From the Risale-i Nur Collection

FRUITS FROM THE TREE OF LIGHT

(An Anthology of Writings by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi)

The First Word  

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

And from Him do we seek help.

Bismillah, "In the Name of God," is the start of all things good. We too shall start with it. Know, O my soul! Just as this blessed phrase is a mark of Islam, so it is constantly recited by all beings through their tongues of disposition. If you want to know what an inexhaustible strength, what an unending source of bounty is Bismillah, listen to the following story which is in the form of a com­parison. It goes like this:

Someone who makes a journey through the deserts of Arabia has to travel in the name of a tribal chief and enter under his protection, for in this way he may be saved from the assaults of bandits and secure his needs. On his own he will

perish in the face of innumerable enemies and needs. And so, two men went on such a journey and entered the desert. One of them was modest and humble, the other proud and conceited. The humble man assumed the name of a tribal chief, while the proud man did not. The first travelled safely wherever he went. If he encountered ban­dits, he said: "I am travelling in the name of such-and-such tribal leader," and they did not molest him. If he came to some tents, he was treated respectfully due to the name. But the proud man suffered indescribable calamities throughout his journey. He both trembled before everything and begged from everything. He was abased and became an object of scorn.

My proud soul! You are the traveller, and this world is a desert. Your impotence and poverty have no limit, and your enemies and needs are endless. Since it is thus, take the name of the Pre-Eternal Ruler and Post-Eternal Lord of the desert and be saved from begging before the whole uni­verse and trembling before every event.

Yes, this phrase is a treasury so blessed that your infinite impotence and poverty bind you to an infinite power and mercy; it makes your impo­tence and want a most acceptable intercessor at the Court of One All-Powerful and Compassion­ate. The person who acts saying, "In the Name of God," resembles someone who enrolls in the army. He acts in the name of the government; he has fear of no one; he speaks, performs every matter, and withstands everything in the name of the law and the name of the government.

At the beginning we said that all beings say "In the Name of God" through the tongue of disposi­tion. Is that so?

Indeed, it is so. If you were to see that a single person had come and had driven all the inhabi­tants of a town to a place by force and compelled them to work, you would be certain that he had not acted in his own name and through his own power, but was a soldier, acting in the name of the government and relying on the power of the king.

In the same way, all things act in the name of Almighty God, for minute things like seeds and grains bear huge trees on their heads; they raise loads like mountains. That means all trees say "In the Name of God," fill their hands from the treas­ury of Mercy, and offer them to us. All gardens say "In the Name of God," and become cauldrons from the kitchens of Divine Power in which are cooked numerous varieties of different foods. All blessed animals like cows, camels, sheep, and goats, say "In the Name of God," and produce springs of milk from the abundance of Mercy, offering us a most delicate and pure food like the water of life in the name of the Provider. The roots and rootlets, soft as silk, of plants, trees, and grasses say "In the Name of God," and pierce and pass through hard rock and earth. Mentioning the name of God, the name of the Most Merciful, everything becomes subjected to them.

The roots spreading through hard rock and earth and producing fruits as easily as the branches spread through the air and produce fruits, and the delicate green leaves retaining their moisture for months in the face of extreme heat, deal a slap in the mouths of Naturalists and jab a finger in their blind eyes, saying: "Even heat and hardness, in which you most trust, are under a command. For like the Staff of Moses, each of those silken rootlets conforms to the command of And We said, O Moses, strike the rock with your staffs and split the rock. And the delicate leaves fine as cigarette paper recite the verse, O fire be coolness and peace¹ against the heat of the fire, each like the limbs of Abraham (UWP).

Since all things say "In the Name of God," and bearing God's bounties in God's name, give them to us, we too should say "In the Name of God." We should give in the name of God, and take in the name of God. And we should not take from heedless people who neglect to give in God's name.

Question: We give a price to people, who are like tray-bearers. So what price does God want, Who is the true owner?

The Answer: Yes, the price the True Bestower of Bounties wants in return for those valuable bounties and goods is three things: one is remem-

l.Qur'an, 2:60. 2. Qur'an, 21:69.

brance, another is thanks, and the other is reflec­tion. Saying "In the Name of God" at the start is remembrance, and "All praise be to God" at the end is thanks. And perceiving and thinking of those bounties, which are priceless wonders of art, being miracles of power of the Unique and Eter­nally Besought One and gifts of His mercy, is reflection. However foolish it is to kiss the foot of a lowly man who conveys to you the precious gift of a king and not to recognize the gift's owner, it is a thousand times more foolish to praise and love the apparent source of bounties and forget the True Bestower of Bounties.

O my soul! If you do not wish to be foolish in that way, give in God's name, take in God's name, begin in God's name, and act in God's name. And that's the matter in a nutshell!

