NUZÛL : Descent of graces
By Sh. Amanoullah de Vos
« If you consider that the total knowledge consists of 72 letters, imagine that all the sciences currently known only reach two letters, it is at the time of Imam al Mahdi that the remaining 70 letters will be gradually revealed. »
The teachings on spiritual guidance that Mawlana Sheikh Nazim has asked us to impart are complementary to the experience that will then be passed on from heart to heart through one's practice. If you take a plane to fly, you will obviously look for directions to your destination at the airport. In the same way, the teachings given will tell you what your destination will be if you follow them. Some people will repeat "canned" teachings as Mawlana says, while in our path we give "fresh" teachings, inspired by the divine according to the moment because Kulu yawmin huwa fi cha'n: "Every day God is at a new work" (Quran Surah Ar-Rahman. Chap.55-29).
Some, therefore, will choose to go to a city with a more or less direct image of the Mecca of the Presence, others will visit the Mecca out of simple obligation or as a tourist without knowing its heart.
Others will want to go to the center of the centers, that of the original universal Islam, in full awareness of what they are doing, enlightened by Ruh al Hadi, Ruh Al Imam. The teaching of the Qur'an and the Hadiths needs to be enlightened by this universal Spirit in order to understand its full dimension, and this is what makes the difference between the traditional teaching of the doctors of law and the teaching of the Imam's companions as well as the Imam himself.
Isn't it worth spending a little time reading a few pages to choose your destination ?
In our first letter, the intention was to testify to the Absolute and the inaccessible infinity of the Divine Reality, which precisely, by its Absolute all possibility necessarily includes manifesting itself to its creatures and even looking at itself in them having configured them to its image. To begin thus is in the spirit-sunna of Imam Ali, of Sheikh Abdel Qader al-Jilâni (see his Gunya); of Sheikh Muhhyyi din Ibn arabi (see his profession of faith) each one actualizing here and now the frame of the universal fundamental orientation.
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We had arrived at the manifestation of the muhammadan light which was manifested on the one hand in the prophetic function, closed with Sayyidina Muhammad, then on the other hand according to another mode, by the walaya, the sainthood whose plenary manifestation will be done by the LIEU-TENANT of God in the worlds, his KHALIF who will give justice on Earth where there is injustice, the expected IMAM, al-Hadi al-Mahdi 'alayhi salam as well as on all his pure ancestors. We will come back to the fact that it is from this unique original light that the two final functions of Imam Mahdi and Sayyidina 'Issa ('alayhim as-salam) proceed in a complementary way and that they should not be separated like the two parts of the letter NÛN-Ù† as we have spoken about in our work on the naqshbandiyya Golden Chain (published in french).
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The manifestation of Imam al Mahdi, as Khalif Allah fi-l ardh, God's Lieutenant on Earth, will be different from anything we have known in our memories, for as all the hadiths and teachings of the Saint-gnostics 'ârifin show, his coming will transform the world, leading it back to a Golden Age that we have not known.
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Of course, the teachings of the Qur'an such as those of chapter 18, the cave, al-kahf which we are going to talk about, as well as the hadiths give us some indications but they are allusive for reasons of wisdom. Even Sheikh al-akbar Muhhyyi din ibn 'arabî who used to reveal a lot has written on this subject only in an allusive way as for example in his chapter of Futûhât on the "sciences of Imam Mahdi" in fact in correspondence with the Quranic verses in chapter 18 of the cave. Fortunately, the divine plan is well organized in its wisdom and it finally gives us all the indications although in a scattered way so that we are able to find and reconstitute to our measure the pieces of the puzzle by the inspiration of Ruh al-Hâdi. We have an Axis, the Qur'an, then the hadiths, then the various teachings of the gnostics saints and finally the inspired science in the heart that allows us to read these signs. One of the things not to be forgotten is that God is AL-'AZHIM, the Magnificent. In the Presence of this Divine Name we are called to ta'zhim, to see the greatness of created things; to know how to magnify or give all its greatness to a thing. All too often, we see the expression of reductive visions linked to corporatism, identification with rituals, with the cultures of countries and with legal schools. This is what risks giving us a bad perception of the event to come.
