Tayy al-Arḍ ( "folding up of the earth") is the name for
thaumaturgicalThaumaturgy is the capability of a saint or magician to work miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking...
teleportationTeleportation is supposed to be the transfer of matter from one point to another, more or less instantaneously, either by paranormal means or through technological means. Teleportation has been widely utilized in works of science fiction...
in the mystical form of
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
ic religious and
philosophicalIslamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between philosophy and the religious teachings of Islam .-Definition:...
tradition. The concept has been expressed as "traversing the earth without moving"; some have termed it "moving by the earth being displaced under one's feet". It is a concept widely familiar to the Sunnis, Shī‘īs and Sufis, each group having a different interpretation on it.
The dictionary of Dehkhoda defines Tay al-Ard as:
- "نوعی کرامت که بجای گام برداشتن و رفتن, زمین در زیر پای آدمی بتندی پیچیده شود و او به مقصد خویش هر چند دور باشد در مدتی بسیار کم رسد"
- "A type of keramat
In Islamic philosophy, irfan, and mysticism, keramat is a "thaumaturgic gift" akin to the miracles of prophets.Sufis believe that, whereas miracles can only be performed by prophets and are a testament to their prophethood, karaamaat are extraordinary things performed by Awliyaa' who are not...
in which instead of moving toward a destination by taking a step forward, the earth turns toward the traverser rapidly, no matter how far the destination be."
Ibn al-NadimAbu'l-Faraj Muhammad bin Is'hāq al-Nadim , whose father was known as al-Warrāq was of unknown origin although some sources refer to him as Persian Shi'ite Muslim scholar and bibliographer. Some scholars regard him as a Persian but this is not certain. He is famous as the author of the Kitāb...
defines it exactly the same way when he says:
- "و یذکر ان الارض تطوی له (میمون القداح) فیمضی الی این احب فی اقرب مده"
The concept of tei al-ardh has its roots in the following verses of the Chapter
al-NamlSurah Al-Naml is the 27th sura of the Qur'an with 93 ayat.-Summary:The surah tells the stories of various prophets, such as Moses, Solomon and Salih, which preached tawhid. The story of Solomon is more detailed. It is said that Solomon has converted Bilqis to the true religion after a hoopoe...
of the Quran:
- : "Solomon
Solomon is a figure described in the Hebrew Bible as a King of Israel and later in the Qur'an, where he is described as a Prophet. The biblical accounts identify Solomon as the son of David...
said (to his own men): 'Ye Chiefs! which of you can bring me the throne of Queen of ShebaThe Queen of Sheba was the woman who ruled the ancient kingdom of Sheba and is referred to in Habeshan history, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur'an....
before she and her envoys come to me in submission?' "
- : "Said an 'Ifrit, of the Jinn
In Islam, a Djinn is a supernatural creature which occupies a parallel world to that of mankind, and together with humans and angels makes up the three sentient creations of Allah...
s: 'I will bring it to thee before thou rise from thy council: indeed I have full strength for the purpose, and may be trusted.' "
- : "Said one who had knowledge of the Book: 'I will bring it to thee within the twinkling of any eye!' Then when (Solomon) saw it placed firmly before him, he said: 'This is by the grace of my Lord!'..."
The phrase "twinkling of an eye" is translated to mean in a very, very short time, i.e.
Tayy al-Arḍ ( "folding up of the earth") is the name for
thaumaturgicalThaumaturgy is the capability of a saint or magician to work miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking...
teleportationTeleportation is supposed to be the transfer of matter from one point to another, more or less instantaneously, either by paranormal means or through technological means. Teleportation has been widely utilized in works of science fiction...
in the mystical form of
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
ic religious and
philosophicalIslamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between philosophy and the religious teachings of Islam .-Definition:...
tradition. The concept has been expressed as "traversing the earth without moving"; some have termed it "moving by the earth being displaced under one's feet". It is a concept widely familiar to the Sunnis, Shī‘īs and Sufis, each group having a different interpretation on it.
