Then God...

Then God, the Exalted, gave Satan power over him in order to turn him towards the tree of nature, to deflect him from the gravity of the malakut towards the realm of mulk. As to the phrase, والعدل والإحسان (justice and kindness), apparently these two are in conjunction with الأمر بالمعروفِ commanding to what is right) meaning: إعرفوهم بِالأَمْرِ بِالمَعْرُوفِ وَالعَدْلِ وَالإحْسَانِ.

Or it is probably a conjunct of the phrase إعرفوا الله بالله meaning: إعرفوهم بِالأَمْرِ بِالمَعْرُوفِ وَالعَدْلِ وَالإحْسَانِ. The Meaning Of The Phrase ‘Know God By God’ It should he known that eminent scholars have given different explanations in expounding the phrase المعروف in the noble tradition, each in accordance with the character of his scholarship and philosophical approach.

Here we will briefly mention some of their views for the sake of benefiting from the barzakah of the speech of the great ones. First is that which has been stated by the Thiqat al-Islam Kulayni (R), which, to put it briefly, is that God, the Exalted, has created the bodies, the spirits, and the lights, and He is their sole creator, without anyone sharing their creation with Him, nor is He is like any of them.

Hence whoever likens God to any of them, does not know God; but should he negate God’s similarity to them he would he knowing God by God (Here end his words).[^3] It is strange that Hadrat Sadr al-Muta’allihin (Q) has imagined these words (of Kulayni) to he part of the tradition and offered elaborate interpretations of it in accordance with his own philosophical approach.[^4] Second is the statement of Shaykh Saduq (R) whose gist is that knowing God through God means that should we know God with our intellects, God, the Exalted, is the one who has bestowed there; and should we know Him through the prophets and God’s Proof, hujaj (A), then God has raised them and made them His Proofs; and should we know Him through our souls, God is their creator.[^5] Third is that which has been indicated by Sadr al-Muta’allihin, according to which the way to the ma’rifah of God is of two kinds.

One of them is through epiphany and direct gnosis, and the second is through negation of His likeness to anything ( tanzih ) and assertion of Ibis transcendence ( taqdis ).

✦ ✦ ✦