Divine manifestation (tajalli) is the attainment of inner light as a result of special Divine gifts. This is experienced by travelers on the way of Truth who are committed to prayer. Tajalli is not only the manifestation of Divine mysteries under the lights of Divine knowledge (marifa), but also that they are known in one’s conscience and are visible by the heart, where Divine names and attributes reveal themselves. Every traveler can attain these mysteries in proportion to their inclinations and current spiritual level.

Hunting is for things that are not in one’s possession. Those who have awakened to Divine truths or are on that path, are on constant watch for manifestations, mysteries, grace, blessings, knowledge, love, and spiritual delight from God. Others who have been defeated by heedlessness and live a life uninformed of truths, however, neither feel the ever-blowing winds of manifestation nor do they feel the thrill of filling their heart with a Divine benefit or radiance.

We can use “hunting” for attaining other qualities and virtues, too, like good character, mindfulness of the true spirit of faith, observance of the rights of God and His servants, to practice what one knows in theory, and to attain true sincerity and excellence. These are virtues the value of which we cannot truly appreciate. Hunting these virtues is impossible if a heart has fallen prey to fatal viruses like ostentation, pretentiousness, and fake behavior, and thus has lost its balance. Those who are in search of these virtues first have to save themselves from falling prey to evil and the carnal soul by constantly keeping their hearts pure and clean.

Secluded spots

Hunting is practiced in secluded, deserted places. It is important to find a place of seclusion where Divine manifestations are abundant, and where one can explore the horizons of the life of heart and spirit.

This does not mean it is not possible when there are others around. We can even say there are many blessings and gifts that are earned by worship conducted together with others, gifts that cannot be gained by individual worship. There are times when the enthusiasm of one individual can have an effect on the whole congregation. The sincere appeals of a prayer leader or the heartfelt tears of a person may contribute to heavenly atmosphere for the whole community. Many have lived such experiences during their visit to the Holy Ka‘ba in Mecca or the tomb of the Prophet in Medina. In such places, hearts soften and resonate with profound feelings, and eyes shed tears. When one happens to be in such a moment and hearts are open to manifestations, he or she has to make the best of themselves, in hopes of benefitting from this shower of blessings. Nevertheless, it is always a possibility that one may fall to pretentiousness when among others, which may fail you in your “hunt.” At times, even one’s overflowing feelings, amplifying voice, and even sometimes tears, are not immune from such viruses.

A soul devoted to hunting illuminations and manifestations from the Truth does his or her best to seek lonely corners or travel to serene places of solitude for moments of one-on-one togetherness with their Lord. With all awareness of being servants before God, they stand for prayer in places where no one but He sees and hears. As they stand, bow, and prostrate for a long time and removed from the world, they sometimes forget if it is their first or second prostration. At that moment of most nearness to the Divine, they glorify Him from all shortcomings. “Do not let our hearts swerve…” (Qur’an 3:18) they pray, maybe a hundred times, in the words of their Lord about matters they feel concerned. “My Lord, I have been unfair to myself by not living up to my best. I have done unfitting things. I ask Your forgiveness!” They voice their inner self. Our Lord shows favor upon such an inclination of His servants and their prayers are never left unanswered. Thus, we could perhaps say such a move by a servant is a hunt for manifestations, while moments of prostration are the most convenient times for such a hunt.

The bright darkness of the night

Nights provide some of the most convenient periods for manifestation hunting. Our biological heart, soul, and the spiritual heart (al-latifa al-Rabbaniyya) all enter a state of metaphysical resonance beyond expectations when involved with deep contemplation during the night. Reunion with God happens, if at all, at night. The brightest of all work is done in the heart of darkness. Distances are covered at night. Ascension to the heavens is possible at night. There was perhaps no single night which the Messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad, did not celebrate in prayer and contemplation, peace be upon him. At times, he would recite the verses towards the end of the Chapter “the Family of Imran,” which urge us to contemplate on the universe and creation; he would do maybe one recitation after another, turn his eyes to the heavens, and cry in witness of the Divine glory. He spent long hours at night standing, bowing, and in prostration.

O my eye, what is sleep; come, wake up at night
Watch the stars, see their travels at night

Look and observe all this wisdom in the universe
Find its Artist and be impressed with Him at night

During the day, you become heedless
Occupied with many things other than Him

Be ashamed of the Beloved, the Master of your heart,
free yourself from heedlessness

Sleeping unmindfully does not befit a lowly servant
Speak to the All-Merciful in compassion at night

If you love the Self-Sustaining One, do not sleep all night
So you may, my soul, live with the Ever-Living One at night

Lovers are awake at night; you too do not sleep
So the Beloved appears at the sight of your heart at night

The heart is the home of the Lord, purify it
So He may descend upon His throne at night

Eat less, sleep less, reach amazement, and free yourself
Then find a life of eternity and be His guest at night

Come near to people for God, day and night
O Hakki, burn in the fire of love at night

Ibrahim Hakki

Place, time, and the person’s state of being

For travelers on the path on the way to Truth, it is important to make the best of times when our hearts are softened, and our eyes and souls are filled with glory. Just as being at places like Ka‘ba, Arafat, Muzdalifa, and at the tomb of the Prophet and celebrating times of abundance like the Night of Power (laylat al-Qadr) or the special moment on Friday, are important for Muslims, it is equally important to benefit from moments when one is in spiritual states like compassion, immersion, passion, and stupor with Divine presence. These are the best of times to offer invocations.

Tajalli (manifestation), which has almost the same meaning as showing itself, display, and appearance, in the language of Sufism means being favored with God’s special gifts. It also denotes that the Divine mysteries have become apparent in the heart of the seeker by means of the light of knowledge of God Almighty. Every traveler to the Ultimate Truth can feel this favor in the conscience according to capacity and station.

The manifestation which is felt and perceived in every realm, be it low or high or simple or composed of parts, especially those included in humanity, which has the potential to attain perfection in all fields and is the most polished mirror to God, is called the manifestation of (Divine) works. A step forward is the manifes­tation of (Divine) Acts, which means that the Divine Acts are perceived with their meanings and purposes in the heart of the servants who are favored with glimpses of the manifestation of the Names as a result of their having a true view of God and His Acts with God’s help, but without falling into naturalism. The manifestation of the (Divine) Names is when travelers take on the color of the Divine Names, with their feelings becoming mirrors to them. After this is the manifestation of the Divine Compas­sionateness or the particular manifestation and the manifestation of the Divine Mercifulness or the universal manifestation. The former is the manifestation with which the believers, including in partic­ular the most loyal ones, are favored and by which they are embraced from all sides, while the latter denotes the manifesta­tion with which God favors the whole of creation by giving it existence and by maintaining it. Believers come to perceive in their hearts one or some of the Divine Attributes with their true nature, meanings and actions. This is the manifestation of the Divine Attributes. God elevates His servants whom He has favored with this manifestation to such a rank that, under the guid­ance of the Attribute or Attributes manifested, He makes them hear sounds others cannot hear and see things others cannot hear. There is another kind of manifestation that is connected with the Divine Attributes and this is called the manifestation pertaining to the Attributes; that is, it is purely a manifestation of an Attri­bute in a way that does not bring to mind the Divine Being Who is possessed of this Attribute. If, in particular, the Existence and Knowledge of God manifest themselves in the heart of a perfect­ed believer in all their nature, meaning and actions, in the compa­ny of other Names and Attributes, this is called the manifestation pertaining to the Divine Being Himself. Although the manifesta­tions of the Divine Names and Attributes are usually ignored with regard to this greatest and most intense manifestation, what is true in respect of this is that the Necessarily Existent One can­not be viewed and considered without the veil of the Names and the imaginary outlines that are drawn by the Attributes.

