M6:1298 — چون ز ذات حق بعیدی وصف ذات / باز دانی از رسول و معجزات

Translation: Since from God's Essence you are far, / You will know the Essence's description from the Messenger and his miracles. Meaning: This verse asserts that because humans are inherently distant from the ultimate Essence of God, knowledge of that Essence is attainable only through the divine Messengers and the miraculous signs they manifest.

We human beings are, without a doubt, distant from the Divine Essence, an Essence that utterly transcends our comprehension. How, then, can we acquire any description of this ungraspable Essence? Mowlana, in this verse, points us to a path: through the Messengers and the miracles they bring. This is a path of indirect knowledge, for the Divine Essence cannot be contained within the desert of our understanding; it must be known through the mirrors of its manifestations.

Mowlana, however, does not stop there; he expands the circle of this mediation from prophets to saints and masters of truth. He declares that even if we did not live in the age of prophets to witness the miracles of Moses or Jesus, in our own time, the 'pure and sincere elders' (piran-i safi) carry hidden wonders and karamat. These are not performed for show, but emanate from the sheer presence of God within them. These saints are like 'hot furnaces'; whoever sits beside them is enveloped by their warmth, becoming intoxicated and yearning.

Mowlana, with the precious phrase 'a hundred resurrections are present within them' (sad qiyāmat naqd hast), reveals the depth of their inner experience. It signifies that they have undergone a 'dying and a rebirth,' finding new life and stepping into another realm, though their physical bodies remain in this earthly world. This is a 'resurrectional experience' that has made the Resurrection itself immediate and present within their souls. It is this very resurrectional presence that ignites intoxication and enchantment in their companions. Religions, in truth, begin not with argument, but with these very enchantments; prophets and saints, through their 'existential resurrection,' draw people to themselves and establish a 'site of resurrection' (qiyāmat-gāh) within their souls.

This is why Mowlana has stated: 'Whoever wishes to sit with God / Should sit in the presence of the saints.' The heart of the saints of God is the house of God. All existent beings derive a portion from 'Existence,' and 'Existence' itself is God. However, some beings possess a greater 'intensity of existence' (ishtidād-i wujūdī), meaning they are 'fuller of existence' and their share of divinity is greater. The saints of God are foremost among these; they are pure mirrors in which the Divine Essence is clearly reflected.

Miracles that affect inanimate objects, such as Moses' staff or the splitting of the moon by the Prophet, are borrowed and temporary effects. But if the same miracle 'strikes your soul,' it connects you to that 'hidden relationship' with the inner realm. It is in this context that Mowlana speaks of 'bread without the potentiality of dough' (nān-i bi-hayūlāy-i khamīr). 'Hyle' (matter) in Aristotelian philosophy signifies potentiality (dough is the hyle of bread). But the saints of God can sometimes bestow 'bread' without the recipient having any prior potential or background; they grant grace unconditionally and without expectation. Their mere gaze is enough to bring about a transformation within you.

However, this does not mean we should remain passive. Mowlana warns that miracles, like the Quran, do not affect everyone equally: 'He misguides many thereby and guides many thereby.' A miracle is like a sea; it drowns the land bird but keeps the water bird safe. This means that if the recipient lacks a truth-seeking and truth-accepting soul, even the clearest truths will have no effect on them. Therefore, the primary condition is to acquire 'receptivity and merit' within oneself. If this felicity does not arise in your conscience and you are unable to discover the inner realities, then 'always derive arguments from the outward.' That is, pay attention to external signs and effects, so that through them you may perhaps find your way to the hidden Cause and ultimately attain a description of that distant Essence.

Key takeaways

• God's Essence is beyond our direct perception; knowledge of it is attained through Messengers and their miracles.
• Saints (Awliyā) and spiritual masters, like prophets, are intermediaries for knowing God, embodying karamat and 'a hundred resurrections' within themselves.
• The presence of saints, like a hot furnace, inspires enchantment and spiritual intoxication in their companions, marking the true beginning of religions.
• 'Existence is God'; saints possess a heightened 'intensity of existence,' making their hearts the abode of God.
• True miracles are those that impact the soul, connecting the individual to the 'hidden relationship' with the inner realm.
• The efficacy of miracles depends on the 'receptivity and merit' of the observer; without a truth-seeking spirit, truth remains ineffective.