-n-

The Supplication of Yunus

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

The supplication of Hazrat Yunus ibn Matta (Peace be upon our Prophet and upon him) is a most glorious supplication, a most effective means for obtaining answer to prayer. The gist of the celebrated story of Hazrat Yunus (Peace be upon him) is as follows:

He was cast into the sea and swallowed by a large fish. The sea was stormy, the night turbulent and dark and hope exhausted. But it was in such a state that his suppplication:

There is no god other than You, Glory be unto to You! Indeed, I was among the wrongdoers¹

acted for him as a swift means of salvation. The

mysterious property inherent in his supplication was this:

In that state all causes were suspended, for Haz-rat Yunus needed to save him one whose com­mand should constrain the fish and the sea, the night and the sky. The night, the sea, and the fish were united against him. Only one whose com­mand might subdue all three of these could bring him forth on the strand of salvation. Even if the entirety of creation had become his servants and helpers, it would have been of no avail. For causes have no effect. Since Hazrat Yunus saw with the eye of certainty that there was no refuge other than the Causer of Causes, and unfolded to him was the meaning of Divine oneness within the light of Divine unity, his supplication was able suddenly to subdue the night, the sea, and the fish. Through the light of Divine unity he as able to transform the belly of the fish into a submarine; and the surging sea, that in its awesomeness resembled an erupting volcano, into a peaceable plain, a place of delight and enjoyment. Through the light of unity, he was able to sweep the sky's countenance clear of all clouds, and to set the moon over his head like a lantern. Creation that had been pressing and threatening him from all sides now showed him a friendly face from every direction. Thus he reached the shore of salvation. Beneath the creeping gourd tree he witnessed the grace of his Lord.

Now we are in a situation one hundred times more awesome than that in which Hazrat Yunus (Upon whom be peace) first found himself. Our night is the future. When we look upon our future with the eye of neglect, it is a hundred times darker and more fearful than his night. Our sea is this spinning globe. Each wave of this sea bears on it thousands of corpses, and is thus a thousand times more frightening than his sea. Our fish is the caprice of our soul which strives to shake and destroy the foundation of our eternal life. This fish is a thousand times more maleficent than his fish. For his fish can destroy a hundred-year life­span, whereas ours seeks to destroy a life lasting hundreds of millions of years. This being our true state, we should in imitation of Hazrat Yunus (Upon whom be peace) avert ourselves from all causes and take refuge directly in the Causer of Causes, that is, our Sustainer. We should say:

There is no god but You, Gloi-y be unto You! Indeed I was among the wrongdoers

and understand with full certainty that it is only He who can repel from us the harm of the future, this. world, and caprice of our . souls, united against us because of our neglect and misguid­ance. For the future is subject to His orders, the world to His commands, and our soul to His rule.

-What cause is there other than the Creator of the Heavens and Earth who can know the most subtle and secret thoughts of our heart; who can lighten the future for us by establishing the Here­after; who can save us from the myriad over­whelming waves of the world? No, outside that Necessarily Existent One, there is nothing that can in any way give aid and effect salvation except by His consent and command.

This being the case, considering that as a result of his supplication, the fish became for Hazrat Yunus a vehicle, or a submarine, and the sea, a peaceable plain; and the night became gently lit for him by the moon, so too, we should make the same supplication:

There is no god but You, Glory be unto to You! Indeed I was among the wrongdoers.

With the sentence There is no god but You we draw the gaze of mercy upon our future; with the word Glory be unto to You! we draw it upon our world; and with the phrase Indeed I was among the wrongdoers, we draw it upon our soul. Thus our future is illumined with the light of faith and the moonlike luminosity of the Qur'an, and the awe and terror of the night are transformed into tranquillity and joy. Then too, embarking on the ship of the truth of Islam, fashioned in the dock­yard of the Most Wise Qur'an, we may pass safely over the sea of this earthly abode, where corpses unnumbered are borne on the waves of the years and centuries, of the ceaseless alterna­tion of life and death, down to destruction. Once aboard that ship we may reach the shore of salva­tion and fulfil our life's duty. The tempest and surging of the sea will appear a series of pleasing images on a screen, and instead of inspiring terror

THE SUPPLICATION OF YUNUS ? 19

and dread, will delight, caress and illumine the reflective and the meditative gaze. By virtue of the mystery of the Qur'an, and the effect of that Book of Discernment, our soul will ride no longer us, but instead become our mount. As we ride it, it will be for us a powerful means for the attain­ment of life everlasting.

