The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 104
PREFACE ESSENCE OF ISLAM 103 Helper and Assistant, it is certainly not His rule that He should influ- ence our faculties and bodies without intermediary agents. AUTHOR'S MARGIN NOTE Proof of the existence of angels and jinn mediating Moreover, no matter how far we take our attentive consideration, and howsoever much we employ our reflection, intellect, and imagination, we see clearly, conspicu- ously, and evidently that for every grace there are causes between our Benevolent Lord and ourselves, through whose mediation every faculty receives grace according to its need. Thus, it is this very argument which also establishes the existence of angels and jinns because we need only prove that, for the performance of good or evil, our faculties on their own are insufficient and that we need external helpers and assistants which possess extraordinary effec- tiveness. However, God Almighty is not Himself that helper or assis- tant directly without any mediation, but it is [the work of] God through some intermediary means. Thus, observing the law of nature has made it clear to us, conclusively and certainly, that those helpers and assistants exist outside of us. Although we may or may not be aware of their true essence and nature, we know this for certain: they are neither God Almighty Himself operating directly, nor are they simply our own faculties and capacities. Rather, they are a species of creation apart from both of these and have their own, independent existence. And should we label any of them as [a caller unto good], we would describe the same as the Holy Spirit or Jibra'il [Gabriel], and should we name any of them as ɔ [a caller to evil], we would also describe that very one as Satan or Iblis. It is not necessary to show the Holy Spirit or Satan to every dark- hearted person, though the spiritually enlightened can indeed see them and both of them also become visible through visions. However, this proof should suffice for the maḥjūb¹ who cannot as yet see Satan 1. Maḥjūb literally means 'covered, hidden, or veiled. Spiritually, it refers to someone unable to perceive divine truths due to obstacles or wordly distractions. [Publisher]