In speaking on this subject I recall a poem of Shams Tabriz. He says:
"When the sun-faced One had arisen, each atom of the two worlds arose.
When the light of His face sent its shadow, by this shadow various names became.
The things, what were they?
The pictures of the names.
The atoms, what were they?
He, in reality.
The waves, what were they?
They were in reality the sea."

He explains clearly in this the mystery of shadow. What an astonishing thing it is that a thousand years ago someone should have explained this clearly, not as a belief or as a religion, but as a science. Much earlier still in the Vedanta this science has been explained fully. Puruah Shastra it is called.

Let us now consider the sparkling things lying on the carpet. Is the light contained in them? No. There is no light in them, but they reflect the light from the gaslight. The wood of the mantelpiece reflects the light. Its purity makes it able to reflect. If there were some other dark substances here, they could not reflect the radiance. If I take this brass cup and hold it against the light, its shadow will be very thick and dark. If I hold my handkerchief against the light, its shadow is not so dense. The substance of the handkerchief allows the light to pass through it. If I were to hold a glass against the light, its shadow would be very light. This shows us that the more the particles of any object group and collect together, the less it allows the light to pass through it. From this we see that it is not God's fault if one is wise, another foolish, one is virtuous, another a sinner. The light of God is always shining there, but according as we allow it to pass, we reflect its brightness less or more.

As I am sitting here, each one of you holds my reflection in his eye, and each one has a different reflection, according to the position in which he is sitting. This shows us how everything in the world is formed by the reflections and shadows falling according to the situation. In the East they have a great many superstitions connected with the shadow. They do not allow a child to look at the shadow, nor to see its reflection in a looking-glass. In Malabar a Brahman going to his bath, will never allow the shadow of another person to fall upon him. If someone is walking on the same side of the road as he, he will cross to the other side, rather than allow that person's shadow to fall upon him. Now they have given up these customs very much. They say, we have lost the true meaning, and we are ridiculed. But there is a great meaning behind.

According to our situation, our shadow is long or short, narrow or broad, it falls to the right or to the left, and all these things have a significance for the work upon which we are engaged. If we can compare the shadows of different people, we shall see that they differ from each other. Some are darker, some are lighter. It is very difficult to note the degree of depth of shadow, just as it is difficult to distinguish which of several shades of a dark stuff is the darkest. But if there were some machine which could register the depth of the shadows, we should be aware that they differ.

All the historians of Muhammed's time agree in saying that his shadow was never seen. This is found in Bukhari Sherif, and no contemporary historian contradicts him. In the strong sunlight of Arabia, the Prophet's shadow could not be seen. This was the living miracle of his existence. Nur, the light of God, was already shining in him. The light was there, the Prophet was not there. How should not the light of the sun shine through Him?

The reflection in the looking-glass, the shadow upon the earth, the reflection in the water, are different from one another. The shadow upon the earth is dark, because the earth has no light, is dark. These are the external shadows. There are also the shadows and reflections within. What is called clairvoyance is to allow the light within to pass through one so that these reflections are seen within. The shadow falls upon the earth, it falls also upon the space. And there it is much clearer. In the space the colors of the elements are reflected. It is very difficult to see this reflection in the space, because our eyes are so much accustomed to look at the things of the earth that they have become material, and they do not see that which is finer. The mystics, the Sufis, have ways of developing the eyes. They show you ways of looking into the space, that make the eyes capable of seeing what is reflected there. From these reflections the past, present, and future can be told, and all that surrounds a person.

Then there are the internal shadows, the shadows that fall upon the mind, all the shadows of the earth. These make our joy, our sorrow, our happiness, our misery, all that we are, according as they fall upon us. What is spoken of as inspiration, revelation, is to make oneself open to the light, to allow the light to pass through one. Then everything becomes known to the soul. The soul sees everything. It is the nafs, the self, that darkens us, and makes us unable to see. The more we group the atoms composing our self, the more solid we make it, the less the light is able to shine through us. The light is always there, but we do not give it a way through. The more our self is dissolved, the more the light of Allah will shine within us.