Anyone have some information about the seven heavens? what is it?
Thanks!
the seven heavens?
I have found the following excerpt from Lex Hixon's "Heart of the Koran" most interesting and illuminative on this.
"Prophetic vision does not perceive the creation as flat—we smile at medieval European cartographers who pictured the earth as flat—but as a hierarchical structure of planes or spheres. The terminology of above and below is used, but not in a spatial sense. Above the planetary plane, which includes all life-bearing planets, there extend seven subtle planes of Being, which are richly populated by conscious beings, expressing entirely distinct orders of reality. Above the subtle planes exists the most sublime created realm, which in the Koranic vision contains both eternity, the abode of angels, and Paradise, the abode of souls. "The body in Paradise will emanate from the same Source of Light that has projected this earthly body, and that consciously radiates all the vast realms and levels of creation." (36:77-83) Above Paradise subsists the Garden of Essence to which the mystic lovers and know-ers aspire, which is not creation, neither time nor eternity, but God Himself.
There exists, however, no hierarchy of Divine Presence, because God's Creation is not in any way alienated or distant from its exalted Creator. "During six primal and measureless Days of Power, the Supreme Source radiated the luminous structure of the planetary realm and the seven heavenly realms as tangible and intangible planes of Being. The Source of Being is mystically established upon this vast Throne of Manifestation. The full Divine Presence can therefore be subtly experienced throughout creation." (7:54-56)
The Koranic vision of creation should not be thought of as abstract or metaphysical. It remains direct and existential, intimately related to our daily experience. "Turn ceaselessly toward Allah Most High, whose Power presents you this green planet as resting place and this brilliant tent of stars as inspiration, Whose Mercy descends as sweet rain to create the earthly fruits you need for sustenance." (2:21-25) Nonetheless, we should not read the Holy Koran as some primitive perception of the world which equates, for instance, heavenly realms with the starry nighttime sky. "Cosmic space is but the reflection of the lowest and least subtle of the seven heavens and is a reservoir of energy for the preservation of the earthly plane of Being." (41:9-12)
The hierarchical structure of Being exists, not out of some impersonal metaphysical necessity, but precisely for the spiritual elevation of the soul, a process of great delicacy which the Holy Koran likens to the development of the foetus in the womb. The higher levels of Being, as well as the planetary plane of existence, are no less than the perfect expression of the infinite Divine Mercy. "So the Source of Power created seven progressively more subtle planes of existence and consciousness, revealing on each plane a new level of love and knowledge for the souls who will return along this path of mystical ascension into the Source of Peace." (41:9-12)
The mystics of Islam find in these Koranic texts the confirmation of their own direct inner experience of seven levels of awareness, each one more refined and more extensive, which culminate in the ultimate experience of mystical union. This spiritual culmination, expressed by Sufi poets and described figuratively by God Most High in His Holy Koran, remains essentially beyond conception or description, as God Himself does, because this supreme illumination simply is God.
Those truly mature human beings in every culture who actually encounter the universe in this way—not just reading a metaphysical map or following with blind faith, but as a direct vision through prophetic eyes-are described by this meditation on the revealed words of the Koran: "Those whose whole being is oriented toward the Source of Being do not perceive the slightest imperfection or injustice in the boundless kingdom of the All-Merciful One." (67:1-4) What humanity, when using its own circumscribed concepts, falsely perceives as a chaotic field of physical energy, as a world of chance and conflict, is truly perceived in the light of revelation as a perfect kingdom. "
The notion that creation and the heavens are there for our spiritual elevation finds resonance in the ginanic literature as well. In the ginan "Duniya Sirjine Shah more", Pir Sadardeen says:
ejee jumlojee puchhe aapannaa jeevu(n)naa peerne
amaraapureenaa ghar chhe kevaajee............................6
The Jamaats ask the Peer(Guide) of the souls: what is the nature of the eternal abode?
ejee sonaanee i(n)ttaddee ne rupaanaa tha(m)bhajee
saav kasturee keraa gaaraajee................................7
The bricks are of gold and the pillars are of silver. The plaster is of pure musk.
ejee evaa evaa mohol apanne saahebe upaayaajee
karannee kamaavo to e ghar paamojee..........................8
Such are the mansions our Lord has built. Earn good deeds so that you may earn such an abode.
