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| gencnurCom | The
Thirty-Third Word This
Word consists of While
being the Thirty-Third Letter, In
the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Question:
We would like a concise explanation of the ways
man and the universe, that is, the microcosm and the
macrocosm, point to the necessary existence and unity of
God and His dominical attributes and functions, which the
two parts of the above verse denote. For the unbelievers
have gone too far, they are saying: “For how long shall
we say: ‘And He is powerful over all things,’ and
have to raise our hands?” Answer:
The thirty-three Words that have been written form
thirty-three drops from the ocean of this verse and from
the seas of truth which flow from it. If you look at
them, you will find your answer. What we say now is only
a sort of hint to the sprinkling of a single drop from
the ocean. For
example, if a wonder-worker wants to build a splendid
palace, he first of all sets the foundations in a wise
and regular fashion, and plans them in a way suitable to
their future purpose and results. Then he skilfully
divides them into sections and apartments. Next, he
orders and arranges the apartments, and decorates them
with tapestries, then illuminates them with electric
lights. Then, in order to renew his ingenious works and
favours in that ____________________ 1.
Qur’an, 41:53. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.684 magnificent
and adorned palace, he makes fresh creations and new
changes and transformations in every level of it. And
then he installs a telephone in every apartment connected
to his own abode, and opens up a window from each, so
that his may be seen. In
just the same way, And God’s is the highest
similitude,2 the Peerless Creator, Who is
named with a thousand and one sacred Names such as
All-Glorious Maker, All-Wise Sovereign, All-Just Arbiter,
willed the creation of the palace of the universe and
tree of the cosmos, which forms the macrocosm. He set the
foundations of the palace, the tree, in six days through
the principles of wisdom and laws of His pre-eternal
knowledge. Then He divided and formed it into the higher
and lower levels and branches through the principles of
Divine Determining and Decree. Next, He adorned
everything, each world, in an appropriate manner, like
the heavens with the stars and the earth with flowers.
Then He manifested and made luminous His Names within the
arena of those universal laws and general principles. And
then in a special way sent to the assistance of
individuals crying out at the constraint of those
universal laws His Names of Most Merciful and
All-Compassionate. That is to say, within those universal
and general principles He has special favours, special
succour, special manifestations, so that everything may
seek help from Him and look to Him at all times for every
need. Then from every apartment, every level, every
world, every realm of being, every individual, from
everything, He opened up windows which would show
Himself, that is, make known His existence and unity. He
left a telephone in every heart. For
now we shall not attempt to discuss those innumerable
windows, which is anyway beyond our power. Referring them
to the all-encompassing knowledge of God, we shall only
point out in a concise and brief manner Thirty-Three
Windows - since it corresponds to the blessed number of
the tesbihat following the prescribed prayers, and for a
more detailed explanation of this, which forms the
Thirty-Third Letter and Thirty-Third Word and consists of
gleams from verses of the Qur’an, we refer readers to
the rest of the Words. ____________________ 2.
Qur’an, 16:60.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.685 First
Window If
we look, we see that all things and especially living
creatures have numerous different needs and numerous
different wants. And those wants and needs are provided
for them at the appropriate time, in unexpected ways,
from places they do not know and their hands cannot
reach; succour comes to them. But the power of these
needy beings is insufficient for even the smallest of
those endless things they wish for; they cannot meet
their needs. Consider yourself: of how many things are
you in need that your hands cannot reach, like your
external and inner senses and their needs? Compare all
other living creatures with yourself. See, just as singly
they testify to the Necessary Existence and point to His
unity, so in their totality they show to the reason a
Necessarily Existent One behind the veil of the Unseen, a
Single One of Unity, among titles of Most Generous,
All-Compassionate, Nurturer, and Disposer. O
ignorant unbeliever and dissolute heedless one! With what
can you explain this wise, percipient, compassionate
activity? Deaf nature? Blind force? Senseless chance? Can
you explain it through impotent, lifeless causes? Second
Window While
in their existence and individuality, things are in a
hesitant, bewildered, and shapeless form among
innumerable possible ways, they are suddenly given a most
well-ordered and wise aspect of individuality. For
example, every human being has on his face
characteristics which differentiate him from all his
fellow humans, and it is equipped with utter wisdom with
external and inner senses. This proves that the face is a
most brilliant stamp of Divine oneness. And just as each
face testifies to the existence of an All-Wise Maker and
points to His existence, so too the stamp which all faces
display in their totality shows to the mind’s eye that
all things are a seal peculiar to their Creator. O
denier! To what workshop can you refer these stamps which
can in no way be imitated, and the stamp of Eternal
Besoughtedness which is on the totality?
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.686 Third
Window The
army of all the various species of animals and plants on
the face of the earth consists of four hundred thousand
different groups.3 Their being managed and
raised with perfect balance and order through their
sustenance, papers, weapons, uniforms, instructions, and
demobilizations, which are all different with nothing
being forgotten and none of them being confused, is a
stamp of the Single One of Unity as brilliant as the sun
which can in no way be doubted. Who other than One
possessing boundless power, all-encompassing knowledge,
and infinite wisdom could have any part in this
administration, which is wondrous to the utmost degree.
For if one who cannot administer and raise all together
these species and nations, which are one within the
other, interferes with one of them, he will throw the lot
into disorder. Whereas according to the meaning of, So
turn your vision again, do you see any flaw?4 there
is no sign of confusion. That means not so much as a
finger can interfere. Fourth
Window This
is the acceptability of the supplications offered through
the tongue of latent ability by all seeds, and through
the tongue of innate need by all animals, and through the
tongue of exigency by the desperate. Yes,
just as all these innumerable supplications are
observedly accepted and responded to, so in a large
measure do they in their entirety self-evidently indicate
and point to an All-Compassionate and Generous Creator,
the Answerer of Prayer. Fifth
Window We
see that things and particularly living beings come into
existence of a sudden, instantaneously. But, while things
which appear suddenly out of a simple substance should be
simple, formless, and without art, they are created with
an art and beauty requiring much skill, they are
decorated with ____________________ 3.
The members of some of those groups, even, are more
numerous than all the members of the human race from the
time of Adam up to the Last Day.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.687 painstaking
embroideries requiring much time, and adorned with
wonderful arts requiring many tools. Thus, just as each
of these instantaneous, wondrous arts and beautiful
combinations indicates the necessary existence of an
All-Wise Creator and the unity of His dominicality, so in
their totality do they show in most brilliant fashion an
infinitely Powerful, infinitely Wise Necessarily Existent
One. So
now, O stupefied denier! How can you explain this? With
‘nature’, which is unconscious, impotent, and
ignorant like you? Or do you want to make an infinite
mistake and call that All-Holy Maker ‘nature’, and on
the pretext of naming Him that, attribute the miracles of
His power to it and perpetrate an impossibility
compounded a thousand times over? Sixth
Window In
the creation of the heavens and the earth and the
alternation of night and day and the boats which travel
through the seas for the benefit of men, and in what God
sends down from the sky as rain and with it raises to
life the earth after its death and raises in it every
sort of living being, and in the circulating of the winds
and the clouds subjugated between the heavens and the
earth, are signs for a people who thinks.5 This
verse both points out the Divine existence and unity, and
forms a truly large window displaying a Greatest Name. The
gist of the verse is this: all the worlds in the higher
and lower levels of the universe show with all-different
tongues a single result, that is, the dominicality of a
single All-Wise Maker. It is as follows: just as in the
heavens -and astronomy even admits to it- extremely
well-ordered movements for extremely extensive results
show the existence, unity, and perfect dominicality of an
All-Powerful One of Glory, so too on the earth -and
geography even testifies to it and acknowledges it- most
orderly changes, like in the seasons, for most extensive
benefits show the existence and unity and perfect
dominicality of the same All-Powerful One of Glory. Also,
just as, being given their sustenance with perfect mercy,
and being clothed in different forms with perfect wisdom,
and being decked out with all sorts of senses through
perfect dominicality, each of all the animals on the land
and in the sea again testifies to the existence of the
All-Powerful One of Glory and indicates to His unity, so
in their totality do they show on a vast scale the
tremendousness of His Godhead and the perfection of His ____________________ 5.
Qur’an, 2:164.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.688 dominicality.