Definitions and discussion
The dictionary of Dehkhoda defines Tay al-Ard as:
- "نوعی کرامت که بجای گام برداشتن و رفتن, زمین در زیر پای آدمی بتندی پیچیده شود و او به مقصد خویش هر چند دور باشد در مدتی بسیار کم رسد"
- "A type of keramat
In Islamic philosophy, irfan, and mysticism, keramat is a "thaumaturgic gift" akin to the miracles of prophets.Sufis believe that, whereas miracles can only be performed by prophets and are a testament to their prophethood, karaamaat are extraordinary things performed by Awliyaa' who are not...
in which instead of moving toward a destination by taking a step forward, the earth turns toward the traverser rapidly, no matter how far the destination be."
Ibn al-NadimAbu'l-Faraj Muhammad bin Is'hāq al-Nadim , whose father was known as al-Warrāq was of unknown origin although some sources refer to him as Persian Shi'ite Muslim scholar and bibliographer. Some scholars regard him as a Persian but this is not certain. He is famous as the author of the Kitāb...
defines it exactly the same way when he says:
- "و یذکر ان الارض تطوی له (میمون القداح) فیمضی الی این احب فی اقرب مده"
The concept of tei al-ardh has its roots in the following verses of the Chapter
al-NamlSurah Al-Naml is the 27th sura of the Qur'an with 93 ayat.-Summary:The surah tells the stories of various prophets, such as Moses, Solomon and Salih, which preached tawhid. The story of Solomon is more detailed. It is said that Solomon has converted Bilqis to the true religion after a hoopoe...
of the Quran:
- : "Solomon
Solomon is a figure described in the Hebrew Bible as a King of Israel and later in the Qur'an, where he is described as a Prophet. The biblical accounts identify Solomon as the son of David...
said (to his own men): 'Ye Chiefs! which of you can bring me the throne of Queen of ShebaThe Queen of Sheba was the woman who ruled the ancient kingdom of Sheba and is referred to in Habeshan history, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur'an....
before she and her envoys come to me in submission?' "
- : "Said an 'Ifrit, of the Jinn
In Islam, a Djinn is a supernatural creature which occupies a parallel world to that of mankind, and together with humans and angels makes up the three sentient creations of Allah...
s: 'I will bring it to thee before thou rise from thy council: indeed I have full strength for the purpose, and may be trusted.' "
- : "Said one who had knowledge of the Book: 'I will bring it to thee within the twinkling of any eye!' Then when (Solomon) saw it placed firmly before him, he said: 'This is by the grace of my Lord!'..."
The phrase "twinkling of an eye" is translated to mean in a very, very short time, i.e. almost instantaneously.
Some claim that according to these verses, it is the non-prophet Asif ibn al-Birkhia who transports the throne of Queen Sheba almost instantaneously. According to them, a
hadithHadith are oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Hadith are regarded by traditional schools of jurisprudence as important tools for determining the Muslim way of life, the sunnah. Hadith were originally oral traditions of Muhammad's actions and customs...
by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (POH) also confirms that Solomon transports the throne by Tay al-Ard in specific.
A precise definition of Tai al-Ardh has been offered by
Allama Qadhi, one of the masters of
Allameh TabatabaeiAllameh Seyyed Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei was one of the most prominent thinkers of philosophy and contemporary Shia Islam...
:
- اعدام جسم و بدن در مكان اوّل، و احضار و ايجادش در مكان مقصود
- "the ceasing and termination of matter in the initial location, and its appearance and re-creation in its final location (destination)"
Other explanations offered are also mystical in nature. A hadith by Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (POH) e.g. is narrated in which he attributes the aforementioned esoteric knowledge of Asif ibn Barakhia to the
Asma 'ullah or the "names of God", another widely discussed topic in
Islamic philosophyIslamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between philosophy and the religious teachings of Islam .-Definition:...
and
mysticismMysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or...
and even
kabbalahKabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation...
:
- "اسم اعظم خداوند، هفتاد و سه حرف است. آصف بن برخیا فقط یکی از آن حروف را میدانست که توانست زمین را درهم نوردد و قبل از یک چشم بر هم زدن، تخت بلیقس را از سرزمین سبا نزد سلیمان حاضر سازد؛ و ما ائمّه معصومین هفتاد و دو حرف از آن را میدانیم. یک حرف را هم خداوند به خودش اختصاص داده و تنها نزد اوست"
- "The Almighty's greatest name has 73 letters (or parts). Asif ibn Barakhia knew only one letter of it, which enabled him to traverse the earth in the blink of an eye. We Shia Imams however possess 72 of them. And the last letter is concealed from all creation and remains a secret to only the Almighty Himself."
