The Purpose of Creation & The Oceans of Beauty
Allah Almighty has said through His Holy Words: "I was a Hidden Treasure and I loved Myself to be known so I created this whole creation that it may know Me."
Pay heed to these words for although this is a brief statement, through it the Creator explains much about Himself, His Creation and the purpose of life. He says that He was, is and always will be a Hidden Treasure, a treasure without limits, and that He willed a creation into being, worthy of receiving endless grants of His Knowledge. Such a Lord may grant endlessly, but even such munificence does not mean that His creatures have encompassed any part of His Reality. We are fortunate to pertain to such a Creator and to glorify One whose Majesty is eternal and limitless, whose grants, described to us in their differing aspects, as Power, Beauty, Mercy, Wisdom, Knowledge and Penetrating Will, are constantly renewed so that our souls imbide ever fresh and invigorating refreshment.
Man was created in the heavenly realm, and then he and his wife were sent to live on earth. Allah Almighty sent man into his abode of temporality, but He sent paradise with him. Who was paradise for Adam? – Eve. If the Lord had not sent our mother Eve with out father Adam, he would have exploded like a bomb, but he was able to console himself and find happiness, even in his abode of suffering, with his wife.
When Adam came to this earth, his Lord sent the knowledge of the Heavenly Realm with him – the very memory of it as a reality. Adam was empowered to establish a spiritual transmission to his descendents, but it soon became necessary to endow another man with a direct glimpse of that reality, so Seth was chosen as a recipient of prophetic revelation, and his spiritual power became a tributary to the original stream established by Adam. But, in fact, Seth received doubly, as what he inherited from Adam was then also his, as well as what he received directly. Then came Enoch (Idries), and in succeeding generations one-hundred and twenty four thousand Prophets were granted direct revelation streams to feed into the, by then huge river of Divine Light coming to them from earlier Prophets.
Some people may ask why Allah Almighty sent so many Prophets. Our Lord sent them because He loves to grant His servants gifts from His Divine Knowledge, Beauty, Mercy, Wisdom, Power and Penetrating Will endlessly, as He said, He wants and loved to make Himself known.
And even though the succession of prophet hood has spiraled to a climax, first with the advent of Jesus Christ, and then with the mission of the Seal of Prophets, Muhammed, (Peace be upon them all), whose duty it was to establish Divine Light throughout the world in a unified, universal way not possible in the earlier stages of the development of mankind, don’t think that access to Divine Knowledge is cut off. Never! The Prophets of God have always been the leaders of spiritually illuminated people on earth, those who have been given the task of guiding initiates and mankind at large. Every one of them brought spiritual energy to this world, energy which did not leave this realm when they did, but remained as a beacon of light through the obscurity of this life. This light is not, as it were, unembodied, but incorporated in at least one spiritual heir in every period of human history.
If a person seeks truth, Allah will lead him to such a beacon, to a meeting with an inheritor of a Prophet, whose particular guidance qualities suit his potentialities. These Inheritors are connected spiritually with the Prophet whom they represent, and, consequently, when you meet them and are prepared to receive the transmission, you may receive a “photocopy” in your spiritual body and establish direct contact with that Prophet – you will be invited to his assembly.
Once Moses was in Mount Sinai conversing with his Lord, and addressed Him, saying “Oh my Lord, have any of your servants been honoured with such intimate discourse as I have?” The Lord replied: “Oh Moses, have a look around you”. Moses looked around and saw the whole valley filled with Moses, all with long beards and staffs, looking at him as he looked back at them in amazement. Then the Lord addressed him: “Oh Moses, this is only a selection: there are more, but I only show you this small group to give you an idea of what power I have sent through you to the world.” He is Almighty Allah, certainly it is no great thing for Him to grant those who sincerely want to be like Moses, and follow in his footsteps, a spiritual power that emanates from Allah but to them through Moses.
During the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammed and his ascension to the seven heavens, the Angel Gabriel accompanied him part of the way, though the seven heavens, but at a certain point stayed back in awe of the radiance of the Divine Countenance, fearing to approach further lest he burn. The Holy Prophet then ventured on alone and was shown by his Lord a huge gathering of people, also identical to himself, and the Lord told him:
“These are the Saints of your Nation and My servants: “And no one knows the armies of the Lord except Him”. “Whose steps in your footsteps will partake of your honour and light.”
Therefore, a Grandsheikh sitting with his murids must be a means for those murids to attain light from the Prophet whom that Grandsheikh represents. It is impossible for a Grandsheikh to leave even the weakest of his murids without a share of that power, so that he should attain to the same degree and honour as his Grandsheikh.
We have waded into an ocean of deep and secret knowledge, and as it is secret we are being signaled back to shore by the “lifeguard” lest we all drown.