So too, just as each of the well-ordered plants in
gardens, and the finely adorned flowers which the plants
display, and the well-proportioned fruits which the
flowers display, and the embellished embroideries which
the fruits display, testifies to the existence of the
All-Wise Maker and points to His unity, so too in their
totality do they show most brilliantly the beauty of His
mercy and the perfection of His dominicality. Also,
just as the drops of rain sent from the clouds in the sky
charged with duties for important instances of wisdom and
aims and necessary benefits and results again demonstrate
to the number of their drops the the necessary existence
and unity and perfect dominicality of the All-Wise Maker,
so too do all the mountains on the earth and the
storing-up in them of minerals with all their different
properties for numerous different benefits show with the
strength and firmness of a mountain the existence and
unity of the All-Wise Maker and the perfection of His
dominicality. Also,
just as, being adorned with numerous varieties of
well-ordered flowers, the small hills in the plains and
among the mountains each testifies to the necessary
existence of an All-Wise Maker and points to His unity,
and all together show the majesty of His sovereignty and
the perfection of His dominicality, so the great variety
of the orderly shapes of all the leaves of the grasses
and trees, and all their different stages and states and
well-balanced and ecstatic movements again show the
necessary existence and unity and perfect dominicality of
the All-Wise Maker. Also,
just as the regular development at the time of their
growth of all living bodies, and each being equipped with
all sorts of organs and their being directed consciously
towards numerous different fruits again testify to the
necessary existence of the All-Wise Maker and indicate
His unity, and in their totality show on a truly vast
scale His all-encompassing power, and all-embracing
wisdom, and the beauty of His art, and the perfection of
His dominicality, so too souls and spirits being situated
in all animal bodies, and their being armed in most
orderly fashion with numerous sorts of systems and
faculties, and their being sent on numerous different
errands with perfect wisdom testify to the number of
animals, indeed to the number, of their faculties, to the
necessary existence of the All-Wise Maker and point to
His unity. And in their totality they show most
brilliantly the beauty of His mercy and the perfection of
His dominicality. Also,
just as the inspirations from the Unseen imparted to all
hearts, which make known to man every sort of science and
knowledge and truth and teach the animals how to procure
their needs, make known the existence of an
All-Compassionate Sustainer and point to His
dominicality, so their external and inner senses, which
like rays gathering immaterial flowers from the garden of
the universe, are all keys to different worlds,
demonstrate as clearly as the sun the necessary
existence, unity, oneness, and perfect domin
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.689 icality
of the All-Wise Maker, the All-Knowing Creator, the Most
Compassionate Creator, the All-Generous Provider. Seventh
Window The
perfect order of the works of art scattered over the face
of the universe, and their perfect proportion and
balance, and the perfection of their adornment, and the
ease in their creation, and their resembling one another,
and their exhibiting a single nature demonstrate on a
vast scale the necessary existence and perfect power and
unity of an All-Wise Maker. Moreover,
just as the creation of innumerable, different,
well-ordered complex beings from inanimate and simple
elements again testifies, to the number of those
composite beings, to the All-Wise Maker’s necessary
existence and points to His unity, so in their totality
do those beings demonstrate in truly brilliant fashion
His unity and the perfection of His power. Then
the utmost distinguishing and differentiating of beings
as they are renewed while being assembled and dissolved
-that is, during what is called the composition of
beings- amid the utmost degree of intermingling and
confusion, for example the distinguishing of the shoots
and growth of seeds and roots without confusing them in
any way although they are all mixed up, and the mixed-up
substances entering trees being divided between the
leaves, flowers, and fruits, and the nutrients which
enter the body in mixed-up form being differentiated and
separated out with perfect wisdom and perfect balance for
the cells of the body, - again demonstrate the necessary
existence and perfect power and unity of the Absolutely
Wise One, the Absolutely Knowing One, the Absolutely
Powerful One. Then
too the making of the world of minute particles into a
boundless, broad arable field and every instant sowing
and harvesting it and obtaining the fresh crops of
different universes from it, and those inanimate,
impotent, ignorant particles being made to perform
innumerable orderly duties most consciously, wisely, and
capably - this also shows the necessary existence of the
All-Powerful One of Glory and Maker of Perfection, and
His perfect The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.690 Thus
through these four ways a large window is opened onto
knowledge of God; addressing the reason, it displays the
All-Wise Maker on a large scale. Now,
you unhappy heedless one! If you do not want to see Him
and learn of Him in this way, divest yourself of your
reason; become an animal, and thus be saved! Eighth
Window The
testimony of all the prophets (Peace be upon them), who
among mankind possessed luminous spirits, relying on
their manifest and evident miracles; and the testimony of
all the saints, who with their luminous hearts are the
spiritual poles of mankind, relying on their
illuminations and wonder-working; and testimony of all
the purified scholars, who possess luminous minds,
relying on their researches and verifications; -the
testimony of all these to the necessary existence, unity,
and perfect dominicality of the Single One of Unity, the
Necessary Existent, the Creator of All Things, forms a
truly vast and light-filled window. O
you unfortunate denier! In whom do you place your trust
so that you do not heed these? Or by closing your eyes in
the daytime do you imagine the world to be plunged into
night? Ninth
Window The
universal worship in the cosmos self-evidently
demonstrates an Absolute Object of Worship. Yes, the
perfect obedience and worship of all angels and spirit
beings, -which is established by the testimony of those
who have penetrated to the spirit world and the inner
dimension of things and have met with the angels and
spirit beings- and of all living beings self-evidently
performing their duties in perfect order and in a
worshipful manner, and of all inanimate things
self-evidently carrying out their duties with perfect
submission and in a worshipful manner, all demonstrate
the necessary existence and unity of a True Object of
Worship. So
too the true knowledge of the knowing, which has the
strength of consensus, and the fruitful thanks of all
those who offer thanks, and the radiant glorification of
all those who recite God’s Names, and the
bounty-increasing praises of all those recite God’s
praises, and all the demonstrative proofs and The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.691 descriptions
of Divine unity of all those who acknowledge it, and the
true love and passion of all lovers of God, and the true
will and desire of those who seek Him, and the earnest
searching and penitence of all those who turn to Him,
-all these demonstrate the necessary existence and
perfect dominicality and unity of that Pre-Eternal
All-Worshipped One, the One Who is Known, Mentioned,
Thanked, Praised, One, Beloved, Desired, and Sought. So
too all the acceptable worship of perfected human beings
and the spiritual radiance and supplications, visions and
illuminations resulting from their acceptable worship
again demonstrate the necessary existence and unity and
perfect dominicality of that Eternal Being, the Enduring
Object of Worship. Thus, these three aspects open up a
broad, light-giving window onto Divine unity. Tenth
Window And
He sends down water from the sky and brings forth with it
fruits for your sustenance; and He has made subject to
you the ships, that they sail through the sea by His
command; and He has made the rivers subject to you; * And
He has made subject to you the sun and the moon, both
diligently pursuing their courses; and He has made
subject to you the night and the day. * And He gives you
of all that you ask Him. But if you count God’s
bounties, you will never be able to number them.6 The
mutual assistance and co-operation of beings in the
universe and the fact that they respond to one another
show that all creatures are raised by a single Nurturer,
are organized by a single Director, are under the
jurisdiction of a single Disposer, are the servants of a
single Lord. For through an all-embracing law of mutual
assistance, the sun cooks the necessities for the lives
of living beings on the earth through a dominical
command, and the moon acts as a calendar, and light, air,
water, and sustenance hasten to the assistance of living
beings, and plants hasten to the assistance of animals,
and animals hasten to the assistance of human beings, and
the members of the body hasten to assist one another, and
particles of food even hasten to the assistance of the
cells of the body. This most wise and generous mutual
assistance of these beings, and their responding to one
another’s needs and their supporting and strengthening
one another in accordance with a law of generosity, a law
of compassion, a law of mercy, show clearly and
self-evidently that they are the servants, officials, and
creatures of a sole, unique ____________________ 6.
Qur’an, 14:32-34.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.692 Single
One of Unity, a Peerless Eternally Besought One, an
Absolutely Powerful, Absolutely Knowing, Absolutely
Compassionate, Absolutely Generous Necessarily Existent
One. O
wretched bankrupt philosophy! What have you say in the
face of this mighty window? Can your chance interfere in
this? Eleventh
Window For
indeed in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest.7 Through
knowing a single Creator, all spirits and hearts are
delivered from the distress and confusion arising from
misguidance, and from the spiritual pains arising from
distress. They are saved by attributing all beings to a
single Maker. They find assurance through the remembrance
of a single God. For, as is proved decisively in the
Twenty-Second Word, if all beings are not attributed to a
single being, it becomes necessary to ascribe a single
thing to innumerable causes, and then the existence of a
single thing becomes as difficult as all beings. For if
attributed to God, innumerable things are ascribed to a
single being, and if they are not attributed to Him, it
becomes necessary to attribute everything to innumerable
causes. Then a single fruit becomes as difficult as the
universe, indeed, more difficult. For just as if the
management of one soldier is given to a hundred different
people, a hundred difficulties arise, and if a hundred
soldiers are given to the direction of one officer, they
are as easy to manage as a single soldier, so too the
coinciding of numerous different causes in the creation
of a single thing is difficult to the hundredth degree.
And if the creation of numerous things is given to a
single being, it becomes easy to the hundredth degree. Thus,
it is only by recognizing the Creator’s unity and
knowledge of God that man may be delivered from the
boundless distress arising from the desire to search for
the truth inherent in his nature. Since there are endless
difficulties and pains in unbelief and associating
partners with God, that way is certainly impossible and
devoid of truth. While since suitably to the ease,
abundance, and fine art in the creation of beings, there
is a boundless ease in affirming Divine unity, that way
is surely necessary and the truth. O
you miserable people of misguidance! See how dark and
full of pain is the way of misguidance! What is it that
makes you tak? it? And see how easy and pleasant is the
way of belief and affirming Divine unity! Take that way
and be delivered! ____________________ 7.
Qur’an, 13:28.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.693 Twelfth
Window Glorify
the Name of your Sustainer, the All-Highest, * Who has
created, and given order and proportion, * And Who has
determined [the nature of all things] and guided [them
towards their fulfilment].8 According
to the meaning of this verse, all things, and especially
living creatures, have been given a form and regular
proportions in accordance with wisdom as though they have
emerged from a purposeful mould. Contained in those
measured proportions are intricate extremities for
various benefits and uses. And the form of their clothes
and their proportions, which they change throughout the
periods of their lives, are each immaterial and
well-ordered and measured, and are composed of the
appointed events of their lives again in a fashion
suitable to wisdom and benefits. This shows clearly that
those innumerable creatures, whose forms and proportions
have been planned in the sphere of determining of an
All-Powerful One of Glory, an All-Wise One of Perfection,
and who have been given forms fashioned in the workshop
of Divine power, point to that Being’s necessary
existence and testify to His unity and perfect power with
endless tongues. Look at your own body and its members
and the fruits of its intricate and complex places! See
the perfect power within the perfect wisdom! Thirteenth
Window According
to the meaning of: And
there is nothing but extols His limitless glory and
praise,9 everything
recalls its Creator through its own particular tongue and
declares to His holiness. Yes, the glorifications all
beings utter audibly and through the tongues of their
beings demonstrate the existence of a single Most Holy
Being. The testimony of innate disposition may not be
rejected. Especially if the evidence comes from all
sides, it cannot be doubted. Look! The well-ordered forms
of beings, which through their manner of creation
comprise endless testimony, and offer evidence in
innumerable ways through the tongue of disposition and
look to a single centre like concentric circles - all
these are tongues. Similarly, their well-proportioned and
balanced assemblages are all testifying tongues. And
their perfect lives are all glorifying tongues. Thus, as
is proved in the Twenty-Fourth Word, their glorifying, ____________________ 8.
