The original script of this work you’ve picked up to READ is not a book comprising the orders and commands of a God up in the heavens, who apparently revealed it to his postman-prophet on earth!

It is the Knowledge of the Reality and the System (sunnatullah [denotes the laws and order of Allah, that is, the mechanics of the System and the laws that govern the manifested worlds]) disclosed by the Rabb of the worlds (the source of the infinite meanings of the Names), from the dimensional depths to the consciousness of Rasulullah (the locus of Allah’s knowledge, i.e. the focal point of the cosmos through which divine knowledge is expressed and disseminated), through the act of revelation (irsal)!

Let it be emphasized from the outset that...

This book is neither a translation nor an interpretation of the Quran. It can never replace the Quran! It is merely an attempt to share one or two aspects of the multi-layered meanings of the Quran!

This book is only a window looking at the Quran through the viewpoint endowed to Allah’s servant, Ahmed Hulusi. Indeed, it is a reflection of only a part of the scene observed from this window!

The foundation of the viewpoint from this window is in accord with the following example:

When both eyes of a person are healthy and functional, the view is whole and clear. Those who don’t have a full vision wear glasses or lenses. The Quran is like a lens bestowed by Allah so that one can obtain a clear and healthy vision of the two truths; the Book of the Universe, and the System (sunnatullah), to READ them correctly.

In order to see the Reality as clear and one, we need the glasses of foresight (basirah) and knowledge, whereby the letter B comprises one lens, and the knowledge of the Absolute Self-sufficient One (al-Ahad-us-Samad) constitutes the other lens.

The former lens is the very first letter of the Quran; the letter B. Its meaning is revealed in Muhammad’s (saw) words “The part is the same as the whole!” which I have explained in consonance with the Holographic Reality in my book The Observing One. Every point perceived as a part or a unit in existence, contains the entire al-Asma (the Names) with their complete potentiality.

The latter lens, that is, the knowledge of the Absolute Self-Sufficient One, has been embedded at the end of the Quran, in the chapter al-Ikhlas (literally means ‘sincerity’ in English, and is the name of the last and also the shortest chapter of the Quran). It is the accentuation that the One denoted by the name Allah is One (Ahad) and Absolute Self-Sufficient (Samad). It is HU! There is no ‘other’ than HU! As-Samad connotes ‘Absolute Self-Sufficient ONEness to and from which nothing can be added or taken away.’

If these two truths do not yield one view, the soul of the Quran and the message it aims to give can never be perceived correctly; the reality of the ‘God up in the heavens and the prophet on earth’ will never be known.

Indeed, this book endeavors to aid the reader to evaluate the signs of the Quran in the light of the One denoted by the name Allah, as the Absolute Self-Sufficient One.

As far as we are aware, there are no other works to the likes of this book. Many works have been produced conveying somewhat depthless and perhaps historical narrations of the Quran, rather than reflecting its actual message and soul. Most of these works employ such obscure language that it is no wonder many readers find it distasteful to read. Pedantic attempts to remain faithful to ‘word-for-word’ translations have reduced this timeless literary masterpiece into the misunderstood puzzle of our day.

Moreover, as you will see while reading it, this literary masterpiece frequently employs various examples and metaphors to explain the many truths contained within it, urging the reader to contemplate on their meanings... Sadly, however, the limited comprehension of the majority has taken these Quranic metaphors literally and rendered them as laws, fortifying their belief in a heavenly God, his messenger on earth and a heavenly book containing his decrees.

I am of the belief that if the essential idea can be duly reflected to the reader, people will have an exceedingly different approach and understanding of this supreme knowledge.

Due to this, before you start to READ it, I would like to share the principal message and some of the concepts of this book – knowledge according to my understanding.

The essential objective of the Quran is to aid the people to understand and get to know the One denoted by the name Allah, and to safeguard them against the God notion that leads to duality (shirq).

While believing in an external God, no matter how far and beyond in space He may be, is an explicit advocacy of duality (shirq), fostering ideas that there are ‘other’ beings with power in existence aside or apart from Allah (including one’s ego) is an implicit promotion of duality.

