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| gencnurCom | The
Twenty-Third Word [This
Word contains Two Chapters] In
the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. First
Chapter We
shall explain in five ‘Points’ only five of the
virtues of belief out of thousands. FIRST
POINT Through
the light of belief, man rises to the highest of the high
and acquires a value worthy of For
example: among man’s arts, the value of the materials
used and that of the art are entirely different.
Sometimes they are equal, sometimes the material is more
valuable, and sometimes it happens that five liras’
worth of art is to be found in material like iron worth
five kurush. Sometimes, even, an antique work of
art is worth a million while the material of which it is
composed is not worth five kurush. If such a work
of art is taken to the ___________________ 1.
Qur’an, 95:4-6. The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - p.320 antiques
market and ascribed to a brilliant and accomplished
artist of former times, and announced mentioning the
artist and that art, it may be sold for a million liras.2
Whereas if it is taken to the scrap-dealers, the only
price received will be for the five kurush’s
worth of iron. Thus,
man is such an antique work of art of Almighty God. He is
a most subtle and graceful miracle of His power whom He
created to manifest all his Names and their inscriptions,
in the form of a miniature specimen of the universe. If
the light of belief enters his being, all the meaningful
inscriptions on him may be read. As one who believes, he
reads them consciously, and through that relation, causes
others to read them. That is to say, the dominical art in
man becomes apparent through meanings like, “I am the
creature and artefact of the All-Glorious Maker. I
manifest His mercy and munificence.” That is, belief,
which consists of being connected to the Maker, makes
apparent all the works of art in man. Man’s value is in
accordance with that dominical art and by virtue of being
a mirror to the Eternally Besought One. In this respect
insignificant man becomes God’s addressee and a guest
of the Sustainer worthy of However,
should unbelief, which consists of the severance of the
relation, enter man’s being, then all those meaningful
inscriptions of the Divine Names are plunged into
darkness and become illegible. For if the Maker is
forgotten, the spiritual aspects which look to Him will
not be comprehended, they will be as though reversed. The
majority of those meaningful sublime arts and elevated
inscriptions will be hidden. The remainder, those that
may be seen with the eye, will be attributed to lowly
causes, nature, and chance, and will become utterly
devoid of value. While they are all brilliant diamonds,
they become dull pieces of glass. His importance looks
only to his animal, physical being. And as we said, the
aim and fruit of his physical being is only to pass a
brief and partial life as the most impotent, needy, and
grieving of animals. Then it decays and departs. See how
unbelief destroys human nature, and transforms it from
diamonds into coal. SECOND
POINT Just
as belief is a light which illuminates man and makes
legible all the missives of the Eternally Besought One
inscribed upon him, so too it illuminates the universe,
and delivers the past and the future from darkness. I
shall explain this mystery with a comparison I saw during
a vision, which concerns one meaning of the verse: God
is the Protector of those who believe; He leads them out
of darkness into light.3 ___________________ 2.
See, page 295, fn 19. The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - p.321 I
saw in a vision an awesome bridge built between two high
mountains situated opposite one another. Beneath the
bridge was a valley of great depth. I was on the bridge.
A dense darkness had enveloped every part of the world. I
looked to my right and saw a vast grave swathed in an
unending dense gloom, that is, I imagined it. I looked to
my left and as though saw violent storms and calamities
gathering amid terrifying waves of blackness. I looked
beneath the bridge and imagined I saw a profound abyss. I
had a dim torch in the face of this terrifying darkness.
I used it and could see a little with its light. A most
horrific situation appeared to me. In fact, such awful
dragons, lions, and monsters appeared around me and on
the bridge in front of me that I exclaimed: “Oh! This
torch brings me only trouble!”, and I angrily cast it
to the ground and broke it. Then on smashing it, the
darkness suddenly dispersed as though I had turned on the
switch for a huge electric lamp that lit up the whole
world. Everywhere was filled with the lamp’s light. It
showed everything as it was in reality. I
saw that the bridge I had seen was a highway through a
plain passing over even ground. The vast grave I had seen
on my right I realized consisted from top to bottom of
beautiful, verdant gardens and gatherings for worship,
service, conversation, and the rememberance of God under
the direction of luminous men. The precipices and peaks
on my left which I had imagined to be tempestuous and
stormy I now saw fleetingly to be a vast, lovely, and
elevated place of feasting, recreation, and enjoyment
behind mountains that were adorned and pleasant. And the
creatures I had thought to be terrifying monsters and
dragons, I saw were familiar domestic animals like
camels, oxen, sheep, and goats. Declaring, “All praise
be to God for the light of belief,” I recited the
verse, God
is the Protector of those who believe; He leads them out
of darkness into light, and
I awoke from my vision. Thus,
the two mountains were the beginning and end of life;
that is, this world and the Intermediate Realm. The
bridge was the road of life. To the right was the past,
and to the left, the future. As for the small torch, it
was the human ego, which is egotistical, relies on what
it knows, and does not heed the heavenly revelation. The
things imagined to be the monsters were the the events
and strange creatures of the world. Thus,
one who relies on his ego, who falls into the darkness of
heedlessness and is afflicted with the blackness of
misguidance resembles my first state in the vision,
which, like with the pocket-torch and due to deficient
and misguided knowledge, saw the past in the form a huge
grave amid darkness imbued with non-existence. It showed
the future to be a stormy and desolate
<big>The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - p.322 And
those who reject belief, their protectors are the evil
ones; they lead them out of light into darkness.4 But
if such a man attains to Divine guidance and belief
enters his heart, and if the tyranny of his soul is
smashed and he heeds God’s Book, he will resemble my
second state in the vision. Then the universe will
suddenly take on the colour of day and be filled with
Divine light. The world will recite the verse, God
is the light of the heavens and the earth.5 Then
he will see with the eye of the heart that the past is
not a vast grave, but where the groups of purified
spirits who each century having performed their duties of
worship under the leadership of a prophet or saint
exclaim, “God is Most Great!” on completion of the
duties of their lives, and fly to elevated abodes, moving
on to the past. He will look to the left, and through the
light of belief distinguish in the distance a
feasting-place of the Most Merciful set up in palaces of
bliss in the gardens of Paradise, beyond the mountainous
revolutions of the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter.
