Not be misled by outer realities

Guided by our senses, most of us traverse the journey of life confined to the sensory world and its pleasures. Blinded by the dazzling temptations of the material world, we miss the magnificent unseen world referred to as Alam al-Ghayb – the realm of existence and knowledge that is hidden from ordinary human senses and perception.

Man is born with infinite potential. If we limit ourselves to the superficial layer of existence, we remain oblivious of the divine ecstasy experienced by those who undertake the quest to find the Divine Beloved.

“Know that the majority of people are not aware of most of the works of God, especially the noblest of these works. Rather their understanding is confined to the worlds of sense and imagination, which form the last of the results of the invisible world and are like the rind most distant from the purest pith. One who has not gone beyond this stage has, as it were, seen nothing of the pomegranate except its rind, or of man’s wonders except his outward shape,” said Persian Sufi master Hazrat Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111), revered as Ḥujjat al-Islam (Proof of Islam).

The great master highlighted how ignorant people limit themselves only to the rind of the fruit. This metaphor aligns with an old Sufi story about a young seeker who travelled across lands to find a renowned Sufi saint. It is said that when the seeker arrived at the saint’s residence, he found him quietly eating a pomegranate. The saint offered a single, glistening seed to the seeker.

The seeker looked at it, thanked the master, and swallowed it. He then waited for hours, expecting a grand discourse on the mysteries of the universe. When the saint remained silent, the seeker finally asked, “Master, when will you teach me the hidden secrets of the Divine?”

The saint smiled and said, “I already gave you the entire universe, but you only tasted a piece of fruit. You swallowed the seed without realizing that within it was the map of the orchard. You are looking for words, which are just the rind, while ignoring the essence that was just passed into your heart.”

Sufi mystics have always shared with us their deep learnings so that our soul may rise from its slumber and search for the Divine Beloved. Knowledge of surface-level perceptions cannot match the glorious experience of inner awakening, where the soul finally discovers its true home.

A seeker may be blessed with true knowledge only if he undertakes a spiritual journey to search beyond the trappings of the material façade. With a heart devoted to the Almighty and with a mind engaged in dhikr – constant remembrance of the Divine – one may be able to go past the false glitter of Zahir, the outer, apparent world, and experience the glorious truth of Batin, the hidden, spiritual reality.

Sufi masters have conveyed the most profound messages of the spiritual path in simple, humourous terms. The tales of Mullah Nasruddin have been hugely popular for their gentle, thought-provoking messaging. It is said that one evening, the neighbours of Mullah Nasruddin found him crouching down on his hands and knees, frantically searching for something under a streetlamp.

“What have you lost, Mullah?” they asked.

“My key,” Nasruddin replied.

They joined him in the search, but after an hour of finding nothing, someone asked, “Where exactly did you drop it?”

Nasruddin pointed toward the dark alleyway down the street. “Over there, inside my dark house.”

Exasperated, his neighbours asked him, “Then why are you looking for it out here?”

Nasruddin shrugged. “Because there is more light under this streetlamp.”

Sufis have used the streetlamp is a metaphor for the physical world of senses and imagination. It is bright, easy, and comfortable to look at, and we are often transfixed by the light it provides. But the streetlamp cannot be a lasting source of light.

Similarly, even though we may pursue the material world for weeks and months, it shall never offer us lasting joy and peace. The key to lasting joy is hidden inside our vast invisible inner world. Yet many among us insist on scratching only the surface in order to search for fulfilment and meaning in life. They find it easy, and sadly, they are not willing to give up the pursuit of an empty life and initiate the search for the Divine Beloved.

A foundational narrative in Sufi philosophy regarding surface-level understanding is the story of Prophet Moses and Khidr, the green, immortal guide representing mystical insight. Moses, representing the realm of outer law and rational sense, travels with Khidr. Along their journey, Khidr performs actions that seem utterly baffling and wrong on the surface: he damages a poor family’s boat, kills a young boy, and repairs a wall for a town that refused them hospitality.

Moses reacts with outrage based on what his eyes see. In metaphorical terms, this is equivalent to limiting ones understanding of life to the rind of the pomegranate and missing the fruit altogether. Eventually, Khidr unveils the hidden reality (Batin, or the pith) behind his actions. The reasons for his actions were as follows. The boat was saved from a tyrannical king who was seizing all good boats. The boy would have grown to bring immense grief and spiritual ruin to his pious parents. The wall hid a treasure belonging to two orphans, preserved until they reached maturity.

We tend to forget that our gaze, our intellect is so limited. We cannot see beyond the horizon. Yet, in complete ignorance, many among us tend to question the working of our Creator, to whom all of everything is known. The grand weavings of our great Master, our Creator, are known only to Him. It is enough for man to graciously submit to the glory of the Almighty and lovingly, totally surrender to His magnificence.

Hazrat Ibn Arabi, (1165–1240), one of the most influential Sufi mystics, called the Universe a shadow, and he called God the light that casts the shadow. “If you look only at the shadow, you see nothing but darkness. But if you look at the Light, you understand the true nature of the shadow.” The experience of finding and loving God is so ecstatic that words cannot express the joy. This joy must be lived and experienced.

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