The voice of Allah, speaking through the heart, mind, and lips of Prophet Muhammad, clarifies the various levels of revelation. The cosmic Koran is the creation itself, full of the highest teachings of wisdom.
Every creature that flows as Water of Life from the Source of Life is a parable, spoken by the Cosmic Koran that teaches humanity to gaze with eyes of wisdom upon all My creations. (24:41-45)
The transcendent Koran, by contrast, is the very Awareness of Allah.
There is not even a single grain of sand in the obscure depths of the earth, nor any plant, blooming or withering, that is not recorded in the Transcendent Koran, which is the perfectly clear Awareness of Allah. My cherished human beings, this encompassing Divine Awareness receives you into sleep every night and knows intimately what you experience each day. (6:59-62)
All has been recorded from eternity in the boundless Book of Reality, the encompassing Awareness of Allah Most High. (22:67-70)
Every action ever performed by human beings until the end of time, including each thought, significant or fleeting, is already inscribed in the Transcendent Koran, the encompassing Awareness of Allah. (54:41-55)
The Arabic Koran, which is the historical book we can reverently hold in our hands, is a perfect reflection in temporal human experience of the transcendent Koran. Similarly, the Koran of the creation itself is a perfect reflection, on the cosmic scale, of the Koran of Allah's own all-encompassing Awareness. The historical Arabic Koran participates fully in the splendor and power of both the cosmic Koran and the transcendent Koran.
The Arabic Koran is not essentially a work of human production, but a door opened by Allah between the dimensions of His one Reality so that humanity may enter the treasure house of His beautiful Divine Names.
As such, the Koran is to be regarded with intense awe and reverence, even in its handwritten or printed form, which is merely a symbol for the living Koran that consists of the resonance and meaning of these 6,666 verses, held in the memory and chanted with moving power by generation after generation.
The very shapes and sounds of the Arabic letters of the Koran are considered to be a mode of access to the spiritual realm of the living Koran, to its radiance and resonance and to its union of heart-awakening sound with eternal meaning.
"The Ever Present Source thus reveals Eternal Meaning through the medium of time as the resonant chanting of the Arabic Koran so that humanity can awaken and truly understand." (12:1-6)
The Prophet Muhammad inwardly heard the Arabic verses of the Koran. He did not simply encounter the Divine Meaning and compose his own words to express it. Therefore, no translation of the Arabic Koran into any language can be the Holy Koran, but is simply a human interpretation, which may be inspired but does not exist on the sublime level of revelation.
Nor is the Koran, strictly speaking, composed in an ancient form of Arabic. The particular configuration of Arabic which is the Koran is a revelation which participates in the infinite meaningfulness and mercy of Allah, and which can be truly understood and assimilated only with the Divine Permission.
Therefore, a scholar is not what gives one spiritual access to the Holy Koran. One is attuned to the Koran by receiving it with purity of heart, in the same manner that the prophets received revelation.
Nor is the Holy Koran regarded as a particular revelation alone, but as the reservoir of and safeguard for all the revelations sent to the previous prophets of Allah.
The Holy Koran indicates the existence of two main levels of interpretation. Both these levels, or spheres of meaning, are equally true and complement each other. The full communication of the Divine Meaning is made possible only by Divine Words which, though clothed in historical Arabic, retain their infinitely powerful nature and transform human language into a stream of power and truth.
"Words of Truth that have the power to express the Truth are like flourishing trees whose roots, or direct meanings, are established deep in the earth of the heart, and whose branches, or subtle meanings, reach high into the sky of mystical knowledge." (14:24-27)
Both direct meanings and subtle meanings, and their unique modes of sensitive interpretation, must be employed by those who have been lifted into intimate spiritual friendship with the Holy Koran.
Koranic interpretation is not simply a method of scholarship which can be taught in a neutral academic manner. True understanding of the Koran is a gift from Allah, received through a life of prayer, through the prayerful study of the writings of the mature sages of Islamic tradition, and through direct contact with living persons who embody the beauty and wisdom of the Koranic vision.
What results from a subjective or narrow reading of the Koran is often a serious imbalance of understanding: such as the merciless fanaticism of some persons within the Islamic community or the rejection of the Koran by some persons outside this ancient community of faith.
"My beloved, the Source of Wisdom sends these living parables through you to illumine humanity, but no one can understand them profoundly who has not received the Divine Gift of mystical interpretation." (29:41-44)
Allah warns again and again that His Holy Koran is not a simple book, to be interpreted literally in the light of limited concepts and attitudes, either personal or cultural. Though appearing in written or printed form, the Koran is like the burning bush which Moses faced with awe in the valley of revelation.