And he will realize that the storms and earthquakes and
tempestuous events are all submissive officials, and
understand that they are the means for instances of
wisdom which though apparently harsh are in fact most
gentle, like the storms and rains of spring. He will even
see death to be the introduction to eternal life, and the
grave, the door to everlasting happiness. You can deduce
further aspects for yourself. Apply the reality to the
comparison! THIRD
POINT Belief
is both light and strength. Yes, one who acquires true
belief may challenge the whole universe and be saved from
the pressure of events in accordance with the strength of
his belief. Saying, “I place my trust in God,” he
travels through the mountainous waves of events in the
ship of life in complete safety. He entrusts all his
burdens to the hand of power of the Absolutely Powerful
One, voyages through the world in ease, then takes his
rest in the Intermediate Realm. Later he may fly up to
Paradise in order to enter eternal happiness. Otherwise,
if he does not rely on God, rather than flying, the
burdens of the world will drag him down to the lowest of
the low. That is to say, belief necessitates affirmation
of Divine unity, affirmation of Divine unity necessitates
submission to God, submission to God necessitates
reliance on God, and reliance on God necessarily leads to
happiness in this ___________________ 4.
Qur’an, 2:257. The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - p.323 world
and the next. But do not misunderstand this, reliance on
God is not to reject causes altogether; it is rather to
know that causes are a veil to the hand of power and have
recourse to them. Knowing that attempting causes is a
sort of active prayer, it is to seek the effects only
from Almighty God, recognize that the results are from
Him alone, and to be thankful to Him. Those
who place their trust in God and those who do not,
resemble the two men in this story: One
time two men loaded heavy burdens onto both their backs
and heads, and buying tickets, boarded a large ship. As
soon as they boarded it, one of them left his load on the
deck, and sitting on it guarded it. The other, however,
since he was both stupid and arrogant, did not put down
his load. When he was told: “Leave that heavy load on
the deck and be comfortable,” he replied: “No, I
won’t put it down, it might get lost. I am strong,
I’ll guard my property by carrying it on my head and
back.” He was told again: “This reliable royal ship
which is carrying you and us is stronger, it can protect
it better than you. You may get giddy and fall into the
sea together with your load. Anyway you will gradually
lose your strength, and by degrees those loads will get
heavier and your bent back and brainless head will not
have the power to bear them. And if the Captain sees you
in this state, he will either say that you are crazy and
expel you from the ship, or he will think you are
ungrateful, accusing our ship and jeering at us, and he
will order you to be put into prison. Also you are making
a fool of yourself in front of everyone. For the
perceptive see that you are displaying weakness through
your conceit, impotence through your pride, and abasement
and hypocrisy through your pretence, and have thus made
yourself a laughing-stock in the eyes of the people.
Everyone’s laughing at you.” Whereupon the
unfortunate man came to his senses. He put down his load
on the deck and sat on it. He said to the other: “Ah!
May God be pleased with you. I’ve been saved from that
difficulty, from prison, and from making a fool of
myself.” O
man who does not place his trust in God! You too come to
your senses like that man and place your trust in Him, so
that you may be delivered from begging before all the
universe, trembling before every event, from pride,
making a fool of yourself, misery in the hereafter, and
the prison of the pressures of this world... FOURTH
POINT Belief
makes man into man, indeed, it makes man into a king.
Since this is so, man’s basic duty is belief and
supplication. Unbelief makes man into an extremely
impotent beast. Out
of thousands of proofs of this matter, the differences in
the ways animals and man come into the world are a clear
indication and decisive proof.
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - p.324 Yes,
these differences show that humanity becomes humanity
through belief. For when animals come into the world,
they come complete in all points in accordance with their
abilities as though having been perfected in another
world; that is, they are sent. They learn all the
conditions of their lives, their relationships with the
universe, and the laws of life in either two hours or two
days or two months, and become proficient in them.
Animals like sparrows and bees acquire in twenty days the
power to survive and proficiency in their actions that
man only acquires in twenty years; that is, they are
inspired with them. This means that the animals’
fundamental duty is not to be perfected through learning
and progress by acquiring knowledge, nor to seek help and
offer supplications through displaying their impotence,
but in accordance with their abilities to work and act.
Their duty is active worship. As
for man, he needs to learn everything when he comes into
the world; he is ignorant, and cannot even learn
completely the conditions of life in twenty years.
Indeed, he needs to go on learning till the end of his
life. Also he is sent to the world in a most weak and
impotent form, and can only rise to his feet in one or
two years. Only in fifteen years can he distinguish
between harm and benefit, and with the help of
mankind’s experience attract things advantageous to him
and avoid others that are harmful. This means that
man’s innate duty is to be perfected through learning
and to proclaim his worship of God and servitude to Him
through supplication. That is to say, it is to know the
answers of the questions: “Through whose compassion is
my life so wisely administered in this way? Through whose
generosity am I so kindly raised? Through whose
graciousness am I so delicately nurtured and ministered
to?” It is to beseech and supplicate the Provider of
Needs through the tongue of impotence and poverty; it is
to seek from Him. It is to fly to the high station of
worship and servitude to God on the wings of impotence
and poverty. This
means that man came to this world to be perfected by
means of knowledge and supplication. In regard to his
nature and abilities everything is tied to knowledge. And
the foundation, source, light, and spirit of all true
knowledge is knowledge of God, and its essence and basis
is belief in God. Furthermore,
since man is subject to endless tribulations and
afflicted with innumerable enemies despite his boundless
impotence, and suffers from endless needs and has
innumerable desires despite his boundless poverty, after
belief, his fundamental innate duty is supplication. As
for supplication, it is the basis of worship of God and
servitude to Him. In order to secure a desire or wish he
cannot obtain, a child will either cry or ask for it,
that is, he will supplicate through the tongue of his
impotence either actively or verbally, and will be
successful in securing it. In the same way, man is like a
delicate, petted child in the world of living creatures.
