M6:3449 — آفتاب لطف حق بر هر چه تافت / از سگ و از اسپ فر کهف یافت

Translation: The sun of God's grace shone on all that it touched, From dog and from horse, it found the glory of the Cave.

Meaning: This verse states that the sun of divine grace shines universally upon all beings, and even humble creatures like the dog of the Companions of the Cave and the horse are able to receive and reflect this divine splendor and glory.

This verse by Mowlana, like many of his teachings, harbors a profound philosophical and theological question: if God's grace shines upon all things, whence come the differences between beings? Why is one a dog and another a ruby? This is a question that has occupied the history of our philosophy and mysticism, and Mowlana provides a clear and eloquent answer.

I believe Mowlana here points to a fundamental truth: the truth of capacity and potential. Divine grace, or the 'sun of God's grace,' shines universally and without limitation on everything; the light of existence, the uninterrupted divine bounty, makes no distinction, just like rain falling on the earth or the sun casting its rays on all. However, the manner and extent of benefiting from this grace depend on the nature or capacity of the recipient. This is where beings differ.

As philosophers before Mulla Sadra maintained, the essences (māhiyyāt) of beings in the world are diverse. The essence of water differs from that of soil, or fire from air. Their answer to this inherent difference was the famous dictum, 'Al-dhāti lā yuʿallal' (That which is essential has no external cause). Water is water because it has the essence of water, and one cannot ask why water is water. God grants existence to these diverse essences but does not 'make them' water or soil. Essences, like primordial vessels, awaited to be filled with existence in non-existence. This perspective limited the divine will's power to alter essences; meaning, God cannot create a circle with unequal radii, for such a circle is not a circle by definition.

However, with the advent of Mulla Sadra and the philosophy of 'primacy of existence' (iṣālat al-wujūd), this discussion ascended a step higher. Mulla Sadra argued that existence is hierarchical (dhū marātib); that is, existence is a chain of degrees and ranks, rather than multiple essences to which existence is accidentally attached. In this view, all beings share in 'existence,' but their 'capacity' (ẓarfiyyat) and existential degree differ. Some existences are one-liter, some ten-liter, and some fifty-liter. Mowlana, without adhering to specific philosophical terminology, practically refers to this very meaning of capacity and potential. He is not an essentialist (māhavī) but rather grounds differences in potential and capacity.

Mowlana indeed illustrates this beautifully with his examples. The sun shines on a ruby, and the ruby benefits from it, transforming into a precious gem. The same sun shines on a stone, but the stone receives nothing but warmth and brilliance. Why? Because the ruby's potential to 'derive treasure' from the sun differs from the stone's potential, which only absorbs warmth. A green leaf, with its chlorophyll, creates sugar and fruit from sunlight, while soil merely gets warm. Or, the sun shining on a wall differs from the sun falling on agitated, turbulent water; 'it is not like when the sun falls on agitated water.' This shows that the recipient plays an active and decisive role in how it receives and is affected by grace.

The supreme example of this reception proportionate to capacity is seen in this very verse: 'From dog and from horse, it found the glory of the Cave.' The dog of the Companions of the Cave (Ashab al-Kahf) is an animal typically placed in a lower status, yet due to its companionship with divine saints and its presence in an atmosphere imbued with grace, it partakes in divine 'far' (splendor/glory). Similarly, the horse, a noble and useful animal, though not at the human level. These two, despite their differences from humans and angels, when exposed to divine grace, were quenched by it in their own measure. This verse teaches us that no being is outside the sphere of divine grace; one only needs to recognize one's capacity for reception and one's potential for utilization, and then to cultivate it. This resonates with the Quranic point that 'We provide for all — these and those — from your Lord's bounty, and your Lord's bounty is not restricted' (Isra, 17:20); the Lord's bounty is never withheld, but the extent of benefit depends on the recipient. To me, this teaching is one of the keys to understanding the perfect order of existence and its differences; a difference that stems not from the miserliness of the source of bounty, but from the diversity of potentials.

Key takeaways

• God's grace flows universally to all beings, without any distinction.
• Differences in benefiting from divine grace arise from each being's inherent capacity and potential, not from discrimination by the source of bounty.
• Mowlana, using the example of ruby and stone, clarifies that each being benefits from the sun of God's grace according to its own capability; one finds treasure, the other only warmth.
• Mulla Sadra's philosophy of the 'primacy of existence,' which posits existence as hierarchical with varying capacities, aligns with Mowlana's view on the diverse reception of grace.
• Even seemingly 'humbler' beings like the dog of the Companions of the Cave and the horse, by being exposed to divine grace and proximity to saints, can partake in divine glory and blessing.
• No being is outside the sphere of divine grace; what matters is recognizing and cultivating one's potential for reception and utilization.