “Why should I go to earth? I would like to stay with You, without going there. If I remain with You, then I will not have to suffer all this.” Then Allah said to the third group: “O souls, what you say is true. But if you stay here with Me, you will not have the opportunity to learn about My secret, My essence, and My attributes. You will not be able to learn about good and evil, khair and sharr. You will not be able to understand My secret, the ninety-nine kinds of secrets. My entire story is there on the earth, so you must go there. If you go there and learn about My secrets, then your faith in Me will be strengthened, and you will be qualified to rule My kingdom. You must go there and learn about Me, about yourself, and about this world and the next world (dunya and akhirah). You must learn about the lives, My creations. That is why you must go there. You must get the benefit of all this learning, and come back. Only then will you appreciate the happiness you will enjoy here.” And so the good souls said: “Ah yes. Well, it is only one week. I will accept the mud pot.” 2. Only an insan kamil (one who is self-realized) may be able to read the destiny and understand the cause of the deformity. These deformities affect the body, but not the soul. The soul is not crippled. The insan kamil will understand where the deformity came from—the male or the female parent. He will understand what way the body was formed from the five sparks (of the five elements). Just as several letters make up a word or a sentence, the thoughts the parents have at the time of conception contribute to the form. At that time, if either parent has evil thoughts, those thoughts become impressed upon the body of the fetus. But this does not affect the soul. The soul is pure. Because the parents harbored such thoughts, it will torment them to look at their crippled child. It could be that they were thinking about maiming or hurting another person, and they created the child from those thoughts. Now they are forced to look at the child and know the torment of their own thoughts. This will help them correct themselves. A child is like a book. The parents must read that book (their child) and give up those thoughts they are constantly engaged in. The house the parents built will be revealed in the child. If the thoughts of the parents had been noble at the time of the conception, they would have had a noble child. A flawed photograph is not the fault of the photographer; it is the fault of the person who poses for the photograph. The state of the parents and their thoughts at the time of conception were photographed by God. What happened was a result of that. It cannot really be called karma or destiny; it is a result of the thoughts the parents harbored. An insan kamil will be able to go deeply into this and understand the cause. He will know and will pray to God to change their thoughts into good thoughts and good qualities. He will never claim that this was decided by God or that this was God’s will. Instead he will say, “Correct yourselves, change your thoughts, and praise God.” Quoted from book called "Resonance of Allah"
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Bawa Muhaiyaddeen for over 50 years selflessly shared his knowledge with people of every race, religion—from all parts of the world. Before Bawa’s passing in 1986 he wrote “Peace and the Mind” and requested that everyone in the world receive a copy. If you would like your FREE copy please Click Here!
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