Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 80
80 HAQIQATUL-WAḤI-THE PHILOSOPHY OF DIVINE REVELATION had descended as a reflection in the clear mirrors of those righteous personages. The reflection of a person in a mirror is, metaphorically speaking, his son; for as a son is born of his father, a reflection is born of its original. Thus when a reflection of the manifestations of God appears in a heart that is extremely pure without any remnant of stain, the reflection becomes, metaphorically, a son of the original. That is why Yaqub [Jacob] was called the son of God-even the firstborn of God in the Torah, and Īsā Ibn-e-Maryam [Jesus, son of Mary] was called 'son' in the Gospels. If Christians had confined themselves to describing 'Isa as the son of God, just as Ibrāhīm, Isḥāq, Ismail, Ya'qūb, Yusuf, Mūsā, Dāwūd, Sulaimān, etc. were metaphorically called sons of God in the Scriptures of God, there would have been no objection to it. Just as these Prophets were metaphorically called sons of God in the Books of previous Prophets, so is the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, called God in some prophecies. The truth is that all these descriptions are metaphorical as expres- sions of love; none of those Prophets is a son of God, nor is the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, God. Such expressions abound in the words of God. When a person becomes so absorbed in his love for God Almighty that his self disappears alto- gether, such expressions are applied to him in this state of annihilation since, in this state, his own person ceases to exist altogether as Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Quran: قُلْ يُعِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللهِ إِنَّ اللهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا. Meaning that: Tell these people, O my servants! Despair not of the mercy of Allah; God will forgive all sins. It may be noted that in this verse, [O my servants] has been used in place of [O servants of Allah] while people are servants of God and not servants of the Holy Prophet, may peace and 1. Surah az-Zumar, 39:54 [Publisher]