The first and universal manifestation that pertains to the Divine Being Himself occurred as the special manifestation of His Divinity and Lordship on Prophet Muhammad, who was also known as Ahmad and Mahmud, and who was regarded as the ultimate cause for the whole creation being transferred from existence in the (Divine) Knowledge to the external, sensed existence. The community of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, has a particular share, albeit shadowy in this manifestation. What Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, experienced on Mount Sinai was an aspect of this greatest, all-embracing mani­festation of the Divine Lordship which occurred by means of the mountain beyond all human concepts of modality.

We can approach this last point from the viewpoint of Sufism as follows:

Like the desire of Prophet Adam for the forbidden tree, which resulted in all of his descendants coming to this world, including, in particular, the greatest of them all, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, Prophet Moses had an intense love for the Truly Existent One and an irresistible desire to speak to Him. At a time when the evident signs of his Prophethood and Messengership came one after the other, he sighed from the bot­tom of his heart with an overflowing yearning: “Show me Your­self, that I may look upon You!” (7:143). The Voice of the Pow­er, Which always speaks with wisdom, answered: “Never can you see Me (with your eyes in the world).” The Almighty meant: How can you see Me, seeing that you are still behind the veil of seeing Me and prevented by separation, being in the corporeal world. You are a shadow of the light of My Existence. If You rise to the horizon of seeing Me by Me, then you can see Me, but not with your eyes as I declared, Eyes comprehend Him not (6:103).

When you desire to look, you must look at the mountain of exis­tence with the eyes of non-existence so that the mountain of exis­tence may remain as it is and you will be able to see what you desire to.

Nevertheless, none except Prophet Muhammad would be favored with this manifestation. So, for an answer to Moses’ overflowing yearning to see the Divine Being and refusal to the appeal to see Him with his eyes in the world, the Almighty Lord displayed a manifestation of His Lordship on Mount Sinai or the nature of Moses, and either the Mount or both it and Moses shook violently and fell down as if struck by lightning. When the teaching for guidance had finished, Moses woke up from his faint that had been caused by the might of a manifestation of the Divine Lordship, and said: “O God! I proclaim that You are free from all kinds of defect, and that You alone are All-Holy (to be worshipped as God, and the Lord). From now on I turn to You with the consideration of annihilation in You and subsistence by You. We can observe You in Your signs, not with the darkness of our egos, but with the light of Your Being. I am among the first to believe in this truth.”

The gist of the matter is:

Love functioned as if the soul of Sinai, and
when Sinai was intoxicated with love, Moses fell down in swoon.

The manifestation of the Lordship has different veils:

The first is the manifestation of the Being Himself. This man­ifestation being beyond the Names and Attributes, a traveler who experiences it considers only the Divine Being Himself. Yazi­cizade Mehmed Efendi, the author of Muhammadiya, implicitly criticizes the Mu‘tazilites who deny a vision of God even in the Hereafter and expresses this spiritual perception as follows:

Since His image shows itself wholly within my soul,
My heart wipes away both name and form from this imaginary picture.
As it is possible to view Your Face and I desire to view It,
For I keep my ears free from the words of the Mu‘tazilites.

The manifestation of the Divine Attributes, which is the sec­ond category or degree, is the manifestation of one or more of cer­tain Attributes. This has been dealt with in two sub-categories:

The first is the manifestation of the Divine Majesty, with which people of self-possession are favored, and the other is the manifesta­tion of the Divine Grace, of which people of coloring feel in need.

If those who have not attained self-possession and wakefulness receive the manifestation of the Attribute of Existence, they may say, as Junayd al-Baghdadi said: “There is but He under my robe.” When those who are not people of self-possession are visited by the mani­festation of the Attribute of Oneness, they can express the state they fall into with pleasure, like Bayazid al-Bistami, who said: “Glory be to me, how exalted my being is!” If they are invaded by the manifes­tation of the Attribute of Permanence, they can utter the sentence that is irreconcilable with the rules of Shari‘a, that Hallaj al-Mansur [1] did: “I am the Truth (and Ever-Constant)!” [2]

When this manifestation occurs as the manifestation of the Divine Power and Will and is received in its true nature in wakefulness, and not in a state of pleasure, it will be as expressed: When you threw, it was not you who threw, but God threw (8:17). It is only Prophet Muhammad, the master of creatures, upon him be peace and blessings, who could receive this manifestation in its originality and true nature. If it is the manifestation of the Divine Creativity, it is Prophet Jesus who became a polished mir­ror to it in an extraordinary manner, as stated in the verse (3:49): I fashion for you out of clay something in the shape of a bird, then I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God’s leave.

The third is the manifestation of Divine Acts. This manifestation is an aspect of the manifestation of Divine Attributes and means that temporary acts have been annihilated in everlasting Acts. The author of Muhammadiya expresses this also in a vivid style as follows:

The All-Beautiful Beloved One has displayed His Light
again from the palace of Majesty;
this is why I am once more enraptured and crazy
because of the wine of His being all-eternal with no beginning.
My eyes and heart have removed from themselves the veil of ignorance,
and a call has been made to my soul from the One All-Exalted.
I have given up attachment to love as I have found His love.
Those who have found His love have abandoned grief-laden love.

Initiates lying in wait for a manifestation sometimes become so intoxicated that they feel Him in whatever they see. It even occurs that as they are so immersed in their present state, they see themselves in whatever they look at and cannot help but utter words that are irreconcilable with the rules of the Shari‘a, such as “I am the Truth,” or “Is there anybody else save me in both worlds?”

So far many have made such confusions and uttered such words. We can cite here only a single example:

I am not myself, if I am myself, then “he” is You;
If I am wearing a shirt, it is also You.
Full of suffering on Your way, I am left without body and soul;
If I still have a body and soul, then they are but You.

 The manifestations that cause those receiving them to utter such words are manifestations connected with the Attributes. Those deceived by their reason or the illusions which they take for the truth, have fallen away from the sphere illuminated by the master of the creatures, upon him be peace and blessings. They have both ruined themselves and deceived others. Let us listen to what the author of Mizanu’l-‘Irfan says about the state of such people:

If an intense manifestation comes from the Divine Being,
some initiates lose balance in this state.
This is a hard trial and great trouble for the initiate.
If he is not a perfected guide or
under the guidance of such a perfected one,
he may be hanged like Hallaj al-Mansur.
This is truly a difficult state for an initiate:
Whoever utters, “I am the Truth,” without being like Mansur,
he will become an unbeliever (with his) body and soul.
In short, this state is a slippery place,
Where the perfected ones among the saints do not long remain.