To Conclude: Man, in accordance with the comprehensive nature of his being, as he suffers and shakes with malaria, so also will he suffer from the shaking and tremors of the earth, and the supreme convulsion of all beings of the Day of Resurrection. As he fears the infinitesimal microbe, he will also fear the shooting star that appears among the heavenly bodies. As he loves his home, he will also love the wide world. As he loves his little garden he will also ardently love infinite and eternal paradise. The object of wor­ship, the Sustainer, refuge, saviour, and goal of man must then of necessity be the One in the palm of whose power all beings lie, to whose command atom and planet both will submit of necessity. Man should then constantly say like Hazrat Yunus (Upon whom be peace):

There is no god but You, Glory be unto to You! Indeed I was among the wrongdoers.

Glory be unto to You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.²

-III-

The Affliction

of Ayyub

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

When he called upon his Sustainer saying: "Verily harm has afflicted me, and You are the Most Merciful of the Mercifid."¹

The supplication of Hazrat Ayyub (Upon whom be peace), the champion of patience, is both well-tested and effective. Drawing on the verse, we should say in our supplication,

O my Sustainer! Indeed harm has afflicted me, and You are the Most Merciful of the Merciful.

The gist of the well-known story of Hazrat Ayyub (Upon whom be peace) is as follows:

l.Qur'an, 21:83.    ~~

While afflicted with numerous wounds and sores for a long time, he recalled the great recompense to be had for his sickness, and endured it with utmost patience. But later, when the worms generated by his wounds penetrated to his heart and his tongue, which were the organ for the remembrance and knowledge of God, he feared that his duty of worship would suffer, and so he said in supplication not for the sake of his own comfort, but for the sake of his worship of God:

"O Lord! Harm has afflicted me; my remem­brance of You with my tongue and my worship of You with my heart will suffer." God Almighty then accepted this pure sincere, disinterested and devout supplication in the most miraculous fashion. He granted to Hazrat Ayyub perfect good health and made manifest in him all kinds of com­passion. This Flash contains Five Points.

FIRST POINT: Corresponding to the outer wounds and sicknesses of Hazrat Ayyub (Upon whom be peace), we have inner sicknesses of the spirit and heart. If our inner being is turned out­ward, and our outer being turned inward, we will apear more wounded and diseased than Hazrat Ayyub. For each sin that we commit and each doubt that enters our mind, inflicts wounds on our heart and our spirit.

The wounds of Hazrat Ayyub (Upon whom be peace) were of such a nature as to threaten his brief worldly life. But our inner wounds threaten our infinitely long life everlasting. We need the supplication of Hazrat Ayyub thousands of times more than he did himself. Just as the worms that arose from his wounds penetrated to his heart and tongue, so too the wounds that sin inflicts upon us and the temptations and doubts that arise from those wounds will —-may God protect us!— pene­trate bur inner heart, the seat of faith, and thus wound faith. Penetrating too the spiritual joy of the tongue, the proclaimer of faith, they cause it to shun in revulsion the remembrance of God, and reduce it to silence.

Sin, penetrating to the heart, will blacken and darken it until it extinguishes the light of faith. Within each sin is a path leading to unbelief. Unless that sin is swiftly obliterated by seeking God's pardon, it will grow from a worm into a snake that gnaws on the heart.

For example, a man who secretly commits a shameful sin will fear the disgrace that results if others become aware of it. Thus the existence of angels and spirit beings will be hard for him to endure, and he will long to deny it, even on the strength of the slightest indication.

Similarly, one who commits a major sin deserv­ing of the torment of Hell, will desire the non­existence of Hell wholeheartedly, and whenever he hears of the threat of Hell-fire, he will dare to deny it on the strength of a slight indication and doubt, unless he takes up in protection the shield of repentance and seeking forgiveness.

Similarly, one who does not perform the obligatory prayer and fulfil his duty of worship will be affected by distress, just as he would be in case of the neglect of a minor duty toward some petty ruler. His laziness in fulfulling his obliga­tion, despite the repeated commands of the Sove­reign of Pre-Eternity, will distress him greatly, and on account of that distress will desire and say to himslef: "Would that there were no such duty of worship!" In turn, there will arise from this desire a desire to deny God, and bear enmity toward Him. If some doubt concerning the existence of the Divine Being comes to his heart, he will be inclined to embrace it like a conclusive proof. A wide gate to destruction will be opened in front of him. The wretch does not know that although he is delivered by denial from the slight trouble of duty of worship, he has made himself, by that same denial, the target for millions of troubles that are far more awesome. Fleeing from the bite of a gnat, he welcomes the bite of the snake.

There are many other examples, which may be understood with reference to these three, so that the sense of,

Nay but their hearts are stained²

will become apparent.

SECOND. POINT: As was set forth concern­ing the meaning of Divine Determining, known as destiny, in the Twenty-Sixth Word, men have no

right to complain in the case of disasters and illness for the following three reasons:

The First Reason: God Most High has made the garment of the body in which man is clothed a manifestation of His art. He has made man to be a model on which He cuts, trims, alters and changes the garment of the body, thus displaying the mani­festation of various of His Names. Just as the Name of Healer makes it necessary that illness should exist, so too the Name of Provider requires that hunger should exist. And so on...

