Lesson Eleven

Lesson Eleven
The Evidence of Experience, (Continued)

   Man's ever-increasing curiosity first began to exercise itself on objects that were far removed from him — the stars. Now it is his normal and natural states and circumstances that preoccupy him as he attempts to make out the factors which dominate his existence.
   One of the topics that has attracted man's attention is that of sleep and dreams. This is understandable, considering the fact that a significant part of man's life is spent asleep in the world of dreams.
   The various theories that have been put forth on this subject demonstrate the complexity of the subject and reflect all the lengthy experiments experts have conducted.
   It is a characteristic of man like all living beings to sleep after engaging in effort and tiring activity. As a portion of his vital activity is suspended, the functioning of the body also decreases.
   How sleep takes place is itself an important question; despite all the studies that have been made, a definitive answer cannot yet be given. The whole matter is shrouded in a variety of interpretations many of which are the result of hasty and unjustified deductions. All that science knows so far is restricted to certain physical processes which take place in the realm of the body.

   There are as yet no indications that permit us to hope for a solution to this problem and it would be incautious to predict the emergence of precise and realistic theories. Nonetheless, the advance of human knowledge may one day enable man to solve this great mystery that confronts him.
   Still more mysterious than sleep are dreams — that configuration of various scenes, images and events in the mind of the sleeper. The phenomenon of the dream confronts us with all kinds of complex and knotty problems.
   All the physiological functions of the body, all its non-volitional and reflexive acts, continue during sleep with the utmost regularity. The nerves and the glands, the intestines and the muscles all continue their work. But man has no power of thought or decision; his will is inoperative, and his life resembles that of a monocellular being.
   The sleeper looks like a lifeless and prostrate figure, but .suddenly he awakens and comes back to life. Sleep and awakening are in fact comparable to death and resurrection. The Noble Qur'an says the following concerning the affinity between sleep and death on the one hand, and awakening and resurrection on the other:
   "God takes men's souls at the time of their death, and the soul which does not die He takes in its sleep. Then He keeps the soul that is destined to die at that time, and returns the others to life for a set period" (39:42).
   In the view of the Qur'an, sleep is outwardly the suspension of the natural forces in man, but it is at the same time a return of man's spirit to his inner being. Sleep is the lesser death, and death is the greater sleep. In both cases the spirit is transferred to a different world. The difference is that on waking up a person is unaware that he has returned from a journey, whereas for the one who dies all things become clear.
   Dreams have been divided into several categories. A large proportion of dreams derive from the hopes and desires of the dreamer, or reflect occurrences he has experienced.
   Another major category consists of confused dreams that simply reflect man's imaginings and illusions.

Then there is a category of dreams of which the defining element is a kind of inspiration; these dreams foretell events. They sometimes reflect an as yet hidden occurrence in its exact and real form and sometimes in symbolic form that can be interpreted by those having the necessary skill.
   Since the human spirit has an affinity with the supra natural realm, it is bound to depart for that expansive universe once sleep puts an end to its preoccupation with sensory perceptions. There it witnesses certain realities, in accordance with its degree of preparedness and capacity, and it is able to deposit the knowledge thus received in the mind in a way that permits it to be remembered after the sleeper awakens.
   There can be no doubt that confused dreams are connected to certain physical and psychological conditions; they are nothing but a series of illusions and imaginings. Similarly, the appearance in the mind of the dreamer of past events, without any reflection of events yet to come, has no particular value.
   This, however, is not the case with dreams the interpretation of which permits one to forecast events that are still in gestation or which, being so clear as to leave no need for interpretation, present to us in the imaginal world the causes and occasions of things in their actual form.
   Many instances of this kind of dream have been reported in historical sources. They occur, moreover, in the personal lives of many of us, and they cannot all be ascribed to coincidence. They cannot be attributed either to the reminders of past events of the day or to analyses of them that our nervous system provides us with, nor do repressed instincts and desires play any role in them.
   Freud interprets dreams as follows:
   "Generally speaking, what appears to us in the world of dreams consists of the sensory objects of which we have been aware during the day and of wishes which have remained unfulfilled for one reason or another. During the day a man

