Modern Scientific man looks upon the universe as essentially a material realm that has come into being from and is governed by material causes. But it is know through prophetic vision as spiritually alive and sensitively governed, the creation of Allah Most High that includes both temporal and eternal realms. This creation is instinctively aware of its own transcendent Source, and longs to return to, or consciously unite with, its Source.
"Whatever lives in this planetary realm spontaneously celebrates the Source of Life. The birds, simply by spreading their wings for flight, are praising Allah Most High, Who knows intimately the instinctive prayer and praise expressed through the most minute action of every being." (meditation on Holy Koran 24:41-45)
The exalted Creator is not simply an impersonal ground of the universe but knows intimately--that is, directly from within each form of consciousness--the prayer and praise that arise, not simply from consciously grateful human beings, but from every breath and even every motion of His Creation.
"All beings in the universe, whether or not they consciously face their own True Source, are bowing to Allah Most Sublime with their entire being through every thought and action." (meditation on Holy Koran 13:12-15)
The universe revealed by the Koran is a Divine Realm, not some disastrous fall away from Divine Existence, nor some merely material domain which exists in outer darkness at the far edge of Divine Light.
"The Supreme Source is the One Light illuminating every heavenly and earthly realm... Allah is the One encompassing Awareness." (24:35)
The universe is in no fundamental sense negative or tragic. Human beings have the honor and responsibility to engage consciously in its mystic and majestic procession from and return into Godhead. This process is not a total re-absorption in into Godhead, but is a continuous homecoming of immense mutual joy and affection.
"From Allah alone radiates the great affirmation that is heaven and earth, and to Allah alone, the Source and Goal of Being, is this entire kingdom of Being returning home." (24:41-45)
Again and again Allah Most High, speaking clearly through His Holy Koran, asks humanity to contemplate His Creation--both in its minute detail and in its cosmic scope--as a method for developing spiritual awareness.
"Teach them to envision the universe in its original state as an expanse of Light without borders or limits, which the Source of Power gradually shapes into life-bearing worlds...Gazing at this process of creation with eyes of true understanding, how can anyone fail to see manifest Being as one vast demonstration of Love?" (21:30-33)
The Koranic revelation never suggests a mechanical or even an organic model of creation. Allah never has to struggle with the resistance or seek the cooperation of some inert field of matter or dynamic field of energy.
Allah creates out of nothing, simply by knowing and by effortlessly willing. The resulting creation, which appears to us in the form of natural processes, expresses the richness and value, the infinite meaningfulness, of the original Divine Reality.
"Whatever is willed by the Source of Being comes spontaneously into Being and bears profound meaning." (24:41-45)
The creation is a balanced ecology of organic life and spiritual meaning. Human beings are divinely appointed as caretakers of Allah's planetary realm, which is not outside of Allah but is an intimate dimension of His existence. However, humanity can never claim ownership or control of any aspect of the Divine Creation, which we perceive in limited forms through our limited minds and senses.
"The Source of Life evolves innumerable forms of organic life, each in precise balance with the others...human beings do not own or control these natural treasures...all manifest Being belongs solely to the Source and Goal of Being." (15:16-25)
The purpose of the creation is radically spiritual. The temporal career of the eternal soul is not some lesser phenomenon in the universal drama of manifestation. The education of the soul is the central reason for the existence of the universe.
"His entire Creation exists simply as testing and teaching for the soul." (11:7-11)
Therefore the soul--that is to say, the ray of eternal awareness focused through suitably advanced life-forms on life-bearing planets throughout the universe--is at the very center of the drama of Allah's creation.
The soul is not an insignificant spark of life in an unknown and unknowing expanse of galaxies, as imagined by the modern scientific world view. By truly knowing ourselves, we know directly the essence and purpose of the whole creation. We are not groping in darkness.
This supremely advanced and supremely humane spiritual knowledge, far beyond the possible range of science or even philosophy, cannot be attained without the process of Divine Revelation. Revealed truth, however, is not imposed upon the human being from the outside but is integral to the very life of the soul, and is therefore immediately recognizable to the depths of human awareness.