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In my first letter, I alluded to the expression "King of the World" in relation to Imam Al Mahdi, but when René Guénon, Sheikh Abdel Wahid Yahya, presented this expression for the first time, some narrow minds criticized him saying that this name was ambiguous, so without dwelling too much, the Master René Guénon indicated in a note of his book that this term, well known in some languages as in Arabic, makes the difference between ad-Dounia (this material world) and al-Moulk, "the world of the kingdom" he was thus alluding to the divine name MALIK AL-MOULK (exact translation of "King of the World"). This divine attribute is one of those which are used both for God (may He be glorified), and which can also be attributed to the virtuous servants like some other names such as Mu'min, Raouf, Rahim, Hadi..., the Believer, the Longanime, the Most Merciful, the Guide... This name has therefore a very great importance for our subject. We will not elaborate here on the practical aspects of its recitation because it is transmitted from heart to heart. Those who have an alert mind will not fail to notice that this is also the Name chosen by Mawlana Sheikh Nazim traced in large letters above the door of his house. All this is consistent with the Presence of Imam Mahdi at the heart of his teachings.
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"Ya Malik ul Mulk": "O King of the World", inscribed at the entrance to the residence of Sheikh Nazim which shows the subtle relationship between the Rabbani teaching, the tasarruf and the divine wisdom of the end of times such as formulated a century earlier by René Guénon.
The Imam appears to be clothed with this divine name whose manifestation, the Great Presence is the Great Peace, the SAKINA which always presides over victory (Sura 48 al-Fath or Sura 9 Tawba). This is the attribute of this Malik aç-çiddîq, (the Melkiseddeq who also presides over the original ritual of Christianity before its deviation). Let us recall that in Sura al-Fath it is said: "Huwa ladhi anzala Sakina fi qulûb al mu'mimîn li yazdadu imâna 'ala imanihim"; "It is He who sent down the Peace (sakina) on the hearts of the believers in order to add faith to their faith" (read about the Sakina in René Guénon's book, The King of the World).
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Let us remember in passing the expression of "descent", Nuzûl, for the Sakina. This is very important because it is one of the first sciences of Imam al-Mahdi identified by Sheikh Muhhydin as 'ilm an-nuzûl, the science of "descents", in relation to the first verse of the sura al-kahf "al hamdu lillah alladhi anzla...."; "Praise be to the One who sent down ...". We will see later that the spiritual experiences that correspond to these sciences are immense. Let us note here that in practicing the commentary of the Qur'an by the Qur'an itself, we cannot fail to think here of the passage in the chapter of the cave Al-Kahf where this expression of strengthening by the addition "ZID" (which we have underlined : li yazdadu) is used for the science received by the "people of the cave with a variant": "Amanou bi rabihim wa zidnâhum hudan" (they were believers in their Lord and we have increased their guidance), which alludes to this science inspired by Rûh al-Hâdi. If we now accept a comparison with other cultures in a universal perspective (which is well in our subject), let us recall that in India the person of the Imam is expected as Kalki whose complete name according to certain educated brahman (such as Swami Lakshmanacharya alias Sheikh nûr Mohammad), this complete name thus, that of this expected holy avatar is : " Sri Mohammad Kalki Mulk Bara ".
According to Abdelkarim al-jili, the great Akbarian heir and author of Insân ul kamil, the 4 Vedas are designated in the Koran by "Suhuf Ibrahim", "ibrahim" which by consonant is close to the word "Brahman" designation of the priestly caste in India
This name is transmitted orally but the person it refers to is described in the Vedas. These texts "revealed" according to the tradition of India are referred to in the Koran as "suhuf Ibrahim" which is confirmed by Sheikh Abd al Karîm al-Jili. This character of Kalki is described in the Vedas in terms extraordinarily close to those described in the hadiths concerning Imam Mahdi. He is also a personification of Mount Meru, the Axis of the World, which is of a subtle order present in everything as the center and sustainer of everything (Samadâniyya). Its manifestation as the "Matrix Presence" is the SAKINA. This "maternal-matrix" Presence is called Raja Rajeswari (Queen of Queens) in India, and she radiates from the heart of Mount Meru. Here again we have the expression of the complementary symbolism: heart-cave.
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THE TRIANGLE OF THE ANDROGYNE
This Mount Meru is a reminder (dhikr) of the Universal Man fully present in the Golden Age. It is found in all the traditions of humanity through all the mountains that were manifestations of this reminder, that of the revelation in Islam, Jabal Nûr, the mountain of light, but also to varying degrees through the multitude of pyramids spread throughout the world. It represents a universal axial dimension of which the cave is the radiant heart, which should remind us of the magnificent teaching of Sheikh Abdel Wahid Yahya on this subject (the triangle of the Androgyne) concerning ADAM, 3 letters in Arabic, at each angle of the isosceles triangle which represents the mountain (the Universal man) and HAWA, 3 letters in Arabic, at each angle of the small triangle turned over and inscribed inside the large triangle thus representing the cave, the heart radiating the manifested Presence. Let us note that on the left side we can read AHAD (ONE), at the base DAÏM (Eternal), on the left AVM the great mantra of India considered as the oldest of the Names of God. This is recalled in order not to forget this precisely universal dimension that will preside over the coming of Imam Mahdi. In India, the Sri Chakra Yantra represents (in two dimensions) the manifestation of the Universe from a point, the Bindu in its center, which is also the summit of Mount Meru (in three dimensions).
