Those who said “I shall rise to the heavens if I choose to and observe the world, or descend to earth when I choose to and let the world observe me” and “there is nothing besides Allah under my cloak” made such claims as a result of the divine inspirations they received while they were experiencing the level of the Inspired Self, a level at which they had not yet even smelt the fragrance of “Sainthood”…
Certain seemingly extraordinary incidents that look like “karamah” (A super-natural occurrence or an extraordinary event that happens through a saint or a devout believer) are not signs of Wilayah. Such signs can be seen on non-Muslims too. Istidraj (a supernatural event through the hands of an unbeliever) and karamah are driven by the same mechanism. Hence the Saints of Allah don’t take karamahs relating to existence too seriously, it is the knowledge-based karamahs that have real value in their sight.
What is a knowledge-based karamah?
In many places people have been banned from becoming knowledgeable, from researching, questioning and reading etc… Many end up blindly following people who they think are saints, dedicating their entire lives to their way…
Sainthood begins with the narrow observation at the level of the Peaceful Self (Nafs-i Mutmainna) and ends with Risalah, with the most comprehensive observation at the level of the Pure Self (Nafs-i Safiya).
The witnessing of the truth and the observations by the saint reach their climax with the Rasul. “Risalah” derives its existence from the quality referenced by the meaning of the name “al-Wali”. Even Rasuls have different degrees based on the level of their wilayah.
Nubuwwah is a worldy function, it ends with the life of this world, it has no role in the hereafter. Nabis are also walis and their ranks in the afterlife are based on their level of wilayah.
Wilayah is the expansion and amplification of experiencing the essence of life.
Nubuwwah is the service of notifying the people of the mechanics of the system (the Divine System and Order - Sunnatullah) its function and consequences.
Risalah is the name of the station at the peak of wilayah. The walis are under the veil of Allah’s qubba (dome), they cannot be known from the outside.
Repeating the teachings and discoveries of those in the past is not wilayah; wilayah is a unique state of life.
Having defined these concepts, let’s now move on to a more challenging notion…
I always say the Dimension of the Names refers to the qualities denoted by the names of Allah…
The meanings of these names that we’ve been taught are extremely shallow and narrow scoped. They are conforming to the level of humanoids more so than humans, whereas in reality their meanings and the roles they play in forming existence are much deeper and very comprehensive.
We may memorize and repeat them all we like, as long as we don’t cleanse ourselves from materialistic and dualistic views, having a shallow understanding of the meanings of Allah’s Names will be inevitable.
In the field of science, physicists have moved on to “theoretical physics” to understand physical phenomena as experimental observations can be explained with only basic assumptions and thus can’t even come close to understanding the origin of existence. The concept of “matter” has lost its credibility in the field of physics; it’s not even considered to be the building block of existence anymore.
While under-developed countries are still lingering with a matter-based approach to science and religion, advanced communities have long moved on to theoretical physics and spirituality.
Speaking of spirituality, I must make the point that it isn’t saying anything other than what the Rasul of Allah (saw) said 1400 years ago, and what all the saints who’ve followed his way re-affirmed throughout the centuries…