He has to either weep at the Court of the Most Merciful
and Compassionate One through his
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - p.325 weakness
and impotence, or supplicate through his poverty and
need, so that the things he wants may be made subject to
him, or he may offer thanks for their being made so.
Otherwise like a silly child who creates a fuss over a
fly, saying: “With my own strength I subjugate things
it is not possible to subjugate and things a thousand
times more powerful, and I make them obey me through my
own ideas and measures,” he displays ingratitude for
the bounties. And just as this is contrary to man’s
innate nature, so he makes himself deserving of severe
punishment. FIFTH
POINT Belief
necessitates supplication as a certain means of securing
needs, and both human nature has an intense desire for
it, and Almighty God decrees, Say:
My Sustainer would not concern Himself with you but for
your supplication,6 which
has the meaning of: What importance would you have if you
did not offer Me supplications? He also commands: Call
upon Me and I will answer you.7 If
you say: We frequently offer supplications, but
they are not accepted. But the verse is general, it
states that every supplication is answered. The
Answer: To answer is one thing, to accept is
something quite different. Every supplication is
answered, but its being accepted and exactly what was
sought being given is dependent on Almighty God’s
wisdom. For example, if a sick child calls the doctor,
saying: “Doctor! Doctor!”, and he replies: “Here I
am, what do you want?”, and the child says: “Give me
that medicine!”, the doctor will either give him
exactly what he asks for or something better and more
beneficial for him. Or knowing that medicine is harmful
for his illness, he will give him nothing. Thus,
since Almighty God is all-present and all-seeing, He
responds to the supplications of His servants. Through
His presence and response, He transforms the desolation
of loneliness and solitude into familiarity. But He does
this, not in accordance with man’s capricious and
importunate demands, but in accordance with the
requirements of dominical wisdom; He gives either what is
sought or what is better than it, or He gives nothing at
all. Also,
supplication is a form of worship and recognition of
man’s servitude to God. The fruits of this pertain to
the hereafter. The aims pertaining to this world are the
times of a particular sort of supplication and worship.
For example, the prayers and supplications for rain are a
form of worship. ___________________ 6.
Qur’an, 25:77. The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - p.326 Drought
is the time for such worship. Worship and supplications
of this sort are not in order to bring rain. If they are
performed with that intention alone they are not worthy
of acceptance, for they are not sincere worship. Sunset
is the time of the evening prayers. And eclipses of the
sun and moon are the times of two particular prayers
known as salat al-kusuf and salat al-khusuf.
That is to say, with the veiling of the two luminous
signs of the night and day, God’s tremendousness is
proclaimed, so Almighty God calls his servants to a sort
of worship at those times. The prayers are not so that
the sun and moon will be revealed (whose appearance and
how long the eclipses will continue have anyway been
reckoned by astronomers). In
just the same way, drought is the time for the prayers
for rain, and the visitation of calamities and infliction
of harmful things the times of certain supplications when
man realizes his impotence and through his supplication
and entreaty seeks refuge at the Court of One Possessing
Absolute Power. Even if the calamities are not lifted
despite many supplications, it may not be said that they
were not accepted. It should rather be said that the time
for the supplication is not yet over. If through His
graciousness and munificence Almighty God removes the
calamity, light upon light, then the time for that
supplication is over and done with. That is to say,
supplication has the meaning of worship and man’s
acknowledging his servitude to God. As
for worship and servitude to God, it should be purely and
sincerely for God’s sake. Man should only proclaim his
impotence and seek refuge with Him through supplication,
he should not interfere in His dominicality. He should
leave the taking of measures to Him and rely on His
wisdom. He should not accuse His Mercy. Indeed,
what is in reality established by the Qur’an’s clear
verses is that just as all beings offer their own
particular glorification and worship, so what rises to
the Divine Court from all the universe is supplication.
This is either through the tongue of innate ability like
the supplication of plants and animals, through they seek
forms from the Absolute Bestower and to display and
manifest His Names. Or it is through the tongue of innate
need. These are the supplications for all their essential
needs -beyond their power to obtain- offered by animate
beings. Through this tongue, the animate beings seek
certain things from the Absolutely Generous One for the
continuance of their lives, like a sort of sustenance. Or
it is supplication through the tongue of exigency,
through which all beings with spirits who find themselves
in some plight or predicament make supplication and seek
urgent refuge with an unknown protector; indeed, they
turn to the All-Compassionate Sustainer. If there is
nothing to prevent it, these three sorts of supplication
are always accepted. The
fourth sort of supplication is the most well-known; it is
our supplication. This too is of two sorts: one is active
and by disposition, and the other,
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - First Chapter - p.327 verbal
and with the heart. For example, having recourse to
causes is an active prayer. To gather together causes is
not in order to create the effect, but through the tongue
of disposition to take up an acceptable position in order
to seek the effect from Almighty God. To plough a field
is to knock at the door of the treasury of mercy. Since
this sort of active supplication is directed towards the
Absolutely Generous One’s Name and title, it is
accepted in the great majority of cases. The
second sort is to offer supplication with the tongue and
the heart. It is to seek certain wishes which the hand
cannot reach. The most important aspect, the most
beautiful aim, the sweetest fruit of this is this: “The
one who offers the supplications knows that there is
Someone Who hears the wishes of his heart, Whose hand can
reach all things, Who can bring about each of his
desires, Who takes pity on his impotence, and answers his
poverty.” O
impotent, needy man! Do not neglect a means like
supplication, which is the key to the treasury of mercy
and to an inexhaustible strength. Cling to it! Rise to
the highest peaks of humanity! Include in your
supplications those of all the universe, like a king! Say,
From You alone do we seek help,8 like a
servant and deputy representing all the universe! Be on
the Most Excellent Pattern of creation! ?? ___________________ 8.
