Al-Lawh al-Mahfuz
اللَّوح المَحفوظDefinition
'The Preserved Tablet,' on which Allah inscribed all that would come into being before He created the heavens and the earth. Mentioned in Qur'an 85:21-22. The Qur'an itself is said to be inscribed on it.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Al-Lawh al-Mahfuz.
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"Now let's return to the main point. The heart can sometimes conceive the reality and image of the world from the senses, and at other times from the preserved tablet. Just as the eye can perceive the sun directly or through its reflection in water, the heart can see things through the preserved tablet when the veil is lifted, allowing knowledge to flow directly without relying on the senses. This is like water flowing from deep within the earth. Conversely, focusing on sensory imaginations can act as a barrier to witnessing the preserved tablet, just as looking at a reflection of the sun in water is not the"
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 21: The Book of the Wonders of the Heart
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"The heart is veiled from the realities by five causes previously mentioned, acting like a drawn curtain between the mirror of the heart and the preserved tablet, inscribed with all that Allah has decreed until the Day of Judgment. The illumination of the realities of knowledge from the mirror of the tablet into the mirror of the heart resembles the reflection of an image from one mirror to another facing it. At times the veil between the two mirrors is removed by the hand, or it is moved by the blowing wind that shifts it. Similarly, the winds of grace may blow, lifting the veils from the eyes of the hearts, revealing some of what is inscribed in the preserved tablet."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 21: The Book of the Wonders of the Heart
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"corresponds to the real world, separate from human imagination and heart. While the existing world aligns with the copy in the preserved tablet, the world can be understood as having four levels of existence. First, there is its existence in the preserved tablet, which comes before its physical form. Then, there is its real existence, followed by its imaginative existence, which is its form in our imagination. Finally, there is its intellectual existence, which is the image held in the heart. Some of these existences are spiritual, while others are corporeal, with varying degrees of spirituality among them. This reflects the divine wisdom"
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 21: The Book of the Wonders of the Heart
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