may conceive a desire for a certain woman who is inaccessible to him; at night he gains possession of her in the world of his dreams. A hungry beggar dreams of riches and palaces; an ugly man acquires unparalleled beauty; an impotent old man recovers the vigor of youth; a hopeless and desperate man .finds all his wishes fulfilled. In short, all the wishes and inclinations that remain unfulfilled during the day, all the feelings that remain hidden for one reason or another, come into the open and are freely satisfied in the World of dreams."
   Here I will refrain from mentioning the numerous dreams foretelling the future which are mentioned in historical sources or have been experienced and related to me by countless trustworthy persons. Let me simply recount a dream I had myself. On Saturday, April 24, 1962, a violent earthquake shook the city of Lar, leading to heavy losses of life and damage.
   About one week before the earthquake, I dreamed that a b earthquake was shaking Lar, destroying buildings and raising up clouds of dust that covered the sky like thick fog.
   With this terrifying picture pressing on my mind, I woke up in terror, probably at about midnight.
   The next day I told some of the notables of Lar and my friends of my dream, and they still sometimes recall the occasion.
   At the time, they naturally interpreted my dream in different ways, but two or three nights later an earthquake of medium force occurred, causing only moderate losses. One of the religious scholars of the city came to see me and said: "Yesterday's earthquake is the one that you dreamed of." I replied that the brief and relatively harmless earthquake we had just experienced bore no resemblance to the horrifying scenes I had witnessed in my dream. (The person in question still remembers what happened.)
   Finally April 24 arrived. Toward the end of the day a ruinous earthquake was visited on Lar. The city shook violently, buildings collapsed, clouds of earth and dust rose

into the air, and countless people, young and old, men and women, were swallowed up by death.
   Those who survived the earthquake rushed to the ruined buildings to help the wounded. The sight that presented itself during those grim moments was truly shattering.
   A particularly remarkable detail is that in my dream I had seen the small child of one of my relatives who lived in a neighboring house. I saw him passing in front of a part of the house that was about to collapse, so I called out to him to get out of the way, which he did.
   When the earthquake occurred. the only part of the house that collapsed was the one that had done so in my dream; the rest of the house remained standing, and nothing happened to the child, because when the earthquake happened he began running from one corner to the other in panic, moving out of the way of danger just when that particular part of the house began to collapse!
   Would be it at all logical to accept as an explanation for the countless dreams of this type which accurately foretell the future the interpretations of materialists who regard all dreams as the result of the appearance in the mind of everyday events or of the fear of the unknown? Can such dreams be regarded, as the Freudians claim, simply as the reflection of repressed desires that come to the surface of the unconscious in order to delude the ego?
   How can our perceptive apparatus perceive events that lie beyond the material circumstances surrounding us? How can it become aware of an event that has not yet occurred? Is there any way of explaining such awareness except in terms of a link between the human spirit and the supra material world?
   It must then be the case that man gains awareness from the world of the unseen, from a source which is aware of the future, in just the same way that astronomical facilities permit him to record the rays emitted by the galaxies. Why should it not be accepted that the waves emitted by the world of the unseen may be picked up by the spirit of man, acting as a receiver, with the result that matters that are not knowable by

natural means are made manifest in the world of dreams?
   Let us take another look at what the leaders leading materialist thinkers say on the general subject of dreams:
   "Contrary to what was imagined for centuries, dreams do not foretell the future or disclose any mysteries to us. The question of interpretation does not therefore arise. On the contrary, if we fully believe what Freud says, we must agree that dreams depict events out of the past. In other words, dreams result from past occurrences, and are not indications of future occurrences.
   "Apart from this, careful experiments have shown that dreams — like all other 'spiritual' phenomena — are an entirely material phenomenon, without any involvement of supernatural forces."³²
   Is this really the case? Do dreams never inform us of future events or other unknown matters?
   The materialists are of course free if they wish to ignore realities and to give a totally unrealistic interpretation of dreams that have nothing to do with the thoughts and occurrences of everyday life.
   They pretend that their theories represent the pinnacle of .perfection and they imagine they have discovered all the mysteries of the universe and the principles that govern the life of man. They suppose that whatever appears to be a mystery or resists explanation in terms of logic quite simply does not exist, so there is nothing left to explain or discover!
   They should recognise, however, that such an attitude to clear and the self-evident truths is the sign of a spirit in revolt against established truths.
   It is always the habit of the materialists, in their attempts to destroy the beliefs of others, to analyse hastily and impatiently whatever does not fit into their narrow framework of thought, imagining themselves able to supply answers to the most complex of questions.
   However, if one studies matters soberly and patiently and attains some degree of acquaintance with non-sensory phenomena, one's vision expands and one becomes less
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32 Dr. Arani Khabidan va Khab Didan, pp.15-16.

inclined to accept mono dimensional explanations.
   It must not be forgotten that theologians have never denied the influence exerted on dreams by past thoughts and perceptions or by wishes and desires, as well as other factors, internal or external. Certain diseases and mental disorders cast their shadow on many dreams. But the phenomenon of the .dream cannot be regarded simply as the reflection of the activity of the brain and the nervous system, or of repressed desires. Many dreams may indeed be related to such factors, but this is not the case with dreams that foretell future events. As we have seen above, such dreams cannot possibly be explained by referring to material factors and causes; they represent the distillation of a different form of reality.
   The astounding feats of ascetics must also not be dismissed out of hand. Many people have themselves witnessed their remarkable deeds, apart from which manifest examples of their feats are recorded in numerous books of history.
   If we regard the spirit as an epiphenomenon of matter, feats such as these which draw on forces hidden within man are bound to remain inexplicable.
   All the various phenomena we have discussed in the past two chapters point to the existence of a reality in man that is independent of his physical being, that survives death of the body. This is the only conclusion that profound thought will yield.
   If we compare man to an aeroplane made up of different components, each of which has its own function, we must agree that this aeroplane needs a skilled pilot to guide and direct it with his expertise. The pilot does not belong to the same category as the components and instruments that make up the aeroplane, although his existence is absolutely necessary for its functioning. The spirit is the pilot of the material body.