The Lord of All Dominion has disposal over His dominion as He wishes.

Second Reason: It is by means of disasters and sicknesses that life is refined, perfected, strength­ened and advanced; that it yields results, attains perfection and fulfils it own purpose. Life led monotonously on the mattress of comfort resem­bles not so much the absolute good that is being, as the absolute evil that is non-being; it tends in fact in that direction.

The Third Reason: This worldly realm is the field of testing, the abode of service. It is not the place of pleasure, reward, and requital. Consider­ing, then, that it is the abode of service and place of worship, sicknesses and misfortunes —as long as they do not affect faith and are patiently endured— conform fully to service and worship, and even strengthen it. Since they make each hour's worship equivalent to that of a day, one should offer thanks instead of complaining.

Worship consists in fact of two kinds, positive and negative. What is meant by the positive is obvious. As for negative worship, this is when one afflicted with misfortune or sickness per­ceives his own weakness and helplessness, and turning to his Compassionate Lord, seeks refuge in Him, meditates upon Him, petitions Him, and thus offers a pure form of worship that no hypoc­risy can penetrate. If he endures patiently, thinks of the reward attendant on misfortune and offers thanks, then each hour that he passes will count as a whole day spent in worship. His brief life becomes very long. There are even cases where a single minute is counted as equal to a whole day's worship.  •

I once was extremely anxious because of an awesome illness that struck one of my brothers of the Hereafter, Muhajir Hafiz Ahmad. But then a warning came to my heart: "Congratulate him!" Each minute he spends is counted as a whole day's worship. He was in any event enduring his illness in patience and gratitude.

THIRD POINT: As we have pointed out in one or two of the Words, whenever one thinks of his past life, he will say in his heart or with his tongue either "Ah!" or "Oh!" That is he will either experience regret, or say "Thanks and praise be to God." Regret is inspired by the pains arising from the cessation of former pleasures and separation from them. For the cessation of pleas­ure is a pain in itself. Sometimes a momentary pleasure will cause everlasting pain. To think upon it will be like lancing a wound, causing regret to gush forth.

As for the lasting spiritual pleasure that comes from the cessation of momentary pains experi­enced in the past, it inspires man to say, "Thanks and praise be to God." In addition to this innate tendency of man, if he thinks of the reward that results from misfortune and the requital that awaits him in the Hereafter, if he realizes that his brief life will count as a long life because of mis­fortune —then instead of being merely patient he should be thankful. He should say, "Praise be to God for every state other than unbelief and mis­guidance."

It is commonly said that misfortune is longlast-ing. Indeed it is, but not because it is troublesome and distressing as people customarily imagine, but rather because it yields vital results just like a long life.

FOURTH POINT: As was set forth in the First Station of the Twenty-First Word, the power of patient endurance given to man by God Most High is adequate for every misfortune, unless squandered on mere fancies. But through the predominance of fantasy, man's neglect, and his imagining this transient life to be eternal, he squanders his power of endurance on the past and the future. His endurance is not equal to the misfortunes of the present, and he begins to complain. It is as if —God forbid!— he were complaining of God Most High to men. In a most unjustified and even lunatic fashion, be complains and demonstrates his lack of patience.

If the day that is past held misfortune, the dis­tress is now gone, and only tranquillity remains; the pain is gone and the pleasure in its cessation remains; the trouble is gone, and the reward remains. Hence one should not complain but give thanks for enjoyment. One should not resent mis­fortune, but love it. The transient life of the past comes to be counted as an eternal and blessed life because of misfortune. To think upon past pain with one's fancy and then to waste part of one's patience is lunacy.

As far as days yet to come are concerned, since they have not yet come, to think now of the illness or misfortune to be borne during them and display impatience, is also foolishness. To say to oneself "Tomorrow or the day after I will be hungry and thirsty" and constantly to drink water and eat bread today, is pure madness. Sim­ilarly, to think of misfortunes and sicknesses yet in the future but now non-existent, to suffer them already, to show impatience and to oppress oneself without any compulsion, is such stupid­ity that it no longer deserves pity and compas­sion.

In short, just as gratitude increases Divine bounty, so too complaint increases misfortune, and removes all occasion for compassion.

During World War One, a blessed person in

Erzuram was afflicted with an awesome disease. I went to visit him and he said to me complaining bitterly:

"I have not been able to place my head on the pillow and sleep for a hundred nights." I was much grieved. Suddenly a thought came to me and I said:

"Brother, the hundred difficult days you have spent are now just like one hundred happy days. Do not think of them and complain; rather look at them and be grateful. As for future days, since they have not yet come, place your trust in your Compassionate and Merciful Sustainer. Do not weep before being beaten, do not be afraid of nothing, do not give non-being the colour of being. Think of the present hour; your power of patient endurance is enough for this hour. Do not act like the maddened commander who expects reinforcement on his right wing by an enemy force deserting to join him from his left, and then begins to disperse his forces in the centre to the left and the right, before the enemy has joined him on the right. The enemy then destroys his centre, left weak, with a minimal force. Brother, do not be like him. Mobilize all your strength for this present hour, and think of Divine Mercy, reward in the Hereafter, and how your brief and transient life is being transformed into a long and eternal form. Instead of complaining bitterly, give joyful thanks."

