The Fifteenth Word

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

And We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles to drive away the evil ones.(*)

Oh, modern-educated Sir whose brain has shrunk through studying the soulless matters of astronomy, whose mind can see no further than the tip of his nose, and who cannot squeeze the mighty mystery of the above verse into his constricted brain! The heaven of the verse may be reached by a stairway of Seven Steps. Come, let us climb them together!

FIRST STEP:

Truth and wisdom require that the heavens have inhabitants appropriate to them as the earth has. According to the Shari’a, those various beings are called angels and spirit beings.

Reality requires it to be thus, for despite its small size and insignificance, the earth being filled with living and conscious beings, then emptied from time to time and once again repopulated suggests, indeed makes it clear, that the heavens too, in which are magnificent constellations and are like adorned palaces, should be filled with conscious and percipient creatures. Like men and jinn, those creatures are spectators of the palace of the universe, the observers of the book of creation, and the heralds of the sovereignty of dominicality. For the universe is arrayed and embellished with innumerable adornments, decorations, and ornaments, and self-evidently requires the thoughtful gazes of those who will appreciate it and wonder at it.

Certainly, beauty requires a lover and sustenance is given to the hungry. However, man and jinn are able to perform only a millionth of this endless duty, this grand viewing, this extensive worship. That is to say, endless sorts of angels and spirit beings are necessary to perform these endless duties and diverse worship.

As is indicated by certain narrations and the wisdom in the order of the universe, some kinds of travelling bodies, from planets to drops of water, are the mounts of one kind of angel. It may be said that they mount them with God’s permission and tour and gaze upon the manifest world. It also may be said that one type of animal bodies, from the birds of Paradise called ‘The Green Birds’(*) in a Hadith, to flies, are the aircraft for a sort of spirit being. They enter them at God’s command, travel around the physical universe, observing the miracles of creation through the windows of the senses of the animals’ bodies.

The Creator, Who continuously creates subtle life and luminous percipient beings from dense earth and turbid water, surely also creates conscious beings suitable for spirit and life, from those seas of light and even from the oceans of darkness. And He creates them in great abundance. The existence of angels and spirit beings has been proved with the certainty of two plus two equals four in my treatise entitled Nokta (Point), and in the Twenty-Ninth Word. If you wish, you may refer to them.

SECOND STEP:

The earth and the heavens are connected to one another like two countries under a single government. There are important relations and transactions between them. Things necessary for the earth like light, heat, blessings, and mercy in the form of rain come from the sky, that is, they are sent. According to the consensus of the revealed religions, which are founded on revelation, and the agreement of all those who uncover the mysteries of the universe, relying on what they have witnessed, the angels and spirit beings descend to the earth from the skies.

From this it may be understood through a surmise so certain it can almost be felt that for the inhabitants of the earth there is a way to ascend to the heavens. Indeed, everyone’s mind, imagination, and gaze perpetually rise to the skies. So too, having discarded all heaviness do the spirits of the prophets and saints rise there with God’s permission, and having stripped off their bodies, the spirits of the dead. Since those who become light and subtle rise to the heavens, for sure, one sort of the inhabitants of the earth and the air who are clothed in what resembles a body and are light and subtle like spirits may rise there.

THIRD STEP:

The silence and tranquillity of the heavens, and their order and regularity, and vastness and luminosity, show that their inhabitants are not like those of the earth; they are obedient, they do whatever they are commanded. Because the country is vast there is nothing to cause overcrowding and disputes. Their natures are pure, they are innocent, their stations are fixed.

On the earth, opposites come together, evils are mixed with good, and disputes start between them. For this reason, conflict and suffering are born. And from them examination and competition are set. And from them progress and retrogression occur. The wisdom in these facts is as follows:

Man is the fruit of the tree of creation, its furthest part. It is well-known that the fruit of something is its most distant, most comprehensive, most delicate, and most important part. Therefore, since man, who is the fruit of the universe, is a most comprehensive, most wonderful, most powerless, most weak, and most subtle miracle of power, the earth, which is his cradle and dwelling-place, is the heart and centre of the whole universe as regards meaning and art, despite being physically small and insignificant in relation to the heavens; it is the exposition and exhibition-place of all the miracles of art; and the display and point of focus of all the manifestations of the Divine Names; the place of assembly and reflection of unending dominical activity; the means and market of boundless Divine creativity, whose liberality is especially evident in the numerous small species of plants and animals; the place, in a small measure, of samples of the artefacts to be found in the truly vast worlds of the hereafter; the speedily operating workshop for eternal textiles; the fast-changing place of imitation of everlasting panoramas; the narrow, temporary field and tillage rapidly raising the seeds for never-ending gardens.

