This is the miraculousness of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition which is its giving news of the Unseen, preserving its youth in every age, and being appropriate to every level of person. This Ray has three ‘Radiances’.

• First Radiance: This is its giving news of the Unseen. It consists of three ‘Glistens’.

The First Glisten is its telling about the past, one part of the Unseen. Indeed, the All-Wise Qur’an mentions through the tongue of one whom everyone agreed was both unlettered and trustworthy the important events and significant facts concerning the prophets from the time of Adam till the Era of Bliss in a way which, confirmed by scriptures like the Torah and the Bible, tells of them with the greatest power and seriousness. It concurs with the points on which the former Books were agreed, and decides between them on the points over which they differed, pointing out the truth of the matter. That is to say, the Qur’an’s view which penetrates the Unseen sees the events of the past in a way over and above all the previous scriptures, and pronounces them right and confirms them in the matters on which they are agreed, and acts as arbiter between them, correcting in matters about which they are at variance.

However, the facts the Qur’an relates about the events of the past are not things that could have been learnt through the exercise of reason that they were communicated by it; they were rather transmitted knowledge, dependent on the heavens, on revelation. And as for transmitted knowledge, it is the domain of those who know how to read and write, and these were revealed to one known by friend and foe alike as knowing neither how to read nor how to write, and as being trustworthy; someone described as unlettered.

Also, the Qur’an tells of those past events as though it had actually seen them. For it takes the spirit and vital point of a lengthy event, and makes them the introduction to its aim. That is to say, the summaries and extracts which the Qur’an contains show that it sees all the past together with all its events. For just as someone who is an expert in some science or craft shows his skill and proficiency through some succinct words or a concise statement, so the summaries and spirits of events mentioned in the Qur’an show that the one who said them comprehends all the events and sees them, and, if one may say so, relates them with extraordinary skill.

The Second Glisten is its giving news of the future, which is another part of the Unseen. There are many sorts of this. The first sort is particular, and special to the saints and those seek the truth through illumination. For example, Muhyiddin al-‘Arabi discovered numerous instances of the Qur’an’s giving news of the Unseen in the Sura,

The information about the Unseen which many verses like these give turned out to be exactly true. Because it was given by one who was subject to many criticisms and objections and could have lost his cause through the tiniest mistake, and was spoken unhesitatingly, and with absolute seriousness and confidence in a way that confirmed its authenticity, this news of the Unseen demonstrates with certainty that the one who gave it had received instruction from the Pre-Eternal Master, and then he spoke.

The Third Glisten is its giving news of the Divine truths, cosmic truths, and the matters of the hereafter. The Qur’an’s expositions of the Divine truths, and its explanations of the cosmos, which solve the talisman of the universe and riddle of creation, are the most important of its disclosures about the Unseen. For it is not reasonable to expect the human reason to discover those truths about the Unseen and follow them without deviating amid innumerable ways of misguidance. It is well-known that the most brilliant philosophers of mankind have been unable to solve the most insignificant of those matters by use of the reason. Furthermore, it is only after the Qur’an has elucidated those Divine truths and cosmic truths, which it points out, and after man’s heart has been cleansed and his soul purified, and after his spirit has advanced and his mind been perfected that his mind affirms and accepts those truths, and he says to the Qur’an: “How great are God’s blessings!” This section has been in part explained and proved in the Eleventh Word, and there is no need to repeat it. But when it comes to facts concerning the hereafter and Intermediate Realm, the human mind certainly cannot rise to them and see them on its own. However, it can prove them to the degree it sees them through the ways shown by the Qur’an. It is explained and proved in the Tenth Word just how right and true are these disclosures of the Qur’an about the Unseen.

