AL-QUDDŪS: Reflections on the Existence of Allah

AL-QUDDŪS: Reflections on the Existence of Allah

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحٖيمِ

وَاْلاَرْضَ فَرَشْنَاهَا فَنِعْمَ الْمَاهِدُونَ

A subtle meaning of this verse, arising from a manifestation of the Name al-Quddūs — which is either the Ism-i Azam or one of its six lights — became clear to me towards the end of the blessed month of Shabān, while I was in Eskişehir Prison. It revealed the existence and unity of Allah to me with the utmost clarity. This occurred as follows:

I saw that this universe and this globe are like a vast factory in constant operation, and at the same time like an inn or guesthouse continually being filled and emptied. Yet factories, inns, and guesthouses that are so constantly in use become heavily polluted with waste, debris, and refuse, while foul-smelling substances accumulate everywhere. Without continual care, cleansing, and purification, they would become uninhabitable, and those within them would suffocate.

Yet this cosmic factory and earthly guesthouse are so pure, clean, and well maintained, so free from dirt, impurity, and foul odours, that nothing useless, no meaningless substance, and no stray waste can be found within them. Even when something appears outwardly unclean, it is immediately drawn into a process of transformation and purified.

Thus, the One Who oversees this factory tends it with the utmost care. This vast factory and magnificent palace have an Owner who keeps them swept, cleaned, and set in order as though they were a single small room. Despite the factory’s immense size, there is no corresponding accumulation of filth, refuse, or debris. On the contrary, the care devoted to its cleanliness and purity is proportionate to its vastness.

If a person neglects to wash himself and sweep his small room for a month, both he and his room become filthy. Thus, the purity, clarity, radiance, and cleanliness of this palace of the world arise from continuous, wise cleansing and meticulous purification.

Were it not for this continual purification, sweeping, and careful maintenance, the hundreds of thousands of species of animals upon the face of the earth would suffocate within a single year. Moreover, the debris of planets and their satellites, and perhaps even stars, that undergo destruction and death in the heavens would rain down upon our heads in stones as large as mountains, striking us and other living creatures, and perhaps even the earth itself, and driving us from our earthly homeland. Yet throughout the ages, only a few celestial stones have fallen from those realms above, serving as lessons for us to reflect upon the destruction and renewal taking place there, and not one has struck anyone on the head.

Likewise, through the continual alternation and struggle between life and death on earth, the carcasses of hundreds of thousands of species of animals and the remains of two hundred thousand kinds of plants would, year after year, so thoroughly pollute the land and seas that conscious beings, far from loving the world, would recoil from it in disgust and seek refuge in death and nonexistence.

Just as a bird effortlessly cleans its wings and a writer easily keeps his pages clean, so too are the wings of this flying earth and the celestial birds, together with the pages of the book of the universe, continually cleansed and beautified. Consequently, those who fail to perceive the infinite beauty of the Hereafter and do not reflect in the light of īmān become so enamoured of the cleanliness and beauty of this world that they worship it.

Thus, this palace of the world and cosmic factory display a supreme manifestation of the Divine Name al-Quddūs. Not only the scavengers of the seas and the eagles of the land, but even wolves and ants, which serve as sanitary workers collecting carcasses, obey the commands of this sacred cleansing.

Even the red and white blood cells obey these sacred commands of cleansing, carrying out their work of purification within the cells of the body, just as breathing purifies and cleanses the blood.

Likewise, the eyelids obey these commands and cleanse the eyes, while flies follow them by wiping their wings clean. The air and clouds also obey these commands. The air sweeps dust and dirt from the face of the earth, while the sponge of the clouds sprinkles water upon the garden of the earth, settling the dust. Then, to avoid leaving the sky sullied for too long, the clouds swiftly gather up their remnants and withdraw from sight in perfect order, leaving the beautiful face and eye of the heavens cleansed and swept, shining brilliantly.

And just as the stars, the elements, minerals, and plants obey these commands of cleansing, so too does every particle heed them. Amid the astonishing storms of change and transformation, these particles observe the principles of cleanliness, never gathering unnecessarily in one place or creating needless crowding. If they become contaminated, they are swiftly cleansed; and by a hand of wisdom, they are directed towards the purest, cleanest, brightest, and most immaculate states, and the most beautiful, clear, and delicate forms.

Indeed, this single act of cleansing, itself a single truth, is a supreme manifestation of one of the Greatest Names, al-Quddūs, appearing within the vastest sphere of the universe. Together with His Beautiful Names, it directly reveals Divine existence and unity as clearly as the sun to eyes that are wide open and keen as telescopes.