Revelation is welcomed by the soul and is never considered strange or foreign by the mature, or fully awakened, consciousness of the human being, who is, as the Holy Koran reveals, the very crown of Allah's Creation. This level of human dignity and calm certainty cannot be imagined or attained without revelation.
Prophetic vision does not perceive the creation as flat--we smile at medieval European cartographers who pictured the earth as flat--but as a hierarchical structure of planes or spheres. The terminology of above and below is used, but not in a spatial sense.
Above the planetary plane, which includes all life-bearing planets, there extend seven subtle planes of Being, which are richly populated by conscious beings, expressing entirely distinct orders of reality. Above the subtle planes exists the most sublime created realm, which in the Koranic vision contains both eternity, the abode of angels, and Paradise, the abode of souls.
"The body in Paradise will emanate from the same Source of Light that has projected this earthly body, and that consciously radiates all the vast realms and levels of creation." (36:77-83)
Above Paradise subsists the Garden of Essence to which the mystic lovers and knowers aspire, which is not creation, neither time nor eternity, but Allah Himself.
There exists, however, no hierarchy of Divine Presence, because Allah's Creation is not in any way alienated or distant from its exalted Creator.
"During six primal and measureless Days of Power, the Supreme Source radiated the luminous structure of the planetary realm and the seven heavenly realms as tangible and intangible planes of Being. The Source of Being is mystically established upon this vast Throne of Manifestation. The full Divine Presence can therefore be subtly experienced throughout creation." (7:54-56)
The Koranic vision of creation should not be thought of as abstract or metaphysical. It remains direct and existential, intimately related to our daily experience.
"Turn ceaselessly toward Allah Most High, whose Power presents you this green planet as resting place and this brilliant tent of stars as inspiration, Whose Mercy descends as sweet rain to create the earthly fruits you need for sustenance." (2:21-25)
Nonetheless, we should not read the Holy Koran as some primitive perception of the world which equates, for instance, heavenly realms with the starry nighttime sky.
"Cosmic space is but the reflection of the lowest and least subtle of the seven heavens and is a reservoir of energy for the preservation of the earthly plane of Being." (41:9-12)
The hierarchical structure of Being exists, not out of some impersonal metaphysical necessity, but precisely for the spiritual elevation of the soul, a process of great delicacy which the Holy Koran likens to the development of the foetus in the womb. The higher levels of Being, as well as the planetary plane of existence, are no less than the perfect expression of the infinite Divine Mercy.
"So the Source of Power created seven progressively more subtle planes of existence and consciousness, revealing on each plane a new level of love and knowledge for the souls who will return along this path of mystical ascension into the Source of Peace." (41:9-12)
The mystics of Islam find in these Koranic texts the confirmation of their own direct inner experience of seven levels of awareness, each one more refined and more extensive, which culminate in the ultimate experience of mystical union.
This spiritual culmination, expressed by Sufi poets and described figuratively by Allah Most High in His Holy Koran, remains essentially beyond conception or description, as Allah Himself does, because this supreme illumination simply is Allah.
Those truly mature human beings in every culture who actually encounter the universe in this way--not just reading a metaphysical map or following with blind faith, but as a direct vision through prophetic eyes--are described by this meditation on the revealed words of the Koran:
"Those whose whole being is oriented toward the Source of Being do not perceive the slightest imperfection or injustice in the boundless kingdom of the All-Merciful One." (67:1-4)
What humanity, when using its own circumscribed concepts, falsely perceives as a chaotic field of physical energy, as a world of chance and conflict, is truly perceived in the light of revelation as a perfect kingdom.
Prophetic consciousness would regard the modern scientific world view not primarily as an advance in knowledge, but as a regression in the sensitivity and depth of knowledge. This regression is not, however, just a characteristic of the contemporary age. The prophets have encountered and opposed similar constructs of human convention in their various native cultures throughout the ages.