Much relieved, he said, "Praise and thanks be to God, my disease is now a tenth of what it was before."

FIFTH POINT, consisting of three matters.

First Matter: True and harmful misfortune is that which affects religion. One should at all times seek refuge at the Divine Court from mis­fortune in matters of religion and cry out for help. But misfortunes that do not affect religion are not all misfortunes, when properly envisaged. Some of them are warnings from the Most Merciful One. If a shepherd throws a stone at his sheep when they trespass on another's pasture, they understand that the stone is intended as a warning to save them from a perilous action; full of gratitude they turn back. So too there are many apparent misfortunes that are Divine warnings and admonishments, others that constitute the penance of sin; and others again that dissolve man's state of neglect, remind him of his human helplessness and weakness, and thus inspire in him a form of tranquillity. As for the variety of misfortune that is illness, it is not at all a misfortune, as has already been said, but rather a favour from God and a means of purification. According to ascer­tain tradition, it is said that just as a tree drops its ripe fruit when shaken, so .too. do sins fall away through the shaking of fever.

Hazrat Ayyub (Upon whom be peace) did not pray in his supplication for the comfort of-his soul, but rather sought cure for the purpose of .worship, when disease was preventing his remem­brances of God with his tongue and his meditation upon God in his heart. We too should make our primary intent, when making that supplication, the healing of the inward and spiritual wounds that arise from sinning.

As far as physical diseases are concerned, we may seek refuge from them when they hinder our worship. But we should seek refuge in a humble and supplicating fashion, not protestingly and plaintively. If we accept God as our Lord and Sus­tainer, then we must accept too all that He gives us in His capacity of Lord. To sigh and complain in a manner implying objection to Divine Deter­mining and Decree is a kind of criticism of Divine Determining, an accusation levelled against God's compassion. The one who criticizes Divine Deter­mining strikes his head against the anvil and breaks it. Whoever accuses God's mercy will inevitably be deprived of it. To use a broken hand to exact revenge will only cause further damage to the hand. So too a man who, afflicted with misfor­tune, responds to it with protesting complaint and anxiety, is only compounding his misfortune.

Second Matter: Physical misfortunes grow when they are seen to be large, and shrink when they are seen to be small. For example, a dream enters one's vision at night. If one pays it attention it swells up and grows; if one does not, it disappears. So too if one attempts to ward off an attacking swarm of bees, they will become more aggressive; whereas if one pays them no attention they will disperse. Thus if one regards physical misfortunes as great and grants them importance, they will grow, and because of anx­iety pass from the body and strike root in the heart. The result will then be an inward affliction on which the outward misfortune fastens to per­petuate itself. But if the anxiety is removed by contentment with the Divine Decree and reliance on God, the physical misfortune will gradually decrease, dry up and vanish, just like a tree whose roots have been severed. I once composed the fol­lowing verses in description of this truth:

Abandon, O wretch, thy lamentation; reliance on God shall be thy refuge!

Lamenting is naught but an increase of woe; woe itself, tlmt is thy dirge!

Find thy way to the author of woe; thy woe shall then be -pleasing as the grem verge!

But if thou findest him not then is the whole ivorld one endless cruel image!

Thou who dost suffer from a worldful of woe —why complain at one pain? Make God thy refuge!

Smile thus in the face of thy woe; woe itself then shall smile, and, smiling, shrink and quite change!

If in single-handed combat one smiles at an awesome enemy, his enmity will be changed to conciliatoriness; his hostility will become a mere joke, will shrink and disappear. If one confronts misfortune with reliance on God the result will be similar.

Third Matter: Each age has particualr charac­teristics. In this age of neglect misfortune has changed its form. In certain ages and for certain persons/misfortune is not in reality misfortune, but rather a Divine favour. Since I consider those afflicted with illness in the present age to be fortu­nate —on condition that their illness does not affect their religion— it does not occur to me to oppose illness and misfortune, nor to take pity on the afflicted. Whenever I encounter some afflicted youth, I find that he is more concerned with his religious duties and the Hereafter than are his peers. From this I deduce that illness does not constitute a misfortune for such people, but rather a bounty from God. It is true that illness causes him distress in his brief, transient and worldly life, but it is beneficial for his eternal life. It is to be regarded as a kind of worship. If he were healthy he would be unable to maintain the state he enjoyed while sick and would fall into dissipation, as a result of the impetuousness of youth and the dissipated nature of the age.