Thus, it is because of this immaterial greatness of the earth,(*) and its importance in regard to art, that the All-Wise Qur’an puts it on a par with the heavens, although it is like a tiny fruit of a huge tree. It places it in one pan of a pair of scales and the whole of the rest of the universe in the other. It repeatedly says, Sustainer of the Heavens and the Earth.

Furthermore, the speedy, constant change and transformation of the earth, which arises from the instances of wisdom mentioned above, requires that its inhabitants undergo change in accordance with it. And, it is because this limited earth manifests unlimited miracles of power that according to their creation and unlike other animate beings, no natural limit or restriction has been placed on the faculties and powers of man and jinn, who are its most important inhabitants. As a result of this they have manifested endless progress and endless retrogression. A great field of trial and examination has opened, from the prophets and the saints to the nimrods and the devils. Since this is so, of course, with their boundless evil, the pharaoh-like devils will throw stones at the heavens and its inhabitants.

FOURTH STEP:

The All-Glorious One, Who is the Sustainer, Controller, and Creator of all the worlds, has numerous principles and rules, and very many appellations, titles, and most Beautiful Names, which are all different. Whichever Name and title necessitated sending angels to the ranks of the Prophet (PBUH)’s Companions in order to do battle against unbelievers also required that there should be battle between angels and devils, and contest between the good inhabitants of the heavens and the evil inhabitants of the earth. The All-Powerful One of Glory, Who holds within the grasp of His power the breathing-in and breathing-out of the unbelievers, does not wipe them out with a single command, a single trumpet-blast. With His title of universal Sustainer and Names of All-Wise and Controller, He inaugurates a field of examination and contest.

If the comparison is not mistaken, we see that a king has numerous different titles and names in respect of the different areas of his rule. For example, in the judicature he is known by the name of Wise Judge, in the army as Commander-in-Chief, in the office of the Shaykh al-Islam as Khalifa, and in the civil service as Sultan. His obedient subjects call him Gracious Sovereign, while the rebellious call him All-Compelling Ruler. You may think of further examples. Thus, it sometimes happens that such an exalted king, whose subjects are all within his power, does not issue the command to execute an impotent and contemptible rebel; he sends him to court under his name of Wise Judge. Also, he knows a both capable and honest official who is worthy of being favoured, but he does not favour him with his particular knowledge by private telephone. Instead, under his titles relating to the majesty of sovereignty and expedients of government, he opens a field of competition in order to make public how deserving the official is of reward, and he gives the command to his minister and invites the people to watch. He has organized a welcoming ceremony, and, as a result of a grand, elevated trial and examination, favours him in a distinguished assembly; he proclaims his worthiness. You can think of further examples in the same way.

Thus, And God’s is the highest similitude, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post- Eternity has numerous Most Beautiful Names. Through the manifestations of His glory and appearances of His beauty, He has many attributes and titles. The Name, title, and attribute which necessitate the existence of light and darkness, summer and winter, and Paradise and Hell, require also numerous general laws like the law of generation, those of competition and mutual assistance, and the making general to a degree also of the law of contest. From the contest of inspirations and satanic whisperings around the heart to the contest between angels and devils on the bounds of the heavens, they require that law to be all-embracing.

FIFTH STEP:

Since there is coming and going from the earth to the heavens, and there is descent and ascent from the heavens to the earth and important necessities for the earth are sent from there; and since good spirits rise to the heavens, for sure, imitating the good spirits, evil spirits will also attempt to ascend to the realm of the heavens. For they are light and subtle in regard to their beings. However, they will doubtless be repulsed and expelled, for by nature they are evil and inauspicious. Moreover, there will doubtless be a sign, an indication, in the Manifest World of this important exchange, this contest outside the realm of materiality.

