Twelfth Word
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Mercy-Giver
وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ اُوتِىَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا
And whoever is given wisdom is indeed given much good (Qur’an, 2: 269).
This treatise “comprises a concise comparison of the sacred wisdom of the Wisdomful Qur’an and the wisdom of philosophy, a brief summary of the lesson that it delivers to organize the personal and social lives of human beings, and an indication of the Qur’an’s preponderance over other divine words and all speeches. There are four principles in this Word.”
Click to listen to Episode 01 (Wisdom of the Qur’an and wisdom of philosophy), Episode 02 (On personal life), Episode 03 (On social life), Episode 04 (On Qur’an’s superiority over other speeches).
Back to The Words.
ROUGH TRANSLATION from the RISALE-I NUR
translated by Dr. Mustafa Tuna
A rough translation of the section that is being discussed is posted below. This is a work in progress and should not be considered a finalized translation. It is only meant to help with understanding the recorded discussion.
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ اُوتِىَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا
And whoever is given wisdom is indeed given much good (Qur’an, 2: 269).
This comprises a concise comparison of the sacred wisdom of the Wisdomful Qur’an and the wisdom of philosophy, a brief summary of the lesson that it delivers to organize the personal and social lives of human beings, and an indication of the Qur’an’s preponderance over other divine words and all speeches. There are four foundations in this Word.
First Foundation
Look at the differences between the Qur’anic wisdom and the scientific wisdom through the binocular of this coming representational story.
Once a renowned ruler who was pious and utmostly skilled in arts wanted to write the Wisdomful Qur’an with a script worthy of the sacredness of its meanings and the miraculousness of its words and that a wondrous raiment would be put on that miraculous stature. So that person who was an embroiderer, scribed the Qur’an in an amazing fashion. He utilized all sorts of precious gems in his script. In order to signify the variations in its truths, he wrote some of its embodied letters with diamond and emerald, others with pearl and agate, a group of them with brilliants and corals, and a species among them with gold and silver. He embroidered them in such an ornamented fashion that everybody, whether they knew how to read or not, would be filled with admiration and appreciate it upon beholding. Because that outer beauty signified the utmostly brilliant beauty and utmostly lovely adornments in its meanings, it became a really precious antique especially in the sight of the people of truth.
Then, that ruler showed that artful and bejeweled Qur’an to a European philosopher and a Muslim scholar. In order both to try and reward them, he commanded: “Each of you compose a work on the wisdom of this.”
First that philosopher and then that scholar each authored a book about this. However, the philosopher’s book mentioned only the embroideries of the letters, their relations and positions, and the properties and descriptions of their substances, yet it did not touch on its meaning at all. Because that European man did not know how to read the Arabic script at all. He did not even know that that adorned Qur’an is a book, a script expressing a meaning. In fact, he views it as an embroidered antique. Nevertheless, even though he does not know Arabic, he is a very good engineer, a very good sketcher, a skillful chemist, and an expert jeweler. Thus, that man composed his work according to these crafts.
As for the Muslim scholar, when he looked, he understood that that was the Clear Book, the Wisdomful Qur’an. So, this truthful person neither paid attention to the outward adornments nor occupied himself with the embroideries of the letters. He dealt with such a thing that it is a million times loftier, more precious, subtler, more honorable, more beneficial, and more comprehensive than the matters that the other man had dealt with… Because, he wrote an utmostly beautiful honorable commentary by talking about the book’s sacred truths and most hidden lights under the veil of those embroideries.
Then, they both took their works to that honorable ruler and presented to him. That ruler first took the philosopher’s work. He looked and saw that that conceited and nature-worshipping man had worked a lot, but had not written about its true wisdom at all. He had not understood any of its meanings. In fact, he had mixed things up. He had been disrespectful and ill-mannered toward it. Since, he had insulted that Qur’an, which is the font of truths, as being valueless in terms of meaning by presuming it to be meaningless embroideries, the all-wise ruler struck that man’s work on his head and expelled him from his presence.