The knowledge (Book) that has descended to address humanity forewarns its evaluators with these words:

“Those who support ‘duality’ (fragmenting existence; assuming there is a God AND there is everything ELSE) are contaminated!”

“Those who have not cleansed themselves of the contamination (of duality; the idea that there is a God and there is also me) shall not touch it (the knowledge – Quran... for they cannot understand it!)”

“Indeed, duality (assuming the existence of ‘others’ that are ‘apart’ from the One denoted by name Allah) is a grave atrocity!”

“Duality is the only offence that Allah will definitely not forgive; everything else may be forgiven if He wishes to!”

Those who want to be free of duality are encouraged to believe in the One denoted by the name Allah.

The Quran explains the two stages of believing in Allah as:

A) To believe in Allah (including faith in Allah with duality)

B) To believe in Allah in accord with the meaning of the letter ‘B’.

The former elucidates the need to cleanse from the explicit notion of duality resulting from the illusion of an external God.

The latter, entails the pure belief that is free of even implicit duality which is the covert tendency of doing shirq by equating one’s ego or assumed self to one’s Rabb (the al-Asma, i.e. the reality of the Names that constitute one’s essential reality).

Let us see how the paramount knowledge of reality revealed through Sufism (tasawwuf), to which many people scoff at, explains the misconception of implicit duality and how this topic is covered in the Quran:

This is directly from Hamdi Yazir’s translation (the international Sahih translation has been used here). Notice that the verse isn’t addressing the past, but it is talking directly to Rasulullah Muhammad (saw) about the faith of the people around him at that time:

“That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal, [O Muhammad], to you. And you were not with them when they put together their plan while they conspired.

And most of the people, although you strive [for it], are not believers.

And you do not ask of them for it any payment. It is not except a reminder to the worlds.

And how many a sign within the heavens and earth do they pass over while they, therefrom, are turning away.

And most of them believe not in Allah except while they associate others with Him.” (Quran 12:102-107)

Now, let’s remember the very important verse and warning that made me write the book Mind and Faith - Chapter 4 (Nisa): 136 is revealed to Muhammad (saw) and is in reference to the believers around him:

‘O you who have believed; Aminu B’illahi’ That is, ‘O you have believed, believe in Allah in accord with the meaning of the B sign.’

What does this mean?

It means: Among all the worlds that are constituted by the meanings of the names of Allah, your reality, existence, and being also comprise the Names of Allah. Your Rabb, your very Reality is the al-Asma (the Names). Therefore, neither you nor anything else around you is anything other than the manifestations of these Names. So do not be of those who fail to see this non-dual reality, and who give a separate existence to things (like God) they believe is ‘other’ than Allah. Such duality will only result in burning, both in this life and the next.

However, the eighth verse of the 2nd Chapter (Baqarah) asserts the inability of the masses to conceive such truths as their manifestation (as the composition of the Names) is not as intellectuals:

“And of the people are some who say, ‘We believe in Allah (in accord with the meaning of the B sign) and the Last Day,’ but they are not believers (in accord with the meaning of the B sign).”

Hence, dismissing the eminent meaning entailed by the letter B simply as ‘implicit duality’ and not giving it the attention it deserves, has inevitable spawned the ‘God up in the heavens, and me on earth’ misconception, resulting at the point it has come to today.

Whereas...

The invalidity of duality has been made evident right from the very first letter; the letter B, of the first verse (chapter) called the ‘Basmalah.’ This truth, concealed by many Quran scholars due to the conditionings they receive throughout their training, was first made apparent by Hadhrat Ali approximately 1400 years ago.

Hadhrat Ali, the zenith of sainthood, pointed to this truth, considered to be a secret in his time, with his words:

“The secret of the Quran is in al-Fatiha (the opening chapter), the secret of al-Fatiha is in the B-ismillah, and the secret of the B-ismillah is in the letter B (ب). I am the POINT beneath the ‘B’ (ب)!”

This truth to which Hadhrat Ali was pointing, plays a key role in the Quran as a symbol of warning, initially encountered as the letter B, the first letter of the first verse ‘B-ismillah’, and then throughout the whole Quran.