CONCLUSION: God Almighty, in order to display His infinite power and unlimited mercy, has made inherent in man infinite weakness and unlimited want. Further, in order to display the infinite variety of the impress of His Names, He has created man like a machine receptive to pain and pleasure perceived from an infinite variety of

directions. Within that human machine He has placed hundreds of instruments, and for each instrument He has appointed different pains and pleasures, duties and rewards. Simply, all of the Divine Names manifested in the macrocosm that is the world also have manifestations in the microcosm that is man. Beneficial matters like good health, well-being, and pleasures cause man to offer thanks and prompt the human machine to perform its functions in many respects, and thus man becomes like a factory producing thanks.

Similarly, by means of misfortune, illness and pain, and other motion-inducing contingencies, the other cogs of the human machine are set in motion and revolution. The mine of weakness, helplessness, and poverty inherent in human nature is made to work. Not the tongue alone, but each limb is transformed into a tongue, begins to seek refuge and aid. Thus by means of those con­tingencies man becomes like a moving pen com­prising thousands of different pens. He inscribes the appointed course of his existence on the page of his life or the Tablet in the World of Simili­tudes; he puts forth a declaration of the Divine Names; and becomes himself an ode to the glory of God, thus fulfilling the duties of his nature.

The Trust Given to Man

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Verily God has purchased from the believers their persons and their property that Paradise might be theirs.^x

If you wish to understand how profitable a trade it is, and how honourable a rank, to sell one's person and property to God, to be His slave and His soldier, then listen to the following com­parison.

Once a king entrusted each of two of his sub­jects with an estate, including all necessary work­shops, machinery, horses, weapons and so forth. But since it was a tempestuous and war-ridden age, nothing enjoyed stability; it was destined either to disappear or to change. The king in his infinite mercy sent a most noble lieutenant to the two men and by means of a compassionate decree conveyed the following to them:

"Sell me the property you now hold in trust, so that I may keep it for you. Let it not be destroyed for no purpose. After the wars are over, I will return it to you in a better condition than before. I will regard the trust as your property and pay you a high price for it. As for the machinery and the tools in the workshop, they will be used in my name and at my workbench. But the price and the fee for their- use shall be increased a thousandfold. You will receive all the profit that accrues. You are indigent and resourceless, and unable to pro­vide the cost of these great tasks. So let me assume the provision of all expenses and equip­ment, and give you all the income and the profit. You shall keep it until the time of demobilization. So see the five ways in which you shall profit!

"Now if you do not sell me the property, you can see that no one is able to preserve what he possesses, and you too will lose what you now hold. It will go for nothing, and you will lose the high price I offer. The delicate and valuable tools and scales, the precious metals waiting to be used, will also lose all value. You will have the trouble and concern of administering and preserving, but at the same time be punished for betraying your trust. So see the five ways in which you may

lose! Moreover, if you sell the property to me, you become my soldier and act in my name. Instead of a common prisoner or irregular soldier, you will be the free lieutenant of an exalted monarch."

After they had listened to this gracious decree, the more intelligent of the two men said:

"By all means, I am proud and happy to sell. I offer thanks a thousandfold."

But the other was arrogant, selfish and dissip­ated; his soul had become as proud as the Pharaoh. As if he was to stay eternally on that estate, he ignored the earthquakes and tumults of this world. He said:

"No! Who is the king? I won't sell my prop­erty, nor spoil my enjoyment."

After a short time, the first man reached so high a rank that everyone envied his state. He received the favour of the king, and lived happily in the king's own palace. The other by contrast fell into such a state that everyone pitied him, but also said he deserved it. For as a result of his error, his hap­piness and property departed, and he suffered pun­ishment and torment.

O soul full of caprices! Look at the face of truth through the telescope of this parable. As for the king, he is the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, your Sustainer and Creator. The estates, machinery, tools and scales are your pos­sessions while in life's fold; your body, spirit and

heart within those possessions, and your external and inner senses such as the eye and the tongue, intelligence and imagination. As for the most noble lieutenant, it is the Noble Messenger of God; and the most wise decree is the Wise Qur'an, which-describes the trade we are discuss­ing in this verse:

Verily God has purchased from the believers their persons and property that Paradise might be theirs.

The surging field of battle is the tempestuous sur­face of the world, which ceaselessly changes, dis­solves and reforms and causes every man to think:

"Since everything will leave our hands, will perish and be lost, is there no way in which we can transform it into something eternal and preserve it?"

While engaged in these thoughts, he suddenly hears the heavenly voice of the Qur'an saying:

"Indeed there is, a beautiful and easy way which contains five profits within itself."

What is that way?