O God! Include us among Your servants sincere (in faith and practicing the religion), and endowed with sincerity, and God-revering, pious, and abstinent from all forbidden things big or small, and among those of asceticism and those near-stationed to You. And bestow blessings and peace on our master Muham­mad and on his Family and Companions, all of them.

Notes

1. Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj (857–309) is famous for his utterance “I am the Truth.” He mostly lived is Basra. He is also famous for his austerities. (Tr.)
2. God’s manifestation with His Attribute of Oneness means His overall manifes­tation throughout the universe with His unique Grandeur, and this is why one who experiences it utters what al-Bistami uttered. God’s being the (Ultimate) Truth (al-Haqq) also means His being constant and unchanging, for haqq also means stable, established and constant. This explains why one experiencing this manifestation may make utterances like that which al-Hallaj made. (Tr.)

Mushahada (observation) means using insight to see in Divine Acts the Divine Names that give existence to them, and to become aware, in the manifestation of the Names, of the All-Holy One Who is called by those Names. In oth­er words, observation denotes that those favored with Divine near­ness reach the horizon where they leave the corporeal realm behind and observe things like bright mirrors reflecting God’s Oneness.

Observation is seeing with insight or with the eye of the heart, and is therefore different from seeing. In his Sharh-i Muhammadiya (“The Exposition of Muhammadiya”), Ismail Haqqi Bursawi stresses this difference: Observation, a great Divine gift, is seeing with insight, not with the eyes. What is seen with the eyes is the shadow and manifestation of the Divine Light. As for what is seen with insight or observed, it is the truth of the Divine Light and the observation of the Ultimate Truth Himself, seen with the eye of the heart, beyond all concepts of modality.

Observation is also different from disclosure. Disclosure is that an initiate acquires familiarity with certain meanings and abstract truths; the object of observation is beings themselves, though not, of course, the Divine Being, Who absolutely cannot be comprehended. In other words, when the term “observation” is used with respect to the Divine Being as the object of observa­tion, it means turning to Him with one’s illumined and with illu­mining insight in such a way that one attracts Divine attention to oneself, while disclosure is the state in which one feels and expe­riences the Divine Names and Attributes.

Observation is made possible by a vigorous heart with keen sight and hearing. These senses are highly sensitive and receptive, completely connected to the realms beyond, and conducive to per­fect concentration. The verse (50:37), Surely in this is a reminder for one who has a heart or give ears having a full capacity of see­ing, can be interpreted as referring to this fact.

One favored with knowledge of God transcends His signs and the pieces of evidence provided by creation and, melting away in the originality of the Divine Names and Attributes, attains the observation of God’s Oneness beyond His Acts, Names and Attributes.

Like disclosure, there are degrees of observation. One can think of these degrees as observatories assigned to different capacities in order to observe the truth. Everyone is favored and honored with observation from these observatories according to the depth of their belief, the strength of their certainty, and the capacity of their heart. The lowest of these degrees is observation through knowledge of God supported by knowledge and belief. Initiates who have reached this point feel that by virtue of their strong certain­ty, they feel in their conscience that the lights of Divine Existence pour on the horizon of their perceptions in the form of knowledge of God. Such persons begin to walk with a deep yearning to the point where they will see everything annihilated in God.

The second degree of observation is so clear that it is as if one were seeing with one’s eyes. One favored with knowledge of God who has reached this point transcends His signs and the pieces of evidence provided by creation and, melting away in the originality of the Divine Names and Attributes, attains the observation of God’s Oneness beyond His Acts, Names and Attributes, which provide His signs and evidence in existence. Conscious of the fact that one’s existence is only shadowy, the seeker fixes his or her eyes on Him exclusively. Concerning this station, the author of Mizanu’l-‘Irfan (Mustafa Fevzi bin Nu’man) says:

Discovering the (Divine) Being is an elevated station,
where the currency of speech is not valid nor in demand.
Whoever attempts to knock on the door at that station,
always receives the answer, “You will never be able to see Me!”
If he is shown a sign like that resembling the one shown to Moses,
it will be only a single manifestation of His Majesty.

The third degree is observing everything as being annihilated in God. Those perfected ones favored with knowledge of God and who have attained this highest degree annihilate their material being and feel attracted by the All-Existent One with the All-Beau­tiful Names and All-Sacred Attributes by virtue of belief and a certainty that has been transformed into observation. With a sight that has gained the keenness that it will have in the Hereafter where the veils over the eyes will be removed, they know fully Who their Creator, Lord, Originator is, and the One Who has endowed them with the light of existence and Whom they worship. They are freed from any connection with all else save Him.

Junayd al-Baghdadi describes this station as the manifestation of the Unseen, which is perceived by means of the Divine lights in the time when hearts overflow with rejoicing. The author of Mizanu’l-‘Irfan says concerning the same point:

If the absolutely Sovereign Being manifests Himself,
the existence of the universe is no longer felt.
If the Truly Beloved One manifests Himself,
will any trace be left of the shadow of darkness?
However, this point leads some to confusion;
they take His lightning-like manifestation for the Being Himself.

What the author of Mizanu’l-‘Irfan is reminding us of is not to confuse the original with the shadow, and to take an observation from the conscience and the heart in a state of pleasure for the observation of the Ultimate Truth Himself. The following verses are only a few drops from the essence of such confusion:

If you have been given two eyes to know the Ultimate Truth,
then see the two worlds—this and the next—filled with the Friend!
Though we are each a drop, we are drowned in the ocean;
though we are each an atom, in fact we are the sun.

O God! Show us the truth as being true and enable us to fol­low it, and show us falsehood as being false and enable us to refrain from it. And bestow blessings and peace on Your Mes­senger, the pure, chosen one, and on his Family and Compan­ions, esteemed, appreciative and faithful.

‘Ashq, which the spirit feels outside the intervention of free will, cannot be controlled by the person so affected, for its real source is God, Who loves Himself in a way special to His Sacred Essence and is essentially independent of the created. In addition, it is essentially different from the love felt by the created for the created or the Creator. This sacred, essential love of God for Himself is the reason why He created the universe and why He caused humanity to appear in the world. It is also this love that manifests itself in human beings as love for God, as the most essential center of humanity’s relationship with God.

‘Ashq is the final step leading to God, and a lover who has reached it almost has no further steps to take. God manifested Himself first as this sacred, essential love required by His being God. I particularly avoid attributing to Him ‘ashq (passion or esctatic love) in the absolute sense of the word, and prefer using the word mahabba (love).

