HIS is the DOMINION

F i r s t S e c t i o n : ‘The macrocosm is similar to the microcosm what is fashioned by His power is a massive expressing His determining.’ That is, the macrocosm, which is called the. universe, and the. microcosm, which is its miniature specimen and is called man, point to evidences of Divine Unity, both within man's self and without it, that arc written by the pens of Divine Power and Divine Determining.

There is within man the sample, on a very small scale, of the well-ordered art which is in the universe. And, just as the art which is in the vast sphere testifies to the Single Maker, so too the microscopic art which is on a tiny scale in man points to the Maker and demonstrates His Unity. Moreover, just as man is a most meaningful missive inscribed by his Sustainer, and a well-composed ode written by Divine Determining, so too is the universe a well-composed ode of Divine Determining written by that same pen, but on a vast scale.

Is it at all possible that anything other than the Single One of Unity could have a hand in placing the stamp of uniqueness on men's faces, which, although they resemble one another, all have their distinguishing marks; and have a hand in setting the seal of Unity on the universe, all of whose creatures cooperate, helping and supporting one another? Could anything else interfere in this?

S e c o n d S e c t i o n : ‘His creating the macrocosm makes it as a place of prostration, while. His giving of existence to the microcosm makes it as prostrating.' It has this meaning: the All-Wise Maker created the macrocosm in such a novel, wonderful form, inscribing on it the signs of His grandeur, that He transformed it into a mighty mosque. And He created man in this way: giving him intellect and causing him to prostrate in wonderment with it at those miracles of His art and at His wondrous power, He caused him to read the signs of His grandeur. And thus girding him ready for worship in that mighty mosque, He created him as a prostrating slave.

Is it all possible that the true object of worship of those prostrating worshippers in this mighty mosque could be other than the Maker, the One of Unity and Oneness?

T h i r d S e c t i o n : ‘His bringing the former into being makes it as a property, while His giving of existence. to the latter makes it as owned.’ It has this meaning: the Glorious Lord of All Dominion created the macrocosm, and especially the face of the earth, in such a form that it is like countless concentric circles or spheres. Every sphere is like an arable field where, minute by minute, season by season, century by century, He sows, reaps, and harvests crops. He continuously administers His property, causing it to work.

He has made the world of minute particles, which is the largest sphere, into a field. With His power and with His wisdom, He unceasingly sows crops in to the extent of the universe, and reaps and harvests them. He despatches them from the Manifest World to the World of the Unseen, from the sphere of power to the sphere of knowledge.

Next He has made the face of the earth, which is a medium sphere, a place of cultiviation in exactly the same way, where, season by season, He plants worlds, species, and reaps and harvests them. And His immaterial crops too He sends to the immaterial worlds, to the Worlds of the Unseen, and the Hereafter, and the World of Similitudes.

A garden, too, which is a smaller sphere, He fills hundreds and thousands of times with power and empties with wisdom. And from the even smaller sphere of an animate creature, a tree or a human being, for example, He harvests crops which are a hundred times greater than the being itself. That is to say, the Glorious Lord of All Dominion creates all things, great and small, universal and particular, as a model, and clothes them in hundreds of ways in the weavings of His art, which are embroidered with continuously renewed inscriptions; He displays the manifestations of His Names, the miracles of His power. He has created everything in His property as a page; He writes meaningful letters in hundreds of ways on each page; He displays His wisdom, His signs, and He invites conscious creatures to read them.

Together with bringing this macrocosm into being in the form of a cultivated property, He has also created man and has given him such tools and abilities, senses, feelings, and especially such a soul, such desires, needs, appetities, greed and claims, that in that extensive property He made him like a creature totally owned and needy for the property.

Is it therefore at all possible that anything apart from the Glorious Lord of All Dominion Who makes everything, from the vast world of minute particles to a fly, as a field and cultivated property, and makes insignificant man a spectator, an inspector, a tiller, a merchant, a herald, a worshipper, and a slave in that vast property and takes him as an honoured guest and beloved addressee of Himself - could anything apart from Him have. free disposal over the property, be lord over the totally owned slave?

F o u r t h S e c t i o n : ‘His art in the former displays it as a book, while His colouring in the latter shines through speech.’ Its meaning is this: the Glorious Maker's art in the macrocosm is so meaningful that because it is manifest in the form of a book, thus making the universe like a huge volume, the human intellect has extracted the library of true natural science and philosophy from it and has written the library according to It. And that book of wisdom is bound to reality and draws assistance from reality to such a degree that it has been proclaimed in the form of the All-Wise Qur'an, which is a copy of that huge manifested book.‘His art in the former displays it as a book, while His colouring in the latter shines through speech.’ Its meaning is this: the Glorious Maker's art in the macrocosm is so meaningful that because it is manifest in the form of a book, thus making the universe like a huge volume, the human intellect has extracted the library of true natural science and philosophy from it and has written the library according to It. And that book of wisdom is bound to reality and draws assistance from reality to such a degree that it has been proclaimed in the form of the All-Wise Qur'an, which is a copy of that huge manifested book.

Moreover, just as His art in the universe is in the form of a book, describing its perfect orderedness, so too His colouring and the inscription of His wisdom in man has opened the flower of speech. That is, the art is so meaningful, sensitive, and beautiful that it has caused the components of that animate machine to speak, as though they were gramophones. While the art has given man such a Dominical colouring in his ‘fairest of forms’ that the flower of speech and expression, which is immaterial, insubstantial and living, has opened in his material, corporeal and solid head. And it has equipped the power of speech and expression, which is situated in man's head, with such exalted tools and abilities that it has caused it to develop and progress to a degree where man becomes the addressee of the Pre-Eternal Monarch. That is, the Dominical colouring in man's essential nature has opened the flower of Divine address.

