The method of achieving the real destiny is knowledge of one’s own self, one’s own self-worth exemplified in a Prophetic tradition, reported by ‘Alī, that he who knows his own self, knows His Lord:
"man ‘arafa nafsahu fa qad ‘arafab rabbahu"
Scholars and mystics alike from all persuasions, Sunnī, Ṣūfī and Shī‘ī, use this particular tradition: to know one’s innermost heart is to discover the point at which the divine is found, as the meeting point of the human and the divine. The Qur’ānic verse We shall show them our signs on the horizons and within themselves is interpreted as God’s command to look deeper in the inner recesses of one’s hearts to find the source of knowledge and eventually the divine beloved, who is “closer to him than his jugular vein.” This tradition of knowing oneself is used usually as a synopsis of the mystical experience, an inner journey into one’s heart. It is true that the heart is the mirror in which God reflects Himself, but the heart needs to be pure so that the primordial divine light can reflect itself. In the time of the Prophet and ‘Alī, this purity was epitomised by Salmān al-Fārisī whom Muḥammad accorded a unique status of being part of his family, addressing him endearingly Salmān min ahl al-baytī—“Salmān is from my family.” The ultimate wish and desire of all believers is to attain that status and rank which obviously is one of spirit rather than the physique. How does this happen? Al-Naysābūrī uses a biological metaphor to explain this, relating that just as plants tilt intrinsically towards sunlight so do hearts find repose innately in the imam’s love.
A Ginan encapsulates this role of the Imam in how God’s light created the earth, established the heavens without pillars and then revealed the Imam:
Noor te khāk nipaya, vann thambh rachiyo asmān ji
Qudrat apni zahir kidhi ane pragatiya din ka Imam ji
For Muslims, there has been a similar personal influence, and in many ways it resembles the position that St. Thomas Aquinas took in the Catholic Church. First of all, as regards the idea of the divinity of God: a great deal of the Koran is taken up with God’s creation, with God’s intimate presence in the world, with the importance of each human being’s relations with the Creator; but only in one chapter—the chapter on Light—is the nature of the divinity referred to in a very clear form. Although of course we do not believe that the person of the Creator is a form of light, either in waves or in the minutest association of myriads of points, yet the consequence of the light, as seen in the universe, is the nearest we can imagine or hope to believe about the person of our Creator .
In a community directive, the Aga Khan III said that the foundation of faith is love (din no payo ishq chhe) or love is the foundation of faith. He reiterated this in India saying that just as the foundation of faith is love, so too action (‘amal) is the foundation of worship (‘ibādāt) in the same way as love (‘ishq) is the basis of action and the foundation of faith. Reminding the Jamnagar congregation in India that faith is [actually] within the control of individuals, he said that if hearts were staunch, faith would remain so too, and added that faith (īmān) is light (nūr). Unless one enkindles the fire of love in the heart, true worship (‘ibādāt) will not lead to oneness, he said poignantly.88 Rūmī explains the state of oneness in his Mathnawī [II, 1170], calling it the ittiḥād-i-nūr, as being one with the light and at the same time distinguishes itfrom ḥulūl (incarnation) or even infusion [V, 2038].89 In his Mathnawī, he re-lates that the light of the eye is the light of the heart and the light of the heart is the light of God.90 In a doctoral study on the Intellect, Karim Douglas Crow surveys several ancient wisdom literatures while portraying the contributions of Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq. He focuses on the intellect as a light in the heart and how intellect pre-exists in the divine realm, depicting also ‘aql—intellect as a drop of light cast into the human heart by the angelic ‘aql. A citation in Margaret Smith captures the aspects of intellect, light, love andvision leading to gnosis (ma‘rifa) succinctly. On the subject of the vision of God, Junayd says:
God gives to the adept the sharp desire to behold His Essence, then knowledge becomes vision, and vision revelation, and revelation contemplation, and contemplation existence (with and in God). Words are hushed to silence, life becomes death, explanations (necessary for finite minds in this world) come to an end, signs (a concession to those who are weak in faith) are effaced, and disputes are cleared up. Perishability (fanā’) is ended and subsistence (baqā’) is made perfect. Weariness and care cease, the elements perish and there remains what will not cease, as time that is timeless ceases not.
-Margaret Smith, Muslim Women Mystics, p. 120, citing Muhammad al-Munawwar, Asrāral-Tawḥīd, p. 378, Petrograd, 1899
In the physical world, the metaphor of light relates equally to notions of oneness within humanity and the uniqueness of God (tawḥīd), depicted by the white light. As is well-known, “visible light” contains within it frequencies of the spectrum that reflect the plurality of the human family in cultures, colours, features, beliefs, faiths and interpretations. Our eyes interpret the frequencies of the spectrum as wavelengths of different colours: violet, indigo, blue, green, red, orange and yellow, known as “vibgroy” in science education. This depends on the absence or the presence of wavelengths. When all wavelengths of visible light are present, eyes interpret it as white light whileabsence of wavelengths in the visible range is interpreted as darkness. If only a single wavelength or a limited range of wavelengths is present, eyes read this as a certain colour. In the presence of a single wavelength, there is monochromatic light, meaning it only has one wavelength.
