The Mystical Doctrine of Freedom in Quran

There are three parts of being a human; the spirit, the mind, and the body. The spirit is the decision making royalty, the mind processes the decisions of the spirit and creates methods to workout those decisions, and the body is the labor force tasked with executing the manual of procedures provided by the mind. A man has a Total Freedom if his spirit is in charge of life, has a Partial Freedom if his mind is in charge of life, and has No Freedom if his body is in charge of life. In the first case the man is a leader, in the second case he is a bureaucrat, and in the third case he is a laborer. The mystical doctrine therefore suggests that every compromise that would destroy leadership of the superior over the inferior to be potentially dangerous for the freedom of man, and as such must be carefully avoided by him to protect his freedom. The Quran says,

By the sun and his brightness, And the moon when she followeth him, And the day when it revealeth him, And the night when it enshroudeth him, And the heaven and Him Who built it, And the earth and Him Who spread it, And a soul and Him Who perfected it, And inspired it (with conscience of) what is wrong for it and (what is) right for it. He is indeed successful who causeth it to grow, And he is indeed a failure who stunteth it. (91, 1-10)

The purpose of a human life is to grow in wisdom through the spiritual trials of the world, such that a person may either choose to act with grace or selfishness in order to find his proper station by ascending or descending in the spiritual domain. The knowledge of truth can be discovered through the books of doctrine, but the wisdom of truth can only be achieved through the experience of Divinity in the great symbolic signs of His creation.

God has many creatures expressing His creative powers through every aspect of physical existence. For instance, the angels represent one end of the spectrum of God's creatures, the other end being occupied by devils, and humans having to find space in the middle of this continuum of creation. Just like a burning wood that provides fire and light, human beings are tempted with the passions of fire and also driven towards the intelligence of light. The devils evoke the mystery of trials for humans that is unraveled by their mastery of angels, though it takes great efforts to acquire that power; and only someone with a truly sublime nature is capable of undergoing those trials. This is the Law of God that His power must be manifested through every domain of existence, whether that be gross or subtle; such that none could ever doubt His authority over the sublime dimensions that are kept in guards by the angels.

The Mystical Trials

There are two ways of separating people in terms of their dignities, the cultural and the spiritual. From the standpoint of culture, whatever can be generally perceived by people becomes the norm in the social context, but spiritually whoever is greater in terms of piety and truthfulness gains higher stature in the presence of Divinity. However, the more significant part is either the attitude towards conforming to social preferences for the higher ranks of excellence, or to endeavor for the Divine acceptance through the nobler acts of charity, that would actually describe the true motivation for exaltation in a human life. As the physical bodies of human beings ultimately get to be expired and disposed, but their spirit survives on account of their quality of faith and their perseverance for truth. The Quran says,

Eat of that over which the name of Allah hath been mentioned, if ye are believers in His revelations. How should ye not eat of that over which the name of Allah hath been mentioned, when He hath explained unto you that which is forbidden unto you unless ye are compelled thereto. But lo! many are led astray by their own lusts through ignorance. Lo! thy Lord, He is Best Aware of the transgressors. Forsake the outwardness of sin and the inwardness thereof. Lo! those who garner sin will be awarded that which they have earned. And eat not of that whereon Allah's name hath not been mentioned, for lo! it is abomination. Lo! the devils do inspire their minions to dispute with you. But if ye obey them, ye will be in truth idolaters. Is he who was dead and We have raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walketh among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge? Thus is their conduct made fairseeming for the disbelievers. And thus have We made in every city great ones of its wicked ones, that they should plot therein. They do but plot against themselves, though they perceive not. (06, 118-123)

The wisdom in partaking of lawful food is essentially to stay clean from toxic substances that may degrade the body; and thereby cause laziness, lust, and other addictions to a human being. A person must eat lawful food, and also think righteous thoughts in order to be purified from the influences of evil passions in life, such that the greater control over mind and body could lead to spiritual growth and freedom for the person.

The Mystical Freedom