"Prophetic vision does not perceive the creation as flat—we smile at medieval European cartographers who pictured the earth as flat—but as a hierarchical structure of planes or spheres. The terminology of above and below is used, but not in a spatial sense. Above the planetary plane, which includes all life-bearing planets, there extend seven subtle planes of Being, which are richly populated by conscious beings, expressing entirely distinct orders of reality. Above the subtle planes exists the most sublime created realm, which in the Koranic vision contains both eternity, the abode of angels, and Paradise, the abode of souls. "The body in Paradise will emanate from the same Source of Light that has projected this earthly body, and that consciously radiates all the vast realms and levels of creation." (36:77-83) Above Paradise subsists the Garden of Essence to which the mystic lovers and know-ers aspire, which is not creation, neither time nor eternity, but God Himself.
There exists, however, no hierarchy of Divine Presence, because God's Creation is not in any way alienated or distant from its exalted Creator. "During six primal and measureless Days of Power, the Supreme Source radiated the luminous structure of the planetary realm and the seven heavenly realms as tangible and intangible planes of Being. The Source of Being is mystically established upon this vast Throne of Manifestation. The full Divine Presence can therefore be subtly experienced throughout creation." (7:54-56)
The Koranic vision of creation should not be thought of as abstract or metaphysical. It remains direct and existential, intimately related to our daily experience. "Turn ceaselessly toward Allah Most High, whose Power presents you this green planet as resting place and this brilliant tent of stars as inspiration, Whose Mercy descends as sweet rain to create the earthly fruits you need for sustenance." (2:21-25) Nonetheless, we should not read the Holy Koran as some primitive perception of the world which equates, for instance, heavenly realms with the starry nighttime sky. "Cosmic space is but the reflection of the lowest and least subtle of the seven heavens and is a reservoir of energy for the preservation of the earthly plane of Being." (41:9-12)
The hierarchical structure of Being exists, not out of some impersonal metaphysical necessity, but precisely for the spiritual elevation of the soul, a process of great delicacy which the Holy Koran likens to the development of the foetus in the womb. The higher levels of Being, as well as the planetary plane of existence, are no less than the perfect expression of the infinite Divine Mercy. "So the Source of Power created seven progressively more subtle planes of existence and consciousness, revealing on each plane a new level of love and knowledge for the souls who will return along this path of mystical ascension into the Source of Peace." (41:9-12)
The mystics of Islam find in these Koranic texts the confirmation of their own direct inner experience of seven levels of awareness, each one more refined and more extensive, which culminate in the ultimate experience of mystical union. This spiritual culmination, expressed by Sufi poets and described figuratively by God Most High in His Holy Koran, remains essentially beyond conception or description, as God Himself does, because this supreme illumination simply is God.
Those truly mature human beings in every culture who actually encounter the universe in this way—not just reading a metaphysical map or following with blind faith, but as a direct vision through prophetic eyes-are described by this meditation on the revealed words of the Koran: "Those whose whole being is oriented toward the Source of Being do not perceive the slightest imperfection or injustice in the boundless kingdom of the All-Merciful One." (67:1-4) What humanity, when using its own circumscribed concepts, falsely perceives as a chaotic field of physical energy, as a world of chance and conflict, is truly perceived in the light of revelation as a perfect kingdom. "
The notion that creation and the heavens are there for our spiritual elevation finds resonance in the ginanic literature as well. In the ginan "Duniya Sirjine Shah more", Pir Sadardeen says:
ejee jumlojee puchhe aapannaa jeevu(n)naa peerne
amaraapureenaa ghar chhe kevaajee............................6
The Jamaats ask the Peer(Guide) of the souls: what is the nature of the eternal abode?
ejee sonaanee i(n)ttaddee ne rupaanaa tha(m)bhajee
saav kasturee keraa gaaraajee................................7
The bricks are of gold and the pillars are of silver. The plaster is of pure musk.
ejee evaa evaa mohol apanne saahebe upaayaajee
karannee kamaavo to e ghar paamojee..........................8
Such are the mansions our Lord has built. Earn good deeds so that you may earn such an abode.