The antidote for this conventional thinking, this narrow or selective perception, is not to turn away from the visible universe into speculative metaphysics or into the autostimulation of visionary experiences. The Koranic way is to contemplate the created universe anew, with expanded vision.
"Perceiving this wondrous creation of the material body, how can the intelligence of humanity doubt that the Source of Power can recreate human beings after the death on immaterial planes of existence?" (75:34-40)
An essential aspect of this revealed vision of the universe is the vivid understanding that physical or temporal creation is not to exist endlessly, any more than it has existed without beginning. When the education and ascension of the souls have been completed according to the impenetrable wisdom and compassion of Allah, the entire planetary realm and the subtle spheres will be returned into the supreme realm of Paradise.
Creation will not disappear, for Paradise is the consummate Divine Creation, but the dramatic play of separation between Allah and His Creation will come to an end. The contemplation of the end of time, which awakens and intensifies the depths of human awareness, is one of the basic spiritual practices in which Allah instructs humanity through the revealed verses of the Holy Koran.
"When time suddenly disappears, in the eternal moment of illumination, the brightness of the heavenly orbs will be extinguished by sheer Divine Splendor and the universe will be split open and dissolved into transparent light. This full revelation of the Source of Light will blow away like mere motes of dust the primordial mountains, the cosmic structures upon which this earthly plane rests so securely." (77:8-15)
This passage is the figurative description of the personal experience at the time of physical death. It also describes the return of all manifest Being into the Source of Being at the end of time, when the process of Divine Creation is fully ripe and reaches its spiritual culmination. No structure of life, no truly living value, personal or universal, is lost during the supreme transition from limited life into Divine Life.
This inspiring contemplation of the created universe in the light of revelation ultimately leads to the contemplation of our own humanity as the crown of Creation, not out of self-congratulation or wish fulfillment but as a genuine opening into awe, wonder, and true worship.
The path of prophetic knowledge is ecstatic in the etymological sense of standing outside the limited self, outside the personal and cultural frontiers whose existence we have proclaimed, innocently or arrogantly, limits which are suffocating to the limitless nature of the eternal soul.
With prophetic eyes open, we can consciously enter the beautiful kingdom of Divine Creation for the first time, dancing joyously as the man blind from birth whom the Messiah Jesus healed.
"Whatever lives in this planetary realm spontaneously celebrates the Source of Life. The birds, simply by spreading their wings for flight, are praising Allah Most High, Who knows intimately the instinctive prayer and praise expressed through the most minute action of every being." (meditation on Holy Koran 24:41-45)
The exalted Creator is not simply an impersonal ground of the universe but knows intimately--that is, directly from within each form of consciousness--the prayer and praise that arise, not simply from consciously grateful human beings, but from every breath and even every motion of His Creation.
"All beings in the universe, whether or not they consciously face their own True Source, are bowing to Allah Most Sublime with their entire being through every thought and action." (meditation on Holy Koran 13:12-15)
The universe revealed by the Koran is a Divine Realm, not some disastrous fall away from Divine Existence, nor some merely material domain which exists in outer darkness at the far edge of Divine Light.
"The Supreme Source is the One Light illuminating every heavenly and earthly realm... Allah is the One encompassing Awareness." (24:35)
The universe is in no fundamental sense negative or tragic. Human beings have the honor and responsibility to engage consciously in its mystic and majestic procession from and return into Godhead. This process is not a total re-absorption in into Godhead, but is a continuous homecoming of immense mutual joy and affection.
"From Allah alone radiates the great affirmation that is heaven and earth, and to Allah alone, the Source and Goal of Being, is this entire kingdom of Being returning home." (24:41-45)
Again and again Allah Most High, speaking clearly through His Holy Koran, asks humanity to contemplate His Creation--both in its minute detail and in its cosmic scope--as a method for developing spiritual awareness.
"Teach them to envision the universe in its original state as an expanse of Light without borders or limits, which the Source of Power gradually shapes into life-bearing worlds...Gazing at this process of creation with eyes of true understanding, how can anyone fail to see manifest Being as one vast demonstration of Love?" (21:30-33)
The Koranic revelation never suggests a mechanical or even an organic model of creation. Allah never has to struggle with the resistance or seek the cooperation of some inert field of matter or dynamic field of energy.