Some tend to call this Divine Love Knowledge, as Knowledge is the first manifestation of the Absolute Divine Being, Who is infinitely exalted above having any equals or likes. Every manifestation of the Divine Being is a condescension. This first condescension is called “Knowledge,” as it is God’s Knowledge. It is also called “the Sacred Love” in the sense that God loves to observe and to be “observed;” or “the Tablet” as it comprehends or contains all of existence; or “the Pen,” as it handles all things in existence in all their details. Jabarut (the Realm of the Transcendental Manifestation of Divine Attributes and Names) and the Truth of Ahmad (the Prophet’s Name before his coming to the world) are other titles of this condescension.

Sacred Love is a mystery peculiar to the Divine Essence. Other Attributes of His are appended to or dependent on this love. It is for this reason that those who fly with the wings of ‘ashq directly reach the Divine Essence and attain amazement, whereas others have to pass through the intermediate realms of the worlds of things and Names. The ways leading to God are almost beyond number. Sufism, the science of truth, contains the food, light, and other necessities travelers need for the journey, and the (spiritual) orders (tariqas) are the ports from which they set out, or the schools in which the principles of the journey are taught.

The ways to the Ultimate Truth can be divided into two main groups. The first is the way in which the wayfarer is offered or taught such principles as eating less, drinking less, sleeping less, increasing contemplation, and refraining from unnecessary social intercourse. Almost all Sufi orders are based on these practices. The main invocations recited by followers of this way are the Seven Names: There is no deity but God, God, He, the Ultimate Truth, the All-Living, the Self-Subsistent, the All-Overwhelming. By reciting these Names, one seeks to pass through the seven steps of the human self or soul: the Evil-Commanding, the Self-Condemning, the Inspired, the Serene and Peaceful or the Soul at Rest, the Soul Well-Pleased (with God), the Soul Pleasing (to God), and the Purified or Innocent Self or Soul. To these seven Names, some add such Names of Majesty as the All-Powerful, the All-Strong, the All-Compelling, the Master, and the All-Loving; others add such Names of Grace as the All-Independent, Single One; the One (having no partners or equals), the Unique One, and the Eternally Besought-of-All.

The second way is based on strict adherence to the Qur’an and the Sunna, and the encouragement of certain recitations. Those who follow this way strive to comply with the Sunna in whatever they do. Rather than reciting certain Names, they follow the methods used by God’s Messenger to worship, invoke, and pray, reflect on His Acts and creatures, and mention Him with all of His Names. Joining these activities with a meticulous following of the commandments of Shari’a, they are firmly attached to their guides or teachers and abandon themselves to the tides of ‘ashq and spiritual attraction toward God.

Once they have attained ‘ashq and attraction, existence with its outer dimension vanishes from their sight. They are annihilated with respect to the carnal aspect of their existence and begin to feel and observe the absolute Divine Unity. At this point, they immediately come to their senses without becoming confused or going to extremes in the relationship between the Creator and the created. In such a manner do they complete their journey.

The basic principles of this second way are regular worship, love, spiritual attraction toward God, regular recitation, and the companionship of one’s guide or teacher. In this context recitation, in addition to mentioning God with all of His Names, involves study or attending classes in whatever leads one to God. This is what the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, meant when he described this kind of recitation: They study together. At times, a lover finds himself or herself in the stream of joyful zeal and yearning, regarded as another dimension of ‘ashq.¹

O God! Guide us to what You love and are pleased with, and bestow blessing and peace on Muhammad, the one with whom You are pleased, and on his faithful Companions.

1- Muslim, “Dhikr,” 11.

In this path of loving, how can it possibly be That we see the world through You, and yet we don’t see You?
Rumi

What is the universe? The search for the answer to this fundamental question has been the starting point of philosophy and science. However, believers, mostly turn to religion for an ultimate answer. Most Muslim thinkers have considered the Divine Names as the primary things to be comprehended through which we can gain knowledge of the cosmos. And growing numbers of people have suggested that the universe is a hologram which makes us images of a higher reality. The first question that comes to mind is this: Can God’s manifestation, as explained in Sufi texts, promote to a holographic universe? The article, however, does not aim to answer this question, but rather to show that holographic model of the universe can feed our imaginations to perceive self-disclosure (tajalli) of God in everything. For this purpose, we will first concentrate on the main characteristics of a hologram, explore what is meant by a holographic universe, and then use these as metaphors to understand the cosmos in terms of God’s names.

What is a Hologram?

Holography is an imaging technique much like photography. However, in the case of holography, the image of the object is three-dimensional. The main instrument behind this dimensionality is the laser light. Let’s see how we can obtain a hologram, for example, of a flower. To achieve this, a beam of laser light is separated into two by a beam-splitter. One beam falls directly onto light-sensitive film. The other beam is reflected from the flower and then shines onto the same film. When these two beams overlap, they form an interference pattern on the film which is called a “hologram.” The pattern, which looks like the ripples formed by rain drops on a pond, can be seen once the film is developed. A three-dimensional image of the flower is produced as soon as the hologram is illuminated by another laser light. That is because the whole message of all the visual aspects of the flower is enfolded on the two-dimensional surface of the film. Actually, what happens is the revelation of the flower information, as recorded in the interference pattern. The startling feature is that if we cut the hologram in half and then illuminate one piece by a laser, we will still be able to produce the entire image. Even, if we keep cutting the film into smaller and smaller pieces, every single piece will still possess the whole information of the flower. Furthermore, we can see the different sides of the flower when we look at its image from different angles, giving us a convincing illusion of seeing a three-dimensional object.

The Holographic Universe

The idea that universe can be a hologram is brought forward by the fact that not only light waves, but also matter waves, can display the behavior of interference. A deeper level of interpretation for a holographic universe arose through the theoretical models that try to explain the coordinated action of the four fundamental forces in nature. These theories suggest 11 dimensions of space-time which actually appear four-dimensional on a human scale. This would, in a way, imply that the information of reality in eleven dimensions is projected onto the four-dimensional space-time substrate that we live in. However, it is with Gerard’t Hooft’s “Holographic Principle” that the holographic nature of all physical systems became apparent, for it explains how a three-dimensional physical system can be described by a theory based on a system’s two-dimensional surface area. Thus, the idea of a “holographic universe” was on stage once this principle had been applied to universe, the biggest physical system we know of. With the holographic model of universe comes the realization that each point in the universe contains the whole universe in itself: every grain of sand is connected to every planet in the cosmos, just as every subatomic particle comprises a web of interconnections by which it becomes intertwined with the human cell. David Bohm is one of the 20th century scientists known for recognizing this wholeness in nature. Bohm’s interpretation of the universe as a hologram came as an explanation to a 1982 experiment, performed by Alain Aspect and his team, which revealed how fast sub-atomic particles communicate with each other. Actually, the communication is found to be so fast, even faster than speed of light, as if particles “knew each others’ fates.” Bohm suggested that particles do not need any signal to communicate with each other simply because the separation between them is an illusion. The explicit separateness is a projection from a higher level of reality, that he calls Implicate Order, where everything is connected. The particle acts as if it knows the other particle’s fate because it has the other particle’s information within itself. Another scientist who saw the holography in action is neurophysiologist Karl Pribram. He was trying to find which specific locations in the brain are assigned to store our memories. His experiments revealed there is no such localization. Pribram claims that the pattern formed by the interference of electrical signals from each nerve cell in the brain is where, in fact, the memories are “stored.”