Qur’an, 87:1-3.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.694 extolling,
and testifying to a single Most Holy Being through all
these tongues demonstrate a Necessarily Existent One as
light shows the sun, and point to the perfection of His
Godhead. Fourteenth
Window Say:
who is it in whose hands is the governance of all things?10
* And there is nothing but its treasuries are with Us.11
* There is not a moving creature but He has grasp of its
forelock.12 * Indeed my
Sustainer watches over and records all things.13 According
to the meaning of these verses, all things are in need of
a single All-Glorious Creator in everything, in all
matters and circumstances. Indeed, we look at the beings
in the universe and we see that there is the
manifestation of an absolute force within an absolute
weakness, and the traces of an absolute power are
apparent within an absolute impotence; like, for example,
the wonderful states and stages plants display when the
life-force awakens in their seeds and roots. There is the
manifestation too of an absolute wealth within an
absolute poverty and dryness; like the poverty of trees
and the soil in winter and their glittering wealth and
riches in the spring. The sprinklings of an absolute life
are also apparent within an absolute lifelessness; like
the transformation of the elements into living matter.
There is, moreover, the manifestation of an
all-encompassing consciousness within an absolute
ignorance; like everything, from minute particles to the
stars, acting consciously and conforming to the order of
the universe and to the demands of wisdom and
requirements of life. Thus,
this power within impotence, and strength within
weakness, and wealth and riches within poverty, and life
and consciousness within lifelessness and ignorance
necessarily and self-evidently open up windows on every
side onto the necessary existence and unity of a
Possessor of Absolute Power and Absolute Strength, a
Possessor of Absolute Riches, an Absolutely Knowing,
All-Living and Self-Sufficient One. In their totality
they point to a luminous highway on a vast scale. And
so, O you heedless one who has fallen into the swamp of
nature! If you do not quit nature and recognize Divine
power, you have to accept that in everything, in every
minute particle even, reside an infinite force and power,
a boundless wisdom and skill, and the ability to see,
know, and administer most other beings. ____________________ 10.
Qur’an, 23:88.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.695 Fifteenth
Window According
to the meaning of the verse: Who
has created everything in the best way,14 everything
is cut out according to its innate abilities with perfect
measure and order, and put together with the finest art,
in the shortest way, the best form, the lightest manner,
and most practicable shape. Look at the clothes of birds,
for example, and the easy way they ruffle up their
feathers and continuously use them. Also, things are
given bodies and dressed in forms in a wise manner with
no waste and nothing in vain; they testify to their
number to the necessary existence of an All-Wise Maker
and point to that Possessor of Absolute Power and
Knowledge. Sixteenth
Window The
order and ordering in the creation and disposal of
creatures, which are renewed season by season on the
earth, show clearly a universal wisdom. Since an
attribute cannot be without the one it qualifies, this
universal wisdom necessarily shows an All-Wise One. The
wonderful adornment within the veil of wisdom,
self-evidently shows a perfect beneficence, and that
perfect beneficence necessarily points to a gracious,
All-Generous Creator. The all-encompassing benevolence
and bestowal within the veil of beneficence show
self-evidently an all-embracing mercy, and that
all-embracing mercy shows necessarily an All-Merciful and
All-Compassionate One. The sustenance and foods of all
living creatures above the veil of mercy, all perfectly
appropriate for their needs, show clearly a sustaining
Providence and a compassionate dominicality, and that
sustaining and administering necessarily point to an
All-Generous Provider. Yes,
all the creatures on the face of the earth, thus raised
with perfect wisdom, adorned with perfect beneficence,
bestowed upon with perfect mercy, and nurtured with
perfect compassion, testify to the necessary existence of
an All-Wise, Munificent, Compassionate, Providing Maker,
and points to His unity. Look
at and consider also the universal wisdom which is
apparent on the face of the earth as a whole and is to be
seen in its totality and shows clearly purpose and will;
and the perfect beneficence embracing all creatures,
which ____________________ 14.
Qur’an, 32:7. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.696 comprises
the wisdom; and the all-encompassing mercy, which
comprises the beneficence and wisdom and includes all the
beings of the earth; and the most generous sustaining and
nurturing, which comprises the mercy and wisdom and
beneficence and embraces all living creatures. Just as
the seven colours form light, and the light, which
illuminates the face of the earth, undoubtedly shows the
sun, so too that beneficence within wisdom, and mercy
within beneficence, and sustaining and nurturing within
mercy show brilliantly on a large scale and at a high
degree the unity and perfect dominicality of an utterly
Wise, Generous, Compassionate, Providing Necessarily
Existent One. O
you stupefied and heedless denier! With what can you
explain this wise, generous, compassionate, providential
sustaining, this strange, wonderful, miraculous state of
affairs which is before your eyes? With chance and
coincidence, which are aimless like you? With force,
which is blind like your heart? With nature, which is
deaf like your head? With causes which are impotent,
lifeless, and ignorant like you? Or do you want to give
the name of ‘nature,’ which is utterly impotent,
ignorant, deaf, blind, contingent¬ and wretched, to the
All-Glorious One, Who is utterly holy, pure, exalted, and
free of all defect and absolutely Powerful, Knowing,
Hearing, and Seeing, and thus perpetrate an infinite
error? So with what force can you extinguish this truth
brilliant as the sun? Under which veil of heedlessness
can you conceal it? Seventeenth
Window Indeed
in the heavens and earth are signs for those who believe.15 If
we observe the face of the earth in the summer, we see
that an absolute munificence and liberality, which
necessitate confusion and disarrangement, is to be seen
within a total harmony and order. Look at all the plants
which adorn the face of the earth! And
the utter speed in the creation of things, which
necessitates imbalance and disorder, is apparent within a
perfect equilibrium. Look at all the fruits which
decorate the face of the earth! And
an absolute multiplicity, which necessitates
unimportance, indeed, ugliness, is apparent within a
perfect beauty of art. Look at all the flowers which gild
the face of the earth! And
the absolute ease in the creation of things, which
necessitates lack of ____________________ 15.
Qur’an, 45:3. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.697 art
and simplicity, is to be seen within an infinite art and
skill and attention. Look carefully at all seeds, which
are like the tiny containers and programmes of the
members of plants and trees and the small cases
containing their life-histories! And
the great distances, which necessitate difference and
diversity, appear within an correspondence and
conformity. Look at all the varieties of cereal grains
sown in every part of the earth! And
the total intermingling, which necessitates confusion and
muddle, is on the contrary to be seen within a perfect
differentiation and separation. Consider the perfect
differentiation of seeds when they sprout, despite being
cast into the earth all mixed-up together and all
resembling one another with regard to their substance,
and the various substances which enter trees being
separated out perfectly for the leaves, flowers, and
fruits, and the foods which enter the stomach all
mixed-up together being separated out perfectly according
to the various members and cells. See the perfect power
within the perfect wisdom! And
the great abundance and infinite profusion, which
necessitate unimportance and worthlessness, are to be
seen as most valuable and expensive in regard to the
creatures and art on the face of the earth. Within these
innumerable wonders of art, consider only the varieties
of mulberry, those confections of Divine power, on the
table of the All-Merciful One on the face of the earth!
See them within the perfect mercy, the perfect art! Thus,
just as the day shows the light, and the light the sun,
the great value together with the utter profusion; and
the boundless intermingling and intermixing together with
the utmost differentiation and separation within the
utter profusion; and the great distance together with the
utmost conformity and resemblance within the limitless
differentiation and separation; and the infinite ease and
facility together with the infinite care in the making
within the utmost resemblance; and the absolute speed and
rapidity together with the total equilibrium and balance
and lack of waste within the most beautiful making; and
the infinite abundance and multiplicity together with the
highest degree of beauty of art within utter lack of
waste; and the utmost munificence together with absolute
order within the highest degree of beauty of art, all
testify to the necessary existence, perfect power,
beautiful dominicality, and unity and oneness of an
All-Powerful One of Glory, an All-Wise One of Perfection,
an All-Compassionate and Beauteous One. They demonstrate
the meaning of the verse: His
are the Most Beautiful Names.16 So
now, O you ignorant, heedless, obstinate wretch! With
what can you ____________________ 16.
Qur’an, 20:8; 59:24. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.698 interpret
this mighty truth? With what can you explain this
infinitely miraculous and wonderful state of affairs? To
what can you attribute these truly extraordinary arts?
What veil of heedlessness can you draw across this window
as broad as the earth and so close it? Where is your
chance and coincidence, your unconscious companion on
which you rely and call ‘nature,’ your friend and
support in misguidance? It is totally impossible for
chance and coincidence to interfere in these matters,
isn’t it? And to attribute to ‘nature’ one
thousandth of them is impossible a thousand times over,
isn’t it? Or
does lifeless, impotent nature have immaterial machines
and printing presses within each single thing, made from
each, and to the number of each? Eighteenth
Window Do
they not consider the government of the heavens and the
earth?17 Consider
this comparison which is explained in the Twenty-Second
Word: a fine, well-ordered, well-crafted work like a
palace self-evidently points to a well-ordered act. That
is to say, a building indicates the act of building. And
a fine, well-ordered act necessarily points to a
proficient agent, a skilful master, a builder. And the
titles of proficient master and builder point
self-evidently to a perfect attribute, that is, to a
faculty for the craft. And that perfect attribute and
that perfect faculty for the craft self-evidently
indicate the existence of a perfect innate ability. And a
perfect innate ability indicate the existence of an
exalted spirit and elevated essence. In
just the same way, the constantly renewed works filling
the face of the earth, indeed the universe, show clearly
acts of the utmost perfection. And these acts, which are
encompassed by total order and wisdom, point clearly to
an agent whose titles and Names are perfect. For it is
clearly obvious that well-ordered, wise acts cannot be
without the one who performs them. And titles of the
utmost perfection point to the utterly perfect attributes
of that agent. For according to the rules of grammar, the
active particle is formed from the infinitive [that is,
what is called ‘the root’ in Arabic grammar]; so too
the source and roots of nouns, names and titles are
attributes. And attributes at the utmost degree of
perfection point indubitably to utterly perfect essential
qualities. And those perfect essential qualities -which
we are unable to describe- point most certainly to an
essence which is at the utmost peak of perfection. Thus,
since in every part of the world all the works of art and
creatures ____________________ 17.
