None but Allah is Manifest in the Entire Cosmos
Allah created everything with His light, and thus everything in existence manifests Divine light. As the Holy Quran reveals:
اَللّٰہُ نُوۡرُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الۡاَرۡض (سورۃ النور۔35
Meaning: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. (24:35)
When Allah intended to descend from His isolated Oneness towards the realm of multiplicity, He separated the light of Mohammad (Noor-e-Mohammadi) from His own Divine light. From this light of Mohammad manifested the Divine soul (ar-ruh al-qudsi), from which all human souls were created. Thereafter, the souls of all the angels and other beings were brought into existence. Finally, this material and physical universe was created.
The Divine light as the source of creation
The Divine light is the source of all creation, as Allah Himself pointed to it when He said:
(اَنَا مَاْوٰی کُلِّ شَیْئٍ وَ مَسْکَنُہٗ وَ مَنْظَرُہٗ وَ اِلَیَّ الْمَصِیْرُ (الرسالۃ الغوثیہ
Meaning: I am the refuge, the abode, and the sight of everything, and to Me is the ultimate return (Ar-Risala tul-Ghausia)
Allah as the abode of everything
“Allah is the refuge of everything” means that the stability of everything is solely due to the Divine Essence. If everything exists and maintains its being, it is because of the Divine light. The Divine light permeates all creation, making Allah the refuge and sanctuary of all things. When He withdraws His light, nothing will endure, and the doomsday will occur. As Allah says in the Holy Quran:
(اِذَا الشَّمْسُ کُوِّرَتْ۔ واِذَا النُّجُوْمُ انْکَدَرَتْ۔ (سورۃ التکویر۔1- 2
Meaning: When the sun will be folded up and extinguished, And the stars will fall (from their galaxies). (81:1-2)
Allah as the abode of everything
“Allah is the abode of everything” means that the light of Allah is present in everything. This is why Allah has urged contemplation and reflection upon the universe, for within it are the signs for those who possess wisdom. As He says in the Quran:
اِنَّ فِیْ خَلْقِ السَّمٰوٰتِ والْاَرْضِ واخْتِلَافِ الَّیْلِ والنَّھَارِ لَاٰیٰتٍ لّاِوْلِی الْاَلْبَابِ۔ الَّذِیْنَ یَذْکُرُوْنَ اللّٰہَ قِیٰمًا وَّ قُعُوْدًا وَّ عَلٰی جُنُوْبِھِمْ وَ یَتَفَکَّرُوْنَ فِیْ خَلْقِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِج رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ ھٰذَا بَاطِلًا (سورۃ آلِ عمران۔190-191)
Meaning: Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, there are signs (of Allah’s absolute authority) for those who possess constructive wisdom. These are the people who, remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. (Then, acquainted with the pleasure of His gnosis, they call out spontaneously :) ‘O our Lord, You have not created (all) this without any rationale and strategy. (3:190-191)
Recognising Divine light in the entire universe
When a person begins to ponder over the creation of this universe, new horizons of understanding open up for him. He is inevitably drawn to the realization that such an immense and boundless cosmos could not have come into existence by mere chance, nor could its intricate systems operate autonomously. Rather, there exists a Supreme and All-Powerful Being who governs this infinite and expansive universe. As a result of this contemplation, the veils of Divine gnosis gradually lift for the person. He begins to see the Divine artistry and His light in everything and comes to realize that indeed, Allah is present in everything.
No body exists but Allah
Sultan Bahoo expresses:
ہمہ اوست دَر مغز و پوست
Meaning: Only the Divine Essence is manifest in the outer as well as the inner world and in each and everything.
He states in his book Ain-ul-Faqr:
یقین دانم دریں عالم کہ لاموجوداِلَّا ھوُ
ولا موجود فی الکونین لامقصود اِلَّا ھوُ
Explanation: Surely, no one except Hoo (the Divine Essence) is present in the universe, rather in both the worlds nobody exists but Hoo (ھُو) and no one is desired apart from Him. (Ain-ul-Faqr)
Allah is within us, but we are heedless
Allah has created man as the noblest of all creation. In a Qudsi Hadith, He says:
I created man in My own image.
Another Qudsi Hadith reveals:
I have not manifested Myself in anything as much as I have in man.
Allah is within us, but we are heedless and veiled from Him. This is why all the Sufis and Saints have encouraged man to reflect within himself and to seek Divine Essence.
Find Allah by traveling the inward path
Below we mention the sayings of some of the eminent Saints who urged to reflect and delve deep in the inward to find Allah.
Bu Ali Shah Qalandar
Bu Ali Shah Qalandar expresses:
یار در تو پس چرائی بے خبر
Explanation: Your Beloved is within you, why are you so oblivious!