Allah creates out of nothing, simply by knowing and by effortlessly willing. The resulting creation, which appears to us in the form of natural processes, expresses the richness and value, the infinite meaningfulness, of the original Divine Reality.
"Whatever is willed by the Source of Being comes spontaneously into Being and bears profound meaning." (24:41-45)
The creation is a balanced ecology of organic life and spiritual meaning. Human beings are divinely appointed as caretakers of Allah's planetary realm, which is not outside of Allah but is an intimate dimension of His existence. However, humanity can never claim ownership or control of any aspect of the Divine Creation, which we perceive in limited forms through our limited minds and senses.
"The Source of Life evolves innumerable forms of organic life, each in precise balance with the others...human beings do not own or control these natural treasures...all manifest Being belongs solely to the Source and Goal of Being." (15:16-25)
The purpose of the creation is radically spiritual. The temporal career of the eternal soul is not some lesser phenomenon in the universal drama of manifestation. The education of the soul is the central reason for the existence of the universe.
"His entire Creation exists simply as testing and teaching for the soul." (11:7-11)
Therefore the soul--that is to say, the ray of eternal awareness focused through suitably advanced life-forms on life-bearing planets throughout the universe--is at the very center of the drama of Allah's creation.
The soul is not an insignificant spark of life in an unknown and unknowing expanse of galaxies, as imagined by the modern scientific world view. By truly knowing ourselves, we know directly the essence and purpose of the whole creation. We are not groping in darkness.
This supremely advanced and supremely humane spiritual knowledge, far beyond the possible range of science or even philosophy, cannot be attained without the process of Divine Revelation. Revealed truth, however, is not imposed upon the human being from the outside but is integral to the very life of the soul, and is therefore immediately recognizable to the depths of human awareness.
Revelation is welcomed by the soul and is never considered strange or foreign by the mature, or fully awakened, consciousness of the human being, who is, as the Holy Koran reveals, the very crown of Allah's Creation. This level of human dignity and calm certainty cannot be imagined or attained without revelation.
Prophetic vision does not perceive the creation as flat--we smile at medieval European cartographers who pictured the earth as flat--but as a hierarchical structure of planes or spheres. The terminology of above and below is used, but not in a spatial sense.
Above the planetary plane, which includes all life-bearing planets, there extend seven subtle planes of Being, which are richly populated by conscious beings, expressing entirely distinct orders of reality. Above the subtle planes exists the most sublime created realm, which in the Koranic vision contains both eternity, the abode of angels, and Paradise, the abode of souls.
"The body in Paradise will emanate from the same Source of Light that has projected this earthly body, and that consciously radiates all the vast realms and levels of creation." (36:77-83)
Above Paradise subsists the Garden of Essence to which the mystic lovers and knowers aspire, which is not creation, neither time nor eternity, but Allah Himself.
There exists, however, no hierarchy of Divine Presence, because Allah's Creation is not in any way alienated or distant from its exalted Creator.
"During six primal and measureless Days of Power, the Supreme Source radiated the luminous structure of the planetary realm and the seven heavenly realms as tangible and intangible planes of Being. The Source of Being is mystically established upon this vast Throne of Manifestation. The full Divine Presence can therefore be subtly experienced throughout creation." (7:54-56)
The Koranic vision of creation should not be thought of as abstract or metaphysical. It remains direct and existential, intimately related to our daily experience.
"Turn ceaselessly toward Allah Most High, whose Power presents you this green planet as resting place and this brilliant tent of stars as inspiration, Whose Mercy descends as sweet rain to create the earthly fruits you need for sustenance." (2:21-25)
Nonetheless, we should not read the Holy Koran as some primitive perception of the world which equates, for instance, heavenly realms with the starry nighttime sky.
