“O human being! In respect of your corporeal, vegetal nature and animal soul, you are but a small particle, a weak individual, a poor creature, a frail animal tossed amidst the vast and terrifying waves of ever-flowing existence. Yet, through the light of faith which contains the radiance of Divine love, and by the ennobling discipline of Islam, you can attain perfection. In your humanity and servanthood you become a sovereign; within your particularity, you reflect universality; within your smallness, you encompass a world.”¹⁾

“Just as that which is struck necessarily indicates a striker, and a work of art implies an artist, and a child requires a parent, and that which is beneath presupposes what is above—so too, all relational and contingent realities of the universe indicate their opposites and origins. Thus, the contingency visible in every particular of creation and in the totality of the cosmos points to necessity. The receptivity seen in all things indicates an acting power. The creatureliness of all beings shows forth creatorship. The multiplicity and composition manifest in the world point to unity. Necessity, activity, creatorship, and unity together demand One who is necessary, active, singular, and creative — not contingent, passive, multiple, or composite. Therefore, all contingencies, receptivities, creaturelinesses, multiplicities, and compositions of the universe bear clear testimony to a Being who is the Wajib al-Wujud, the Absolute Necessary Existent, the Doer of whatever He wills, the Creator of all things, the One and Unique.”²⁾

“Through the secret of unity, the human being — though as weak and small as a particle within the cosmos — by virtue of servitude becomes the beloved servant of the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the vicegerent and sovereign of the world, the chief of living beings, and the final aim and purpose of the creation of the universe.”³⁾

“By the mystery of Divine Oneness, even the smallest living creature is like a miniature cosmos, a concise index of the entire universe. The One who owns and sustains such a single being must necessarily be the One who holds the whole cosmos within His grasp. For just as a seed is, in essence, not less significant than the tree it produces—and a tree is like a small universe—so every living being is itself a small world, a microcosm of existence. This secret of Divine singleness makes association (shirk) rationally impossible.”⁴⁾

“Even in the lowest level of life—vegetative life—death occurs as a creation, in a wise, orderly, and purposeful way. Thus, for the highest level of life, human life, death must be no mere annihilation but rather a transformation: just as a seed buried underground emerges as a tree in the open air, so too does a human being, when buried beneath the earth, surely sprout forth into everlasting life in the realm of the Hereafter.”⁵⁾

“By the secret of unity, I have seen that every creature—especially every living being—possesses, through the mystery of Divine Oneness, immense consequences and universal benefits.”⁶⁾

“Look at the seal of life impressed upon every living creature among countless Divine seals! A living being, in its comprehensiveness, is a small model of the universe, a sweet fruit of the cosmic tree, a seed of being itself—within which God has inscribed the examples of countless worlds. It is as if that living being, through wise and precise order, were a drop distilled from all existences. Therefore, the creation of a single living being cannot be attributed to anything other than the Almighty God who holds the entire cosmos within His hand of power.””⁷⁾

“Question: Sa‘d al-Taftazani divides the spirit into two: the animal and the human. He then says, ‘What is subject to death is only the animal spirit; the human spirit is not created, and there is no causal relation between it and God. It does not subsist in the body but is independent in itself.’ What is the explanation of this?

Answer: His statement ‘the human spirit is not created’ must be understood in light of the verse ‘The Spirit is from the command of my Lord’ (Qur’an 17:85). As explained in the discussion of the spirit’s eternity, the spirit’s essence is a living, conscious law of Divine command—a mirror to the Name al-Hayy (The Ever-Living), a reflection of eternal life. In this respect it is not created in the ordinary sense. However, in Al-Maqasid and its commentary, Taftazani affirms—consistent with the consensus of the Muslim scholars and the clear texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah—that this ‘law of command,’ when vested with external existence, is indeed created and originated, like all other beings. His denial of any relation between the spirit and God refers to rejecting the false doctrine of incarnation (hulul). The spirits of animals too are enduring; at the Resurrection only their bodies perish. Death is not extinction but the severance of connection. His statement ‘without cause’ points to the fact that the spirit is created directly by God, without intermediary, as mentioned in the discussion of the angels’ role in taking spirits. And his phrase ‘it subsists by itself’ means that the body stands by the spirit, while the spirit stands by itself; when the body perishes, the spirit becomes freer and ascends like an angel.”⁸⁾

“Just as no effect or created being can exist or continue by itself, so too nothing can oppose or contradict the source upon which it depends. Therefore, all things and events exist by virtue of their causes and sustaining principles. In this sense, every existence is relative: though each thing possesses being through its causes, it cannot be regarded as an independent, self-subsistent entity.”⁹⁾

“The Qur’an, the Divine Word, is a manifestation and expression of that eternal speech within the line of ages, Prophets, and communities. For every nation, it was revealed as a particular manifestation of the same eternal Word. The attribute behind this revelation is eternal, and so too is its essential message—uncreated. According to the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah, this eternality pertains to kalam nafsi (inner speech), not to the recited words, sounds, or written letters in our Qur’an, which are termed kalam lafzi (verbalized speech) and considered created.”¹⁰⁾

“God, exalted is He, is not a being that stands in contrast to light as darkness, nor to darkness as light. All existence relates to Him solely through the relationship of Creator and created. He creates; creation is created. Therefore, God is utterly transcendent—free from all opposites, peers, and similitudes.”¹¹⁾

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