"This Revelation is a mysteriously veiled Book of Light, containing Words of Truth whose secret meanings cannot be touched except with minds and hearts completely purified by Allah Most High." (36:63-80)
Allah reminds humanity that His Holy Koran is not a book of inspired poetry that is only capable of hinting at the Divine Meaning, nor is the immense spiritual attraction of the Koran, particularly when chanted, a display of any kind of magical or psychic power.
"My beloved, swear to your people by all they can see and by the endless dimensions that are invisible to them that this Radiant and Resonant Koran is spoken through an authentic Messenger of Allah. My Living Koran could never be the eloquent speech of a poet, words expressing only human power and beauty, although persons of small spiritual capacity will believe this Book of Truth to be poetry. Still less could My Glorious Koran be the speech of a shaman, who manipulates elemental and etheric forces, although persons of limited spiritual vision will not appreciate this distinction. Please assure humanity that the Holy Koran descends directly as clear Revelation from the Ultimate Source and Goal of the Universe." (69:38-51)
Allah makes it clear that His Holy Koran could never have emanated from any self-appointed powers on the subtle planes of existence, who are either totally confused themselves or who are consciously attempting to draw human beings into the wake of their own spiritual ambition.
"My dear humanity, who is the crown of My Creation, the Living Koran is not a communication from some departed soul or some etheric being in rebellion against the Source of Being. Therefore listen with deep trust and reverence to these Words of Truth, and consider carefully where your self-centered way of life is leading you." (81:22-29)
Allah Most High teaches His Prophet Muhammad to speak in a truly humble and even ordinary manner, quite in contrast to the pretension, flamboyant actions, and promises of both the charlatans and the honestly misguided religious figures who appear in all cultural contexts. Listen to the quiet balance and tenderness of the mode of speaking dictated to the heart of His Prophet Muhammad by Allah Most High.
My friends, please do not feel that I am a stranger, for I am an ordinary human being, no different from yourselves. I have humbly received anew the ancient Revelation that all manifest Being emerges from and returns to the Single Source and Goal of Being, Who refers to Itself as Allah and by countless other Most Beautiful Divine Names. (41:2-8)
Every creature that flows as Water of Life from the Source of Life is a parable, spoken by the Cosmic Koran that teaches humanity to gaze with eyes of wisdom upon all My creations. (24:41-45)
The transcendent Koran, by contrast, is the very Awareness of Allah.
There is not even a single grain of sand in the obscure depths of the earth, nor any plant, blooming or withering, that is not recorded in the Transcendent Koran, which is the perfectly clear Awareness of Allah. My cherished human beings, this encompassing Divine Awareness receives you into sleep every night and knows intimately what you experience each day. (6:59-62)
All has been recorded from eternity in the boundless Book of Reality, the encompassing Awareness of Allah Most High. (22:67-70)
Every action ever performed by human beings until the end of time, including each thought, significant or fleeting, is already inscribed in the Transcendent Koran, the encompassing Awareness of Allah. (54:41-55)
The Arabic Koran, which is the historical book we can reverently hold in our hands, is a perfect reflection in temporal human experience of the transcendent Koran. Similarly, the Koran of the creation itself is a perfect reflection, on the cosmic scale, of the Koran of Allah's own all-encompassing Awareness. The historical Arabic Koran participates fully in the splendor and power of both the cosmic Koran and the transcendent Koran.
The Arabic Koran is not essentially a work of human production, but a door opened by Allah between the dimensions of His one Reality so that humanity may enter the treasure house of His beautiful Divine Names.
As such, the Koran is to be regarded with intense awe and reverence, even in its handwritten or printed form, which is merely a symbol for the living Koran that consists of the resonance and meaning of these 6,666 verses, held in the memory and chanted with moving power by generation after generation.
The very shapes and sounds of the Arabic letters of the Koran are considered to be a mode of access to the spiritual realm of the living Koran, to its radiance and resonance and to its union of heart-awakening sound with eternal meaning.
"The Ever Present Source thus reveals Eternal Meaning through the medium of time as the resonant chanting of the Arabic Koran so that humanity can awaken and truly understand." (12:1-6)
The Prophet Muhammad inwardly heard the Arabic verses of the Koran. He did not simply encounter the Divine Meaning and compose his own words to express it. Therefore, no translation of the Arabic Koran into any language can be the Holy Koran, but is simply a human interpretation, which may be inspired but does not exist on the sublime level of revelation.