As has been demonstrated through conclusive proofs in many parts of the Risale-i Nur, the act of arranging and establishing order, as a manifestation of the Names al-Hakam and al-Hakīm; the act of establishing balance and proportion, as a manifestation of the Names al-Adl and al-Ādil; the act of beautifying and bestowing favours, as a manifestation of the Names al-Jamīl and al-Karīm; and the act of nurturing and bestowing blessings, as a manifestation of the Names ar-Rabb and ar-Rahīm — all demonstrate the necessary existence and unity of the One Creator, since each constitutes a single reality and a single act throughout the vastest sphere of the universe.

In precisely the same way, the act of cleansing and purification, as a manifestation of the Name al-Quddūs, demonstrates the existence of the Necessarily Existent One as plainly as the sun, and His unity as clearly as daylight.

And just as these wise acts—ordering, balancing and measuring, beautifying, and cleansing—point to a single Creator, each operating as one unified act throughout the vastest sphere of the universe, so too do most of the Beautiful Names, perhaps even each of the thousand and one Names, have a supreme manifestation within this vast sphere. The act arising from each such manifestation demonstrates the Wāhid-i Ahad with a clarity and certainty proportionate to its greatness.

Indeed, the many clear truths and unified acts that illuminate the universe—such as the all-encompassing wisdom that subjects everything to its law and order; the all-pervading providence that adorns and beautifies everything; the far-reaching mercy that brings joy and satisfaction to all beings; the universal provision of sustenance that nourishes all living things and makes their food pleasant and enjoyable; and life and the giving of life, which connect all things and make them beneficial to one another—demonstrate unmistakably the existence of the One, Who is All-Wise, Generous, Merciful, Providing, Living, and Life-Giving, as clearly as the sun demonstrates the existence of light.

If, however, even one of these numerous far-reaching acts, each of which is itself a brilliant proof of Divine Unity, were not attributed to the Wāhid-i Ahad, hundreds of impossibilities would necessarily follow in countless respects.

For example, suppose that, leaving aside such self-evident truths and proofs of Divine Unity as wisdom, providence, mercy, the provision of sustenance, and the giving of life, even the single act of cleansing were not attributed to the Creator of the universe. According to the unbelieving reasoning of the people of misguidance, one would then inevitably have to accept the following:

  • Either every creature involved in the work of cleansing throughout the universe—from the smallest particle and the fly to the elements and the stars—would have to possess the ability to know, consider, and act in accordance with the adornment, balance, order, and cleansing of the entire universe;

  • Or every one of these creatures would have to possess the sacred attributes of the Creator of the universe;

  • Or, in order to regulate the adornment and cleansing of the universe and maintain the balance between its income and expenditure, there would have to be a council of consultation as vast as the universe itself, with countless particles, flies, and stars serving as its members.

And so on.

Hundreds of similarly absurd and nonsensical impossibilities would have to be accepted for the universal, all-encompassing, and sublime adornment, purification, and cleansing plainly observed everywhere to come into existence. This would entail not just one impossibility, but a hundred thousand impossibilities all at once.

Indeed, if the light of day and the miniature suns reflected in all the shining objects upon the earth were not attributed to the sun itself and recognised as reflections of a single sun, it would be necessary for a real sun to exist within every piece of glass, every drop of water, every snow crystal upon the face of the earth, and even within the tiniest particles of air, for that universal light to exist.

Wisdom, too, is a light. All-encompassing mercy is a light. Beautification, balance, order, and cleansing are all-encompassing lights, each a ray of the Eternal Sun.

Come, then, and see how misguidance and unbelief sink into a swamp from which there is no escape. See, too, how foolish and absurd the ignorance of misguidance truly is!

Then say:

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَلٰى دٖينِ الْاِسْلَامِ وَ كَمَالِ الْاٖيمَانِ

Indeed, this sublime and universal cleansing, which keeps the palace of the universe perfectly pure, is undoubtedly a manifestation and a necessary consequence of the Name al-Quddūs.

Just as the glorifications of all creatures, by which they declare Allah free from every imperfection, point to the Name al-Quddūs, so too does that Name require their cleanliness and purity.

It is precisely because of this sacred connection between cleanliness and holiness that the hadith

اَلنَّظَافَةُ مِنَ اْلاِيمَانِ

counts cleanliness as part of the light of īmān. Likewise, the verse

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ

shows that purification is a means of attaining Divine love.