God’s Manifestation

Many Muslim thinkers, from Ghazzali to Ibn al Arabi, have presented God as Light, and all entities in the cosmos as the dim reflections of that Light. The Qur’an affirms this approach with its many verses, one of the best known being that “God is the light (nur) of the heavens and the earth” (24:35). However, since God has neither resemblance nor similarity to any of His creatures, this kind of description should not be considered as a likeness to the light we know of, but as a metaphor. The symbolism of light is used mainly to explain the relationship between God and creation. But first, one should know about Divine Names to understand this relationship.

In point of fact, in the Qur’an, the verses generally end with a mention of some of the Divine Names-The Life Giver, The Slayer, The Forgiver, The All-Provider, The All-Knowing, The Creator, etc. Actually, we name Him “Creator” after witnessing the effect of this name on creation. For example, we witness mercy on creation and so we call Him “The Merciful.” Everything from physical beings to the sciences manifests God’s names in some mode or another. All types of hearing originate from Him being “The All-Hearing.” “The All-Just” shines in the way the planets are placed in their orbits, while “The All-Provider” can be seen in how each and every animal is taken care of. Medicine reflects “The All-Healing,” while geometry reflects “The All-Shaping.” To explain God’s manifestation (zohur), Said Nursi once gave the example of the sun and its light in his Sixteenth Word: We can think the light from the sun as God’s light and its attributes as God’s attributes. For example, the heat of the white light can be thought as God’s Power, and brightness as God’s Knowledge. The moment the sun reflects, let’s say on a mirror, its heat and brightness are also there in addition to its image. In a similar manner, God manifests Himself in all beings with all His attributes. However there is ranking in this manifestation which depends upon the being’s abilities and quality. We can use the analogy of light to see how different qualities give rise to different manifestations. A flat mirror has the ability to produce the image of the object with its original size and shape, while mirrors in fun houses can cause distortions depending on the curvature. Actually, in Sufism, the fact that the Names are various and are being manifested to varying degrees is given as the reason for variety in the universe as well as in human beings. And thus, human beings, created with the most complex abilities, have the highest place in the ranking, while the heart, the subtlest faculty of a man is considered as the center of manifestation.

Taking the analogy of light further, and using the allegory of a hologram, we can better visualize the relationship between the creation and God and the idea of ranking in His manifestation. In our analogy, laser light represents God’s attributes, the hologram (film) represents four-dimensional space-time, and the interference pattern corresponds to interfering with God’s names. Therefore, everything in the cosmos can be viewed as a pattern of Divine Names enfolded throughout space and time. As a result, one can conclude that the

Divine Names are not so much ontological entities but simply the effect of such interference, like two lights overlapping. God’s attributes give birth to all existent things just as laser light interference gives birth to a hologram. This analogy is consistent with the Sufi texts that draw the distinction between God’s Names (asma) and Attributes (sifat). Imam Rabbani, a well known Islamic scholar, emphasizes this distinction in his Letters. Divine attributes (such as Existence, Having No Beginning, Eternal Permanence, Being Unlike the Created, Self-Subsistence, Life, Knowledge, Power, Speech, Will, Hearing, Seeing, and Creating) are the features that cannot be separated from God Himself (Dhat). But once God discloses Himself, the effects of the Attributes are manifested and we call these effects Divine Names. In a nutshell, this means, the Attributes are the sources of Names, just as the light is the source of interference.

Furthermore, with the analogy of space-time as a hologram, if we cut the space-time into an infinite number of pieces, the whole universe is present at every location. Mahmud Shabstari expresses perfectly such an interconnection and unity in all creation in his Gulshan-i Raz (The Mystic Rose Garden):

Know the world is a mirror from head to foot,

In every atom a hundred blazing suns.

If you cleave the heart of one drop of water,

A hundred pure oceans emerge from it.

If you examine closely each grain of sand,

A thousand Adams may be seen in it.

In its members a gnat is like an elephant;

In its qualities a drop of rain is like the Nile.

The heart of a barley-corn equals a hundred harvests,

A world dwells in the heart of a millet seed.

In the wing of a gnat is the ocean of the life,

In the pupil of the eye a heaven;

What though the grain of the heart be small,

It is a station for the Lord of both worlds to dwell therein. (Translated by E. H. Whinfield)

This way of looking at everything may lead a believer to embrace the doctrine of wahdat-al wujud, the interpretation of oneness of existence. This results in the denial of the existence of the universe and because of the belief that the only thing that exists is God. One remark necessary at this point is that this might sound a lot like pantheism. However, a critical distinction is that in pantheism, what is denied is God, not the universe. Actually, many people, in trying to integrate the perspective of holographic universe with Sufism, adopt the Sufi belief “hama ost,” meaning “All is He,” another name for wahdat-al wujud. But the holographic metaphor, as presented above, may better serve in our attempt to understand God’s Unity (tawhid) without denying the universe. Thinking all beings as an interference of God’s names is consistent with the faith that every entity is a Divine location. However, note that we drew the distinction between Divine Names and Divine Attributes. Every being is kept in existence through God’s names. Things exist not because God abides in them with his infinite Being. In other words, and most importantly, it is not that God Himself is everywhere in the cosmos, but rather that His Names are present at every point. He does not dwell in cosmos, but is, instead, the source of cosmos. He is eternal-while cosmos ceases to exist once its connection to Him is cut. This standpoint is referred in Sufism as “hama az ost,” meaning “All is from Him.” In this view, the existence of universe is not denied but its level of existence can be questioned. If the true existence is defined as God’s Absolute existence, the universe does not have a true existence but is still in a mode of existence which is temporal and contingent. This existential challenge is explained by Islamic thinkers through the example of a shadow. The relationship of creation to the Creator is like that between a shadow and the actual shape. Thus, the likeness witnessed in a shadow and a hologram is such that we can conceptualize God’s manifestation-but He is not limited by these dimensions.

In fact, the similitude of hologram can also help us to conceive the spiritual unveiling. Interference patterns originating from different objects can be recorded on the same film by projecting the laser beams at different and varying angles. In such a case, depending on the direction and frequency of the beam that you send through the film, a different three-dimensional image will appear. Two points to emphasize are that the use of laser light is necessary to see the higher dimensionality, and that one can see different realities. In a similar fashion, in a spiritual journey, a traveler needs to have radiance from God’s light to be able to witness further dimensions. With the light of God, spiritual unveiling occurs and a Sufi may see different instances of a reality depending upon His station, which Divine name He is reflecting on or reciting, etc. Thus, the complex information that every element in the universe can reveal about every other entity depends on the fact that God’s names denote each other. We can further use the notion of interference to delineate the concept of ranking in God’s manifestation. In an interference pattern, not all points have the same brightness. The degree of brightness depends on the location and the way the two lights overlap. There are even points where no light can be observed. This, however, does not mean there is no light there; it simply cannot be seen due to destructive interference. Extrapolating this into God’s manifestation, every entity is a Divine location, even if it cannot manifest Him.