Sri Chakra Yantra, the equivalent of the Qaf mountain in India, within the center the Bindu from which the Universe came out
In Islam, all this is also related to the manifestation of the whole Universe by Nafass ar-Rahman, the breath of divine maternal compassion expressed in the basmallah, bismillah ar-Rahmân ar-Rahim: "In the Name of God, all Mercy, elective Mercy". I prefer to give Rahmân a feminine translation in english because the name Rahmân is matrix, and its expression is that of the compassion of the universal Mother. Note that in the Arabic basmala, the dot (equivalent to the bindu) under the Ba-ب first letter of bismillah is also representative of the universal Imam. Which Sheikh Muhhy-din refers to as : nuqtatu al basmallah al jami'atu li ma yakun wa li ma kana (the dot under the Ba brings together what was and what is). The letter alif that represents him in the manifestation is represented in the position of the fourth letter in the basmala which is an important allusive indication as well as the position of the other alifs including the one that is hidden in the Name Allah (representing the hidden Imam).
The basmala, equivalent of the Kun for the Universal Man, with the nuqta or bindu at the Origin of the Creation and the 3 apparent alifs symbolizing the 3 worlds
Let us look at the way in which the complete teaching is given to us in the Qur'an but in an allusive way so that we are able to open the fruit up to the core in order to be among the "people of the core", the ulû l-albâb according to the Qur'anic expression. We come to look at some of the sciences of Imam al-Mahdi indicated in the Qur'an, especially in chapter 18, the Cave, and we will try to extract some perfume from them according to what we can express here while keeping the ta'dhim, the magnificence of his universal dimension. As I said before, Sheikh Muhhyyidin lists these sciences in the Futuhat al-Makkiya (the Meccan illuminations) but without further development. It is up to us to try to understand the full significance of this. Is it necessary to point out the importance of this step at a time when this advent is so close and the Imam is already teaching us in the hearts according to the characteristic of this time, a magistral transition to another completely new cycle. To emphasize this truth I want to remind that the arif billah, the great Gnostic Saint Imam Ja'far as-Sâdiq ('alayhi salam) said: "If you consider that the total knowledge consists of 72 letters, imagine that all the sciences currently known come to only two letters, it is at the time of Imam al Mahdi that the remaining 70 will be gradually unveiled."
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The sciences will spread more widely from its appearance, but its mission has already begun, even if it is currently invisible to the collective. These sciences are not simple intellectual data but experiences of the being, they are therefore totally surprising and sometimes unfortunately refused by those who remain on old patterns. Let us recall the advice of our Prophet Sayyidina Mohammad who advised to learn by heart and recite every day the first ten ayat of sura al-kahf, the chapter of the cave, to protect oneself from seditions at the time of the antichrist, the dajjâl. The importance of this is so great that it is impossible for me to explain it here in a few words, but those who experience learning and reciting these ayat will receive magnificent inspirations of protection. « Al hamdu lillah ladhî anzala 'ala 'abdihi l-kitâba wa lam yaj'al lahou 'iwajan » : "Praise be to God, Who has sent down the book on His servant and has not put any tortuousness in him".
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Let us notice already that the word beginning is "praise" linked to the "descent" dimension of the immanent Presence, jamali, while in the previous chapter -17- al Isra, the dimension of transcendence and ascension begins with the jalali expression of "Glory", "subhana -l- ladhi assra bi 'abdihi...": "Glory to him who raised his Servant-Adorator..."
The two key nights of Islam lailatu-l-Qadr (descent) and lailatu-l-isra (ascent) are here put in complementary correspondence. On the « night of determination », Lailatu-l-Qadr, the determinations of "predestined" things are realized, while the night of ascent, Isra wal mi'raj, is the putting into action, the fructification of what has been sown. But what is this science of Nuzûl which Imam al-Mahdi would be the heir according to Sheikh al-akbar Muhhyyi din Ibn arabi ?
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For the rest of the ayat says: "al hamdu lillah aladhi ANZALA..." Praise be to Him who sent down..." There is a subtle point to be touched here. We know that the Qur'an did indeed "descend" into the body of the Prophet on that night of destiny. This indicates the mode of the gift for Quranic science. It is not a science that has been extracted by thinking, by meditation, by exercises, no! It is a divine gift. It is therefore a question here of this mode of transmission, of this science: "descent" of particular divine graces. Let's look again at the Qur'an by the Qur'an, Sura 20-TA HA:
« (1). TA HA. (2) – We have not sent down the Qur'an to you so that you may be unhappy" (litachqâ). The word tachqâ, translated here as "unhappy", as most translators do, is in fact even stronger, it implies the idea of exhaustion, even crushing.