To sell the Trust received back to its true owner. Such a sale yields profit fivefold.,

The First Profit: Transient property becomes everlasting. For this waning life, when given to the Eternal and Self-Subsistent Lord of Glory and spent for His sake, will be transmuted into eternity. It will yield eternal fruits. The moments of one's life will apparently vanish and rot like kernels and seeds. But then the flowers of blessedness and auspiciousness will open and bloom in the realm of eternity, and each will also present a luminous and reassuring aspect in the Intermediate Realm.

The Second Profit: The high price of Paradise is given in exchange.

The Third Profit: The value of each limb and each sense is increased a thousandfold. The intelli­gence is, for example, like a tool. If you do not sell it to God Almighty, but rather employ it for the sake of the soul, it will become an ill-omened, noxious and debilitating tool that will burden your weak person with all the sad sorrows of the past and the terrifying fears of the future; it will descend to the rank of an inauspicious and destructive tool. It is for this reason that a sinful man will frequently resort to drunkenness or frivo­lous pleasure in order to escape the vexations and injuries of his intelligence. But if you sell your intelligence to its True Owner and employ it on His behalf, then the intelligence will become like the key to a talisman, unlocking the infinite treas­ures of compassion and the vaults of wisdom that creation contains.

To take another example, the eye is one of the senses, a window through which the spirit looks out on this world. If you do not sell it to God Almighty, but rather employ it on behalf of the soul, by gazing upon a handful of transient, impermanent beauties and scenes, it will sink to the level of being a pander to lust and the concu­piscent soul. But if you sell the eye to your All-Seeing Maker, and employ it on His behalf and within limits traced out by Him, then your eye will rise to the rank of a reader of the great book of being, a witness to the miracles of dominical art, a blessed bee sucking on the blossoms of mercy in the garden of this globe.

Yet another example is that of the tongue and the sense of taste. If you do not sell it to your Wise Creator, but employ it instead on behalf of the soul and for the sake of the stomach, it sinks and declines to the level of a gatekeeper at the stable of the stomach, a watchman at its factory. But if you sell it to the Generous Provider, the sense of taste contained in the tongue will rise to the rank of a skilled overseer at the treasuries of Divine compassion, a grateful inspector in the kitchens of God's eternal power.

So look well, O intelligence! See the difference between a tool of destruction and the key to all being! And look carefully, O eye! See the differ­ence between an abominable pander and the learned overseer of the Divine library! And taste well, O tongue! See the difference between a stable doorkeeper or a factory watchman and the superintendent of the treasury of God's mercy!

Compare all other members and limbs to these, and then you will understand that in truth the believer acquires a nature worthy of Paradise and the un-believer a nature conforming to Hell. The reason for each of them attaining his. respective value is that the believer, by virtue of his faith, uses the Trust of his Creator on His behalf and within the limits traced out by Him, whereas the unbeliever betrays the Trust and employs it for the sake of the concupiscent soul.

The Fourth Profit: Man is helpless and exposed to numerous misfortunes. He is indigent, and his needs are numerous. He is weak, and the burden of life is most heavy. If he does not rely on the Omnipotent One of Glory, place his trust in Him and confidently submit to Him, his conscience will always be troubled. Fruitless tor­ments, pains and regrets will overwhelm him and intoxicate him, or turn him into a beast.

The Fifth Profit: Those who have experienced sapiential knowledge and had unveiled to them the true nature of things, the elect who have wit­nessed the truth, are all agreed that the exalted reward for all the worship and glorification of God performed by your members and instruments will be given to you at the time of greatest need, in the form of the fruits of Paradise.

If you spurn this trade with its fivefold profit, in addition to being deprived of its profit, you will suffer fivefold loss.

The First Loss: The property and offspring to which you are so attached, the soul and its caprice

that you worship, the youth and life with which you are infatuated, all will vanish and be lost; your hands will be empty. But they will leave behind them sin and pain, fastened on your neck like a yoke.

The Second Loss: You will suffer the penalty for betrayal of trust. For you will have wronged your own self by using the most precious tools on the most worthless objects.

The Third Loss: By casting down all the pre­cious faculties of man to a level much inferior to the animals, you will have insulted and trans­gressed against God's wisdom.

The Fourth Loss: In your weakness and pov­erty, you will have placed the heavy burden of life on your weak shoulders, and will constantly groan and lament beneath the blows of transience and separation.

The Fifth Loss: You will have clothed in an ugly form, fit to open the gates of Hell in front of you, the fair gifts of the Compassionate One such as the intelligence, the heart, the eye and the tongue, given to you to make preparation for the foundations of everlasting life and eternal happi­ness in the Hereafter.