Qur’an, 7:185.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.699 are
perfect works, each of them testifies to an act, and the
act testifies to a Name, and the Name to an attribute,
and the attribute to a quality, and the quality to the
Essence. Thus, just as singly they testify to the
necessary existence of the All-Glorious Maker to the
number of creatures and indicate His oneness, so
altogether they form an ascension in Divine knowledge as
strong as the chains of beings. They form a proof of
reality in continuous sequence which no doubt can pierce
or penetrate. So
now, O wretched, heedless denier! With what can you smash
this proof which is as powerful as the chain of the
universe? With what can you close this latticed window
with its innumerable spaces through which shine rays of
truth to the number of these creatures? Which veil of
heedlessness can you draw over it? Nineteenth
Window According
to the meaning of the verse: The
seven heavens and the earth and all within them extol His
limitless glory, and there is nothing but it extols His
limitless glory and praise,18 the
All-Glorious Maker has attached innumerable meanings and
instances of wisdom to the heavenly bodies so that it is
as if, in order to express His glory and beauty, He has
adorned the heavens with the words of the suns, moons and
stars. To the beings in the atmosphere also He has
attached instances of wisdom and meanings and aims, as if
to make it speak through the words of the thunder,
lightning, and drops of rain, and give instruction in the
perfection of His wisdom and beauty of His mercy. He
causes the head of the earth to speak too with its
meaningful words known as animals and plants and displays
the perfections of His art to the universe. Then He makes
the plants and trees speak, all words of that head,
through the words of their leaves, flowers, and fruits
and again proclaims the perfection of His art and beauty
of His mercy. Their flowers and fruits, too, He makes
speak, through the words of their seeds, and gives
instruction to the aware and conscious in the subtleties
of His art and the perfection of His dominicality. And
so, out of these innumerable words of glorification, we
shall lend our ears and listen to a single shoot and a
single flower and their manner of expression, and learn
the way in which they testify. Yes,
all plants and all trees describe their Maker with
numerous tongues in such a way that they leave those who
study them in amazement, ____________________ 18.
Qur’an, 17:44. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.700 causing
them to exclaim: “Glory be to God! How wonderfully they
bear witness to Him!” Yes,
the glorification of plants at the time their flowers
open, and the moment they produce new shoots, and when
they offer their smiling words is as beautiful and clear
as themselves. For through the beautiful mouth of each
flower and the tongues of its orderly shoots and the
words of its well-measured seeds, the order demonstrates
wisdom and is observedly within a balance which
demonstrates knowledge. And the balance is within an
embroidery of art which demonstrates skill and craft. And
the embroidery of art is within an adornment which
demonstrates favour and munificence. And the adornment is
within subtle scents which demonstrate mercy and
bestowal. And these meaningful qualities one within the
other form such a tongue of testimony that it both
describes the All-Beauteous Maker through His Names, and
portrays Him through His attributes, and expounds the
manifestation of His Names, and expresses His making
Himself loved and known. If
you hear such testimony from a single flower, will your
doubts and suspicions and heedlessness persist when you
listen to all the flowers in the dominical gardens on the
face of the earth and hear with what elevated strength
they proclaim the necessary existence and unity of the
All-Glorious Maker? If they do persist, can it be said of
you that you are a conscious human being? Come,
now look carefully at a tree! See its delicate mouth
within the orderly emergence of the leaves in spring, and
the blossoms opening in a measured manner, and the fruits
swelling with wisdom and mercy and dancing at the blowing
of the breeze in the hands of the branches like innocent
children. See the just balance within the wise order
expressed through the tongue of the leaves becoming green
at a generous hand, through that of the flowers smiling
with the joy of a favour received, and through the words
of the fruits laughing through a manifestation of mercy.
See the careful arts and embroideries within the balance
demonstrating justice; and the mercy within the skilful
embroideries and adornment; and the various sweet tastes
and delightful scents, which indicate mercy and bestowal;
and the seeds, each of which is a miracle of power within
the agreeable tastes: all these point in most clear
fashion to the necessary existence and unity of an
All-Wise, Generous, Compassionate, Beneficent, Bountiful
Maker, a Bestower of Beauty and Favours, to the beauty of
His mercy and perfection of His dominicality. Thus, if
you can listen at the same time to the tongues of
disposition of all the trees on the earth, you will see
and understand what exquisite jewels are to be found in
the treasury of the verse: All
that is in the heavens and on the earth extols God’s
limitless glory.19 ____________________ 19.
Qur’an, 62:1; 64:1. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.701 O
you unhappy heedless one who supposes himself to be free
through his ingratitude! If the All-Generous One of
Beauty, Who makes Himself known to you and loved by you
through these innumerable tongues had not wanted you to
know Him, He would have silenced them. Since they have
not been silenced, they should be heeded. You cannot be
saved by closing your ears in heedlessness. For the
universe does not fall silent at you stopping up your
ears, the beings within it will not be silent, the
witnesses to Divine unity will not hold their tongues.
And for sure, they will condemn you... Twentieth
Window20 So
glory be to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all
things.21 * And there is nothing
but its treasuries are with Us; but We only send it down
in a measure defined. * And We send forth the winds to
fertilize [the plants], and We send down rain from the
skies providing you with water therewith, and you are not
the keepers of its stores.22 Just
as perfect wisdom and beauty of art are apparent in
particulars and results and in details, so do the
universal elements and large creatures take up their
positions in accordance with wisdom and art, despite
their apparently being mixed up together by chance
without order. Thus, as its other wise duties show, light
shines in order to proclaim and make known the ____________________ 20.
The true meaning of this Twentieth Window occurred to my
heart at one time in Arabic in this way:
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.702 Divine
creatures on the face of the earth, with the permission
of its Sustainer. This means that light is employed by a
Wise Maker; by means of it, He makes manifest His antique
works of art in the exhibitions of the market of this
world. Now
consider the winds! According to the testimony of their
other wise, generous benefits and duties, they are
hastening to extremely numerous and important tasks. It
means that their movement in waves is a being employed, a
being despatched, a being utilized by an All-Wise Maker;
it is a working expeditiously to speedily carry out the
commands of their Sustainer. Now
consider the springs, the streams, and the rivers! Their
welling-up out of the ground and out of mountains is not
by chance. For it is demonstrated by the testimony of
their benefits and fruits, the works of Divine mercy, and
by the statement of their being stored up in mountains
with the balance of wisdom in proportion to need, that
they are subjugated and stored up by an All-Wise
Sustainer, and that their flowing forth is their
conforming exuberantly to His command. Now
consider all the varieties of stones and jewels and
minerals in the earth! Their decorations and beneficial
properties, the wise benefits connected to them, and
their being prepared in a manner appropriate to human and
animal needs and vital necessities all show that they are
made in that way through the decoration, arrangement,
planning, and forming of an All-Wise Maker. Now
consider the flowers and fruits! Their smiles, tastes,
beauties, embroideries, and scents are all like
invitations to and menus for the table of a Most
Munificent Maker, an All-Compassionate Bestower of
Bounties; they are given as various menus and invitations
to each species of beings through their different
colours, scents, and tastes. Now
consider the birds! A certain indication that their
twittering and chirruping is an All-Wise Maker’s
causing them to speak is the astonishing way in which
they express their feelings to one another with those
sounds, and state their intentions. Now
consider the clouds! A definite indication that the
pattering of the rain is not a meaningless sound and that
the crashing of thunder and lightning is not a futile din
is that those strange beings are created in empty space.
Also drops of rain like the water of life are milked from
the clouds, suckling the living creatures on the earth so
needy and longing for them. These facts show that the
pattering and crashing are most meaningful and full of
wisdom. For at the command of a Most Generous Sustainer,
the rain calls out to those longing for it: “Good news!
We are coming!” They express this meaning. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.703 Now
look at the sky and consider carefully only the moon out
of all the innumerable bodies within it! That its motion
is at the command of an All-Powerful and Wise One is
demonstrated by the important instances of wisdom
connected to it and concerning the earth. Since we have
explained these in other places in the Risale-i Nur, we
cut this short here. Thus,
the universal elements we have enumerated from light to
the moon open in large measure a truly extensive window.
They proclaim and show the unity of a Necessarily
Existent One, and the perfection of His power, and
grandeur of His sovereignty. And
so O heedless one! If you are able to silence this voice,
crashing like thunder and extinguish this light brilliant
as the sun, forget God! Otherwise come to your senses!
Say, All Glory be unto You! And, The
seven heavens and the earth and all within them extol His
limitless glory!23 Twenty-First
Window And
the sun runs its course to a place appointed, that is the
determining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.24 The
universe’s lamp, the sun, forms a window onto the
existence and unity of the universe’s Maker that is as
brilliant and luminous as the sun itself. Indeed, despite
their great differences with regard to size, position,
and speed, the twelve planets including our globe known
as the solar system are in motion and revolve with
perfect order and wisdom and perfect balance without a
second’s confusion, and are bound to the sun through a
Divine law known as gravity, that is, they follow their
leader as though in prayer. This demonstrates on a vast
scale the tremendousness of Divine power and the unity of
their Sustainer. Those lifeless bodies, those vast
unconscious masses, are rotated and employed within the
utmost order and wise balance, in various forms and over
varying distances and in varying motions, proving the
degree of the power and the wisdom; you compare for
yourself. If chance was to interfere the tiniest amount
in this vast and complex matter, it would cause an
explosion so great it would scatter the universe. If it
was to arrest the motion of one of them for a minute, it
would cause it to leave its orbit and would open the
possibility of its colliding with another planet. You ____________________ 23.