• Second Radiance: This is the Qur’an’s youth. It preserves its freshness and youth every age as though newly revealed. In fact, the Qur’an has to have perpetual youth since as a pre-eternal address, it addresses at once all the levels of mankind in every age. And that is how it has been seen and is seen. Even, although all the centuries are different with regard to ideas and capacity, it as though looks to each particularly, and teaches it. Man’s works and laws grow old like man, they change and are changed. But the rulings and laws of the Qur’an are so firm and well-founded that they increase in strength as the centuries pass. Indeed, this present age and the People of the Book this age, who have more than any other relied on themselves and stopped up their ears to the words of the Qur’an, are so in need of its guiding address of,

For example, modern civilization, which is the product of the thought of all mankind and perhaps the jinn as well, has taken up a position opposed to the Qur’an, which individuals and communities have failed to dispute. With its sorcery it impugns the Qur’an’s miraculousness. Now, in order to prove the claim of the verse:

we shall compare the foundations and principles which civilization has laid in the form of dispute, with the principles of the Qur’an.

At the First Degree: The comparisons and balances which form all the Words from the First to the Twenty-Fifth, and the verses at their heads which form their truths, all prove with the certainty that two plus two equals four the Qur’an’s miraculousness and supremacy in the face of civilization.

At the Second Degree: Like the proofs in the Twelfth Word, it is to summarize a number of principles. By reason of its philosophy, present-day civilization accepts ‘force’ as the point of support in the life of society. It takes as its aim ‘benefits,’ and considers the principle of its life to be ‘conflict.’ It considers the bond between communities to be ‘racialism and negative nationalism.’ While its aim is to provide ‘amusements’ for gratifying the appetites of the soul and increasing man’s needs. However, the mark of force is aggression. And since the benefits are insufficient to meet all needs, their mark is that everyone tussles and jostles over them. The mark of conflict is contention, and the mark of racialism, aggression, since it thrives on devouring others. Thus, it is because of these principles of civilization that despite all its virtues, it has provided a sort of superficial happiness for only twenty per cent of mankind and cast eighty per cent into distress and poverty.

The wisdom of the Qur’an, however, takes as its point of support ‘truth’ in stead of force, and in place of benefit has ‘virtue and God’s pleasure’ as its aims. It considers ‘the principle of mutual assistance’ to be fundamental in life, rather than conflict. In the ties between communities it accepts ‘the bonds of religion, class, and country,’ in place of racialism and nationalism. Its aims are to place a barrier before the illicit assaults of the soul’s base appetites and to urge the spirit to sublime matters, to satisfy man’s elevated emotions and encourage him towards the human perfections. And as for the truth, its mark is concord, the mark of virtue is mutual support, and the mark of mutual assistance, hastening to help one another. The mark of religion is brotherhood and attraction. And the result of reining in and tethering the evil-commanding soul and leaving the spirit free and urging it towards perfection is happiness in this world and the next. Thus, despite the virtues present-day civilization has acquired from the guidance of the Qur’an in particular, and from the preceding revealed religions, in point of fact it has thus suffered defeat before the Qur’an.

Third Degree: Of thousands of matters, we shall point out only three or four by way of example. Since the Qur’an’s principles and laws have come from pre-eternity, they shall go to post-eternity. They are not condemned to grow old and die like civilization’s laws. They are always young and strong. For example, despite all its societies for good works, all its establishments for the teaching of ethics, all its severe discipline and regulations, civilization has been unable to contest the All-Wise Qur’an on two of its matters, and has been defeated by them. These two matters are:

and,

We shall describe them, this miraculous victory, by means of an introduction. It is like this:

As is proved in Isharat al-I‘jaz, just as the source of mankind’s revolutions is one phrase, so another phrase is the origin of all immorality.

First Phrase: “So long as I’m full, what is it to me if others die of hunger.”

Second Phrase: “You work so that I can eat.”

Yes, the upper and lower classes in human society, that is, the rich and the poor, live at peace when in equilibrium. The basis of that equilibrium is compassion and kindness in the upper classes, and respect and obedience in the lower classes. Now, the first phrase has incited the upper classes to practise oppression, immorality, and mercilessness. And just as the second has driven the lower classes to hatred, envy, and to contend the upper classes, and has negated man’s tranquillity for several centuries, so too this century, as the result of the struggle between capital and labour, it has been the cause of the momentous events of Europe well-known by all. Thus, together with all its societies for good works, all its establishments for the teaching of ethics, all its severe discipline and regulations, it could not reconcile these two classes of mankind, nor could it heal the two fearsome wounds in human life. The Qur’an, however, eradicates the first phrase with its injunction to pay zakat, and heals it. While it uproots the second phrase with its prohibition on usury and interest, and cures that. Indeed, the Qur’anic verse stands at the door of the world and declares usury and interest to be forbidden. It reads out its decree to mankind, saying: “In order to close the door of strife, close the door of usury and interest!” It forbids its students to enter it.