For the wisdom of the sovereignty of dominicality requires that it should place a sign and leave an indication of these significant disposals in the Unseen for man in particular, whose most important duty is observation, witnessing, supervision, and acting as a herald; in the same way that it has made rain an indication of the endless miracles of spring, and made apparent causes signs of the wonders of Divine art. It thus summons the people of the Manifest Realm to witness them; indeed, it attracts the attentive gazes of all the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth to that wondrous exhibition. That is, it shows the vast heavens to be a castle or city arrayed with towers on which sentries are posted, so that they may reflect on the majesty of dominicality.

Madem şu mübareze-i ulviyenin ilanı, hikmeten lâzımdır. Elbette ona bir işaret vardır. Halbuki hâdisat-ı cevviye ve semaviye içinde şu ilana münasip hiçbir hâdise görünmüyor. Bundan daha ensebi yoktur. Zira yüksek kalelerin muhkem burçlarından atılan mancınıklar ve işaret fişeklerine benzeyen şu hâdisat-ı necmiye, bu recm-i şeytana ne kadar enseb düştüğü bedaheten anlaşılır. Halbuki şu hâdisenin, bu hikmetten ve şu gayeden başka ona münasip bir hikmeti bilinmiyor. Sair hâdisat öyle değil. Hem şu hikmet, zaman-ı Âdem’den beri meşhurdur ve ehl-i hakikat için meşhuddur.

Altıncı Basamak:

Beşer ve cin, nihayetsiz şerre ve cühuda müstaid olduklarından nihayetsiz bir temerrüd ve bir tuğyan yaparlar. İşte bunun için Kur’an-ı Kerîm, öyle i’cazkâr bir belâgatla ve öyle âlî ve bâhir üsluplarla ve öyle gâlî ve zâhir temsiller ve mesellerle ins ve cinni isyandan ve tuğyandan zecreder ki kâinatı titretir. Mesela:

Ey ins ve cin! Emirlerime itaat etmezseniz haydi hudud-u mülkümden elinizden gelirse çıkınız, meseline işaret eden يَا مَع۟شَرَ ال۟جِنِّ وَال۟اِن۟سِ اِنِ اس۟تَطَع۟تُم۟ اَن۟ تَن۟فُذُوا مِن۟ اَق۟طَارِ السَّمٰوَاتِ وَال۟اَر۟ضِ فَان۟فُذُوا لَا تَن۟فُذُونَ اِلَّا بِسُل۟طَانٍ ۝ فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَٓاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ۝ يُر۟سَلُ عَلَي۟كُمَا شُوَاظٌ مِن۟ نَارٍ وَ نُحَاسٌ فَلَا تَن۟تَصِرَانِ ۝â yetindeki azametli inzara ve dehşetli tehdide ve şiddetli zecre dikkat et. Nasıl, ins ve cinnin gayet mağrurane temerrüdlerini, gayet mu’cizane bir belâgatla kırar. Aczlerini ilan eder. Saltanat-ı rububiyetin genişliği ve azameti nisbetinde ne kadar âciz ve bîçare olduklarını gösterir. Güya şu âyetle hem وَجَعَل۟نَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطٖينِ âyetiyle böyle diyor ki:

“Ey hakareti içinde mağrur ve mütemerrid ve ey zaaf ve fakrı içinde serkeş ve muannid olan cin ve ins! Nasıl cesaret edersiniz ki isyanınızla öyle bir Sultan-ı Zîşan’ın evamirine karşı geliyorsunuz ki yıldızlar, aylar, güneşler emirber neferleri gibi emirlerine itaat ederler. Hem tuğyanınızla öyle bir Hâkim-i Zülcelal’e karşı mübareze ediyorsunuz ki öyle azametli mutî askerleri var, faraza şeytanlarınız dayanabilseler onları dağ gibi güllelerle recmedebilirler. Hem küfranınızla öyle bir Mâlik-i Zülcelal’in memleketinde isyan ediyorsunuz ki ibadından ve cünudundan öyleleri var ki değil sizin gibi küçücük âciz mahlukları, belki farz-ı muhal olarak dağ ve arz büyüklüğünde birer adüvv-ü kâfir olsaydınız, arz ve dağ büyüklüğünde yıldızları, ateşli demirleri, şüvazlı nühasları size atabilirler, sizi dağıtırlar. Hem öyle bir kanunu kırıyorsunuz ki o kanun ile öyleler bağlıdır, eğer lüzum olsa arzınızı yüzünüze çarpar. Gülleler gibi küreniz misillü yıldızları üstünüze yağdırabilirler.”