Qur’an, 17:44. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.704 can
understand how awesome would be the collision of bodies
thousands of times larger than the earth. Now
we shall refer to the all-encompassing knowledge of God
the wonders of the solar system, that is, the twelve
planets which are the sun’s followers and fruits, and
consider only our own planet, the earth, which is here
before our eyes. We see that our planet is made to travel
on a long journey around the sun by a dominical command
as its most important duty -as is described in the Third
Letter- in a way that demonstrates the grandeur of
dominical majesty and the loftiness of the sovereignty of
the Godhead and the perfection of His mercy and wisdom.
It has been made a dominical ship filled with the wonders
of Divine art, and a travelling dwelling like an
exhibition, for God’s conscious servants to gaze on.
And the moon has been attached to it with precise
reckoning for mighty instances of wisdom, like being an
hour-hand for telling the time. The moon too has been
given various mansions through which to journey. Thus,
these aspects of this blessed planet of ours prove the
necessary existence and unity of a Possessor of Absolute
Power with a testimony as powerful as the globe of the
earth itself. You can make an analogy with the rest of
the solar system from this. Furthermore,
the sun is made to turn on its own axis like a
spinning-wheel, in order to wind into a ball the
immaterial threads called gravity and tie the planets
with them and set them in order. So too is it impelled
together with its planets at a speed that cuts five
hours’ distance a second towards, according to one
estimate, the Constellation of Hercules, or towards the
‘Sun of Suns’. This most certainly occurs through the
power and at the command of the All-Glorious One, the
Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity. It is as
though He makes the solar system perform these manoeuvres
like a platoon of soldiers under orders, and so
demonstrates the majesty of His dominicality. O
you astronomers! What chance can interfere in these
matters? The hands of what causes can reach them? What
force can draw close to this? Come on, you say! Would an
All-Glorious Monarch such as this display impotence and
permit others to have a role in his sovereignty? Would He
give to other hands living creatures in particular, which
are the fruit, result, aim, and essence of the universe?
Would He permit another to interfere? Especially man,
would He leave him to his own devices, the most
comprehensive of those fruits, the most perfect of the
results, His vicegerent on earth, and mirror-like guest?
Would He refer him to nature and chance and reduce the
majesty of His sovereignty to nothing; reduce to nothing
His perfect wisdom? The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.705 Twenty-Second
Window Have
We not made the earth a cradle, * And the mountains as
pegs, * And created you as pairs?25
* So behold the signs of God’s Mercy, how He raises to
life the earth after its death.26 The
globe of the earth is a head with a hundred thousand
mouths. In each mouth are a hundred thousand tongues. On
each tongue are a hundred thousand proofs, each one of
which testifies in numerous ways to the necessary
existence, unity, sacred attributes, and Most Beautiful
Names of an All-Glorious One. Yes,
we consider the first creation of the earth and we see
that rock was created from matter in a fluid state, and
that soil was created from rock. If that substance had
remained fluid, it would not have been habitable, and if
after becoming rock, the fluid had become hard as iron,
it would not have suitable for use. So what gave it its
state was surely the wisdom of an All-Wise Maker Who saw
the needs of the earth’s inhabitants. Then the layer of
soil was thrown over the pegs of mountains so that the
earthquakes arising from internal upheavals could breathe
through the mountains and they would not cause the earth
to be shaken out of its motion and duties, and so that
the mountains would preserve the earth from the
encroachment of the sea, and all would be storehouses for
the vital necessities of living beings, and would purify
the air from noxious gases so allowing living beings to
breathe, and so that they would accumulate and hold water
reserves, and would be a source and mine for the minerals
necessary for living creatures. Thus,
this situation testifies most clearly and powerfully to
the necessary existence and unity of a Possessor of
Absolute Power, an All-Wise and Compassionate One. O
geographers! With what can you explain this? What chance
could make this dominical ship full of these wonderful
creatures into an exhibition of marvels, and spin it at a
speed whereby it covers a distance of twenty-four
thousand years a year while not allowing a single of the
objects arranged on its face to fall off? Consider
also the strange arts on the face of the earth. How
wisely the elements are employed in their functions! How
well they attend to the guests of the Most Merciful One
on the earth through the command of that All-Wise and
Powerful One, and hasten to serve them! ____________________ 25.
Qur’an, 78:6-8. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.706 Also
look at these embroidered lines within strange and
wondrous arts on face of the earth, multicolored and full
of strange wisdom! See how the brooks and streams, seas
and rivers, mountains and hills have all been made
dwellings and means of transport suitable for His various
creatures and servants. See how with perfect wisdom and
order He has then filled them with hundreds of thousands
of varieties of plants and animals, and given them life
and made them rejoice, and how regularly minute by minute
He discharges the creatures and empties those dwellings
with death, and then once again in orderly fashion
refills them in the form of ‘resurrection after
death.’ This testifies with hundreds of thousands of
tongues to the necessary existence and unity of an
All-Powerful One of Glory, an All-Wise One of Perfection. In
Short: The earth, the face of which is an exhibition of
marvels of art, a display of wonders of creation, a place
of passage for the caravans of beings, and a mosque and
dwelling for the ranks of worshippers, is like the heart
of all the universe; it thus displays the light of Divine
unity to the same degree as the universe. O
geographer! If the head of the earth has a hundred
thousand mouths and with the hundred thousand tongues in
each it makes known God, and still you do not recognize
Him and plunge your head in the swamp of nature, then
ponder over the greatness of your fault! Know what a
grievous punishment it makes you deserve! Come to your
senses and extract your head from the swamp! Say, I
believe in God in Whose hand is the sovereignty of all
things. Twenty-Third
Window Who
creates death and life.27 Life
is the most luminous, the most beautiful of the miracles
of dominical power. It is the most powerful and most
brilliant of the proofs of Divine unity. It is the most
comprehensive and most shining of the mirrors displaying
the manifestations of the Eternally Besought One. Yes, on
its own, life makes known a Living and Self-Subsistent
One together with all his Names and acts. For life is a
light, a medicament, like a potion blended from numerous
attributes. Just as the seven colours are combined in
light, and various drugs are blended together in a
medicament, so life is a reality made of ____________________ 27.
Qur’an, 67:2.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.707 numerous
attributes. Some of the attributes in its reality expand
by means of the senses; they unfold and are
differentiated. However the greater part make themselves
perceived in the form of the emotions; they make
themselves known by welling up out of life. Furthermore,
life comprises sustenance, mercy, grace, and wisdom,
which are dominant in the planning and administration of
the universe. It is as if life fastens them on behind it
and draws them into the place it enters. For example,
when life enters a body, the Name of All-Wise is also
manifested; it makes its home well and orders it with
wisdom. In the same way, the Name of All-Generous is
manifested, and it organizes and decorates its dwelling
according to its needs. At the same time, the
manifestation of the Name of All-Compassionate is
apparent; it bestows all sorts of bounties for the
continuance and perfection of life. Again at the same
time, the manifestation of the Name of Provider appears;
it produces the sustenance, material and immaterial,
necessary for the perpetuation and unfolding of the life,
and in part stores them up within its body. That is to
say, life is like a point of focus; various attributes
enter one another, indeed, they become one and the same.
It is as if in its entirety life is both knowledge, and
at the same time power, and at the same time wisdom and
mercy, and so on... Thus, with regard to this
comprehensive essence, life is a mirror of the Eternally
Besought One reflecting the essential dominical
attributes. It is due to this mystery that the
Necessarily Existent One, Who is the Ever-Living and
Self-Subsistent One, creates life in great abundance and
plenitude, and scatters it far and wide and broadcasts
it, and gathers everything around life and makes it serve
it. For life’s duty is great. Yes, it is not easy to be
the mirror of the Eternally Besought One, it is not some
petty duty. Thus,
the instantaneous and continuous coming into existence
from nothing of these countless, numberless lives which
we all the time see before our eyes, -and of spirits,
which are the origins and essences of lives- their being
sent, demonstrate the necessary existence, sacred
attributes, and Most Beautiful Names of a Necessarily
Existent and Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One as
clearly as sunbeams show the existence of the sun. Just
as someone who does not recognize and accept the
existence of the sun is compelled to deny the light which
fills the day, so one who does not recognize the Sun of
Divine Oneness, Who is Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent
and the Giver of Life and Death, has to deny the
existence of the living creatures which fill the earth
and even the past and the future; he has to fall a
hundred times lower than an animal, to fall from the
level of life to become something utterly ignorant and
lifeless. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.708 Twenty-Fourth
Window There
is no God but He, everything will perish save His
countenance, His is the command and to Him shall you
return.28 Death
is a proof of dominicality as much as life is a proof of
it; it is a most powerful proof of Divine unity. As the
verse, Who
creates death and life29 indicates,
death is not non-existence, annihilation, non-being, an
authorless extinction; rather, as is shown in the First
Letter, it is a being discharged from service by an
All-Wise Author, a change of residence, an exchange of
bodies, a rest from duty, a being freed from the prison
of the body; it is a wise and orderly work of wisdom.
Indeed, just as the living face of the earth and the
well-fashioned and living creatures upon it testify to
the necessary existence and unity of an All-Wise Maker,
so too with their deaths do those living beings bear
witness to the eternity and unity of an Ever-Living and
Self-Subsistent One. Since it is proved and elucidated in
the Twenty-Second Word that death is an extremely
powerful proof of Divine unity and eternity, we refer the
discussion to that Word and here only explain one
important point. It is as follows: Both
with their existences do living beings point to the
existence of a Necessarily Existent One, and with their
deaths do those living beings testify to the eternity and
unity of an Ever-Living Eternal One. For example, the
face of the earth, which is a single living creature,
points to its Maker with its order and circumstances; so
too it points to Him when it dies. That is, when winter
conceals the earth’s face with its white shroud, it
turns the gazes of men away from itself -their gaze moves
to the past behind the corpse of that departing spring-
and it shows them a far wider scene. That is to say, all
the past springs of the earth, which were all miracles of
power, inform them that new living springtime creatures
of the earth will come, and since they all testify to the
existence of those future wonders of Divine power, each a
living earth, they testify brilliantly and powerfully and
on a vast scale to the necessary existence, unity,
everlastingness, and eternity of an All-Glorious Maker,
an All-Powerful One of Perfection, an Ever-Living Eternal
One; they demonstrate such brilliant proofs that whether
one wants to or not they make one declare: “I believe
in God, the One, the Unique!” ____________________ 28.