Second Principle: Civilization does not accept polygamy. It considers the Qur’an’s decree to be contrary to wisdom and opposed to man’s benefits. Indeed, if the purpose of marriage was only to satisfy lust, polygamy would have been contrary to it. But as is testified to by all animals and corroborated by plants that ‘marry’, the purpose and aim of marriage is reproduction. The pleasure of satisfying lust is a small wage given by Divine mercy to encourage performace of the duty. Since in truth and according to wisdom, marriage is for reproduction and the perpetuation of the species, since women can give birth only once a year, and can be impregnated only half the month, and after the age of fifty fall into despair, and men can impregnate till a hundred years old, and thus one woman is insufficient for one man, civilization has been compelled to accept numerous houses of ill-repute.

Thus, together with assisting human happiness in this world, all of thousands of matters of the Qur’an like the above three examples also serve eternal happiness. You can compare other matters to these.

Just as present-day civilization stands defeated before the Qur’anic principles concerning human social life and in reality is bankrupt in the face of the Qur’an’s miraculousness, so too it has been proved decisively in the previous twenty-five Words through the comparisons between European philosophy and human science, which are the spirit of civilization, and the wisdom of the Qur’an that philosophy is impotent and the wisdom of the Qur’an miraculous. The impotence and bankruptcy of philosophy and miraculousness and wealth of Qur’anic wisdom have been proved in the Eleventh and Twelfth Words; you may refer to those.

Furthermore, just as present-day civilization is defeated before the miraculousness of the Qur’an’s wisdom in regard to learning and actions, the same is true for literature and rhetoric. The comparison of the literature and rhetoric of civilization and those of the Qur’an is that of the dark grief and hopeless wailing of a motherless orphan and the low and uproarious song of a drunkard, and the yearning, hopeful sorrow of an elevated lover arising from a temporary separation and patriotic songs urging victory or war and high self-sacrifice. For in regard to the effects of its styles, literature and rhetoric produce either sorrow or joy. And sadness is of two sorts. It is either a dark sorrow arising from the lack of friends, that is, having no friends or owner, which is the sorrow produced by the literature of civilization, which is stained by misguidance, enamoured of nature, tainted by heedlessness, or it is the second sorrow. This arises from the separation of friends, that is, the friends exist, but their absence causes a yearning sorrow. This is the guidance-giving, light-scattering sorrow which the Qur’an produces. Joy, too, is of two sorts. One stimulates the desires of the soul. This is the mark of civilization’s literature in the fields of theatre, cinema, and the novel. While the other joy silences the soul, and is subtle and mannerly, innocently urging the spirit, heart, mind, and subtle faculties to attain to sublime matters, to their original home and eternal abode, and their companions of the hereafter; it is the joy the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition produces. It fills man with eagerness for Paradise and eternal happiness and the vision of God’s beauty.

Thus, the vast meaning and mighty truth which the verse,

expresses, is imagined by those of scant intelligence to be an impossible supposition for the purposes of uttering an exaggerated piece of eloquence. God forbid! It is not an exaggeration, nor is it an impossible supposition; it is an absolutely truthful piece of rhetoric, and possible and actual.

One aspect of its being in this form is this: if all the fine words of man and jinn which do not issue from the Qur’an and do not belong to it were to be gathered together, they could not imitate the Qur’an. And they have not been able to imitate it, for they have been unable to show that they have. The second aspect is this: civilization, and science and philosophy and European literature, which are the products of the thought and efforts of mankind and the jinn and even satans, remain in the very pits of impotence before the decrees, wisdom, and eloquence of the Qur’an. Just as we showed in the examples.

