Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Third Fascicle

in the aggregate is called ’âlam. ’Âlam, that is, everything, was
nonexistent. Allâhu ta’âlâ created everything from nothing.
Democrates said: ‘’Âlam had been nonexistent. It became existent
by itself.’ Most naturalists said the same. According to Aristotle,
’Âlam is made up of matter (hayûlâ). Matter which has taken a
shape is called an object (jism), which is seen in three physical
states [gas, liquid and solid], ’Âlam has come this way and it will go
on likewise. The four elements [fire, air, water and earth] have
been eternally existent. Though objects originate from one
another, these four elements, which are their origin, are eternal.’
Plato said that ’âlam was nonexistent in the beginning and became
existent later on, learning it from the books of ancient Prophets.
Pythagoras and his votary Socrates had said as Aristotle said.
Democritus asserted that matter was made up of tiny particles
[atoms] which moved in a vacuum. Calinos, on the other hand, said
that he could not understand whether the ’âlam was eternal
(qadîm) or made up at a certain time (hâdith). According to both,
‘What an eternal creator creates must be eternal. Saying that He
began creating later means that His power was deficient earlier.’
We answer them: ‘He began creating when His Eternal Will wished
to. It is like a thirsty man’s taking one of the glasses of water after
choosing. This man cannot be said to have lacked will or power
before. Today we observe that the Creator is still creating new
things as He wishes.’ If it is claimed, ‘That the ’âlam had not existed
in the past means that time had existed while the ’âlam was not
existent. Time, too, is a part of the ’âlam. It is impossible to say that
a part of the ’âlam had existed while the ’âlam itself had not,’ we
respond that we do not say, ‘Time existed while the ‘âlam was
nonexistent.’ There is extensive information on this subject in
’Aqâ’id-i Jalâliyya, and it would be as nonsensical as saying that
there were an endless length of time from this ’âlam to eternity.
“The ’ulamâ of the Ahl as-sunnat ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim
ajma’în’ said: ‘The ’âlam is made up of ’ayn (essence, matter) and
araz (peculiarity). Matter is what occupies place in space, and
peculiarity is what exists not by itself but with other things. [Energy
and power are peculiarities.] Light is a peculiarity. If it were an
object, it would not pass through glass and water, since two
different objects cannot occupy the same place at the same time. It
is the same for heat. Matter is made up of atoms (jawhar al-fard).
Matter is either a simple substance (element) or a compound
(combination of elements). Between the atoms that make up
matter, there is very small space that cannot be seen. Every object
– 259 –