Pages 13 and 14 - Chapter
One: "...each existent thing can be said to have two faces. These two faces
are the ‘eastern face’ and the ‘western face’. If we look at the
western face of things, we find no trace of the sun, since it has set. If we look at the
eastern face of the same things, we see the sun shining in its full glory. Everything
displays both faces at the same time, but the vast majority of people see only the western
face. They have no awareness that everything is a sign of God in which He is disclosing
His own reality. For them, the Koranic verse, ‘Wherever you turn, there is the face
of God’ (2:115) is a dead letter. In contrast, the prophets and the great Sufis see
the eastern face. They witness God in everything."
Commentary: Once
again, the author is setting up the issue in a problematic way. It is not
‘things’ which have two faces, but human beings. It is our modality of looking,
or the ‘internal face’ through which we choose to engage the Divine signs, that
plays a critical role in determining what we will, or will not, be open to seeing.
The Quranic ayat or verse
that the author cites actually points one away from the position which he is advancing.
This verse - namely, ‘Wherever you turn, there is the face of God’, says nothing
about, nor does it imply anything about, the existence of two faces in things.
Contrary to the
suggestion of the author, this is a Face or sun which never sets. Moreover, it a sun which
does not show eastern and western faces.
In whichever direction we
turn, the Face of God is present, but we either do, or do not, see that Face depending on
our spiritual condition and what God permits - and this seeing or not seeing (light and
darkness, knowledge or ignorance) is inherent in the Reality of that Face. The locus of
responsibility for being in a condition to be open to seeing the Face of God is with us,
and seeing the Face of God does not depend on whether a thing’s eastern or western
face decides to show itself.
According to the author,
for the vast majority of people, there is "no awareness that everything is a sign of
God in which He is disclosing His own reality. For them, the Koranic verse, ‘Wherever
you turn, there is the face of God’ (2:115) is a dead letter. In contrast, the
prophets and the great Sufis see the eastern face..." While there is truth in what
the author says in this passage, he apparently fails to see a very interesting question
which is inherent in what he says.
If "everything
(my emphasis) is a sign of God in which He is disclosing His own reality", then, it
follows that those who are not aware of this also are signs of God in which Divinity is
disclosing something about His own reality vis-a-vis: the ‘Hidden Treasure’,
Creation, and ‘loved to be known’. Furthermore, although, as the author
indicates, "the prophets and the great Sufis" have, by the Grace of God, been
opened to the presence of the Face of Divinity and, therefore, are witness to this Face
‘wherever they turn’, nevertheless, there was a time in the life of each Prophet
and each great Sufi when this was not so.
In modern parlance, there
is a ‘steep learning curve’ associated with coming to see the Face of God
"wherever you turn". Our initial condition of ignorance, the need for guidance,
as well as the process of struggling to learn about the nature and causes of one’s
ignorance through such guidance, these are all signs of Divinity.
Among other things, these
are all signs of the Divine Plan which ties together: the ‘Hidden Treasure’, the
bringing forth of Creation or created things, and God’s love or desire to be known.
If God had wished for the ‘Hidden Treasure’ to be known both immediately and
without any struggle, He could have done this, but this is not what was written into the
Divine Plan, and, consequently, life is the way it is - a Divine sign of a particular kind
... one which reflects the nature of the Divine Purpose inherent in bringing forth
Creation, and one with which each human being must come to terms if she or he hopes to
journey beyond ignorance concerning the reality of things.
|