Khawaja Moinuddin
Khawaja Moinuddin also addresses man elaborating the significance of the inner quest:
بامعین گفت ہر سو تابہ کے خواہی دَوِید
ہم ز خود جو ہر چہ خواہی تا بدانی کیستی
Explanation: O Moinuddin, how long will you roam about! Whatever you need, find it from within yourself so that you would come to know who you are!
Bulleh Shah
According to Bulleh Shah, whoever has attained the secret of Divine Truth has done so by seeking the inward path. And whoever attains this secret ultimately becomes worthy of eternal peace, liberating themselves from the distinctions of joy and sorrow, sin and righteousness, life and death, and all other worldly distinctions:
ایہہ تلکن بازی ویہڑا اے
تھم تھم کے ٹرو اندھیرا اے
وڑ اندر ویکھو کیہڑا اے
کیوں خلقت باہر ڈھونڈیندی اے
منہ آئی بات نہ رہندی اے
جس پایا بھیت قلندر دا
راہ کھوجیا اپنے اندر دا
اوہ واسی ہے سکھ مندر دا
جتھے کوئی نہ چڑھدی لہندی اے
منہ آئی بات نہ رہندی اے
Explanation: Life is full of dangers so you should be very careful. Peep through your inner world and find your destination (Allah). I do not know why people look for Him in the world of appearances. I cannot help uttering this reality! Whoever has found the secret of Reality, achieved it through travelling the spiritual path. He eventually found eternal tranquility and liberated himself from bounds of happiness, sorrow, sin, reward, life and death.
Allama Iqbal
Allama Iqbal says:
اپنے من میں ڈوب کر پا جا سراغِ زندگی
تو اگر میرا نہیں بنتا نہ بن اپنا تو بن
Explanation: Dive into your inner and find the secret of life. If you are not mine, does not matter but be sincere to yourself. (Bal-e-Jibril)
Hadith of the Holy Prophet
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَہٗ فَقَدْ عَرَفَ رَبَّہٗ
Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali interprets the above Hadith of the Holy Prophet, “Whoever recognised himself undoubtedly recognised his Lord” as:
O human! Nearest to you is your very own entity, so if you do not know yourself, how can you recognise others? Only to know that these are my hands, these are my feet, these are my bones and this is my body, is not the recognition of yourself. This much recognition is possessed by animals too. Or to know that in hunger eat something while in anger fight and on being overwhelmed by sexual desire, just involve in sex is also insufficient. All these things are equally found in animals too. How are you then better and nobler than them?
The requirement of gnosis and recognition of your entity is to know your real inner being and your true identity regarding who you are, where have you come from and where have you to return? If you have come in this world, what is the purpose of your being here? Why have you been given birth? What are your virtues and good fortunes and in which things do they exist? What is your misfortune and what is its source? The attributes which are accumulated in you, some of them are bestial and wild, some are devilish and evil, but some are angelic and celestial too. Just consider whose attributes do you possess? Who are you among these? Your reality is similar to which one of these? Which qualities have transitory, temporary and alien status in your inward? Unless you recognise these facts, you will remain deprived of your identity. You will never find your good fortunes because each one has different instinct and the source of nourishment to grow in yourself.
The animals’ instinct and source of nourishment are to eat, sleep and indulge in sex. If you are the same, then struggle day and night to continue feeding your stomach and satisfying your appetite.
The nourishment and instinct of beasts are in fighting, killing and ferociousness.
The nourishment and instinct of devils lie in evil, deceit and wickedness. If you are one of them, adopt their nature and habits to achieve your required pleasures and goals.
