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Fusus al-Hikam Part 7: Allah Was Never Displeased With You? | Ibn Arabi | Fikr Nama – Transcript
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- Ibn Arabi states that the cherisher's attribute needs a place to manifest, and your very being serves as that place.
- Ibn Arabi argues that actions manifesting through you are reflections of your Lord's attributes in the mirror of your existence.
- Ibn Arabi claims that those who are in hell will also experience a particular kind of pleasure and blessing there.
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The gardener is one, but knows each plant's needs.
How much sun for roses, water for vines? His bond with each is unique, personal. Ibn Arabi says our bond with God is similar. The essence is one, but his care for each creature is unique.
That's rabbi cause. A trait needs a place to manifest. Like a student for a teacher, a patient for a doctor.
God's trait a r-rab, the cherisher, needs someone to cherish a asterisk marbu. Your being is that place where rabbi cause manifests.
Without you, how could he be rabbi? They argue any act through you. Isn't yours, but a reflection of rabbi cause in your being.
If we accept this, how does it change our view of the afterlife? They claim even in hell, people will find a unique joy and blessing.
Welcome to Fakernameh, where we seek the soul's secrets through reason. Ever wonder what God wants from you?
What act, state, or place pleases him? But Sheikh Akbar Ibn Arabi says the real secret isn't the servant pleasing God, but God already being pleased with you.
Yes, and hearing this, the heart immediately questions, we wonder how is this possible? People commit injustices and make mistakes in the world, so how can every being be pleasing to their Lord?
This is precisely the profound secret that the fussy Ismail reveals. In the Holy Quran, Allah called Prophet Ismail, peace be upon him, Marzi. Meaning, very beloved to his Lord. Ibn Arabi states that this belovedness is not only for Ismail, peace be upon him,
but in every being, there's a secret a play without which, rubyubiyyit, meaning all his continuous care, nurturing, and authority, cannot be established, meaning your very existence is part of the Lord's system. And in the mirror of this, rubyubiyyit, you are simultaneously a slave establishing the Lord's system and a center for the Lord's manifestation.
This statement is both startling and draws the soul towards itself. But it fully unfolds in the fuss of Hasrat Ismail, peace be upon him, where joy, sorrow, punishment, and blessings all find new inner meanings. So, let's see what the wisdom of Sayyidna Ismail, peace be upon him, tells as about our existence and how at every step this secret is illuminated that the Lord is already pleased with you. So,
this idea that Allah is already pleased with you, to be honest, my first reaction is, how is this possible? Absolutely, and this is a natural question. Because we all make mistakes, right? There is injustice in the world, so to say that every being, every action is pleasing to Allah, it negates the entire concept of good and evil, right?
Correct, this is indeed very difficult to digest morally, and this is the most important question. Sheikh Akbar understood this difficulty, that is why he starts the journey from a completely different path to reach this conclusion. He does not start with deeds or ethics. He starts the conversation only and only with the reality of existence.
In his view, the first key to solving this puzzle lies in a concept he calls, Meaning each creature's own personal Lord be Lord is one, the divine essence is one. Look, let's take an example to understand this. Imagine a master gardener. Right?
He has a huge garden. Now, there's only one gardener, but he knows each plant's needs individually. Right, how much? Sun arose needs, how much water a vine needs, what kind of fertilizer each plant needs.
His relationship with each plant is unique and personal. According to Ibn Arabi, our relationship with God is similar. The essence is one, but his relationship with each creation, his way of nurturing and caring, is unique.
This is called, Rabbi Cause, so, it Means one size doesn't fit all. Every being has a personal and direct connection with the divine system. Okay, I get that. But how does that relate to God already being pleased with us?
The connection is deep. On this point, another elder, Saul Al-Tustari, has a famous saying that unlocks this whole concept. He says, there is a secret to lordship, and that secret is you. Wait. A minute. Lordship, meaning the cherisher's secret, is me?
That's huge. What does that mean? In simple terms, it means that any attribute needs a place to manifest. A vessel. Just like a teacher needs a student to be called a teacher.
Right. A doctor needs a patient to be a doctor. Similarly, God's attribute of ar-rab, the cherisher, needs someone to cherish. Someone to be nurtured.
I see. Your very being is the place, the station, where this attribute of your Lord is manifested. Without you, how would he be Lord? It's like a divine circuit that needs my existence to complete it.
It's not just that Allah created me, but my being completes the manifestation of one of his attributes. Absolutely, and since your true essence, what Ibn Arabi calls, Divine Tabitha, your eternal blueprint, has always been in Allah's knowledge, this relationship is eternal and perpetual. So, on the...
Level of existence, yes, on the... Level of existence, you are beloved and pleasing to your Lord because you are the proof of his lordship's existence. Right, on the level of existence, this logic makes sense. A very powerful idea.
But I get stuck again where we started. What about our actions? Right. The Quran specifically calls Prophet Ismail, peace be upon him, Mardih, pleasing. That seems like a praise of his actions and character, not just his existence.
Absolutely correct. And this is where Sheikh Akbar makes his biggest and perhaps most controversial claim. What is it? He takes the specific attribute of Prophet Ismail, peace be upon him, and turns it into a universal principle.
He says that every existence is inherently pleasing, and therefore every action that manifests from it is also pleasing to its Lord. And we're back to that difficult question. How can a cruel act and a compassionate act both be equally pleasing?
That sounds morally very dangerous. Yes, Ibn Arabi justifies this by identifying the real actor, the one truly doing the deed. His argument is that whatever action is manifested through you, it's not really yours, it's just a reflection of one of your Lord's attributes in the mirror of your existence.
For example, imagine the sun's light passing through a colored glass, turning red, blue, or green. The essence of the light is still the same, right? Yes, it's the sun. But the color appears due to the glass's properties.
You are that glass, so... If I do good deeds, it's an expression of God's beauty or mercy through me. From God's perspective, the source of all attributes, every expression is part of His wholeness.