Third Matter
This is concerned with Mount Qaf.
AN INDICATION
Knowing and affirming the existence of something is different from knowing its nature and identity. We should distinguish these two points from each other, as there are many things humans can imagine as not existing, although their existence is evident. You can consult the Seventh Premise. Also, there are many texts on which numerous personal views have been presented concerning their meaning. You can consult the Eleventh Premise.
A REMINDER
Taking into consideration these two points, we can examine the matter of Mount Qaf. The only indication of Qaf in the Qur’an and the sound Prophetic Traditions is the verse (50:1): Qaf. By the Qur’an most sublime. The original referent of the Qaf mentioned in this verse is a letter of the Arabic alphabet. Its location is not in the east of the world but in the part of the mouth uttering the sound of that consonant. So, this has nothing to do with Mount Qaf. Another argument for Qaf not being an allusion to Mount Qaf is that al-Qarafi,39 a great scholar of the Shari‘a, decisively rejects the existence of such a mountain. You can consult the Fourth Premise with regard to what is reported from Ibn ‘Abbas concerning the existence of a mountain called Qaf. Whatever Ibn ‘Abbas said is not necessarily a report from the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Nor are we obliged to regard whatever he quoted from others as being true, as we know that during his youth, Ibn ‘Abbas took help from Israelite sources in order to clarify certain things (not otherwise clear to him).
If you ask about certain descriptions of Mount Qaf by some Sufi scholars, I answer as follows:
The world of symbols or imaginal or “ideal” forms is the place in which Sufis travel. They are removed from their bodies as we are removed from our clothes; thus, they are able to make spiritual journeys in this world of wonders. Qaf is observed in this world as they describe it. Just as the sky is reflected in a mirror with its stars, a little thing in our world of corporeality—a mental or spiritual reality embodied—becomes like a tall tree in the world of imaginal forms. We should not confuse the realities of these two worlds with one another. One who understands the real meaning of Muhyi al-Din ibn al-‘Arabi’s40 words will confirm this. The common people imagine Qaf to be a range of mountains surrounding the earth that comprises many great peaks, each millions of miles distant from the other. They touch the edge of the sky. People make descriptions as farfetched as their imagination can travel. If you would like to see the value of their imaginings, you can use the Third Premise as a lamp, and enter this darkness with it.
If you ask about my personal view on this matter: I am convinced that Qaf exists but I cannot say anything about what it is. If I come across a sound, reliably narrated Prophetic Tradition about the nature of it, I will believe that what the Prophet meant by it is certainly true, and try to understand what he meant, ignoring the fancies people have developed. For it sometimes happens that we infer meanings from a saying other than what its speaker really meant.
The Qaf described as mountain ranges might be the Himalayas, including the second highest mountain range of Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) (and K2 or Dapsang, Kechu or Ketu), which used to separate the civilized and uncivilized peoples in the past. Some say that many of the mountains in the Old World spread out from this range. So it may be thought that the idea that Qaf is a mountain range surrounding the whole world originates from the fact that the Himalayas were the “mother” of many mountain ranges.
Another approach to Qaf may be that the world of symbols or imaginal or “ideal” forms is an intermediate realm between the corporeal and unseen worlds. The world of symbols or imaginal forms resembles the corporeal world in the shapes and the unseen world in the meanings it contains. Whoever so desires can enter this world through the window of sound spiritual discovery or true dreams or with the power of the imagination. There is much evidence for the existence of that world; the meanings from our world taking on different forms there. So the Qaf which is in this world may be the seed of the extraordinary Qaf that exists in that world.
The dominion of God is infinite, and cannot be restricted to our tiny sphere. Thus, Qaf can have many extraordinary aspects. Although our sphere does not include a distance of millions of miles, it is not unreasonable to think that Qaf is something transparent and invisible or that it touches the edge of the sky, which is a tightened or straightened wave.
As another way of explanation: what is there to preclude Qaf being a great range of mountains stretching along the horizon? The Arabic root for the word horizon is ufq, and it may have been from this root that Qaf originated. For wherever we look, we see a surrounding circle, comprised of a series of concentric circles. We cannot see beyond the horizon, and the duty of going beyond falls to the power of imagination. The power of imagination sees that there is a range of mountains along the horizon that encircles the world and touches the sky. Since the earth and horizon are circular, even if this range extends millions of miles, it is seen to be a single, connected range of mountains.
Said Nursi
39 Shihab al-Din Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Idris al-Qarafi (?–1285) lived in Egypt. Well versed in both jurisprudence (fiqh) and theology (kalam), he was one of the most outstanding scholars in the Maliki School of Fiqh. He also wrote on optics. Kitabu’l-Istibsar fima Tudrikuhu’l-Absar (“The Book of Insight into What Eyes Comprehend”) is his book on optics. (Trans.)
40 Muhyi al-Din ibn al-‘Arabi (1165–1240): One of the greatest and most famous Sufi masters. His doctrine of the Transcendental Unity of Existence, which most have mistaken for monism and pantheism, made him the target of unending polemics. He wrote many books, the most famous of which are Fusus al-Hikam and al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah. (Trans.)