Section II.—Of the Reputation and the Truth of the prophetic Dignity.
Know that, when individuals of mankind want to associate in the concerns of life, they find it indispensable to have recourse to customs, regulations, and religious faith, in order that they may be concordant, and that oppression may be excluded from their transactions and associations, and the order of the world preserved. It is requisite to refer the customs and regulations to God, and to proclaim that they proceed from God, in order that all may adopt them. On that account the necessity of theology and of a prophetic mission became evident, in order that the institutes for the government of the creatures may be established, and, by means of mildness and severity, men might be induced to be concordant, and the different conditions of the world arranged. And such an institutor is named “illustrious sage;” his precepts are likewise celebrated; among the eminent moderns, his title is that of “prophet,” or “legislator,” and that of his precepts “the law.” But his deputy, who is a judge, ought to be a person distinguished by divine grace, that he may promote the instruction and arrange the affairs of mankind; such a man is called by the wise “an universal ruler,” and his precepts are entitled “the practice of the empire;” the moderns gave him the name of Imám, and to his precepts that of Imámet. The unusual customs, which are called mâjazát,’ “miracles,”[126] and kirámát, “prodigies,”[127] have been submitted to investigations from which it results that the vital spirit, or soul, is the cause of the accidents which are manifested in our body, such as anger and violent emotion. It may be that the vitality attains such a force in every manner, that its relation to this world of depravity becomes of that nature as is our relation to our own bodies: then its desire proves the cause of the accidents; it brings about what it wishes in this world. On that account, all the learned agree on this point, that, in every respect, the soul is of an extreme ingenuity and sagacity, so that, of whatsoever kind the knowledge may be to which it turns its attention, it renders itself master in one day of the whole science, and the power of its memory is such, that it recollects whatever it has heard but once, and, to whatsoever object it directs its look, the soul will give an account of it, of the past as well as of the present. Another power of the soul is to know, either in a dream or by ilhám, “inspiration,”[128] an event before it takes place. A further power of the soul is, to discover the purport of whatever it sees. All this together is the attribute of the soul. When, on account of pious austerity and struggles in the cause of God, one’s sensual spirit is kept in due temperature, it becomes like an essence of heaven, and his rational soul borrows as much as possible from the heavenly spirit, in the same manner as a polished mirror receives the image from a painted surface. Whatever comes forth from the rational soul in the way of generality, of that the rational soul gives an account by means of images in the way of particularity, and brings it home to common sense by way of allegories. And when comprehended by common sense, it becomes evident, and there is no difference between what comes to common sense from the exterior or from the interior; on which very account some have entitled it the common sense, as being sensible from both sides. Further, he whose constitution is better tempered, and whose power of imagination and common sense is brighter, he, after being freed from worldly dependencies, will possess a righter fore-knowledge, such as that in sleep: for sleep also is suitable to prescience, and the revelation of some prophets was received during sleep.
Upon the meaning of Revelation and Inspiration.
Some of the novices who feel themselves in this state, comprehend at once something which they did not understand before; they suppose they are as if hearing something from within, and this they call “a voice from an invisible speaker.” It has been said that, in miracles and supernatural events, there is no doubt of our spirit being the phenomenon—which manifests itself in the human body from men, tal excitement and exultation; then it may happen that the spirit receives such a force and perfection, that its relation to the world of corruption be like our relation to the body whence its desire may be the mover in this exterior world.
There is another wonderful science and property of things. The lord Shaikh Abu Alí[129] says in his book, “the Ascent to Heaven:” All the spirits are subject to more perfect intelligences, except “the Holy Ghost,” who is the mediator between the self-existing Being and the first intelligences, and this is “the command;” and the word of God means “the revelation,” which the Holy Ghost makes by the intervention of perfect intelligences, and which is manifested by the prophetic spirit; whence, whatever is the speech of the prophet, all is the expression of the word of God, and his word is futile by itself, and the name of holiness comes from God alone.
Upon the Interpretation of the Miracles of the Prophet.