Qur’an, 1:4.
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.328 Second
Chapter INCLUDING
FIVE REMARKS WITH RESPECT TO [Since
man has been created on the most excellent of patterns
and has been given most comprehensive abilities, he has
been cast into an arena of trial and examination in which
he may rise or fall to stations, ranks, and degrees from
the lowest of the low to the highest of the high, from
the earth to the Divine Throne, and from minute particles
to the sun. He has been sent to this world as a miracle
of Divine Power, the result of creation, and a wonder of
Divine art before whom have been opened two roads leading
either to infinite ascent or infinite descent. We shall
explain the mystery of this awesome progress and decline
of man’s in five ‘Remarks’.] FIRST
REMARK Man
stands in need of most of the varieties of beings in the
universe and is connected to them. His needs spread
through every part of the world, and his desires extend
to eternity. Just as he wants a flower, so he wants the
spring. Just as he desires a garden, so does he also
desire everlasting Paradise. Just as he longs to see a
friend, so does he long to see the All-Beauteous One of
Glory. Just as in order to visit one he loves who lives
somewhere else, he is in need for his beloved’s door to
be opened to him, so too in order to visit the
ninety-nine per cent of his friends who have travelled to
the intermediate realm and so be saved from eternal
separation, he needs to seek refuge at the court of an
Absolutely Powerful One Who will close the door of this
huge world and open the door of the hereafter, which is
an exhibition of wonders, and remove this world and
establish the hereafter in its place. Thus
for man in this position the only True Object of Worship
will be One in Whose hand are the reins of all things,
with Whom are the treasuries of all things, Who sees all
things, and is present everywhere, who is beyond space,
exempt from impotence, free of fault, and far above all
defect; an All-Powerful One of Glory, an
All-Compassionate One of Beauty, an All-Wise One of
Perfection.
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.329 O
man, if you are the slave of Him alone, you will earn a
place superior to all creatures. But if you hold back
from this servitude to Him, you will become an abased
slave to impotent creatures. If you rely on your ego and
own power and abandoning reliance on God and
supplication, deviate into pride and boasting, then you
will fall lower than an ant or bee in regard to goodness
and creation, and become weaker than a spider or a fly.
You will become heavier than a mountain in regard to evil
and destruction, and more harmful than a pestilence. Yes,
O man! You have two aspects: one is that of creation,
good, acts, and positivity. The other is the aspect of
destruction, non-existence, evil, negativity, and
passivity. In regard to the first aspect, you are lower
than a bee or sparrow, and weaker than a spider or fly.
Whereas in regard to the second aspect, you surpass the
mountains, earth, and skies; you take on a burden before
which they expressed their impotence and from which they
shrank, and you assume a sphere more extensive and vaster
than them. For when you create and do good, you are able
to do so only to the extent of your own power and
strength and to the degree your hand can reach. But when
you commit evil and destruction, then your evil
overwhelms and your destruction spreads. For
example, unbelief is an evil, a destruction, an absence
of affirmation. But that single evil comprises insulting
the whole universe, belittling all the Divine Names, and
abusing all humanity. For these beings have elevated
positions and important duties; they are dominical
missives, Divine mirrors, and Divine officials. But
unbelief dismisses them from their rank of being mirrors,
officials changed with duties, and bearing meanings, and
reduces them to the level of futility and being the
playthings of chance. And through the destruction of
death and separation, it lowers them to the degree of
being swiftly decaying ephemeral matter lacking all
importance and value, to being nothing. So too through
denial it insults the Divine Names, the inscriptions,
manifestations, and beauties of which are to be seen
throughout the universe and in the mirrors of beings. And
it casts down to a position more abased and weaker, more
powerless and needy than the lowliest transient animal
the one who holds the rank of God’s vicegerent on
earth, known as man. For man is a well-composed ode of
wisdom proclaiming the manifestations of the Sacred
Divine Names, and a seed-like self-evident miracle of
Divine power containing all the members of an eternal
tree, and who, with assuming the ‘Supreme Trust,’
rose to being higher than the earth, sky and mountains
and gained superiority over the angels. It reduces him to
the level of being a common sign-board lacking all
meaning, confused, and swiftly decaying. In
Short: In regard to destruction and evil, the
evil-commanding soul may commit infinite crimes, but
concerning creativity and good, its power is
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.330 extremely
little and partial. Yes, he may destroy a house in one
day, while it cannot be built in a hundred. However, if
the soul gives up egoism and seeks good and existence
from Divine assistance, and if it foregoes evil and
destruction and relying on the soul, and seeking
forgiveness becomes a true slave of God’s, then it will
manifest the meaning of the verse, God
will change their evil into good.9 Its
infinite capacity for evil will be transformed into an
infinite capacity for good. It will acquire the value of
the Most Excellent of Patterns and ascend to the highest
of the high. O
heedless man! See Almighty God’s munificence and
generosity! Although it would be justice to record one
evil as a thousand and a single good deed as one or not
at all, He records a single evil as one, and a single
good deed as ten, and sometimes as seventy or seven
hundred, or even sometimes as seven thousand. You will
also understand from this Remark that to be sent to Hell,
which is so dreadful, is retribution for the deed and
pure justice, while to be sent to Paradise is pure
generosity. SECOND
REMARK Man
has two faces: one, concerning his ego, looks to the life
of this world. The other, concerning worship and
servitude to God, looks to eternal life. In respect to
the first face he is a wretched creature whose capital
consists only of the following: of will he has only a
partial power of choice like a hair; of power, a weak
ability to acquire; of life, a fast dying flame; of a
life-span, a fleeting brief spell; and of being, a
swiftly decaying small body. Together with this, he is
one delicate, weak individual out of the innumerable
individuals of the numberless varieties of beings
dispersed through the levels of the universe. In
respect of the second face and especially his impotence
and poverty, which are turned towards worship, man has
truly great breadth and vast importance. For the All-Wise
Creator has included in man’s nature an infinitely vast
impotence and boundlessly huge poverty, so that he can be
an extensive mirror containing the innumerable
manifestations of an All-Powerful and Compassionate One
Whose power is infinite, an All-Generous All-Rich One
Whose wealth is boundless. Indeed,
man resembles a seed. This seed has been given
significant immaterial members by Divine power and a
subtle, valuable programme by Divine Determining, so that
it may work beneath the ground, and emerging from that
narrow world, enter the broad world of the air, and
asking its Creator with the tongue of its disposition to
be a tree, find a perfection worthy of ___________________ 9.