In view of the above definitions, similarities and parallels between the modern notion of
teleportationTeleportation is supposed to be the transfer of matter from one point to another, more or less instantaneously, either by paranormal means or through technological means. Teleportation has been widely utilized in works of science fiction...
and
Tai ul-ardh are not difficult to come across. In a report to the
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
(dubbed:
AFRL-PR-ED-TR-2003-0034) in 2004, Eric W. Davis, Ph.D., recommended the study of p-Teleportation, which he defined as:
- "the conveyance of persons or inanimate objects by psychic means."
Being an allegedly esoteric knowledge by nature, it is not known exactly how it takes place, but theories and explanations abound. The most prevalent theory has to do with the concept of
consciousnessConsciousness is subjective experience or awareness or wakefulness or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena...
and will (اراده). The person wills to be some place, and he is then simply there an instant later. This view can perhaps be understood from the perspective of Western philosophical
idealismIdealism is the philosophical theory that maintains that the ultimate nature of reality is based on mind or ideas. It holds that the so-called external or "real world" is inseparable from mind, consciousness, or perception...
, where
esse est percipi: if space does not have an objective reality, and reality itself is thought of as
observer-based and a subjective entity , then ideas such as moving in space without actually physically moving are no longer uncharted possibilities.
In addition, the jinn are believed to possess this knowledge of transportation, however in a limited amount, as is evident again from the aforementioned Quranic verses.
History
Famous Sheikhs, Imams, and prominent figures in Islam, such as
Abusaeid AbolkheirAbusa'id Abolkhayr or Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr , also known as Sheikh Abusaeid or Abu Sa'eed, was a famous Persian Sufi who contributed extensively to the evolution of Sufi tradition.The majority of what is known from his life comes from the book Asrar al-Tawhid...
or Rumi or
Al-KhidrAl-Khiḍr is an enigmatic figure in Islam; some say he is a ‘Abdan Ṣālih while others say he is a prophet. Al-Khiḍr is best known for his appearance in the Qur'an in sura al-Kahf...
, were believed to possess
keramatIn Islamic philosophy, irfan, and mysticism, keramat is a "thaumaturgic gift" akin to the miracles of prophets.Sufis believe that, whereas miracles can only be performed by prophets and are a testament to their prophethood, karaamaat are extraordinary things performed by Awliyaa' who are not...
, and writings from medieval Islam are full of stories and reports of certain individuals possessing such a trait. For example,
Idries ShahIdries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.Born in India, the descendant...
and
Robert GravesGraves considered himself a poet first and foremost. His poems, together with his translations and innovative interpretations of the Greek Myths, his memoir of the First World war, Good-bye to All That, and his historical study of poetic inspiration, The White Goddess, have never been out of...
mention the case where senior members of the Azimia order were "reputed to appear, like many of the ancient Sheikhs at different places at one and the same time". Many other examples can be found in Attar's
Tadhkirat al-Awliya (
Biographies of the Saints) or the works of
Ibn ArabiIbn 'Arabī was an Andalusian Arab Sufi mystic and philosopher. His full name was Abū 'Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn 'Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn al-`Arabī al-Hāṭimī al-Ṭā'ī .-Biography:...
, as well as other similar chronicles. However, no one for sure has known the number and identity of all those who possess such knowledge, since according to Hujviri, those who hold such knowledge "do not know one another, and are not aware of the other's state of excellence, and are hidden from themselves and from mankind."
One of the most discussed phenomena of this supposedly esoteric knowledge is the event of traveling without actually moving (
طی الارض). Islamic texts and records (from the mystics) are full of such accounts from various eras. For example,
Bayazid BastamiBayazid Bastami , also known as Abu Yazid Bistami or Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bustami, was a Persian Sufi born in Bastam, Iran.- Background :...
has many such accounts, colored with mystical flavors, surrounding his life. In one account, he was asked, "They say you walk on water?" "A piece of wood can do that too," he replied. "They say you travel to
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
at night and return by dawn?" he was asked. "But a bird at flight can do that too" was his answer. "So what is the meaning of being human?" he was asked. "A human is he who does not fasten his heart to anything but God" came his reply. In all such and similar accounts, a certain individual of unusually high rank (a
SheikhSheikh, also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, Šeih, Šejh and other variants , is a word or honorific term in the Arabic language that literally means "elder". It is commonly used to designate an elder of a tribe, a revered wise man, or an Islamic scholar...