The learned possess a great number of versions on this subject, but the best of all interpretations is that of the lord raís, the wise Abu Alí Síná, who declares: “So said the prophet of God, Muhammed, the selected (peace be upon him):[130] “One night I slept in the house of my father’s sister;[131] it was a night of thunder and lightning; no animal uttered a sound; no bird was singing; no man was awake; and I slept not, but was suspended between sleep and waking: the secret meaning of this might have been, that it was a long while before I became desirous of understanding the divine truth. Under the shield of the night, men enjoy greater freedom, as the occupations of the body and the dependence of the senses are broken. A sudden night fell then, and I was still between sleep and waking; that is, between reason and sensuality. I fell into the sea of knowledge; and it was a night with thunder and lightning, that is, the seven upper agents prevailed, so that the power of human courage and the power of imagination sunk from their operation, and inactivity manifested its ascendancy over activity. And lo! Jabrííl came down in a beautiful form, with much pomp, splendor, and magnificence, so that the house became illuminated; that is, the power of the holy spirit came upon me in the form of the command, and made such an impression upon me, that all the powers of the rational soul were renewed and enlightened by it. And what the prophet said in the description of Jabrííl, “to have seen him whiter than snow, with a lovely face, black hair, and on his forehead the inscription: ‘There is no God but one God;’ the light of his eyes charming, the eyebrows fine, having seventy thousand curls twisted of red rubies, and six hundred thousand pearls of a fine water,” that is, he possessed so many beauties in the eyes of pure reason, that if an impression of these beauties was made upon a sense, it was able to perceive those which have been described, and the purport of the words: “there is no God but one God,” appeared in a determined light: that is he whose eyes fall upon his perfections is removed from the darkness of infidelity, and doubt, and worldly connection; and in such a manner he feels himself fortified in the certitude of the Creator, and attains such a degree of virtue, that hereafter, upon whatsoever creature he looks, his faith in God’s unity will be enhanced by it. And such were the charms of the angel that, if one possessed seventy thousand curls, he would not attain to his beauty; and such was his rapidity, that thou wouldst have said, he was flying with six hundred wings and arms, so that his progress knew neither space nor time.” “What he said came upon me, and he took me to his bosom, and gave me kisses between the eyes, and said: ‘O thou sleeper, how long sleepest thou? rise!’ That is, when the power of holiness came upon me, it caressed me, opened the road of its revelation, and exalted me; a certain delight which I cannot describe diffused itself in my heart, and transported me to devotion. The angel then continued: ‘How long sleepest thou?’ that is ‘why indulgest thou in the delusions of falsehood? thou art attached to the world, and, as long as thou remainest in it, and before thou awakest, knowledge cannot be obtained; but I, from compassion towards thee, shall be thy guide on the road. Rise.’ I trembled at his words, and from fear jumped up from my place: that is, from timid respect for him no reflection remained in my heart and mind. He further said: ‘Be calm, I am thy brother, Jabrííl;’ thus, by his kindness and revelation, my terror was appeased. But he unfolded more of his mysteries, so that fear returned upon me. I then said: ‘O brother, I feel the hand of an enemy.’ He replied: ‘I shall not deliver thee into the hand of an enemy.’ I asked: ‘Into whose?’ He answered: ‘Rise, and be glad, and keep thy heart within thyself:’ that is, preserve thy memory clear, and show obedience to me, until I shall have removed the difficulties before thee. And as he spoke I became entranced and transported, and I proceeded on the footsteps of Jabrííl; that is, I forsook the sensual world, and by the aid of natural reason I followed the footsteps of holy grace.” What the prophet said: “I saw “Borák upon the footsteps of Jabrííl,” signifies, the practical reason which triumphs by means of the power of sanctity, and by its assistance gains the ascendancy over this world of corruption: for from the heavenly intelligences proceeds practical reason, which is the supreme king and assistant of the soul, at any time when it may be required. It is to be compared to Borak for this reason, because it was the illuminator of the night, and the vehicle of the protector, who on that journey wanted it: on that account the prophet called it Borák. And as to what he further said: “It was greater than an ass “and smaller than a horse;” this means, it was greater than human reason, but smaller than the first intelligence. And “Borak’s face was like that “of a man,” signifies, he had a propensity for human order and much kindness for men, as a family by its manner and likeness among men has a bearing to kindness and arrangement. What the prophet stated of “a long hand and long foot,” means that his benefit extends to all places, and that his bounty keeps all things new. What he stated: “I wanted to mount Borák, but he resisted until Jabrííl gave assistance; then he became obedient to me;” this implies, I was under the influence of the corporeal world; I desired to associate with reason; but this was refused until the power of sanctity washed off by a bath the entanglement of ignorance and the hinderances of the body, so that I became pure, and by such means attained the bounty and advantage of practical reason.