The late Hamdi Yazir, in his Interpretation of the Quran; Ahmed Avni Konuk, in his construal of the Fusus-al Hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom by Ibn Arabi) and Abdulaziz Majdi Tolun, in his commentary on Insan-i Kamil (The Perfect Man) have all given adequate warnings about this truth.

I, too, to the best of my capability, tried to evaluate the verses of this divine book in the light of this truth; taking into special consideration where the letter B has been used and what meaning it entails in this particular position.

The verse ‘B-ismillah’ emphasizes the importance of READing the Quran with the awareness of the meanings implied by the letter B. The letter B points to the reality that, all joy or grief that is experienced by one, result from one’s own inner reality, in accordance to the meanings projected from one’s essence. The letter B tells us that one’s experience of heaven or hell is the direct result of one’s actions; that is, what manifests through one is based on the Names that are inherent within them. Thus ‘B-ismillah’ is repeated at the beginning of every chapter, reminding us of this truth.

According to my understanding, ‘B-ismillahirrahmanirrahim’ is a chapter in itself.

It is impossible to understand the Quran, without first comprehending the purpose, indicated by the Absolute Reality the name Allah denotes, which is based on the Quran itself, and the teachings of the most magnificent human to have ever lived on earth, Muhammad Mustapha (saw).

If this purpose is not recognized, the wrong approaches will be taken towards the Quran; as if it were a history book, a good virtue book, a social order book, or a book containing the knowledge of the universe, etc.

Whereas, the most prominent truth that stands out to the READer who has no prejudice or preconditions, are the hints that enable one to abandon the dual view, and the teachings of the ways in which the consciousness can be cleansed towards this reality. Humans, because of the way they have been created, are immortal beings! They only taste death and, by constantly experiencing new realms of existence (ba’th), they go on to live an eternal life!

Death is the Doomsday of the person, where the veil of the body is lifted and the person observes their own reality, and then begins to live the consequences of how much they were able to use this reality during their earthly life. As you READ you will see the various depictions of this throughout the book.

Hence...

Humans must know and understand their own reality and live their life accordingly, so they can use the potential arising from their Reality and earn heavenly life... that is, of course, if their Rabb (the Names that comprise their essence) has enabled them to! The act of turning towards one’s Rabb, should not be an external turn, but an internal one towards one’s own Reality, which is what praying (salat) is – an inward turn towards one’s own essence.

At this point we must take heed of the following:

According to my understanding (and as I tried to elucidate in my book Renew Yourself  the structure I refer to as the ‘universe within universes’, in respect of its reality, is a multidimensional single frame picture, or, a ‘singular holographic knowledge – an ocean of energy’ with all its dimensions. The whole of this ocean is contained in each of its drops. It is the quantum potential! As Rasulullah (saw) declared with his words: “The part mirrors the whole!”

As I have tried to explain in detail in my book Muhammad’s Allah there is no ‘other’ (concept, content, or form) in existence that can be likened or equated in any way to the One denoted by the name ALLAH.

Due to this reality, all enlightened beings extending from the contemplation and observation chain of Hadhrat Ali and Hadhrat Abu Bakr, who was referenced in the Quran as ‘the second of the two’ have all confirmed the same reality: “There is only Allah, and nothing else!” This is why observing and evaluating His universal perfection (hamd) belongs only to Allah! As there is no other, Allah is the evaluator of Himself!

Duality is an invalid and illusory notion!

Mankind arrives at this erroneous judgment with their illusions, becoming veiled (kufr) to the true Unity behind the misperception of multiplicity! Consequently, people live their lives believing themselves to be only the material body which will eventually die and be cast away to nonexistence or they assume the existence of an exterior God, whether up in the heavens of within the self (shirq)!

Whereas according to the people of Allah, who base their views on the Quran and Rasulullah, the core of the matter is:

‘HU,’ other than whom nothing exists, observes His knowledge, with His knowledge, i.e. the properties (quantum potential) denoted by the Beautiful Names (al-Asma al-Husna), in His knowledge (the dimension of knowledge)... This act of observing has neither beginning nor end. HU is beyond being conditioned or limited by what He observes (i.e. HU is Ghani from the worlds.)