Lesson Twelve
The Ineluctable Final Moment of All Things

   There can be no doubt that one day the world as it now exists will become the scene of a terrifying event. The world which has been the setting for man's unceasing efforts and triumphs throughout his existence, his endeavors that have extended from the depths of the oceans to outer space — this world will fall prey to a horrifying fate and dissolve in a single catastrophe.
   The heavenly bodies will collide and collapse; neither light nor warmth be left in the heavens; lofty mountains will be uprooted; a fire will erupt as if a spark were to have fallen on a heap of cotton that has been built up over centuries; oceans will surge up and burst over the land; tombs will split open and merge with each other; and the earth itself, in obedience to divine command, will reveal and surrender all of its contents and the trusts that have been deposited in the course of many epochs. The whole world will be turned into a great cloud of dust, as if everything that existed were being ground in some gigantic mortar.
   This simultaneous mingling and dispersion of all elements, in such a way that no phenomenon can any longer be distinguished, is the future destiny of our regular and well-ordered world.
   The Noble Qur'an reminds man that the existing order of creation is of limited duration and that it will not last for ever: "Have you not ever considered that God has created the heavens

and the earth and all that lies between them in justice and for a set duration? Many are those who do not believe they will meet their Lord" (30:8).
   The Qur'an also proclaims that the occurrence of this event is inevitable and that on the day when all creatures will be stripped of the garment of life only the Pure and Sacred Essence of the Creator will remain.
   Let us hear the description the Qur'an itself gives of that terrifying day on which all things shall perish:
   "0 men, fear the wrath of your Creator! The earthquakes and explosions of resurrection will be mighty and awesome. On that day suckling mothers will forget their infants and pregnant women will be delivered of their burden. You will see men as drunken from the terror of that day, but they will not be drunken, for the doom of God is fierce and painful" (22:1-2).
   ."When the earth begins to move and shake violently, the mountains are torn asunder and scattered like atoms of dust..." (56:4-6).
   "Man asks: 'When the day of resurrection will be?' (Say:) 'It well be the day when the sight of man is confounded in terror, when the moon is darkened and the sun and the moon are joined. On that day man will ask where he might flee and to what shelter"' (75:6-10).
   "When the stars are put out, and when the heavenly bodies are scattered" (82:2).
   Flammarion, the well-known astronomer, says in his book The End of the World:
   "The appearance of life in all its splendor is the result of the submission of the solar system to the universal pull of gravity and centrifugal motion. It is gravity that interrelates all the parts of the universe, from the atom to the star, and controls and regulates their movements with the aid of centrifugal motion. Thus a universal order comes into being .throughout creation. This order will, however, inevitably collapse; the stars will die and the heavenly bodies will scatter like the beads of a broken necklace."

   As can be deduced from verses of the Qur'an and reliable narrations, the order of creation will suddenly collapse as the result of a happening the exact nature of which is unknown to us: the life of the sun, the stars and the whole of creation will come to an abrupt end.
   Rill, (?) the British astronomer, says:
   "The universe came into being some ten or fifteen billion years ago as the result of an explosion. It used half of its energy or its matter to dispatch the stars to the depths of space, and the other half to assemble the galaxies and prepare them for the final explosion."
   The Qur'an says: "On the day when We shall roll up the heavens like a scroll..." (21:104).
   "When the oceans shall be aflame..." (81:6)
   "On the day that the heavens shall be molten like brass..." (70:8).
   The last two of these verses contradict the theory of many scientists of the past who maintained that the end of the world would come about as the result of a decrease in the heat of the sun and the freezing of all creatures. They tell instead of heat of the sun being intensified at the time of resurrection, in such a way that no living thing will be able to endure.
   Many prominent scientists now describe the coming of such a day in accordance with the relative knowledge they possess.
   Thus Georges Gamoff writes:
   "The radiation of the sun will increase over time, and once the amount of hydrogen in the sun has attained its maximum amount, the energy emitted by the sun will increase about a hundredfold. Our studies of the production of energy by the sun thus point to conclusions that contradict completely classical quasi-official theories on the subject.
   "Instead of saying that everything will freeze one day as a result of a decrease in the activity of the sun, we must say that it will be as a result of the continuing intensity of the sun's heat, during the last stage of its development, that life is condemned to destruction.
   "If the temperature on the earth's surface comes to exceed

the temperature at which water boils, rocks and the hard crust of the earth will probably not melt, but the oceans will certainly begin to boil, and since no highly evolved species can live in boiling water, most forms of life will come to an end. It is therefore probable that all the higher species will have died out before the temperature of the earth reaches an intolerable level."³³
   Elsewhere the same writer remarks:
   It is expected that in the course of several hundred million years after the formation of the earth's crust, the volume of the sun will come to exceed that of Venus. Its light will be multiplied ten to thirty million times, and the oceans will be brought to boiling point."³⁴

