The Craftsman and the Hour — On Divine Wisdom and the Natural Order

صنّاع وساعت

The Craftsman and the Hour (صنّاع وساعت)

What has happened? Everything has gone wrong. Something remains everywhere. Here — is this a watch? How is the watch? Who made its house? What is a watch? The house is being made every day and every night. Daily I like to go to this watch house. Friday prayers — in every city there are a few. In excess of forgetfulness and in thoughtless disorder — not too few in my work. What is a watch like? Come, let us see what this watch is. What is a needle? What is a nail? A minute of a needle — it is steady. The needle's steadiness — like the heart of a lover — the chest is narrow — the heart is now distressed. The watch is well arranged — because every piece is doing its work — not one piece is idle. Is it possible? And the wonder: 'Is this the fashioner of the world? The world — just as a watch — every moment is performing the act of manifesting non-being into existence. And then returning from existence to non-being.' Looking at the side — the manifestation continues thousands of times over — the sincere wish holds the truth. But the truth is full — where exactly is the compound? Then those levels come — arts and crafts — and where is the compound coming from? Then many kinds come.

The qiyūm (Self-Sustaining) assistance is there — every moment the watch's tawḥīd (unity) is in truth not leaving. The universe — where is the exhibition of this? It is nowhere visible. And with seeking the tawḥīd ḥaqīqī in the universe — a certain degree of this is true to this extent. After this the universe is making waves — and with the waves the mujahada (spiritual striving) is with them.

'ʿAnkabūt (the spider) and nasiḥ-ul-ʿankabūt (the spider's web):' Consider the spider's web — look — what a regular and fine arrangement. What a marvellous design it is. One hair of the head — yet in it millions of fibres. By the existence of these — never could any eye behold the threads. Not one thread was of no value. The spider can make one web from one fibre — a fibre from which a whole design emerges. The whole world is thus arranged. So what did Allah the Exalted say in His own Speech? 'Astaghfirullāh al-ʿAẓīm.' The spider returns to it — and its whole state (hāl) without its thread remains — and here, if the assistance of the wujūd (being) were to cease — we would cease. Neither earth, nor sky — every entity would vanish — all existence would become non-existent — the whole world would go away.

Patience and Wonder (تَحَم وتَعجُّب)

The earth — we command you to be obedient. Look — in these few days of the earth's existence — every day: O water and fire — the sun patiently bearing itself — the earth's fire coming under pressure — again it rises and returns up — again it recycles and the shade grows larger and the forest of the tree grows. Sit — look at the tree — step into the tree. In the tree there are many hundreds of things — yet in the tree initially there is nothing. Now the entities are there. A bird, or a singing bird, or a dove — what do they work at? What use can they be? If some bitter fruit comes — even you should grasp it — or let someone grasp it — then experience for yourself its flavour.

In this way the universe has a kind of wujūd-e-basīṭ (simple existence). It is one — but in many hundreds of thousands of atoms of the world a manifestation has taken place. And within itself the unity is resolved — to one direction only the true reality is going. But unity is not plurality — unity is unity.

The Ocean of Wonder (معجدریا)

The ocean is always in motion. And its motion — what is it? If the ocean is still, there will be no waves — the waves of the ocean are its motion. If the ocean is still — then every wave is also still. The large wave — the small wave — a large wave breaks apart the boats and ships it encounters — but the shore is always firm in its place. Currents are always calming the boats. The ocean gives orders to its waves — every wave goes where the order is. The drops in the ocean — what are they? The drops are nothing — can they make the ocean from a drop? Or can a drop make itself the ocean? No. The ocean has commanded the drop — and through the ordering of that drop — it acts according to this thought and design — every single event within the drop's power — is fully manifest. The compound — the natural compound — where is it from? It is one — but this is the manifestation in many hundreds of thousands of atoms of the world — and within itself the unity has resolved — the true reality going in one direction only. But unity is not plurality — unity is unity.