The Muhammadan Reality

Part of the reason why the individual (Insan al-Kamil) is elevated above humanity and is above the fray is because of philosophy, which entails a sort of contemplation and thought that exceeds normal capacity. Thus, the individual (“Insan al-Kamil”) becomes the master of both worlds because of philosophy. As Hegel said: “Philosophy must indeed recognize the possibility that the people rise to it, but must not lower itself to the people.” Hegel also writes: “Philosophy is by nature something esoteric, neither made for the mob nor capable of being prepared for the mob.” Thus, the goal is not to receive recognition from all and sundry. Rather, the goal is to become the master of both worlds. Moreover, the dichotomy between the elites and the masses in international society does not mean that one class is better than the other. Hegel said it finely by stating: “There are Plebes in all classes.”

            Through philosophy, we seek to gain an understanding of reality, and reality is the totality of all things which exist. The most profound of all realities is “The Muhammadan Reality,” which entails the unveiling of hidden truths (“Kashf”) to the individual who is on the course of attaining “The Muhammadan Reality.” Once grasped, “The Muhammadan Reality” renders the individual the master of both worlds.

Whether Islam is inherently anti-Semitic or not can also be addressed by an understanding of “The Muhammadan Reality.” As Hegel wrote: “In Mohammedanism, the narrow principle of the Jews is expanded into universality and thereby overcome.” Hegel adds: “Here, God is no longer, as in the Far East, regarded as existent in an immediately sensory way but is conceived as the one infinite power elevated above all the multiplicity of the world. Mohammedanism is, therefore, in the strictest sense of the word, the religion of sublimity.” Thus, Islam’s relationship with the Jews is a sublime one, and it cannot be reduced to anti-Semitism.

            As a result, in order to understand reality, we must understand “The Muhammadan Reality,” and when we understand “The Muhammadan Reality,” we understand the sublimities of reality. “The Muhammadan Reality” – once grasped – becomes the intermediary between spirit and matter, as well as the intermediary between the divine world and the material world. Revelation of “The Muhammadan Reality” also entails disorientation and intoxication. Without a guide or overseer, the recipient of “The Muhammadan Reality” can be killed or jailed because society may perceive the individual as someone who is disturbing the peace.

The culmination of the intellectual and spiritual journey towards “The Muhammadan Reality” is Tajalli, which can be defined as the manifestation of God to the individual in concrete form. The manifestation of God in concrete form (Tajalli) is confirmation of one’s attainment of “The Muhammadan Reality” and thus the individual is above humanity and above the fray. Tajalli strikes the individual with the divine essence and light usually through another person, and thus “The Muhammadan Reality” is attained by the individual, as was the case in the story of Layla and Majnun when Majnun experienced Tajalli through Layla. Moses experienced Tajalli on Mount Sinai, and he was transformed as a result of that experience.

            Tajalli permanently enraptures and envelops the individual, because Tajalli is a confirmation that one has attained “The Muhammadan Reality,” and in turn “The Muhammadan Reality” is the most profound of all realities. Moreover, the one who has experienced Tajalli and has experienced “The Muhammadan Reality” enraptures and envelops his society into the same hidden truths which have been revealed to him (“Kashf”). As Hazrat Bedil Dehlavi said: “Beneath the rapture of the gleam of his beauty was the force of Tajalli; Love followed, and it scorched the earth.”

Thus, no one can be in denial or ignorant of this particular reality because everyone is overtaken by it through the individual who has attained it. This reality leads to both rational and spiritual enlightenment, given that the journey towards “The Muhammadan Reality” is both an intellectual and spiritual one.