Qur’an, 28:88. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.709 In
Short: According to the meaning of the verse, And
gives life to the earth after its death,30 just
as this living earth testifies to the Maker with the
spring, so with its death it turns man’s gaze to the
miracles of Divine power lined up on the two wings of
time, the past and the future; it alludes to thousands of
miracles of power in place of one miracle. And each of
those springs testifies more certainly than this present
spring, for those which have departed towards the past
have gone together with their apparent causes, and after
them others like them have come in their places. This
means that apparent causes are nothing: only that an
All-Powerful One of Glory creates the springs, and tying
them to causes shows that He has sent them. As for the
faces of the earth lined up in future time, they testify
still more brilliantly. For they will be made anew from
nothing, from non-being, and sent; they will be put on
the earth, made to do their duty, and then sent away. And
so, O heedless one deviated into nature and drowning in
its swamp! How can something which does not possess hands
wise and powerful enough to reach all the past and all
the future interfere in the life of the earth? Can your
total nonentity of nature interfere in it? If you want to
be saved, say: “At the very most, nature is a notebook
of Divine power. And as for chance, it is a veil to
hidden Divine wisdom which conceals our ignorance.”
Approach the truth! Twenty-Fifth
Window Like
one struck points to the striker, and a finely fashioned
work of art necessitates the artist, and an offspring
requires a parent, and an under surface demands a top
surface, and so on... like all these qualities known as
relative matters which are not absolute and cannot exist
without each other, contingency, which is apparent in
particulars in the universe as well as in it as a whole,
points to necessity. And the state of being acted upon
which is to be seen in all of them points to an act, and
the createdness apparent in all of them points to
creativity, and the multiplicity and composition to be
seen in all demand unity. And necessity, an act,
creativity, and unity clearly and necessarily require one
who is not contingent, acted upon, numerous, compounded,
and created, but bears the attributes of being necessary,
an agent, one, and a creator. In which case, all
contingency, states of being acted upon, createdness,
multiplicity and composition testify to the Necessarily
Existent One, the One Who acts as He wills, the Creator
of All Things, the Single One of Unity. ____________________ 30.
Qur’an, 30:19. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.710 In
Short: Just as necessity is apparent from
contingency, the act from the state of being acted upon,
and unity from multiplicity, and the existence of the
former indicate the latter with certainty, in the same
way, qualities like createdness and having all their
needs provided for, which are to be seen in beings,
clearly point to the existence of attributes like Making
and Providing. In turn the existence of these attributes
point necessarily and self-evidently to the existence of
an All-Compassionate Maker Who is a Creator and a
Provider. That is to say, with the tongues of the
hundreds of attributes of this sort which they bear,
every being testifies to hundreds of the Necessarily
Existent One’s Most Beautiful Names. If this testimony
is not admitted, it becomes necessary to deny all the
attributes of this sort pertaining to beings... Twenty-Sixth
Window31 The
ever-renewed instances of beauty and fairness passing
over the faces of the beings in the universe show that
they are shadows of the manifestations of an Eternal
Beauteous One. Yes, bubbles sparkling on the surface of a
river and then disappearing, and other bubbles coming
after them and sparkling like those that preceded them
shows that they are mirrors to the rays of a perpetual
sun. In the same way, the flashes of beauty which sparkle
on the travelling beings in the river of flowing time
point to an Eternal Beauteous One and are signs of Him. Also,
the ardent love in the heart of the universe points to an
Undying Beloved. As is indicated by the fact that
something which is not found in the tree itself will not
be present in authentic form in its fruit, the ardent
love of God present in human kind, the responsive fruit
of the tree of the universe, shows that a true love and
passion is to be found in all the universe, but in other
forms. In which case, this true love and passion in the
heart of the universe points to a Pre-Eternal Beloved.
Moreover, all the attractions and magnetic forces which
appear in numerous different forms in the heart of the
universe, show to aware hearts that they are thus through
the attraction of a drawing truth. Also,
according to the consensus of the saints and those who
uncover the mysteries of creation, who are the most
sensitive and luminous of creatures, relying on their
illuminations and witnessing, they have received the
manifestation of a Beauteous One of Glory and through
their illuminations have perceived that All-Glorious One
of Beauty making Himself known to them ____________________ 31.
This window addresses those lovers of God who approach
Him with the heart in particular, rather than people
generally. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.711 and
loved by them. Their unanimously telling of this again
testifies with certainty to a Necessarily Existent One,
to the existence of a Beauteous One of Glory, and to His
making Himself known to man. Also,
the pen of beautifying and adorning which works on beings
and on the face of the universe points clearly to the
beauty of the Names of the pen’s Owner. Thus, the
beauty on the face of the universe, and the love in its
heart, and the attraction in its breast, and the
uncovering and witnessing in its eye, and the beauty and
adornment on it as a whole, open up a truly subtle and
luminous window. It displays to aware minds and hearts a
Beauteous One of Glory, an Undying Beloved, an Eternal
Worshipped One all of Whose Names are beautiful. O
heedless one who flounders amid suffocating doubts in the
darkness of matter and obscurity of delusion! Come to
your senses! Rise to a state worthy of humanity! Look
through these four openings, see the beauty of unity,
attain perfect belief, and become a true man!... Twenty-Seventh
Window God
is the Creator of all things, and of all things He is the
Guardian and Disposer.32 We
look at things which appear to be causes and effects in
the universe and we see that the most elevated cause
possesses insufficient power for the most ordinary
effect. This means that causes are a veil, and something
else makes the effects. To take only a small example out
of innumerable creatures let us consider the faculty of
memory, which is situated in man’s head in a space as
tiny as a mustard seed: we see that it is like a book so
comprehensive -indeed, like a library- that within it is
written without confusion the entire story of a
person’s life. What
cause can be shown for this miracle of power? The grey
matter of the brain? The simple unconscious particles of
its cells? The winds of chance and coincidence? But that
miracle of art can only be the work of an All-Wise Maker
Who, in order to inform man that all the actions he has
performed have been recorded and will be recalled at the
time of accounting, writes out a small ledger from the
great book of man’s deeds to be published at the
resurrection, and gives it to the hand of his mind. Thus,
since they are comparable to man’s faculty of memory,
make an analogy with all eggs, seeds, and grains, and
then compare other effects to these small and ____________________ 32.
Qur’an, 39:62. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.712 comprehensive
miracles. Because whichever effect and work of art you
look at, it contains such wonderful art that not only its
common, simple cause, but if all causes were to gather,
they would declare their impotence before it. For
example, suppose the sun, which is imagined to be a large
cause, to possess will and consciousness; if it is said
to it: “Are you able to make a fly?”, of course it
would reply: “Through my Creator’s bounty, there is
plenty of light, heat, and colours in my shop, but such
things in the fly’s being as eyes, ears, and life are
neither in my shop, nor are they within my power.” Furthermore,
the wonderful art and adornment in effects dismiss
causes, and indicating the Necessarily Existent One, the
Causer of Causes, in accordance with the verse, And
to Him goes back every affair,33 hand
over matters to Him. In the same way, the results,
purposes, and benefits attached to effects demonstrate
self-evidently that they are the works of an All-Generous
Sustainer, an All-Wise and Compassionate One, beyond the
veil of causes. For unconscious causes certainly cannot
think of some aim and work for it. And yet we see that
each creature which comes into existence does so
following not one, but many aims, benefits, and instances
of wisdom. That means an All-Wise and Generous Sustainer
makes those things and sends them. He makes those
benefits the aim of their existence. For
example, it is going to rain. It is obvious how distant
the causes that apparently result in rain are from
thinking of animals and having pity and compassion on
them. That means it is sent to their assistance through
the wisdom of a Compassionate Creator Who creates the
animals and guarantees their sustenance. Rain is even
called ’mercy’. Because, since it comprises numerous
works of mercy and benefits, it is as if mercy has become
embodied as rain, has been formed into drops, and arrives
in that way. Furthermore,
all the finely adorned plants which smile at creatures
and the embellishments and displays in animals
self-evidently point to the necessary existence and unity
of an All-Glorious One behind the veil of the Unseen; One
Who wants to make Himself known and loved through these
beautifully adorned fine arts. That is to say, this
adornment in things and these displays and embellishment
indicate of a certainty the attributes of making known
and making loved. While the attributes of making known
and making loved self-evidently testify to the necessary
existence and unity of an All-Powerful Maker Who is
Loving and Known. In
Short: Since causes are extremely commonplace and
impotent and the effects attributed to them are most
valuable and full of art, this dismisses causes. The aims
and benefits of effects also discharge ignorant and
lifeless ____________________ 33.
