In Chapter 23 of his masterpiece, Wajh-i Din, Sayyidna Nasir-i Khusraw provides a beautiful account of the festival of Id al-Fitr. He explains that Id al-Fitr is a symbol of Mawlana Ali, who is known as the Asas or Foundation. Just as Id liberates people from hunger, Mawlana Ali liberates the mumins from ignorance. In zahir, the mumins celebrate and enjoy festive foods, while in batin they feast on spiritual nourishment, which is the ta’wil (esoteric knowledge) provided by Mawlana Ali to the believers.
Ismailimail 
An event in nature that would both literally and symbolically match this duality of explanations as described by Nasir Khusraw(the zahir and the batin) is the ubiquitous process of Photosynthesis in green plants in nature:
In Photosynthesis, green plants capture uv light from the sun, convert it into chemical energy in the form of well-known high-energy molecules, then use this energy to power a reaction where carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and combined with water to create food or nourishment(carbohydrate or sugar), releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere. The image of taking light from the sun and using it to create nourishment in the form of food can be a symbol of the light(noor) of Imam providing spiritual nourishment for an individual human soul.
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/a-cosmos-full-of-signs-and-symbols-that-evoke-the-perfection-of-allahs-creation-and-mercy/
Mawlana Hazar Imam has said that the whole cosmos is filled with such events that are signs and symbols of deeper truths and realities:
“As Sura al-Baqara proclaims: ‘Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah’.The famous verse of ‘light’ in the Qur’an, the Ayat al-Nur, whose first line is rendered here in the mural behind me, inspires among Muslims a reflection on the sacred, the transcendent. It hints at a cosmos full of signs and symbols that evoke the perfection of Allah’s creation and mercy”(Aga Khan IV,Speech, Institute of Ismaili Studies, October 2003, London, U.K.)
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html
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Is the book, ‘Wajh-i Din’, available in English?If so, where could I obtain a copy?
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Subhanallah! Exactly my first question as I was reading the first line of your post. Has this great book of Sayyidna Hakim Nasir-i Khusraw (r.a.) been translated in English? If so please could you give me the contact of obtaining some for myself and my friends? Thank you
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Nasir Khusraw’s, the Ruby of Badakhshan
http://books.google.com/books?id=cPoKXqMbXpAC&
is a highly recommended book.
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It may be worth checking out at the Literature
Counter at your JK before ordering.
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The Institute of Ismaili Studies has done extensive research on Nasir Khusraw, as seen in this first post:
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/08/390nasir-khusraw-another-fatimid.html
Other material on Nasir Khusraw:
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/04/345more-about-hakim-pir-nasir-khusraw.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/03/336nasir-khusraws-poetry-reflecting.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/05/3592-intellectual-giants-speak-to-each.html
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The Key That Opens All Doors
You have touched
The heart of millions
You have left
An imprint on their souls
They look to you
For guidance
So as not to
Encounter pitfalls
You hold the key
To the future
That key
That opens all doors
We bow to you
In humility
And pray that
Each soul to heaven soars
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