The Two Trumpet Blasts of Resurrection

   The Noble Qur'an describes the occurrence of resurrection as follows:
   "They will blow on the trumpet and everything in the heavens and the earth will be swallowed up by death, save only that which God wishes to preserve. Then another trumpet blast will be sounded and all creatures will suddenly rise up to behold the plain of resurrection" (39:68).
   There will be then two blasts on the trumpet. The first will be swift and of brief duration, like a roar in the heavens, a universal proclamation that will cause the whole expanse of creation to be folded up; the people of the world will suddenly fall to the ground while they are still engrossed in their daily struggles. This first blowing of the trumpet will bring about the death of all living beings, and all creatures in the heavens and on the earth, including even the angels.
   The Qur'an says: "On the day when the summoner (Israel) summons mankind to awesome resurrection the unbelievers will come forth with their eyes humbled, like locusts scattered abroad, hastening to respond to the summoner to resurrection. The unbelievers shall say to each other: 'This is the day of hardship!'" (54:6-8).
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33 Paydayish va Marg-i Khurshid, p.131.

34 Madda-yi Zamin va Asiman, p.533.

   The second blast on the trumpet will be the awe-inspiring summons that brings men back to life and ushers in resurrection. Men will suddenly rise up from their graves and they will ask, their whole beings filled with fear:
   "Who is it that thus raises us from our slumber?" (36:52).
   Then they will open their eyes and say: "This is none other than what God promised; the prophets indeed spoke the truth" (36:52).
   Every now and then explosions take place in the heavenly bodies. Occurring in remote galaxies and the outer regions of space, these explosions do not disrupt the order of the universe or the norms of creation; their causes and effects remain, however, unknown.
   It is a terrifying universal explosion that will cause the structure of the heavens and the earth to collapse, putting an end to the life of the world and its inhabitants together with the norms that have regulated creation.
   The powerful waves of sound, the death-bringing blast that is a means for the implementation of the divine command, will be so intense and overwhelming that in the shortest time conceivable it will bring to an end the existence of all living things. This collapse of the world through the sound waves emitted by the trumpet of Isrà'il will take place at a time when people are going about their daily business and are unaware that such a terrifying event is about to occur.
   The Most Noble Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said:
   "At that time, some people will be in their own homelands, and some will be travelling. Some will be swallowed up by death as they are about to place a morsel of food in their mouths. Some will be talking to their friends and their souls will be taken from them before they are able to complete their words. In the end death will have overtaken all human beings, .but Isrä'il I will continue blowing on his trumpet until all springs and rivers, all buildings, trees, mountains, and oceans, are intermingled and buried in the heart of the earth.
   "As the dead fall to the ground, some will be on their backs, and other will lie facedown. People will still have the

food in their mouths the food that death gave them no chance to swallow."³⁵
   Israi'l's blasts on the trumpet may be compared to the sounding of a horn that announces to an army the beginning of battle; it is like a command to get ready. The second blast is like a command to move off and attack the enemy. The trumpet .has then two aspects: one of universal death and one of universal revival.
   In the verses that speak of this utter reversal and transformation of the natural order, we see that terror and confusion overwhelm the whole of creation. The heavens and the earth, young and old, men and animals, all created things will be bewildered; fear will sunder all natural relations, and people will think only of themselves.
   This will be the general state of all people. In addition, the impious and impure will be subject to their own special terror; they will fruitlessly desire to return to the earth in order to make up for their shameful past of disobeying God and His messengers.
   But it will be too late; a fearful and majestic silence will embrace all things and none will be able to disobey God. All will set out for the divine presence in obedience to the divine summons.
   God therefore calls on people to awake now in order to avoid the painful fate that ineluctably awaits sinners in the hereafter:
   "0 man, what deceives you concerning your Lord and makes you impudently arrogant?" (82:6).
   He also warns mankind as follows:
   "Before resurrection occurs and you are compelled to return to your Lord, answer the summons of your Creator. For on that day you shall have no shelter to protect you from your shameful punishment or to avert from you your well-deserved chastisement" (42:47).
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35 Tafsir al-Burhan, Vol.IV, p.85.