To end this train of thought, we should find an answer to a mysterious question. If everything in four-dimensional space-time comes into existence once a higher reality is projected on the void of darkness by God’s Light, what, then, is that higher multidimensional reality? It is a reality which can only be witnessed by those who see behind the appearance of things-by those who free themselves from the material world and carnal desires. It is, perhaps, the Preserved Tablet (Lawh al-Mahfuz) mentioned in chapter, The Constellations (Buruj). Ultimately, this is a question that can only be answered by those who have purified their hearts and can see beyond.

The universe is a palace, but it is such a palace that in it is a city which is being constantly shaken by destruction and reconstruction. And in the city is a country which is being continuously agitated by war and emigration. And within the country is a world which is unceasingly revolving amid death and life. But such an astonishing balance, equilibrium and equilibration prevail in the palace, city, country and world that it self-evidently proves that the transformations, incomings and outgoings apparent in these innumerable beings are being measured and weighed every moment on the scales of a Single Being Who sees and supervises the whole universe.

For if it had been otherwise, if causes had been free and unrestrained, which try to destroy the balance and overrun everything, through a single fish laying a thousand eggs and a single flower like a poppy producing twenty thousand seeds, and through the onslaught and violence of change and the elements flowing in floods, or if it had been referred to aimless, purposeless chance, anarchic blind forces, and unconscious dark Nature, the equilibrium of beings and balance of the universe would have been so utterly destroyed that within a year, indeed within a day, there would have been chaos. That is to say, the seas would have been filled with things in total disorder and confusion and would have become fetid; the atmosphere would have been poisoned with noxious gases; and as for the earth, it would have turned into a refuse-heap, slaughter-house, and swamp. The world would have suffocated.

Thus, everything from the cells of an animate body, the red and white corpuscles in the blood, the transformations of minute particles, and the mutual proportion and relation of the body’s organs, to the incomings and outgoings of the seas, the income and expenditure of springs under the earth, the birth and death of animals and plants, the destruction of autumn and the reconstruction of spring, the duties and motion of the elements and the stars, and the alternations, struggles and clashes of death and life, light and darkness, and heat and cold, are ordered and weighed with so sensitive a balance, so fine a measure, that the human mind can nowhere see any waste or futility, just as human science and philosophy see everywhere and point out the most perfect order and beautiful symmetry. Indeed, human science and philosophy are a manifestation and interpreter of that order and symmetry.

So, come and consider the balance and equilibrium of the sun and its twelve planets. Does this balance not point as clearly as the sun to the All-Glorious One Who is All-Just and All-Powerful? And especially our ship, that is, the globe of the earth, which is one of the planets; it travels an orbit of twenty-four thousand years in one year, not scattering or shaking the things stored up and stacked on its face, despite its extraordinary speed, nor throwing them off into space. If its speed had been increased or reduced just a little, it would have thrown its inhabitants off into the atmosphere, and scattered them through space. And if its balance was to be destroyed for a minute, or even a second, it would destroy the world. Indeed, it would clash with another body and doomsday would break forth.

And especially the compassionate balance on the face of the earth of the births, deaths, livelihoods, and lives of the four hundred thousand plant and animal species, it shows a single Just and Compassionate One, as clearly as light shows the sun.

And especially the members, faculties, and senses of a single of the innumerable members of those species, they are related to each other with so fine a balance and equilibrium that their balance and mutual proportion show an All-Wise and Just Maker so clearly as to be self-evident.

And especially the cells and blood-vessels in the bodies of animals, and the corpuscles in the blood and particles in the corpuscles, they have such a fine, sensitive, and wondrous balance that it self-evidently proves that they are being nurtured and administered through the balance, law, and order of a single All-Just and Wise Creator in Whose hands are the reins of all things, has the key to all things, for Whom nothing is an obstacle to anything else, and directs all things as easily as a single thing.

If someone who does not believe or deems it unlikely that the deeds of jinn and men will be weighed up on the supreme scales of justice at the Last Judgment notes carefully this vast balance which he can see in this world with his own eyes, he will surely no longer consider it unlikely.

O wasteful, prodigal.. wrongful, unjust.. dirty, unclean.. wretched man! You have not acted in accordance with the economy, cleanliness, and justice which is the principle by which the whole universe and all beings act, and are therefore in effect the object of their anger and disgust. On what do you rely that through your wrongdoing and disequilibrium, your wastefulness and uncleanliness, you make all beings angry? Yes, the universal wisdom of the universe, which is the greatest manifestation of the Divine Name of All-Wise, turns on economy and lack of waste. It commands frugality.

While the total justice in the universe proceeding from the greatest manifestation of the Name of All-Just, administers the balance of all things. And it enjoins justice on man. Mentioning the word `balance’ four times, these verses in Sura al-Rahman,

And the firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the balance (of justice); In order that you may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance (55:7-9),indicate four degrees and four sorts of balance, showing its immensity and supreme importance in the universe. Yes, just as there is no wastefulness in anything, so too in nothing is there true injustice and imbalance.

And the cleanliness and purification proceeding from the Name of Most Holy cleans and makes beautiful all the beings in the universe. So long as man’s dirty hand does not interfere, there is no true uncleanliness or ugliness in anything.

So, you may understand how basic to human life are the principles of justice, frugality, and cleanliness, which are truths of the Qur’an and Islamic principles. And know how closely connected with the universe are the injunctions of the Qur’an, having spread their firm roots everywhere, and that it is impossible to destroy those truths like it is impossible to destroy the universe and change its form.

Is it at all possible that although hundreds of comprehensive truths like these three vast lights, such as mercy, grace, and preservation, require and necessitate the resurrection of the dead and the Hereafter, powerful and all-encompassing truths like mercy, favour, justice, wisdom, frugality, and cleanliness, which govern in the universe and all beings, should be transformed into unkindness, tyranny, lack of wisdom, wastefulness, uncleanliness, and futility, through there being no Hereafter and the resurrection not occurring?

God forbid, a hundred thousand times, God forbid! Would a mercy and wisdom which compassionately preserve the rights of life of a fly violate the countless rights of life of all conscious beings and the numberless rights of numberless beings, through not bringing about the resurrection? And if one may say so, would a splendid dominicality which displays infinite sensitivity and care in its mercy and compassion and justice and wisdom, and a Divine sovereignty which adorns the universe with His endless wondrous arts and bounties in order to display His perfections and make himself known and loved, permit there to be no resurrection, which would reduce to nothing the value of creatures and all their perfections, and make them denied? God forbid! An absolute beauty such as that clearly would not permit such absolute ugliness.

Yes, one who wants to deny the Hereafter must first deny all the world and all its truths. Otherwise the world together with all its truths will give him the lie with a hundred thousand tongues, proving the compounded nature of his lie. As a result the existence of the Hereafter is as definite and indubitable as the existence of this world as proven by certain evidences.