, Pir, or
ImamAn imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the leader of a mosque and the community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads the prayer during Islamic gatherings. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have an Islamic question...
) is seen to have the ability to travel long distances in almost instantaneous amounts of time.
Sunni view
Belief in the possibility of such charismata
keramatIn Islamic philosophy, irfan, and mysticism, keramat is a "thaumaturgic gift" akin to the miracles of prophets.Sufis believe that, whereas miracles can only be performed by prophets and are a testament to their prophethood, karaamaat are extraordinary things performed by Awliyaa' who are not...
by saints [Arabic: awliya] (Sufi shaykhs, pirs) is a part of classical orthodox Sunni doctrine [aqeedah] as, for example, listed in the Creed of Imam Tahawi(Aqidah Tahawiyyah) and all other orthodox Sunni treatises on religious doctrine and has been accepted as such since the earliest times of Islam. A hallmark of modernist, neo-Kharijite Islamic sects (like the Wahabis) is their denial of the possibility of such charismata by the Saints.
Tay al-Ard is one term used for this concept by the Sufi shaykhs (
SufismSufism or ' , also spelled as tasavvuf and tasavvof, is generally understood to be the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ' , though some adherents of the tradition reserve this term only for those practitioners who have attained the goals...
being the spiritual aspect of Sunni Islam). Some Sufis call the concept
tay al-makan ("folding of space"), the word
makan ("location") being used as a synonym for the word
ardh ("earth"). Both words are Arabic in origin, and both words are part of the Persian lexicon as well.
Shi'a view
The concept of Tay al-Ard also appears in Shia text such as the Usul-i Kafi. Shi'a particularly use the concept in the above Qur'anic verse in Shi'a-Sunni argumentations when accusations of over-meriting the Shi'a Imams are made. It is argued that if a non-prophet could teleport the throne, then it should present no theological objections against the belief that a Shi'a Imam, such as Imam Ali (POH), might be able to do the same . Imam
MahdiAccording to the Shia and Sunni versions of the Islamic eschatology the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on earth seven, nine, or nineteen years before the coming of the day, Yawm al-Qiyamah...
(POH) is widely believed to have a wide arsenal of
karamat including this concept at his disposal. Three hundred and one of Mahdi's believed 313 companions also are believed to have the knowledge of this concept.
In the Shia academia, this concept is a topic that can be seen widely studied by the likes of Ayatollah Marashi Najafi,
Allameh TabatabaeiAllameh Seyyed Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei was one of the most prominent thinkers of philosophy and contemporary Shia Islam...
, and
Mulla SadraṢadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī also called Mulla Sadrā Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī also called Mulla Sadrā Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī also called Mulla Sadrā (c...
.
Popular culture
Tay al-Ard bears comparison with the Spacing Guild's ability to fold space by means of the
Holtzman effectThe Holtzman effect is a fictional scientific phenomenon in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, beginning with the 1965 novel Dune...
in Frank Herbert's Dune universe, where it is similarly described as "travel without moving". Given the influence that Arabic culture had on Herbert during his research for the first Dune novel, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the two phenomena are related.
This concept is also quite similar to the description used in Madeleine L'Engle's
A Wrinkle In Time for "tesser-ing".
See also
- Astronomy in Islam
- Alchemy
Alchemy is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties...
- Hadith of Umar and prophecy
- Hadith of Umar and foretelling
- Karamat
- Islamic astrology
Astrology was a subject of study and debate by early Muslims. In early Arabic sources, ilm al-nujum was used to refer to both astronomy and astrology...
- Bilocation
Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be, or appears to be, located in two distinct places at the same instant in time...
- Quantum mind
-Introduction:The quantum mind hypothesis proposes that classical mechanics cannot fully explain consciousness, and suggests that quantum mechanical phenomena such as quantum entanglement and superposition may play an important part in the brain's function and could form the basis of an explanation...
- Consciousness causes collapse
- Shia Islam
- Kefitzat Haderech
Kefitzat Haderech and means, verbatim, "jumping of the path/road/way", a Hebrew equivalent of the English expression "short cut".In Torah study and Jewish folklore, kefitzat haderech is the ability to jump instantaneously from one place to another or travel with unnatural speed. The term is...
External links