Qur’an, 25:70. The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.331 it.
If, due to bad temperament, the seed uses the immaterial
members given it in attracting certain harmful substances
under the ground, in a short time it will rot and decay
in that narrow place without benefit. But if the seed
conforms to the creational command of, God
is the Splitter of the seed-grain and date-stone10 and
employs well those immaterial members, it will emerge
from that narrow world, and through becoming a large
fruit-bearing tree, its tiny particular reality and its
spirit will take on the form of an extensive universal
reality. Similarly,
significant members and valuable programmes have been
deposited in man’s nature by Divine power and
determining. If man uses those immaterial members on the
desires of his soul and on minor pleasures under the soil
of worldly life in the narrow confines of this earthly
world, he will decay and decompose in the midst of
difficulties in a brief life in a constricted place like
the rotted seed, and load the responsibility on his
unfortunate spirit, then depart from this world. If,
however, he nurtures the seed of his abilities with the
water of Islam and light of belief under the soil of
worship and servitude to God, conforms to the commands of
the Qur’an, and turns his faculties towards their true
aims, they will produce branches and buds in the World of
Similitudes and the Intermediate Realm; he will be a seed
of great value and a shining machine containing the
members of an everlasting tree and permanent truth which
will be the means to innumerable perfections and bounties
in Paradise. And he will be a blessed and luminous fruit
of the tree of the universe. Yes,
true progress is to turn the faces of the heart, spirit,
intellect, and even the imagination and other subtle
faculties given to man towards eternal life and for each
to be occupied with the particular duty of worship worthy
of it. Progress is not as the people of misguidance
imagine, to plunge into the life of this world in all its
minute details and in order to taste every sort of
pleasure, even the basest, make subject to the
evil-commanding soul all the subtle faculties and the
heart and intellect, and make them assist it; to do this
is not progress, it is decline. I saw this fact in a
vision which is described in the following comparison: I
was entering a large town when I looked and saw it was
full of large palaces. At the doors of some of these
palaces was merry-making like a brilliant theatre; it
captured and held everyone’s attention and was
entertaining them. I looked carefully and saw that the
lord of such a palace had come to the door; he was
playing with a dog and assisting the merry-making. The
ladies were indulging in sweet conversation with
ill-mannered youths. Grown-up girls were organizing the
children’s games. And the doorkeeper ___________________ 10.
Qur’an, 6:95.
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.332 had
taken the role of directing the others. I then realized
that the inside of the huge palace was completely empty.
Its refined duties all remained undone. The morals of its
inhabitants had declined so that they had taken on these
roles at the door. I
passed on until I came to another large palace. I saw
that there was a faithful dog stretched out at the door
and a stern and taciturn doorkeeper; it had an
undistinguished appearance. I was curious: why was the
other the way it was and this palace like this? I went
inside. Then I saw that the inside was very merry.
Apartment over apartment, the people of the palace were
busy with their different refined duties. The men in the
first apartment were overseeing the administration and
running of the palace. In the apartment over that, girls
were teaching the children. Above that the ladies were
occupied with fine arts and beautiful embroideries. And
on the top floor, the lord was exchanging news with the
king, and was busy with his own elevated duties in order
to maintain the peoples’ tranquillity and his own
attainments and progress. They did not stop me since I
was not visible to them, and I was able to wander around.
Then I came out and looked around: everywhere in the town
were these two sorts of palaces. I asked about this and
they told me: “The palaces where there is merry-making
at the door and whose insides are empty belong to the
foremost of the unbelievers and people of misguidance.
The others belong to honourable Muslim notables.” Then
in one corner I came across a palace on which was written
my name, SAID. I was curious. I looked more closely and I
as though saw my image on it. Calling out in utter
bewilderment, I came to my senses and awoke. And
now I shall interpret this vision for you. May God cause
good to come of it. The
town was human social life and the city of man’s
civilization. Each of the palaces was a human being. The
people of the palaces were the subtle faculties in man
like the eyes, ears, heart, inner heart, spirit,
intellect, and things like the soul and caprice, and
powers of lust and anger. Each of man’s faculties has a
different duty of worship, and different pleasures and
pains. The soul and caprice and powers of lust and anger
are like the doorkeeper and the dog. Thus, to make the
elevated subtle faculties subject to the soul and caprice
and make them forget their fundamental duties is
certainly decline and not progress. You can interpret the
rest for yourself. THIRD
REMARK In
regard to his acts and deeds and his labour man is a weak
animal, an impotent creature. The extent of his power of
disposal and ownership in this respect is so narrow that
it is no greater than as far as his hand can reach.
