A Study of Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i-Iqan, The Book of Certitude

Three Levels of Certitude (Paras 100 and 216)

O affectionate seeker! Shouldst thou soar in the holy realm of the spirit, thou wouldst recognize God manifest and exalted above all things, in such wise that thine eyes would behold none else but Him. “God was alone; there was none else besides Him.” So lofty is this station that no testimony can bear it witness, neither evidence do justice to its truth. Wert thou to explore the sacred domain of truth, thou wilt find that all things are known only by the light of His recognition, that He hath ever been, and will continue for ever to be, known through Himself. And if thou dwellest in the land of testimony, content thyself with that which He, Himself, hath revealed: “Is it not enough for them that We have sent down unto Thee the Book?” [Qur’an 29:51] This is the testimony which He, Himself, hath ordained; greater proof than this there is none, nor ever will be: “This proof is His Word; His own Self, the testimony of His truth.” (Para 100)

Baha’u’llah speaks of three distinct levels of certitude. The issue at hand is how to recognize the Manifestation of God. The thesis is that God (and His Manifestation) can be recognized through His own self and through His revealed word. Three tools are offered: (1) our independent spiritual powers and susceptibilities, (2) our intellect, and (3) evidence form the scripture. These three levels of certitude are:

“the holy realm of the spirit”: at this level the seeker can simply “see” God and recognize Him without the need for an external evidence. In fact he can see nothing but God. At this level the existence of all other things pales into nothingness, and therefore the sekker can say that “God was alone; there was none else besides Him.”

“the sacred domain of truth”: at this level the seeker can see both God, and also other things. He will also recognize that he can only understand other things properly as a result of his recognition of the existence of God. If he removes or ignores the presence of God, then other things will also cease to make sense.

“the land of testimony”: a this level the seeker is not using his own reasoning, or his own spiritual powers; instead he is relying on the quotations from the sacred scripture to which he is accustomed; this is a lower level of certitude, but even at this level there is abundant materials to convince him

Traditionally in Islam there are three levels, stations or degrees of certitude: These are:

Ilmu’l-Yaqin: certitude of knowing, which is rational (e.g. to hear or know about fire)

‘Yinu’l-Yaqin: certitude of seeing (e.g. to see the fire)

Nuru’l-Yaqin, or Haqu’l-Yaqin: the light of certitude, which is experiential (e.g. to experience burning)

In reference to these levels or stations of certitude para 216 states:

Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker's heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour will the mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit, shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the morn, and, through the trumpet-blast of knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber of negligence. Then will the manifold favours and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of divine Revelation and the evidences of an everlasting manifestation. (Para 216)