• Third Radiance: It is as though the All-Wise Qur’an is every century turned directly towards all the classes of humanity, and addresses each particularly. Indeed, since the Qur’an summons all mankind with all its classes and instructs them in belief, the highest and most subtle science, and in knowledge of God, the broadest and most luminous branch of learning, and in the laws of Islam, which are the most important and various of the sciences, it is essential that it should instruct every class and group appropriately. What it teaches, however, is the same; it does not differ. In which case, there have to be different levels in the same lesson, and according to its degree, every class takes its share from one of the veils of the Qur’an. We have given many examples of this, and they may be referred to. Here we shall only indicate one or two minor points, and the share of understanding of one or two classes. For example:

The share of understanding of this of the ordinary people, which forms the most numerous class: “Almighty God is above having mother and father, relatives or wife.” While the share of a middle class: “It is to deny the divinity of Jesus (Peace be upon him), and the angels, and anything which has been born.” For although denying something impossible is apparently purposeless, according to the rules of rhetoric, a necessary statement is intended, which gives it purpose. Thus, the purpose of denying son and begetter, which are particular to corporality, is to deny the divinity of those who have offspring and parents and equals; and it is to show that they are not worthy of being worshipped. It is because of this that Sura al-Ikhlas is beneficial for everyone all the time. The share of a more advanced class: “Almighty God is above all relations which suggest giving birth and being born. He is exempt from having any partners, helpers, or fellows. His relations with all beings are those of Creator. He creates through His pre-eternal will with the command of “Be!,” and it is. He is far beyond having any relation which is contrary to perfection, or is compelling, necessitating, or involuntary.” And the share of understanding of a higher class still: “Almighty God is pre-eternal and post-eternal, He is the First and the Last. Neither in His essence, nor in His attributes, nor in His actions, has He in any way any equal, peer, like, or match, or anything similar, resembling, or analogous to Him. Only, in His acts, there may be comparisons expressing similarity:

You can draw analogies with the above for other classes, which all receive different shares, like those who have attained knowledge of God, the lovers of God, and the truly sincere.

A Second Example:

The share of understanding from this of the first class: “Zayd, the servant of God’s Noble Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him), whom he also addressed as ‘my son,’ divorced his stately wife because he did not find himself equal to her. On God’s command, the Messenger (PBUH) took her. The verse says: ‘If the Prophet calls you son, it is in respect of his Messengership. In regard to his person, he is not your father, so that the women he takes should be unsuitable for him.’”

The second class’s share is this: “A great ruler looks on his subjects with paternal compassion. If he is a spiritual monarch ruling both outwardly and inwardly, then since his compassion goes a hundred times beyond that of a father, his subjects look on him as a father and on themselves as his real sons. A father’s view cannot be transformed into that of a husband, and a daughter’s view cannot be easily transformed into the view of a wife, so since the Prophet’s taking the believers’ daughters would seem inappropriate, the Qur’an says: ‘The Prophet (PBUH) acts kindly towards you with the eye of Divine compassion, and treats you in a fatherly manner. In the name of his Messengership, you are like his children. But with regard to his human person, he is not your father so that his taking a wife from you should be unfitting.’”

The third group would understand it like this: “You should not claim a connection with the Prophet (PBUH), and relying on his perfections and trusting in his fatherly compassion, commit errors and faults.” Yes, many people are lazy because they lean on their elders and guides. They even sometimes say: “Our prayers have been performed.” (Like some ‘Alawis)

The Fourth Point. Another group would understand a sign from the Unseen from this verse, as follows: The Prophet’s male children would not remain at the degree of ‘men’ [rijal]; in consequence of some wise purpose, his descendants would not continue as men. Since through the use of the term ‘rijal’ it indicates that he is the father of women, his line would continue through women. And, Praise be to God, Fatima’s blessed descendants, like Hasan and Husayn, the radiant moons of two luminous lines, continued the physical and spiritual line of the Sun of Prophethood.

O God, grant blessings to him and his Family.