Flashes, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Sozler Yayinevi
Translated by Sukran Vahide,

Vegetables or plants serve as seeds for Earth, and animals are fruits of the world. A seed is a miniature tree, and its fruit is its miniature index. Whatever is manifested in a tree is manifested in the seed and the fruit. The purpose for existence and life is to receive and reflect the manifestations of the Names of the All-Majestic and Beautiful One of absolute Perfection. Divine Favoring manifests itself through the elaboration and reproduction of plants and animals, especially with their most delicate parts and individual members. This is most suitable to the eternal Wisdom.

It is narrated that Prophet Moses complained to God about the abundance of gnats attacking him and asked: ‘What is the wisdom of creating so many of them?’ God revealed that: ‘The gnat asks: ‘Why have you created human beings, who are so large? They are unaware and heedless of You. If you had made their heads of gnats, [in return for each,] You would have had tens of thousands of those praising, mentioning, and glorifying You, and displaying Your Names’ manifestations and Your art’s embroideries through their tongues and disposition.’ ‘ True! While the invisible Qur’an inscribed in the ink of stars on the sheets of the heavens shows you the signs of creation’s grandeur and splendor, the Qur’an inscribed in the ink of subatomic particles or the atoms in your eye reads the signs of Knowledge and Wisdom.

The former says: ‘Glory be to Him. How splendid are His Essential Qualities,’ while the latter says: ‘Glory be to Him. How delicate is His Wisdom, how subtle His art.’ Although both Qur’ans have the same value and significance, since observers and watchers derive no benefit from multiplying the large one, multiplying the small one is of great importance to those numberless angels and jinn, people and others who study it and reflect on it. When it is multiplied, it will not remain the same, single book; rather, it will be a book of endless variations containing different uses and meanings, one that has increased greatly in beauty and purity of expression. Furthermore, when many chapters of the small Qur’an and its copies are inserted in some of the letters of the large one, the small Qur’an excels the large one to the degree of its smallness.

Another wise purpose for creating many animals and plants is that the most perfect Divine manifestation is that God manifests Himself with all His Names focused on a single being. Art becomes most perfect when the greatest thing, with all of its embroideries, is inserted in the smallest. The seed and fruit with respect to the tree, the plant and animal with respect to Earth, humanity and the Prophet with respect to the universe, and the heart and innermost human sense or faculty with respect to humanity-these are essential, compact samples receiving and reflecting all of the Names manifested on the originals growing from them.

For example a fruit, part of the tree (which represents the whole) points to Unity-the manifestation of Divine Names on all fruits and trees. However, being a sample of the tree (containing whatever is in the tree) and the tree representing the total growing from it and resulting in it, a fruit indicates Divine Oneness-the manifestation of Divine Names as focused on the fruit.

For example, the sunlight illuminating the world in daytime is a manifestation of Unity, while the sun’s image reflected in each transparent object is an example or analogy for the manifestation of Oneness.

When you see the sun in your mirror as having taken on the mirror’s color and attributes and then see it in other mirrors, you understand and witness what Oneness or Unity means. It is the same (and only) sun manifested in all mirrors that announces: ‘We speak in different tongues, but Your Beauty is one and the same.’

Whatever exists points to that Beauty. We understand from this that the All-Wise Creator, with glorified Wisdom and delicate art, turns with His subtle Power, complete Favoring, perfect Mercy, and sensitive Wisdom from creation to Earth, and then, in succession, to living beings, humanity, and one’s heart; from humanity to its heart; and finally to the heart of creation and its seed from which the universe, as well as its illustrious fruit, the final purpose for its creation, and the embodiment of the Creator’s Love and Mercy, was created. That exalted, noblest, pure, unblemished heart is Muhammad, our master and the master of creation, upon him be peace and blessings to the number of the Tree of Creation’s fruits.

Know, O one who thinks that some creatures exist in nature overabundantly and in vain. Creation’s perfect order and balance refute this, for the order is a design interwoven by the raison d’etre of all parts, particulars or individuals, and details in creation. One cannot observe the purposes of all details of a palace, nor neglect the main purpose of why it was built. Since the main purpose is considered while building it with all its parts, the secondary purposes expected of the details are thus observed, for there are subtle purposes behind everything related with the All-Living, Self-Subsistent Owner in proportion to His Ownership and disposal, and the extent of His Names’ manifestation on that thing. The purposes related to the thing itself are also in proportion to its life and existence.

Everything has been entrusted with a goal in life, which is studied by intelligent beings. If one cannot discern it, others can. Each thing contains numerous benefits. God has uncountable hosts. None knows the hosts of your Lord but He (74:31). Innumerable beings focus their attentive gaze on all things that exist. Among them are angels glorifying and exalting God, jinn observing creation in amazement and reflecting on it, and spirit beings extolling God and proclaiming His Unity, for Whom the solidity of things does not conceal what is in them and Who can observe many things at once. Above all, the Maker of all things looks on the works of His art. Many awake and enlightened believers, as well as many animals moved by their perceptions, also look on God’s works of art.

Question: The signs in the Book of the Universe point to the existence of non-human creatures who gaze on and study them in amazement and reflection and then glorify God. Which line indicates this?

Answer: The order on the line of balance in the page of wisdom indicates it. When you enter a theater where a play is being performed, you see many marvels that amaze the audience, as well as pleasing melodies and many types of charms in which minds and imaginations take pleasure. There are also many other things that give pleasure to your innumerable faculties, feelings, and senses. Then you look at the spectators’ hall and see a few paralyzed, deaf, and blind children. You will conclude that behind the veils hanging in front of the walls are various intelligent beings with different tastes and temperaments who have come for innocent amusement and are pleased with and want to see every novelty in the play. They see you and the play from where you cannot see them.

If you understand this comparison, look at those creatures and their world. You see ‘carpets’ spread, ‘couches’ raised, ‘raiments’ worn, and ‘sheets’ unrolled. There are flowers and fresh fruits inviting living, needy beings to themselves with their color, taste and smell, and appealing to those who understand such things with their design, decoration, and art. Plants climb straight up their stalks to fulfill their duty of creation, and animals stand on their legs to do their duty of worship. Most of these creatures are not conscious of the astonishing, pure beauty and excellent faculties lodged in their creation, for they are for other creatures who can see and hear.

Despite this attractive majesty, charming adornment, kinds of favoring, things and events arousing curiosity to know and feelings of love for the One behind them; despite all undertakings, intentions and decisions, self-ornamentation, smiles, beckonings, and flirtations; and despite many similar attractions and charms that almost start to talk and tell their meanings, it appears that only two kinds of intelligent, living beings of understanding can appreciate all of this: humanity and jinn. However, most of them are heedless and are like deaf and blind children with paralyzed minds in the darkness of materialism and naturalism. This shows that apart from humanity and jinn, the universe is full of beings with spirit who reflect on existence and glorify God: The seven heavens and Earth, and whoever is in them, glorify Him; there is nothing that does glorify Him with praise but you do not understand their glorification (17:44).