`The instinct and nourishment of angels lie in invocation, glorification and circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba in heavens. Whereas the virtue and nourishment of a human being lie in the observing the Divine lights of Allah’s beauty in His nearness. If you are a human, then try to recognise the Divine Essence and witness His Divine light and beauty. Strive also to liberate yourself from the clutches of your bestial anger and appetite and only seek the Divine Essence, the One, so that you may find out who is the Creator of these bestial and ferocious attributes? The reality would also be disclosed upon you that if the Creator has created these qualities within you, it does not mean that they should overpower and enslave you and become victorious over you. Rather they are for you to imprison and enslave them and become the conqueror. By overpowering them you can convert some of these slaves to the horse of your journey (towards Allah) so that a few days you have to stay in this mortal world, you may use these to get your good fortune. When you get it just trample over these slaves to enter the eternal calm and tranquil place which is called Divine presence by the virtuous persons. You must know these facts. The one who does not know them remains far away from the true faith. Certainly, the reality of true faith is veiled for him. (Kimiya-e-Sa’adat)
Ibn Arabi
Ibn Arabi states:
O seeker! Recognise your essence; who are you and what are you? What is your reality? What is your relation to Allah and on what basis are you called the Truth and on what basis are you called the world? (Exegesis of Fusus al-Hikam Wal Aiqan)
Sultan Bahoo
Sultan Bahoo expresses in his Punjabi poetry:
ایہہ تن رَب سچے دا حجرا، وِچ پا فقیرا جھاتی ھوُ
ناں کر مِنت خواج خضر دی، تیرے اندر آب حیاتی ھوُ
شوق دا دِیوا بال ہنیرے، مَتاں لبھی وَست کھڑاتی ھوُ
مرن تھیں اگے مر رہے باھو،ؒ جنہاں حق دی رمز پچھاتی ھوُ
Explanation: Your body is the place of Divine manifestations. Just peep through your body and do not depend upon Khidr who has drunk the elixir of life and has been granted immortality as within yourself is the vital water of Divine love. Enlighten the lamp of love within yourself so you may find the lost Trust (Essence) that is hidden in your inward since eternity. The people who found this secret died before death and attained to immortality. (Abyat-e-Bahoo Kamil)
Therefore, the light of Allah is present in everything, especially in humans, and that is why Allah has said that He is the abode of everything.
Allah is the sight of everything
Allah is the vision and sight of all things. This means that He is seen through everything because He is present in all. He points to this truth in the Holy Quran:
وَ لِلّٰہِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَ الْمَغْرِبُ ژ فَاَیْنَمَا تُوَلُّوْا فَثَمَّ وَجْہُ اللّٰہ ( سورۃ البقرہ۔115 )
Meaning: And the east and the west (all) belong to Allah alone. So whichever direction you turn to, there is the presence of Allah (i.e., the essence of Allah is radiantly manifest in all directions). (2:115)
Ali ibn Abi Talib also expresses:
- I saw my Lord in everything.
The manifestation of Divine beauty in the seeker’s heart
Sultan Bahoo says:
When the Divine beauty manifests in the inward of the seeker through waham (spiritual conversation with Allah), it occupies the kingdom of his inward and then keeps increasing its capacity according to the capability of the seeker. Such inward is ever blessed with the observation of Divine theophanies and is enveloped by the light of Divinity. Possessor of such a heart beholds Divinity wherever he sees, in the inward as well as the outward.
بخیال تو از ہر سو کہ نظر میکردم
حق را پیش چشم در و دیوار متصور باشد
Explanation: I have become so engrossed in Your thoughts that wherever I see, I behold You. (Sultan-ul-Waham)
In Risala Roohi Sharif, Sultan Bahoo states:
Wherever a Mystic directs his gaze, he beholds nothing but Allah. (Risala Roohi Sharif)
A Mystic sees Allah in all things
In every manifestation, the seeker of Allah beholds nothing but the Truth, finding His presence in everything. He discerns the Divine Essence permeating every aspect of existence, recognising Him in all that is.
Thus, Amir Khwaja says:
Explanation: (O Lord!) This universe is just Your manifestation, and its inward is in fact Your Divine Essence. If anyone observes the inward of the material things, he will find that only You exist and nothing else.
The Holy Prophet prayed to Allah:
The Oneness of Divine Essence in diverse expressions
It is written in Asrar-e-Haqiqi:
Umar ibn Khattab asked the Holy Prophet “What is Divine Essence? And what are other things?” The Holy Prophet answered, “All the things are the manifestation of Allah. In fact, all are same, only the attributes of manifestation are different. As the meanings are same but delivered through various statements or texts, similarly the Essence is only One with manifold expressions. (Asrar-e-Haqiqi)
The aforementioned saying of the Holy Prophet, along with all other sayings of the Saints, confirms the belief that Allah is present in everything and is manifest in everything. Below, we mention some verses written by different poets.
Amir Meenai expresses:
لاکھ پردوں میں تو ہے بے پردہ
سو نشانوں میں بے نشاں تو ہے
تو ہے خلوت میں تو ہے جلوت میں
کہیں پنہاں کہیں عیاں تو ہے
رنگ تیرا چمن میں بو تیری
خوب دیکھا تو باغباں تو ہے
Explanation: Allah is both Hidden and Manifest, recognised through signs yet beyond human comprehension. His presence permeates all of existence, whether in solitude or in gatherings. Nature itself is a testament to His existence, and ultimately, He is the Creator and Sustainer of everything, visible and invisible.
Daagh Dehlvi expresses:
ٓنکھ والا تیرے جوبن کا تماشا دیکھے
دیدۂ کور کو کیا نظر آئے کیا دیکھے
Explanation: Your bloom and vigour in the universe can be observed only by the people of insight. Those blind of spiritual sight cannot notice with physical eyes the blossom of the Divine beauty.
