The Circle Of The Qur'an #2[The Arkaan Series|Book One]

21 |The Marabout's 1000 Profound Steps. [Five Secrets(2)]

Thus the Doyen Sheikh Tariq thought this a perfect time to bring the subject up again.

“Grandmaster, about the quest of the Marabout, you said..” The Grand Doyen's lips parted at this in a benign smile, knowing with a certainty what the mind of his previous apprentice was unto. He raised his head to look in the younger scholar's eyes; they said it all.. The young scholar was still harrowed by not having been able to achieve the objective of the quest.

“Since you're past the level of challenging the quest once again, I'll let you in on a little secret of the quest,” The Grand Doyen winked at him and smiled, humour and mirth brimming his eyes. His countenance somehow only increased in divine radiance and piety. 

“A 1000 steps, 200 archways, five sets of inscriptions; when apart, each a single essence, when combined.., complete and comprehensive.

You must have realized a pattern..?” The Grand Doyen raised a snowflaked brow, and looked directly at the Doyen Sheikh Tariq. The younger man's eyes lit up slightly, for even though he was confused by the elderly man's words just now, he did notice a pattern in the quest...

“Na'am. But not anything I found quite strange. The Mutashaabihaat (recurring verses in Qur'an) are ubiquitous in Qur'an, and so would the words denoting them, and thus the inscriptions also.” But then the Sheikh's eyes suddenly squinted in thoughtfulness.“Even if there is a pattern as you say, each set of inscriptions still, always end up pointing to a particular Ayah of the Qur'an.

That is too much of a coincidence for the ãyaat not to be the main reason for the quest.”

“And that's the whole complex conundrum of the quest!” The Grand Doyen exclaimed in elation, there was humour and excitement in his eyes, as if something was both funny and amazing at the same time,“My master was quite adept in his in-depth knowledge of the Qur'an, peerless in his age if I should say.” The old man's eyes held praise for the ingenuity of the Grand Marabout, but then he sighed a second later whilst stating,“That's why till now, even though people do not actually realize the truth of the quest.., it still quite makes sense to them.

It's like an intricate Qur'an maze he has built, hiding the true essence. Only a Legacy student can truly find it.”

Then adding in a declaratory voice, he said,“Contrary to what popular thought is, the letters on the voussoirs and the keystones don't each correspond to an ayah of profundity on their own as you ascend the Steps...

You might be knowledgeable, but even that has eluded you, Sheikh Tariq.”

...

Even as Sheikh Tariq remembered these words from the Grand Doyen from a time before, Abdul Bâqi's answer resounded in his ears, each statement resonating like thunderclaps on a stormy night,“In fact, all the nine archway paths are just one Ayah!

There's only one Ayah that can be gleaned from all the one thousand steps!!!

Each voussoir and keystone inscription, representing each of the 1000 steps of the Profound Steps quest—all come together to reveal a single Ayah!” The boy repeated, as though wanting to indelibly inscribe his words into each and every one of the hearts present there in Sky Legacy Haven that night. His eyes glowed brightly like stars, and his aura was as the radiance of wisemen expounding their secrets to the general masses. A blinding charisma exuded boundlessly, in and around him. Sheikh Tariq's eyes widened, looking at him in a new light. Those were the exact words of the Grand Doyen when he spoke about the motive of the Qur'an quest being contrary to what popular thought was.