reynolds-the-quran-in-its-historical-context-2

66 Nasr Abu Zaydare intended to reach that end which is man. In other words, the Real reflects Hisown image partially in different mirrors, but the perfect mirror which reflects theDivine Image in its totality is man. Man thus represents the whole universe, on theone hand, and is the perfect mirror to reflect the image of the Real, on the otherhandY His spirit reflects Godhead; his intellect reflects the First Intellect; his soulreflects the Universal Soul; his heart represents the Throne; and his body repre-, sents the Universal Nature. Thus, the above-mentioned Qur'anic verse (57:3)alludes also to the human being as the first- in the divine intention- and the last-in appearance; he is apparent physically and hidden spiritually.Being the microcosm, the essential mission of man is to know God by knowinghimself. When the Qur'an has God relate, "wa-ma khalaqtu l-jinna wa-1-insa iliali ya 'budiin (lit., "We created Jinn and man that they might worship,") it means"We created Jinn and man that they might know" (Q 5:56).Mul}ammad and mystical epistemologyAn essential idea in the pantheistic .system of Ibn al-'Arabi is al-/:laqfqaal-mubammadiyya (the "Mul.mmmadan Reality") which is other than the historicalMul}ammad born in Mecca around 570. The Mul;mmmadan Reality is the inwardhidden reality which is manifested in all the prophets from Adam -until its final andcomplete manifestation in the historical Mul}ammad of Mecca. The Mul}ammadanReality is the ontological parallel of Godhead; it is the ontological agent between PureAbsoluteness and the world of multiplicity. This image of Mul}ammad is the lightfrom which creation emanates. Mul}ammad is thus the light of God manifested in allexisting things, as well as the light ofknowledge revealed to the hearts of the believers.The Mul}ammadan Reality is the logos, both ontologically and epistemologically.Mul}ammad is also a model of the mystical experience. His ascent to heaven(al-mi 'raj) became to the Sufi the example of how cosmological elements arestripped away until only the real divine image is apparent. Only the believer whosuccessfully accomplishes the ascent is able to decode the real meaning of revelationthrough ta 'wfl. To uncover the meaning ofthe Qur'iin one must first uncoverthe meaning of the cosmological text.This ambiguity/uncertainty in the cosmological text as well-as in the Qur'iindoes not lead to agnosticism; on the contrary, it leads to an open space of belief, aspace which accommodates all forms of creed as valid; thus Ibn al- 'Arabi makesa clear distinction between "religion" (din) and "creeds"(' aqa 'id). Religion is onebecause the Truth is one; creeds are many because they are related to communitiesin histories. But in Ibn al-'Arabi's "wa/:ldat al-wujiid" worldview, unity andmultiplicity are the ):wo sides of the same coin. Hence, his spirit/heart is able toaccommodate all 'aqa 'id with no conflict:Towards understanding the Qur 'an's worldview 67La qad kuntu qabla al-yawmi unkiru ~abibi, idha lam yakun dinf ila dfnihf danf("Before today, I used to disregard my companion, if my religion was notlike his")Fa-qad ~iira qalbf qabzlan kulla ~iiratin fa-mar 'un li-ghizliin wa-dayrunli-nthbani("My heart has become capable of every form: it is a pasture for gazellesand a monastery for monks")wa-baytun li-awthanin wa-ka 'batu ta 'fin wa-alwiibu tawriitin wa-mu~hafuqur 'ani("And a temple for idols and the pilgrim's Ka'ba and _the tables of Torahand the book of the Koran.")adfnu bi-dfni al-bubbi anna tawajjahat raka 'ibuhu fa-1-bubbu dfnfwa~rmanf("I follow the religion of love: whatever way Love's camels take, that ismy religion and my faith.") 48One cannot but recall the twelfth-century Andalusian context of a multi-ethnic,_··-_ multi-religious and multi-lingual society where adherents to all the above­