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In the commentary of Qashani, presented in the small booklet on The isolated letters of the Qur'an magnificently translated in french by our late Master Michel Vâlsan, Sheikh Moustapha, this teaching on the Nuzûl descent is also emphasized. The Prophet, called here TAHA, out of compassion and affection for his people imposed on himself a severe asceticism (he afflicted himself, even crushed himself) by keeping watch and fasting to refine the purity of the channel of grace that he already was. He blamed himself out of scruples for the fact that people did not understand the divine message he was transmitting. But the cause of this misunderstanding was the degenerate state of that time (kali yuga). It is not by chance that this same teaching is also indicated in the Sura of the cave verse 5: "Perhaps you will blame your soul if they do not believe in this story..." So God says to him here, in the sura TA HA, according to the commentary: TA HA you are already PURE, do not burden yourself you are already accomplished!
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And Qashani indicates (p.75 of the aforementioned book): "The purpose of this "descent" is not fatigue and pain, but the realization of the effects of the two names in him": TA for Tâhir, Pure, and Ha for Hâdi. Qashanî extends this quality of tahara to the whole family of the Prophet which is obviously an Islamic foundation even if it is too often forgotten. We will see that this fundamental predisposition to purity means a predisposition to receive more fully the divine graces.
What would be then the science of Nuzûl received by this great heir, Imam Mahdi, this In-lordly teacher?
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It is a science that is not unrelated to the 'ilm laduni, that "intimate science" coming directly from God, whose two eminent representatives are Imam al-Mahdi and sayyidina l-Khidr. It is a science transmitted in an effective and direct way producing an immediate operative effect. Consciousness and power are in resonance here. For the sake of pedagogical explanation, we will try to give practical examples, it being understood that these Nuzûl are also very subtle sciences and that the examples given are minimal compared to what the Imam will manifest. There are examples that can illustrate this mode of transmission in a partial way. It is reported, for example, that Chams Tabriz, the initiating Master of Rûmi, transmitted directly by projection (tawajuh) this science-power which allowed him to transmit the memory of the Koran to an ignorant young man in a few days.
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Sheikh Muhyyidin also speaks of his master Youcef Al Kumi who was able to bring down the spirit of a departed master in a corporeal apparition (Rûh Mutajassad). This practice is also well known among the Naqshbandi Sheikhs, although it has remained discreet. This method called in India shakti pad which uses the capacity to make grace descend like rain then to condense it into an effective presence with the corresponding power is also quite well known in India but very reserved. It allows to receive directly the consciousness of a station and the corresponding power. The important thing to remember is that this mode of transmission of the teaching, consciousness and power in resonance, will become common at the time of Imam al Mahdi and multiplied in power whereas today it is reserved for a small discrete group.
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The teachings will be given as a simple "descent of grace" that penetrates the cells of the body itself and immediately confers the corresponding science and power. This Nuzûl, this descent of grace including consciousness and power is, therefore, a Divine Paradise Gift. There is of course a Koranic reference to this subject, chap. 30,31,32 "Clearly stated verses, fussilat; "The angels descend on those who say our Lord is God, Rabbuna Allah, and who persevere in rectitude; do not fear, do not grieve; welcome with joy the good news of the Paradise that has been promised you. We are your friends in this world and in the life to come. You will find what you desire, you will get what you ask for. As a gift, NUZULAN, granted by the Forgiving and Merciful One."
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These verses clearly indicate that the people of Paradise do not have to grieve, will find what they desire and will obtain what they ask for. This is the expression of divine gifts signified by Nuzûl.
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This paradisiacal state is the one that will be manifested on earth as well as in heaven at the time of the Golden Age that Imam Al Mahdi and his companions are preparing. Realization in God will not be the result of an overwhelming asceticism but the result of a divine gift. Some beings are already living in this "time" of the Golden Age, while their neighbors are still in the Iron Age. For time is not linear but an expression of a state of being.
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The divine gift of the Golden age, Paradise on earth, will be through divine intervention (Imam al Mahdi and Jesus) after the last possibilities of the Iron Age
Now note that we have only discussed the first ayat of Surah al-kahf here, whereas each ayat is an indication of several sciences. Many of these developments can only be done orally.
In our letter No. 3, we will continue to reveal according to what we are inspired and allowed to say about the sciences of the Imam and his companions (his viziers who all have the same face, expression of Unity) in accordance with what we have received from Mawlana Skeikh Nazim may he receive all our love and endless gratitude.
Khadim Aman al Haqq, de Vos