"Cosmic space is but the reflection of the lowest and least subtle of the seven heavens and is a reservoir of energy for the preservation of the earthly plane of Being." (41:9-12)
The hierarchical structure of Being exists, not out of some impersonal metaphysical necessity, but precisely for the spiritual elevation of the soul, a process of great delicacy which the Holy Koran likens to the development of the foetus in the womb. The higher levels of Being, as well as the planetary plane of existence, are no less than the perfect expression of the infinite Divine Mercy.
"So the Source of Power created seven progressively more subtle planes of existence and consciousness, revealing on each plane a new level of love and knowledge for the souls who will return along this path of mystical ascension into the Source of Peace." (41:9-12)
The mystics of Islam find in these Koranic texts the confirmation of their own direct inner experience of seven levels of awareness, each one more refined and more extensive, which culminate in the ultimate experience of mystical union.
This spiritual culmination, expressed by Sufi poets and described figuratively by Allah Most High in His Holy Koran, remains essentially beyond conception or description, as Allah Himself does, because this supreme illumination simply is Allah.
Those truly mature human beings in every culture who actually encounter the universe in this way--not just reading a metaphysical map or following with blind faith, but as a direct vision through prophetic eyes--are described by this meditation on the revealed words of the Koran:
"Those whose whole being is oriented toward the Source of Being do not perceive the slightest imperfection or injustice in the boundless kingdom of the All-Merciful One." (67:1-4)
What humanity, when using its own circumscribed concepts, falsely perceives as a chaotic field of physical energy, as a world of chance and conflict, is truly perceived in the light of revelation as a perfect kingdom.
Prophetic consciousness would regard the modern scientific world view not primarily as an advance in knowledge, but as a regression in the sensitivity and depth of knowledge. This regression is not, however, just a characteristic of the contemporary age. The prophets have encountered and opposed similar constructs of human convention in their various native cultures throughout the ages.
The antidote for this conventional thinking, this narrow or selective perception, is not to turn away from the visible universe into speculative metaphysics or into the autostimulation of visionary experiences. The Koranic way is to contemplate the created universe anew, with expanded vision.
"Perceiving this wondrous creation of the material body, how can the intelligence of humanity doubt that the Source of Power can recreate human beings after the death on immaterial planes of existence?" (75:34-40)
An essential aspect of this revealed vision of the universe is the vivid understanding that physical or temporal creation is not to exist endlessly, any more than it has existed without beginning. When the education and ascension of the souls have been completed according to the impenetrable wisdom and compassion of Allah, the entire planetary realm and the subtle spheres will be returned into the supreme realm of Paradise.
Creation will not disappear, for Paradise is the consummate Divine Creation, but the dramatic play of separation between Allah and His Creation will come to an end. The contemplation of the end of time, which awakens and intensifies the depths of human awareness, is one of the basic spiritual practices in which Allah instructs humanity through the revealed verses of the Holy Koran.
"When time suddenly disappears, in the eternal moment of illumination, the brightness of the heavenly orbs will be extinguished by sheer Divine Splendor and the universe will be split open and dissolved into transparent light. This full revelation of the Source of Light will blow away like mere motes of dust the primordial mountains, the cosmic structures upon which this earthly plane rests so securely." (77:8-15)
This passage is the figurative description of the personal experience at the time of physical death. It also describes the return of all manifest Being into the Source of Being at the end of time, when the process of Divine Creation is fully ripe and reaches its spiritual culmination. No structure of life, no truly living value, personal or universal, is lost during the supreme transition from limited life into Divine Life.
This inspiring contemplation of the created universe in the light of revelation ultimately leads to the contemplation of our own humanity as the crown of Creation, not out of self-congratulation or wish fulfillment but as a genuine opening into awe, wonder, and true worship.
The path of prophetic knowledge is ecstatic in the etymological sense of standing outside the limited self, outside the personal and cultural frontiers whose existence we have proclaimed, innocently or arrogantly, limits which are suffocating to the limitless nature of the eternal soul.
With prophetic eyes open, we can consciously enter the beautiful kingdom of Divine Creation for the first time, dancing joyously as the man blind from birth whom the Messiah Jesus healed.
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