Connecting to Our Spiritual Intellect

A'udou Bi'llahi min al shaytaan al rajeem. Bismi'llah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem. Al-Hamdulillah Rabb Al-Aalameen wa Salla'Allahu ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa aalihi al taahireen. Our discussion last week was about a spiritual intellect, and we tried to somehow approach an understanding of this concept. Today, I would like to re-emphasize what we discussed last week and somehow open the door to see how we can connect to this intellectual, to this spiritual intellect.

Now, certain things that we discussed last week, this intellect is not the mind that we are talking about that every human being has or the the ability to reason by our mind and by our sort of calculating intellect, it is an ability which allows us to connect to a higher sort of existence, which directs us towards good all the time and prevents us from evil.

And is the meaning of 'Aql actually. 'Aql literally means to tie down, to prevent, to stop from doing something or from running away. 'Iqal for camels where they used to tie them with something which they called 'Iqal. That means preventing them from running away and escaping. 'Aql actually is something which ties man to certain values. So we are talking now about values, we are not talking about arguments and reasoning in the sense that we usually know calculations.

Now, we established that this 'Aql is something to be practiced, not something that God gives us to a certain amount, and we just have it as a gift. We have to practice it to acquire it. And that's why the Qur'an says: "afalam yaseeru fil'ardi fatakuna lahum qulubun ya'qiluna biha" (22:46) Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear?

Why do they not go and see and look what happened to other people in the past ? And then they should have hearts by which they can practice that 'Aql, that is spiritual intellect. Now, a couple of things I mention to show us how this intellect works.

First, this intellect is said in many traditions, that is the first thing God has ever created and the highest, the first and the highest. And that is why in certain traditions we have that the first thing God created was 'Aql.

And last week we had one discussion that for this specific statement, some have identified these Islamic traditions with neo-platonic sort of philosophy, which talks about the first creation being the first intellect. But I, I said I do not think these are identical. These are absolutely different. The first thing God created was 'Aql. And the hadith says that it was khalqu min al-ruhaniyyin, it was a spiritual thing. It was not a material thing.

And then this hadith is in Al-Kafi and I think we have identical sort of traditions in many other sources and actually in some sources we have that the first thing that God created was Nuru Nabbiyyik, the light of the Prophet (your Prophet) or the light of the Prophet of Islam and in some traditions it is said that the first thing God created was 'Aql.

And therefore some people have identified the light of the prophetic light with this 'Aql and actually Ibn-Arabi talks about al-Nuru al-Muhammadiyah being the first thing God created. However, this does not mean that God has created the prophets before everything. It means this light is something which is complete in prophet. If we accept those traditions that this light, this 'Aql, we actually identify now 'Aql with that light and here the tradition says it was created as a light. When these traditions talk about light, we don't know what does it mean. It means that it is beyond your grasp. When I say light, it means that it is beyond your understanding because it is absolutely higher than the level of our scope of understanding.

Now, when this 'Aql was created, God told him, or commanded: "adibar, go!" And it went and then said, Akbar! Allahu Akbar. I'll come back. And it came back. It went back. Now, here, that means God has given an independence to this entity, whatever it is, to go away from God, to be independent, to have independent identity, to have independent life. And then God said, come back. And it went back.

That means this independence did not bring this entity arrogance, did not bring its core rejecting the Lord because of independence. And then he says and on the other hand, as a conflict, the jahal was created ignorance and God told it go. It went and said, come back. It didn't go back. That independence didn't allow it to go back. And then there is a contrast here. Now, the contrast, of course, is explained in a very detailed way. What are the qualities which make this ignorance? What are the qualities which make this 'Aql or intelligence or intellect?

What is important here is that these are although these traditions say that it is something created before everything else and is the light and it's the highest in God has ever created. Human beings can identify with itcan, actually own it, can make it as an entity in their souls. And that's why this is called al-Nuru al-Muhammadiyah, because it was completely owned by by the prophet. Peace be on him and other prophets as well.

Now up. And interesting hadith would guide us, how this is owned by human beings. This is famous hadith from Ali Ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him [Allahumma Salli 'ala Muhammad, wa aali Muhammad] who said that Jibra'il was sent to Adam alayhi as-salam, after Adam was sent to to the Earth, was deported from that garden. And he said, Allah has asked me to give you a gift. One of three things, one of three things you choose which one you want, and I take the other two. And Adam said, what are those three hings? Jibra'il said, is 'Aql and Haya' and Din.

Now, these are three different things, 'Aql is intellect. And we are talking here about that spiritual intellect. Modesty, Haya', is an attitude, of course, in human being, an attitude which may absolutely disappear or may become very strong in a human being. And then, Din, is the path, the way that we practice so that we reach God. Adam thought for a while and he said: qad akhtatu al-'Aql, I chose, I choose 'Aql, I choose intellect, give it to me and take the other two. Jibra'il said ok, your choice. And he said to Haya' and Din, to modesty and the religion, which is the path. OK, come with me. Let's go back now.

Of course you here understand the metaphorical language. All these things, discussions or communication between intelligent beings and concepts and attitudes and these things. We should understand what what these mean. So he said to Haya' and Din, let's go back! "Fa qala Ya Jibra'il, inna umarna annakuna ma'a al-'Aql haythu kan". They said Ya Jibra'il, we are commanded to be with Apple wherever it is, we cannot come with you. Actually, Adam made the clever choice, the clever choice by choosing 'Aal or Intellect. He made the clever choice and he had the whole three, Aql and Haya' and Din. And Jibra'il said, OK, if you are commanded like that, you stay with him.

Now, what do you understand from this? This 'Aql completes certain attitudes and certain practices in us. And therefore, if we want to connect with it, we have to initially imitate certain attitudes and certain practices. We have to have Haya', we have to have Din. If the 'aql is completed in someone, of course, like the Prophet having the Al-Nur al-Muhammadiyah, this is the 'Aql,if it is completed then Haya' and Din are there. Bat if it's not for us. We have to work for it, to accomplish this 'Aql inside us. And therefore we have to have these two things. One, which is an attitude, the other which is the practice. Haya' and Din.

And if we look at the are the hadith which talks about the truth of intellect and the truth of ignorance, we see that some of these are attitudes, some of these are practices. Some of these these are things that we have to work hard during our life to acquire to be able to complete this intellect inside us.

Now, there are certain things, as I said, this intellect works within the heart is the heart, which can bring down this intellect. And there are certain things, certain barriers, which stop this intellect to come somehow, be identified with us or we identified with. If the heart is ill, Ibrahim talks about Al-Qalb As-Salim, the healthy heart. The healthy heart is the heart which can practice 'Aql.

Now, what stops this 'Aql to somehow be practiced by the Qalb or by the heart? First of all, is the Qur'an. Talks about illness in the heart: "fi qulubihim maradhan" (2:10). There is an illness in their heart. That's why they cannot connect to that intellect and they cannot make the right judgments. They don't have wisdom.

And another thing is Qaswah. "Thumma qasat qulubukum min ba'ad dhalik" (2:74). Qaswah is the hardness of the heart. Of course, all this would need explanation, but we don't have time, unfortunately.

The other thing is Zaigh. When the heart deviates from the Right Path. Din is, of course, one of the elements that 'Aql, is based upon. So if we deviate from it: "fa lamma zaghu, azagha Allahu qulubuhum"(61:5). And then there are certain Qulub or hearts which are sealed, those hearts which are sealed, have no way ever to connect to that spiritual intellect.