Twenty-Ninth Part
God informs people about things that will occur in the future. He brings to them the knowledge of resurrection, rising from the grave, gathering, paradise, and hell.
The Prophet sees that, just as he is on the level of the weak and ordinary people in terms of knowledge about God, he can also descend to the level of the superior and wise people. He gives each person knowledge according to their own intellect. Thus, they understand that this man has knowledge beyond the capacity of his mind and that it comes from divine grace. They know that God has given him knowledge and the ability to perceive Him, which He has not given to others. Upon this, they accept that this man is superior to them, believe in him, confirm him, and follow him.
The Prophet also determines the behaviors that bring them closer to God. He is able to know the reverence for God without forming a judgment about whether it will be realized or not.
Then they say to [the person who claims to be a prophet]: ‘Is there any evidence for the truth of what you claim?’ Upon this, he brings forth some evidence, and people examine the evidence he has brought and whether it is proof. And they see that [the person claiming to be a prophet] is not aware of knowledge produced by thoughts, and nothing has been learned from him about this. Thus, they realize that one of the matters revealed by ‘He who commands the heavens’ is the existence of that person and the existence of what he brings. They rush to believe in him and confirm him; they understand that God has brought him to the knowledge that He has left in the lofty world, which the mind cannot reach, and that He has informed him of things that the mind cannot reach.
When I say ‘the wise,’ I do not mean those who speak of wisdom today. The wise I refer to are those who follow the path of the prophets. This method is preparing oneself to be ready to accept the knowledge that will come to the hearts from the lofty world, which is revealed to the lofty realm, by being concerned with the soul, training the soul through asceticism, being alone, and being in a state of purity. We mean these people when we say ‘the wise.’ Because they have distinguished the wise management, which is discerned by the wise and the knowledgeable, from the words that are produced by previous ones, which they have spent their thoughts on understanding, and from the words spoken by those who are unaware of the source from which they are derived, and from the people who are ignorant and who have determined the wise management by the way they speak. [In the matters the Prophet has conveyed], they have understood that the situation is more perfect and thus that the law brought by the Prophet is certainly from God. Thus, they have accepted the unknowns the Prophet has conveyed and have believed in them.
No one other than those who are not sincere in their knowledge and do not comply with their desires has resisted [accepting these things]. Those who comply with their desires are those who have wanted to be leaders among their peers, who have not known the soul and its value, and thus have not known their Lord either.
Thus, the principle and reason for establishing a law in the world is to desire the good of the world and to teach knowledge about God that the mind cannot accept in terms of its ability to think. In other words, the mind cannot learn this knowledge solely through the act of thinking. The revealed books bring this knowledge…
With the change of time and conditions, prophets come one after another. Each prophet confirms his companion. In this context, although the rulings may change, the prophets have never differed in the principles they rely on and express. Thus, the shari’ahs have been established and rulings have come. The ruling that came was according to time and condition. Indeed, God the Almighty says: ‘We have established a way and a shari’ah for everyone.’ Thus, without any difference of opinion on any matter, the principles of the prophets have been one.
People, with this guidance determined by God and conveyed by the prophets, have followed the requirements of theoretical thought, and the philosophers [judges…
I had heard one of their great ones [Ibn Rushd]. He had witnessed the knowledge that God had opened to me regarding knowing Himself. These pieces of knowledge had been opened to me through being alone with God, without any research or reading. Moreover, at that time, I was not someone who researched. Upon this, [Ibn Rushd] said: ‘All praise be to God for having been in a time when I saw someone whom God has shown mercy to and given knowledge.’
God assigns His mercy to whom He wills. He is the Most Generous. ‘God speaks the truth and guides to the right.’
In the matter of the soul, they carry within them an iddiah (claim) that is not valid. Therefore, a faqih (jurist) who issues a fatwa regarding the religion of Allah, even if his feeling of avoiding doubtful matters is weak, is in a better position than these people in every respect. Because a believer, even if he acquires his faith through imitation, is in a better position than these people who think themselves wise. Could a wise person be in such a condition?!
[In the meaning we intended] we have raised a few people who follow the path of the wise. Those we have raised are the ones who know the value of the prophet best, who conform most to his sunnah, who are the most steadfast in preserving his sunnah, and who know how to elevate the glory of the Truth in a manner befitting His majesty. They are the ones who, apart from the usual ways of learning such as teaching and working, are specially blessed by divine grace…
Twenty-Ninth Section
In this context, some scholars, although they are qualified and capable of researching and examining the truth, are found to be below others in terms of superiority in knowledge.
We have seen a group of people who are experts in the ‘remel line’ (remmal, a person who knows the lines in sand), who know the measurements of the movements of the celestial spheres, the movements, endings, and measurements of the stars in the spheres, the calculation of the conjunctions of the stars, and the ruling that Allah brings about in His creatures through this means. [In the sense that the celestial spheres are made the cause of things that occur in creatures] This situation is similar to the usual causes that everyone knows and accepts, and those who do not deny them. These are also common things according to those who know the matter, because their nature is like a carriage…
They also bring about the things that bring them closer to Allah, their times, places, characteristics; the conditions of people after death, and the things they will encounter on the day of resurrection and gathering…