Qur’an, 11:123. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.713 causes,
and hand them over to an All-Wise Maker. Also, the
adornment and skill on the face of effects indicates a
Wise Maker Who wants to make His power known to conscious
beings and desires to make Himself loved. O
wretched worshipper of causes! With what can you explain
these important truths? How can you deceive yourself? If
you have sense, rend the veil of causes and declare:
“He is One, He has no partners!” Be saved from
innumerable delusions! Twenty-Eighth
Window And
among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the
earth and the variations in your tongues and in your
colours; verily in that are signs for those who know.34 We
look at the universe, and we see that a wisdom and
ordering embrace everything from the cells of the body to
the totality of the world. We
look at the cells of the body, and we see that through
the command and according to the law of one who considers
what is beneficial for the body and administers it, there
is a significant management in those miniscule cells. One
the one hand a sort of sustenance is stored up in the
stomach in the form of fat and expended at the time of
need, and on the other in those tiny cells there is a
regulation and storing up. We
look at plants, and a most wise planning and nurturing
are apparent. We
look at animals, and we see a rearing and nurturing which
are generous to the utmost degree. We
look at the mighty elements of the universe, and we see a
majestic government and illumination following momentous
aims. We
look at the universe as a whole, and we see a perfect
ordering for exalted instances of wisdom and elevated
aims, as though it was a country, a city, or a palace. As
is described and proved in the First Stopping-Place of
the Thirty-Second Word, from minute particles to the
stars, not the tiniest place is left for associating
partners with God. All beings are in effect so
interrelated that one who cannot subjugate all the stars
and hold them in his hand, cannot make a particle heed
his claims to be its lord and sustainer. It is necessary
to own all the stars in order to be the true sustainer of
a single particle. Furthermore,
as is described and proved in the Second Stopping-Place
of the Thirty-Second Word, one not capable of creating
and arranging the ____________________ 34.
Qur’an, 30:22.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.714 heavens
cannot make the individual features on the human face.
That is to say, one who is not Sustainer of all the
heavens cannot make the distinguishing features on a
single human face. Thus,
this is a window as large as the universe, which, if
looked through, the following verses will also appear to
the mind’s eye, written on the pages of the universe in
large letters: God
is the Creator of all things, and of all things He is the
Guardian and Disposer * His are the keys of the heavens
and the earth.35 One
who does not see these has either no mind or no heart. Or
he is an animal in human form!
And
there is not a thing but extols His limitless glory and
praise.36 One
spring I was setting out on a journey, a stranger, and
deep in contemplation. While skirting a hill, a brilliant
yellow buttercup struck my eye. It immediately brought to
mind the same species of buttercup I had seen long before
in my native land and in other countries. This meaning
was imparted to my heart: whoever this flower is the seal
of, the stamp of, the signature of, the impress of, all
the flowers of that species throughout the earth are
surely His seals, His stamps. After this notion of the
seal, the following thought occurred to me: just as a
seal stamped on a letter denotes the letter’s author,
in the same way, this flower is a seal signifying the
Most Merciful One. And this hillock which is inscribed
with the impresses of these species and written with the
lines of these plants so full of meaning, is the missive
of the flower’s Maker. This hill too is a seal. This
plateau and plain have taken on the form of a missive of
the Most Merciful One. After
this thought, the following fact came to mind: like a
seal, everything ascribes all things to its own Creator;
it proves each is the letter of its own Scribe. Thus, all
things are windows onto Divine unity in such a way that
each ascribes all things to a Single One of Unity. That
is to say, there is an impress so wonderful, an art so
miraculous in each thing, and especially in each living
being, that the one who makes it and inscribes it so
meaningfully can make all things, and the one who makes
all things is certainly Him. That is to say, one who
cannot make all things cannot create a single thing. ____________________ 35.
Qur’an, 39:62-3. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.715 O
heedless one! Look at the face of the universe! See the
pages of beings one within the other like letters of the
Eternally Besought One, each letter stamped with
innumerable seals of Divine unity! Who can deny the
testimony of all these seals? What power can silence
them? Whichever of them you listen to with the ear of the
heart, you will hear it declaring: “I testify that
there is no god but God!” Thirtieth
Window If
there were in the heavens and the earth other gods
besides God, there surely would have been confusion in
both.37 * Everything will perish
save His countenance; His is the command, and to Him
shall you return.38 This
is the Window of the scholars of theology (kalâm),
based on contingency and createdness, and their highway
for proving the Necessarily Existent One. For all the
details, we refer you to the scholars’ great books like
Sharh al-Mawaqif and Sharh al-Maqasid, and
here only demonstrate one or two rays which spill on the
spirit from the effulgence of the Qur’an and this
Window. It is as follows: It
is the requirement of dominion and rulership not to
accept rivals; they reject partnership; they repudiate
interference. It is because of this that if there are two
headmen in a village, they will destroy its tranquillity
and order. Or if there are two chief officials in a
district, or two governors in a province, they will cause
chaos. Or if there are two kings in a country, they will
cause complete and stormy confusion. Since a pale shadow
and petty example of dominion and rulership in impotent
human beings needy for assistance does not accept the
interference of rivals, opponents, or peers, then you may
compare how fully a rulership which is in the form of
absolute sovereignty and a dominion at the degree of
dominicality will enforce that law of the rejection of
interference in One Possessing Absolute Power. That is to
say, the most definite and constant necessity of Godhead
and dominicality are unity and singleness. The clear
proof and certain testimony to this are the perfect order
and beautiful harmony in the universe. There is such an
order from the wing of a fly to the lamps in the heavens
that the intellect prostrates before it in wonder and
appreciation, declaring: “Glory be to God! What wonders
God has willed! How great are God’s blessings!” Had
there been an iota of space for partners to God, and had
there been interference, as the verse, ____________________ 37.
Qur’an, 21:22. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.716 If
there were in the heavens and the earth other gods
besides God, there would have been confusion in both39 indicates,
the order would have been destroyed, the form changed,
and signs of disorder would have appeared. But as the
verses, So
turn your vision again: do you see any flaw? * Then turn
your vision a second time; your vision will come back to
you in a state dazzled and truly defeated40 state
and point out, however much the human gaze tries to find
faults, it can find none anywhere, and returns worn out
to its dwelling, the eye, and says to the fault-finding
mind who sent it: “I am worn out for nothing; there are
no faults.” This shows that the order and regularity
are most perfect. That is to say, the order in the
universe is a definitive witness to Divine unity. Come
now, let us consider ‘createdness’. The scholars of
theology stated: “The
world is subject to change. And everything which is
subject to change is created. Every created thing has a
creator, a maker. In which case, the universe has a
pre-eternal creator.” And
we say, yes, the universe is created. For we see that
every century, indeed, every year and every season one
universe, one world, goes and another comes. This means
that there is an All-Powerful One of Glory Who, creating
the universe anew, creates a universe every year, indeed,
every season, and every day, and shows it to the aware
and conscious. Then He takes it back and puts another in
its place. He attaches one universe after the other like
the links of a chain, and hangs them on the string of
time. For sure, the universes which appear from nothing
and disappear before our eyes every spring, each a new
universe the same as this world, are miracles of the
power of the Omnipotent One Who creates them. The One Who
continuously creates and changes the worlds within the
world most definitely created the world too. And He made
the world and the face of the earth a guest-house for
those great visitors. Now
let us come to the discussion of ‘contingency’. The
scholars of theology said: “Contingency
is equal in regard to both existence and
non-existence.” That is, if existence and non-existence
are both equally possible, one who will specify, prefer,
and create is necessary. For contingent beings cannot
create one another in uninterrupted and never-ending
chains of cause and effect. Neither can one create
another, and that the next, in the form of causation. In
which case there is a Necessarily Existent One Who
creates them. They rendered null and void the
never-ending causal sequences with the ____________________ 39.
Qur’an, 21:22. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.717 famous
twelve categorical proofs called ‘the ladder
argument,’ and demonstrated causality to be impossible.
They cut the chains of causes and proved the existence of
the Necessarily Existent One. And
we say this: it is more certain and easier to demonstrate
a stamp peculiar to the Creator of All Things on
everything than causes being cut at the extremities of
the world with the proofs refuting causality. Through the
effulgence of the Qur’an, all the Windows and all the
Words are based on this principle. Nevertheless, the
point of contingency possesses an infinite breadth. It
demonstrates the existence of the Necessarily Existent
One in innumerable respects. It is not restricted to the
way of the scholars of theology - cutting the chains of
causes, which in truth is a mighty and broad highway; it
opens a path to knowledge of the Necessarily Existent One
by ways beyond count. It is as follows: We
see that in its existence, its attributes, and its
lifetime, while hesitant among innumerable possibilities,
that is, among truly numerous ways and aspects, each
thing follows a well-ordered way in regard to its being
in innumerable respects. Its attributes also are given it
in a particular way. All the attributes and states which
it changes throughout its life are specified in the same
fashion. This means it is impelled on a wise way amid
innumerable ways through the will of one who specifies,
the choice of one who chooses, and the creation of a wise
creator. He clothes it with well-ordered attributes and
states. Then it is taken out of isolation and made part
of a compound body, and the possibilities increase, for
they may be found in that body in thousands of ways.
Whereas among those fruitless possibilities, it is given
a particular, fruitful state, whereby important results
and benefits are obtained from that body, and it is made
to carry out important functions. Then the body is made a
component of another body. Again the possibilities
increase, for it could exist in thousands of ways. Thus,
it is given one state among those thousands of ways. And
through that state it is made to perform important
functions; and so on. It progressively demonstrates more
certainly the necessary existence of an All-Wise Planner.
It makes known that it is being impelled by the command
of an All-Knowing Commander. Body within body, each has a
function, a well-ordered duty, in all the compounds that
one within the other themselves become components of
larger compounds, and has relationships particular to
each, in the same way that a soldier has a function and
well-ordered duty in his squad, his company, his
battalion, his regiment, his division, and his army, and
a relationship particular to each of these sections, one
within the other. A cell from the pupil of your eye has a
duty in your eye and a relationship with it, and has wise
functions and duties in your head as a whole and a
relationship with it. If it confuses these the tiniest
jot, the health and organization of the body will be
spoilt. It has particular functions with regard to each
of the veins, the sensory and motor
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.718 nerves,
and even the body as a whole, and wise relations with
them. That specified state has been given it within
thousands of possibilities through the wisdom of an
All-Wise Maker. In
just the same way, each of the creatures in the universe
testifies to the Necessarily Existent One through the
particular being, the wise form, the beneficial
attributes given it among numerous possibilities. So too
when they enter compounds, those creatures proclaim their
Maker with a different tongue in each compound. Step by
step till the greatest compound, through their relations,
functions, and duties, they testify to the necessary
existence, choice, and will of their All-Wise Maker.