Domestic animals, even, the reins of which have been
given to man, have each taken a share of his weakness,
impotence, and laziness, so that if they
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.333 are
compared with their wild counterparts, a great difference
is apparent. (Like domestic goats and cattle, and wild
goats and cattle). But in regard to passivity,
acceptance, supplication, and entreaty, man is an
honoured traveller in this hostel of the world. He is the
guest of One so generous that infinite treasuries of
mercy have been opened to him and innumerable unique
beings and servants subjugated to him. And a sphere so
large has been prepared for this guest’s recreation,
amusement, and benefit that half its diameter is as long
and broad as the imagination can stretch. Thus,
if man relies on his ego, and making worldly life his
goal, attempts to taste temporary pleasures while
struggling to make his living, he becomes submerged
within an extremely constricted sphere, then departs. All
the members, systems, and faculties given him will
testify against him at the resurrection and will bring a
suit against him. Whereas if he knows himself to be a
guest and spends the capital of his life within the
sphere of permission of the Generous One of Whom he is
the guest, he will strive for a long, eternal life within
a broad sphere, then take his rest and ease. And later,
he may rise to the highest of the high. Moreover,
all the members and systems given to man will be happy
with him and testify in favour of him in the hereafter.
For sure, all the wonderful faculties given to men were
not for this insignificant worldly life, but for an
everlasting life of great significance. For if we compare
man with the animals, we see that man is very rich in
regard to faculties and members, a hundred times more so
than the animals. But in the pleasures of worldly life
and in animal life he falls a hundred times lower. For in
each pleasure he receives is the trace of thousands of
pains. The pains of the past and fears of the future and
the pain at each pleasure’s passing spoil the enjoyment
to had from them, and leave a trace in the pleasure. But
animals are not like that. They receive pleasure with no
pains. They take enjoyment with no sorrow. Neither the
sorrows of the past cause them suffering, nor the fears
of the future distress them. They live peacefully, and
offer thanks to their Creator. This
means that if man, who is created on the most excellent
of patterns, restricts his thought to the life of this
world, he falls a hundred times lower than a creature
like a sparrow, although he is higher than the animals. I
explained this fact in another place by means of a
comparison. It is related to this, so I shall repeat it
here. It was like this: A
man gave one of his servants ten pieces of gold and told
him to have a suit of clothes made in a particular cloth.
Then to a second one, he gave a thousand pieces of gold,
and putting in the servant’s pocket a note on which
certain things were written, sent him to a market. The
first servant bought an excellent suit of the finest
cloth with the ten pieces of gold. While the second
servant did not use his head, and looking at the first
servant and not reading the account-note in his pocket,
he gave the thousand pieces of gold to a shop The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.334 keeper
and asked for a suit of clothes. The dishonest shopkeeper
gave him a suit of the very worst-quality cloth. Then the
wretched servant returned to his lord and received a
severe reprimand and a terrible punishment. Thus,
even the most unintelligent will understand that the
thousand pieces of gold given the second servant were not
to buy a suit of clothes, but for some important trade. In
just the same way, each of the immaterial members and
subtle faculties in man have expanded to a degree a
hundred times greater than that of the animals. For
example, consider faculties and members like man’s
eyes, which can discern all the degrees of beauty, and
his sense of taste, which can distinguish all the
varieties of the particular tastes of foods, and his
mind, which can penetrate to all the subtlest points of
reality, and his heart, which yearns for every sort of
perfection, and then consider the extremely simple
members of the animals which have developed only one or
two degrees. There is just this difference, that in
animals a member particular to some function and special
to a particular species develops more. But this
development is particular. The
reason for man’s wealth in regard to faculties is this:
by reason of the mind and thought, man’s senses and
feelings have greatly developed and expanded. And
numerous emotions have come into being because of the
multiplicity of his needs. And his senses have become
extremely diverse. And because of the comprehensiveness
of his nature, desires have appeared turned towards
numerous aims. And because he has numerous duties due to
his nature, his members and faculties have expanded
greatly. And since he has been created with a nature
capable of performing every sort of worship, he has been
given abilities which embrace the seeds of all
perfections. Thus,
this great wealth in faculties and abundant capital was
certainly not given for procuring this temporary worldly
life. Rather, man’s fundamental duty is to perform his
duties, which look to innumerable aims; and proclaim his
impotence, poverty, and faults in the form of worship;
and observing the glorifications of beings with a
universal eye, to bear witness to them; and seeing the
instances of the assistance of the Most Merciful One, to
offer thanks; and gazing on the miracles of dominical
power in beings, to contemplate on them as objects from
which lessons may be drawn. O
man who worships this world, is the lover of worldly
life, and is heedless of the meaning of ‘the most
excellent of patterns’! The Old Said saw the reality of
worldly life in a vision. It transformed him into the New
Said. You too listen to it in the form of a comparison: I
saw that I was a traveller and was going on a long
journey; that is to say, I was being sent. The one who
was my lord gradually gave me some of the money from the
sixty gold pieces he had allotted me. I spent them, and
came The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.335 to
a hostel where there were amusements of all kinds. In one
night in that hostel I spent ten pieces of gold on
gambling, amusements, and the enjoyment of fame. In the
morning I had no money left. Moreover I had done no trade
nor bought any goods for the place I was going. All that
remained to me from the money were sins and pains, and
from the amusements, wounds and sorrow. While in that
sorry state, a man suddenly appeared. He said to me: “You
have wasted all your capital and deserve punishment. You
are going to your destination bankrupt and with your
hands empty. But if you have any sense, the door of
repentance is open. When you receive the fifteen pieces
of gold that remain to you, keep half of them in reserve.