The following two verses of the ginan: 'Abdu Man Jite man ichhaa fal upage' combine the notion of the seven heavens on the one hand and the notion of prosperity and paradise discussed under the subject of Kauther.
abdhu ghatt maa(n)he reedh seedh hay, ane ghatt maa(n)he anhad chaalaa;
ghatt maa(n)he bhaag lagaayaa baabu, ghattmaa(n)he see(n)chann
haaraa abdhu...................................................19
O slave! Real prosperity and success is in the heart, and there are unlimited movements in the heart. In the heart is the garden of fortune, brother, and in the heart is the waterer(of mercy).
abdhu ghattmaa(n)he navkha(n)d peerodhamee, ane ghattmaa(n)he hay kevalaasaa;
ghattmaa(n)he saat samuddhra kaa vaasaa, gur beenaa jaay peeyaasaa abdhu.........................20
kevalaas - one of the peaks of the Himalayas
O slave! In the heart is the expanse of the earth with nine continents, and in the heart is one of the peaks of the Himalays(the entire creation encompassing the horizontal and vertical limits is in the heart). The heart is the place of the seven seas(of mercy), but without the Guide one goes thirsty(the Guide opens the doors to the seven oceans(heavens)).
In essence the heart is the locus of our perception of reality and the extent to which we are able to perceive reality will depend upon the quality and the elevation of the heart. For the Perfect Man - al insan al kamil, the entire creation will be mirrored in his heart wheras others will have only a limited perception. In this respect the heavens are really contained in the heart and are not outside.
There is a hadith which states: "I (God) could not be contained in the heavens and the earth but could be contained in the heart of the true believer."
abdhu ghatt maa(n)he reedh seedh hay, ane ghatt maa(n)he anhad chaalaa;
ghatt maa(n)he bhaag lagaayaa baabu, ghattmaa(n)he see(n)chann
haaraa abdhu...................................................19
O slave! Real prosperity and success is in the heart, and there are unlimited movements in the heart. In the heart is the garden of fortune, brother, and in the heart is the waterer(of mercy).
abdhu ghattmaa(n)he navkha(n)d peerodhamee, ane ghattmaa(n)he hay kevalaasaa;
ghattmaa(n)he saat samuddhra kaa vaasaa, gur beenaa jaay peeyaasaa abdhu.........................20
kevalaas - one of the peaks of the Himalayas
O slave! In the heart is the expanse of the earth with nine continents, and in the heart is one of the peaks of the Himalays(the entire creation encompassing the horizontal and vertical limits is in the heart). The heart is the place of the seven seas(of mercy), but without the Guide one goes thirsty(the Guide opens the doors to the seven oceans(heavens)).
In essence the heart is the locus of our perception of reality and the extent to which we are able to perceive reality will depend upon the quality and the elevation of the heart. For the Perfect Man - al insan al kamil, the entire creation will be mirrored in his heart wheras others will have only a limited perception. In this respect the heavens are really contained in the heart and are not outside.
There is a hadith which states: "I (God) could not be contained in the heavens and the earth but could be contained in the heart of the true believer."
The following poem by one of the great Muslim/Hindu mystics Kabir resonates the message of the ginan above.
The Lord is in Me
By Kabir
(15th Century)
English version by Andrew Harvey
The Lord is in me, and the Lord is in you,
As life is hidden in every seed.
So rubble your pride, my friend,
And look for Him within you.
When I sit in the heart of His world
A million suns blaze with light,
A burning blue sea spreads across the sky,
Life's turmoil falls quiet,
All the stains of suffering wash away.
Listen to the unstruck bells and drums!
Love is here; plunge into its rapture!
Rains pour down without water;
Rivers are streams of light.
How could I ever express
How blessed I feel
To revel in such vast ecstasy
In my own body?
This is the music
Of soul and soul meeting.
Of the forgetting of all grief.
This is the music
That transcends all coming and going.
The Lord is in Me
By Kabir
(15th Century)
English version by Andrew Harvey
The Lord is in me, and the Lord is in you,
As life is hidden in every seed.
So rubble your pride, my friend,
And look for Him within you.
When I sit in the heart of His world
A million suns blaze with light,
A burning blue sea spreads across the sky,
Life's turmoil falls quiet,
All the stains of suffering wash away.
Listen to the unstruck bells and drums!
Love is here; plunge into its rapture!
Rains pour down without water;
Rivers are streams of light.
How could I ever express
How blessed I feel
To revel in such vast ecstasy
In my own body?
This is the music
Of soul and soul meeting.
Of the forgetting of all grief.
This is the music
That transcends all coming and going.