The Commentary of Al-Qasidah — Page 142
142 The commentary of al-Qa si dah / -¶ 0 -xÏ 1 2 3 - P MÙ äKzU 4 § = ëÁ ( b\ë D Ë; & ¦ 5 Ù § % ® à ( ë ® % Á © -R® ( Here, there were two diverse inclinations in one heart with the same mode and intention. One inclination was towards God who is Ever-Existing, and the other was towards His servants who are brought into existence through creation. Both kinds of entities - the Originator and the originated - are like a circle: its upper portion is the Higher Causation and the lower side is its contingent effect. In between the two, right in the middle is the perfect man who made a firm connection on both sides by ascending high to attain nearness to God, and then descending towards mankind. Thus, he took the likeness of one string that firmly joins two bows together; he was like a chord between two curves of a circle. He became a medium between God the Truth, and mankind. First, he received a distinctive station of closeness to God reaching the pinnacle of nearness to Him, and then he was brought down towards mankind. In this manner, his ascent and descent appeared in the shape of two curves; and thus the perfect man, in whose person both connections were flawlessly accomplished, is like ‘q a ba qausain’ – ‘a chord between two bows. ’ In Arabic, the word ‘q a b’ is applied to a bowstring. Therefore, the literal meaning of the verse (53:9) would be: ‘He drew nearer, that is, to God, and then he came down to mankind, so that he became, as it were, one chord to two bows. ’ ( Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, part 4, R uha n i Khaz a’ in , vol. 1, p. 265, sub-footnote no. 1)