IsmailHusaynQadri
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From the Jawahir al Ma'ani of Sidi Ali Harazim
I (Ali Harazim) asked him (Shaykh Ahmad Tijani) about the meaning of Allah's words (Exalted is He) about the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace):
{You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith} [al-Shura, 52]
"How do we reconcile these verses and hadiths with knowledge of the fact that the sciences of the first and the last were carried in his honored essence, and that he is the link that causes that knowledge to reach each creation according to its capacity?"
He (Shaykh Ahmad Tijani) responded:
“You should know that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) knew the sciences of the first and the last, absolutely and comprehensively. Among those sciences is knowledge of all Heavenly Books- let alone only the Qur’an, the demands of faith- its beginning and end, and the essence of faith, what spoils it and what strengthens it. All of that is firmly entrenched in the Muhammadan Reality (may Allah bless him and give him peace). As for His words (Blessed and Exalted),
{You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith},
he was in this state before his Prophethood. Allah had informed him neither of the reality of faith, nor of the method of the revelation of the Heavenly Books, neither the essence of Messengerhood, nor the details of its requisites. Allah had veiled him from all of that before his Prophethood. It was hidden in his Muhammadan Reality. But he did not know it, nor did he perceive it, until when it came time for his Prophethood, Allah lifted the veils from him and he saw what his Muhammadan Reality contained. The proof of that is in his words (may Allah bless him and give him peace):
“I saw my Lord in the form of a youth,” until he said, “He placed His hand upon my shoulder blade until I felt its coldness upon between my two breasts. And he taught me the sciences of the first and the last.” (Tirmidhi, Ahmad).
That was at the time of his Prophethood. Allah lifted the veils from him and showed him the gnosis, sciences and secrets- whose seas have no shore, and which have no limit- that Allah had incorporated for him in his Muhammadan Reality.But beware of understanding from this, that the Muhammadan Reality lacked that before Prophethood. That assumption is not correct.
The Muhammadan Reality had been filled with all of those gnosis, sciences and secrets from the beginning of existence, since it is the first existent thing. Allah brought it into existence before anything else. And He endowed it with those sciences, gnosis and secrets. And it remained filled with them until the time came for his blessed body to exist (may Allah bless him and give him peace). Then a veil was placed between him and knowledge of that until the time came for his Prophethood. At that time, He (Allah) lifted the veil and showed him those aforementioned things that He had stored in his Muhammadan Reality. And His address to him in His words,
{You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith},
was only informing him of the state of being veiled from the knowledge that existed before in His Reality (may Allah bless him and give him peace). It was not stating that knowledge of those things was not in his reality......
And he had always been (may Allah bless him and give him peace), before his Prophethood, from the time he exited from his mother’s womb, among the greatest Knowers of God. And the veil of humanhood had not been cast over him to the degree that it would intervene between him and between knowing the Holy Divine Presence. And he was among the “Fard” saints of the world. The likeness of “Fard” saint to the ordinary Knowers of God and the “Siddīqin” is that of the Knower of God to the ordinary people who have no gnosis......
He (May Allah bless him and give him peace) had been established in that station to such a degree as to take knowledge from Allah without an intermediary. And he was not ignorant of any of the states of the Divine Presence. Nor did his sun (may Allah bless him and give him peace) set at that place. In that sphere, Allah had only veiled him from the essence of Messengerhood, its requirements, and those things which would have explained to him what its purpose was. And Allah had also veiled him from the method of the revelation of the Heavenly Books and those things which would have explained to him their purpose and what matters were sought through the revelation of a Heavenly Book. This was his state until he reached the level of Prophethood. At that time, the veils were lifted between his knowledge and that which had been stored in his Muhammadan Reality of sciences, gnosis and secrets......
And the secret in the draping of the veil over the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) is that if Allah had unveiled to him, before his Prophethood, what He had stored away in his Muhammadan Reality, and he had spoken about it before his Messengerhood and being dispatched, doubt about the Message that he spoke to them about would have arisen in those to whom he was sent. They would have said, “You’ve been speaking about these things all of your life. You have transmitted from someone else. And you are not a Prophet.” So Allah hid it from him so that he may not speak about it. Then, when it came time for his Prophethood, Allah lifted the veils from him. And those matters that Allah showed people about him (may Allah bless him and give him peace) before his Prophethood, such as being an uneducated person, not knowing anything and not perceiving anything, nor his mixing with or becoming close with any of the People of the Book, were so that when he spoke to them about matters of Messengerhood and Prophethood, they would know that it is the truth. That is because it came from an uneducated person who had not known anything. And that could only happy by Prophethood. And that is the secret of his being veiled. Proof of this is in His words (Blessed and Exalted):
{And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand} [al-Ankabut, 48].
.....And from the greatest evidences of what we have mentioned about him (may Allah bless him and give him peace) is that his state before his Prophethood- the sciences of his Prophethood, Messengerhood, Heavenly Books and of Faith being existent in his reality,but hidden from him by a veil- is like that of a sleeping person. Those sciences which he knew while he was awake are hidden from him at the time of sleep. And that is the case until when he wakes up, and the veil of sleep is lifted from him, he connects with it and finds that they remained in his essence. That was his state (may Allah bless him and give him peace) from the time his body was created until his Prophethood.”
