Where Is the Malakut of the Fetus, and What Does the Hiddenness of the Malakut of the Fetus Mean?

We have all seen the gentle movement of a beautiful fish in a small pond or tank many times, swimming in any direction it wants. Perhaps if we could understand the language of this creature and ask about its perception of existence, it would excitedly tell us that the vastness of its world is limited to this small environment. What it does not see but completely surrounds it is an infinite world which is the reason why it is still alive. This world is the malakut of the fish, and the hiddenness of the malakut is one of its features.

The state of the fetus floating in the mother’s womb is not unlike that of the small fish. The hiddenness of the malakut causes the fetus to be unaware of his original malakut, which is the mother. At the same time, his entire existence depends on the life of his mother every single second. If we deeply study the vast expanse of existence, we will realize that the world is a vast and wondrous realm which contains other small realms called wombs or eggs in order to prepare the ground for the creation and growth of other beings. Although those growing beings, from the seed hidden inside the hard shell of a grain to the embryo of an animal confined inside the space of an egg, have no perception of the magnificence of their own malakut or this world. In other words, there is no distance between the fetus and his malakut, and he is encircled by his malakut yet he has no realization of being enveloped by it.

What Is the Fetus Deprived of Perceiving?

What do we mean when we say the fetus is deprived of perceiving his own malakut? What truths can the fetus not understand? To answer this question, let us take another look at the opening lines.

We stated that the mother is the malakut of the fetus, and with a broader view, this whole world is considered the malakut of the fetus. As we mentioned in the article on seeing the malakut of objects, the malakut and its power exists in all the elements and components of the physical world. In other words, the malakut is regarded as the administrator of the physical world.

The malakut or metaphysics is a hidden reality; therefore, as long as the fetus continues his life in the limited space of the womb, he is deprived of perceiving his mother’s love and enjoying the pleasure of being in her embrace and grow up under her affectionate care. He only establishes a limited, blood-related connection with the mother through the umbilical cord and placenta and completes his developmental process.

Everything that exists in this world is created for the fetus, but he is unaware of any of it – the beauties of creation, the wonders of the heavens and earth, the rules and complexities of social life, all kinds of drinks, foods, etc. It seems that being unaware of the malakut of the mother’s womb deprives the fetus of perceiving many pleasures and developing in many areas. He just needs to get out of the limited, temporary world of the womb to see what beauties and wonders wait for him.

The Hiddenness of the Malakut Is Not a Barrier to Seeing It

Our world is situated in the heart of the unseen world and receives all its energy and power of motion from the unseen. God has repeatedly asked human beings to see the unseen world; He regards the seeing and understanding the presence and influence of the unseen as so evident that He asks the disbelievers “Do you not see the unseen? Then why do you deny it?” The hiddenness of the malakut is no obstacle to seeing it, but seeing it is difficult for us, just like the fish!

Once upon a time, in a great sea, a little fish heard a bird say, “O God, thank You for creating water for us to quench our thirst and gain sustenance from it.” The little fish, not knowing what water was, asked its parents about it and they inquired from the bigger fish. But no one in the land of fish knew about water. Gradually, water occupied the minds of the fish.

The fish heard from animals that water is one of the most important elements of existence, and the lives of all creatures depend on it. They realized that water is fresh, sweet, cool, pleasant to drink, and full of countless blessings. The fish were upset that they had never seen water before and had been deprived of this blessing, so they decided to make a journey onto land in search of water. The bravest fish was chosen to uncover this mystery. It flung itself high onto the shore and landed hard on the hot sand. Under the sunlight, its scales dried up, and it could no longer breathe. Only then did the fish realize they had lived their whole lives in water.

The unseen world encompasses the physical world, just as the world surrounds the mother’s womb. There is no distance between the world and the mother’s womb. The distance and proportion between the hereafter and this world are the same as the distance and proportion between this world and the mother’s womb. Our eyes are incapable of seeing Barzakh because we are still in the womb of this world and have not acquired the ability required to see Barzakh, which has different qualities. Not seeing the malakut and considering it separate from this world is exactly like seeing this world as detached from the mother’s womb.

What Message the Hiddenness of the Malakut Hold for Us?

The world of existence has an eloquent language, and if we attentively listen to its whispers, we will discover many truths. One such truth is that the material world represents merely a fraction of the boundless existence, much of which remains concealed from our senses and understanding. Or that our temporary existence on this earthly sphere is not the end of our path; rather, we are enveloped in an endless malakut, but since the dust of habit and negligence has settled inside us, we do not perceive being surrounded by this astounding and intimate magnificence.

Perhaps another message of the hiddenness of the malakut for us is to make us think about the glorious process of entering this world and leaving it. It is just like that fetal period in the mother’s womb when we took advantage of every opportunity to prepare ourselves for starting a more complete life. In the limited time of worldly life too, we must spiritually develop ourselves for entering the very advanced and astounding malakut of the hereafter. To hear the soul-nourishing messages of the malakut, it is enough to free our hearts from the restrictions of wrong thoughts and habits, so we can hear the sound of the metaphysical world from the depths of our souls even in this physical world.[1]

Of course, perceiving the wonders of eternal life has another aspect which might be frightening: when we have not used the opportunity of worldly life to prepare ourselves for life in the hereafter. We will explore this aspect in subsequent lessons.

In this lesson, we discussed the hiddenness of the malakut and stated the fetus lives temporarily in the womb, and he is surrounded by the womb without any distance between the womb and his mother, i.e., the malakut. Although his life depends on his mother, due to the limitations and veil surrounding him, he has no perception of this malakut until after birth and does not derive any pleasures from it. We also stated that many of us are unable to understand or connect with the malakut, because we fail to cultivate inner purity. However, undoubtedly, there are numerous ways to polish the heart and gain an understanding of the malakut, which we will address in the upcoming lessons.

Please share your views on this topic with us.

[1]. “No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do.” (Quran, 32:17)