That is, obtain the things necessary for you in the place
where you are going.” I
looked, my soul did not agree to this. So
he said: “A third, then.” My
soul still did not obey him. Then
he said: “A quarter.” My
soul could not give up the habits to which it was
addicted, so the man angrily turned his back on me and
left. Suddenly,
the scene changed. I was in a train in a tunnel, which
was travelling fast as though downwards vertically. I
took fright. But what could I do, there was no escape
anywhere. Strangely, attractive flowers and enticing
fruits appeared on both sides of the train. And I, like
the foolish and inexperienced, looked at them and
stretching out my hand, tried to pick them. But they were
covered in thorns and tore at my hands when I touched
them making them bleed. With the movement of the train,
my hands were lacerated at being parted from them. They
cost me much. Suddenly a porter on the train said: “Give
me five kurush and I shall give you as much of the
flowers and fruits as you want. You are caused the loss
of a hundred kurush with your hands being torn,
rather than five kurush. Also there is a penalty;
you cannot pick them without permission.” In
distress I put my head out of the window and looked ahead
to see when the tunnel would end. I saw that in place of
the tunnel’s entrance were numerous holes. People were
being thrown into them from the long train. I saw a hole
opposite me. On either side of it was a gravestone. I
looked in amazement. I saw that written on one of the
gravestones was the name SAID. In my bewilderment and
anxiety I exclaimed: “Alas!” Then suddenly I heard
the voice of the man who had given me advice at the door
of the hostel. He asked: “Have
you come to your senses?” The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.336 I
replied: “Yes, but it is too late now.” So
he said: “Repent and place your trust in God.” I
replied that I would. Then I awoke and saw myself as the
New Said; the Old Said had disappeared. So,
that was the vision. May God cause good to come of it! I
shall interpret one or two parts of it, then you can
interpret the rest for yourself. The
journey was the journey which passes from the World of
Spirits, through the mother’s womb, youth, old age, the
grave, the Intermediate Realm, the resurrection, and the
Bridge of Sirat towards eternity. The sixty pieces of
gold were the sixty years of life. I reckoned I saw the
vision when I was forty-five years old. I had nothing to
guarantee it, but a sincere student of the All-Wise
Qur’an advised me to spend half of the fifteen that
remained to me on the hereafter. The hostel for me was
Istanbul. The train was time, and each year a carriage.
As for the tunnel, it was the life of this world. The
thorny flowers and fruits were illicit pleasures and
forbidden amusements which cause pain while indulging in
them on thinking of their passing, and on separation
lacerate the heart, making it bleed. They also cause a
punishment to be inflicted. The porter on the train told
me to give him five kurush so that he would give
me as many as I wanted. The
meaning of this is as follows: the pleasures and
enjoyment man receives through licit striving within the
sphere of what is lawful are sufficient for him. No need
remains to enter the unlawful. You may interpret the rest
for yourself. FOURTH
REMARK Man
resembles a delicate and petted child in the universe.
There is a great strength in his weakness and great power
in his impotence. For it is through the strength of his
weakness and power of his impotence that beings have been
subjected to him. If man understands his weakness and
offers supplications verbally and by state and conduct,
and recognizes his impotence and seeks help, since he has
offered thanks by exhibiting them, he achieves his aims
and his desires are subjugated to him in a way far
exceeding what he could achieve with his own power. Only,
he sometimes wrongly attributes to his own power the
attainment of a wish that has been obtained for him
through the supplications offered by the tongue of his
disposition. For example, the strength in the weakness of
a chick causes the mother hen to attack a lion. And its
newly-born lion cub subjugates to itself the savage and
hungry lioness, leaving the mother hungry and the cub
full. See this strength in weakness and manifestation of
Divine mercy, which are worthy of notice! Just
as through crying or asking or looking unhappy, a child
subjugates the strong to himself, and is so successful in
getting what he wants that he The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.337 could
not obtain one thousandth of it with a thousand times his
own strength. That is to say, since weakness and
impotence excite compassion and a sense of protection
towards him, the child can subjugate heroes to himself
with his tiny finger. Now, should such a child with
foolish conceit deny the compassion and accuse the
protection saying: “I subjugate these with my own
strength”, of course he will receive a slap. In
the same way, if, like Qarun, man says: I
have been given it on account of the knowledge I have,11 that
is, “I gained this through my own knowledge and my own
power” in a way that demonstrates ingratitude and
denies his Creator’s mercy and accuses His wisdom, he
will of course deserve a punishing blow. This means that
man’s domination and human advances and the attainments
of civilization, which are to be observed, have been made
subject to him not through his attracting them or
conquering them or through combat, but due to his
weakness. He has been assisted because of his impotence.
They have been bestowed on him due to his indigence. He
has been inspired with them due to his ignorance. They
have been given him due to his need. And the reason for
his domination is not strength and the power of
knowledge, but the compassion and clemency of the
Sustainer and Divine mercy and wisdom: they have
subjugated things to him. Yes, what clothes man, who is
defeated by vermin like eyeless scorpions and legless
snakes, in silk from a tiny worm and feeds him honey from
a poisonous insect is not his own power, but the
subjugation of the Sustainer and the bestowal of the Most
Merciful, which are the fruits of his weakness. O
man! Since the reality of the matter is thus, give up
egotism and arrogance. With the tongue of seeking help
proclaim your impotence and weakness at the Divine Court,
and with the tongue of entreaty and supplication, your
poverty and need. Show that you are His slave. Say: God
is enough for us, for He is the Best Disposer of Affairs,12 and
rise in degree. Also,
do not say: “I am nothing. What importance do I have
that the universe should purposefully be made subject to
me by an Absolutely All-Wise One, and universal thanks
required of me?” Because for sure you are as though
nothing with respect to your soul and form, but from the
point of view of duty and rank, you are an observant
spectator of this majestic universe, an eloquent,
articulate tongue of these beings so full of wisdom, a
discerning reader of this book of the universe, a
supervisor of these creatures ___________________ 11.