And then, he looked at the work of that truthful and discerning scholar. He saw that it is an utmostly beautiful and beneficial commentary, an utmostly wisdomful and rightly-guiding work of authorship. “Well done! May God bless you,” he said, “This is wisdom, and it is the owner of this who deserves to be called a ‘scholar’ and a ‘wise person.’ The other man is a craftsperson who has exceeded his bounds.” Then, as a reward for his work, he commanded his will to have ten pieces of gold for each of its letters to be given out of his inexhaustible treasury.
If you understood the representation, look, see the face of the truth too:
As for that adorned Qur’an, it is this artful cosmos. As for that ruler, He is the Eternal All-Wise One. As for those two men, one, that is the European, is the science of philosophy and the possessors of its wisdom. The other is the Qur’an and its disciples.
Yes, the Wisdomful Qur’an is a most lofty commentator and most eloquent translator of this Tremendous Qur’an of the Cosmos. Yes, it is that Criterion that teaches to the Jinn and humans the signs of creation that are inscribed on the pages of this cosmos and the folios of time with the pen of power. Moreover, it beholds the existent beings, which are each a meaningful letter, from the point of view of their “indicative meaning,” that is, in the name of the Artful Maker. It says: “How beautifully it is made; how beautifully does it indicate the beauty of its Artful Maker.” And it shows the true beauty of the cosmos in this way.
Now, as for the philosophy that they call the science of wisdom, it has lost sense by plunging into the adornments and relationships of the letters of the existent beings. It has lost the path of truth. While it is due to look at the letters of this great book through “indicative meanings,” that is in the name of God, it has not done that, and it has looked through the “nominative meanings,” that is, it looks at the existent beings in the name of the existent beings and talks about them as such. Instead of “How beautifully it is made,” it says, “How beautiful it is,” and makes it ugly. It insults the cosmos in this way and turns it into a plaintiff against itself. Yes, philosophy without religion is a sophistry without truth and an insult against the cosmos.
Second Foundation
Comparison of the moral training that the Wisdomful Qur’an’s wisdom gives to personal life and the lesson that the wisdom of philosophy offers.
A sincere disciple of philosophy is a pharaoh, but an abject pharaoh who worships the basest thing for his interests. He recognizes anything that serves his interests as his lord. Furthermore, that irreligious pupil is recalcitrant and stubborn. However, he is wretched in his recalcitrance, accepting endless abasement for the sake of a single pleasure. He is a lowly stubborn person who shows abjectness by kissing the feet of Satan-like people for a base interest. Furthermore, that irreligious pupil is a prideful despot. However, because he does not find a point of reliance in his heart, he is a bragging despot who is impotent with utmost impotence in his person. Furthermore, that pupil is a self-concerned person who worships his interests. The purpose of his effort is to gratify the lower soul, the stomach, and the private parts. He is a fraudulent self-absorbed person who seeks his personal interests within national interests.
As for a sincere disciple of the Qur’an’s wisdom, he is a slave. However, he does not stoop to worshipping even the most tremendous creatures. He is a dignified slave who does not accept as the purpose of his worship even the Garden, which is the most tremendous benefit. Its true pupil is humble, with a sound disposition, and forbearing. However, he does not volitionally stoop to lowering himself before anyone other than the One Who created him from nothing, outside the limits of His leave. He is poor and weak. He recognizes his poverty and weakness. Yet, he is wealthy for he finds sufficiency in the otherworldly treasure that His Munificent Owner has prepared for him. Moreover, he performs his deeds and works only for God’s countenance, divine pleasure, and virtue.
So, the training that these two wisdoms offer is understood through the comparison of two disciples.
Third Foundation
The lessons that the Qur’anic wisdom and the wisdom of philosophy each offer about the social life of human beings:
As for the wisdom of philosophy, it accepts “force” as the point of reliance in social life. Its target is “interest.” It recognizes “struggle” as the normative principle of life. It takes “factionalism and negative nationalism” as the bond that holds communities together. Its fruit is “to gratify the lower soul’s vain desires and to increase humanity’s needs.”
And thus, the characteristic of force is aggression. Since there isn’t enough to fulfill every desire, the characteristic of interest is fighting over it. The characteristic of the principle of struggle is conflict. Because it is based on nourishing oneself by swallowing others, the characteristic of factionalism is aggression. So, it is because of this wisdom that the humanity has lost felicity.