Maulana Zafar Ali writes:
وہ جس کی شان لَیْسَ کَمِثْلِہٖ شَیْئٌ
چھپا بھی ہے تو سرا پردہ ظہور میں
برنگِ دور قمر جلوہ اس کی قدرت کا
کبھی سنین میں ہے اور کبھی شہود میں
کبھی کبھی ہے اوجِ شعیر پر تاباں
کبھی کبھی وہ خراماں سوادِ طور میں ہے
Explanation: He Whose grandeur is such that ‘nothing is likened to Him,’ is fully Manifest even when Hidden. His manifestation appears in nature in different forms like rotation of the moon and passing of epochs, at times in the witnessing of the creature. At times His theophany illuminates at zenith in His signs and sometimes He enjoys His elegance at Mount Sinai.
Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah expresses Oneness of Being in a unique way:
سیو ہن میں ساجن پائیونی
ہر ہر دے وچ سمائیونی
احد احمد دا گیت سنائیو
ہر دے وچ اک میم رکھائیو
انا احمد ہوں پھرفرمائیو
پھر نام رسول دھرائیونی
فثم وجہ اللہ نور تیرا
ہر ہر کے بیچ ظہور تیرا
ہے الانسان مذکور تیرا
ایتھے اپنا سر لوکائیونی
ہر مظہر وچ اوہا دِسدا
اندر باہر جلوہ جسدا
Explanation: O friends, I have found my Beloved Who is present everywhere. Ahad concealed Himself in the veil of ‘M’ and said, “I am Ahmad” hence was called Messenger in the physical world. Revelation of His light is prevalent everywhere. He called human His secret and kept His secret concealed in him. His Divine sight is visible inwardly and outwardly in every phenomenon.
Everything shall return to Allah
Everything is destined to return to Allah, meaning that when the light of Allah departs from a thing, it perishes, and its light merges back into the light of Allah. Allah says:
اِلَی اللّٰہِ مَرْجِعُکُمْ ج وَ ھُوَ عَلٰی کُلِّ شَیْئٍ قَدِیْرٌ۔ ( سورۃ ھود۔4 )
Meaning: You are to return to Allah and He has mighty control over everything. (11:4)
Allah Almighty, descending from unity to multiplicity, expanded and extended the realm of Command (alam al-Amr) and the realm of creation (alam al-khalq) through His light, but He did not grant permanence or eternal existence to anything, as He states in the Quran:
کُلُّ مَنْ عَلَیْھَا فَانٍ۔ وَّ یَبْقٰی وَجْہُ رَبِّکَ ذُوالْجَلَالِ وَ الْاِکْرَامِ۔ ( سورۃ الرحمٰن۔ 26-27)
Meaning: Whoever is on the earth will perish. And the Essence of your Lord, Who is the Master of glory and splendor and the Master of bounty and honor, will remain. (55:26-27)
Hence, just as Allah expanded this universe and descended from unity to multiplicity, in the same way, when He begins to gather it back, everything will gradually perish, and its light will merge back into the light of Allah. Ultimately, only the Divine Essence will remain.
Summary of the blog:
Allah has created everything in the universe with His light. Thus, everything in the existence manifests Divine light.
Allah is the ultimate refuge, the eternal abode, and the vision of all that exists. His Divine light sustains the entirety of creation, and should He withdraw it, all would cease to exist. Reflecting upon the creation of the universe reveals Allah’s omnipresence in every aspect of existence. This truth resonates deeply with the teachings of Sultan Bahoo, who emphasized that nothing exists except Allah, affirming the unity and singularity of the Divine in all things.
Sufis and Saints urge to seek Allah inwardly through the journey of self-realisation, emphasizing that Allah resides within human beings, yet they remain oblivious. The sayings of Sufi saints like Bu Ali Shah Qalandar, Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, and Bulleh Shah encourage seeking Allah within rather than externally. This is supported by the Hadith, “Whoever recognised himself undoubtedly recognised his Lord.”
Al-Ghazali elaborates that self-realisation is key to understanding one’s Divine connection. He stresses that human beings must rise above their animalistic instincts and seek spiritual elevation to witness Allah’s Divine beauty. Similarly, Ibn Arabi and Sultan Bahoo affirm that a true seeker perceives Allah in everything.
All creation will eventually return to Allah. As He states in the Quran, “Whoever is on the earth will perish, and only the essence of your Lord will remain” (55:26-27). Thus, recognising Allah’s omnipresence leads to spiritual enlightenment and liberation from worldly illusions.
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