notifications_active Weekly Meshkat-e Noor Session: Thursdays at 20:30 at Haj Reza Mosque
See also #سوال2426.
الرعد : 15 و لله یسجد من فی السماوات و الأرض طوعا و کرها و ظلالهم بالغدو و الآصال
All those in the heavens and the earth prostrate to God, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows, morning and evening.
The shadow of anything is its image cast in the presence of light; it appears and disappears as the light rises and sets. The form and reality of created things are subject to, and overcome by, the reality that encompasses them. Through their acts of worship, creatures display the Creator’s beauty; in their inner reality and in the order of creation, they bow down to God—even when they rebel, for nothing in the external world comes to pass except by the will of the Real.
From one perspective, the shadow of any object is its appearance before the light. When light strikes an object, the object is revealed from one side; from the other, it acts as an obstacle to the light, casting a darkness of its own. What it reflects is made of light, while whatever it cannot reveal through light takes the form of a shadow. That shadow, too, depends on the same light: it is the result of its radiance, rising and setting. It appears with the light’s rising and vanishes with its setting. The form and reality of all beings are subject to, and overcome by, the reality that encompasses them; what they possess is measured by the share they receive from the reality that surrounds them. Through their worship, beings in truth reveal the beauty and grandeur of their Creator. Ultimately, every being prostrates to God in its inner reality and in the order of its creation, even when accompanied by defiance, for nothing comes to be in the world except by the will of the Real.
We must therefore attend to the hidden and manifest dimensions of beings, their inner and outer realities.
The formation of a shadow requires particular conditions; if these are not present, there will be no shadow.
A shadow, in order to form, requires creation.
Both light and darkness—gloom and blackness—are made and created by God. Had the Creator of existence not brought the shadow into being, no trace of it would exist.
Our being has many dimensions, and each one, before a light of its own kind, will cast a shadow suited to it.
As the dimensions of our being respond to light—absorbing it, letting it pass through, or blocking it—they reveal distinct forms of shadow.
A shadow is not necessarily black, nor does it mean an absence of light. It can also be coloured, depending on how the essences of things respond to light and to the vibrations of radiation.
The example of clear and coloured glass can help make this idea clearer.
From another perspective, a shadow can also be understood in other ways, including as prayer, desire, grace, attention, and so on.
To be continued.