You Can’t See

Sheryl Martin
Jul 30, 2017 · 5 min read

In Surah Al-Kahf (The Cave), is a story of Moses seeking additional knowledge by searching for the place where the “two seas meet” (v.60). Moses had been given instructions that the place where the two seas meet is at the very point where the fish his servant had brought for lunch and swam away would be the place where he would meet the Teacher he was seeking. The section in the Qur’an before the story of Moses prepares the listener for the teaching emphasis: “Who could be more wrong than the person who is reminded of his Lord’s messages and turns his back on them, ignoring what his hands are storing up for him [in the Hereafter]? We have put covers over their hearts, so they cannot understand the Qur’an, and We have put heaviness in their ears: although you call them to guidance [Prophet] they will never accept it” (vs. 54–57). The person who “turns his back” symbolizes the person who turns their back on the Lord’s Light, and instead faces the darkness of their own shadows. This person will not be able to discern the truth, as their hearts are veiled by the negative attributes of their ego. They will live and operate within the world of forms or matter, whose understanding is based only within the physical and not the spiritual.

The person Moses is to meet has been surmised to be the mythological archetype prophetic figure (Khidr) whose esoteric understanding and actions derive directly from revelation and clear guidance from Allah. Alternatively, Moses is the exoteric symbol of human beings who only see and understand with the eyes of the world; which is the representation of matter and not the spiritual. Where the two seas meet is a metaphor of a fresh water sea and a salt water sea which signifies the dividing line between the physical and the spiritual. The world of matter is separated from the domain of the spiritual, so the person who refuses to seek the deeper meaning derived from esoteric knowledge will have a lack of spiritual growth. The symbolism of the fish swimming away unnoticed by Moses and his servant is the significant wisdom and knowledge Moses was hoping to obtain, but because of his inability to look deeper in the consciousness for the symbolism of hidden meaning, he loses the opportunity to learn.

Moses eventually meets up with “Khidr” and asks him if he may follow him so that he may learn from him. Moses is asked, “How could you be patient in matters beyond your knowledge?” (v. 68) Moses reassures the Prophet that he will be patient and not disobey. The Prophet relents and allows Moses to travel with him, but tells him not to ask questions regarding his actions until the Prophet is ready to teach him (the deeper meanings). The first action of the Prophet is to make a hole in a boat, and subsequently Moses immediately disobeys by questioning the Prophet’s actions. The Prophet reminds Moses that he told him he would not be able to be patient, but Moses again promises he will not question him again. In the next event Moses harshly questions the Prophet for killing a young boy, and again is admonished by the Prophet, whereby Moses replies the Prophet can banish him if he again questions the Prophet. The third incident happens when they arrive in a village and are refused hospitality. The Prophet sees a wall and begins repairing it, and Moses speaks when he shouldn’t have by telling the Prophet he could have received money for repairing the wall, and therefore been able to purchase food for the two of them in the village. The Prophet tells Moses that they must “part company” for Moses did not comply with the Prophet’s instructions. Moses in his worldly nature, disobeys and disbelieves, thereby representing the disbelievers mentioned in the previous section who refused to understand thereby having covers placed over their hearts. It is the heart that understands deeper spiritual truths (“the heart of understanding”), and not only just the rational intellect. The Prophet then reveals the underlying reasons for his actions: “the boat belonged to some needy people who made their living from the sea and I damaged it because I knew that coming after them was a king who was seizing every [serviceable] boat by force. The young boy had parents who were people of faith, and so, fearing he would trouble them through wickedness and disbelief, we wished that their Lord should give them another child — purer and more compassionate — in his place. The wall belonged to two young orphans in the town and there was buried treasure beneath it belonging to them. Their father had been a righteous man, so your Lord intended them to reach maturity and then did up their treasure as a mercy from your Lord” (vs. 79–82).

The Prophet is blessed with foreknowledge by Allah, and follows the directions of Allah only. Therefore, the Prophet’s actions are not understood by veiled eyes. That is why it is necessary to obey the Prophet who is Allah’s direct representative on earth. You cannot see with the eyes of truth if you are looking only to your own understanding of spiritual matters. The ways of the world are not the ways of Allah — the supernatural operates in an alternative reality that only the Prophet is allowed to see and understand. Human beings live in the world of forms and don’t necessarily understand the ambiguities of the spiritual world. The spiritual symbols and archetypes are latent within your minds but because you haven’t gone deep enough within your consciousness to discover the buried hidden truths, you are unable to gain its meaning. Imagine viewing a beautiful abstract painting where the artist hid a deeper layer of meaning but you are unable to see it because you didn’t reflect with your intuitive sense so were only able to grasp that which is only perceived by the visual.

I am residing in the prison of judgement because you can’t “see” what I am able to see. Like Moses, you don’t understand my actions, and continually focus through the darkened veils of your worldly perceptions. I am tired of being your pet observable object, with your stones of misunderstanding being thrown at me with a poor attempt at control. Like Khidr, I must leave those who misunderstand behind and move forward towards the beloved in the place of “knowing.”

“How can meaning be squeezed into the box of Form? What business has the Sultan in this beggar’s realm? In the end, what can he know who worships form, heedless of meaning? Tell me: what business can he have with the beauty of a hidden Beloved?”

(Divine Flashes, Fakhruddin ‘Iraqi, p. 90–91)

Sheryl Martin

Written by

It is suffering that shoots streams of creativity out of my heart, and the brokenness of life that explodes my heart into its soul.

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