What are the seven oceans, seven galaxies, 77 universes in comparison to infinity!?

Anything that can be represented by figures, no matter how large it may be, is nothing compared to infinity.

Allah is as-Sami. He is aware of every single word (meaning) He observes in and of Himself. Is it at all possible for Him not to be aware, when He is observing the meanings pertaining to His very Self?

Allah is al-Basir. He is the Perceiver and the Evaluator! How can He not be? It is HU, Himself who is perceiving and who is being perceived!

But where is this taking place?

In Allah’s knowledge!

Though words are impotent from adequately expressing the reality, we have no choice but to employ them, and though insufficient, it can be stated that: ‘everything that transpires takes place in the knowledge and imagination of the One denoted by the name Allah.’

Now we come to the second pivotal point:

If the above is true, then who am I? Who is ‘me’? What is the world, what is the afterlife? What are heaven and hell? What do concepts such as judgment, book, and torment of the grave (qabir) mean? Who is making the proposal? To whom is it being proposed? What is the proposal?

Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi says:

“The servant is the Reality, the Rabbis the Reality!

If only I knew who it is that is liable?

If I say the servant, he is dead!

If I say the Rabb, how can the Rabb be liable?”

Pertaining to the same topic, Imam Ghazali, an invaluable Islamic scholar and saint (waliyy) who lived much earlier than Ibn al-Arabi, says:

The enlightened ones will elevate from the pit of metaphor to the pinnacle of reality, completing their ascension, they will observe with clarity, that there is nothing in existence, other than Allah!

This source is Allah, the Ahad. He has no partners! All other illuminations (Nur) are mere representations. The only real illumination is His Nur (The Light of Knowledge that is the source and essence of everything). Everything is derived from His Nur. In fact, everything is Him. The truth is, existence is Him. The engendered existence is only a metaphor, a representation. The phrase There is no Hu other than Hu is the non-dual reality of the chosen ones. It leads them to unity, to Oneness!

The last station of ascension is the realm of soleness.For there are no more ladders to climb after this station. Elevation can only make sense in the land of multiplicity. When multiplicity becomes obsolete, Unity becomes reality. Relativity diminishes, signs and symbols become irrelevant. At this point there are no high or low, and none who rise or fall. Progression becomes invalid, ascension becomes void. There is no more ascent beyond ascension.

There is no multiplicity with unity. With the obliteration of multiplicity, the concept of ascension becomes nullified. He who knows this, will know; he who does not, will deny it. This is an esoteric and secret knowledge only given to those who know Allah.When they explain this knowledge to others, only those who are arrogant towards Allah will deny.[1]

Based on everything we have shared so far, it is evident that the only existence is Allah! There is no other being besides Allah!

Who is making the proposal, and to whom?

The nature of this reality is such that it is like the sun, whose heat does not spare even a drop of water in the icy composition of existential reality!

Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the teachings of Muhammad (saw) in relation to the future of mankind. For, as much as Oneness is a reality, the consequences man will face in the future as a result of his own doings is also an indispensable reality.

Indeed, we are all forms of knowledge, in the KNOWLEDGE of the One denoted by the name ALLAH.

According to us, we are just simple creatures living in a simple universe. But, in reality we are just forms of knowledge in His knowledge!

However, since the world in our perception is a definite, absolute and multifaceted dimension, we cannot overlook the exquisite values about which we have been informed.



[1] This is an excerpt from Imam Ghazali’s Mishqatul Anwar, an esteemed book containing esoteric knowledge. Ghazali claims he has written this book only for those of true understanding, people of deep contemplation, and not for the general public. Mishqat’ul Anwar has been translated into Turkish by Suleyman Ates and published by Mehmed Sevket Eygi of BEDIR Publications.

38 / 54

These May Also Interest You

You Can Download This Book