Arif-Macrocosm
“Bismillahir Rahmannir Raheem”Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salaatu was- Salaamu ‘Alaa Sayidinaa Muhammadin wa Aalihi wa Asabihi Ajma ‘een (tauheed- risalat- ahkirat and islam-iman-ihsan)
Arif 26
THE MACROCOSM.
As Man is created in the image of God, so the universe is created in the image of Man , who is its spirit and life .
Before the creation God was in Himself, and the objects of existence were absorbed in Him so that He was not manifested in any thing. This is the state of “being a hidden treasure ”
When God willed to bring the world into existence, He looked on the Idea of Ideas with the look of Perfection, whereupon it dissolved and became a water; for nothing in existence, not even the Idea of Ideas, which is the source of all existence, can bear the perfect manifestation of God.
Then God looked on it with the look of Grandeur, and it surged in waves, like a sea tossed by the winds, and its grosser elements were spread out in layers like foam, and from that mass God created the seven earths with their inhabitants. The subtle elements of the water ascended, like vapour from the sea, and from them God created the seven heavens with the angels of each heaven. Then God made of the water seven seas which encompass the world. This is how the whole of existence originated.
1. The Heaven of the Moon.
This is not the earth-born vapour which we call the sky, but is invisible on account of its farness and subtlety. God created it from the nature of the Spirit (al-Rúḥ) , that it might have the same relation to the earth as the spirit has to the body; and He made it the dwelling-place of Adam . Its colour is whiter than silver.
2. The Heaven of Mercury.
God created it from the nature of reflection (fikr) and placed in it all the angels who help craftsmen. Its colour is grey.
3. The Heaven of Venus.
It is created from the nature of phantasy (khayál) and is the locality of the World of Similitudes (‘álamu ’l-mithrál). Its colour is yellow. Yousuf ‘s(as) dwelling place.
4. The Heaven of the Sun.
It is created from the light of the heart (qalb). The Sun in his heaven is like the heart in man—a mirror of Deity: while the heart displays the sublime degrees of existence connoted by the name Allah, the Sun is the source and principle of the elemental world. Idrís, Jesus, Solomon, David, and most of the prophets dwell in the heaven of the Sun; its ruling angel is Isráfíl.
5. The Heaven of Mars.
Azrael, the Angel of Death, presides over this blood-red heaven, which is created from the light of judgment (wahm).
6. The Heaven of Jupiter.
Its colour is blue. God created it from the light of meditation (himma). The angels of the Sixth Heaven, of whom Michael is the chief, are angels of mercy and blessing. Some have the shapes of animals and birds and men; others appear as substances and accidents which bring health to the sick or as solids and liquids which supply created beings with food and drink; others are formed half of fire and half of ice.
Musa’s (as) dwelling place
7. The Heaven of Saturn.
The Seventh Heaven was the first to be created. It was created from the light of the First Intelligence, and its colour is black. Between it and the Starless Heaven (al falaku ’l-aṭlas) there are three heavens which have only a logical, not an actual, existence: the Heaven of Matter (falaku ’l-hayúlá), which is the highest of the three; the Heaven of Atoms (falaku ’l-habá) ; and the Heaven of the Elements (falaku ’l-‘anáṣir); some philosophers add a fourth, viz., the Heaven of Natural Properties (falaku ’l-tabá’i‘).
The author proceeds to describe the seven limbos of the Earth .
1. The Earth of Souls (arḍu ’l-nufús).
God created it whiter than milk and sweeter than musk, but when Adam walked on it after the Fall it became dust-coloured, except one region in the North, never reached by any sinner, which is ruled by al-Khaḍir and inhabited by the Men of the Unseen World (rijálu ’l-ghayb) .
2. The Earth of Devotions (arḍu ’l-‘ibádát).
In colour it resembles an emerald. Its inhabitants are those of the Jinn (genies) who believe in God: their night is our day, and their day our night. After the sun sets in our earth, they appear on it and fall in love with the children of men. Most of these spirits envy the disciples of the Mystic Way, and taking them unawares bring them to ruin.
3. The Earth of Nature (arḍu ’l-ṭab‘).
Its colour is saffron-yellow. The unbelieving Jinn who inhabit it appear in human shape amongst mankind and cause them to neglect the worship of God.
4. The Earth of Lust (arḍu ’l-shahwa).
Its colour is blood-red. It is inhabited by different sorts of devils who are the offspring of the soul of Iblís.
5. The Earth of Exorbitance (arḍu ’l-ṭughyán).
Its colour is indigo blue. ‘Afríts and potent demons dwell in it, who busy themselves with seducing men to commit great sins.
6. The Earth of Impiety (arḍu ’l-ilḥád).
Its colour is black as night. It is the abode of the márids (the most evil and rebellious of the Jinn) 3.
7. The Earth of Misery (arḍu ’l-shaqáwa).
It is the floor of Gehenna (Jahannum) and is inhabited by enormous snakes and scorpions, which God placed there in order that it might be a pattern of the torments of Hell to the people of this world .
When I want to talk to Allah I say prayers and when I want that he talk to me I recite quran- Hazrath Ali(ra)
Make sure you forward this to others .