Qur’an, 28:78.
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.338 full
of wonder at their glorifications, and like a foreman of
these beings full of respect for their worship. To
conclude: If you heed Satan and your soul, you
will fall to the lowest of the low. But if you heed Truth
and the Qur’an, you will rise to the highest of the
high and become the Most Excellent Pattern of the
universe. FIFTH
REMARK Man
has been sent to this world as an official and guest, and
has been given abilities of great significance. And he
has been entrusted with important duties in accordance
with those abilities. In order to employ man in
fulfilling those aims and duties, powerful encouragement
and severe threats have been made. We shall here
summarize the fundamentals of worship and of man’s
duties, which we have explained at length elsewhere, so
that the mystery of ‘the Most Excellent of Patterns’
may be understood. On
coming into the universe man has two aspects of worship
and being a slave of God’s. One is worship and
contemplation in the absence of the Object of Worship.
The other is worship and supplication in His presence and
addressing Him directly. First
Aspect: It is to affirm submissively the sovereignty
of dominicality apparent in the universe and to observe
its perfections and virtues in wonder. Then
it is to proclaim and herald the unique arts which
consist of the inscriptions of the Sacred Divine Names
and to display them to others. Then
it is to weigh on the scales of perception the jewels of
the dominical Names, which are all like hidden treasures;
it is to appreciatively affirm their value with the
discerning heart. Then
it is to study and ponder over in wonder the pages of
beings and leaves of the earth and sky, which are like
missives of the pen of power. Then
through beholding admiringly the adornment and subtle
arts in beings, it is to feel love for knowledge of their
All-Beauteous Creator, and to
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.339 yearn
to ascend to the presence of their All-Perfect Maker and
to receive His favours. Then
he sees that an All-Compassionate Sustainer wants to make
himself loved through the fine fruits of His mercy. So
through confining his love and worship to Him, he makes
himself love Him. Then
he sees that an All-Generous Bestower is nurturing him
with the delights of bounties material and immaterial,
and in return he offers Him thanks and praise with his
actions, conduct, words, and as far as he can, with all
his senses and faculties. Then
he sees that an All-Beauteous and Glorious One is
announcing His tremendousness and perfections, and glory
and beauty in the mirrors of these beings, and is drawing
attentive gazes to them. So in response he declares:
“God is Most Great! Glory be to God!”, and in
humility prostrates in love and wonder. Then
he sees that a Possessor of Absolute Riches is displaying
His boundless wealth and treasuries amid an absolute
munificence. So in response, exalting and praising Him,
he entreats and asks for them, expressing his utter need. Then
he sees that the All-Glorious Creator has made the face
of the earth like an exhibition and displayed on it all
His antique works of art. So in response he exclaims in
appreciation: “What wonders God has willed!”, and in
admiration: “What blessings God has bestowed!”, and
in wonder: “Glory be to God!“, and in astonishment:
“God is Most Great!” Then
he sees that in His palace of the universe a Single One
of Unity has struck seals of unity on all beings with His
inimitable signature, and with His stamps, signets, and
cyphers particular to Him; that He inscribes the signs of
His unity; and planting the banner of unity in every
region of the world, He proclaims His dominicality. And
he responds with assent, belief, submission, worship, and
affirmation of His unity. Thus,
through worship and contemplation of this kind he becomes
a true man. He shows that he is on the Most Excellent of
Patterns. Through the auspiciousness of belief he becomes
a reliable vicegerent of God’s on earth worthy of
bearing the Trust. O
heedless man created on the Most Excellent of Patterns,
who, through the misuse of his will is descending to the
lowest of the low! Listen to me! In the heedlessness
induced by the intoxication of youth I, like you, thought
the world was fine and lovely. Then the moment I awoke in
the morning of
The
Words / Twenty-Third Word - Second Chapter - p.340 old
age, I saw how ugly was the world’s face that was not
turned towards the hereafter, which I had previously
imagined to be beautiful. To see this and how beautiful
was its true face, which looks to the hereafter, you may
refer to the two ‘Signboards’ in the Second Station
of the Seventeenth Word, and see for yourself. The
First Signboard depicts the reality of the world of
the people of neglect, which long ago, like the people of
misguidance, I saw through the veil of heedlessness, but
without being intoxicated. The
Second Signboard indicates the reality of the worlds
of the people of guidance. I left it in the form it was
written long ago. It resembles poetry, but it is not
truly that... Glory
be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You
have taught us; indeed You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.13 O
My Sustainer! Expand for me my breast * Make easy for me
my affair * And loosen the knot on my tongue * That they
may understand my words.14 O
God! Grant blessings to the subtle unitary Muhammadan
essence, the Sun in the skies of mysteries and
manifestation of lights, the centre of the orbit of glory
and the pole of the sphere of beauty. O God! By his
mystery in Your presence and by his journeying to You,
succour my fear, and right my stumbling, and dispel my
grief and my greed, and be mine, and take me from myself
to Yourself, and bestow on me annihilation from myself,
and do not make me captivated by my soul and veiled by my
senses, and reveal to me all hidden secrets, O
Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One! O Ever-Living and
Self-Subsistent One! O Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent
One! And grant mercy to me and to my companions and to
the people of belief and the Qur’an. Amen. O Most
Merciful of the Merciful and Most Generous of the
Generous! And
the close of their prayer will be: All Praise be to God,
the Sustainer of All the Worlds. ____________________ 13. Qur’an, 2:32. |
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