Now is it so difficult to sell the Trust? Is it so burdensome that many people shun the transac­tion? By no means! It is not in the least burden­some. For the limits of the permissible are broad, and are quite adequate for man's desire; there is ¦

no need to trespass on the forbidden. The duties imposed by God are light and few in number. To be the slave and soldier of God is an indescrib­ably pleasurable honour. One's duty is simply to act and embark on all things in God's name, like a soldier; to take and to give on God's behalf; to move and be still in accordance with His permis­sion and law. If one falls short, then one should seek His forgiveness, say:

"O Lord! Forgive our faults, and accept us as Your slaves. Make us sure holders of Your Trust until the time comes when it is taken from us. Amenl", and make petition unto Him.

- V-

Proofs of Resurrection

[The Gate of God's Bestowal of Life and Death; the manifestations of the Names of Ever-Liying and Self-Subsistent, and Giver of Life and Giver of Death.]

Is it at all possible that the One Who restores to life the vast dead, dry earth; and within that restoring to life, demonstrates His power by resur­recting —like the resurrection of man— each of more than three hundred thousand varieties of creatures; and within that resurrection, displays the His all-embracing knowledge through differ­entiating and separating out to an infinite degree beings infinitely mixed up and intermingled; Who, with all His heavenly decrees, turns the gazes of all His servants towards eternal happi­ness by promising the resurrection of man; Who demonstrates the tremendousness of His domini-cality through making all beings unite and stand

shoulder to shoulder and assist one another and be subjugated to one another, and causing them to revolve under His command and will; Who dem­onstrates the great importance He gives to man by creating him as the most comprehensive, the most delicate and precious, the most needy and wanting fruit of the tree of the universe, and by taking him as His addressee, and subjugating all things to him; —is it at all possible that One Who is thus All-Compassionate and Ail-Powerful, One Who is thus All-Wise and All-Knowing, should not bring about the resurrection of the dead; that He should not bring about the Great Gathering or be unable to do so; that He should not raise man to life or be unable to do so; that He should not institute a Supreme Tribunal; that He should not create Para­dise and Hell? God forbid!

Indeed, the Glorious Disposer of this world creates numerous examples, signs, and indications of the Great Gathering and field of resurrection every century, every year, and every day in this narrow and transitory face of the earth.

For instance, we see in the Gathering of spring that within five or six days more than three hundred thousand sorts of animals and plants, great and small, are resurrected. The roots of all trees and plants, and some animals are returned and raised to life identically, while others are created in a form so similar as to be almost identi­cal. And while seeds, which differ very little from one another in regard to their substance, are so intermingled, they spring to life in six days or six weeks perfectly distinct and differentiated, and with perfect order and balance, despite their abun­dance and the speed and ease with which they appear. It is at all possible that anything should be difficult for the One Who does this; that He should not create the heavens and the earth in six days; that He should not raise man to life at the blast of a trumpet? God forbid!

Think of a wonder-working scribe who writes out in one hour on a single page three hundred thousand books the letters of which are either spoilt or erased, most beautifully, all together without error, fault or defect or confusing them. If someone were to say to you: "This scribe will write out again from memory in one minute the book he himself has written and which has fallen into the water," could you then say: "He can't do it and I don't believe it!"?

Or think of a wonder-working king, who, in order to demonstrate his power, or by way of example, or for pleasure, removes mountains or transposes whole lands. You have seen that he has changed the sea into land, and then you have seen that a mighty rock has rolled down into a valley and blocked the way of guests he had invited to a banquet. Should someone say to you: "The king will remove that rock at a mere sign no matter how big it is, or else scatter it!", could you reply: "He can't remove it," or "He won't remove it!"?

Or if someone were to say of a person who had formed a great army in a single day from nothing: "That person will gather together those battalions the soldiers of which have dispersed to rest, and the battalions will become part of his troops," and you were to say: "I don't believe it!", you can under­stand what stupidity your behaviour would be.

If you have understood these three compari­sons, look: the Pre-Eternal Inscriber turns over the white page of winter before our eyes and opens the green page of spring and summer, and writes in the best of forms on the page of the face of the earth the more than three hundred thousand spe­cies of beings with the pen of power and Divine Determining. One within the other, He confuses not one of them. He writes them all together, yet not one is an obstacle to another. They all differ from one another in regard to form and shape, yet He mixes up none of them. He writes nothing wrongly.

So, can it be said of the All-Wise Preserver Who includes in the tiniest seed like a point the programme of the spirit of the largest tree, how can He preserve the spirits of the dead?

Can it be said of the All-Powerful One Who spins the globe of the earth as though it were a stone in a sling, how can He remove or scatter the earth, which is blocking the path of His guests on their way to the Hereafter?

Can it be said of the All-Glorious One Who creates from nothing, anew, the armies of all liv­ing beings, and, with the command of "Be! "and it is,¹ enrolls and situates the particles with perfect order in the battalions of all their bodies, —can it be said of Him, how can He gather together at a single trumpet-blast those mutually-