* Adapted from Bediuzzaman’s Epitomes of Light (Mathnawi al-Nuriya)

This means that the One Who looks after the universe does so very well. Its Owner sweeps, cleans, and orders the vast universe and Earth as though they were small rooms. In relation to the size of the universe, there is no dirt or rubbish. Indeed, considering the size of the universe, its cleanliness and tidiness are remarkable.

If some people do not wash themselves or clean their small room for a month, they become extremely dirty. That is to say, the cleanliness, purity, and luminosity of the Earth arise from a continuous, wise, and diligent cleaning. If it were not so, in one year all of the 100,000 animal species on this planet would have choked to death.

Also, the debris of the planets and the heavens, which manifest life and death, and of satellites and stars would have smashed not only our heads and those of animals, but also the head of the earth itself. They would have rained down on our heads rocks the size of mountains, and driven us away from our homeland in this world. However, a few meteorites, as a warning, have fallen on this planet but have not broken any heads.

Furthermore, the corpses of 100,000 animal species and the debris of 200,000 plant species each year on our planet resulting from the alternations and struggles of life and death would have so dirtied the land and the sea that conscious creatures, rather than loving and delighting in our planet, would have felt disgust and aversion and fled to death and non-existence.

Just as a bird cleans its wings with ease and a scribe cleans his or her pages, so are the wings our planet, the birds of the heavenly bodies, and the pages of the Book of the Universe cleaned and made beautiful. This is true to such a degree that those who do not consider the infinite beauty of the Hereafter and do not think with belief become lovers of this world’s cleanliness and beauty. They worship it.

The Earth and the universe display the greatest manifestation of the Divine Name of the Most Holy (Quddus). Not only do meat-eating cleaners of the seas and eagles of the skies obey the commands proceeding from that sacred cleansing, but those cleansing officials that gather up corpses, like worms and ants, also do so. Just as red and white blood corpuscles flowing in the body obey those sacred commands to cleanse the body’s cells, so does breathing purifly and cleanse the blood.

As eyelids obey the command to cleanse the eye and flies to brush their wings, so do the atmosphere and the clouds obey the same command. Wind blows upon the particles of dust and soil settled on the face of the earth and cleans it. The sponge-like clouds sprinkle water on the garden of the earth and becalm the dust and soil. Then, in order not to dirty the sky, the wind quickly collects the earth’s rubbish, withdraws, and hides itself with perfect orderliness. It displays the beautiful face and eye of the skies as swept and polished, all sparkling and shining.

All stars, elements, minerals, and plants obey the command to clean, as do all particles and atoms. They pay attention to cleanliness within the astonishing upheavals of change and transformation. They never congregate anywhere unnecessarily and get in the way. And if they somehow become soiled, they are quickly cleaned, for they are impelled by a hand of wisdom to acquire the cleanest, neatest, and most shining states, and the most beautiful, pure, and subtle forms.

Thus this single act of cleansing, which is a single truth, is the greatest manifestation of the Greatest Name, the Name of the Most Holy, which shows itself throughout the universe. Like the sun, it shows itself directly to far-seeing and broad-sighted eyes as the Divine existence and Unity together with the Most Beautiful Divine Names.

It has been established with decisive proofs in the Risale-i Nur that since the act of ordering and order manifest the Names of Sapient and All-Wise; the act of weighing and balance manifest the Names of Justice and All-Just; the act of adorning and munificence manifest the Names of Beauteous and All-Generous; the act of sustaining and bestowal manifest the Names of Sustainer and Most Compassionate-as each is a single truth and a single act, they demonstrate the necessary existence and Unity of a Single Being. In the same way, the act of purifying and cleansing manifest and display the Name of the Most Holy, and demonstrates, just as the sun does, the existence of the Necessarily Existent One, and, just like daylight does, His Unity.

Just as these wise acts of ordering, balancing, adorning, and cleansing point to a Single Maker by reason of their unity of kind in the universe, so do most of the Beautiful Names. Indeed, each of the 1,001 Names has its greatest manifestation in the universe. The act proceeding from that manifestation points to the Single Unique One with clarity and decisiveness in relation to its extensiveness.

The self-evident truths and single acts that illuminate the universe and make it smile, like the universal wisdom causing all things to conform to its law and order, the comprehensive munificence that adorns all things and causes them to smile, the all-embracing mercy that makes all things pleased and happy, the universal provision of sustenance that nurtures and gives pleasure to all things, and the life and the giving of life that connects each thing with all things and makes each thing benefit from, and to some extent own, all things point to a single All-Wise, All-Generous, and All-Compassionate One, a single Sustainer, a single Ever-Living Giver of Life as plainly as light points to the sun.

If those hundreds of extensive acts, each of which is a clear proof of God’s Unity, are not attributed to the Single Unique One, each necessarily becomes impossible in hundreds of respects. For example, let alone such self-evident truths and single evidences as wisdom, providence, mercy, sustaining and giving of life, if only the act of cleansing is not attributed to the Creator, then the following becomes necessary:

• All creatures connected to this act of cleansing, from particles and flies to the elements and the stars, would have to know and consider the adorning, balancing, and cleansing of the vast universe and would act accordingly, or

• Each would have to possess the sacred attributes of the Creator of the world, or

• Each would have to be present at a consultative meeting the size of the universe in order to regulate the equilibrium of the adorning and cleansing of the universe and its incomings and outgoings.

Moreover, innumerable particles, flies, stars, and other elements of creation would have to attend this meeting. Hundreds of such impossibilities would have had to occur so that the universal, comprehensive, and exalted adorning, purifying, and cleansing seen and observed everywhere could exist. It is not impossible only once, but millions of times over.

If daylight and the imaginary miniature suns reflected in all shining objects on the planet were not attributed to the sun and were said to be something other than the manifestation of the sun’s reflection, it would be necessary for the actual sun to be present in all fragments of glass, drops of water, and snowflakes glistening on the earth’s surface, and even in all particles of air, so that the universal light could exist.

Thus, wisdom also is a light; all-embracing mercy is a light; adorning, balancing, ordering, and cleansing are each an encompassing light in the sense that they are rays of the Pre-Eternal Sun. So, see how misguidance and unbelief have entered a bog from which there is no way out! See just how ridiculous is such a view. Say: “Praise be to God for the religion of Islam and complete and perfect belief!”

This exalted, universal cleansing that keeps the universe clean is the manifestation and requirement of the Divine Name of the Most Holy. And just as the glorification of all creatires looks to the Name of the Most Holy, so does the Name of the Most Holy require the cleanliness of all of them. It is because of this sacred connection of cleanliness that a hadith states 1: “Cleanliness is a part of belief,” 2 thereby deeming it to be a light of belief. And the verse: “Indeed, God loves those who turn to Him constantly, and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean” (2:222) shows that cleanliness attracts God’s love.

From The Risale-i Nur Collection, The Thirtieth Flash, The First Point.

FOOTNOTES

1. We must not forget that bad qualities, false beliefs, sins, and mistaken beliefs and practices are all instances of moral and spiritual dirt.
2. Muslim, Tahara, 1; Darimi, Vudu’, 2; Muslim, Musnad 5:342; al’Ajiuni, Khashf al-Khafa’, 291.