M6:1357 — آن ز پایان‌دید احمد بود کو / دید دوزخ را همین‌جا مو به مو

Translation: That belonged to Ahmad’s end-seeing eye, Who saw hell right here, detail by detail. Meaning: This couplet speaks of the Prophet Muhammad's unique foresight and spiritual perception, enabling him to witness the ultimate consequences of actions and the hidden realities of heaven and hell in this very world, with precise detail.

I have repeatedly emphasized that true reason, ʿaql-i pāyān-bīn, is far-sighted and can perceive the ultimate end of things, unlike the superficial reason that remains fixated on appearances. It is animals that only perceive the immediate present. But Ahmad, the great Prophet of Islam, possessed such an 'end-seeing' eye. Rumi says: That belonged to Ahmad’s end-seeing eye, / Who saw hell right here, detail by detail. / He saw the Throne, the Footstool, and the gardens, / So that he tore the veil of heedlessness. The Prophet not only perceived the ultimate destiny of individuals but also clearly observed the 'consequences of actions.' Narratives, found in both Sunni and Shia traditions, recount how the Prophet, when asked about people's ultimate fates, promised heaven to some and hell to others, declaring: I have never seen good and evil as I have seen today; heaven and hell were so vividly portrayed to me that I saw them right there behind a wall. My thesis is that many of the legal injunctions proclaimed by the Prophet, especially regarding rituals and ceremonial matters, were based on this very perception of the 'outcome of affairs.' There is a well-known example where the Prophet saw a man wearing a gold ring. He took the ring from his hand, threw it away, and said: Does one of you intend to place a coal of fire on his finger? This means that the Prophet, with his barzakhi (inter-world) and inner-seeing eye, perceived the gold ring for men not in its outward form, but in its true, ultimate reality as a 'coal of fire,' and thus prohibited it. The same meaning is found in the Holy Quran, where it states: Indeed, those who unjustly consume the property of orphans — they consume only fire within their bellies. This is the Prophet's experience; he saw the true nature of deeds. This is the 'other side of worldly affairs,' which, in Mirfendereski's words, is: What is below has a form above. Whatever appears in the world in a particular form also possesses its barzakhi and transcendent reality, which is observed by the Friends of God. The revered Prophet (PBUH), though not commissioned to tear away the veil of heedlessness from everyone — for 'everyone is delighted by their own illusions,' and this maintains a certain order in the world — would occasionally offer glimpses of these hidden truths to those eager to see, as a window into that boundless unseen realm.

Key takeaways

• The Prophet's pāyān-bīni (end-seeing) was a unique faculty for perceiving the ultimate consequences and hidden realities of affairs.
• His perception of heaven and hell was direct and 'right here,' not merely a report from the unseen.
• Religious injunctions, especially concerning rituals, are rooted in the Prophet's understanding of the inner forms and spiritual consequences of actions.
• Worldly actions, such as consuming an orphan's wealth, possess barzakhi (inter-world) or transcendent forms that the Prophet observed.
• The Prophet occasionally unveiled these hidden realities to awaken the eager, but not indiscriminately for all, to preserve cosmic order.
• True 'far-sighted reason' transcends mere appearances, distinguishing it from animalistic perception limited to the present moment.