The Dabistán, or School of manners, Volume 3 (of 3): translated from the original Persian, with notes and illustrations
Religion
The Dabistán, or School of manners, Volume 3 (of 3): translated from the original Persian, with notes and illustrations
Iran -- Religion; Religions
The book of God signifies knowledge. As to the last judgment and the
resurrection of bodies, intelligent men said, that each atom of the
atoms of a human body, which are dispersed, will be all collected on
the day of resurrection, and restored to life, and at this hour there
will be no question put about any thing done, but what is come to us
from the prophets and saints, this we must believe. The learned say
besides, that the question is here about the soul, which on the day of
resurrection returns (to its origin), and this substance is pure, and
does not require to be suitable to any dimension, color, or place, but
is independent of all these, and on that account fit for sciences and
knowledge of all things; its extreme excellence is to be able to
collect for review all things from the first origin to the last
extremity, and to know that whenever it attains that degree of
perfection, it has returned to the place of its origin; and this is
the knowledge of purity, which is remote from the defilement and
mixture of what is material. The learned assert besides, that _the
night of power_, “the night on which the Koran was sent down,” refers
to the beginning, and the day of resurrection to the place to which
one returns; because the nature of night is to conceal things of which
few may have information, and the nature of day is to bring to view
things of which all may take notice. Further, the whole of the notions
and powers of primitive creation is contained in the knowledge of God,
who is understood under the name of “primitive, permanent, and
predestinator.” Every body possesses not this knowledge; it was then
on account of the belief that the predestinations were concealed in
it, that “the night of power” was said to be “primitive,” and as in
the place to which one returns (that is at the resurrection) every
thing concealed shall become manifest, and every one be informed of
it, on account of this belief, this place was referred to “day.” As on
this day, all are to rise from the tomb of the body, and to awake from
the sleep of heedlessness, it was called “the resurrection.”
According to the learned, Kâbah (the square temple at Mecca) is an
emblem of the sun, on which account it is right to worship it; and the
well _Zem zem_[123] signifies likewise “the great luminary,” as _Hakím
Khákání_ said relatively to both:
“O Kábah, thou traveller of the heaven!
O Zem zem, thou fire of the world!”
_Hajer ul ásvad_, “the black stone at Mecca,” represents the body of
Venus, which on the border of the heavens is a star of the planets.
Some have interpreted the resurrection of the bodies in the sense of
the learned, who referred it to the revolution of the heavens, and to
the influences of the stars upon the terrestrial globe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account