Evet, Kur’an’da bazı mühim tahşidat vardır ki düşmanların kuvvetli olduğundan ileri gelmiyor. Belki haşmetin izharı ve düşman şenaatinin teşhiri gibi sebeplerden ileri geliyor.

Hem bazen kemal-i intizamı ve nihayet-i adli ve gayet-i hilmi ve kuvvet-i hikmeti göstermek için en büyük ve kuvvetli esbabı, en küçük ve zayıf bir şeye karşı tahşid eder ve üstünde tutar; düşürtmez, tecavüz ettirmez. Mesela, şu âyete bak: وَاِن۟ تَظَاهَرَا عَلَي۟هِ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ مَو۟لٰيهُ وَجِب۟رٖيلُ وَصَالِحُ ال۟مُؤ۟مِنٖينَ وَال۟مَلٰٓئِكَةُ بَع۟دَ ذٰلِكَ ظَهٖيرٌ

Ne kadar Nebi hakkına hürmet ve ne kadar ezvacın hukukuna merhamet var. Şu mühim tahşidat, yalnız hürmet-i Nebinin azametini ve iki zaîfenin şekvalarının ehemmiyetini ve haklarının riayetini rahîmane ifade etmek içindir.

Yedinci Basamak:

Melekler ve semekler gibi yıldızların dahi gayet muhtelif efradları vardır. Bir kısmı nihayet küçük, bir kısmı gayet büyüktür. Hattâ gökyüzünde her parlayana “yıldız” denilir. İşte bu yıldız cinsinden bir nev’i de nâzenin sema yüzünün murassa ziynetleri ve o ağacın münevver meyveleri ve o denizin müsebbih balıkları hükmünde; Fâtır-ı Zülcelal, Sâni’-i Zülcemal onları yaratmış ve meleklerine mesireler, binekler, menziller yapmıştır. Ve yıldızların küçük bir nevini de şeyatînin recmine âlet etmiş. İşte bu recm-i şeyatîn için atılan şahapların üç manası olabilir:

Birincisi: Kanun-u mübareze, en geniş dairede dahi cereyan ettiğine remiz ve alâmettir.

İkincisi: Semavatta hüşyar nöbettarlar, mutî sekeneler var. Arzlı şerirlerin ihtilatından ve istima’larından hoşlanmayan cünudullah bulunduğuna ilan ve işarettir.

Üçüncüsü: Muzahrefat-ı arziyenin mümessilât-ı habîseleri olan casus şeytanları, temiz ve temizlerin meskeni olan semayı telvis etmemek ve nüfus-u habîse hesabına tecessüs ettirmemek için edepsiz casusları korkutmak için atılan mancınıklar ve işaret fişekleri misillü, o şeytanları ebvab-ı semadan o şahaplarla red ve tarddır.

İşte yıldız böceği hükmünde olan kafa fenerine itimat eden ve Kur’an güneşinden gözünü yuman kozmoğrafyacı efendi! Şu yedi basamaklarda işaret edilen hakikatlere birden bak. Gözünü aç, kafa fenerini bırak, gündüz gibi i’caz ışığı içinde şu âyetin manasını gör! O âyetin semasından bir hakikat yıldızı al, senin başındaki şeytana at, kendi şeytanını recmet! Biz dahi etmeliyiz ve رَبِّ اَعُوذُ بِكَ مِن۟ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطٖينِ beraber demeliyiz. فَلِلّٰهِ ال۟حُجَّةُ ال۟بَالِغَةُ وَ ال۟حِك۟مَةُ ال۟قَاطِعَةُ

سُب۟حَانَكَ لَا عِل۟مَ لَنَٓا اِلَّا مَا عَلَّم۟تَنَٓا اِنَّكَ اَن۟تَ ال۟عَلٖيمُ ال۟حَكٖيمُ

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