The Resurrection
The Resurrection
The fourth principle: The adornments in this world are examples of the blessings that the Merciful One, through His mercy, will grant to the believers in Paradise.[1]
- Indeed, the existence and life of every creature have numerous purposes. These creatures are not limited to purposes relating only to themselves and worldly life, as misguided people imagine. Were that the case, their existence and life could be considered meaningless and purposeless. Rather, the purposes of the existence and life of every creature relate to the following three categories.
The first and most exalted purpose relates to the Creator. That is, creatures display before Shāhid-i AzalīAllah, the Pre-Eternal Witness Who bears witness to all things., like a passing parade, the wondrous artistic adornments placed upon them. For this purpose, it is enough for these creatures to live even for a fleeting moment. Even their capacities, which exist as potential within their nature and form an intention toward development, are sufficient for this before they are brought into existence. For example, delicate creatures that live only briefly, and extraordinarily designed seeds and kernels that never sprout, fully serve this purpose. No uselessness or meaninglessness is found in them. This means that the first purpose of every creature is to proclaim, through its life and existence, the miracles and works of art of Sultān-i Dhu’l-JalālAllah, the Sovereign whose majesty and exaltedness are boundless. and to present them to Him.
The second purpose relates to conscious beings. That is, all creation is offered to the gaze of angels, jinnSpiritual beings created from smokeless fire., animals, and human beings as a truth-bearing letter, a subtle ode, and a meaningful word of Sāni-i Dhu’l-JalālAllah, Who creates with perfect artistry and Whose greatness and majesty are boundless., in order to invite them to reflection. Thus, every creature serves as a means of reflection for conscious beings.
The third purpose relates to the creature’s own existence. This concerns personal benefits such as pleasure, enjoyment, permanence, and well-being. For example, only one percent of the purpose of a great ship belonging to the sultan relates to the small benefit of the ship’s helmsman; the remaining ninety-nine percent relates to the sultan himself, the owner of the ship. Likewise, only one hundredth of the purposes of every creature relates to its own personal and worldly benefit, while ninety-nine percent relates to its Creator. Indeed, on the basis of this fact—that the existence of every creature relates to many purposes—two seemingly opposite qualities can be reconciled: purposefulness and frugality on the one hand, and munificence and generosity on the other, especially infinite munificence. With respect to one purpose, the Name al-JawwādAllah, the Most Generous. manifests itself, and munificence and generosity predominate. From this perspective, for example, the abundance of fruits and grains shows that there is infinite generosity. However, when all purposes are considered together, the Name al-HakīmAllah, the All-Wise, Whose wisdom is infinite. is manifested more dominantly, and wisdom prevails.
Truly, every fruit on a tree has as many purposes as the number of fruits on that tree itself. These purposes are divided into the three categories mentioned above. Taken together, all these purposes show boundless wisdom, purposefulness, and perfect frugality. In this way, boundless wisdom and boundless generosity, which appear to be opposed, are united.
For example, one of the purposes of an army is to maintain order. For this purpose, there are more than enough soldiers in the army. Yet for other duties and purposes, such as protecting the borders and fighting enemies, their number is exactly sufficient; the proportion is measured with perfect wisdom. Indeed, in this way the wisdom of the state is united with its majesty. Thus, it may be said that there is no excess in that army. ↩︎