As for the Qur’anic wisdom, it accepts “rights” to be its point of reliance as opposed to force. As purpose, it accepts “virtue and divine pleasure” as opposed to interest. It takes “the principle of mutual assistance” as opposed to the principle of struggle as the foundation of life. In bonding communities together, instead of factionalism and nationality, it accepts “bonds of religion, class, and country.” Its purposes limit the transgressions of the vain desires of the lower soul, encourage the spirit toward noble ideals, satisfy its lofty emotions, and direct human beings toward the perfections of humanity.
The characteristic of rights is alliance. The characteristic of virtue is mutual reliance. The characteristic of the principle of mutual assistance is hastening to help one another in time of need. The characteristic of religion is solidarity and mutual attraction. The characteristic of reigning in and tethering the lower soul and urging and releasing the spirit free is felicity in both worlds.
Fourth Foundation
If you want to understand the aspect of the Qur’an’s loftiness over other forms of divine speech and its aspects of superiority over all forms of speech, take a look at the following two representations:
First: A sultan has two types of communication and two forms of address. One is speaking on the phone with an ordinary subject about a particular affair and a private need. The other is speaking through one of his envoys or officials under the title of tremendous royal power, in the name of the great caliphate, and as the ruler of all with the objective of promulgating and displaying his commands, and it is communicating through a lofty decree that exposes his sublimity.
Second representation: A man holds a mirror facing the sun in his hand. He receives a light to the extent of that mirror and a radiance containing seven colors. He interacts with the sun through that connection and converses with it. If he directs that mirror to his dark home or to his garden covered with a roof, he can benefit not in proportion to the sun’s worth but, in fact, to the extent of the mirror’s capacity. Yet another man opens up large windows from his home or through the roof of his garden and paves routes to the sun in the sky. He converses with the continuous radiance of the true sun, speaks, and has a conversation full of indebtedness reflecting in the tongue of his state. He says: “Oh the elegant sun, oh the beauty of the world and the sweetheart of the heavens, who gilds the face of the earth with light and makes the faces of all flowers smile! You have warmed up and enlightened my small house and small garden as you have done to them.” However, the possessor of the mirror cannot say this. The effect of that contained reflection of the sun is limited; it is proportionate to that container.
Here, look at the Qur’an through the binoculars of these two representations so that you see its miraculousness and understand its sacredness.
Yes, the Qur’an says: “If the trees on earth became pens and the oceans ink to write the words of the Sublime Real, they would not be able to finish.” Now, the reason for the greatest station among those infinite words being given to the Qur’an is this:
The Qur’an has issued from the Most Tremendous Name and from the level of tremendousness of each divine name. It is the speech of Allah as the Lord of all realms. It is Allah’s decree as the god of all existent beings. It is an address from the One Who has the standing of the Creator of the heavens and earth. It is a communication from the point of view of absolute lordship. It is an eternal sermon on account of glorified royal power over all. It is a book of the favors of the Merciful One from the point of view of expansive, all-encompassing mercy. It is a corpus of communications that sometimes begin with encrypted messages from the One with the standing of the tremendous sublimity of divinity. It is a wisdom-giving sacred book that descends from the furthest reaches of the Most Tremendous Name and looks to all that is surrounded by the Tremendous Throne and inspects them. It is because of this secret that the title of the “Speech of God” is given to the Qur’an with full merit.
As for other forms of divine speech, some of them are speeches that become apparent in a specified regard, with the particular manifestation of a particular title and specific name, and with a specified instance of lordship, designated royal power, and specific instance of mercy. Their degrees are different from the point of view of specificity and universality. Most inspirations are of this type, but they differ in degrees. For example, the most particular and simplest is the inspirations of animals. Then it is the inspirations of the common folk among the people. Then it is the inspirations of the common angels. Then come the inspirations of saints. Then it is the inspirations of great angels. Here, it is because of this secret that a saint who beseeches with the heart’s telephone without intermediaries says: “حَدَّثَنِى قَلْبِى عَنْ رَبِّى” that is “My heart is informing me from my Lord.” He does not say, “informing from the Lord of the Realms.” Because, he can be the locus of address to the extent of his capacity and to the extent that near seventy thousand veils are lifted.