Edited from the Arabic by Sidi Talut Dawood
I (Ali Harazim) asked him (Shaykh Ahmad Tijani) about the meaning of Allah's words (Exalted is He) about the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace):
{You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith} [al-Shura, 52]
"How do we reconcile these verses and hadiths with knowledge of the fact that the sciences of the first and the last were carried in his honored essence, and that he is the link that causes that knowledge to reach each creation according to its capacity?"
He (Shaykh Ahmad Tijani) responded:
“You should know that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) knew the sciences of the first and the last, absolutely and comprehensively. Among those sciences is knowledge of all Heavenly Books- let alone only the Qur’an, the demands of faith- its beginning and end, and the essence of faith, what spoils it and what strengthens it. All of that is firmly entrenched in the Muhammadan Reality (may Allah bless him and give him peace). As for His words (Blessed and Exalted),
{You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith},
he was in this state before his Prophethood. Allah had informed him neither of the reality of faith, nor of the method of the revelation of the Heavenly Books, neither the essence of Messengerhood, nor the details of its requisites. Allah had veiled him from all of that before his Prophethood. It was hidden in his Muhammadan Reality. But he did not know it, nor did he perceive it, until when it came time for his Prophethood, Allah lifted the veils from him and he saw what his Muhammadan Reality contained. The proof of that is in his words (may Allah bless him and give him peace):
“I saw my Lord in the form of a youth,” until he said, “He placed His hand upon my shoulder blade until I felt its coldness upon between my two breasts. And he taught me the sciences of the first and the last.” (Tirmidhi, Ahmad).
That was at the time of his Prophethood. Allah lifted the veils from him and showed him the gnosis, sciences and secrets- whose seas have no shore, and which have no limit- that Allah had incorporated for him in his Muhammadan Reality.But beware of understanding from this, that the Muhammadan Reality lacked that before Prophethood. That assumption is not correct.
The Muhammadan Reality had been filled with all of those gnosis, sciences and secrets from the beginning of existence, since it is the first existent thing. Allah brought it into existence before anything else. And He endowed it with those sciences, gnosis and secrets. And it remained filled with them until the time came for his blessed body to exist (may Allah bless him and give him peace). Then a veil was placed between him and knowledge of that until the time came for his Prophethood. At that time, He (Allah) lifted the veil and showed him those aforementioned things that He had stored in his Muhammadan Reality. And His address to him in His words,
{You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith},
was only informing him of the state of being veiled from the knowledge that existed before in His Reality (may Allah bless him and give him peace). It was not stating that knowledge of those things was not in his reality......
And he had always been (may Allah bless him and give him peace), before his Prophethood, from the time he exited from his mother’s womb, among the greatest Knowers of God. And the veil of humanhood had not been cast over him to the degree that it would intervene between him and between knowing the Holy Divine Presence. And he was among the “Fard” saints of the world. The likeness of “Fard” saint to the ordinary Knowers of God and the “Siddīqin” is that of the Knower of God to the ordinary people who have no gnosis......
He (May Allah bless him and give him peace) had been established in that station to such a degree as to take knowledge from Allah without an intermediary. And he was not ignorant of any of the states of the Divine Presence. Nor did his sun (may Allah bless him and give him peace) set at that place. In that sphere, Allah had only veiled him from the essence of Messengerhood, its requirements, and those things which would have explained to him what its purpose was. And Allah had also veiled him from the method of the revelation of the Heavenly Books and those things which would have explained to him their purpose and what matters were sought through the revelation of a Heavenly Book. This was his state until he reached the level of Prophethood. At that time, the veils were lifted between his knowledge and that which had been stored in his Muhammadan Reality of sciences, gnosis and secrets......
And the secret in the draping of the veil over the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) is that if Allah had unveiled to him, before his Prophethood, what He had stored away in his Muhammadan Reality, and he had spoken about it before his Messengerhood and being dispatched, doubt about the Message that he spoke to them about would have arisen in those to whom he was sent. They would have said, “You’ve been speaking about these things all of your life. You have transmitted from someone else. And you are not a Prophet.” So Allah hid it from him so that he may not speak about it. Then, when it came time for his Prophethood, Allah lifted the veils from him. And those matters that Allah showed people about him (may Allah bless him and give him peace) before his Prophethood, such as being an uneducated person, not knowing anything and not perceiving anything, nor his mixing with or becoming close with any of the People of the Book, were so that when he spoke to them about matters of Messengerhood and Prophethood, they would know that it is the truth. That is because it came from an uneducated person who had not known anything. And that could only happy by Prophethood. And that is the secret of his being veiled. Proof of this is in His words (Blessed and Exalted):
{And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand} [al-Ankabut, 48].
.....And from the greatest evidences of what we have mentioned about him (may Allah bless him and give him peace) is that his state before his Prophethood- the sciences of his Prophethood, Messengerhood, Heavenly Books and of Faith being existent in his reality,but hidden from him by a veil- is like that of a sleeping person. Those sciences which he knew while he was awake are hidden from him at the time of sleep. And that is the case until when he wakes up, and the veil of sleep is lifted from him, he connects with it and finds that they remained in his essence. That was his state (may Allah bless him and give him peace) from the time his body was created until his Prophethood.”
Edited from the Arabic by Sidi Talut Dawood