Because the one who situates a thing in all the compounds
while preserving its wise relations, must be the Creator
of all the compounds. That is to say, it is as though one
single thing testifies to Him with thousands of tongues.
Thus, from the point of view of contingency, the
testimony to the existence of the Necessarily Existent
One is as numerous, not as the number of beings in the
universe, but as the attributes of beings and the
compounds they form. O
heedless one! One who does not hear this testimony, these
voices which fill the universe, must be dead and
unreasoning, is that not so? Come on, you say... Thirty-First
Window We
have created man in the best of forms.41
* And in the earth there are signs for those who are
certain * And in your own selves; will you not then not
see?42 This
Window is the Window of man, and it is concerned with
man’s self. For more elaborate discussions of it in
this respect, we refer you to the detailed books of the
thousands of learned and scholarly saints, and here only
point out a few principles we have received from the
effulgence of the Qur’an. It is like this: As
is explained in the Eleventh Word, “Man is a missive so
comprehensive that through his self, Almighty God makes
perceived to him all His Names.” For the details we
refer you to the other Words, and here only explain three
Points. ____________________ 41.
Qur’an, 95:4. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.719 FIRST
POINT Man
is a mirror to the Divine Names in three aspects. The
First Aspect: Like the darkness of the night shows up
light, so through his weakness and impotence, his poverty
and need, his defects and faults, man makes known the
power, strength, riches, and mercy of an All-Powerful One
of Glory, and so on... he acts as a mirror to numerous
Divine attributes in this way. Even, through searching
for a point of support in his infinite impotence and
boundless weakness in the face of his innumerable
enemies, his conscience perpetually looks to the
Necessarily Existent One. And since he is compelled in
his utter poverty and endless need to seek for a point of
assistance in the face of his innumerable aims, his
conscience in that respect all the time leans on the
Court of an All-Compassionate One of Riches and opens its
hands in supplication to Him. That is to say, in regard
to this point of support and point of assistance in the
conscience, two small windows are opened onto the Court
of Mercy of the All-Powerful and All-Compassionate One,
which may all the time be looked through. The
Second Aspect of being mirror-like is this: through
particulars like his partial knowledge, power, senses of
sight and hearing, ownership and sovereignty, which are
sorts of samples given to him, man acts as a mirror to
the knowledge, power, sight, hearing, and sovereignty of
dominicality of the Master of the Universe; he
understands them and makes them known. For example, he
says: “Just as I make this house and know how to make
it, and I see it and own it and administer it, so the
mighty palace of the universe has a Maker. Its Maker
knows it, sees it, makes it, administers it.” And so
on.. The
Third Aspect of being mirror-like: man acts as a
mirror to the Divine Names, the imprint of which are upon
him. There are more than seventy Names the impresses of
which are apparent in man’s comprehensive nature. These
have been described to a degree at the start of the Third
Stopping- Place of the Thirty-Second Word. For example,
through his creation, man shows the Names of Maker and
Creator; through his being ‘Most Excellent of
Patterns,’ the Names of Most Merciful and
All-Compassionate, and through the fine way he is
nurtured and raised, the Names of All-Generous and
Granter of Favours, and so on; he shows the differing
impresses of different Names through all his members and
faculties, all his organs and limbs, all his subtle
senses and faculties, all his feelings and emotions. That
is to say, just as among the Names there is a Greatest
Name, so among the impresses of those Names there is a
greatest impress, and that is man. O
you who considers himself to be a true man! Read
yourself! Otherwise it is possible you will a man who is
either animal-like or inanimate! The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.720 SECOND
POINT This
points to an important mystery of Divine oneness. It is
like this: The
relationship between man’s spirit and his body is such
that it causes all his members and parts to assist one
another. That is, man’s spirit is a commanding law from
among the laws pertaining to creation -the manifestation
of Divine will- which has been clothed in external
existence, and is a subtle dominical faculty. Thus, in
administering the parts of the body, and hearing their
immaterial voices, and seeing their needs, they do not
form obstacles to one another, nor do they confuse the
spirit. Near and far are the same in relation to the
spirit. They do not veil one another. If the spirit
wishes, it can bring the majority to the assistance of
one. If it wishes, it can know, perceive, and administer
through each part of the body. Even, if it acquires great
luminosity, it may see and hear through all the parts. In
the same way, And God’s is highest similitude,43
since the spirit, a commanding law of Almighty God,
displays this ability in the body and members of man, who
is the microcosm, surely, the boundless acts, the
innumerable voices, the endless supplications, the
uncountable matters in the universe, which is the
macrocosm, will present no difficulty to the
all-embracing will and absolute power of the Necessarily
Existent One. They will not form obstacles to one
another. They will not occupy that All-Glorious Creator,
nor confuse Him. He sees them all simultaneously, and
hears all the voices simultaneously. Close and distant
are the same for Him. If He wishes, He sends all to the
assistance of one. He can see everything and hear their
voices through everything. He knows everything through
everything, and so on... THIRD
POINT Life
has a most important nature and significant function, but
since it has been discussed in detail in the Window on
Life [the Twenty-Third Window] and in the Eighth Phrase
of the Twentieth Letter, we refer you to those, and here
only make the following reminder. The
impresses in life, which, intermingled, boil up in the
form of emotions, point to numerous Names and essential
Divine qualities. They act as mirrors reflecting the
essential qualities of the Ever-Living and
Self-Subsistent One in most brilliant fashion. But this
is not the time to explain this mystery to those who do
not recognize God or do not yet fully affirm Him, and so
we here close this door... ____________________ 43.
Qur’an, 16:60.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.721 Thirty-Second
Window It
is He Who has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the
Religion of Truth to make it prevail over all religion,
and God is sufficient as witness.44
* Say: O men! I am sent unto you all as the Messenger of
God, to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the
earth, there is no God but He; it is He Who gives life
and death.45 This
is the Window of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and
blessings be upon him), the Sun of the skies of
messengership, indeed, the Sun of Suns. Since it has been
proved in the Thirty-First Word, the Treatise on the
Ascension, in the Nineteenth Word, the Treatise on the
prophethood of Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon
him), and in Nineteen Signs of the Nineteenth Letter, how
luminous and evident is this most brilliant, large, and
light-giving window, we shall think of those two Words,
and that Letter and its Nineteenth Sign, and refer the
word to them. For now we just say this: Muhammad
(Peace and blessings be upon him), the living, articulate
proof of Divine unity, demonstrated and proclaimed Divine
unity throughout his life with the two wings of
messengership and sainthood, that is, with a strength
that comprised the consensus of all the prophets who had
preceded him and the unanimity of the saints and purified
scholars who came after him. He opened up a window onto
knowledge of God as broad and brilliant and luminous as
the World of Islam. Millions of purified and veracious
scholars like Imam Ghazzali, Imam-i Rabbani, Muhyiddin
al-‘Arabi, and ‘Abd al-Qadir Geylani look through
that Window, and show it also to others. Is there any
veil that can obscure a Window such as this? Can the
person who accusingly does not look through this Window
be said to possess reason? Come on, you say! ____________________ 44.
Qur’an, 48:28.
The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.722 Thirty-Third
Window Praise
be to God, Who has revealed to His servant the Book, and
has allowed no crookedness therein.46
* Alif. Lam. Ra. A Book which We have revealed to you, in
order that you might lead mankind out of darkness into
light.47 Think
of all the Windows we have mentioned as being a few drops
from the ocean of the Qur’an, then you will be able to
compare how many lights of Divine unity like the water of
life the Qur’an contains. But even if the Qur’an, the
source and origin and fountain of all those Windows, is
considered in an extremely brief and simple manner, it
still forms a most brilliant, luminous, comprehensive
Window. To see how certain and shining and luminous this
Window is, we refer you to the Treatise on the
Miraculousness of the Qur’an, the Twenty-Fifth Word,
and to the Eighteenth Sign of the Nineteenth Letter. And
beseeching the Merciful Throne of the All-Glorious One,
Who sent us the Qur’an, we say: Oh
our Sustainer! Do not take us to task if we forget or
unwittingly do wrong!48 * Oh our
Sustainer! Let not our hearts deviate now after You have
guided us!49 * Oh our Sustainer! Accept
this from us; indeed You are the All-Hearing, the
All-Seeing!50 * And turn unto us; for
You are the Oft-Returning, Most Compassionate.51 ____________________ 46.
Qur’an, 18:1. The
Words / Thirty-Third Word - p.723 Note God
willing, this Thirty-Third Letter of Thirty-Three Windows
will bring to belief those without belief, strengthen the
belief of those whose belief is weak, make certain the
belief of those whose belief is strong but imitative,
give greater breadth to the belief of those whose belief
is certain, lead to progress in knowledge of God -the
basis and means of all true perfection- for those whose
belief has breadth, and open up more brilliant vistas for
them. You cannot say, therefore, that “One window is
enough for me,” because if your reason is satisfied,
your heart wants its share as well, and so will your
spirit want its share. Your imagination will also want
its share of the light. The other Windows are also
necessary, therefore, for each contains different
benefits. In
the Treatise on the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH), it was primarily the believer who was addressed,
while the atheist was in the position of listener. But in
this treatise, it is the denier who is addressed, while
it is the believer who is in the position of listener.
This should be taken into consideration when looking at
it. Unfortunately,
due to an important reason, this letter was written with
extreme speed. It has also remained in the state of the
first draft. There will certainly therefore be some
irregularities and defects in the way it is expressed,
which are due to me. I request of my brothers then that
they look at it with tolerance, and correct it if they
are able, and pray for my forgiveness. Peace
be on those who follow Guidance, and may those who follow
their own desires be censured. Glory
be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You
have taught us; indeed You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.52 O
God, grant blessings and peace to the one whom You sent
as a Mercy to All the Worlds, and to his Family and
Companions, and grant them peace. Amen. ____________________ 52.
Qur’an, 2:32. |
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