Here, however higher and more elevated the decree of a sultan promulgated in relation to the standing of his tremendous royal power is than one of his particular communications with an ordinary man, and however more and superior benefiting from the outpouring of the sun in the sky is than benefiting from the reflection of its similitude on the mirror, to that extent is the Qur’an of Tremendous Glory above other speeches and all books.
Following the Qur’an, other sacred books and heavenly scrolls have a secondary superiority to the extent of their degrees, and they share in that secret of superiority. If all the beautiful words of all humans and the Jinn that do not trickle from the Qur’an are gathered, they can still not reach and imitate the Qur’an’s sacred level. If you want to understand to some extent that the Qur’an issues from the Most Tremendous Name and each name’s level of tremendousness, look at the universal, general, and elevated expressions of the verses such as:
The Verse of the Throne (Qur’an, 2: 255),
the verse وَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ “He has the keys to the unseen… (Qur’an, 6: 59),”
the verse قُلِ اللّٰهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ “Say, ‘God, the Possessor of Dominon…’ (Qur’an, 3: 26),”
the verse يُغْشِى الَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثاً وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ وَالنُّجُومَ مُسَحَّرَاتٍ بِاَمْرِهِ “…He makes the night cover the day in swift pursuit; He created the sun, moon, and stars subjugated to His command… (Qur’an, 7: 54),”
the verse يَاۤ اَرْضُ ابْلَعِى مَاۤءَ كِ وَيَا سَمَآءُ اَقْلِعِى “…‘Oh Earth, swallow up your water, and oh sky, hold back…’ (Qur’an, 11: 44),”
the verse تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمٰوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَاْلاَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ “The seven heavens and the earth and everyone in them glorify Him… (Qur’an, 17: 44),”
the verse of يَوْمَ نَطْوِى السَّمَاۤءَ كَطَىِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ “On that Day, We shall roll up the skies as a writer rolls up scrolls… (Qur’an, 21: 104),”
the verse of وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَاْلاَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ “These people have no grasp of God’s true measure. On the Day of Resurrection, the whole earth will be in His grip (Qur’an, 39: 67),
the verse of لَوْ اَنْزَلْناَ هٰذَا الْقُرْاٰنَ عَلٰى جَبَلٍ لَرَاَيْتَهُ “If we had sent this Qur’an down to a mountain, you would have seen [it humbled and split apart it its awe of God]… (Qur’an, 59: 21).” 5934
Also, pay attention to the beginnings of the chapters beginning withاَلْحَمْدُ ِللهِ (Praise and gratitude be to God!), سَبَّحَ (They ever glorify…), andيُسَبِّحُ (They are ever glorifying…), so that you see a ray of this tremendous secret. Also, look at the openings of الۤمۤ’s, الۤرٰ’s, and حٰمۤ’s, so that you recognize the significance of the Qur’an by the Sublime Real.
If you have understood the precious secret of this Fourth Foundation, you will understand that most revelations that come to the prophets are through the intermediary of angels and most inspirations are without intermediary. You will also understand the secret that the greatest saint never reaches the degree of any prophet. You will also understand the tremendousness and sacred dignity of the Qur’an and the loftiness of its miraculousness. You will also understand the secret of the necessity of the Prophetic Ascension, that is of going all the way to the Furthest Lote-Tree and the Distance of Two Bow Lengths, colloquying with the Majestic Entity, and returning to whence he left in the twinkling of an eye. Yes, as the splitting of the moon is a miracle of his messengership, it showed his prophethood to the Jinn and humans, likewise, the Prophetic Ascension is a miracle of his worshipful slavehood. It shows his belovedness to the spirits and angels.
اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلٰۤى اٰلِهِ كَمَا يَلِيقُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ وَبِحُرْمَتِهِ اٰمِينْ
Oh God send your blessings and greetings of peace on him and on his family as it becomes your mercy and his sanctitude. Amin!