Nor is the Koran, strictly speaking, composed in an ancient form of Arabic. The particular configuration of Arabic which is the Koran is a revelation which participates in the infinite meaningfulness and mercy of Allah, and which can be truly understood and assimilated only with the Divine Permission.
Therefore, a scholar is not what gives one spiritual access to the Holy Koran. One is attuned to the Koran by receiving it with purity of heart, in the same manner that the prophets received revelation.
Nor is the Holy Koran regarded as a particular revelation alone, but as the reservoir of and safeguard for all the revelations sent to the previous prophets of Allah.
The Holy Koran indicates the existence of two main levels of interpretation. Both these levels, or spheres of meaning, are equally true and complement each other. The full communication of the Divine Meaning is made possible only by Divine Words which, though clothed in historical Arabic, retain their infinitely powerful nature and transform human language into a stream of power and truth.
"Words of Truth that have the power to express the Truth are like flourishing trees whose roots, or direct meanings, are established deep in the earth of the heart, and whose branches, or subtle meanings, reach high into the sky of mystical knowledge." (14:24-27)
Both direct meanings and subtle meanings, and their unique modes of sensitive interpretation, must be employed by those who have been lifted into intimate spiritual friendship with the Holy Koran.
Koranic interpretation is not simply a method of scholarship which can be taught in a neutral academic manner. True understanding of the Koran is a gift from Allah, received through a life of prayer, through the prayerful study of the writings of the mature sages of Islamic tradition, and through direct contact with living persons who embody the beauty and wisdom of the Koranic vision.
What results from a subjective or narrow reading of the Koran is often a serious imbalance of understanding: such as the merciless fanaticism of some persons within the Islamic community or the rejection of the Koran by some persons outside this ancient community of faith.
"My beloved, the Source of Wisdom sends these living parables through you to illumine humanity, but no one can understand them profoundly who has not received the Divine Gift of mystical interpretation." (29:41-44)
Allah warns again and again that His Holy Koran is not a simple book, to be interpreted literally in the light of limited concepts and attitudes, either personal or cultural. Though appearing in written or printed form, the Koran is like the burning bush which Moses faced with awe in the valley of revelation.
"This Revelation is a mysteriously veiled Book of Light, containing Words of Truth whose secret meanings cannot be touched except with minds and hearts completely purified by Allah Most High." (36:63-80)
Allah reminds humanity that His Holy Koran is not a book of inspired poetry that is only capable of hinting at the Divine Meaning, nor is the immense spiritual attraction of the Koran, particularly when chanted, a display of any kind of magical or psychic power.
"My beloved, swear to your people by all they can see and by the endless dimensions that are invisible to them that this Radiant and Resonant Koran is spoken through an authentic Messenger of Allah. My Living Koran could never be the eloquent speech of a poet, words expressing only human power and beauty, although persons of small spiritual capacity will believe this Book of Truth to be poetry. Still less could My Glorious Koran be the speech of a shaman, who manipulates elemental and etheric forces, although persons of limited spiritual vision will not appreciate this distinction. Please assure humanity that the Holy Koran descends directly as clear Revelation from the Ultimate Source and Goal of the Universe." (69:38-51)
Allah makes it clear that His Holy Koran could never have emanated from any self-appointed powers on the subtle planes of existence, who are either totally confused themselves or who are consciously attempting to draw human beings into the wake of their own spiritual ambition.
"My dear humanity, who is the crown of My Creation, the Living Koran is not a communication from some departed soul or some etheric being in rebellion against the Source of Being. Therefore listen with deep trust and reverence to these Words of Truth, and consider carefully where your self-centered way of life is leading you." (81:22-29)
Allah Most High teaches His Prophet Muhammad to speak in a truly humble and even ordinary manner, quite in contrast to the pretension, flamboyant actions, and promises of both the charlatans and the honestly misguided religious figures who appear in all cultural contexts. Listen to the quiet balance and tenderness of the mode of speaking dictated to the heart of His Prophet Muhammad by Allah Most High.
My friends, please do not feel that I am a stranger, for I am an ordinary human being, no different from yourselves. I have humbly received anew the ancient Revelation that all manifest Being emerges from and returns to the Single Source and Goal of Being, Who refers to Itself as Allah and by countless other Most Beautiful Divine Names. (41:2-8)
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