QAB QAWSAYN - قاب قوسَيْن
Literally: The distance of two bow-lengths.
The name of the ma’nawî station where our Prophet Muhammed (asm) received the favour of the ru’yat of Allah at the utmost stage of his miracle of Mi’râj. Qab Qawsayn is mentioned in the Risale-i Nur as the station between imkân and wujûb.
Imkân literally means being possible, possibility, feasibility and practicability. The opposite of necessity, or necessary existence, which is wujûb.
As an Islamic term: Contingent beings. Contingency. The entirety of creation, where existence and non-existence hold equal possibility, and both require a cause to come into existence. Anything that depends on another being in order to exist. Whatever exists other than Al-Wajib Al-Wujûd. Allah, Who is Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd, chooses their existence through His will and irâdah and gives them a particular essence, a specific form, a distinct identity, particular attributes, qualities full of hikmah and beneficial organs from amongst the infinite possibilities.
“According to ‘Ilm al-Kalâm, contingency (imkân) is the equality of the two sides. That is, if there is no cause, then the existence and non-existence of the things — that are neither necessary (wâjib) nor impossible, but rather contingent and possible — are equal; there is no difference between them concerning the possibility of existing or not existing. Few or many, big or small, are the same in regard to this contingency (imkân) and equality.
Thus, creatures are contingent, and since, within the sphere of contingency (imkân), the possibility of their existence and non-existence are equal, the boundless azalî qoudrah of Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd breaks the balance of equality of the existence and non-existence of all contingent beings as easily as granting existence to a single contingent being. He clothes everything with an existence worthy of it. When the duty of that thing is completed, He takes off the garment of external material existence of that thing and sends it to a seeming non-existence but, in fact, sends it to a ma’nawî existence within the sphere of His ‘Ilm.”
The Fifteenth Ray-Second Station-2nd Step
Wujûb involves the totality of the essence, shuûn, attributes and names of Allah.
(For Qab Qawsayn refer to Qur’an 53:09 -17:01)
(For further explanation about imkân and wujûb, please refer to the Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd compilation.)
“The commands and authoritative Shuûn of the Sultân of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, Who is Al-Hâkim of the samâwât and the earth, Owner of the command of كُنْ فَيَكُونُ , and the Absolute Âmir, are in force in all the levels of creatures and are conformed to with perfect obedience and order. Each appears as a sphere of Rubûbiyyah, a level of rulership in the levels of creatures and classes of beings, which stretch from particles to the planets and from flies to the samâwât, and which, great and small, particular and universal, are all different but are such that they look one to the other.
Now, the way to understand the exalted aims and mighty results of the entire universe and to see all the different duties of ‘ubûdiyyah of all its levels; and, through observing the sovereignty of Rubûbiyyah of the One of Grandeur and the splendour of His rule, to understand what is pleasing to Him; and to be the herald of His sovereignty, is to make a journey through all those levels and spheres until al-‘arsh al-â’dham, which is the title of the greatest sphere, is reached; until Qab Qawsayn, that is indicated as the ma’nawî station between imkân and wujûb. It is to meet there with Al-Jalîl Zuljamâl. And this journey is the haqiqah of the Mi’raj.” The Words ( 590-591 )