Hence, all the worlds and everything they comprise, which were all once nonexistent have become existent with the qualities of the Names, via this act of observing!

All things in the conceptual world are like the manifestations of the various compositions of the Names of Allah, shortly referred to as the Names (al-Asma). Just like how the approximately 100 hundred atoms comprise the whole of the material world with all its countless forms and beings.

Perhaps we can even say, the timeless, non-local quantum potential is observing itself from the point of view of the Names. Hadhrat Ali’s WARNING, “Knowledge was a single point, but the ignorant have multiplied it” denotes the reality that the quantum potential is a single point, which manifests into the perceived according to the perceiver, whereby these perceivers are the ignorant.

Albeit the Beautiful Names have generally been taught to be 99 in the broad sense, in respect of their details they are infinite.

All perceivable and non-perceivable things are made up of these qualities that are denoted by the Names (of Allah); hence, this act of creation has been referred to as ‘the Rabb of the Worlds.’ The word ‘Rabb’ is the Name-composition that constitutes the perceived individual.

The phrase ‘b-izni Rabb’ which literally means ‘with the permission of Rabb’ refers to the suitability of the Name-composition to that particular situation.

The phrase ‘b-iznillah’ which means ‘with the permission of Allah’ can denote either of two meanings, depending on its context. That is, it either refers to the suitability and appropriateness of the Name-composition to the purpose of creation of the worlds, or the suitability of the Name-composition to the purpose of the individual’s existence. As there is no ‘other’ Uluhiyyah but the ONE.

Due to this ONEness, the Quran emphasizes the concept of consequence (jaza) and reinforces that all individuals will live the consequences of the behaviors that result from them. This is why there is a reiteration of the fact that ‘each will live the consequences of his or her actions, for there is no God that oppresses and punishes’ throughout the Quran.

The meaning of ‘all individuals will be given their due rights’ means, whatever is necessary for the fulfillment of the individual’s purpose of existence will be given accordingly.

Taqwa is generally understood as protection or ‘to be protected from the wrath of Allah.’ What this alludes to in fact is the protection one should take to avoid engaging in the behaviors that may result in the unfavorable expressions of the Names with which they have been created, as everyone will inevitably live the consequences of their own doings.

As I said, the Quran is not literally a written book sent down from God above to his postman-prophet on earth via certain intermediary beings. It is the KNOWLEDGE of the Reality and the System (sunnatullah), revealed (dimensionally) to his consciousness, from his Rabb, that is, the Names comprising his essential reality.

In the view of the enlightened ones the Quran is a ‘confirmation’ in the appearance of a ‘proposal.’

The BOOK alludes to the KNOWLEDGE pertaining to the Reality and the System (sunnatullah).

In terms of being the Knowledge of Reality it reveals the Reality of everything, both perceivable and unperceivable. In terms of being the Knowledge of the System (sunnatullah) it explains the mechanics of the System and the Order of the dimensions in which individual beings will forever reside.

A human is a vicegerent on earth. This can be understood both as the planet and as the body. For human is beyond a mere body, and once a human leaves the body, an indefinite continual of existence will go on through various forms of resurrections (ba’th).

All of the proposals that are made to humans are aimed at enabling them to know their true selves in the light of their Reality and to live the requirements of this, discovering and using their intrinsic qualities. All of the prohibitions, on the other hand, are essentially to prevent humans from being deluded into thinking they are their physical body, and hence, squandering the potential given to them on egoistic, bodily pleasures that will have no meaning after they taste death. As their current potential has been given to discover their Reality and attain the beauty of both this life and the next.

If this work aids in a better evaluation of the Quran, I confess my inability to duly give thanks for such a blessing. My works are the compulsory requirement of my servanthood. Success is only with Allah’s favor and blessing! I also apologize for my inadequacies and mistakes. For it is impossible for a servant to deservedly evaluate the words of Allah!

 

 

AHMED HULUSI

25 October 2008

North Carolina, USA