Is it at all possible that anything other than the Single One of Unity could interfere in the fashioning of that art in creatures, which is in the form of a book, and in that colouring, in man whereby he attains to the station of speech and address? God forbid!

F i f t h S e c t i o n : ‘His power in the former reveals His majesty, while His mercy in the latter arrays His bounty.’ It has this meaning: Divine power in the macrocosm demonstrates the majesty of His Dominicality, whereas Dominical mercy arrays His bounties in man, who is the microcosm. That is, the Maker's power, in the degree of grandeur and Glory, creates the universe in the form of a palace so magnificent that its sun is a mighty electric light, its moon, a lamp, and its stars, candles, gilded fruits and scattered lights. And the face of the earth is a laden table, an arable field, a garden, a carpet; and its mountains, each a store, house, a mast, a fortress; and so on.

In the same way that He demonstrates in a brilliant manner the majesty of His Dominicality by providing all things on a vast Scale, in the form of the huge palace's necessities, His mercy too in the degree of Beauty, has bestowed on all creatures with spirits, and even on the most minute animate beings, the different varieties of His bounties. He has ordered their beings with these. Adorning them from head to toe with bounties, He embellishes them with kindness and generosity. He has counterpoised the Beauty of His mercy and that Glorious majesty, those microscopic tongues and that vast tongue.

That is, while the huge heavenly bodies like the suns and constellations are saying with the tongue of majesty: "O Glorious One! O Mighty one! O August One!", those tiny animate creatures, like flies and fishes are also declaring" but with the tongue of mercy: "O Beautiful One! O Compassionate One! O Generous One!"; they are adding their gentle songs to that great orchestra, sweetening it.

Is it at all possible that anything other than the All-Glorious One of Beauty and All-Beauteous One of Glory could interfere in any way in the creation of the macrocosm and microcosm? God forbid!

S i x t h S e c t i o n : ‘His majesty in the former testifies that He is One, while His bounty in the latter proclaims that he is Single, Undivided.’ Its meaning is this: just as the majesty of Dominicality, which is manifest in the totality of the universe, proves and demonstrates Divine Unity, so too Dominical bounty, which bestows on the members of animate creatures their regular provisions, proves and demonstrates Divine Oneness.

As for Unity, it is to say that all those creatures belong to One and they look to One and they are the creation of One. Whereas by Oneness is meant that most of the Names of the Creator of all things are manifest in all beings. For example, the light of the sun may be seen as analogous to Unity by reason of its comprehending the face of the earth. While the fact that its light and heat, the seven colours in its light and some sort of shadow of it are found in each transparent object and drop of water makes them analogous to Oneness. And, the fact that most of the Maker's Names are manifested in each thing, especially in each animate creature, and above all in man, points to Oneness.

Thus, this section indicates that the majesty of Dominicality, which has total disposal over the universe, makes the huge sun as a servant, lamp, and a stove for animate creatures on the face of the earth; and makes the mighty earth a cradle, a hostel, and place of trade for them; and fire, a cook and friend present everywhere; and clouds, strainers and wet-nurses; and mountains, storehouses and treasuries, and the air, a fan for animate creatures, for breathing in and out; and water, a nurse who suckles new arrivals to life and a seller of sweet drinks who supplies animals with the water of life this Divine Dominicality demonstrates Divine Unity in a most lucid manner.

Indeed, who other than the One Creator could subjugate the sun so that it is a servant to the inhabitants of the earth? And who other than the Single One of Unity could take the wind in His hand entrusting it with a great many duties and employing it as a swift and agile servant on the face of the earth? And who apart from the Single One of Unity would dare to make fire a cook, and to cause a tiny flame the size of a match-head consume thousands of tons of goods? And so on. Every single thing, every single element, every single heavenly body, points to the All-Glorious One of Unity, in the degree of the majesty of Dominicality.

Thus, just as Divine Unity is, apparent in the degree of Glory and majesty, so too bounty and munificence proclaim Divine Oneness in the degree of Beauty and mercy. This is because, within this all-embracing art, there are in animate creatures, and especially in man, faculties and abilities with which to understand, accept, and desire infinite varieties of bounties, and which reflect all the Divine Names manifested in the whole universe. Simply, like a point of focus, man displays all the Beautiful Names together by means of the mirror of is essence, and through it, proclaims God's Oneness.

S e v e n t h S e c t i o n : ‘His stamp on the former is on all things, universal and particular, while His seal on the latter is on the body and on the limbs.’ Its meaning is this: just as the Glorious Maker has a mighty stamp on the macrocosm as a whole, so too He has put a stamp of Unity on each of its parts and species. And, just as he has set the seal of Unity on the face and body of each human being, the microcosm, so too on each of their limbs is a seal of His Unity.His stamp on the former is on all things, universal and particular, while His seal on the latter is on the body and on the limbs.’ Its meaning is this: just as the Glorious Maker has a mighty stamp on the macrocosm as a whole, so too He has put a stamp of Unity on each of its parts and species. And, just as he has set the seal of Unity on the face and body of each human being, the microcosm, so too on each of their limbs is a seal of His Unity.

Indeed, the All-Powerful One of Glory has placed on everything, on universals and on particulars, on stars and on particles, a stamp of Unity which bears witness to Him. On each he has set a seal of Unity which points to Him. Since this greatest of truths has been elucidated and proved in most brilliant and decisive fashion in the Twenty-Second Word, the Thirty-Second Word, and the Thirty-Three Windows of the Thirty-Third Letter, we refer you to those, and cutting short the discussion, conclude it here.